Disclaimer: I don't own Gravitation. I barely even own the plot for this story. Well, damn.
Reviewer Responses!
Kitty in the Box: Hehehehe. I love Ryuichi, he's so fun to write about.
Yasu-chan: Woo! Foxay! Teh heh... Thank you, potato. Oh, everyone go read her Zodiac P.I. story (AND REVIEW), or I'll pull a Reiji and kill you with my giant panda robot.
kingdomhearts222: Thank you. Ryuichi is 35. It's four years after the start of the manga, so Shuichi is 22, Ryuichi is 24, Eiri is 26, etc.
MoOnlEsS sAtUrN nIgHt: Thanks! You're very sweet. Don't worry, I have plenty intent to keep this thing going until the very end. And Eiri will most likely get back with Shu. I would never have it any other way. ;) And I am a girl.
Thanks to Chibi-Midnight-Sakai as well!
And now, onto the overly dramatic CHAPTER FOUR. But something actually happens. Yay?
"Eh…?" I look from Hiro to K and back again. Hiro looks nervous. K's grinning maniacally. I can't decide who to punch first. Not that it would matter.
"What makes you think I would randomly reform Bad Luck?"
"Well.. Yuki-san's back, isn't he? Are you engaged yet?"
My decision is K. Instead of punching him, though, I throw my backpack at him.
"Are you deranged? Completely nuts? What does Eiri have to do with Bad Luck?"
K looks like he's about to laugh. Hiro steps on K's foot and he makes some kind of athsmatic choking noise.
"Shu, why does this bother you so much?"
I don't know. Is it that I'm afraid of going back to what I used to be? Or am I afraid that I can't? Or is it just fucking annoying that everyone thinks my professional life is run by that god forsaken romance novelist?
At any rate, sometimes it's just easier to say nothing. I just stare at Hiro, shrug, and leave. K shouts at my back.
"Shindou!"
I ignore him. On the way out the door, I wonder when I turned into such a little bitch.
Where the fuck am I? And how did I get here?
I stare up and almost lose my balance. I'm in front of -
Oh.
Hell.
No.
I curse my feet for dragging me here. What did I want to find out? Do I want to meet the people who are now living in the place I used to with Eiri?
I think I've been put in a time warp. Eiri, I will throttle you.
"Shuichi…?"
I jump about thirty feet in the air as Eiri's voice interrupts my homicidal thoughts. Since I'm on a roll today, I might as well hit him. I think a nice punch in the stomach will do him some good service, since I can't reach the top of his head.
"OW! SHINDOU! WHAT THE HELL?"
What?
I open my eyes. I didn't even know they were closed. And there, standing in front of me, holding a multi-coloured Kumagoro is Tatsuha.
Haha. Oops.
"Sorry, I thought you were Eiri."
Tatsuha snorts. "Isn't it usually the other way around?"
"What are you doing here, anyway?"
He holds up the Kumagoro. "Ryuichi wanted to hit aniki with this. I guess he forgot he doesn't live here anymore."
Ahh. Well, I'll have to thank him for coming here to hit Eiri with a stuffed rabbit.
"What are YOU doing here?" Tatsuha bends down to stare into my face. I push his shoulders.
"Stop it."
"What are you doing here?" he repeats.
"I don't know. I just ended up here."
Tatsuha raises an eyebrow. "The stupid comments stopped working when everyone figured out that you're not actually a complete idiot."
I glare at him. "Shut up. Someone at work pissed me off, so I just started walking and ended up here."
Tatsuha is silent for a moment. "Hm. Did my brother's sudden reappearance really rattle your brain?"
I sigh. "What do you think?" I feel like leaving. I need a nap. A really long nap. A few centuries would be nice. "Tatsuha?"
"Mm?"
"Why did he go? To Norway, I mean."
Tatsuha sighs loudly and stares up at the sky. "I don't know. Mika and Seguchi don't, either."
"Seguchi-san doesn't?" Well, that's a surprise. I thought Seguchi-san put tracking devises in peoples' socks.
"No. He says he doesn't, anyway."
"Oh." I begin to fidget. I need to get out of here. "I better go. Nice seeing you, Tatsuha-san."
"Uh.. Bye. Yeah. Talk to you later."
I walk home slowly, staring at everyone. I feel like an outsider, or a ghost. Like I can see all of them, but they can't see me. Kids run around the park, chasing each other with carefree smiles. Wait 'til you grow up, kids. I recommend becoming asexual. If you want to reproduce, ask a really good scientist for assistance.
When I get home, I feel dead in my shoes. I'm about ready to pass out in the elevator. I'm fumbling with my keys when I crash into somebody.
