飛行機

(Can't think of an English title)

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Murakami Maki © or Sony Entertainment (Kimi no Boku) ©. The fanfiction belongs to me.

Warning: Gravitation is a Yaoi manga. If you dislike this pairing, please leave immediately. Flamers are retards. Nothing to learn from them, so there! Take that, Reiji! Meow ha! XD

Plot Cockroach: I'm sorry about the title. The Japanese title is a nice one, very nostalgic. It means 'Airplane'. Anyway, this pairing may offend readers. I know, I know… it's kind of twisted as compared to what I normally will write, but I thought 'why not?', it's pretty reasonable to want to experiment, don't you think? But I can't give Shuichi a bad ending. I never can. So just this once, enjoy the bittersweet romance I feel I should write… Today… I think it was the anniversary of my meeting… somebody, I shall never see again. I wish him the best, as the most perfect man out there, may he be happy forever.

Pairing: Yuki x Ryuichi, Yuki x Shuichi

Summary: Shuichi is away on a tour, and Yuki is… a little distracted by new sights. Once things get started, it's usually hard to stop them.

Note: Manga-wise. Whatever I forget, I mix in.

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One – Summer Away

"BYE YUKI! I MISS YOU ALREADY I'LL CALL YOU EVERYDAY!"

Sounds of smacking lips were heard throughout the living room. Shuichi had his blond novelist in a vice grip, as if fearing that fate would tear them apart the instant he let go. Yuki, though he feigned indifference, was as restless as he was.

"Baka. You'll be late."

"Anything for my Yuki, as my Yuki you are and you shall be my happy Yuki."

Yuki favored the singer with a small smile, and a deep kiss to last them till the end of summer. They both knew how important this tour to Europe was, and how much publicity Bad Luck needed at the moment. Nittle Grasper had gotten together, somehow slightly stripping the limelight off Bad Luck in Japan. With K's resolve and Sakano's planning, they were off to Europe to stage their gig.

Besides, some peace and quiet meant extra work done for Yuki.

"I'll miss you," Shuichi squeezed his lover.

"Hmm," Yuki didn't voice his feelings. They were mutual. The door swung open to reveal a heavily angsting Sakano and a fuming K.

"SHINDOU! WE'RE LATE!"

"S-Shindou-kun!"

Hiroshi and Fujisaki began to drag their vocalist out of the room. The guitarist looked back at Yuki, shaking his head. "Sorry for the trouble, Yuki-san."

At that, the blond nodded.

"Bye, Yuki!"

The door slammed shut, and Shuichi was out of sight. Sighing, the novelist sat himself on the couch, closing his eyes. He had already forgotten how it felt to live alone, before Shuichi ever jumped in front of his car to demand an explanation for his insolence. How his world had turned upside down, and how he was to live by himself, with himself, when his driving force was gone…

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"I wonder if Shuu-chan is already in Europe?" Ryuichi gazed at the sky. It was a clear blue, marking the mid stage of summer. Tohma smiled at him, shaking his head at the notion.

"He just left this morning."

"And?" Kumagorou didn't understand.

"It takes longer than half a day to reach Europe from Japan, Ryuichi," the blond laughed. "That goes for you too, Kumagorou. You were in a plane before, weren't you?"

"Yes!" Ryuichi bounced. "It was fun na no da!"

"I'm sure it was," Tohma flew here and there so frequently, he didn't find it amusing anymore. But talking to Ryuichi made things more pleasant, in a way, it reminded the blond of how they used to be in Nittle Grasper before their peak success, before Bad Luck, before everything. They had been naïve, but they had made it. "Did you like the food up there? I didn't."

"It was a little stale," Ryuichi made a face. "I never thought I could make it to Japan safely. Then, there was K-san and he was griping about silly Japanese people who would try to sabotage him because he was gaijin and how he would trip over them when he came because they were small!"

