Bad Luck for Bad Luck?
Part 2: Bad Premonition
Eiri was sitting at the table, eating a granola bar, drinking tea, and smoking a cigarette for breakfast. He was also reading over his new contract with Never Ending Dream— the new romance division of Eiko Publishing. On Monday, he would have a lawyer look at it, but until then, he wanted to make sure all his latest stipulations were in place. He didn't want to deal with another Bad Luck biography thing. Shuichi sat across from him, slurping frosted cereal and reading the kids' games on the cereal box.
"Mmm. Eiri? Do you have any plans today?" Shu asked him, pausing for breath between bites.
He looked up. "Why?"
"'Cuz I want you to come with me."
Eiri narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Where?" He finished off his tea.
Shuichi looked down and one corner of his mouth quirked up. "Er . . . you know I had lunch with Maiko, yesterday . . ."
"Yes. What about her?"
"Well, she gave me a New Year's present. I want you to come with me." Shuichi still wasn't meeting his eyes. He looked very unsure of himself.
Eiri set his papers down. "Shuichi, where?"
Shu glanced up and looked back into his cereal bowl. In a small voice, he said, "to a tarot reading."
"A what? Did you say, 'tarot reading'?" Shuichi finally met his eyes, looking very sheepish. He nodded. Eiri rolled his eyes. "Ugh. I thought your little sister was more practical than to believe in witches and ghoulies!" Eiri made sure to sound extra derisive. He was sure that nothing good could come from Shuichi visiting some two-bit crank with a deck of cards. He crushed his cigarette into the ashtray, blowing smoke.
"Eiri! I want to go! Maiko said it'd be fun. She's been to see this lady before and—"
"Ridiculous!" Eiri interrupted. He put the granola bar wrapper into his teacup. He picked up the cup in one hand, held the contract in the other, and stood up from their two-seater table in the kitchen.
"Eiri, please?" Shuichi whined. His chair scraped back as he stood. "It's only for a half-hour. Just come, please? Would it kill you to have a little fun?"
Eiri set his cup on the counter and tossed the granola bar wrapper into the trash. "I see no point in encouraging such nonsense. I wouldn't consider it fun, either. These kinds of crummy fortune tellers are thieves and tricksters." He waved his hand in dismissal, "they just put on a little show for some money and spew a bunch of nonsense about how you're cursed and if you just pay a little more, they'll be happy to get rid of the evil spirits around you." Eiri moved to his lover and put a hand on Shuichi's pouting face. "I'm sure Tatsuha would be happy to perform a blessing for you, if you're worried."
"That's not the point!" Shuichi declared, brushing Eiri's hand away. "It's a gift from Maiko and— "He cut himself off and looked up, grinning. He's found a new angle, Eiri realized. Shu's tone went sweet and he smiled as he said, "If they're all a bunch of crooks, then you should come along to protect me from my own stupidity, right?"
Eiri brushed past him. "No." The kid was awfully gullible. It wouldn't take much to con the boy. When Eiri reached the door to the hallway, he turned around. Shuichi was standing in the kitchen doorway, watching him. Eiri pointed a finger at him in warning, calling, "Don't even think about going there alone, Bratt!"
Shuichi ran across the living room and tackled him, knocking him to the hallway floor and sitting in his lap. "Then you'll have to come with me," he said, reasonably. That logic was spoiled by his self-satisfied smirking.
Eiri sighed and set his contract aside. It slid across the wooden floor a little ways. "Idiot." Who else could he trust to send with Shuichi? Hiro, maybe . . . but Shu's friend often let the singer win arguments against his own better judgment, to make Shuichi happy. Eiri sighed and wondered if he was any better. "When?" He asked in defeat.
Shuichi hugged Eiri tightly, pinning his arms for a moment. The kid's hands trailed over Eiri's arms as he let go and answered, "Two o'clock? I can change the time, if— "
"Two is fine." It was about 9:30 right now. "Why do you do this to me?" He rubbed his forehead with one hand, brushing golden hair off his glasses.
Shu's eyes widened in innocence. "What?"
Eiri shook his head. "Nevermind. Let me up." Shuichi's lips latched onto his, taking him by surprise. One of Shu's hands pressed against his back while the fingers of his other hand crept into his hair. The kiss was strong and sweet. Eiri could still taste this morning's toothpaste on him. When Eiri sucked gently at Shuichi's lower lip, the singer moaned softly. Eiri pulled back and Shuichi opened blue-violet eyes that had fallen shut of their own volition. His smile practically sparkled. He moved in for more kissing and Eiri pushed him off, making him sprawl across the floor. "Keep that up and I won't get any work done today."
Shuichi pouted, propping his chin on his hands and watching his lover get to his feet. "That was kind of the point," he muttered.
"Don't you have something else to do?" Eiri growled, retrieving the papers from the floor.
"Not that I want to do," Shu responded promptly.
"At least find something to do until lunch time, okay?"
"Alright," Shu agreed. He flipped onto his back and stood in one rolling movement. Eiri watched him, covetously. He admired the way his lover's small body moved, and was proud the singer was his in every way that mattered. Shu noticed his hesitation and caught his eyes. "Are you sure you want to work right now?"
