(Happy Saturday – 14)
The first day of the weekend with the cast of Gravitation. The hotel was getting a little crowded, between Tohma and Eiri and Shuiichi and Ryuichi and Erica. But it was all right with Erica because her mother thought that she was spending the weekend with Amy.
"I don't know where anything is." Tohma complained to Eiri who was sitting drinking his coffee and smoking a cigarette. "There are things that we need, and I should get for us, but I don't know where anything is."
"I do. What do you need?" Erica asked. She might not like Tohma but she was now in a damned good mood. Ryuichi was standing behind her smiling brightly as usual. Or brighter, it was hard to tell.
"What don't I need?" Tohma responded.
"Well I can take you to the mall." She said smiling at him. The urge to tell him that her birthday was coming up was resisted as she looked on.
"I can go?" Ryuichi asked.
"No." Tohma said. "Eiri needs you here for something. He said he wanted to talk to you."
Eiri would look up at Ryuichi and nod at him. Ryuichi in turn would pout and walk over sitting next to Eiri. Tohma smiled a shallow smile at Erica as he started walking toward the door. She would follow him.
"First thing I need is a car." He said as he moved down the street to the first of three or four car dealerships. His card was accepted without a problem, something Erica had been worried about, but she knew that she shouldn't be, after all they took Eiri's card for the hotel room. He would buy a slick black car, something like a Jaguar, with a lot of trunk space and speed behind it. The fact that it had a standard transmission didn't mean anything to Tohma.
"Well if you go up here and get on the highway than we will be able to get the mall." Erica said softly. She was a little nervous with Tohma still, he seemed to be the one that would figure out the truth first if it killed him. He also drove at top speed whenever possible which didn't ease her mind any… to nervous to think it was fun right now.
Once at the mall she found that Tohma was at the very least generous. He offered her several items when they went, he didn't mind really. Erica talked a lot and it helped him get accustomed to where he was. He got Eiri a computer for writing, himself a keyboard set up, and Ryuichi… clothes because the poor boy was milling around in all the same clothes day after day, he only had a couple of outfits. At Erica's behest he would also pick up some clothes for Shuiichi. He got her a laptop computer, and a few other things that she wanted. She never had to ask him for anything.
But it would be at Harrison's Comic Stop that the trouble really started. For the sake of all their sanity Tohma stopped here to get some mangas for Ryuichi, something to keep him still for an hour or two. Erica bounced around looking at them, but the obvious never really struck her. Not until she looked up and noticed Tohma looking at a book, his blue eyes wide with shock. Her heard fell and she read the title. Gravitation!
She tried to take it away from him, but he dodged her easily.
"What is this?" He asked her, his eyes could eat through her soul. "Is this… is this real?"
"Yes." She answered softly.
"But how can this be?" He asked advansing on her; she backed away like a struck dog. People were starting to glance their way.
"I don't know. But it is true." She said softly, instantly the tears started to well up in her eyes, afraid that Tohma would tell everyone and their happy little world would fall apart. "You came out of that book. Well not that one, the one in my room."
"I need to sit down. Charge these." He said handing the man his card and signing the paper before stepping outside of the mall and sitting on the bench. His head reeling. Erica gathered the things from the confused man and joined Tohma.
"Please don't be mad." She said biting her lip.
"Tell me that Eiri doesn't know this?" Tohma said his cold blue eyes freezing her in their gaze. The words couldn't come out so she just shook her head, wishing desperately that Ryuichi was there to protect her.
"Good." He answered.
"What?" She gasped. "What do you mean good."
"Eiri would be in the hospital coughing up blood from his ulcer again if he were to stress himself out over this. I think it would be best for both of us not to tell him."
"Don't you think he had the right to know?" Erica asked.
"No. I don't." Tohma said standing up. "So, I promise, your secret is safe with me."
He would move back into the mall and finish buying what he needed. Erica's spirit seemed to be a little broken now, the bouncy elation from Ryuichi kissing her seemed so far away now. Seemed like years since that happened. Her eyes would close and she would sigh. Milling through the motions until Tohma was finished. Once everything was loaded into the car Tohma would look over at her, seeing that she had lost all of her fire.
"You don't believe me do you?" He asked.
"What?" She asked, falling out of her trance.
"You don't trust that I will keep my word and not tell the others." Tohma stated.
"Not really." She answered. Tohma's blue eyes narrowed on her and he would slam the car into gear peeling out. They drove home in complete silence.
Once back at the house Ryuichi was a little confused. He thought that they would be happy, Tohma liked going shopping, but instead he stormed in and told Ryuichi to go help Erica with the 'shit in the car'.
"What's going on?" Ryuichi asked walking up behind Erica who was staring blankly into the trunk of the car. He would wrap his arms around her waist and press a moment's kiss to her shoulder. "Why is Tohma so angry?"
