Introductions and Disclaimers from Tenshi
"Gravitation" and all its characters belong to the talented Maki Murakami. I originally wrote and posted this story here in 2001 in the span of a few days and thought I'd clean it up a bit in preparation for Nanowrimo this year. I hope you enjoy it even though it's just a quick write sort of thing! It's pure fluffiness Gravitation style.
"A Dedication to Gravitation"
Track 5: Brothers With Similar Tastes
Light started to filter through the windows, marking the start of a new day. Some errant beams struck the sleeping face of Shuuichi, which made him turn over. "Just a little more... please... just a...zzzzz". Shuuichi muttered something incoherently in his sleep. Yuki glanced over at him wondering just what Shuuichi wanted a little more of. It made him feel just a touch guilty, but he decided to ignore that dangerous feeling and get back to the task at hand. He had opened a box of tinsel and was now trying to remove a couple threads. Instead, the whole package came out. Yuki looked at it with disgust and put the whole glob of tinsel on the tree as it was. Yuki stepped back to take a look at his handiwork. It was hideous; an absolutely atrocious mixture of colored lights, little round bulbs, and one giant glob of tinsel. Yuki sighed and decided if Shuuichi wanted, Shuuichi could fix it himself. He stuck an angel on the top of the tree. A couple days ago he had gone back to Tower 54 and taken a look at the tree Shuuichi had talked about during lunch. It screamed innocence and loveliness and Yuki realized there would be no substitute for Shuuichi. So he had bought an angel just like it at one of the many Christmas stores, along with a single string of colored lights and a box of red bulbs.
Yuki couldn't remember the last time he had worked on a Christmas tree. Such things never carried any importance, and it seemed like a big waste of money for something that was around only for a few days during December. In addition, it had been hard finding a tree this late in the season. Yuki originally planned on getting an artificial tree. Live trees were more expensive, a pain to maintain, and would leave little needles all over the floor of his perfectly clean living room. However, it seemed to be these little things that Shuuichi cared about most, and Yuki would be damned if he didn't do something right for the little creature that was now snoring on the couch. So Yuki had settled for a 6-foot tall live tree that came with free tinsel. He could understand now why the tinsel was free.
Yuki sat down on the dark colored sofa next to the head of his lover. He looked so cute and needy when he was asleep. Pretty much the exact same way he looked when he was awake. Yuki gently ran a couple fingers through Shuuichi's hair. They had taken a shower together the night before and Shuuichi's hair still smelt of the conditioner he regularly used. It was slightly floral and made Shuuichi's hair as soft as his soul. As Yuki lovingly played with his hair, Shuuichi mumbled once again. "There.... no.... Yu... no....Chu?" Yuki decided daydreaming time was over. He roughly grabbed the back of Shuuichi's tank top and pulled him up into sitting position.
"Yuki..... why do you have to be so" Shuuichi stopped talking as his eyes opened and adjusted not just to the light, but to the sight in front of him. "Yuki!"
"What?"
"It's a tree!"
"I know that you idiot." Yuki stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. Shuuichi kept his blanket wrapped around him and followed into the kitchen. Yuki had dropped a piece of bread into the toaster and was looking in the refrigerator for some milk.
"Yuki... what is a tree doing in our living room?"
Yuki frowned and replied tersely. "If you don't like it I'll"
"No, no, Yuki, I love it. I..." Shuuichi turned around and walked out to stand in front of the tree. "It's pretty..... sad looking." Shuuichi picked up the big tangled mess of tinstle and turned around to show it to Yuki. "Ne... Yuki..."
"Fix it yourself. If I had known you were going to complain about it"
"No complaints here!" Shuuichi quickly put the glob back on the tree and ran into the kitchen to give Yuki a hug. "Ne, Yuki...."
"Do you know how long it took me to find one of those stupid things?"
"I love you." Shuuichi looked up at Yuki and then stuck his head firmly into Yuki's chest. Yuki stared down at his lover. He had called him his lover on national television. So why couldn't he now, in private, repeat something as simple as "I love you"? Yuki pried Shuuichi off of himself and continued to drink some milk out of the carton. As he went to take his toast out of the toaster, he cast a backwards glance at Shuuichi. Thankfully, Shuuichi didn't seem disappointed that Yuki hadn't said anything. Instead, Shuuichi had gone back out to the Christmas tree and was merrily reorganizing the lights and bulbs and gently untangling the mess of tinsel. Shuuichi knew the tree meant "I love you" right? Yuki sighed and took a bite of toast. It was burnt. He looked over at the toaster. Shuuichi had changed the settings again. Yuki tossed the burnt toast into sink and walked back out into the living room.
