Hi hi! New fic, new fandom! Yay!
Warnings: Langauge.
Notes: OOC-ness, I know... gomen! This fic is a cross between TV series version and manga version - I have the series with cough questionable-quality subbing, and volume 2 of manga. Yay! Mix things up, keep life interesting!
Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the computer on which the piece of fanwork was typed. I make no profits on this or the computer. Unless you count grades. I don't. Gravitation belongs to Maki Murakami and those others who own legal rights to it. Not to me. Got it? NO SUING!
Moonbeams and Heartstrings
Chapter One
"Where is it that you go every month?" Yuki asked, his curiosity finally overcoming his reticence.
Shuichi just laughed. "It's tradition, Yuki! We've always gone camping like this!" He turned and continued stuffing seemingly random things into his bag. Yuki noticed that his question hadn't been answered.
For the past few months that the pop singer had been living with him (without Yuki's consent, of course), the author had come to realize that his lover regularly went on a "camping trip" with that Hiroshi and the singer's sister, Maiko. If it had been just between Shuichi and Hiroshi, Yuki certainly would have been suspicious. With the girl along, well, he was still suspicious, but not of Shuichi being unfaithful.
He was suspicious because, unlike everything else, this was the one thing on which Shuichi never invited Yuki along.
"Ahhh! Fresh country air, here we come!" sighed Shuichi, stretching his arms before him in the front seat. Hiro was driving his parents' car, on the condition that the trio pay for the fuel they would need.
Maiko, in the back seat, nodded in agreement. "It's amazing how fast this month has gone by! You guys were on tour for most of it!"
"And what an argument to make sure Seguchi would let us be back on time," Hiro added drily.
Shuichi laughed. "I was almost afraid that Maiko would have to find her own way out of town! 'Course, it's easy enough to ditch the tour for a night, so me 'n Hiro woulda' done okay."
Maiko leaned forward and lightly punched her brother in the shoulder. "I would have done just fine on my own, I'll have you know! You don't always have to be watching over me." She sat back with a huff, the upwards tilt of her lips belying her indignation.
Shuichi puffed himself up and did his best hero pose while being strapped into the front seat. "But that is my duty as your big brother! I am sworn to protect my dear sister's - ow!"
Maiko had punched him again, this time not so lightly. She ignored the welling of tears in his eyes.
"Hidoi, imouto-san!" (1)
But before the young pop idol could begin wailing, Hiro popped a laden question:
"You haven't told Yuki yet, have you?" It was actually more a statement than a question.
Shuichi deflated, turning to face forward. "Of course not. He's on a hair-trigger as it is, waiting for me to screw up. Telling him would be worse than anything else I could do, and I'd end up getting booted out again! He'd probably never want anything to do with me ever again!" Once more, his eyes gained a trademark sheen of tears.
"Well, you never know, Shuichi. He doesn't seem like a romance writer, but if he can handle that, he might be able to handle something a bit more far-fetched." Hiro shrugged.
The background wailing ended as Shuichi looked up with his patented puppy-eyes face. "You think so?" he asked hopefully.
Hiro sighed. He had no idea, really, and so shrugged once more. "You never know," he said again.
Yuki was feeling adventurous. His soonest deadline was weeks away, and he was a proud practitioner of procrastination. He otherwise had nothing else to do until his lover came back tomorrow.
So, he was going through Shuichi's things, looking for clues.
Sure, Shuichi would get mad if he found out. But Yuki would make sure he never found out.
He liked to think he was good at that sort of thing.
Cigarette clamped firmly between his lips, he sorted through Shuichi's two drawers. It seemed like he'd left all of his clothes, which wasn't too odd, since they were only gone for a night. Hmm. The only things in those drawers, other than clothes, was a messy box of markers, a few newspaper clippings, two boxes of strawberry-flavored condoms, and a few knick-knacks the boy had brought from his parents' home. All the pictures he'd taken of the two of them littered every available surface, and so were not to be found actually inside the drawers.
Nothing. Nothing that gave away his young lover's monthly destination. Nothing that indicated what sorts of activities he was engaging in. After all, the condoms were still here, so he wasn't screwing that Hiroshi silly. Still, this was aggravating.
At least he knew the kid wasn't doing any drugs.
Damn. Now he felt like a nosy parent. Feh.
Hmm. Closet.
