Disclaimers: Neither Gravitation nor Moulin rouge belongs to me. I'm just borrowing for the time being.
Warnings: Um………..will eventually contain spoilers for Moulin Rouge
Notes: YIPPIE! I've had this idea for so long now and it finally managed on paper! I hope it turned out okay. ^_^
Pairings: YukixShuuichi, TatsuhaxRyuuichi
~*Moulin Rouge*~
Yuki Eiri sighed as he sat down at the small desk in his new apartment, one of the few things decorating the room. He couldn't believe he'd been forced to stoop as low as this, living in a dirty little apartment on hardly anything, but he guessed it was better than living with his father. There was nothing worse than living with that asshole. He was convinced his son would never turn out as anything better than a man-whore, so Yuki had left home with as much money as possible and come to live the penniless life of a writer.
Lighting up a cigarette—the last of his expenses—he prepared to start writing, cringing at the lies of love and eternity that floated into his mind. He'd lost faith in love a long time ago, but he knew what sold. Selling was all that was important at the moment, so he pushed down the disgust and forced himself to type the words.
However, his fingers had only just hit the first few keys when the ceiling collapsed in front of him, and he jumped back in horror, cigarette almost falling from his mouth in shock. As soon as that development had started to sink in his apartment door was flung open, revealing a short blonde man that he could have sworn was dressed like…a nun…in the doorway. His first day in his new apartment and it was already wreaked, and he was seriously considering leaving as a fairly good choice.
"I'm so very sorry, we were rehearsing for a play, and…" the blonde man explained as Yuki continued to stare at his strange manner of dress. He blushed ever so slightly and nodded. "Just rehearsing," he stated again and Yuki nodded to show that he believed him, removing the cigarette from his mouth and exhaling before pointing at the man that was currently dangling from his ceiling.
"I expect him to pay for that," he offered coldly and the blonde nodded, a nervous smile on his face. He wasn't sure where he was going to come up with enough money to fix the poor man's roof, but he would have to find the money somehow. He didn't look like a particularly cheery person, to put it nicely. "And you are?" he inquired without interest as he placed the cigarette back in his mouth, taking a long, well-deserved drag.
"Ah. Seguchi Tohma. Nice to meet you," he offered politely, smile firmly set in place again. "Would it be too much of me to ask your name?" he asked, calm exterior once again set in place. He'd been rather surprised that someone so…handsome, he guessed…would live in such a place, but there was no telling who you would run into now-a-days, what with all the daily new-comers.
"Yuki Eiri," he offered as he exhaled, sending a long stream of smoke to dance in the ever-cooling air. Not to say it was cold. It was still summer, and Yuki had lived in much colder places before that.
"Tohma, what's going on?" Tohma stepped forward slightly so that he could peer into the room above, burying his hands in his pockets as he smiled reassuringly at the three people staring down at him from the hole in Yuki's roof.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. He's just fainted again," he offered calmly, nudging the suspended body to indicate the object of his sentence. "It's no more of a set-back than normal." The woman with the brown-hair threw her hands up in exasperation, standing up to pace around the room before walking back to the hole in Yuki's ceiling, glaring down at Tohma fiercely.
"We don't have much time before we have to present the play, Tohma!" she demanded harshly, sitting up to fumble for a cigarette of her own. This was going to be the death of her, she knew it.
"She's right. I don't mean to rush you, but…" the blue-haired one agreed, glancing quickly towards Yuki before his attention fixed back on Tohma. Panic was clearly written over his features and he looked like he was about to faint at any second, clutching his script like it was his one remaining thread of sanity. Tohma sighed, raising his hands to him in reassurance.
"Don't worry Sakano, all we have to do is find somebody who's willing to read the part until he wakes up." Sakano sighed and glanced towards Yuki once more, gaze fixing on him in an almost shy, pleading sort of manner. Yuki, however, ignored his gaze and focused and picking up some of the mess his ceiling collapsing had caused.
"Yes, but dear Tohma, where in the world are we going to find someone willing to read the role of the young, charming, Swiss poet goat-herder?" the purple-haired woman asked, peering her head further through the hole before her gaze followed Sakano's to Yuki, an evil smile appearing over her face. "You need money, don't you?" Before Yuki knew it he was filling in for the unconscious actor, rolling his eyes as he sat listening to line after line of elementary school writing.