The tree looked in much better condition than it had minutes ago. The colored lights were shining gleefully through the tinsel. Shuuichi was standing on his tippytoes trying to straighten the angel on the top. It was just a little too high for him to reach. Yuki went over to help when he heard a knock at the door followed by the sound of the door opening.
"OI! Aniki! Shuuichi! Anybody home?" Tatsuha peered his head into the living room and smiled. "Hey cool, a tree. Oh, and even a present under it. Is that for me?" Tatsuha quickly kneeled under the tree. "Awwww, it's for Aniki." He frowned and stood back up. Yuki looked questioningly at the present which had suddenly appeared under the tree. Then he focused his attention back to Tatsuha.
"What the hell are you doing in my apartment?" Yuki scowled at his younger brother. He was constantly coming and going as he pleased. Having Shuuichi in the house was an invasion of privacy already, but at least Shuuichi gave something in return. His brother was just a lousy freeloader.
Tatsuha put on a fake sad frown and looked at Shuuichi. "Ne, Shuuuu, is this what they call tough love?" Shuuichi giggled and then realized his state of semi-undress. He made his quick exit down the hallway into the bedroom to change.
"So, Aniki, I hear a certain Christmas Party is going on in a few days." Tatsuha started. He walked into the kitchen. "Ooo, toast!" He picked the burnt toast out of the sink and gave it a test bite. He made a face and tossed it back into the sink. Then he sat at the kitchen table. His older brother came into the kitchen and glared at him. Tatsuha decided not to notice.
"I wanna go. Can I come? I mean, it's not like it'd be entirely weird for me to be there right? I mean, Mika-neesan is going to be there, and Tohma will be there, and you'll be there cause Mika-neesan threatened you. So do you think it'd be alright if I came?"
"Why would you want" Yuki started but then a look of disgusted realization came across his face. "He's twice your age you sicko." Yuki turned around and walked out of the kitchen. His younger brother followed close behind. Tatsuha ran around in front of his brother and sat on the coffee table.
"But he's GOD Aniki! GOD! Besides, age doesn't matter in true love. And you love Shuuichi, so how can it be wrong to have a little crush on..."
"No."
"But Aniki!"
Yuki lit up a cigarette and took a few puffs. Then he started to smile. Tatsuha smiled in return filled with hope.
"No."
"ANIKI!!!"
Shuuichi came back out into the living room wearing some tight black pants and an equally tight neon orange shirt that said "2 Cute 4 U". Yuki frowned. He had a love/hate relationship with those pants. During the day, they were a constant visible reminder of how Shuuichi felt about Yuki. But at night, they were troublesome. Yuki looked over at his younger brother and realized his brother was probably thinking the same things about the same pants.
"GET OUT!" He yelled.
Shuuichi tilted his head and began to tear up. "Did I do something wrong?"
Yuki sighed. "Not you. Him." and he pointed with his cigarette.
"Aniki.... honestly.... it's just a party! I promise not to do anything bad."
Shuuichi cheered. "Tatsuha's coming to the party too? Did you know Sakuma-san is going to be there? I wonder if there will be karaoke and games."
Tatsuha sniffled and looked back at his brother. "See Aniki? Shuuichi thinks it's okay."
There was no reply. Instead Yuki walked past Shuuichi down the hall and locked himself in his office.
"YAY! I can go!" Tatsuha smiled and hugged Shuuichi. "Ne, Shuuichi, do you think Sakuma-san would wear pants like that?"
"Huh?"
"Nevermind. See ya later!" Tatsuha waved goodbye, leaving Shuuichi to ponder what to do next. He couldn't go back to sleep now. Yuki was in his office. There wasn't any reason to go to NG Records. So Shuuichi settled on sitting under the Christmas tree looking at the present from him to Yuki. It was wrapped in a simple store wrapping paper with a small gift tag on top. However, the wrapping paper was merely a decoy. Shuuichi had made the gift himself, with a little help from Hiro.... and Fujisaki.... and some of the people at the department store. But it was a thoughtful, handmade gift that would truly remind Yuki of what he meant to Shuuichi. He couldn't wait for Yuki to open it. Just three more days.
Next Track: It's Not My Party But I'll Cry If I Want To
Original Author's Notes: Most stores in Japan have their own wrapping paper that can be used to wrap gifts. It is customary to leave the gift in this store wrapped form when you give a gift to someone else. This little episode is kinda filler, but also mirrors one of the many interesting aspects of "Gravitation". Tatsuha is like Yuki and Shuuichi is like Ryuuichi... it seems that while they may not get along and agree, they are certainly brothers with similar tastes. I also just wanted to make some more warm fuzzy Yuki moments after rereading volume 11 again.
