Disclaimers: All belongs to Maki Murakami
Chapter Two: Starless
Tatsuha sipped at his latte, leaning sleepily against the back of the booth in the coffee shop near his brother's apartment. One of the other customer's was futilely trying to catch his eye. He wasn't even in the mood to flirt; a rarity for him. Tatsuha sighed. How long had Ryuichi been seeing Colin? Another, even more burning question surfaced in his mind- how long had Colin been using Ryuichi? Did the Irishman abuse Ryuichi? Who in their sane mind would even think about abusing Ryuichi? The singer was a gift to be cherished, not a prize to be thrown away when finished with. Tatsuha longed for the chance to be with Ryuichi; he would treat him right. Tatsuha's anger began to boil. How could Shuichi have been so nonchalant about his friend's predicament? It didn't matter if Ryuichi was an adult. He needed to be taken care of just like everyone else.
He glanced out of the window, the clouds overcastting that a storm was brewing. Tatsuha didn't mind the snow only, it made him depressed. Something about the domineering effects of it, how snow reminded him of his loneliness. The anonymous sex he had couldn't fill the void in his heart. He frowned, pulling his jacket around his lithe body closer. Shoving his pockets in his jeans, Tatsuha kicked moodily at a rock in his path. Life wasn't fair; he was beginning to figure that out quite quickly. It used to not bother him so much that his path was already made for him by his parents. Now, he wanted to pursue his own dreams. What those dreams were, he couldn't decide yet but he knew that Ryuichi was somewhere in those dreams. There came the oppressive melancholy.
"Tatsuha-san!!" a voice yelled, snapping Tatsuha from his thoughts. Spinning around, his dark eyes widened at the figure waving spastically at him. It was Ryuichi. Blinking, dazed, that the object of his turmoil was running towards him, Tatsuha could only waved back. "Hi! Kuma-kun says it's going to snow. That makes Ryuichi very happy!!" Ryuichi giggled, cuddling Kumagouro excitedly.
"Yes, Sakuma-san." Tatsuha glanced over Ryuichi, looking for any tell-tale bruises. He growled to himself. He couldn't see any but Ryuichi was wearing a sweater and jeans. Wait, there it was... A tiny, almost unnoticeable black-cherry colored bruise on the patch of skin on Ryuichi's stomach as the man lifted his pink rabbit into the air. "That bastard. Sakuma-san, this is going to be rude and you might think bad of me for asking but, does he hurt you?"
Ryuichi paused, Kumagouro dropping to the ground. "What?" he queried, blue eyes becoming cold. "Why do you say that Uesugi-san?"
"I...I didn't mean to offend you. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed, it's just, last night, that man treated you like you were, well, some sort of possession he owns. I thought, maybe, he hit you." Tatsuha swallowed the lump in his throat. Does he hate me now? Tatsuha didn't like the shadows forming in Ryuichi's eyes. There was a hidden....darkness inside of them. It frightened him.
"I am a possession, aren't I?"
Tatsuha couldn't believe the amount of sincerity in Ryuichi's eyes. He actually believed it! "No!" he shouted, surprising and Ryuichi with the amount of passion in his voice. "You're not anyone's personal property. You own yourself, no one else has those rights. You don't have to put up with that shit from him. In fact, don't put up with it from anybody!" Tatsuha could feel his cheeks blazing.
Ryuichi looked at Tatsuha long and hard. For several breathless minutes, Ryuichi stared at the younger man. Tatsuha felt himself go even warmer beneath the scrutiny. Then, that brilliant and radiant smile curled Ryuichi's lips, the innocent version of the star returning. "Ryuichi thinks you're nice. Not like the other men that have been in his life. You make it shiny, shiny!"
Tatsuha's heart pounded in his chest. Ryuichi didn't mean anything by that, did he? Adverting his attention from Ryuichi, Tatsuha picked Kumagouro up and dusted him off the best he could. "Does Kumagouro think I'm nice?" he teased, holding the bunny from Ryuichi's grasp.
"Kumagouro likes you very much." Ryuichi's voice dropped to a whisper. "I think he has a crush on you. Don't say anything, he might get mad at me." Giggling, Ryuichi put a finger to his lips. "Kuma-kun says that we should go to the zoo!"
"How can I deny you anything?" Tatsuha murmured, gob-smacked when Ryuichi wound their fingers together. Oh god, this feeling! He felt queasy, faint, terrified and incredibly happy all at once. Was this love? Tatsuha had never felt love but, if this was it, he was more than eager to consent to being with one person for the rest of his life. As long as that one person was Ryuichi Sakuma. "Sakuma-sa-"
"No, no, no! You call me Ryuichi or I'll be mad at you!" Ryuichi pouted.
"I...I can't do that. I'm sorry."
"Why not? Don't you like me anymore?"
"I like you, a lot." So much that is scares me but that's something you really don't need to know right now. "Does it really matter that much to you that I call you Ryuichi?"
"I like for the people I like to call me by my name. It makes me more comfortable. Doesn't it make you more comfortable, Kuma-kun?" Ryuichi asked Kumagouro, holding him closer. "And, I can call you Tatsu-chan and you can call me Ryuichi-chan!"
"May I call you Ryu-chan?"
"Of course!" Suddenly, something wet splashed against Ryuichi and Tatsuha. "Snow!" Ryuichi screamed, laughing madly and nearly throttling Kumagouro to death. "It's snowing Tatsu-chan. Doesn't that make you happy? It's so shiny and pretty." Hands still entwined, Ryuichi started to walk away. "We'll go to my house!"
