+++++
Track Four
Ryuuichi woke up under two big blankets, Kumagorou under his arm. He had just slept for hours, and felt tons better.
*Unh... I wonder what time it is? Seven thirty... is it evening or morning?*
He yawned and stretched his arms, sitting up on the bed. The sheets felt sweaty.
*My fever must've come down, and pretty quickly, at that!*
A quick glance out of the window told him that it was early morning and the sun was shining through the drawn curtains. He had slept almost twenty hours!
"Guess what, Kumagorou?" he asked the pink bunny, beaming happily, "I'm starving! It must be a sign that I'm getting well, right?"
"Maybe we could order a pizza," Kumagorou suggested.
"Good idea!" Ryuuichi hopped onto his feet and stretched his whole body. "All righty! Ryuu-chan is back in action - whoa..."
He suddenly lost the ground and had to fall back down on the bed again. His head was spinning.
"I guess maybe I shouldn't jump around like that after lying down for so long!" he laughed, enormously happy to be back on his feet. "Kumagorou, do you remember where I put my mobile?"
His mobile phone informed him that he had received one call and one text message. The call had been from K - most likely a check to see if he was all right - but the text message had come from an unknown sender. Ryuuichi opened the message curiously.
*Are you mad at me? -T.*
Ryuuichi frowned. He wasn't mad at anyone! What was that supposed to--
Then it suddenly dawned to him. Only a few people knew his mobile number. And "T" was almost too easy to guess.
He quickly sent a short reply, *No, call me*. Then he just stared at the mobile display for a few minutes, waiting to see if he received a reply. But the mobile remained silent.
*Of course, it IS only seven AM. I better order that pizza... ugh, and put on some clothes that aren't soaked in sweat...*
Ryuuichi showered and put on a pair of his favourite corduroys and a worn t-shirt. Then he attacked the delivered pizza as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. Feeling snug and his stomach full, he lay down on the unmade bed and wiggled his toes.
"Nothing like a good meal to kick off the free day, ne Kumagorou?"
+
Ryuuichi didn't do much during the first part of the day. Although he still had a bad cough, he stopped by the studio to tell Shuuichi how absolutely fantastic their live performance had been. Then he also visited Seguchi Touma (while he was in the same building anyway) and after that, went for a stroll down the river. It was about three PM and the streets were full of people. Ryuuichi liked observing people's faces. It fascinated him that each of these thousands people had a different life. So many stories, all in an eyeblink...
He stopped to buy an ice-cream cone and then climbed to sit on the railing to eat it. It was a perfect day to be out strolling through Tokyo.
Just then his mobile made a beeping sound and he fished it from his pocket. New message? He clicked it open.
*Let's meet somewhere. -T.*
*Okay, where?* Ryuuichi sent an enthusiastic reply. The only thing that had been missing was company.
He got the reply immediately and checked it.
*Look behind you*, it said.
Ryuuichi whirled around, almost falling down from the railing in the process.
"Hi," Tatsuha said, hands in his pockets and a sheepish grin on his face.
"Tatsuha-kun!" Ryuuichi jumped down from the railing and almost bounced with joy. "That was a neat trick! How did you find me?"
"By accident. There's a record shop nearby that I like." Tatsuha teared his eyes off Ryuuichi, looking almost guilty, and turned them to the sky instead.
"Really? Is it a good shop?" Ryuuichi wanted to know.
Tatsuha laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Well, um... I actually go there every time I'm in Tokyo because they're the only store I know that has all your singles. Even the earliest ones."
"I thought those were sold out ages ago!" Ryuuichi's eyes widened. Then he grinned and grabbed Tatsuha's arm. "I'm afraid you'll just have to show the shop to me! Come on, let's go, let's go!"
"Watch out, your ice-cream is melting!" Tatsuha pointed out, his hands flying from his pockets to be ready to help.
Ryuuichi raised the cone and started saving what could be saved. "I'm SO messy," he announced, not rattled by the fact at all. "I can never eat ice cream without getting it all over my face."
"Like with the whipped cream in that drink?" Tatsuha asked.
"Yeah, like that," Sakuma said and gave him a quick glance. Tatsuha blushed and looked away. Sakuma laughed and threw the rest of the ice-cream into a trash bin as Tatsuha started leading the way to the small record shop.
+
Tatsuha could never have guessed that he would be discussing the Nittle Grasper's early works with the singer himself. Sakuma was almost as excited as a child in the Christmas morning; he kept picking up random records and chattering about them until even the owner of the small store had to join their conversation. It was exhausting, yet inspiring at the same time to be with Sakuma. Tatsuha cut in every time the plump man started inquiring if anyone had ever told his friend that he looked a lot like Sakuma Ryuuichi. Sakuma himself simply smiled sweetly as Tatsuha tried to distract the man. He didn't know what the other thought about it, but he himself didn't want *anyone* to know.
*Nobody's gonna take this moment away and put it on a friggin' magazine!* he found himself thinking, then hazarded a glance towards the music magazines piled neatly in their own section. Luckily they all looked several years old.
"Tatsuha-kun," Sakuma said and grabbed his sleeve, "Look at this!" He shoved a C-cassette under Tatsuha's blinking eyes. "I can't believe there are still some copies of this around! This must've been, like, my favourite pop album in the 80's! I got this album from a friend of mine during my first year of high school. Do you remember them? They were sooo awesome!"
