AN/Warnings: *Jaws music*
WAI~ ! *jumps up and glomps reviewers* Domo arigato for reviewing! I love reviews, especially in the morning, they make me insanely happy for the rest of the day. Reviews make my day so much better. ^___^
…Look! This is still on the first page! I'm so used to writing fiction for stuff that has so much stuff updated at once that mine somehow ends up on the fifth page. It's been my goal to write one chapter or a one-shot that gets 10 reviews by itself, so this came pretty damn close, and have you thank you guys for that.
Rinuah: Drunken bar fights sound good to me! There are some in this chapter, but Yuki doesn't do any saving. Thanks for reviewing, and also thanks for giving me an idea for this chapter. ^___^ *idea stealer*
HikariChang: *glomps* Thanks for such an energetic review! X3 Eh, Hiro and Suguru? I'm not familiar enough with Suguru's character to tell you right now what's going to happen, but I'll see what I can do. *plots* Ayaka's alright, but I think being a shounen-ai fan for too long causes you to inherently dislike straight girls in a series. Maybe I'm just weird like that. *needs help*
Briefs Hikaru, broken dream, chiyuri, duenna: Aie! *blushes* Thanks for such kind words, and pushing for me to continue. :D Writing fanfiction is so much more fun when you know that there's people behind you. *cheesy smile*
Anna Sartin: Shuichi & Yuki's relationship will probably be a little more bitter on Shuichi's side (I don't think Yuki *could* get more bitter), since he's not successful, but basically the same, because they're still them. Thanks so much for reviewing!
Fire Dragon: It's always good to know I'm keeping the characters IC. Domo for reviewing, I'm glad you liked it.
Aeryith: Stalker. X3 I'm not a very confident person, but thanks for the encouragement! *glomps* By the way, your art is so pretty. *__* *profile addict*
…'Glomp' should be in the dictionary, but the spellchecker doesn't believe me.
Info: Shuichi/Yuki (for life!), AU, mild violence & swearing (I actually managed *no* profanity last chapter. Oh well), Gravitation belongs to Maki Murakami. This takes place right after the last chapter.
Life Doesn't Rhyme
Once Yuki Eiri had walked out of the bar, Shuichi lost any and all composure. Blushing heavily but still grinning madly, Hiro laughed and slung an arm around his friend. Teasing him only caused Shuichi to become more embarrassed, and Suguru simply smiled and continued taking orders.
Most of the people in the bar hadn't actually seen the scene, they were either too drunk and didn't care, or were sober enough to notice, but thought the blonde to be drunk himself. Either way, it wasn't much of their concern.
The routine of the bar soon went back to normal. Since Yuki had left earlier than usual (it was still only two A.M., the blonde usually pulled an all-nighter), Shuichi's attention didn't wander, but he was bored. The blonde's bitter presence usually sparked up the night at least at little. Unless, of course, he became totally wasted and passed out. That was amusing too, though, and he was cute when he was unconscious.
One or two fights broke out, as per usual, but it was a relatively calm night. The fights were either left to simmer down, or Hiro was dispatched to become peacemaker, and in the worst cases, the one who ended the fight. The teenager did have a few bruises and scars from previous weeks, and had caused quite a few himself.
Absent-mindedly shaking someone's drink, Shuichi found his mind always being dragged back to the part where Yuki leaned over and attacked his mouth. He didn't really mind, but from what he had seen from the blonde, it seemed a little out of character.
Considering himself lucky, Shuichi smiled and poured the mixture into a glass. Suguru picked it up on his way over to another table, leaving the pink-haired boy without something to do. For the moment.
The night dragged on, and Shuichi somehow made it to five A.M., when the bar closed. Hiro and Suguru lived in a different direction from Shuichi, even though they were all relatively close to each other.
As they ushered the remaining drunkards out, Shuichi locked the door behind him, yawning as he tested the door, just to be sure. It was amazing, he was always overcome by sleep the minute he stepped out of the building, like it had been waiting for him outside.
"Awh, Shuichi, did you have a busy night?" Hiro teased, laughing as he dodged a swipe from Shuichi. "Just tell your mom you were out kissing the boys again, I'm sure she won't mind." He ran off, turning around when he had gotten away far enough. Suguru shook his head, said goodnight to Shuichi, and followed the brunet.
"Yeah, you better stay away from me!" Shuichi shouted to Hiro, who stuck out his tongue. "Night Suguru, night Hiro." The two shouted back the same. Shuichi turned around and walked towards his house, his eyes aching from lack of sleep.
Friday nights were alright, he could sleep in Saturday. Tuesday nights and Wednesday mornings were killer, though. He had a hard time staying awake in school, and the fact that he couldn't really catch up on his sleep until Saturday did cause him a lot of trouble. He managed, though. Somehow.
Opening the door to his house and closing it gently behind him, he stumbled to the couch and almost instantly fell asleep.
---
Waking up to find his mother humming in the kitchen and a blanket draped over him. He yawned again, rubbing his eyes and running a hand through his hair.
"Shuichi! You lazy thing, it's almost noon. Come on, you must be starving." Shuichi found his stomach agreed with his mother's statement. He pushed himself off of the couch and found his way to food. "Now, Hiro called earlier and said you had to be at work by seven tonight, something about opening up early. So, after you eat you can go upstairs and take a shower, and sort things out from there."
Muttering and finishing off 'breakfast', Shuichi walked up the stairs, hoping a shower would wake him up.
Thankfully, it did. He stayed upstairs to do what homework he had, even though it was probably a half-assed job, he wasn't in the mood to care. Deciding he'd rather go stalk down Hiro or Suguru than stay home all day, he grabbed his coat, shouted a goodbye to whoever was in the house, and went outside.
