AN: So, this seemed like it ought to be a song fic chapter. to the music
which keeps me company as I write. // song lyrics// Still, I don't seem
to be very good at song fics.. so just part of the song got used.
//Between the perfect world and the bottom line
Keeping love alive in these troubled times
It's a miracle in itself//
It came as a text message on Shuichi's cell phone. The concert had just ended and he wasn't even out of his performance clothes yet. New clothes for this concert too, yes they were. K had just about had a heart attack, but Shuichi liked them. The fans liked them. Black velvet pants, soft yellow silk shirt, the sleeves ripped to ribbons with bright red cuffs at his wrists. At his throat he wore a black collar with an S and a Y entwined. His hair, coming off the stage, was wild and pink like a fire, just like Eiri called it sometimes. The shirt stopped way short of his belly, leaving that tight and sweaty and way too visible to go outside. Over the shirt, he wore a bright red lame vest that went down to his knees and flashed light around him even in the dimmer light of the stage wing. And so he stood, just into the left wing, staring at his bright pink cell phone, the roar of the audience still behind him. "Narita 10 flt dly cme now lv Eiri"
The message said to meet Eiri at the airport. That his flight had been delayed, but that he was coming to get Shuichi, that he missed him and loved him and they would go away, all crammed together with most of the vowels missing, but Shuichi got the idea. They'd promised each other a trip away after this tour! And it had to be Eiri! He was the only one that had this cell phone number! Shuichi turned back to the stage, holding up the phone to Hiro just as he was coming off the stage.
Hiro paused, took the phone, scrunch up his face, mumbled something about also getting a call and this was for him. He'd see Shuichi in a week in Tokyo, cuz he was going to Kyoto. Shuichi nodded, hearts in his eyes, and glomped his best friend in all the world. At moments like this, holding to each other, sometimes there was just a moment when they could have been the lovers. But they weren't.
K frowned at the whole scene, but had long ago realized that trying to control Shuichi when he went to his muse was like trying to drink the wine without taking out the cork. Besides, he had bigger problems. Prank calls. He'd changed his number twice, and still he kept getting outrageous prank calls. Sometimes they were wrong numbers, or wanting pizza. A couple times they'd seemed almost serious, threats against 'Yuki's Pink Fire', but K didn't take them seriously, there was just something ridiculous about them. It was the end of the tour, with a break planned for the band anyway. On top of that though, he was getting close to finding out who was doing it and how! He had help and he'd find them!
In the mean time, he missed Shuichi grabbing his plain American trench coat and sneaking out the back door. The rental car he'd ordered had been delivered and he escaped quickly, out the back, even though he could hear Suguru screaming for them to all come back and have a curtain call. As soon as he broke free of the theater though a wild energy caught him and he was running. He'd swiped K's hat too and had his sunglasses.
As stealthy as possible he was out of there! The car was just right. Sporty, but not the 'give me a ticket now, please' kind. Not fast enough for Eiri to kill them with, but fast enough that he'd be able to enjoy the curves on the way to the beach! It was like going home! Home to the first time Eiri had asked him to call him by his real name, the first time he'd taken Eiri! Home! To the beach house where he'd known beyond all music and need and love that he and Eiri were together and they'd never not be!
The car tires protested as he left the back lot. He turned the radio on. Christian, and screaming about the sin of homosexuality too! He sighed. He had a good Christian friend, another musician who played good enough that Shuichi had thought about doing music together and she only said that God loved and she'd let him and God work out whatever, not her place. Shuichi liked her well enough. The station wouldn't change though. Watching the traffic that was too much as everyone else was leaving the concert too, he kept pushing the search button but got only that damn message about how he ought to go to hell! Frustrated in the extreme, he finally figured out it was a tape. Deeply frustrated he threw the thing in the back seat and amazingly, he found the radio also on a Christian station.. but it was his friend singing, "For the love of God holds to no lies! Love Love so true! It reaches to the heart of every soul and calls home the lonesome dove!"
Yeah! And it had a good beat too! He shifted into a higher gear and pretended he was Eiri as he sang with his friend at the top of lungs!
Then there was a small beeping and he looked down to find the gas almost gone! On a fresh rental? The cursing he was doing as he pulled into the station, he changed the station.
//Wild Angels, Wild Angels
Watching over you and me
Wild Angels, Wild Angels
Baby what else could it be?//
Happier now, he got out of the car, leaving the keys in it no less and danced into the store. A couple minutes later, ice cream cone in hand, he danced back to the car. So there, pumping gas, and singing a little loud, he was singing the song he hadn't finished for Eiri yet, to an ice cream cone microphone.
The airport was only another half an hour away. He'd get there. If Eiri was pissed, he'd just telling the truth and sing to a different microphone! Yeah!
Back at the theater, K finally got a real call. Tohma nearly screamed into the phone, "Where is Shindo? Eiri has received threats against himself and Shindo," Tohma said, but K had known him long enough to know that he was nearly hysterical. Someone had broken into Yuki Eiri's home, stolen paper, forged a disgusting outline, and poisoned some of his food, no nothing had come of it, but the main target was Shindo, it seemed. Eiri had gone out of town, but not to where Shindo was. The plans had been changed. K was to get Shindo and bring him to Kyoto. There they would find a place to take their vacation while K and Tohma sorted it out.
K scowled and caught hold of Hiro's arm, as Tohma was still ranting through the phone. "Where is Shuichi?"
"Gone," Hiro said, closing the case on his guitar. "He went to pick up Yuki."
"Tohma!" K snarled. "Yuki is Kyoto, not Narita? Is that true?"
"Yes! I saw him not more than three hours ago! He said he would wait."
Hiro looked up, frowning. "He got a message from Yuki, to meet him at the airport."