Tatsuha could only smile as if he knew what Sakuma was talking about. When that album had got out, he had most likely still been in the cradle.
"I'm gonna buy this!" Sakuma announced, hugging the cassette joyfully to his chest. "I only have the LP and that's not the same, and besides I can't play LPs in my hotel room. Mister! How much is this record, please?"
"Oh, for you, I can sell it for half the price," the man smiled from behind his counter. "I was actually planning on removing that one from the shelf since no one bought it. Nobody else seems to appreciate those mid-80s' techno pioneers."
"It's a shame, really!" Sakuma nodded sympathetically. "Especially since Hanada was such a great singer!"
"We'd better get going, it's past four," Tatsuha said. He didn't like the way the owner kept looking at Sakuma. He was sure he must've recognised him.
"PAST FOUR?!" Sakuma yelled, and then started jumping up and down under Tatsuha and the owner's surprised eyes. "I left Kumagorou all alone in the hotel room for almost five hours! He must be mad at me!" the singer wailed, biting his lower lip and looking cute and helpless.
"I thought so, you're Sakuma Ryuuichi, aren't you!" The owner leaned forward. "I was sure I'd seen you before! There's no fooling an old music enthusiast! So *this* is why Uesugi-san always asks for the Nittle Grasper records!"
Tatsuha froze, but only for a second. Then he grabbed the almost crying Sakuma by the arm and started pushing him out of the shop. "Sorry but we really have to go now!"
They hurried out and started walking away fast, as if they were afraid the man would follow them. Or at least Tatsuha walked fast. Sakuma was more or less just following him.
"Tatsuha! Tatsuha-kun! What's wrong? You really got spooked by something! I'm sure Kumagorou is fine, he's probably just a bit angry."
"I just thought it was happening all over again," Tatsuha said, slowly shaking his head.
Yeah, what was he marching for? Half the world knew who Sakuma was when they saw him. He needed to relax.
"Oh, you mean what happened in front of the Sinister?" Sakuma asked.
"You... saw the magazine?" Tatsuha carefully asked, glancing at Sakuma warily. To his own amazement and relief, he didn't blush.
The singer nodded. "They asked me about it in the yesterday's interview."
"But did you see the article?" Tatsuha insisted.
Sakuma looked at him, a bit startled. "Nnooo... which one?"
Tatsuha stopped both walking and breathing. "There... were more than one...?"
"Well, the Bop Peat gave it a few lines in its latest number, but don't worry, K has connections in the company so they edited your name off. It was nothing much. Just the usual stuff they make up of me."
"Oh," Tatsuha muttered.
His stomach did the talking for him as it loudly protested for being forgotten.
"I'm hungry, too!" Sakuma broke into a sunny smile again, in only a second's time. "Let's grab something to take with us to the hotel!"
When they stopped by a fast food stand and Sakuma made the orders, something dawned to Tatsuha and he swallowed hard. Sakuma Ryuuichi was going to take him with him to the hotel. Oh god, even the thought made his nose feel bloody!
*The way we've been walking around and stuff, it's like a... like a date?*
He glanced at the lively 31-year-old who had just started chattering with the person next in the line, and promptly turned red in the face.
*I wish I knew what he's thinking. My own process of thought doesn't seem to get me anywhere...*
+
It was not until the two of them stood in the lift which was taking them up to the seventh floor of the hotel building when Tatsuha spoke again. It was such a small, closed space. He felt he had to talk.
"You know, Sakuma-san... I thought you'd be angry with me."
Sakuma gave him a sharp glance and a cold hand crawled to squeeze at Tatsuha's heart. "Did you read the note, Tatsuha? Call me on *one condition*. I don't want you to call me Sakuma-san. Don't do it!"
Tatsuha was taken aback. He thought he was used to Sakuma's sudden mood changes by now, but the singer sounded more serious than ever before, which confused him. After all, it wasn't a big deal... was it?
"I'm not angry," Sakuma continued, looking down. "And I don't understand why you have to ask. *I* pulled you into this stupid mess, didn't I?"
"Ryuuichi..."
Tatsuha leaned closer to put a hand over the other's shoulder to make him look at him, but Sakuma surprised him again by suddenly straightening and looking straight up to Tatsuha's face, his eyes back to their usual brightness.
"You know, Uesugi-san... I thought you'd be angry with me," he repeated Tatsuha's own words, even imitating his tone of voice.
At first, Tatsuha blushed furiously at the close proximity. Sakuma - no, Ryuuichi - was face to face with him, their noses only inches apart, and he looked cute enough to eat with that glint in his eyes. After a silent while of mutual staring, the playful mood got hold of Tatsuha, too, and they both burst into laughter.
The lift arrived in the right floor and they climbed out, Ryuuichi heading to the door of his room. He took his key and unlocked the door, stuffing the food packages under his arm. Tatsuha followed him to the room.
"Could you unpack these? I gotta go see to Kumagorou!" Ryuuichi put their food on the floor and then headed to his pink bunny which was placed on the bed.
He jumped on the bed next to it and poked the bunny carefully. "Kumagorou...? C'mon, don't be like that!"
Tatsuha watched his conversation with the stuffed bunny, smiling.
