Disclaimer: Yep, the usual. Obviously, I don't own Gravitation and these
stories are for fun, not for profit. I'm borrowing characters from Maki
Murakami. I appreciate all criticism, so please read, enjoy, and review. To
those who do review: THANK YOU!! I love feedback.
"+English being spoken+" "Japanese being spoken"
Commitment
Part 8: Arrival in America
On the 17th, Eiri and Shu flew away from Japan together at aproximately 7:00 p.m. from Narita airport. Eiri didn't sleep on planes. It was a symptom of his need for control. Shuichi, on the other hand, slept for a full eight hours of the nine hour flight. The in-flight movie was some critically rejected piece of crap from last year's summer movie hype. Eiri was glad that he had brought books to read. He just wished the flight attendant would stop coming on to him. It seemed that whenever she had a spare moment, she came over to him, offering magazines with a big smile, and brushing up against him suggestively, or touching him. He almost woke Shuichi up to get rid of her.
Last Saturday, Shuichi had sat on his lap while he navigated the web to finish booking all their travel arrangements. He had booked the airline in advance, but thought Shu should have some say in the rest. They had chosen to stay at the Mark Hopkins Hotel. The deciding factor had been that the staff spoke Japanese. Shu's ability with the English language was not as abysmal as Eiri pretended, but it was nice to know he could be understood if his meager English deserted him. Eiri had been making him practice his English for the last three weeks or so, in preparation for their trip.
In retribution, Shu had made him cut back on the smoking, 'in preparation' he had said, tauntingly. One of the hotels had had a note on their website that warned of Americans' negative attitudes toward smoking. It also said that California had recently issued a law dis-allowing smoking in public places. Hypocrites. Eiri wasn't allowed to smoke on the plane, either. By the time they landed, at 11:12 a.m. San Francisco time, Eiri's jaws ached from unaccustomed gum-chewing. It was now Thursday and they were only staying until Sunday, since Shuichi had to be back to work on Monday.
He was tired, but Shu was an excited, barely-contained, jumping bundle of energy. "Eiri, have you ever been to the West Coast? I've never come here before. Ryuichi-kun says L. A. is really nice." He laughed. "He likes California. He told me some places we should visit while we're here." Eiri wanted a cigarette in the worst way. He wondered what sort of places that insane singer would recommend. Toy stores? Water parks? Karaoke bars?
They had traveled lightly, with just a carry-on bag each, so they didn't need to fight baggage claim. Eiri followed the signs and lead the way toward customs. For all of America's vaunted security and suspicion, the two of them passed through with ease. Eiri privately thought they were underestimating how much trouble his pink-haired idiot could cause. Once through, they walked down to the parking level. Shuichi was the first to spot the man in a hotel uniform with a small sign that read 'Uesugi' in Japanese. They approached and the man uncertainly asked Shuichi, "Uesugi- san?"
Shu gave him a big grin and said, "+Yes,+ that's us!"
The man bowed politely. At least he's well-trained, Eiri thought. "+May I take your bags?+" the man asked.
"+That won't be necessary,+" Eiri told him.
"+Very well. Please follow me, gentlemen.+" He lead them to a hotel limosuine and held the door open for them.
Eiri asked, "+May I smoke inside the car?+" He was almost ready to chew on the cigarette raw, in hopes of getting some of the 'benefit' of his habit.
"+Yes, sir.+"
"Thank god," he said, climbing in. He lit up immediately, wrapping himself in the soothing effects of the nicotine. During the thirty-minute ride, Shuichi played with the tv, the radio, the windows, the moon roof, and all the little knobs and buttons he could get his hands on.
"Why do you do this?" Eiri asked him, irritated, despite his cigarette.
"Do what?" He asked innocently. "You mean . . . this?" He levered the moon roof open again. It was only sixty-one degrees, according to the speakers at the airport. [1] Add to that a breeze from highway-speed driving and it was way too cold to have the windows open.
Eiri toggled the switch again to close it. "Yes! That! Just stop it. You've been inside limosuines how many times before?"
Shu climbed on him, straddling his lap and laying his head on Eiri's shoulder. His right hand and forearm folded up against his ribs and the other hand touched his collarbone where his shirt was unbuttoned. "Lots of times, but it's still fun." Shu giggled. "Once, I was in a limo that had enough space inside for Ryuichi and me to stand on our heads and kick the ceilling."
Eiri rolled his eyes. "Idiot."