"I don't know." Erica answered. She wasn't lying either, she didn't honestly understand what she had said that pissed him off. She wasn't a very trusting person, so the fact that she honestly told him that she didn't trust him, never crossed her mind as what could be the issue.
"Yeah I thought you two were getting along." Shuiichi said from behind them. She felt Ryuichi let go of her and turn to see who was talking before running a comforting hand over her back. "Oh! Do you two wanna be…"
"No." Ryuichi said as brightly as ever. Not a bit bashful. He would smile brightly to Shuiichi who had seemed to just get the drift, and then he would smile just as bright to Erica who he started to help unload the car. Now addressing her. "Don't worry. I know Tohma real good. He is nervous cause we are here. That is all. He will calm down some when he gets used to it."
"I hope so." Erica said softly.
"Me too." Shuiichi said shuddering. "Once again he kicked me out of Eiri's room so he could talk to him."
Erica looked at Shuiichi, her eyes wide.
"What!" He asked looking around. "I didn't do it!"
"What are they talking about?" She asked, trying to sound casual.
"I don't know. If they wanted me to know, they wouldn't have told me to come help you. Eiri was writing, so right now I doubt that they were talking about much of anything. Knowing Eiri all he is doing is half listening to what is being said and giving him short sardonic replies." The tone in his voice was more that that had better be what was happening because if it were him that had disrupted Eiri's work, it would have been a lot more than that.
Erica tried to trust Tohma, as she unpacked the car with the two bishies. But she just couldn't help but think in the back of her mind that he was telling Eiri everything. When Eiri finally came out of his room almost two hours later, nothing seemed to be wrong.
"Shuiichi. Stay out of my room for now. Tohma is sleeping. He didn't sleep at all last night." Eiri said running a hand through the pink hair of the other as he passed him and moved into the kitchen. Too late for coffee, it was after noon, so it was a beer and a cigarette. This seemed to have been the main staple of Eiri's existence since he had gotten here, and Erica had to wonder if he had eaten anything in the last few days.
"What were you guys talking about?" Erica asked, wanting to sound casual, but the way those golden eyes met hers, it was clear that he was unhappy.
"You actually." He said.
"W…What?" She whimpered slightly.
"I know you don't like Tohma for whatever reason. And honestly I don't know why, other than a rather gruff meeting he has been nothing but polite with you despite your seeming resentment. But really calling him a liar? Don't you think that is a bit extreme when you don't even know him?" Eiri growled. He walked over to the table that she sat at and placed his hands on the table, looking down into her eyes. "I don't know what was talked about, he wouldn't tell me, but I do know this, and I will share it with you. If he looks at you and tells you that he promises something… he means it. And no matter what happens he will do his best to keep that promise, which is why he rarely uses the word. There is no 'promise' in manipulation."
Eiri would then tear those golden voids from hers and storm out of the room, surpassing Shuiichi without a word he moved into his room, not slamming the door only because Tohma was sleeping. Again Shuiichi couldn't help but wonder if he would have done that for him, he had slammed the door with Shuiichi sleeping plenty of times, but usually he was trying to rouse him.
"Sometimes I hate that man." Shuiichi said walking into the room. Eric was sitting at the table staring at it. Ryuichi was outside on the balcony; he hadn't heard any of it.
"Eiri?" She asked looking up at him.
"Tohma." Shuiichi answered, he sat down hard at the table, his head coming down over it, hands wrapping around and tangling into that pink hair.
"Tohma?" She was shocked for a moment, she thought for sure he was mad at Eiri, but that might be, because right now, she was.
"Yeah, I am the one that is dating Eiri, but he treats Tohma more like a lover than he does me." Shuiichi whimpered. "I sound awful I know, but I just can't get past it."
"It doesn't sound awful. I was thinking that too." She said. She had vaguely noted that he had surpassed Shuiichi to go back to Tohma, so technically she wasn't lying.
"I just love him so much…" Shuiichi sniffled. "And I wonder if he even knows it sometimes."
"He knows it Shuiichi. Tohma is upset, he is just being a good friend." He wanted to believe what she was saying, but somehow her words sounded empty, as if she had something else on her mind.
"Is something wrong?" Shuiichi asked. From the parlor he couldn't hear what was being said in the kitchenette.
"No. I'm fine. Just tired, I think I'm gonna take a nap." She said getting up and walking out of the room. She went out on the balcony and told Ryuichi the same thing. He would smile at her and go with her to his room, getting her tucked in with Mr. Bear.
"Just rest Erica. I don't know what's going on, but if you stress yourself out, you're gonna get sick." He said running his fingers through her hair until she fell asleep.