It was about four by the time he had escaped his house, meaning he only had three hours to find something to do. Deciding wandering around town would do for now, he set out to waste the hours.
Walking into a book and music store, Shuichi found an old, rather rare Nittle Grasper CD. Grinning manically to himself, Shuichi went through the book section, on his way to the register. He should have enough money to pay for it…
About half way there, he froze, backtracked, and hid behind a bookshelf.
Of all the places in the entire world. Why him? Why now?
There was Yuki Eiri, sitting in a chair, book in hand. Whatever he was reading had to be good, he didn't look as pissed off as usual. He had glasses on as well, and Shuichi paled when he spoke.
"I know you're there." Sighing in defeat, the pink haired wonder slunk out from behind the safety of the bookshelf and faced the unimpressed writer.
"Oh, uh, hi Yuki." Smiling nervously, the boy bounced from one foot to another, trying to convince himself not to act like an idiot. The blonde sighed, obviously bored and annoyed.
"Look. Just because I kissed you last night does not mean you have to go schoolgirl on me. It also means that I'm not head over heels in love with you, alright? I was probably drunk out of my mind." He kept his voice down, obviously not wanting people to know. Shuichi nodded frantically, still nervous.
"No, it's not that, but, but-" Within this small space of time, the blonde had managed to stand up, loom over Shuichi, and put a finger to his lips to silence him.
"You never shut up, do you?" Shuichi grinned sheepishly and shook his head, causing Yuki to roll his eyes and back off. Picking up whatever book he had been reading, Yuki then put his glasses in an inner coat pocket. "I'll see you tonight, alright?" He gave the boy a short wave, and then headed up towards the register.
It took about ten seconds for this to sink in. When it finally did, Shuichi smiled, looking down at Ryuichi on the cover of the CD, Tohma and Noriko behind him.
…Maybe Yuki wasn't as cold as he'd like to be?
---
"Hiro! Suguru! I'm here!" Shuichi grinned as the two looked up from behind the bar. Suguru was putting glasses away, while Hiro was polishing the bar.
"Oh, hey Shuichi."
Both couldn't help but notice the pink haired boy's infectious happiness. Grinning, Hiro leaned on the bar and raised an eyebrow. "Someone's a happy bunny." Shuichi laughed, slipping in behind the bar and shrugging.
"I found a pretty rare Nittle Grasper CD I've been looking for." Hiro rolled his eyes at this excuse, and Shuichi stuck out his tongue. "It's the truth! It has a remixed version of Sleepless Beauty, and some hidden tracks. I think it has DVD options too."
"Of course, Shuichi. What ever you say." The look on Suguru's face told Shuichi he agreed with Hiro.
"You're all against me! Not fair." The boy pouted, and Hiro laughed.
"Come on, Shu, help us finish setting up."
Shuichi was practically bouncing around the bar, waiting for 'no one! Honest!' which, of course, meant Yuki. However, he didn't spill drinks and he didn't forget orders, so the others had no excuse to tease him.
Until Yuki Eiri stalked into the bar once again.
Desperately trying to ignore Suguru's whistles and Hiro's catcalls, Shuichi smiled weakly and nodded when the blonde demanded another order once again.
It was like nothing had changed at all. So, trying his best to seem indifferent, Shuichi got Yuki's drink and set off to take someone else's order, desperately trying to keep his mind off of it. Don't think about it, that only makes it worse.
The rest of that night was spent by the two in partially uncomfortable silence, even with the roar of the bar in both of their ears.
That was, until Yuki somehow got into a fight with another guy. Shuichi hadn't been paying attention, he had been on the other side of the room. When one of them dropped their glasses, though, that caught just above everyone's attention. Except those who were near comatose.
The other man threw the first punch, he was obviously more intoxicated than Yuki, who dodged it rather easily. He caught the next punch, twisting the man's arm behind his back and then stepping back.
Shuichi set the tray down on the nearest table, and ran up to the two, trying to break up the fight. This was usually Hiro's job, but he wanted to do something.
"Yuki! Come on, stop it!" He begged, but couldn't seem to get the blonde's attention, he couldn't get those eyes to focus on him.
Until he managed to worm his way right in between him and the man he was fighting. This was also, however, when Yuki decided to snap his arm back. Both of their eyes widened, and Shuichi had already forgiven Yuki before his fist even hit.
The two men left standing backed away from the boy, who reeled and stumbled. He tried to focus on the stunned Yuki in front of him, but he kept snapping in and out of view. Blood roared in his ears, he could feel his heart pounding. Gasping, he took another step forward, let the darkness that had been intensifying in his head consume him, and felt himself falling.
He never hit the ground.
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AN: How romantic of Yuki. How hard you punch them is how much you care. Shuichi's gonna have a bruise for a while, eh? Go for the jaw bone, Yuki! I have fainted myself, so I know what poor Shuichi's going through. I enjoy injuring main characters, emotionally and physically.
Anyways, their relationship is probably going to develop slowly, so you'll have to bear with me. I'll try to make it a fun ride though.
I've been writing these things fast, eh? You people are just so damn lucky. XD
Reviews make Shuichi's injuries disappear faster than humanly possible! Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles is out on the 27th! Yay! The Gravitation anime is out in June…which makes June seem so far away. ;__; In other notes, I will be leaving for Washington D.C. with my school on Tuesday and will be back that Friday, so that either means I'll be struck by inspiration and type something very quickly before I leave, or I'll have almost a week to think about ideas. See you guys next time, and once again, thanks for such great reviews!