"I don't like Ryuu-chan anymore! You left me sitting here with nothing to do!" Ryuuichi did the bunny's voice and lifted its paw to hit him on the top of his head. "Ouch, don't hit me! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Next time I'll take you with me, I promise. But look who I brought with me!" Ryuuichi turned around and presented the hamburger-devouring Tatsuha to Kumagorou. "Didn't you tell me you wanted to see him again?"
Ryuuichi tilted the bunny's head as if it was hesitating. Then he and the bunny jumped down on to the floor in front of Tatsuha and Tatsuha suddenly got a face full of hugging bunny. "Yep! I really wanted to see Tatsuha! 'Cause y'know, Kumagorou likes Tatsuha sooo much!"
Tatsuha took the bunny off both his face and Ryuuichi's hands and stared at the singer in wonderment.
"Good thing that Kumagorou likes you!" Ryuuichi said and smiled, his eyes crinkling up.
Then he reached out to get the bunny back in his hands and Tatsuha handed it over to him, looking at him searchingly from under his eyebrows.
"Now let's see, do we have something to drink?" Ryuuichi wondered aloud, walking towards the minibar with Kumagorou lying on his head.
Tatsuha narrowed his eyes. *Either I was born yesterday or then he plays some sort of game with me...*
Ryuuichi pulled out two cans of beer from the minibar and threw the other to Tatsuha. "It's American, but I hope you don't mind!"
Actually Tatsuha did mind, since he had never been a particularly good drinker, not even for a sixteen-year-old, and he didn't like that icky-sweet American stuff, but he just shrugged cheerfully.
"It's only half past four in the afternoon, and we're drinking?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh-uh. None of that! This here is officially my day off, and I can drink if I want to!" Ryuuichi wiggled his finger playfully at him.
"Okay, okay!" Tatsuha opened the can and took a sip to wash down the rest of his hamburger. "You gonna join me? Your food's getting cold."
Ryuuichi sat down and started munching, and for a while, they both just ate and drank, too hungry to talk.
"Hey, Tatsuha-kun," Ryuuichi then started the conversation again, "which NG record do you like best?"
"Which one..." Tatsuha shrugged and gulped down rest of the much-too-sweet beer. Was that the second can? Maybe the third? "I like every one of your records, but I think the third one was the best. Why?"
Ryuuichi leaned against the bed and stretched out his legs. "Mm. I'm just curious. Did you mean the special edition which had the remix versions or the original one?"
"The original one," Tatsuha immediately replied, "I think the remixes drowned out your voice. And I didn't like Sakata Konno's slide guitar, his way of playing didn't suit your style. I guess he was just too old-fashioned."
"You're a very unusual fan, you know that?" Ryuuichi said and winked.
"What?" Tatsuha's eyes grew big and he blushed slightly.
Ryuuichi laughed kind-heartedly at his expression. "Well, obviously! You know all these little facts about Nittle Grasper and insist on calling me Sakuma-san, but you still said you don't want my autograph. I think that's a little bit unusual, don't you?"
"I guess... that's just because..." Tatsuha's voice trailed off. He stared down at the empty beer can.
*Don't say it. Don't say it. Don't... Fuck, but I WANT to say it...*
"Because?" Ryuuichi asked, raising his eyebrows and leaning closer curiously.
"Uh... it's because... you..." Tatsuha tried to catch the line of thought that was slipping further away the closer Ryuuichi got.
"What about me?" Ryuuichi practically purred, and suddenly Tatsuha noticed that Ryuuichi was on his hands and knees in between Tatsuha's legs, his face only a couple of inches away.
"Um... R-Ryuuichi..." Tatsuha leaned backwards and tried to crawl away from the dangerously close coming man before doing something he would regret.
He gasped when Ryuuichi stopped him by grabbing a hold of his shirt and pulling Tatsuha to him. "Don't run away when I'm trying to seduce you," the singer murmured to his neck before pressing a hot kiss on his skin.
Tatsuha couldn't help the surprised moan that escaped him, and his eyes fluttered shut as Ryuuichi pressed a series of breathy kisses along his neck and face all the way to his temple. His arms quickly found their way around Ryuuichi and eager hands started feeling their way under his shirt.
*Is this happening? Really... happening...*
Ryuuichi's hands dug into Tatsuha's hair as he continued kissing his face, hot lips touching every possible place except where Tatsuha most wanted them. Finally he removed one hand from around Ryuuichi to the back of his head and crushed their lips together. Ryuuichi gasped into his mouth, and Tatsuha felt a shiver go through him. He wanted to make Ryuuichi gasp again.
Tentatively, he licked Ryuuichi's lips when they came apart for a second for breath. The older man reacted in a second, shoving his tongue in Tatsuha's mouth hungrily. The kiss grew deeper and harsher, and Tatsuha didn't even come to think that it was his first French kiss. Need compensated the lack of experience.
His fingers dug into Ryuuichi's back, which made the singer push himself harder against him, eliciting groans from both of them.
"Nnh... Ta-tsu-ha..."
