Title: Learning to Fly
Author: Hawk Clowd
Disclaimer: Maki Murakami would be a god if she weren't already a human; she owns Gravitation. If somehow the rights were transferred over to me, however, I do believe I would have a thousand angry fans banging on my door asking why I couldn't just let the boys have a happy ending every once in awhile. I also don't own Utada Hikaru, who I mention somewhere along the lines, and I certainly didn't invent skydiving.
Blood Type: Chocolate syrup. Simply because I can.
Part: Three
Warnings: There are none, so far. I'm trying to cut back on my cursing, both in my writing and in real life, so there shouldn't be too much of that going on. There may be smut later on, but, really, I can make no guarantees.
Archived: The usual places. I do not do free archiving, however, and will be seriously pissed off if I find that someone has been hosting my fic without asking first. Yes, this has happened, and no, I didn't like it then, either.
Author's Notes: The general out-of-characterness of this story makes me want to bash my head against a very hard wall. I apologize for it all.
---
Saturday came far too quickly for Yuki's taste, and Shuichi approached the blond carefully that afternoon, asking to borrow taxi money so that he could get to and from his skydiving lesson. After taking a moment to wonder why the boy couldn't use any of his own money, Yuki asked what Shuichi would do if he were refused any money. Shuichi only shrugged and said he would hitchhike. Or, if that didn't work, he would go to the local bookstore and instruct the clerk to give their home phone number to each and every person who entered the store. Groaning to himself, Yuki got to his feet and began searching around for his wallet.
He eventually found the wallet, which he had left in yesterday's pants pocket along with his keys, and an idea came to him. Tossing his keys into the air and catching them one handedly, Yuki smiled at Shuichi.
"I'll drive you," he declared, "but just this once. After this, you get your own rides."
Shuichi, to Yuki's surprise, shrank back in horror. "Nuh-uh! There is absolutely no way I'm letting you drive me anywhere, Mister I-crash-into-trashcans-just-for-kicks!"
"I only did that once," Yuki pointed out, "and they were really ugly looking trashcans in any case. Their owners would have thanked me. Hurry up and get in the car."
"But--"
"Get into the car!"
Shuichi saluted. "Sir, yes sir!" he replied loudly before he laughed and ran off in the general direction of the door. Yuki followed him, shaking his head, and then stepped into the elevator.
The elevator stopped only once on their way down, and that was to pick up Mawako Tanaka, the college girl who lived on the floor below them and was constantly calling to complain about the noise. It was a reasonable complaint, Yuki supposed. Shuichi was always playing his damn music too loud for one thing, and Yuki occasionally turned the television up louder than it had to be in order to drown out the brat's constant wailing. Luckily, the girl was a huge fan of Shuichi's music and was too busy squealing over being able to see the pink-haired mongoose in person (again) to berate and lecture them about the noise level.
Nonetheless, both Yuki and Shuichi were glad to get out of that elevator.
"That chick is a nut," Shuichi mumbled as they got into Yuki's car. "Girls like her are the reason I'm glad to be off the market right now. And I really can't wait for her to graduate from University and move far, far away."
"Maybe we should find a way to distract her from her studies so she's forced to drop out," Yuki mused aloud, slipping the car key into the ignition slot.
"How?"
Yuki looked over at the boy with a smirk. "I don't suppose having sex on the balcony right above her apartment would agree with you?"
Shuichi made a face. "Pervert." He was smiling, though, so Yuki didn't worry about the statement at all. "Hey, Yuki?" the boy questioned finally. "Why are you doing this? Driving me to my lesson, I mean. You were against my taking lessons in the first place and I could have just taken a cab or something, you know."
"This won't be a regular thing. Don't get used to it."
"I didn't really think it would be," the boy replied. "I'm still not sure why you're doing it this time. So why?"
"Where did I put my cigarettes?"
"In your coat pocket. Why are you avoiding answering my question?"
"Because you are still asking it."
Shuichi pouted. "Stop doing that--I want a straight answer! Why are you driving me around?"
Yuki frowned as he pulled the car out of the parking garage and out into the street and reached down to retrieve his sunglasses and put them on. "Am I not allowed to do you a favor every once in a while?"
Shuichi opened his mouth to say something but then shut it again. He appeared to think his answer over before he shrugged. "I guess you are," he replied. It was obvious that he was not completely satisfied with that answer, but he let the subject drop, much to Yuki's relief. The younger boy sighed loudly.
"Can I turn on the radio?"
"No."
"Why not? I promise I won't turn it on too loud! It won't bother you at all, I promise!"