"What is this crap?" Yuki demanded as they all started fighting over some line or other, throwing the script onto the ground harshly. The entire room grew quite and Noriko (the woman with the purple hair, as Yuki had learned) crossed her arms stubbornly, leaning against that THING she called a musical instrument.
"And you're so much better, I suppose?" she asked, throwing a glance to Mika (the other woman) as Mika folded up her own script, setting it on the table and waiting for Yuki to continue. This was obviously a direct slam to her own writing, and she wanted to see just how good this guy was, to make fun of something she'd tried so very hard on.
"Yes, I do suppose. 'The hills are alive with quaking and shaking?' What kind of shit IS this? Writing something like this shouldn't be taken literally. It should be poetical, full of metaphors and deeper meanings. Such sugar-coated bullshit makes me sick but even I know how it's SUPPOSED to be done," he snapped harshly, crossing his own arms over his chest and leaning back against the prongs of the ladder he was forced to stand on.
"Then you think of something better, Mr. Writer," Mika demanded, glancing around the room once, as if daring them to contribute as well. The young man from before sat up suddenly, knees shaking as he stood up, turning to face the group with half-lidded eyes.
"'The hills are incarnate with symphonic melodics?'" he asked before collapsing back against the bed and Mika rolled her eyes, turning to wait for Yuki's wonderful writing. This guy had the guts to say such horrid things about her writing, he had best be able to back it up or she'd make sure he never got paid for his fill-in work. Yuki sighed and pointed to where the young man was currently sleeping.
"That guy over there…"
"Tatsuha," Mika offered dully as Yuki pointed in Tatsuha's general direction, obviously meaning him. Yuki shrugged and continued on as if nothing had happened.
"…At least he understands how to write. 'The hills are alive with the sound of music.' There, does that work for you?" he asked in irritation, prepared for any sort of insults Mika was willing to throw at him for trying to show her up with such crap. He wasn't, however, prepared for the astounded expressions of the other conscious occupants of the room. Tatsuha even sat up quickly, eyes turning to focus on Yuki.
"'The hills are alive with the sound of music?' I love it," he offered with a bright smile. He was obviously younger than the other occupants of the room, but he had to be more than he seemed to be hanging out with such…energetic and…determined people.
"That…was wonderful," Tohma offered, and Sakano nodded his agreement, glancing at the script once before looking back up at Yuki. He couldn't believe these people really believed that was something even halfway decent. Noriko offered an apologetic look to her friend and shrugged.
"He's not that bad, Mika." Tohma nodded and walked over to her, smile set firmly on his face again. Yuki had learned quite quickly that the smiles he offered were neither fake nor real, just simply there, if you really thought about it. It was like a well-designed mask. Simply existing for the sake of being pleasant. Resting a hand on her shoulder he looked over at Yuki once more before turning to her.
"No offense, Mika, but I think you two should write the play together. It would be wonderful." Mika's eyes widened slightly in shock before narrowing to slits as she glared at Tohma, how DARE he? Her eyes almost screamed of death, and it was quite a scary thing to witness up close.
"There is no way I am writing something together with an asshole like him! He doesn't even appreciate literature!" she screamed, pointing a finger at Yuki accusingly, eyes not leaving Tohma's. Even Tohma shrunk back slightly, calm breaking into a sort of nervousness.
"And you have no talent, so I guess we have nothing in common," Yuki offered, climbing down from the ladder and removing the straps from his shoulders, prepared to get out of the silly costume and leave. There was no way he was going to stay there if he didn't have to. These people were more than he wanted to deal with.
"Shut up! Forget it, all of you! I'm leaving!" and Mika stormed off in a huff of anger, grabbing what few things she possessed and slamming the door behind her. There were few seconds of silence following her departure, as the remaining three had all but glued themselves to Yuki's side, begging him to write the play for them.
"How much money will you pay me?" he asked as they continued to beg. All he was interested in right now was money. He needed to eat eventually, something his stomach felt fit to remind him at the moment. The three looked between themselves quickly before breaking off into their own little group, whispering about this or that before turning back to Yuki.
