Chapter 9
Even though Shuichi wasn't having the best time of his life, he was still managing to enjoy himself. He was in the middle of the dance floor, where everybody was dancing freely. Shuichi was all over the place. He started out with dancing all by himself, but pretty soon he had gathered a small crowd around him. Men of all ages were dancing all around him, hoping to get a little bit closer.
Shuichi had gone red in the face and was feeling pretty hot. He decided to take a break and get himself a drink to cool off. When he went up to the bar, it was still very crowded. He maneuvered himself through the tight circle of people. As he was making his way to the counter, he bumped hard into a slim figure, with a very long braid of hair swinging down their back.
"Oh, I'm so sorry miss. I couldn't see where I was going."
He apologized immediately. The 'girl' turned towards him. Shuichi's eyes nearly bugged out when he realized that the girl was actually a boy.
"Hey, no problemo dude." The boy waved him off. "I know how hard it is to get a drink around here. Specially since it's happy hour."
Shuichi gave the boy a friendly smile.
"Here, let me get a drink for you. What do you want?" The other boy offered.
"Oh thanks. Umm a root beer would be nice right now."
"Sure. Two root beers please."
The boy hollered over to the bartender. After grabbing their drinks, the two made their way over to a less crowded area.
"The name's Duo Maxwell, by the way."
The braided boy extended his hand as he introduced himself. Shuichi grabbed his hand in a hearty handshake.
"Shuichi Shindou. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Oh wow." Duo exclaimed suddenly, looking him close in the eyes. "You've got violet eyes too. I thought I was the only one blesses with that particular color. But look at that."
Shuichi gave a small giggle.
"I know what you mean. Where I'm from, people usually have brown, blue or hazel eyes, and this color is very rare."
They both sipped at their drinks and watched the dancers for a while.
"So, where are you from, if not from around here?" Duo inquired, a few minutes later.
"Oh, I'm from Japan. Kyoto to be more exact."
"Really. My boyfriend is also Japanese. His name's Heero Yuy."
Shuichi smiled at the dopey-eyed look on Duo's face at the mention of his boyfriend. It wasn't hard to tell, from his dreamy expression, how much Duo loved Heero.
"Do you have a significant other?"
Shuichi took a deep breath and shook his head.
"Not yet. But I've heard that America is a land of opportunity, so maybe I shouldn't lose hope, huh."
"Damn straight."
Duo declared. He was about to say something further when his head snapped back as someone tugged on his braid. A slim yet muscular arm snaked its way around Duo's middle and a face appeared over Duo's right shoulder.
"I thought you were getting us drinks baka. I nearly died of thirst back there."
The boy, whom Shuichi assumed to be Heero, made his point by giving the braid another tug.
"Yeah. Love you too Hee-chan."
Duo turned his face and planted a kiss on his boyfriend's cheek.
"Heero, this is my new friend Shuichi. He's from Japan and he's visiting New York."
"Hn." Grunted Heero.
"Umm, that is his subtle way of saying 'hello'". Said Duo with a smile.
Shuichi smiled in return. He admired the way these two complimented each other so perfectly. Heero had a stoic demeanor, whereas Duo's personality was much more open and friendly. Even their appearances clashed with each other. Hero had sharp, narrow eyes filled with confidence, and thin aristocratic features. Whereas Duo had large innocent eyes with a heart-shaped rounded face.
"Let's go Duo. You dragged me here to dance, and we're going to dance."
Heero grabbed Duo's braid and pulled him towards the dance floor.
"Bye Shuichi. It was nice meeting you."
Duo waved his hand, before turning around and being enveloped in his boyfriend's arms. Shuichi smiled and turned away. He was about to move towards the other part of the dance floor, when an arm stopped him. He turned and found Duo looking at him with serious eyes.
"What happened?" Shuichi asked, a little bewildered at his expression.
"Listen Shuichi. Since it's you first time here, I feel obligated to give you a piece of advice. Whatever you do, do not and I repeat do not go with anyone when they ask you to go to the back rooms with them. Whatever goes on there, believe me you don't want to know. Just make sure you don't take anyone up on the offer, o.k."
Shuichi had a puzzled expression on his face, but nodded his head nevertheless. Duo gave him a sunny smile.