"Gravitation" and all its characters belong to the talented Maki Murakami. I originally wrote and posted this story here in 2001 in the span of a few days and thought I'd clean it up a bit in preparation for Nanowrimo this year. I hope you enjoy it even though it's just a quick write sort of thing! It's pure fluffiness Gravitation style.
"A Dedication to Gravitation"
Track 5: Brothers With Similar Tastes
Light started to filter through the windows, marking the start of a new day. Some errant beams struck the sleeping face of Shuuichi, which made him turn over. "Just a little more... please... just a...zzzzz". Shuuichi muttered something incoherently in his sleep. Yuki glanced over at him wondering just what Shuuichi wanted a little more of. It made him feel just a touch guilty, but he decided to ignore that dangerous feeling and get back to the task at hand. He had opened a box of tinsel and was now trying to remove a couple threads. Instead, the whole package came out. Yuki looked at it with disgust and put the whole glob of tinsel on the tree as it was. Yuki stepped back to take a look at his handiwork. It was hideous; an absolutely atrocious mixture of colored lights, little round bulbs, and one giant glob of tinsel. Yuki sighed and decided if Shuuichi wanted, Shuuichi could fix it himself. He stuck an angel on the top of the tree. A couple days ago he had gone back to Tower 54 and taken a look at the tree Shuuichi had talked about during lunch. It screamed innocence and loveliness and Yuki realized there would be no substitute for Shuuichi. So he had bought an angel just like it at one of the many Christmas stores, along with a single string of colored lights and a box of red bulbs.
Yuki couldn't remember the last time he had worked on a Christmas tree. Such things never carried any importance, and it seemed like a big waste of money for something that was around only for a few days during December. In addition, it had been hard finding a tree this late in the season. Yuki originally planned on getting an artificial tree. Live trees were more expensive, a pain to maintain, and would leave little needles all over the floor of his perfectly clean living room. However, it seemed to be these little things that Shuuichi cared about most, and Yuki would be damned if he didn't do something right for the little creature that was now snoring on the couch. So Yuki had settled for a 6-foot tall live tree that came with free tinsel. He could understand now why the tinsel was free.
Yuki sat down on the dark colored sofa next to the head of his lover. He looked so cute and needy when he was asleep. Pretty much the exact same way he looked when he was awake. Yuki gently ran a couple fingers through Shuuichi's hair. They had taken a shower together the night before and Shuuichi's hair still smelt of the conditioner he regularly used. It was slightly floral and made Shuuichi's hair as soft as his soul. As Yuki lovingly played with his hair, Shuuichi mumbled once again. "There.... no.... Yu... no....Chu?" Yuki decided daydreaming time was over. He roughly grabbed the back of Shuuichi's tank top and pulled him up into sitting position.
"Yuki..... why do you have to be so" Shuuichi stopped talking as his eyes opened and adjusted not just to the light, but to the sight in front of him. "Yuki!"
"What?"
"It's a tree!"
"I know that you idiot." Yuki stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. Shuuichi kept his blanket wrapped around him and followed into the kitchen. Yuki had dropped a piece of bread into the toaster and was looking in the refrigerator for some milk.
"Yuki... what is a tree doing in our living room?"
Yuki frowned and replied tersely. "If you don't like it I'll"
"No, no, Yuki, I love it. I..." Shuuichi turned around and walked out to stand in front of the tree. "It's pretty..... sad looking." Shuuichi picked up the big tangled mess of tinstle and turned around to show it to Yuki. "Ne... Yuki..."
"Fix it yourself. If I had known you were going to complain about it"
"No complaints here!" Shuuichi quickly put the glob back on the tree and ran into the kitchen to give Yuki a hug. "Ne, Yuki...."
"Do you know how long it took me to find one of those stupid things?"
"I love you." Shuuichi looked up at Yuki and then stuck his head firmly into Yuki's chest. Yuki stared down at his lover. He had called him his lover on national television. So why couldn't he now, in private, repeat something as simple as "I love you"? Yuki pried Shuuichi off of himself and continued to drink some milk out of the carton. As he went to take his toast out of the toaster, he cast a backwards glance at Shuuichi. Thankfully, Shuuichi didn't seem disappointed that Yuki hadn't said anything. Instead, Shuuichi had gone back out to the Christmas tree and was merrily reorganizing the lights and bulbs and gently untangling the mess of tinsel. Shuuichi knew the tree meant "I love you" right? Yuki sighed and took a bite of toast. It was burnt. He looked over at the toaster. Shuuichi had changed the settings again. Yuki tossed the burnt toast into sink and walked back out into the living room.
