In for a Crazy Ride
Awry

"Did you have to take his jacket?"

"It needed to be washed."

"Why do I think you're using excuses?" Ryo said.

They'd left early that morning, and Keith's jacket was definitely in the wash. More specifically, his agent had sent it to the dry cleaners, which something told Ryo that getting the familiar smells that Keith liked might actually backfire on them rather than help them along.

"He's the one who left it on the floor, and when I went to pick it up, so it wasn't tossed on the floor like that, I discovered it was in need of a wash. And as his legal guardian, I had to do something about it. It's filthy."

"I think you over exaggerate, as he takes good care of that jacket."

"Which is why I didn't want him to notice that it got torn yesterday," his agent said firmly. "But the cleaners have been instructed to make the necessary repairs."

"You could have explained that to him, or even that you were getting it washed. But no, you said it got taken away, so now he thinks it was taken away because he's in trouble." Ryo muttered. "So maybe when we see him next, you could bother telling him that."

"By the time we see him, it will be after the meet and greet, and the cleaners should be done with his jacket."

"It's going to backfire on you, even though you mean well, and by extension backfire on me," Ryo muttered.

"Yes, well, I know it might. But part of being a guardian is that not everything you do will end up with the person you care about loving and admiring you," his agent paused. "Unless, of course, you're Takashi-sama. Apparently, he had a way with Akira that I'm still trying to understand because Akira never talks unfavorably about him."

"Please don't remind me," Ryo sighed. "Let's get this over with so I can get back to Keith."

"Ryo, this is your career."

"And my career can take a backseat for him. Hell, I can get a normal job with the family connections," Ryo said.

"What I'm saying is to give him some space for both your sakes because the two of you can't become codependent on each other. You are the independent one, and he needs you to remain as such so that he can work his way towards independence, regardless of your personal feelings regarding liking him being dependent on you. And…"

"And?"

"And you'll just draw more attention to him and yesterday's incident," his agent said. "So do your meet and greet."

"Got it!" Ryo saluted before switching the frown on his face for a smile before heading out. "At least learning to put on a smile even when things are bad is good in that I can do that for Keith, and he, in turn, doesn't have to worry about anything. Not now, so soon after Takashi's death."

He sat down at the table, letting the staff at the meet and greet talk to him, knowing the plan was for Keith to be dropped by and taken by the guards the Shirogane family hired unnoticed to the dressing room so they could have lunch and hang out. However, there was the sudden thought that he wished there was more they could do together.

"Like going to a movie."

"Alright, Mr. Shirogane. The meet and greet is going to begin,"

And so the line of excited fans had the rope stopping them from approaching him right away lowered, and the first girl walked over, completely excited she'd managed to be the first in line as she held onto one of his photographs for him to sign. "So, what's your favorite song?"

She blurted something out, completely mispronouncing the English name for the song, yet he didn't correct her. Instead, he smiled and moved on to the next girl. There were a few guys in the mix as well, yet he didn't bat an eye, getting back into pop idol mode, knowing how to interact with each fan to make it personal, though there was a part of him that knew what to do so that Keith of all people would smile, as he'd yet to see a smile on his face since Shiro's death.

"Who's Keith Kogane?"

Ryo paused, his hand still in the fan's hand. It had obviously been an innocent question on her part, one out of curiosity and wanting to know everything there was to know about her favorite pop idol. The problem was that his fans shouldn't have known Keith's name while at the garrison, the name their father used for him. "What?"

"You know. The Keith Kogane that's supposed to be your body double?"

"He's not a body double," Ryo said. "He's…"

His face was faltering, and he knew it, but he turned his head to look at his agent to see if he knew what was going on, only to see a baffled look. The man quickly turned to his PDA, but when his expression turned to one of shock.

"What's going on?" Ryo asked, letting go of the fan's hand as his agent looked at his PDA. He continued smiling, walking over, pushing at his agent's arm.

"Ryo, I don't think…"

Except he saw the current news; his breath was drawn in. And then, he walked over, making a deep bow to the fans. "Apologies! A family emergency has come up!"

"Ryo!"

He didn't hesitate in leaving the place, not caring that the guards assigned to him specifically were caught off guard or that he was drawing attention at the event place as he made his way to the back entrance, which the media shouldn't have noticed. Nor should the media know Keith's name, not unless someone leaked that particular information.

"Ryo. His guards can handle the situation."

"Can they?" He continued, slamming the door open and making a beeline for the paparazzi who'd managed to find Keith at the back, pushing his way through, not caring that they were caught on a film together revealing that there were indeed two of them because Keith at that moment was staring, eyes wide as his entire world was falling apart yet again.

He'd also practically slapped away the hand of the guard trying to gently pull him away from the scene, to get him inside as was per their job. At the same time, another tired getting between Keith and the cameras as his brother started to panic, flipping out as they asked questions about Keith specifically.

The media parted, caught off guard by his appearance as he pushed his way forward. Then he practically wrapped his arm around Keith's chest and started pulling him back towards the limo, completely expecting Keith to react, trying to fight him off, to which Ryo used his own body weight to carry them in, worrying that the media might catch sight of them falling onto the floor of the limo as he practically tackled Keith.

Yet he managed to keep his foot, awkward as it was, and the door closed behind him.

And Keith was fighting him, to which he tackled Keith to the floor, choosing to sit on his brother to pin his arms down to his side so that Keith wouldn't hurt either of them, and he stayed there, closing his eyes and holding onto Keith's shoulders fully expecting a head butt to the face. "Calm down! Please, Keith, calm down!"

Keith's breathing was hard, and he heard the passenger side at the front of the limo open as well as the driver's door before hearing the doors lock. "Drive. Get us away from here, though I suspect that the media is going to follow after that particular shit storm."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not only Ryo's agent but the legal guardian of those two, so please. Akira won't calm down if we stay in this situation."

"Got it," the limo driver said.

Ryo lowered his head, letting it touch Keith as Keith fumed, pissed that he'd been pinned, the sound of the media outside of the limo still going on, and then silence as they got on the road. His agent spoke from the front seat, saying, "Ryo, pinning him to the ground isn't the best solution."

To which Ryo rolled off of Keith, one hand reaching out to grab onto the sleeve of Keith's black t-shirt, not wanting to let go, expecting Keith to start a fight or something, but instead, he started relaxing, breathing hard as they lay on the floor of the limo, cramped as it was. But then he reached out, latching onto Keith's arm as he stared at the ceiling as Keith breathed heavily, obviously still panicking.

"I'm here, Keith. I'm here, and I'm so sorry that happened," Ryo muttered.