"We can't pay you, but we can promise you a night at the Moulin Rouge," Tohma offered, pointing to the building across the street. The sun was sitting somewhere behind the buildings and the lights had only just come on, neon signs marking the building they were referring to. "I know you must have heard about it," he offered politely and Yuki nodded, turning to glance once more out of the window. A night club for the rich and powerful, a place with no rules, no limitations…a place where he could finally be free for one night. Where he didn't have to worry about pleasing anyone but himself.
"Alright," he offered quietly, leaning against the wall and waiting to see what they were all planning. Even Tatsuha was up and around again by this point, walking over to their group curiously.
"Are you sure about this Tohma, it seems like too much of a risk? Ah! No offense!" Sakano apologized quickly as he realized Yuki was listening to their conversation quite intently. "It's just…have you ever written anything like this before?" he asked, still clinging to that piece of shit script like it was all that was important in the world. This guy had some serious issues…
"No, I haven't, but that doesn't mean I can't. It doesn't take many brain-cells to write a play," he answered cockily, burying his hands in his pockets again as he waited. He hated waiting, he always had. It had never been anything more than a big waste of time in his opinion.
"Alright then, tonight we visit the Moulin Rouge. All you have to do is say a couple poems and you'll be all set. I'm sure he'll absolutely love them, and then he'll HAVE to present them to Nakano, the owner of the Moulin Rouge, in case you weren't aware. Then we'll finally create the play we always dreamed of." Yuki nodded slowly, taking the glass they offered him in celebration.
"So who is it I'll be speaking to, then?" he asked after a short silence, curious as to what they weren't telling him. That smile made its way across Tohma's face again and he held his glass up as if to toast. How absurd, what the hell would they toast to, anyway?
"Why, Shuuichi, of course. Everyone knows he's the only way you can get to Nakano." he wondered for a split-second over what could possibly be so special about this 'Shuuichi' character that you had to go through him in order to talk to the boss. Not that he cared, of course. He wasn't interested in men.
The rest of that evening passed in a sort of blur for Yuki, who was stuck waiting as they discussed final plans for their entrance into the Moulin Rouge. He was to wear one of Tatsuha's suits, which was a little small on him, but the best they could manage.
Eventually the time came and they all made their way across the crowded nighttime streets to the Moulin Rouge, passing inside the doors with no difficulty. Funny. Yuki had thought they'd be more selective about who they let inside. Noriko dropped back to talk to him as they walked to their table. She looked quite good in the dress she had stored away, and Yuki was almost contemplating the idea of ditching this idea and taking her with him. Each of them only had a suit or two to wear, seeing as they didn't have the money to buy more, but what they had was decent.
He practically ran into Tatsuha, who had stopped suddenly in his path. Swearing he pushed past him, not wanting to loose Tohma or he'd never find his way out again. This place was loud and full of people, not something he was used to, nor particularly fond of.
"Rumor has it Tatsuha's in a relationship with one of the dancers here. Wouldn't that be such a scandal?" Noriko asked as they left Tatsuha behind, glancing over her shoulder at the poor boy. He spent every dime he had trying to get into the place and see that boy of his. Noriko had met the boy before, and he was quite a sweetheart. It was a surprise someone like him worked in a place such as this. He could amount to so much more.
"Wonder which one of them is dumber for being in that relationship. The one giving everything away for a pretty little screw, or the one willing to believe he's really in love," Yuki growled to himself as he sat down, not intending for Noriko to hear him. She didn't, luckily, and continued on to explain about their little group. It was nothing more than a bunch of penniless friends, pulling together to make ends meet. She said that Yuki was free to join them, and in his dazed state he nodded agreement.
"Come on Yuki, it's not worth coming here if you don't dance!" Tatsuha cheered as the dancers made their way onto stage, his dark eyes shining happily as he pulled the blonde writer out of his seat at the booth. He'd found out on the way there that Tatsuha was only 16, and already had formed a deep liking for the writer. How, Yuki couldn't see, but he didn't understand people anyway.
Sighing he followed the boy onto the floor, following what few steps there were. Tatsuha was gone within ten seconds, dragged away by one of the dancers. Yuki preferred to stay out of that circle, and kept his distance from the line of the rapidly growing line of men waiting to be selected, flashing diamonds and money.