Yuki scowled. "Fine, you can turn it on. If you start singing along, however, I will find some way of making you shut up that may or may not involve ripping out your throat. Understand?"
"Of course!" Shuichi replied cheerily, leaning forward to flip the radio on. After browsing several stations, he finally settled on one that was playing--to Yuki's surprise--some decent music. It certainly wasn't techno, which was Shuichi's favorite sort of music, but it wasn't really of any genre that Yuki could identify right off of the top of his head, either.
"This is Utada Hikaru," Shuichi said with a happy smile. "Isn't she good? And she's real nice, too--I met her just a little while back, at a premiere thing or something like that."
"I knew who it was," Yuki replied curtly.
Shuichi stuck his tongue out in response, which made Yuki frown. Pretending to concentrate on the road that lay in front of him, Yuki cleared his throat.
"Don't stick that thing out unless you plan to use it," he instructed. Shuichi made a face, but he did put his tongue back into his mouth, where it belonged. Yuki tried to hide a smirk; sometimes it was so very easy to ruffle the brat's feathers. Now, with any luck, he would be able to use his powers for good and convince Shuichi to give up the idea of jumping out of a plane. That would make this whole trip worth it.
The airfield was quite a distance away from the apartment, but Yuki's amazing driving skill had the two of them arrive nearly half an hour too early. This was actually a lucky thing, as it took far more time than it was worth for Yuki to find a decent parking space, so in the end it didn't matter.
The place was actually quite impressive, Yuki decided when he finally got out of the car and had the chance to look at it properly. It really consisted of one very large white building, a row of small planes off to one side, and a trampoline. The runways and take-off zones weren't really visible yet, so Yuki imagined they were somewhere in the back. He didn't have much of a chance to think about it, however, as Shuichi tugged on his sleeve and pulled him into the white building.
It took approximately two minutes for Shuichi to locate the front desk, where his instructor was waiting, and so he bounded up with Yuki still in tow.
"Hello! I'm the great genius Shuichi Shindou and this is grumpy-man Yuki Eiri and it's really nice to meet you!"
The instructor was a handsome young man, probably in his late twenties, and he looked every bit of the atypical Japanese man. His black hair was cut short, away from his face, and his brown eyes flashed as he caught sight of Shuichi. He bowed and smiled in greeting.
"I am Arashi Yazawa," he said. "Thank you for choosing the Tanudem Airfield for your lessons, Shindou-san. We are honored to have you here."
"Heee... Well, thanks!" Shuichi beamed. "What's on the plan for today, Yazawa-san?"
Yuki stifled a groan and rolled his eyes. This always happened when Shuichi met new people; the brat would up the perkiness factor by a solid twenty thousand points and be bouncy for the whole goddamned day. The next few days of living with the singer would be absolute hell, unless Yuki could figure out a way of either shutting the boy up or putting the hyperactivity to good use.
Yazawa indicated the paper in his hands. "Today we will go over the different kinds of jumps available here at Tanudem Airfield so you can decide which sort of jumping you would like to try, Shindou-san. There are several videos we can watch to help you decide. The actual lessons will not start until next week or so."
"All righty!" Pausing momentarily, Shuichi jabbed Yuki in the ribs. "Can I have your car keys?" he asked, although Yuki had the idea that this was not really a request.
"What for?"
"So you don't drive away and leave me behind, that's why. I know you--when you get frustrated or whatever you'll leave and then I won't be able to get home. So give me your keys," Shuichi insisted, jabbing the writer again. Yuki grudgingly complied, trying to avoid a scene, and the singer smiled brightly. "Thank you."
He'd been looking on silently up to this point, but with the transaction completed, Yazawa cleared his throat and smiled again. "This way, please."
Smiling cheekily at his supposed victory, Shuichi followed Yazawa around the building obediently, like a puppy. Coming to the realization that there was nothing else for him to do, Yuki trailed behind the both of them, grumbling all the while about Shuichi's complete lack of trust in him. He made a point of doing so just loudly enough for Shuichi to catch the odd phrase or two and eventually all of his muttering struck a chord in the singer. Given that Shuichi was the sort of person with no talent for hiding his emotions, Yuki enjoyed watching the show as the boy turned from happy to moderately annoyed and then to guilty, where he finally settled. Satisfied, Yuki ceased his complaints.