"That's my boy. Go dance, and don't forget to have fun."
Duo turned him around and gave him a firm pat on his butt. Shuichi spluttered and then laughed. He watched as Duo went and joined his lover on the dance floor. A few moments later they were dancing closely with their arms wrapped around each other.
'They'll be dead to the world now.'
Shuichi thought amusedly, looking at them. Eh, who needed the world anyway, when they've got each other.
Shuichi was feeling a bit nostalgic now. Looking at Heero and Duo made him want a loved one of his own. It was a shame what his heart wanted, would never like him back, much less love him.
Throwing his head back, he drowned the last of the drink and discarded the bottle. His head was getting a bit fuzzy by now. Not from his drink, but because of the heavy atmosphere. Shuichi decided to dance to one more song before finding Tatsuha and heading home.
As the DJ put on a new song, with a loud and fast beet, Shuichi started twisting his body to the rhythm. He wove his way towards the middle of the dance floor. By this time, the dancers were really getting too much into it, and were bumping and grinding into each other. Shuichi, although was trying to avoid all that, with the throng of people all around him, he wasn't succeeding by much. A hard shove from the side sent Shuichi nearly to the floor. He stumbled head-first, and would've really met the floor with a nasty bump, if it wasn't for a pair of arms holding him up by his middle.
"Hey there gorgeous. Be careful."
A voice whispered in his ears. Shuichi turned around to thank his savior. When he looked up, for a second he thought he was looking at Yuki. The man was almost the same height as Yuki, and had a full head of blonde hair. Shuichi blinked his eyes hard to get the haze out. He looked again. The guy couldn't possibly be Yuki. First of all, the man's hair was more a dirty blonde color, he was shorter than Yuki and his eyes were hazel brown. Plus, he was smiling ridiculously down at Shuichi, which, for some reason he found disconcerting.
"Umm. Thank you sir." Shuichi smiled tentatively up at him.
"If you really wanted to thank me properly, you could have a dance with me."
The man said, raising his eyebrows. Shuichi, didn't really like the looks of this guy, felt he actually had no choice. The guy did save him from a brutal fall. What harm could come from having one dance with him.
"Sure, why not." Said Shuichi. "But only this one song."
The man gave him another wide smile.
"It's a deal. My name is Yuki. Yuki Kitazawa."
Shuichi nearly stumbled again.
"Sh....Shuichi."
The man placed his arms around Shuichi's middle and held him closely. It's a pleasure to meet you Shuichi."
He said in a low voice in Shuichi's ears, which sent shivers down his spine. He wanted this song to be over soon. They started moving slowly to the beat, Shuichi tying to keep as much distance between them as possible.
"You know." Said Kitazawa. "I've been watching you dance all night. You're really good."
Shuichi gave a nervous laughter.
"Oh thanks. I'm not really that good, though."
Kitazawa tightened his arms around Shuichi.
"On the contrary." He bent his head closer to Shuichi, and said in a low, husky voice. "I think you're very, very good."
His hands were now roaming all over Shuichi's back. Shuichi was now having a very bad feeling about this. He wanted to shove this man away from him hard, and just get out of here. He gave a startled yelp, when Kitazawa's hands all of a sudden, grabbed his ass and gave a squeeze. He batted his hand off and smiled tightly up at him.
"Thanks for the dance, Kitazawa San."
He made to get out of Kitazawa's circle of arms, but found himself unable to do so.
"What's the matter sweet Shuichi? The night is still young." Kitazawa peered closely into Shuichi's eyes. "There are some exclusive places that you haven't seen in this club yet. When don't I take you in the back and show them to you?"
Shuichi's heart started racing erratically. This was Duo had warned him against.
"Umm th.....thank you for the kind offer, Kitazawa san, but I've already seen the back."
Kitazawa's eyes burned into Shuichi's.
"Uh uh uh," he clicked his tongue. "It's no use lying to me, sweetheart. I told you, I've been watching you all night. And I definitely like what I see."
Shuichi was trembling slightly by now. What had he gotten himself into?
"Come on now. I assure you it would be fun."
Kitazawa took his arms from around his middle and grabbed his hand, pulling him forward. Shuichi dug his heels in. All signs of inebriation had disappeared, replaced with fear and anger.
