For Always
Shuichi woke up in an irritable mood that morning. He was tired from a concert the night before, and the fact that they were still in the hectic process of recording their second album didn't really help either.
Hiro and Suguru were exhausted from days without sleep as well. So after working for four days straight in the recording studios and then the concert, after which K wanted them to pull another all nighter, they had all finally snapped and refused to work unless they had gotten some sleep.
The twelve hours that Shuichi had slept had only left him groggy and seemed to have sapped his strength even more, and now, at two in the afternoon, he had a half hour to be out the door and on his way to the studios once again.
He quickly managed a piece of slightly burnt toast and scrambled into a mismatched outfit before yelling out a goodbye to Yuki and heading out to work.
Yuki had woken at three that morning due to a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep. He too was tired.
Eiri had been trying to work out the plot for his latest story for weeks to no avail and he only had maybe a third of it finished.
Since the blonde knew he wasn't going to get rest anytime soon, he took a long look at his lover, who had not gotten home until very late, and went to work on his novel.
By two in the afternoon, he hadn't made much progress and it was starting to get to him. He could here some loud cursing coming from the kitchen where Shuichi had most likely managed to hurt himself, and not long after that he heard a muffled goodbye and the slam of the door signifying that the vocalist had left.
Yuki sighed. He was so frustrated by the lack of progress made on this novel and the fact that Shuichi hadn't been home in days and then when he had come home, he'd been to tires to do anything.
The pink haired kid hadn't had enough energy to even cuddle, let alone have sex, and Eiri was so pent up after five days that he was resorting to the conventional method, and his hand was getting a cramp. And he still had to be able to type with that hand.
Shuichi arrived at the NG Records building and went straight up to the third floor and into the recording studios. He was met there by an equally tired Hiro and Suguru. K seemed to be the only person with energy.
Ryuichi had shown up for the duet they were attempting to record today and of course the ever faithful Tatsuha had tagged along with his idol and was currently seated in the corner holding Kumagoro.
Hiro quickly tied his hair back and grabbed his guitar while Suguru warmed up on the keyboard and Shuichi and Ryuichi each put on their headphones and tested the microphones.
Several hours later and they still hadn't properly recorded the one song. Hiro had just hit the wrong cord again, Shuichi was blankly staring ahead, and even the perfect Suguru was messing up. Ryuichi was of course practically bouncing off the wall because a certain monk had given him three boxes of pocky during the break.
K was busy yelling at every one to get themselves together because they had an album to release in three months. Tatsuha was still off in his corner but he'd fallen asleep and was drooling on Kumagoro.
Finally everyone calmed down enough to start again. The music was playing, and the cue came for the two vocalists to start singing but Shuichi collapsed, hitting his head on the way down.
Hiro was the first to reach him and caught him just in time to prevent the pink haired boy from hitting the floor. Suguru, always the calm one, quickly left to get ice, and a medical kit. Ryuichi stood with a look of shock on his innocent face.
"What happened to Shu-chan?"
No one stopped to answer the confused thirty year old so he went over to wake up Tatsuha and crawled into his arms for comfort. The monk happily complied and wrapped his arms around his Ryu.
Suguru returned and knelt next to Shuichi. He went about cleaning and bandaging the cut on the singer's forehead. K watched worriedly from a few feet away and Hiro brushed Shuichi's hair out of his face.
"I'll take him back to my place and let him rest."
"Are you sure Hiro?"
"Yeah, I think he's just worn out."
"Alright. I'll drive you, I don't think you can safely take him on your motorcycle."
"Good thinking, Sakuma-san."
Hiro gathered Shuichi into his arms and lifted him with ease. Ryuichi led the way to his car with Tatsuha and Hiro in tow. They all piled in and drove off.
At Hiro's apartment, they carried Shuichi in and lay him on the bed before exchanging some quick goodbyes. Ryuichi and Tatsuha left to go home.
"Hey Ryu, wake up. We're home."
Ryuichi stirred from his comfortable position he had curled into on the seat of the car. He groggily looked up at the house, his mind barely registering that it was his own.
"Mmm…take me inside."
The monk managed a sly grin and scooped the half-asleep singer from the car. They slowly made their way to the door.
"Hey Koi, I need your keys."
There was a jingle of metal clinking together as Ryuichi pulled the keys from his pocket and held them out. Tatsuha got them into the house and went straight to the bedroom.
The vocalist was carefully set down on the futon and his clothes were slowly removed and cast aside until he was left in only his boxers. Tatsuha stripped down as well and climbed in next to his lover.
"Come here."
"Nna okay."
The monk pulled Ryuichi closer and kissed him full on the lips. The singer was quickly started out of his sleepy daze and returned the kiss with passion.
Tatsuha's hands began to wander, tracing every outline and silky curve of Ryuichi's perfect form. The older man moaned in response but pulled away regretfully.
"Tatsuha?"
The monk only continued his exploration of Ryuichi's body, his lips trailing down the vocalist's neck and chest.
"Yes, love?"
The singer gasped as Tatsuha's lips found a particularly sensitive spot.
"Do you think Shu-chan is alright?"
His lover looked up from his ministrations.
"I'm sure he'll be just fine."
The black haired boy noted the worry still etched on the singer's face and pulled him close.
"Hey, it'll be alright. Shuichi is just overworked and hasn't gotten enough rest. Just sleep, okay?
Ryuichi nodded.
"We'll go visit in the morning if you want."
There was a second nod and the two lovers fell asleep together.
"NO MORE WORK!"
Shuichi was startled out of his nightmare. He was sitting up in bed. But it wasn't his bed. Upon looking around he figured it was Hiro's apartment. His theory was only further settled by the fact that Hiro was sitting in a chair next to the bed.
"Eh…Hello Hiro…"
The singer rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Hey. Are you feeling better?"