Ryuuichi started pushing Tatsuha's shirt off, and they came apart for the second it took to pull the shirt over his head. Tatsuha's head was almost spinning in the middle of all the sensations, and his brain had dropped behind minutes ago. He started frantically ripping open Ryuuichi's shirt, wanting to feel his skin against his own, but the other man stopped him by taking both his hands and pulling him up on his feet. Tatsuha adapted to the new situation quickly, wrapping his arms around Ryuuichi and crushing the singer to him so that every possible part of their bodies touched. Blood boiling in his veins, he captured Ryuuichi's lips again and gave him a clumsy, forceful kiss. The older man responded full-heartedly, squirming against the other and thus making Tatsuha moan into his mouth.
When they finally had to come apart for breath, Ryuuichi clinged to Tatsuha's shoulders as if his legs wouldn't support him.
"Tatsuha..." He panted, his cheeks flushed and eyes shining with desire.
Seeing the other man look up at him like this, every detail straight from his dreams, filled Tatsuha with lust. He couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed a hold of the collar of Ryuuichi's shirt and with fumbling hands, started pulling it off him. Ryuuichi looked up with big, surprised eyes when Tatsuha pushed Ryuuichi's hands off his shoulders in the process. Having lost his support, Ryuuichi stumbled backwards, and with Tatsuha's hands still wounded around him, he pulled Tatsuha with him. Luckily the bed was right behind them, and they fell down, Ryuuichi on his back and Tatsuha right over him, their legs tangling.
Tatsuha straightened up a little to rest his legs on each side of Ryuuichi's body and supporting his upper body on his hands, so that he could see Ryuuichi's face.
"Slow down," the singer said and laughed, a little bit out of breath, squirming to get into a better position under him. "This isn't a race!"
"You're telling me to slow down now?" Tatsuha asked, grinning, but watched Ryuuichi's face intensely for any signs of resistance. His heart was beating so fast it almost got out of his chest and he momentarily froze.
*Please, gods, let me get this right and I'll be forever grateful...*
Ryuuichi snaked one hand behind Tatsuha's head and brought him down for a sweet, wet kiss. "I'm telling you to slow down, not stop," he said against his lips. "It's not that I'm complaining, but you were almost like an over-eager teenager!"
*If you only knew how right you are...* Tatsuha thought to himself, then distracted himself by starting to push the ripped-open shirt all the way off Ryuuichi, kissing each newly-exposed part of skin. This distracted him better than he had intended, because having Ryuuichi arch up to his touch made him forget all about taking it slow. Tasting the salty sweat on his skin, Tatsuha worked his way down to Ryuuichi's stomach, pausing to give each rib a small bite. In the meanwhile, his hands struggled to open the buttons of Ryuuichi's corduroys. If he could've just ripped them open like he had practically done with the shirt, he would've.
The buttons came undone and Ryuuichi raised his hips enough to kick the corduroys off with the help of Tatsuha's eager hands. While Tatsuha was busy freeing himself from his currently awfully tight jeans, Ryuuichi fluently removed his underwear and sat up next to him, nipping his earlobe lightly.
"Which way you wanna take this?" he asked, breathing into his ear.
Tatsuha blushed furiously, realising he actually had very little idea of what actually was to come next. "I think that's your call, after all, you started this, right?" he blurted out, not knowing how else to answer. It was all the same to him, as long as something would happen soon.
Ryuuichi didn't answer for a moment. He licked Tatsuha's ear painstakingly slowly, then whispered into it, "You haven't been with a man before, have you?"
His breath on the wet skin made little shivers dance up Tatsuha's spine and he bit back a moan. He recalled Ryuuichi's teasing words of 'an over-eager teenager' and tried his best not to appear as one, although it was getting near impossible.
"Take it easy," Ryuuichi said, taking Tatsuha's chin in one hand and turning his head to look at him. The singer smiled. "It's not all that different from doing it with a woman. But hey, just to make it all easier for you, how about you take the lead?"
Tatsuha jumped a little, and if he hadn't been red in the face already, he would've blushed. "You... really want me to...?"
"Yeah, I really want you to," Ryuuichi replied readily, imitating his tone of voice again. He snickered when Tatsuha playfully pouted at his mocking and grabbed a hold of Tatsuha's shoulders, pulling him on top of him. "Just get back to what you were doing and I'll shut up," he said, laughing, "I told you I babble too much!"
Tatsuha was catching on to the mood again, though he was still a bit lost. He didn't let it hold him back as he started ravishing Ryuuichi again, the older man's hands guiding him. Feeling adventurous, he started nipping Ryuuichi's skin again, loving the way the other squirmed in his arms. Ryuuichi near screamed when Tatsuha's teeth found one pink nipple.
"Oh, Tatsuha!" Ryuuichi gasped, on the verge of both tears and laughter, "Wait, wait, wait! In the drawer - there're lube and condoms in the drawer, I think they're in the upper-- "
"In a minute, I'm busy now," Tatsuha ground out, proceeding to give the other nipple the same treatment.
"Tatsuha, you're, oh, you're such a baa~ad boy!" Ryuuichi arched up his back, grabbing a handful of Tatsuha's black hair with one hand, and reached out to pull off Tatsuha's underwear with the other. Tatsuha reluctantly left the delicious, blushing skin and reached out to open the drawer.
When he returned, he immediately got a violently passionate kiss. "Hurry up and get inside me or I'll pull the over-eager teenager on you!" Ryuuichi said in a breathy voice, smiling expectantly as he wrapped his legs around him.
"Try and stop me," Tatsuha growled, and they fell back on the bed in a mess of tangled limbs, sharing another steamy kiss.