"Oh, ex-"
OH.
HELL.
NO.
I should've stayed with Tatsuha. He's much easier conversation than the nervous looking manslut standing at my door.
"Uh.. Hi, Shuichi."
I run over things I can say. 'Hello, Eiri. Fancy seeing you where I don't want you.' 'Get lost. I need a nap.' 'Was the message not clear last time we saw each other?'
What comes out of my mouth is "Mrrrrrmph." Eiri looks concerned. Perhaps I look like the walking dead. I certainly feel like it. Did I not sleep last night or something? So long ago…
Oh, yeah. I was with Ryuichi. Question answered.
"You okay?" he asks, making a move to touch my face. I step back.
"Look, Eiri. I'm really not in a great mood right now, so -"
"That's okay. I needed to see you."
I needed to see you? That sentence must have been implanted in Eiri Uesugi's vocabulary by aggressive aliens with anal probes.
"You needed to see me? What for?"
"Well… I think I screwed up last time we saw each other."
Why do I suddenly feel ashamed? I'm too tired to be bitchy, so I open my door. "Come in."
He slowly walks in and looks around awkwardly, as if he doesn't belong here. Well, that might be accurate.
"You can relax. Nothing's going to come out and bite you."
He laughs nervously. What is this? This is so unlike him. I stare at him for a minute before sitting down.
"I have a question."
He nods a bit. "I imagine you have a lot of questions."
What? I get to play 20 questions with him? There must be some personality altering bug in Norway's drinking water.
"First off…why are you pursuing this? I can't possibly be of any use to you with my pants on."
The look on his face is enough to make me want to swallow back my word vomit. Did I just hurt him?
"What? You.. You think…"
"I don't know what to think. This is strange."
He sighs and runs his hand through his hair. He looks so washed out and tired.
"I don't know what to say. You won't believe anything unless it's insulting."
Oh. Is that why he was acting like an asshole the other day? To get me to pay attention to him?
"Why did you leave, Eiri? Why did you go there?"
He looks regretful. "I…can't tell you that."
I can feel my anger rising like an overflowing volcano. Male PMS, lack of sleep and Eiri keeping secrets at this point are not a good combination for me.
"Why the hell not, Eiri?"
"Bec-"
"Don't you think I deserve to know?"
"Well-"
"Fuck you, Eiri! Do you even know what you did to me? I put my entire existence on the line for you. I stayed with you even when you were completely bitter and insensitive to every little fucking thing I said. I tried to change myself so you'd like me. I thought it was working but then.. And when you left I waited up for you night after night, hoping you'd come in and say you were just out for a little bit and we could…we could…I don't know. But you didn't, so I had to move on, and just when I was starting to, you…you…"
Why am I throwing such a tantrum? Was what he said really that bad?
Yeah. Yeah, it was. Today, right now…
Am I crying?
I hold my shoulders and try to shrink. It would be fantastic to turn into a miniscule dot right now. Maybe an ant. Then Eiri could step on me for the last time.
I can't see his face, because my vision is foggy, but I can tell he's coming closer. He kneels down in front of me and wipes the tears from my cheeks.
"Shuichi, I…"
He pushes my hair out of my face. I blink tears away so I can see him better.
"I'm so…"
His lips brush mine.
"…sorry…"
Is this really happening? Is he really kissing me like a lover instead of some hungry animal?
This is nice. It's what I've wanted since… since I met him.
But…
Wait.
WAITWAITWAIT.
I grip his shirt and push him back. He looks surprised.
"Don't take advantage of me in my vulnerable state!" I snarl, though it sounds very fake.
"Oh.. Uh… I didn't mean to…"
He looks so anxious. Embarrassed, almost. But… I can't handle this today.
"Go away."
"Shuichi…"
I try to glare at him. I don't think it's working, though. "We can talk again tomorrow or something. But I really need some sleep right now."
He looks surprised again, but a faint smile appears. "Okay. Sleep well." And he leaves.
I sigh and lay back for a very much needed nap. I can feel it falling, the protective walls I put up since Eiri left. Apparently, they were held together with a kiddy glue stick.
Why do I let him do this to me? Does he have my strings attached to his fingertips or something?
Before I pass out, I have to ask myself…
When did Eiri start showing emotion?
Eeeeh. Was that too cheesy? Was it too melodramatic? Was it too quick for the godawfully slow pace this story has picked up so far? Tell me, kids. And be honest! I need to know because I've got plenty of stuff planned for these two (heh heh) but I don't want to bring it up too fast.
Thanks for reading!