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Notes: Gravitation does not belong to me. I do not belong to Gravitation. I belong to Jesus Christ Superstar, and I will be sueing to get my life back.
If Shuuichi seems more mature than normal, consider the fact that he's had several years in which to grow up.
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It's late and I'm tired. Normally it's a bit early for me to go to sleep, but it's been a busy day with the band. We spent hours going over just a couple of songs until we had all but ground them into the dust.
Now that we've been famous for a few years, our fans expect a level of perfection that's hard to achieve. It means long, tortuous hours in the studio before any new CD can be released. So I sing. And sing, and sing, and sing, and sing. Finally we have to quit when my throat is so sore I can barely croak and Hiro has muscle cramps from playing so long. Even Fujisaki gets tired by the end of it, and he's practically a machine.
I yawn and glance pointedly in Yuki's direction. Unfortunately he's reading something (going over his latest manuscript, I think) and doesn't notice. Dammit! I'm tired, I want to sleep!
We do this every night. We've done it every night for the three and a half years. It's a silly tradition, but neither of us ever mention anything about changing it.
I consider getting my pillow and blanket out of the closet and curling up on the couch. Technically that's still the course I would normally follow every night. Except that I don't. I still remember the first time I actually put them away. It had been six months since the start of our little tradition, and Yuki walked into the living room to see me folding up the blanket.
"What are you doing, Moron?" he asked, his tone suspicious. "Shouldn't you leave that stuff out? You're just going to sleep there again tonight."
I remember smiling at him. I had been with him long enough that I knew how to read Yuki. I knew that this was just him being insecure, afraid of the next step. "I know," I said. "But it looks silly to have them out here all day. I can just take them out again tonight if I need to."
I was pretty confident when I said that, but as the day wore on, I became more and more nervous. Was Yuki really over his fear of a relationship yet? Was I maybe pushing it too much? I was disrupting the routine. Sure, I hadn't slept on the couch in months, but that doesn't mean that the routine itself wasn't comfortable.
By the evening I had managed to work myself into a frenzy. I was sure that Yuki would break the tradition and not ask me tonight. I sat nervously on the couch, fidgiting. Finally, when I was convinced that I would have to go and get the stuff out of the closet, Yuki came in.
He looked at me and rolled his eyes the way he does. "Come on Shu-chan," he said with an air of resignation. "Why don't you sleep in my bed tonight."
I was so relieved I almost couldn't stand. I rocketed into him, giving him a huge hug.
"YUKI!"
"Hn." Yuki looked annoyed, but I could see that he was actually pleased. With sudden insight I realized that he had been delaying the moment when he said it, just to get me nervous.
What a meanie.
I smile at the memory; it's one of my favorites. Even now, after more than three years, I still think of it every time Yuki asks me. Speaking of which.
I yawn a bit more conspicuously this time, hoping Yuki will get the message. I know that if I'm really tired I should go get the blanket, but I haven't slept on the couch for years and I'm not going to start now.
Finally Yuki looks up at me, frowning. "What is it, baka?"
"Yuki, it's late," I tell him firmly. "You should stop reading that and go to bed. You need your sleep."
"Alright," he says amiably enough. He puts down the manuscript and walks off down the hall towards the bedroom without another word.
I gape after him. Could he have... forgotten? Impossible. He couldn't possibly have forgotten something that we've done every night for over three years! Is he mad at me? Oh no, I must have done something! He must be really mad at me. I'll have to go and apologize. But for what? What could I have done to make him so mad? I must have-
"Shuuichi," he says, poking his head around the corner and interrupting my thoughts.
"Huh?" I look up at him, slightly disoriented.
He smiles. "Why don't you sleep in my bed tonight, Shu-chan."
And for another night, the tradition goes on.
or
Oh God, that was hideous. Let me complain to the author.