Track Four
Ryuuichi woke up under two big blankets, Kumagorou under his arm. He had just slept for hours, and felt tons better.
*Unh... I wonder what time it is? Seven thirty... is it evening or morning?*
He yawned and stretched his arms, sitting up on the bed. The sheets felt sweaty.
*My fever must've come down, and pretty quickly, at that!*
A quick glance out of the window told him that it was early morning and the sun was shining through the drawn curtains. He had slept almost twenty hours!
"Guess what, Kumagorou?" he asked the pink bunny, beaming happily, "I'm starving! It must be a sign that I'm getting well, right?"
"Maybe we could order a pizza," Kumagorou suggested.
"Good idea!" Ryuuichi hopped onto his feet and stretched his whole body. "All righty! Ryuu-chan is back in action - whoa..."
He suddenly lost the ground and had to fall back down on the bed again. His head was spinning.
"I guess maybe I shouldn't jump around like that after lying down for so long!" he laughed, enormously happy to be back on his feet. "Kumagorou, do you remember where I put my mobile?"
His mobile phone informed him that he had received one call and one text message. The call had been from K - most likely a check to see if he was all right - but the text message had come from an unknown sender. Ryuuichi opened the message curiously.
*Are you mad at me? -T.*
Ryuuichi frowned. He wasn't mad at anyone! What was that supposed to--
Then it suddenly dawned to him. Only a few people knew his mobile number. And "T" was almost too easy to guess.
He quickly sent a short reply, *No, call me*. Then he just stared at the mobile display for a few minutes, waiting to see if he received a reply. But the mobile remained silent.
*Of course, it IS only seven AM. I better order that pizza... ugh, and put on some clothes that aren't soaked in sweat...*
Ryuuichi showered and put on a pair of his favourite corduroys and a worn t-shirt. Then he attacked the delivered pizza as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. Feeling snug and his stomach full, he lay down on the unmade bed and wiggled his toes.
"Nothing like a good meal to kick off the free day, ne Kumagorou?"
+
Ryuuichi didn't do much during the first part of the day. Although he still had a bad cough, he stopped by the studio to tell Shuuichi how absolutely fantastic their live performance had been. Then he also visited Seguchi Touma (while he was in the same building anyway) and after that, went for a stroll down the river. It was about three PM and the streets were full of people. Ryuuichi liked observing people's faces. It fascinated him that each of these thousands people had a different life. So many stories, all in an eyeblink...
He stopped to buy an ice-cream cone and then climbed to sit on the railing to eat it. It was a perfect day to be out strolling through Tokyo.
Just then his mobile made a beeping sound and he fished it from his pocket. New message? He clicked it open.
*Let's meet somewhere. -T.*
*Okay, where?* Ryuuichi sent an enthusiastic reply. The only thing that had been missing was company.
He got the reply immediately and checked it.
*Look behind you*, it said.
Ryuuichi whirled around, almost falling down from the railing in the process.
"Hi," Tatsuha said, hands in his pockets and a sheepish grin on his face.
"Tatsuha-kun!" Ryuuichi jumped down from the railing and almost bounced with joy. "That was a neat trick! How did you find me?"
"By accident. There's a record shop nearby that I like." Tatsuha teared his eyes off Ryuuichi, looking almost guilty, and turned them to the sky instead.
"Really? Is it a good shop?" Ryuuichi wanted to know.
Tatsuha laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Well, um... I actually go there every time I'm in Tokyo because they're the only store I know that has all your singles. Even the earliest ones."
"I thought those were sold out ages ago!" Ryuuichi's eyes widened. Then he grinned and grabbed Tatsuha's arm. "I'm afraid you'll just have to show the shop to me! Come on, let's go, let's go!"
"Watch out, your ice-cream is melting!" Tatsuha pointed out, his hands flying from his pockets to be ready to help.
Ryuuichi raised the cone and started saving what could be saved. "I'm SO messy," he announced, not rattled by the fact at all. "I can never eat ice cream without getting it all over my face."
"Like with the whipped cream in that drink?" Tatsuha asked.
"Yeah, like that," Sakuma said and gave him a quick glance. Tatsuha blushed and looked away. Sakuma laughed and threw the rest of the ice-cream into a trash bin as Tatsuha started leading the way to the small record shop.
+
Tatsuha could never have guessed that he would be discussing the Nittle Grasper's early works with the singer himself. Sakuma was almost as excited as a child in the Christmas morning; he kept picking up random records and chattering about them until even the owner of the small store had to join their conversation. It was exhausting, yet inspiring at the same time to be with Sakuma. Tatsuha cut in every time the plump man started inquiring if anyone had ever told his friend that he looked a lot like Sakuma Ryuuichi. Sakuma himself simply smiled sweetly as Tatsuha tried to distract the man. He didn't know what the other thought about it, but he himself didn't want *anyone* to know.
*Nobody's gonna take this moment away and put it on a friggin' magazine!* he found himself thinking, then hazarded a glance towards the music magazines piled neatly in their own section. Luckily they all looked several years old.
"Tatsuha-kun," Sakuma said and grabbed his sleeve, "Look at this!" He shoved a C-cassette under Tatsuha's blinking eyes. "I can't believe there are still some copies of this around! This must've been, like, my favourite pop album in the 80's! I got this album from a friend of mine during my first year of high school. Do you remember them? They were sooo awesome!"