K ran for the door.
//There are some nights
I watch you while you dream
I swear I hear the sound of beating wings.//
//Between the perfect world and the bottom line
Keeping love alive in these troubled times
It's a miracle in itself//
It came as a text message on Shuichi's cell phone. The concert had just ended and he wasn't even out of his performance clothes yet. New clothes for this concert too, yes they were. K had just about had a heart attack, but Shuichi liked them. The fans liked them. Black velvet pants, soft yellow silk shirt, the sleeves ripped to ribbons with bright red cuffs at his wrists. At his throat he wore a black collar with an S and a Y entwined. His hair, coming off the stage, was wild and pink like a fire, just like Eiri called it sometimes. The shirt stopped way short of his belly, leaving that tight and sweaty and way too visible to go outside. Over the shirt, he wore a bright red lame vest that went down to his knees and flashed light around him even in the dimmer light of the stage wing. And so he stood, just into the left wing, staring at his bright pink cell phone, the roar of the audience still behind him. "Narita 10 flt dly cme now lv Eiri"
The message said to meet Eiri at the airport. That his flight had been delayed, but that he was coming to get Shuichi, that he missed him and loved him and they would go away, all crammed together with most of the vowels missing, but Shuichi got the idea. They'd promised each other a trip away after this tour! And it had to be Eiri! He was the only one that had this cell phone number! Shuichi turned back to the stage, holding up the phone to Hiro just as he was coming off the stage.
Hiro paused, took the phone, scrunch up his face, mumbled something about also getting a call and this was for him. He'd see Shuichi in a week in Tokyo, cuz he was going to Kyoto. Shuichi nodded, hearts in his eyes, and glomped his best friend in all the world. At moments like this, holding to each other, sometimes there was just a moment when they could have been the lovers. But they weren't.
K frowned at the whole scene, but had long ago realized that trying to control Shuichi when he went to his muse was like trying to drink the wine without taking out the cork. Besides, he had bigger problems. Prank calls. He'd changed his number twice, and still he kept getting outrageous prank calls. Sometimes they were wrong numbers, or wanting pizza. A couple times they'd seemed almost serious, threats against 'Yuki's Pink Fire', but K didn't take them seriously, there was just something ridiculous about them. It was the end of the tour, with a break planned for the band anyway. On top of that though, he was getting close to finding out who was doing it and how! He had help and he'd find them!
In the mean time, he missed Shuichi grabbing his plain American trench coat and sneaking out the back door. The rental car he'd ordered had been delivered and he escaped quickly, out the back, even though he could hear Suguru screaming for them to all come back and have a curtain call. As soon as he broke free of the theater though a wild energy caught him and he was running. He'd swiped K's hat too and had his sunglasses.
As stealthy as possible he was out of there! The car was just right. Sporty, but not the 'give me a ticket now, please' kind. Not fast enough for Eiri to kill them with, but fast enough that he'd be able to enjoy the curves on the way to the beach! It was like going home! Home to the first time Eiri had asked him to call him by his real name, the first time he'd taken Eiri! Home! To the beach house where he'd known beyond all music and need and love that he and Eiri were together and they'd never not be!
The car tires protested as he left the back lot. He turned the radio on. Christian, and screaming about the sin of homosexuality too! He sighed. He had a good Christian friend, another musician who played good enough that Shuichi had thought about doing music together and she only said that God loved and she'd let him and God work out whatever, not her place. Shuichi liked her well enough. The station wouldn't change though. Watching the traffic that was too much as everyone else was leaving the concert too, he kept pushing the search button but got only that damn message about how he ought to go to hell! Frustrated in the extreme, he finally figured out it was a tape. Deeply frustrated he threw the thing in the back seat and amazingly, he found the radio also on a Christian station.. but it was his friend singing, "For the love of God holds to no lies! Love Love so true! It reaches to the heart of every soul and calls home the lonesome dove!"
Yeah! And it had a good beat too! He shifted into a higher gear and pretended he was Eiri as he sang with his friend at the top of lungs!
Then there was a small beeping and he looked down to find the gas almost gone! On a fresh rental? The cursing he was doing as he pulled into the station, he changed the station.
//Wild Angels, Wild Angels
Watching over you and me
Wild Angels, Wild Angels
Baby what else could it be?//
Happier now, he got out of the car, leaving the keys in it no less and danced into the store. A couple minutes later, ice cream cone in hand, he danced back to the car. So there, pumping gas, and singing a little loud, he was singing the song he hadn't finished for Eiri yet, to an ice cream cone microphone.
The airport was only another half an hour away. He'd get there. If Eiri was pissed, he'd just telling the truth and sing to a different microphone! Yeah!
Back at the theater, K finally got a real call. Tohma nearly screamed into the phone, "Where is Shindo? Eiri has received threats against himself and Shindo," Tohma said, but K had known him long enough to know that he was nearly hysterical. Someone had broken into Yuki Eiri's home, stolen paper, forged a disgusting outline, and poisoned some of his food, no nothing had come of it, but the main target was Shindo, it seemed. Eiri had gone out of town, but not to where Shindo was. The plans had been changed. K was to get Shindo and bring him to Kyoto. There they would find a place to take their vacation while K and Tohma sorted it out.
K scowled and caught hold of Hiro's arm, as Tohma was still ranting through the phone. "Where is Shuichi?"
"Gone," Hiro said, closing the case on his guitar. "He went to pick up Yuki."
"Tohma!" K snarled. "Yuki is Kyoto, not Narita? Is that true?"
"Yes! I saw him not more than three hours ago! He said he would wait."
Hiro looked up, frowning. "He got a message from Yuki, to meet him at the airport."
K ran for the door.
//There are some nights
I watch you while you dream
I swear I hear the sound of beating wings.//