The tree looked in much better condition than it had minutes ago. The colored lights were shining gleefully through the tinsel. Shuuichi was standing on his tippytoes trying to straighten the angel on the top. It was just a little too high for him to reach. Yuki went over to help when he heard a knock at the door followed by the sound of the door opening.
"OI! Aniki! Shuuichi! Anybody home?" Tatsuha peered his head into the living room and smiled. "Hey cool, a tree. Oh, and even a present under it. Is that for me?" Tatsuha quickly kneeled under the tree. "Awwww, it's for Aniki." He frowned and stood back up. Yuki looked questioningly at the present which had suddenly appeared under the tree. Then he focused his attention back to Tatsuha.
"What the hell are you doing in my apartment?" Yuki scowled at his younger brother. He was constantly coming and going as he pleased. Having Shuuichi in the house was an invasion of privacy already, but at least Shuuichi gave something in return. His brother was just a lousy freeloader.
Tatsuha put on a fake sad frown and looked at Shuuichi. "Ne, Shuuuu, is this what they call tough love?" Shuuichi giggled and then realized his state of semi-undress. He made his quick exit down the hallway into the bedroom to change.
"So, Aniki, I hear a certain Christmas Party is going on in a few days." Tatsuha started. He walked into the kitchen. "Ooo, toast!" He picked the burnt toast out of the sink and gave it a test bite. He made a face and tossed it back into the sink. Then he sat at the kitchen table. His older brother came into the kitchen and glared at him. Tatsuha decided not to notice.
"I wanna go. Can I come? I mean, it's not like it'd be entirely weird for me to be there right? I mean, Mika-neesan is going to be there, and Tohma will be there, and you'll be there cause Mika-neesan threatened you. So do you think it'd be alright if I came?"
"Why would you want" Yuki started but then a look of disgusted realization came across his face. "He's twice your age you sicko." Yuki turned around and walked out of the kitchen. His younger brother followed close behind. Tatsuha ran around in front of his brother and sat on the coffee table.
"But he's GOD Aniki! GOD! Besides, age doesn't matter in true love. And you love Shuuichi, so how can it be wrong to have a little crush on..."
"No."
"But Aniki!"
Yuki lit up a cigarette and took a few puffs. Then he started to smile. Tatsuha smiled in return filled with hope.
"No."
"ANIKI!!!"
Shuuichi came back out into the living room wearing some tight black pants and an equally tight neon orange shirt that said "2 Cute 4 U". Yuki frowned. He had a love/hate relationship with those pants. During the day, they were a constant visible reminder of how Shuuichi felt about Yuki. But at night, they were troublesome. Yuki looked over at his younger brother and realized his brother was probably thinking the same things about the same pants.
"GET OUT!" He yelled.
Shuuichi tilted his head and began to tear up. "Did I do something wrong?"
Yuki sighed. "Not you. Him." and he pointed with his cigarette.
"Aniki.... honestly.... it's just a party! I promise not to do anything bad."
Shuuichi cheered. "Tatsuha's coming to the party too? Did you know Sakuma-san is going to be there? I wonder if there will be karaoke and games."
Tatsuha sniffled and looked back at his brother. "See Aniki? Shuuichi thinks it's okay."
There was no reply. Instead Yuki walked past Shuuichi down the hall and locked himself in his office.
"YAY! I can go!" Tatsuha smiled and hugged Shuuichi. "Ne, Shuuichi, do you think Sakuma-san would wear pants like that?"
"Huh?"
"Nevermind. See ya later!" Tatsuha waved goodbye, leaving Shuuichi to ponder what to do next. He couldn't go back to sleep now. Yuki was in his office. There wasn't any reason to go to NG Records. So Shuuichi settled on sitting under the Christmas tree looking at the present from him to Yuki. It was wrapped in a simple store wrapping paper with a small gift tag on top. However, the wrapping paper was merely a decoy. Shuuichi had made the gift himself, with a little help from Hiro.... and Fujisaki.... and some of the people at the department store. But it was a thoughtful, handmade gift that would truly remind Yuki of what he meant to Shuuichi. He couldn't wait for Yuki to open it. Just three more days.
Next Track: It's Not My Party But I'll Cry If I Want To
Original Author's Notes: Most stores in Japan have their own wrapping paper that can be used to wrap gifts. It is customary to leave the gift in this store wrapped form when you give a gift to someone else. This little episode is kinda filler, but also mirrors one of the many interesting aspects of "Gravitation". Tatsuha is like Yuki and Shuuichi is like Ryuuichi... it seems that while they may not get along and agree, they are certainly brothers with similar tastes. I also just wanted to make some more warm fuzzy Yuki moments after rereading volume 11 again.