"I said No. You cannot take me without my permission."
Shuichi put on a brave front. He didn't want to show any signs of fear. Kitazawa squeezed the wrist he was holding, painfully hard, and tugged the wincing boy towards him. Shuichi lost his footing and nearly fell forward right into Kitazawa's arms, when he was grabbed by his middle and yanked backwards. Kitazawa lost the grip he had on Shuichi, as Shuichi was held in a warm, protective circle of arms, his back pressing against a hard chest.
"I believe the boy said no."
Shuichi's heart fluttered at the voice. Yuki, his Yuki, was here. And he had just saved him from this lecherous man.
"Hey man. I found him first."
Kitazawa said boldly, only slightly wincing at the glare that Yuki was giving him. Kitazawa extended his hand, grabbed Shuichi by the upper arm, and yanking him forward again.
Before Shuichi could bring up his hand to disentangle Kitazawa, he found that he didn't need to. Yuki had grabbed Kitazawa's wrist in grasp much like Kitazawa had done earlier. With his other arm, Yuki had turned Shuichi, gently in his embrace and held him closer. Shuichi buried his head in Yuki's head and inhaled deeply. Yuki's heady perfume mingled with scent of tobacco filled in Shuichi's senses, and he felt like melting. His arms slid around Yuki's waist and held on tightly.
Kitazawa was moaning pathetically by now. His skin around Yuki's grasp had turned white, and it looked as though the flow of the blood had been cut off from his hand. Yuki dragged the bumbling man forward until their faces were inches apart.
"Never lay a hand on Shuichi again, or you'll find it separated from the rest of your body."
Yuki turned his hand just slightly so and snapped Kitazawa's wrist, who howled in pain.
Apparently this sort of thing was a common occurrence at Babylon, since nobody was interfering or saying anything. People all around them were going on as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"Fine."
Kitazawa yelled after them as Yuki and Shuichi turned to leave.
"You can have him. He's a teasing little whore anyway. You better make him work your money's worth because it looks like........"
Whatever Kitazawa was going to say next, was swallowed when Yuki punched him right on the mouth. Kitazawa's head snapped back with the force of the impact. He straightened up, and wiped the blood off his chin. He gave a furious yell and came at Yuki with blind fury, with his fists raised. Yuki easily avoided the punch that came flying his way, and grabbed his unbroken wrist. He held his wrist high in air, as he punched him twice in the stomach and once again on the face. This time, he fell on the floor in a haze. Yuki stood there calmly looking at him. But wisely, Kitazawa got up, threw contemptuous looks towards the pair, turned around and left.
Shuichi was deeply impressed by the ordeal. Who knew a quiet, stoic guy like Yuki had such a mean right hook. He looked up at Yuki who was still glaring at the spot where Kitazawa was standing minutes ago.
"Yuki, I ........"
Shuichi started to say, but stopped when Yuki looked down at him. His heart skipped a beat at the heated glare he was receiving. Shuichi was afraid that if Yuki continued to look at him like that, his hair would catch fire.
"Not now."
Yuki grounded out those two words through clenched teeth, before grabbing Shuichi by the arm and heading towards the exit. Now that Shuichi was trailing behind him, he took his chance to take a good look at Yuki. He was wearing a tight pair of blue jeans, with a white billowing shirt on. Too bad the shirt went down to Yuki's thighs, for Shuichi would've loved to see how Yuki's ass looked poured into those jeans.
"Let's go Tatsuha. We're leaving."
Shuichi brought his eyes up, from trying to see through Yuki's shirt and found a wide-eyed Tatsuha leaving the arms of a very attractive guy. There was something very familiar about him.
Shuichi saw Tatsuha giving an apologetic look to that guy, before turning around and raising an eye-brow at Shuichi. Shuichi mouthed the word 'later' at him, before turning around and allowing himself to be dragged outside. He was really not looking forward to the conversation, or should he say confrontation that was about to take place between Yuki and himself.
Once again, the silence ruled supreme in Yuki's car, on their way home from Babylon. Like before, Shuichi was seated in the passenger seat and not by choice either. Yuki, who had kept a firm hold on Shuichi all the way to the car, had opened the door from the driver's side, shoved Shuichi inside, before following him in. Tatsuha had barely had time to get in the back and close the door, before Yuki peeled out of the parking space. Now, Tatsuha sat in the back seat, staring from his brother to Shuichi and back again. There wasn't even any soothing music on to fill up the deafening silence.