"It was fun!" Shu protested. Sitting up, and looking at him, he asked, "What should we do for fun tonight?" He reached out, brushing blonde hair out of his eyes. "You look tired. Do you wanna nap first? I could go to the game room or something and leave you alone for a while, if you want . . . "
That did sound good. He told himself logically that it wasn't necessary for them to be together during every minute of this trip. "Okay. Later, we can go walking."
"Okay!" Shu settled against his shoulder again and absently traced his collarbone and jawline. "I love you, Eiri. I'm so glad we're doing this."
"Brat." He moved his jaw out from under Shu's fingertips and took a long drag from his cigarette. Exhaling, he said quietly, "+I am, too.+" Shuichi kissed him hard enough, long enough to make him want to forget about sleeping. Necking happily, the rest of the ride to the hotel passed very quickly.
From the front, the Mark Hopkins Hotel looked like a huge square that had had one corner neatly sliced off. It stretched eighteen floors into the sky. Check in was simple, since he had already taken care of things via the internet. Their room turned out to be on the fifteenth floor. It was nothing really special; roomy without being too big and decorated in dark peach and pale gold colors with dark wood accents. Furniture had been arranged to make two parts of the room. One section held the bed and its little nightstands. Opposite the large, floor-to-ceilling window was the door to the bathroom. The other portrion of the room had two over-stuffed green-striped chairs grouped around a small wooden coffee table, facing a matching cabinet that held a tv and stereo. There was also a little wooden desk with a phone, hotel information, and travel brochures.
Once they entered, however, the décor and the marvelous view of the city was ignored. The bellboy was disposed of, and bags haphazardly thrown toward the chairs. Shuichi kicked his shoes off and wrapped his legs around Eiri's waist, hooking his feet together behind his back. "You don't *really* want a nap, do you, Eiri?" Shuichi asked with a mischevious glint in his eyes.
In answer, Eiri pressed him into the bed and kissed him. They didn't sleep.
Tomorrow, they would make their relationship officially binding, Eiri thought. For the rest of their lives, they could be formally recognized as halves that created two whole people; each one complimenting the other and filling out his strengths and weaknesses to shape . . . the best part of each soul. They reached inside of each other in a way that they couldn't accomplish by themselves. Eiri knew instinctively that he would never again give up this feeling of completeness and acceptance. He had been such a fool to try.
He kissed Shuichi again, trying to convey his complex feelings and realizations. From his fiance's response, the message was understood.
***
[1] 60 F = 16 C
***
Author's Note: This version has been edited in respect of fanfiction.net's guidelines. ADULTS may read the un-edited version on gurabiteshiyon.net.
"+English being spoken+" "Japanese being spoken"
Commitment
Part 8: Arrival in America
On the 17th, Eiri and Shu flew away from Japan together at aproximately 7:00 p.m. from Narita airport. Eiri didn't sleep on planes. It was a symptom of his need for control. Shuichi, on the other hand, slept for a full eight hours of the nine hour flight. The in-flight movie was some critically rejected piece of crap from last year's summer movie hype. Eiri was glad that he had brought books to read. He just wished the flight attendant would stop coming on to him. It seemed that whenever she had a spare moment, she came over to him, offering magazines with a big smile, and brushing up against him suggestively, or touching him. He almost woke Shuichi up to get rid of her.
Last Saturday, Shuichi had sat on his lap while he navigated the web to finish booking all their travel arrangements. He had booked the airline in advance, but thought Shu should have some say in the rest. They had chosen to stay at the Mark Hopkins Hotel. The deciding factor had been that the staff spoke Japanese. Shu's ability with the English language was not as abysmal as Eiri pretended, but it was nice to know he could be understood if his meager English deserted him. Eiri had been making him practice his English for the last three weeks or so, in preparation for their trip.
In retribution, Shu had made him cut back on the smoking, 'in preparation' he had said, tauntingly. One of the hotels had had a note on their website that warned of Americans' negative attitudes toward smoking. It also said that California had recently issued a law dis-allowing smoking in public places. Hypocrites. Eiri wasn't allowed to smoke on the plane, either. By the time they landed, at 11:12 a.m. San Francisco time, Eiri's jaws ached from unaccustomed gum-chewing. It was now Thursday and they were only staying until Sunday, since Shuichi had to be back to work on Monday.
He was tired, but Shu was an excited, barely-contained, jumping bundle of energy. "Eiri, have you ever been to the West Coast? I've never come here before. Ryuichi-kun says L. A. is really nice." He laughed. "He likes California. He told me some places we should visit while we're here." Eiri wanted a cigarette in the worst way. He wondered what sort of places that insane singer would recommend. Toy stores? Water parks? Karaoke bars?