Shuichi looked confused.
"Yeah. What happened?"
"You passed out in the middle of recording."
The pink haired boy began to panic.
"OH NO! I'VE GOTTA GET BACK…K IS GONNA KILL ME! I CAN'T…YOU HAVE TO…wait, why am I at your house, Hiro?"
"I offered to take you here so you could rest. Oh, and don't worry about K, he just wants you to get some sleep so you can record a song properly. We all need a break anyway."
"Yeah, that's for sure."
Several hours after Shuichi had left, Yuki had still gotten nowhere with the plot. He hadn't typed out so much as a sentence since the boy had gone to work.
All he could think about was how angry he was at not being able to spend any time at all with his Shuichi. His mind, in its current state, somehow led him to the conclusion that it was the singer's fault.
He couldn't even think straight anymore, he just had to get out. Out of this place, out of his head, out of the apartment. But where could he go?
Tohma.
He always seemed to understand.
Yuki got dressed quickly and left for his brother-in-law's house.
When he arrived, he ran up to the door and rang the bell repeatedly. From inside he could hear some shuffling around and a muffled shout.
"HOLD ON A SECOND! Geez, can't you wait for a person to actually get to the door firs—Eiri?!"
"Hey."
The writer brushed past his friend and into the warmth of his house. Tohma shut the door behind him and followed the seemingly distressed Yuki to the couch.
"Eiri, what's wrong?"
"Everything. Nothing. God, I DON'T KNOW! I don't know anymore."
Yuki sat down heavily on the couch and Tohma took the space next to him.
"Well, why don't we start in the middle? Why did you come here?"
"It's Shuichi."
"What about him?"
Tohma listened to his secret love pour his heart out about his troubles. With a broken heart, he helped Yuki and assured him that everything would work out between the two.
Although Tohma was in love with Eiri, he wasn't about to sacrifice his friend's happiness for his own by making his feelings known.
He watched the writer leave the house with a small bitter smile on his face.
Shuichi waved goodbye to Hiro as he left his apartment and began to walk home. His friend had offered to drive him, or at least accompany the singer, but he wouldn't hear of it.
Besides, a little fresh air and a good walk would do him some good. He wanted some time to himself.
Tohma stood half naked in front of his dark reflection in the unlit bathroom. He held a razor in his hand and a look of desperation marred his delicate features.
The blonde looked upon his reflection and felt a wave of sadness wash over him.
Look what you've become.
You can't even stand yourself. Can you?
He's all you think about. You even married his sister just to get closer to Him.
You're sick.
Besides, He'll never love you back. There might have been a chance before that kid, Shuichi, showed up, but not now, especially not after what you saw today.
Eiri is so in love with the kid that you can feel it.
"I know, that's why I'm going to give up…Completely."
He took the blade to his forearm and pressed it in deep and dragged it all the way down to his wrist. Tohma didn't even flinch as he repeated the action on the other arm.
He began to feel dizzy as he watched the blood flow down through his fingers in thick rivers. He slid to the floor and stared up at the ceiling, picturing a smiling Yuki.
"Goodbye my love."
Tohma felt very light headed and faintly thought he heard a voice but chose to ignore it as he stared into a dark oblivion.
So this is death.
Suguru walked into his cousin's house. He was living with him for the time being because it was easier than driving down from his house.
He went up the stairs, two steps at a time and ran to his cousin's room to tell him about Shuichi.
"TOHMAA!"
Wonder where he is—
"Oh my god! TOHMA!"
The young boy had spotted the blonde on the floor drenched in his own blood and rushed to his side and was now shaking him vehemently.
"Wake up Tohma!"
Suguru ran to the nearest phone and dialed 9-1-1 with shaky fingers.
"Hello?! I need an ambulance right away!"
Yuki walked into the empty apartment that he and Shuichi had shared for a little over a year and a half now. He slipped his shoes off at the door and began to shed his clothes as he made his way to his office.
He settled down into his comfy chair and began to type away at his computer. He had a lot of work to do on this new novel and the deadline was closing in faster than he'd expected.
Shuichi skipped up to the door of his apartment and unlocked the door. He was hoping that although it was late, he would still find Yuki up.
He gently closed the door behind him and turned around to go find the novelist, when he spotted a jacket on the couch. He moved a little further into the apartment and saw the tie that Yuki had put on this morning laying on the floor a few feet away from the kitchen.
He began to follow the clothes trail and found a white dress shirt right outside the bedroom that they had made into a work area for Yuki.
He pushed on the door and it swung open to reveal the blonde haired writer asleep at his laptop, clad in only his slacks. His head lay on the desk, angel blonde hair falling in his peaceful face and glasses askew.
The pink haired singer smiled at his unconscious lover's form. Eiri could be incredibly cute when sleeping, and now was no exception.
Shuichi gathered Yuki into his arms with some difficulty and half carried, half dragged him into the bedroom.
He lay him down on the covers of their bed and stripped him of his remaining clothes before climbing into the sheets and pulling the blankets up over the both of them.
Shuichi cuddled up next to Yuki, wrapping his arms around him and kissing his cheek.
The sleeping Eiri stirred and dragged the singer closer, muttering under his breath about stupid, lovable, pink haired brats.
Shuichi smiled in the dark of the room and closed his eyes.
"I love you too Yuki…for always."
THE END…for now…
Hanne Kitsune's Notes:
Well…here you go…my first posted fanfic…I never finished any of the others although I plan to someday. That's why I love one-shots…they are simple, short, and sweet…well maybe not always sweet…or simple…but you get the point. I may edit this further since I wrote it over a period of three days or so and therefore the styles and moods may have changed without my noticing but this is it for now. So if you'd like to give me any sort of feedback…the button is right there…that's it for now…
love ya
Winged Kitsune