Tatsuha laughed as Ryuuichi pulled him into the group, pressing himself close to the younger man's side.
"I was wondering when you'd come back na no da," Ryuuichi offered with a smile, sliding a leg up Tatsuha's side, determined not to break the routine. That was all he knew in life anymore. They were all determined to make something of themselves, dancing was only the first step. Tatsuha smiled and held onto him gently as he dipped, running hands through his hair when Ryuuichi was facing him again.
"Tohma's hoping to show off our new writer tonight, so he dragged us all here." Ryuuichi nodded, pulling back from Tatsuha for a moment before pressing himself back against him again. "Do you think we could manage?" Ryuuichi smiled and stood on his toes to lick at Tatsuha's ear playfully.
"The Duke's to have a meeting with Shuuichi tonight, after his number. Tell that Tohma friend of yours, I know he can find a way in." Tatsuha nodded and Ryuuichi fell back to stand level again, smiling up at him. "Careful, though. Shuuichi's been sort of edgy na no da. He's afraid."
As the Cancan was called up Ryuuichi leaned forward to kiss Tatsuha quickly, shooing him away with a giggle as he ran to his spot. Tatsuha ran back to the booth as he was told, grabbing Yuki's hand as he caught sight of the writer. "If you're not going to dance with anyone, there's no reason for you to be out here. Come on; let's go sit down before Shuuichi comes out. You'll want to see whom you'll be talking to, right?"
Yuki sighed and allowed Tatsuha to drag him back to their seats, sitting down on the inside next to him. The Cancan had already started, and he was watching with vague curiosity as they danced, dazzling colors and routines melding to be utterly dizzying. Tatsuha leaned forward to tell Tohma about his new developments, smiling. Every free trip he got to the Moulin Rouge was more money set aside for a real life. He wanted out of here as soon as possible, and he wouldn't go anywhere without taking Ryuuichi with him. He'd been saving since first he'd met the dancer. Things weren't going quickly, however.
Yuki blinked as the entire place seemed to hold their breaths at once, silver confetti dropping from the ceiling onto the people eagerly waiting below. Tatsuha leaned over to whisper in Yuki's ear, as Tohma leaned forward slightly.
"That's him. The sparkling diamond of the Moulin Rouge, Shuuichi," they both whispered at the same time, smiles set on both their faces. This had to work this time through, they'd made SURE of it. Yuki was the best they'd come across in a long time, and it wouldn't take much to convince Shuuichi he was who they needed him to be.
Yuki leaned forward slightly as Shuuichi appeared, squinting to make out the boy's features. He was quite thin—enough so that Yuki had to wonder if the boy was ill—with bright pink hair. He was wearing a tight silver shirt and just as tight leather pants. Yuki quickly shook away the thought that the boy was pretty. He wasn't into men…
Shuuichi tried to calm down as he was slowly lowered, hands clenching tighter on the ropes that held his seat in the air. Hiro had promised him that he'd only have to…………do this, once. Not sing, of course, he'd done that plenty of times. However, tonight he was supposed to convince the Duke to take on the duties of turning the Moulin Rouge into a real stage…any way that he could. He couldn't help but feel nervous.
Sighing he loosened his grip, knowing that he couldn't screw this up. Everyone was counting on him to make something out of this place, he couldn't let them down! Besides, this was the easy part. Singing was everything to him.
Tatsuha's hands clenched tighter to Yuki's shoulders as Shuuichi began to sing, shaking him slightly. No one was a rival for Ryuuichi when it came to singing, but Shuuichi was Nakano's favorite—his 'perfect little angel,' as Ryuuichi had quoted—so Ryuuichi didn't get the spotlight as Shuuichi did. That wasn't a problem with Ryuuichi, though. He said he didn't want to be associated with a place like this, no matter what for.
Yuki brushed one of Tatsuha's hands off of him and grabbed his drink harshly, eyes still focused on Shuuichi as he danced around, seemingly not affected by any of it. He couldn't see living in a place like this; he wouldn't lower himself to that for anything.
Tohma stood up and excused himself almost as soon as Shuuichi had started, inching his way out as best he could, what with all the screaming people surrounding the area. As if the place wasn't crowded enough, to get them all so excited, it was a real pain to maneuver around there.