They had traveled lightly, with just a carry-on bag each, so they didn't need to fight baggage claim. Eiri followed the signs and lead the way toward customs. For all of America's vaunted security and suspicion, the two of them passed through with ease. Eiri privately thought they were underestimating how much trouble his pink-haired idiot could cause. Once through, they walked down to the parking level. Shuichi was the first to spot the man in a hotel uniform with a small sign that read 'Uesugi' in Japanese. They approached and the man uncertainly asked Shuichi, "Uesugi- san?"
Shu gave him a big grin and said, "+Yes,+ that's us!"
The man bowed politely. At least he's well-trained, Eiri thought. "+May I take your bags?+" the man asked.
"+That won't be necessary,+" Eiri told him.
"+Very well. Please follow me, gentlemen.+" He lead them to a hotel limosuine and held the door open for them.
Eiri asked, "+May I smoke inside the car?+" He was almost ready to chew on the cigarette raw, in hopes of getting some of the 'benefit' of his habit.
"+Yes, sir.+"
"Thank god," he said, climbing in. He lit up immediately, wrapping himself in the soothing effects of the nicotine. During the thirty-minute ride, Shuichi played with the tv, the radio, the windows, the moon roof, and all the little knobs and buttons he could get his hands on.
"Why do you do this?" Eiri asked him, irritated, despite his cigarette.
"Do what?" He asked innocently. "You mean . . . this?" He levered the moon roof open again. It was only sixty-one degrees, according to the speakers at the airport. [1] Add to that a breeze from highway-speed driving and it was way too cold to have the windows open.
Eiri toggled the switch again to close it. "Yes! That! Just stop it. You've been inside limosuines how many times before?"
Shu climbed on him, straddling his lap and laying his head on Eiri's shoulder. His right hand and forearm folded up against his ribs and the other hand touched his collarbone where his shirt was unbuttoned. "Lots of times, but it's still fun." Shu giggled. "Once, I was in a limo that had enough space inside for Ryuichi and me to stand on our heads and kick the ceilling."
Eiri rolled his eyes. "Idiot."
"It was fun!" Shu protested. Sitting up, and looking at him, he asked, "What should we do for fun tonight?" He reached out, brushing blonde hair out of his eyes. "You look tired. Do you wanna nap first? I could go to the game room or something and leave you alone for a while, if you want . . . "
That did sound good. He told himself logically that it wasn't necessary for them to be together during every minute of this trip. "Okay. Later, we can go walking."
"Okay!" Shu settled against his shoulder again and absently traced his collarbone and jawline. "I love you, Eiri. I'm so glad we're doing this."
"Brat." He moved his jaw out from under Shu's fingertips and took a long drag from his cigarette. Exhaling, he said quietly, "+I am, too.+" Shuichi kissed him hard enough, long enough to make him want to forget about sleeping. Necking happily, the rest of the ride to the hotel passed very quickly.
From the front, the Mark Hopkins Hotel looked like a huge square that had had one corner neatly sliced off. It stretched eighteen floors into the sky. Check in was simple, since he had already taken care of things via the internet. Their room turned out to be on the fifteenth floor. It was nothing really special; roomy without being too big and decorated in dark peach and pale gold colors with dark wood accents. Furniture had been arranged to make two parts of the room. One section held the bed and its little nightstands. Opposite the large, floor-to-ceilling window was the door to the bathroom. The other portrion of the room had two over-stuffed green-striped chairs grouped around a small wooden coffee table, facing a matching cabinet that held a tv and stereo. There was also a little wooden desk with a phone, hotel information, and travel brochures.
Once they entered, however, the décor and the marvelous view of the city was ignored. The bellboy was disposed of, and bags haphazardly thrown toward the chairs. Shuichi kicked his shoes off and wrapped his legs around Eiri's waist, hooking his feet together behind his back. "You don't *really* want a nap, do you, Eiri?" Shuichi asked with a mischevious glint in his eyes.
In answer, Eiri pressed him into the bed and kissed him. They didn't sleep.
Tomorrow, they would make their relationship officially binding, Eiri thought. For the rest of their lives, they could be formally recognized as halves that created two whole people; each one complimenting the other and filling out his strengths and weaknesses to shape . . . the best part of each soul. They reached inside of each other in a way that they couldn't accomplish by themselves. Eiri knew instinctively that he would never again give up this feeling of completeness and acceptance. He had been such a fool to try.
He kissed Shuichi again, trying to convey his complex feelings and realizations. From his fiance's response, the message was understood.
***
[1] 60 F = 16 C
***
Author's Note: This version has been edited in respect of fanfiction.net's guidelines. ADULTS may read the un-edited version on gurabiteshiyon.net.