"Ah." The ever-paranoid K. Tohma smiled; Ryuichi's ex-manager was a cute one. "Maybe because he had a wrong impression on us?"

"He compared them to me," the singer smiled. "I'm considered small, even in Japan. I thought I'd have grown taller in America na no da."

"Well, you could always play jump rope with Noriko."

"She doesn't do that anymore," Ryuichi laughed, facing the sky. "Noriko's a big girl now."

"As we are big boys now."

The two sighed as they sat on swings erected in a playground. It seemed only such a short time ago when Nittle Grasper first started out. Things had its ups and downs, they smiled when their performances was accepted, cried when companies declined their offers, and laughed when they finally made it to rock-god-Dom.

"Ne, why are you smiling like that, Tohma?"

"I'm reminded of how we chose our band name." The blond absently picked a yellow flower off the ground. "And how it came to be, how we lived up to our name."

"Hmm," Ryuichi leaned against the chains. "Nittle Grasper?"

"Yes, grasping nettles in the wind."

"Well, I've got one to grasp at the moment," the vocalist stretched, his back making popping sounds. "Heh, heh! I'm getting old na no da!"

"So… what's the problem?"

"Oh, I don't have a place to stay starting tomorrow. The landlord doesn't like singers and all those punk people you see. He saw me on TV yesterday and wanted us to go as soon as possible, that is, tomorrow. I still need to find a place to stay na no da. How mean he is!"

"Ryuichi, I'd like to invite you over, but Mika… and I… well…"

"It's okay," Ryuichi patted the blond's head. "I can find a place to stay!"

"…Wait! Shuichi is out of town, isn't he? Why don't you stay with Eiri-san for a while until you find a new place?" Tohma suggested, though somewhat nervously. "Well… maybe he won't be too happy about it, but it will keep him from eating himself up."

"Yuki-san doesn't like to stay alone na no ka?"

"Not since Shindou Shuichi walked into his life," the blond grimaced.

"I'll ask him then," Ryuichi was easy on the idea.

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Beep… beep, beep…

Yuki snatched the phone up hurriedly. "Shuichi?"

"Hello? Yuki-san? Is that you na no ka?"

"Oh… you are?" the voice was familiar, but Yuki couldn't remember who it was.

"It's me! Ryuu-chan! Um… I have to ask you a question…" there was a short pause as Yuki waited patiently. He could feel the anticipation over the line. "Do you like living alone?"

Yuki blinked at the question. He hadn't expected that.

"Hmm… well…" He hadn't expected being compelled to give an answer either. Yuki shook his head. Shuichi had changed him, for better or for worse. "It's okay."

"Listen, um… Yuki-san… I thought that maybe you could lend me some… living space? I got kicked out by some evil landlord who hates singers for some retarded reason that only he knows na no da, and I need to stay for about a few days maybe… a week maybe to find a new place to stay in? 'Cause I'll be going back to L.A. and I hope it won't be too much problem!" the more Ryuichi spoke the easier the words rolled off his tongue.

Yet again, there was a pregnant pause.

"Sure."

Yuki nearly had a heart attack. Did he just agree to have one of Shuichi's equally annoying friends to live with him for a while?

"REALLY NA NO KA? OHH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU I'LL COME RIGHT OVER WITH MY STUFF NOW YAY!" there was a sound of smacking lips and gross slurping sounds over the phone and Yuki was hit by what he would call déjà vu, recalling the scene of Shuichi leaving that morning. As the line at the end of the other side went dead with a click, Yuki could only lean against the couch and sigh.

Were he the Yuki Eiri a little more than a few months back, Ryuichi would not only have not gotten a place to stay, but Yuki would probably have added on to tell him to rot in hell.

The blond novelist stared at a crack on the ceiling, curls of smoke forgotten.

For better, or worse.

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"He let you stay?"

"Yeah na no da!" Ryuichi chirped as he stuffed every bit of his belongings in the huge blue bag. "Yuki-san was so nice! I only needed to ask once!"