"Ryuichi Sakuma!"
Shuichi yelled out all of a sudden and turned in his seat to look at Tatsuha. Tatsuha gave a loud yelp and jumped a little in his seat. The only reaction from Yuki was a raised eyebrow and a glance in Shuichi's direction.
Tatsuha placed a hand on his racing heart and glared at Shuichi.
"Damn Shuichi. Warn a guy before you're going to pull a stunt like that."
Shuichi's loud, boisterous voice had doubled in the complete silence, and had given his friend quite a shock.
"Tsk. Whatever. Anyway, wasn't that Ryuichi Sakuma you were dancing with? Was it? Was it?"
Shuichi asked, practically jumping in his seat. Tatsuha had a slight blush forming on his face. He gave a small smile.
"Yeah, it was. I met with Nittle Grasper manager last year, remember I told you that. Well, Ryuichi was there. Mr. K introduced us and one thing lead to another. I didn't even know when we started dancing. I was gonna come in a minute and introduce you........."
"At least," Yuki interrupted his brother mid-sentence. "You had the brains enough to consort with a familiar person. And you didn't go quite willingly into a complete stranger's arms." He had a bitter tone to his voice.
"A complete stranger?"
Tatsuha repeated, sounding completely perplexed. He then noticed Shuichi, whose face had fallen, and was sitting up and looking straight ahead.
"All right you guys, what's going on? What did I miss?"
Tatsuha asked, but was met with complete silence. Neither Yuki nor Shuichi spoke a word.
'Oh well. They don't wanna talk right now. No problem. I'll just drag it out of Shuichi later.' Tatsuha thought resolutely to himself.
A few minutes later, Yuki pulled his truck into the parking lot of his building. He killed the engine and took the keys out. He then flung it back towards Tatsuha.
"Here. Go ahead upstairs. I need to have a talk with him."
Tatsuha deftly caught the key-chain, gave a significant look to Shuichi and without saying a word, stepped off.
Yuki stayed in his seat, gripping the steering wheel with both hands, while staring straight ahead. He looked as though he was contemplating his exact words.
The increasing silence was making Shuichi very nervous. He fiddled with a tissue paper in his hand and waited for Yuki to speak.
"I hope," Yuki said quietly. "that you learned something from this experience. That next time, you wouldn't just disregard what I tell you and for once listen to my advice sensibly."
Shuichi was breathing deeply, trying to rein in his temper.
"What part of that wonderful advice was I to listen to sensibly? The part where you talked down to me, or the part where you insulted me? If that is your idea of an advice, then do us a favor and keep it to yourself."
Shuichi was practically screaming by the end. He opened the door and go out of the truck. Without even looking back to see if Yuki had something to say, he strode forward and made for the lobby.
In the hallway of the lobby, there were six elevators, three on each side of the hallway. Shuichi pressed the up button and stood there taking some deep, silent breaths.
Two elevator doors opened with a loud 'bing'. Shuichi went towards the right elevator, where an elderly couple was also getting on. Following them, Shuichi was about to step in when a hand grabbed his upper arm, dragged him out and pushed him in the other elevator. Looking up, Shuichi witnessed a pissed off Yuki glaring down at him.
When the doors closed, he found himself being shoved roughly against the back wall. Yuki hit the stop button and the elevator stopped in mid-floors. He placed his arms on either side of Shuichi's head.
"What in the hell's name is wrong with you? Do you take pleasure in defying people and getting in trouble? Is your pea-sized little brain so small that it can't register a warning when it's being given one?"
Shuichi was so angry by now that he felt tears forming in his eyes.
"There you go again." He yelled out at him. "Don't you ever stop and think before you say something? Did you actually go to a special institution to learn how to insult people? Man, why can't you be nice and civil for a change? I don't know what the hell it is I did to get you so upset with me. And quite frankly, I don't want to know. But I do want you to leave me the hell alone."
Shuichi was getting hoarse by the end. His frustrations had finally bubbled over. He placed his hands on Yuki's chest to push him back, but Yuki didn't budge from the spot. He gave Shuichi a twisted, sardonic smile.