Tatsuha could only smile as if he knew what Sakuma was talking about. When that album had got out, he had most likely still been in the cradle.
"I'm gonna buy this!" Sakuma announced, hugging the cassette joyfully to his chest. "I only have the LP and that's not the same, and besides I can't play LPs in my hotel room. Mister! How much is this record, please?"
"Oh, for you, I can sell it for half the price," the man smiled from behind his counter. "I was actually planning on removing that one from the shelf since no one bought it. Nobody else seems to appreciate those mid-80s' techno pioneers."
"It's a shame, really!" Sakuma nodded sympathetically. "Especially since Hanada was such a great singer!"
"We'd better get going, it's past four," Tatsuha said. He didn't like the way the owner kept looking at Sakuma. He was sure he must've recognised him.
"PAST FOUR?!" Sakuma yelled, and then started jumping up and down under Tatsuha and the owner's surprised eyes. "I left Kumagorou all alone in the hotel room for almost five hours! He must be mad at me!" the singer wailed, biting his lower lip and looking cute and helpless.
"I thought so, you're Sakuma Ryuuichi, aren't you!" The owner leaned forward. "I was sure I'd seen you before! There's no fooling an old music enthusiast! So *this* is why Uesugi-san always asks for the Nittle Grasper records!"
Tatsuha froze, but only for a second. Then he grabbed the almost crying Sakuma by the arm and started pushing him out of the shop. "Sorry but we really have to go now!"
They hurried out and started walking away fast, as if they were afraid the man would follow them. Or at least Tatsuha walked fast. Sakuma was more or less just following him.
"Tatsuha! Tatsuha-kun! What's wrong? You really got spooked by something! I'm sure Kumagorou is fine, he's probably just a bit angry."
"I just thought it was happening all over again," Tatsuha said, slowly shaking his head.
Yeah, what was he marching for? Half the world knew who Sakuma was when they saw him. He needed to relax.
"Oh, you mean what happened in front of the Sinister?" Sakuma asked.
"You... saw the magazine?" Tatsuha carefully asked, glancing at Sakuma warily. To his own amazement and relief, he didn't blush.
The singer nodded. "They asked me about it in the yesterday's interview."
"But did you see the article?" Tatsuha insisted.
Sakuma looked at him, a bit startled. "Nnooo... which one?"
Tatsuha stopped both walking and breathing. "There... were more than one...?"
"Well, the Bop Peat gave it a few lines in its latest number, but don't worry, K has connections in the company so they edited your name off. It was nothing much. Just the usual stuff they make up of me."
"Oh," Tatsuha muttered.
His stomach did the talking for him as it loudly protested for being forgotten.
"I'm hungry, too!" Sakuma broke into a sunny smile again, in only a second's time. "Let's grab something to take with us to the hotel!"
When they stopped by a fast food stand and Sakuma made the orders, something dawned to Tatsuha and he swallowed hard. Sakuma Ryuuichi was going to take him with him to the hotel. Oh god, even the thought made his nose feel bloody!
*The way we've been walking around and stuff, it's like a... like a date?*
He glanced at the lively 31-year-old who had just started chattering with the person next in the line, and promptly turned red in the face.
*I wish I knew what he's thinking. My own process of thought doesn't seem to get me anywhere...*
+
It was not until the two of them stood in the lift which was taking them up to the seventh floor of the hotel building when Tatsuha spoke again. It was such a small, closed space. He felt he had to talk.
"You know, Sakuma-san... I thought you'd be angry with me."
Sakuma gave him a sharp glance and a cold hand crawled to squeeze at Tatsuha's heart. "Did you read the note, Tatsuha? Call me on *one condition*. I don't want you to call me Sakuma-san. Don't do it!"
Tatsuha was taken aback. He thought he was used to Sakuma's sudden mood changes by now, but the singer sounded more serious than ever before, which confused him. After all, it wasn't a big deal... was it?
"I'm not angry," Sakuma continued, looking down. "And I don't understand why you have to ask. *I* pulled you into this stupid mess, didn't I?"
"Ryuuichi..."
Tatsuha leaned closer to put a hand over the other's shoulder to make him look at him, but Sakuma surprised him again by suddenly straightening and looking straight up to Tatsuha's face, his eyes back to their usual brightness.
"You know, Uesugi-san... I thought you'd be angry with me," he repeated Tatsuha's own words, even imitating his tone of voice.
At first, Tatsuha blushed furiously at the close proximity. Sakuma - no, Ryuuichi - was face to face with him, their noses only inches apart, and he looked cute enough to eat with that glint in his eyes. After a silent while of mutual staring, the playful mood got hold of Tatsuha, too, and they both burst into laughter.
The lift arrived in the right floor and they climbed out, Ryuuichi heading to the door of his room. He took his key and unlocked the door, stuffing the food packages under his arm. Tatsuha followed him to the room.
"Could you unpack these? I gotta go see to Kumagorou!" Ryuuichi put their food on the floor and then headed to his pink bunny which was placed on the bed.
He jumped on the bed next to it and poked the bunny carefully. "Kumagorou...? C'mon, don't be like that!"
Tatsuha watched his conversation with the stuffed bunny, smiling.