"Lucky devil," Tohma laughed, still a little in shock. "But seriously, wow… Eiri let you stay…"

"Why? Am I hard to live with?"

"No, no! It's not that, just… well, Eiri doesn't seem very keen on people. He's usually a loner, though he does womanize. I guess that just leaves the fact that you're a lot like Shuichi. He'll survive you."

"Meany," Ryuichi blew Tohma a raspberry. "Nobody needs to survive the shiny Ryuu-chan!"

"I did," the blond laughed heartily as a pillow was thrown his way. Ryuichi grinned back.

"You're relaxing… it's nice to see you not so… Tohma-ish as we put it na no da."

"So, you and Noriko do talk behind my back," Tohma placed his hands on his hips. "I thought you were my friends! I'm so hurt! Kumagorou! Why did you never tell me?"

"Kumagorou keeps secrets well," Ryuichi nodded in affirmation. "Wish me luck!"

Despite having much money and not many people living with him, the singer had opted to purchase a minivan. Packing everything into his vehicle with the blond's help, he beckoned to the keyboardist to take the passenger seat.

The journey to Yuki's house was a hasty one. Tohma sat beside the energetic young man; his eyes wide with fear as Ryuichi sped down the roads like a madman. In fifteen minutes, they arrived at Yuki Eiri's.

"YUKI-SAAAAN!" Ryuichi rang the doorbell, cheerfully screaming his lungs out. The door swung open and without any hesitation, Ryuichi caught the blond in a bear hug and proceeded to squish the living daylights out of him. Tohma gaped as Yuki gasped for air. But as ever, Ryuichi was oblivious to anything else but having the need to thank Yuki-san for his hospitality. "THANKS FOR HAVING US OVER NA NO DA YOU'RE THE BESTEST BEST WRITER MAN IN THE WORLD!"

Yuki finally got loose. "You're welcome," he managed. He then stared at Tohma, not at all finding the tongue to greet him.

"Hello, Eiri-san."

"Hmm."

The blond popped his cigarette back into his mouth. It was strange how he could tolerate the loud Ryuichi and not say a single thing to Tohma, whom he had known for a long time.

"I'll unpack now!" Ryuichi lugged a few bags into the house, his strength betraying his age. As he walked past, Yuki admired how much he looked like Shuichi, how their names were spelt only with one different Kanji, and how, when he inhaled deeply, the two smelled alike. Yuki had no idea that both Ryuichi and Shuichi used the same shampoo.

"So… how's life?"

"Fine," Yuki folded his arms passively as he watched the singer pull in various baggages past his threshold, the pink bunny seemingly clipped on his head.

"Missing Shindou-kun already, I presume?" the keyboardist laughed at Yuki's slightly slipped expression.

"It's none of your business," Yuki replied curtly, albeit not as cuttingly toned as he intended to. Tohma nodded, he sensed the lack of animosity as well.

"I understand… I remember telling you that I'd pray for you in New York, so that you would return his feelings… And that, I believe, was the best thing I've done. To let you go, to live again."

Tohma gazed deeply into the novelist's eyes, smiling. There was no beating round the bush when dealing with Yuki Eiri. The blond could never find the heart to lie, or to tell stories, if he could help it, to his wife's brother. It was a brother-in-law's job to protect his family, wasn't it?

"YAY! I'm done!" Ryuichi skipped into view. "Now I can fetch you back! Thanks for coming with me! Yuki-san! I'll come here after I drop him okay?"

At Yuki's nod, the singer made his way to the minivan and hopped in. Tohma followed suit, and they drove off, leaving the blond novelist staring after them.

It was going to be a long summer.

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To be continued…

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Note: I believe this to be my first serious Gravitation multipart. Actually I've written more than this, but I'll post it later, I haven't finished the piece yet. I hope this will be a good read! I'll include a mild lemon in the next chapter. :D