It was cajoling and it was not going to work! Eiri spun around and marched himself down the hall to his office, to force himself into getting some work done. He would temporarily cut off all thoughts of the tempting pop star outside the door. With luck (and a little self-control) Eiri could get an outline written for his next book. He had some ideas and he needed to lay them out before he started the real work.
---
A knock on the door interrupted the flow of words being channeled from Eiri's brain to typing fingers. A glance at the lower corner of the computer screen confirmed that it was exactly 12:30; officially lunch time. "Okay," he called. Eiri typed a couple more sentences to finish off his train of thought and saved his work. Reconsidering, he tapped in a few sentence fragments as notes to remind himself what he planned to do to his hapless characters next.
"Eiri? You said to not bother you until lunch time . . ."
"Yeah, yeah." He saved his work again and shut the computer down. When he opened the study door, Shuichi was waiting for him, leaning in the door frame.
"What do you want to do for lunch?" Shuichi had changed clothes. He had been wearing shorts and tank top this morning, but now he wore jeans and a black t-shirt. Whenever he wore black, the color seemed to emphasize the bright pink color of his hair.
Eiri pulled his glasses off and stowed them in his shirt pocket. The packet of cigarettes in his pocket crinkled like a reminder. Eiri pulled one out and stuck into his mouth, patting his pockets for his lighter.
"I'll get it," Shuichi offered. The kid squeezed past him and scampered over to the desk, collecting the lighter and returning like a happy puppy, fetching for his master.
Eiri accepted it with a grimace. Shuichi needed a new hobby. "You don't need to wait on me like that, you know." Sometimes Shuichi's single-minded devotion made him crazy. Like now, he thought. Other times, the writer wished his lover would ignore his friends and obligations to stay home with him. Sadly, that wasn't the case today. Perhaps it was a case of wanting the opposite of what he had?
Shuichi shrugged his small shoulders. "I know," he said negligently. He leaned his back against the wall, between the door and the bookcase, pressing his hands between his back and the wall. "Want to go out for lunch?"
He lit his cigarette and brushed one hand through his hair. He needed to have it cut again. "I'm not hungry."
Shu propelled himself off the wall and grabbed Eiri's hand, dragging him out of the study and into the hall. "Then just come with me to the café down the street. You can get a beer or something. I'll eat. There's nothing to eat here, except some cake and some pocky and rice, and last time I cooked rice, you got all upset, 'cuz I forgot and let the water boil too long. I scorched the pan, remember?"
"Yes." Eiri shook his hand loose and kicked off his slippers, aiming them at the foyer.
"So we can go? It's just a little walk and it's so nice today."
"Nice?" Eiri questioned. "It can't be more than 40 degrees!" 1
Shu pouted. "The sun is shining! Besides, we don't have to take the car to go somewhere— unless you want to?" Eiri shook his head 'no' and went to the bedroom to get socks. When he came back to the hallway, Shuichi was still talking to himself. He had put on a baggy, winter jacket of some indeterminate faded green color and was slipping his shoes on. A bold-striped fleece cap hid most of his distinctive pink hair and covered his ears. ". . . and after lunch, we'll still have time before two and we could go for ice cream! How does that sound?"
"Whatever." Eiri didn't get enthusiastic about ice cream when it was warm outside. He chose his black blazer from the closet and put on his black long coat over that. He checked his pockets to make sure his keys and wallet were still in the coat; they were. Shuichi bounded out of the door and Eiri followed, locking the apartment behind them. Shu went bouncing down the hall to press the button for the elevator and Eiri plodded after him, smoking serenely.
"You know, I think you really might be afraid to have fun," Shu told him as he stepped into the elevator. He shook his head in mock chagrin. "I try and try, but you almost never want to try new things. I know you said the tarot card lady is just a thief, but have you even considered that she might be for real? I mean, some people really can do incredible things with their minds, right?"
Eiri raised one eyebrow. "What kind of TV have you been watching, lately?"
Shu frowned at him. "You're not answering my questions. You're trying to change the subject." The elevator went down and pinged. When the doors slid back, Eiri strode ahead, pushing open the doors to the outside and heading down the sidewalk.
"No, I never considered that some thief might actually be able to tell the future by playing cards. Happy?" Shuichi jogged to keep up with him. It was a nice day, in spite of the very crisp air. Eiri slipped his sunglasses on against the bright glare of sunlight.
"No! I— I mean, yes, because I'm with you, but why can't you accept— "
"Listen, kid, some people might be able to do incredible things with the talents they were born with, but I can't accept the idea that throwing bones or playing cards can tell anyone how the rest of his life will turn out! It's nonsense. You know I don't believe in fate, I've told you that before."
"Eiri, slow down, please? You walk so fast!" Eiri moderated his pace for Shuichi's sake. He had a bad feeling about this tarot thing. He hoped that the woman didn't tell Shu a bunch of foreboding crap. If Shu believed it, he'd get depressed and Eiri would have a mopey lover and a rotten week. He had to knock these ideas of 'real' fortune tellers out of the idiot's head. Unfortunately, an hour or so over lunch might not be long enough. He sighed, blowing smoke.
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Author's Note: Eiri is expressing his own opinions about tarot and divination— it is not the same as my opinion. I actually read tarot, which is one of the reasons I thought this story would be fun.