"I don't like Ryuu-chan anymore! You left me sitting here with nothing to do!" Ryuuichi did the bunny's voice and lifted its paw to hit him on the top of his head. "Ouch, don't hit me! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Next time I'll take you with me, I promise. But look who I brought with me!" Ryuuichi turned around and presented the hamburger-devouring Tatsuha to Kumagorou. "Didn't you tell me you wanted to see him again?"
Ryuuichi tilted the bunny's head as if it was hesitating. Then he and the bunny jumped down on to the floor in front of Tatsuha and Tatsuha suddenly got a face full of hugging bunny. "Yep! I really wanted to see Tatsuha! 'Cause y'know, Kumagorou likes Tatsuha sooo much!"
Tatsuha took the bunny off both his face and Ryuuichi's hands and stared at the singer in wonderment.
"Good thing that Kumagorou likes you!" Ryuuichi said and smiled, his eyes crinkling up.
Then he reached out to get the bunny back in his hands and Tatsuha handed it over to him, looking at him searchingly from under his eyebrows.
"Now let's see, do we have something to drink?" Ryuuichi wondered aloud, walking towards the minibar with Kumagorou lying on his head.
Tatsuha narrowed his eyes. *Either I was born yesterday or then he plays some sort of game with me...*
Ryuuichi pulled out two cans of beer from the minibar and threw the other to Tatsuha. "It's American, but I hope you don't mind!"
Actually Tatsuha did mind, since he had never been a particularly good drinker, not even for a sixteen-year-old, and he didn't like that icky-sweet American stuff, but he just shrugged cheerfully.
"It's only half past four in the afternoon, and we're drinking?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh-uh. None of that! This here is officially my day off, and I can drink if I want to!" Ryuuichi wiggled his finger playfully at him.
"Okay, okay!" Tatsuha opened the can and took a sip to wash down the rest of his hamburger. "You gonna join me? Your food's getting cold."
Ryuuichi sat down and started munching, and for a while, they both just ate and drank, too hungry to talk.
"Hey, Tatsuha-kun," Ryuuichi then started the conversation again, "which NG record do you like best?"
"Which one..." Tatsuha shrugged and gulped down rest of the much-too-sweet beer. Was that the second can? Maybe the third? "I like every one of your records, but I think the third one was the best. Why?"
Ryuuichi leaned against the bed and stretched out his legs. "Mm. I'm just curious. Did you mean the special edition which had the remix versions or the original one?"
"The original one," Tatsuha immediately replied, "I think the remixes drowned out your voice. And I didn't like Sakata Konno's slide guitar, his way of playing didn't suit your style. I guess he was just too old-fashioned."
"You're a very unusual fan, you know that?" Ryuuichi said and winked.
"What?" Tatsuha's eyes grew big and he blushed slightly.
Ryuuichi laughed kind-heartedly at his expression. "Well, obviously! You know all these little facts about Nittle Grasper and insist on calling me Sakuma-san, but you still said you don't want my autograph. I think that's a little bit unusual, don't you?"
"I guess... that's just because..." Tatsuha's voice trailed off. He stared down at the empty beer can.
*Don't say it. Don't say it. Don't... Fuck, but I WANT to say it...*
"Because?" Ryuuichi asked, raising his eyebrows and leaning closer curiously.
"Uh... it's because... you..." Tatsuha tried to catch the line of thought that was slipping further away the closer Ryuuichi got.
"What about me?" Ryuuichi practically purred, and suddenly Tatsuha noticed that Ryuuichi was on his hands and knees in between Tatsuha's legs, his face only a couple of inches away.
"Um... R-Ryuuichi..." Tatsuha leaned backwards and tried to crawl away from the dangerously close coming man before doing something he would regret.
He gasped when Ryuuichi stopped him by grabbing a hold of his shirt and pulling Tatsuha to him. "Don't run away when I'm trying to seduce you," the singer murmured to his neck before pressing a hot kiss on his skin.
Tatsuha couldn't help the surprised moan that escaped him, and his eyes fluttered shut as Ryuuichi pressed a series of breathy kisses along his neck and face all the way to his temple. His arms quickly found their way around Ryuuichi and eager hands started feeling their way under his shirt.
*Is this happening? Really... happening...*
Ryuuichi's hands dug into Tatsuha's hair as he continued kissing his face, hot lips touching every possible place except where Tatsuha most wanted them. Finally he removed one hand from around Ryuuichi to the back of his head and crushed their lips together. Ryuuichi gasped into his mouth, and Tatsuha felt a shiver go through him. He wanted to make Ryuuichi gasp again.
Tentatively, he licked Ryuuichi's lips when they came apart for a second for breath. The older man reacted in a second, shoving his tongue in Tatsuha's mouth hungrily. The kiss grew deeper and harsher, and Tatsuha didn't even come to think that it was his first French kiss. Need compensated the lack of experience.
His fingers dug into Ryuuichi's back, which made the singer push himself harder against him, eliciting groans from both of them.
"Nnh... Ta-tsu-ha..."