He wasn't very surprised when he tripped, although it was something he didn't do often. Wide blue-green eyes widened slightly as he realized just what had happened in the time he'd fallen. His hand rested next to the now-empty glass of the occupant of the table next to theirs, and he apologized immediately. He glanced apologetically up at the man above him, face framed with deep maroon-colored eyes and dark blue bangs. /He looked rich, and quite arrogant. Tohma turned around to find a rather large gun pressed against his forehead, continuing to apologize. Obviously he was, indeed, important. This was horrible…
"I'm so sorry, I'll clean that up," he offered politely, digging around in his shirt for a handkerchief, immediately trying to make up for the accident. Hands smacked at his, a commanding voice screaming for him to go away.
"Hiro, which one is the duke?" Shuuichi asked as he continued dancing, leaning back against Hiro, feeling strangely comfortable as the other's hands wrapped around his waist, pulling up the material of his shirt. "Is he nice? Cute?" he continued, and Hiro moved to peer over his shoulder. Sighing at the trouble that was obviously going on he moved to kiss Shuuichi's neck. He'd never admit it to Shuuichi but he rather enjoyed this. He was sure Shuuichi would call him a pervert for it, though. He couldn't do that to one of his dancers, anyway.
"The one Tohma's shaking the handkerchief at," he offered, rolling his eyes. In all the commotion no one could hear their conversation, so it was perfectly normal for them to chat while waiting. It sped things up, in a way.
Hiro let go of Shuuichi slowly and moved make sure this and that was ready, all for helping Shuuichi, of course. He wasn't sure what Shuuichi would think of the duke, really. He didn't think anything of him at the moment. He seemed quite full of himself and proud, and his guard had a gleam in his eyes that scared him. Shuuichi squinted and leaned forward slightly to see as he trailed a hand up his shirt, not really paying attention anymore. He was sort of embarrassed how natural this was to him, but he'd needed money and Hiro had promised him it wouldn't be for long.
Tohma dropped his own handkerchief as he realized it was soaked to the point of being unusable and moved to pester Yuki for one, just grabbing it as he realized Yuki was doing the best he could to pay attention to Shuuichi and not look like it. The poor thing, he looked so…torn, he guessed.
"I'm borrowing this for a while," Tohma stated, waving it in front of Yuki's face to indicate the object he was talking about. Yuki jumped and pushed it away from him, turning to snap at the man.
Shuuichi blinked and almost screamed when he saw whom it was he was supposed to meet later that evening. He was…gorgeous. He didn't look particularly pleasant, but Shuuichi wasn't one to judge.
"Are you sure that's him?" he asked, glancing shortly over his shoulder at Hiro. Hiro sighed and walked over to him, glancing over his shoulder again. Tohma was once again trying to clean up the mess he'd caused earlier, and Hiro nodded, patting the other boy's stomach in assurance.
"Don't worry about it. You'll be fine." Shuuichi sighed and slid the shirt over his head, posing and continuing the song where he'd left off. He didn't know why, but he trusted Hiro when he said that. He'd trusted Hiro since he'd met him, without a reason as to why. Maybe it was the reassuring words he'd offered him, or the fact that he'd taken care of him while he was sick and poors. Either way, he had to be the best friend Shuuichi'd ever had…despite their positions.
Smiling he jumped back into the crowd, being escorted back to the tables where the 'big shots' were seated. Pouting adorably he reached his arms out, and he was lifted to the area where all the important people sat, leaning his elbows against Yuki's table and smiling happily.
"I believe you were expecting me?" he asked as Yuki turned to look at him, his deep gold eyes growing slightly larger as he stared into innocent violet ones. Shuuichi was absolutely breath taking, and Yuki didn't even have the willpower to stop the thoughts running through his mind as he stared at him. He was going to enjoy this.
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Yippie! Sorry to everyone waiting for the lemon for Bible of Kumagoro, I'm working on it! However, since I can't write that in school this idea finally made it's way onto paper. I just had to finish at least chapter 1 right now.
*Has given up all dignity already, so gets on knees and begs*
Please review, it's good for the fanfic writer's soul…….