"What about the zoo?"
"Silly, the animals will go inside their houses so we should inside of mine! We can go to the zoo later." Tatsuha smiled, shocked that he was being invited to Ryuichi Sakuma's personal abode. Maybe, just maybe, they could hold the conversation he'd been wanting to have since the night before. He wanted to know who that song was about that Ryuichi and Shuichi had been singing. He had to know. Just so he could die in peace, knowing who the identity of Ryuichi's secret crush was.
Tatsuha's jaw dropped when they came to Ryuichi's mansion. Castle. Palace. Whatever. However, upon going inside, the interior was completely different from what he expected. The furniture was sparse and had a gothic flare to it. Tatsuha felt...overwhelmed in the place. There was too much space. Not enough homely touches, not what he'd expected Ryuichi's place to look like anyway. "Not much, is it?"
"Uh...no. I won't lie."
Ryuichi laughed. "It's okay. I don't spend much time here. I'm usually at the studio or Tohma-chan's. It's too quiet for me and Kumagouro-chan. Too quiet," he whispered, more to himself than to Tatsuha. "Are you hungry! I can cook!"
"I'm starving but, let me cook for you. I'm very good at it. Please?" Tatsuha grinned.
"Alright but you better no to poison me!" Ryuichi skipped towards the kitchen, Tatsuha following, a strange, wistful smile on his face. "You know what Ryuichi and Kuma-chan haven't had in a long, long time and would be so very, very happy if Tatsu-chan made it for us: strawberry mochi. I don't have any other favorite foods so you make what you want!"
"Okay. I'll make it for you. And for the main courses, miso ramen and okonomiyaki." Just as Tatsuha began to retrieve the ingredients he needed, the door burst open and a seething Colin Farrell was glaring daggers at both Tatsuha and Ryuichi.
"Ryuichi, I gave you one last chance to not displease me, but now, you need to learn who owns you." Colin went to slap Ryuichi but Tatsuha intercepted the blow. "You fucking cunt, maybe I should beat the shit out of you and let that whore watch!"
"No. You won't touch Sakuma-san again." There was a deadly flicker in Tatsuha's eyes. "Maybe, you're the one who should have the shit beat out of him. I won't let you harm Ryuichi. Why don't you go back to America and leave him alone? Any one that treats someone like Ryuichi the way you do deserves to be shot."
"You have a big mouth for a little brat." Colin smirked. "I like that."
"Stay the fuck away from me." Tatsuha shoved Colin aside. "You need to leave and don't bother coming back."
Colin laughed, winking at Ryuichi. "You love that slut, don't you?" Tatsuha didn't speak, anger raging in his veins. "Heh. Have it your way. I'll let you keep him for tonight, but the minute you're not with him, he's mine to do with as I please. Got that?"
Tatsuha followed Colin to the door, resisting the urge to kill the bastard. "No, you listen to me. If I find out you've even looked at him in the wrong way, I'll put a bullet through your head and yes, that's a threat."
"You're feisty. Have fun with him tonight. He's a good fuck."
Tatsuha slammed the door behind Colin, locking it. "Damn him!"
"Tatsu-chan?" Ryuichi asked, staring at Tatsuha worriedly. "Are you okay?""No!" Tatsuha screeched at Ryuichi, the older man holding Kumagouro closer to him. "I'm scared he's going to do something to you. I don't want to have to kill but I will. I will protect you. I promise, I won't let him hurt you anymore." Tatsuha gripped Ryuichi's shoulders tightly. "How'd you get mixed up with that asshole?"
"He was nice to me in the beginning. He saw me singing and he wanted to have me." Ryuichi sighed, sitting down. "I was lonely. I hadn't been in a relationship for three years. I...I just wanted someone to love me, is that so wrong? Then, the morning after, he was different. I've always been treated like that. He said that I annoyed him but that he didn't want anyone else having me." Tears formed in Ryuichi's eyes. "And now, you've gotten yourself mixed up in my business and I'm afraid he might hurt you."
"Ryuichi," Tatsuha murmured, sinking down beside of Ryuichi, wrapping his arms around him. "I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you then myself. Has he hit you before?" Ryuichi nodded, sniffling and burying himself against Tatsuha's chest. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"I didn't want anyone to worry about me."
"I care- we all care about you, Ryuichi. Don't forget that. Look," Tatsuha gently titled Ryuichi's chin to force him to look at him, "I'm not going to leave you. If that bastard thinks he can intimidate us, he's wrong. Don't you know? I'll be your bodyguard."
"You'd do that for me?"
Tatsuha smiled. "You should by now, I'd do anything for you. Let's eat! I'm starving!" He hoisted Ryuichi to his feet. "Besides, that's what friends do for each other. Right Kumagouro-san?" Tatsuha kissed the bunny on the nose, handing him back to Ryuichi.
"Ryuichi says he should have one too."
Tatsuha laughed, leaning into give Ryuichi a tender kiss on the cheek. Ryuichi sighed, watching Tatsuha leave the room. He was so different from any other man that had come into his life. When he was with Tatsuha, the aching pain in his heart was taken away only to be replaced by another pain. A pleasant pain. Tatsuha was so nice to him and didn't seem to mind his shifting personalities, unlike the others. Perhaps, Tatsuha was the answer he needed but, what exactly was the question?
Rare for me to actually write another chapter the next day. :-/ Heheheheh. I'm on a Gravitation-high right now.
PlatinumMagic: Thank you! :) I liked my song. We know who it's about, ne? ;)
Jecir: I agree! More Tatsuha/Ryuichi! NOW NOW NOW! XD