Ryuuichi started pushing Tatsuha's shirt off, and they came apart for the second it took to pull the shirt over his head. Tatsuha's head was almost spinning in the middle of all the sensations, and his brain had dropped behind minutes ago. He started frantically ripping open Ryuuichi's shirt, wanting to feel his skin against his own, but the other man stopped him by taking both his hands and pulling him up on his feet. Tatsuha adapted to the new situation quickly, wrapping his arms around Ryuuichi and crushing the singer to him so that every possible part of their bodies touched. Blood boiling in his veins, he captured Ryuuichi's lips again and gave him a clumsy, forceful kiss. The older man responded full-heartedly, squirming against the other and thus making Tatsuha moan into his mouth.
When they finally had to come apart for breath, Ryuuichi clinged to Tatsuha's shoulders as if his legs wouldn't support him.
"Tatsuha..." He panted, his cheeks flushed and eyes shining with desire.
Seeing the other man look up at him like this, every detail straight from his dreams, filled Tatsuha with lust. He couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed a hold of the collar of Ryuuichi's shirt and with fumbling hands, started pulling it off him. Ryuuichi looked up with big, surprised eyes when Tatsuha pushed Ryuuichi's hands off his shoulders in the process. Having lost his support, Ryuuichi stumbled backwards, and with Tatsuha's hands still wounded around him, he pulled Tatsuha with him. Luckily the bed was right behind them, and they fell down, Ryuuichi on his back and Tatsuha right over him, their legs tangling.
Tatsuha straightened up a little to rest his legs on each side of Ryuuichi's body and supporting his upper body on his hands, so that he could see Ryuuichi's face.
"Slow down," the singer said and laughed, a little bit out of breath, squirming to get into a better position under him. "This isn't a race!"
"You're telling me to slow down now?" Tatsuha asked, grinning, but watched Ryuuichi's face intensely for any signs of resistance. His heart was beating so fast it almost got out of his chest and he momentarily froze.
*Please, gods, let me get this right and I'll be forever grateful...*
Ryuuichi snaked one hand behind Tatsuha's head and brought him down for a sweet, wet kiss. "I'm telling you to slow down, not stop," he said against his lips. "It's not that I'm complaining, but you were almost like an over-eager teenager!"
*If you only knew how right you are...* Tatsuha thought to himself, then distracted himself by starting to push the ripped-open shirt all the way off Ryuuichi, kissing each newly-exposed part of skin. This distracted him better than he had intended, because having Ryuuichi arch up to his touch made him forget all about taking it slow. Tasting the salty sweat on his skin, Tatsuha worked his way down to Ryuuichi's stomach, pausing to give each rib a small bite. In the meanwhile, his hands struggled to open the buttons of Ryuuichi's corduroys. If he could've just ripped them open like he had practically done with the shirt, he would've.
The buttons came undone and Ryuuichi raised his hips enough to kick the corduroys off with the help of Tatsuha's eager hands. While Tatsuha was busy freeing himself from his currently awfully tight jeans, Ryuuichi fluently removed his underwear and sat up next to him, nipping his earlobe lightly.
"Which way you wanna take this?" he asked, breathing into his ear.
Tatsuha blushed furiously, realising he actually had very little idea of what actually was to come next. "I think that's your call, after all, you started this, right?" he blurted out, not knowing how else to answer. It was all the same to him, as long as something would happen soon.
Ryuuichi didn't answer for a moment. He licked Tatsuha's ear painstakingly slowly, then whispered into it, "You haven't been with a man before, have you?"
His breath on the wet skin made little shivers dance up Tatsuha's spine and he bit back a moan. He recalled Ryuuichi's teasing words of 'an over-eager teenager' and tried his best not to appear as one, although it was getting near impossible.
"Take it easy," Ryuuichi said, taking Tatsuha's chin in one hand and turning his head to look at him. The singer smiled. "It's not all that different from doing it with a woman. But hey, just to make it all easier for you, how about you take the lead?"
Tatsuha jumped a little, and if he hadn't been red in the face already, he would've blushed. "You... really want me to...?"
"Yeah, I really want you to," Ryuuichi replied readily, imitating his tone of voice again. He snickered when Tatsuha playfully pouted at his mocking and grabbed a hold of Tatsuha's shoulders, pulling him on top of him. "Just get back to what you were doing and I'll shut up," he said, laughing, "I told you I babble too much!"
Tatsuha was catching on to the mood again, though he was still a bit lost. He didn't let it hold him back as he started ravishing Ryuuichi again, the older man's hands guiding him. Feeling adventurous, he started nipping Ryuuichi's skin again, loving the way the other squirmed in his arms. Ryuuichi near screamed when Tatsuha's teeth found one pink nipple.
"Oh, Tatsuha!" Ryuuichi gasped, on the verge of both tears and laughter, "Wait, wait, wait! In the drawer - there're lube and condoms in the drawer, I think they're in the upper-- "
"In a minute, I'm busy now," Tatsuha ground out, proceeding to give the other nipple the same treatment.
"Tatsuha, you're, oh, you're such a baa~ad boy!" Ryuuichi arched up his back, grabbing a handful of Tatsuha's black hair with one hand, and reached out to pull off Tatsuha's underwear with the other. Tatsuha reluctantly left the delicious, blushing skin and reached out to open the drawer.
When he returned, he immediately got a violently passionate kiss. "Hurry up and get inside me or I'll pull the over-eager teenager on you!" Ryuuichi said in a breathy voice, smiling expectantly as he wrapped his legs around him.
"Try and stop me," Tatsuha growled, and they fell back on the bed in a mess of tangled limbs, sharing another steamy kiss.