Yazawa eventually led the two of them into a rather small room that closely resembled a high school classroom. There were rows of seats and desks, all perfectly aligned, facing a large chalkboard that had a pull-down projector screen atop of it. There was a small television cart, equipped with a VCR and a rather extensive collection of cassette tapes, sitting in the corner. Indicating that Shuichi and Yuki should sit, Yazawa moved to fiddle with the television cart. Shuichi wandered haphazardly around the rows of desks, apparently trying to find the one that would suit him best, and Yuki took a seat in what was almost the exact center of the room. Shuichi eventually came to the conclusion that he, too, wanted to sit in the middle of the room and forced Yuki out of the chair so that he could have it. Yuki reluctantly took a seat directly behind the brat.
Once they were seated, Yazawa spent a few more minutes playing with the television cart. Then he looked up and smiled. "Shindou-san," he began, "there are many different kinds of jumps offered at this field. The first video I will show you will explain three of the most basic types."
"Bring 'em on!" Shuichi cried, grinning from ear to ear. Rolling his eyes, Yuki reached into his pocket for his half-empty carton of cigarettes and a lighter, feeling the need for a spontaneous nicotine fix. Shuichi apparently disagreed, however, because when he heard the faint sounds the cigarette made as it was forced out of its packaging, he turned around and plucked both the carton and the single cigarette from Yuki's fingers.
"Don't do that in here!" he scolded. "Didn't you read the signs when we walked in? Smoking isn't allowed!"
Yuki cocked one eyebrow. Since when had there been a 'no smoking' policy implemented in Tokyo? "Excuse me?"
"You're not allowed to smoke in this building, so if you want to smoke you're going to have to do it outside," Shuichi explained needlessly. "Isn't that right, Yazawa-san?"
Yazawa inclined his head in the smallest of nods. "That is right, Shindou-san."
Taking his cigarettes back from Shuichi, Yuki scowled. He hadn't been overly fond of this place in the first place, simply because they were actually going to try to teach Shuichi how to jump out of a plane without killing himself, but now they were forcing him to smoke outside as well? That was practically criminal. Exiting the room, Yuki made his way to the front doors, taking careful note of which hallways he was walking down. Shuichi had his car keys, after all, and so not being able to find the brat would be a very bad thing.
Outside, the wind was beginning to pick up. Scowling, Yuki turned so that the wind was at his back and, with a certain degree of difficulty, lit his cigarette. Yuki liked cigarettes; he liked the taste, the feel, the smell, and even the fact that they could potentially kill him. Shuichi, on the other hand, hated them. He was constantly complaining about the smell and the way they made him feel as though he was kissing an ashtray. And he was constantly nagging and reminding Yuki that they were eventually going to kill him. But Yuki still didn't care; if Shuichi was going to continue to do stupid things, such as jumping out of an airplane, Yuki figured that he was allowed to do something so simple as smoke when and where he wanted. Let the brat complain.
Yuki lingered outside until he had finished with two cigarettes. Feeling that was a sufficient buzz for the time being, he found his way back to the room where the television and his idiotic boyfriend were supposed to be. It took about ten minutes and three wrong turns, but he did eventually get there. And, when he walked in, Shuichi was standing on one foot on top of his desk waving his arms around in circles. Yazawa seemed almost disappointed to see Yuki return and, given that the instructor had a beautiful view of Shuichi's rear, Yuki could hardly blame him. The writer coughed slightly, catching Shuichi's attention. The boy looked over, was caught off balance, and fell off the desk.
"Yuki, you're back!" Shuichi said happily, picking himself up off of the floor. "Just in time, too! I'm trying to decide between two kinds of jumps and I want to know what you think."
"I think you should give up this crazy idea and go learn how to knit or something constructive like that," Yuki answered without even a moment's hesitation.
Shuichi rolled his eyes. "Luckily, that's not one of the choices! I'm trying to decide between jumping with a static line--that's where the parachute opens all by itself--and tandem jumping. They both looked neat and the lessons aren't quite as extensive. What do you think? I'm sort of edging towards tandem jumping myself, but..."
"Tandem jumping?" Yuki repeated, running through his mental vocabulary list. Tandem. Realization dawned on him and he turned to Yazawa with a frown. "You mean he'll be jumping with someone else?"
"That's the general idea," Yazawa replied. "It's really very simple; we have a harness that will fit both the student and an experienced diver--an instructor such as myself, most likely. The other diver will do more or less everything and then Shindou-san will just have to enjoy the experience. It involves the least amount of training and it's very safe."
"So he'll be jumping with someone attached to him?"
"Indeed." Yazawa smiled at him, which only irked Yuki all the more. "Would you like to see one of our video clips?"
Looking from Shuichi's smiling face to Yazawa's, Yuki scowled. "Yes," he said finally, "I do."
--to be continued--