Opening the sliding door to their shared closet, Yuki was greeted by the sight of a myriad of blue and black clothing - his own - as well as more from just about every color of the rainbow. Obviously Shuichi's. He ruffled through the hanging garments, noting the scent of his absentee lover lingering over the various items. It was a nice scent, he absently noted, and not at all what one would expect. Rather than fruit, glitter, and sweat, it was more of a fruit, soil, and sweat. Almost that of a gardener.
Not that he'd ever smelled a gardener. At least not while they were gardening.
Damn. Nothing in the closet, either. What the hell? When did he get that atrocious shirt?
He glared at the offensive piece of bright orange silk, and felt mildly satisfied when it seemed to wilt away.
"What do you guys think? Far enough?" Hiro asked, slowing down so that the two passengers could get a better look of their surroundings.
"Yeah! Looks great!" Shuichi bounced happily in his seat.
"Perfect, Hiro!" Maiko reached forward to ruffle the guitarist's hair. "You and your sense of direction!"
Hiro smirked slightly as he pulled off to the side of the old dirt road. He cut the engine and turned off the headlights. Carefully making sure the car remained unlocked, he and the siblings stepped out into the brisk pre-dusk atmosphere.
"Look! There's even a few trees, over there," Maiko said softly. It was as though a bubble had surrounded them, and each was loathe to break the calm silence. They stood for a moment, breathing in the country air, watching the sun set and the beginnings of the full moon's ascent into the night sky.
Shuichi sighed happily, savoring the moment, and looking forward to what was about to come. He clapped his hands together.
"Well guys, let's strip!"
Drawers. Check.
Closet. Check.
Bathroom. Check and double check.
Kitchen. Check.
Living room. Check.
All that really left...
... was his own office.
That pink fluff-ball wouldn't have hid something in there!
...Would he?
Hmm.
Nah.
Well....
With a derisive snort, Yuki made his way into his office, his personal sanctuary where he let his words and emotions flow freely onto the nondescript word-processing program installed on his laptop, rather than to his currently-absent personal pop star, who was always proclaiming his willingness to listen along with his love.
Of course, that same laptop required a password to get into, and Yuki doubted that Shuichi would even try to get in, let alone be able to. Deciding this, he searched the rest of the desk area. After twenty minutes of extensive exploring, the only thing he had turned up that was not his own possession was a calendar.
A bright pink, autographed Bad Luck calendar.
Why the hell would he autograph his own friggin' calendar?! Whatever.
Flipping through it, however, Yuki found something. He found that there was nothing in the calendar. No birthdays, no appointments, nothing personal whatsoever. There were the usual things that the publishers printed, of course, like holidays and national observations and the moon phases and-
Waitaminute.
Yuki's left eyebrow did a strange little quirking motion as an entirely absurd thought wriggled its way into his consciousness. He checked the day's date in the calendar.
Today was a full moon.
Going along with the insane notion, he flipped back a month. The date that his lover had up and gone camping that month was... also the full moon. He flipped back another month, and found the same.
His brows furrowed and he tilted his head back. Was his lover in some sort of strange moon cult? He certainly didn't seem the type to go along with that sort of thing.
Well, now that he had found something, Yuki didn't feel much like prying further. He put the calendar back where he found it, then proceeded to the kitchen. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and seated himself in a semi-sprawl on the couch, lighting up another cigarette.
So, what the hell could those three kids be up to on a full moon?
He snorted. Knowing the often child-like Shuichi as well as he did, he did not put it past the singer to be out playing some stupid game, like werewolves.
They could feel it. Each of them, knowing the pull of the full moon, eagerly awaited the coming moment.
Yes, there was some pain. Such a thing was expected when bones rearranged themselves and skin melted and re-formed. But it was more than worth it, for the freedom that came with it was above and beyond any other feeling they'd ever felt. For Shuichi, singing came close, letting his spirit lose and carrying him away on the notes of his voice. But with this, all of him became unleashed, and eager to greet the world.
After a few short moments, he shook out his reddish coat, and looked over his shoulder at his best friend. Hiro, too, was shaking himself, his dark chocolate-colored covering blending in well with the night around them. On his other side, Maiko was stretching, her glossy silvery fur reflecting the moonbeams shining down upon them.
Sharing a canine grin with each other, they set off into the night before them, loping across the grass, reveling in the feeling of independence that came with four legs and a furry tail.
1. Essentially, "You're so cruel, little sister!"