"Are you saying that if I had told you nicely, you would have listened to me?"
Shuichi stopped the struggle and looked up at him in surprise at his quiet tone.
"Is that what happened back there too?" Yuki continued in the same quiet voice. "That guy asked you to dance with him 'nicely'. That's why you went with him like a little puppy. I bet if he had asked you nicely, you probably would have dropped your pants for him, too."
Shuichi's fist reeled back and connected with the side of Yuki's face. But Shuichi didn't just stop there. With angry tears rolling down his cheeks, he punched Yuki in the stomach.
"How dare you? How dare you say something like that to me? You conceited asshole. Why did you come and save me if you were going to hurt me like that? You should have let that guy have his way with me, that would have hurt a lot less."
Shuichi was beating at Yuki's chest with balled up fists, but there was no force behind it. He was just so very tired. He was tired from everything that had conspired tonight, and now his bout with Yuki had totally drained him out.
Surprisingly enough, Yuki didn't stop him from his actions. He just stood there stiffly, allowing Shuichi to let it all out.
Shuichi felt as though he would collapse really soon. His legs were shaky, and there was a heavy fatigue settling on his nerves. He swayed slightly and placed his head on Yuki's chest, still beating him with one fist.
"Why do you hate me so much? Why can't you just be my friend?"
His voice was thick with tears. "I hate you so much Yuki. I hate you. I hate you. I ......"
He was unable to talk further, when Yuki suddenly grabbed Shuichi by the back of his neck, pulled his head up and sealed their lips together, effectively swallowing his words.
Shuichi eyes had gone wide, as he gazed at Yuki from a never before seen angle. Yuki was kissing him with such a soft gentleness, that his eyes fluttered slowly closed and he gave in to the sensation. His arms came up of their own accord and wrapped around Yuki's neck as he kissed him back.
The soft kiss was quickly turning into something much heavier and passionate. Yuki lips were placing more and more pressure on Shuichi's, and he finally relented and opened his mouth to him. When Yuki's tongue entered his mouth, he was hit with a strong surge of emotions. His tongue was roaming all over in his mouth, before entangling with Shuichi's own.
With a loud gasp, Yuki pulled away from Shuichi and looked down at him as if he had never seen him before. Shuichi's cheeks had gone the color of a ripe tomato, and he was panting heavily, looking up at him. Yuki looked down at his arms which had wrapped themselves around Shuichi, and immediately dropped them on his side. The elevator door opened at that precise moment on their floor. With a last lingering look at Shuichi's face, and more particularly his lips, Yuki turned around and exited the elevator without saying a single word.
TBC.
VB: Wooooohoooooo!!! Another chapter done!! Yay me!
Shuichi: shaking his head Your laziness amazes me Bunny-chan.
VB: glaring Shut it you. By the way, how many people saw that coming? First kiss in the elevator?
Several readers raise their hands
VB: Heheheheee laughing nervously Oh well. Tell me how you liked it. I thought this was a really good place to finish this chapter. I will update when you guys review so nyaaaahhhhhh closes one eye and sticks out her tongue
Shuichi: Please ignore the immaturity and review anyway. Otherwise this evil person will take longer in getting me and Yuki together. Please leave a remark or two. Bribe her with something. Say something nice. Heck, you can even send her a death threat, just say something.
VB: And Man did it feel good to have Yuki beat up on Kitazawa. Something I didn't get to see in the anime, so I allowed him to do it in here Biiiiiiiig smile
Shuichi: Yeah snickers I bet Yuki appreciated it too.
VB: thoroughly enjoying her chocolate-covered Dee and Ryo I am incredibly lazy to go out and search who offered me the chocolate covered Gods, but thank you from the bottom of my heart. Throw in a chocolate covered K, with strawberries and whipped cream on top, and you'll get the next chappie soon. drools profusely By the way, did I mention I LOVE YOU GUYS SO SO SO SO SO MUCH!!!! You kind words mean so very much to me, that you can't imagine. Please, I know I am incredibly lazy in updating my fics, so please motivate me. Begs on her knees I am going to try and update the next chapter in the next week or so. Crosses her heart Love you guys. Until next time. Bye bye, and happy reading
