Disclaimer: I own nothing! And what I do own is being packed away in many, many boxes...

Author's Notes: I TOOK A DAY OFF! YAY! I would've updated yesterday, but I decided to take a well deserved break. I was beat when I came home, but I felt so guilty, I worked the whole night through. It's six in the morning now and I just finished. ALL FOR YOU GUYS!

Feel special. I do this after recieving THAT many reviews? Lucky bastards...

Noriko's Story

The darkest days seem to be right around the corner. Not because of my age. I've actually aged pretty gracefully. Gods… here I am talking like I'm already sixty. I feel like I am some days. Like I want to get up and just go 'I've lived long enough, let someone else take over'.

We're at a tense time.

We've been broken up once before… it was the worst time for me. Because then, I actually had to live my life. Reality is a bitch, plain and simple. I stuck those years out with Tohma, and we were never more depressed then during that first break-up. We still smiled, we still went out every now and then… and on a rare occasion, we played together, but it wasn't the same.

I'm getting that same feeling again.

That over hanging, dark, I'm going to drown again feeling. Whenever it involves Ryuichi, I feel like I'm drowning. I nearly drowned at the Battle… somehow, like always, we pulled out of the whirlpool that was slowly taking us downward.

Maybe…

Maybe this time, I want to drown…

Tomorrow And Forever After

Light.

Cursed, cursed, burning light.

I could see it from behind my still closed eyelids, and it was a terrible sign. It meant I was waking up, and that wasn't right. From where the window in my room is, by the time I usually start waking up, it's dimmer, lower on my face, not directly in my eyes.

It was then that I could smell coffee and felt someone wrap their arms around me…

What the fuck was going on!

They were holding me from behind and I felt my breath start to come in shallow as I opened my eyes cautiously. I felt the person behind me shift, and I could hear the lips pull back in a smirk as they brushed against the shell of my ear.

"Your heart's pounding, Nori," he murmured and I wanted to scream.

"Ryuichi," I exhaled, relaxing immediately, eyes closing again.

"C'mon, up time!" he said, nudging me.

"Die…"

He giggled and scampered off, back into the kitchen I suppose. Then it hit me.

Ryuichi was alone. In my kitchen.

Warning bells went off and I all but leapt out of my bed, rushing into the kitchen. I didn't think Ryuichi would be one who was capable around… knives… and flames…

Standing at the kitchen doorway, I saw Tohma was the one in the kitchen, working around Ryuichi who was bouncing about. I sighed and leaned against the doorframe, eyes closed.

"Good morning, Nor... iko…," Tohma's voice trailed off.

Groaning, I lifted my head off the frame and smiled at him. "Morning. I hate that word."

I grabbed my cigarettes from the living room, lighting one up as I leaned against the doorframe again. "I thought Ryu was working around the kitchen, alone."

Ryuichi turned from the sink, making a face at me before staring and quickly turning back around. Tohma had focused his attention on retrieving mugs from the cabinet. I was bringing the cigarette back up to my lips when the silence hit me. It was awkward and making me wonder what was going on.

"I'm… going to hit the shower now…," I told them warily, walking off.

Putting out the cigarette in an ashtray in my room, I collected my things and went into the bathroom, setting them down. I ran the water, and slipped out of… of…

Fuck. I forgot I wasn't wearing pants…

That meant… that they…

THAT'S why they were acting funny. I paused as I turned the shower head on. Was seeing panties really a big deal? Well… Tohma was proper… very, very proper. And Ryuichi was just odd. I shrugged off my embarrassment, trying to laugh at it as I went through my daily routine.

They'd get used to it eventually.

I came out not long after, black slacks, low heels and a nicely pressed dress shirt. Light make-up applied so that I looked presentable. Hell, you're meeting someone who may change your life, you should always dress presentable.

Tohma and Ryuichi were sitting at the table, drinking coffee (though I doubted Ryu needed it…) and Ryuichi had candy. Tohma really needed to stop that. Ryuichi was hyper enough without the sugar and caffeine additives.

"C'mon guys, finish up," I told them, glancing at the clock. A little past nine thirty.

"You're not going to have anything?" Tohma asked.

I grabbed up my cigarettes and lit one up, wiggling it at them. "Breakfast." I laughed. "I can't stomach food this early in the morning, maybe some juice."

We headed out and Tohma's car was waiting. You couldn't help but be impressed. Tohma was chauffeured everywhere. The driver held open the door as we all slipped into the back, nervously awaiting our date with Fate.

We were punctual, waiting tensely in the immense lobby to be called up. I was sitting in a straight-backed, barely padded seat, fiddling with the demo CD in my lap, practically gnawing on the inside of my lip, both legs bouncing impatiently.

"Seguchi-san?"

Tohma looked up at the woman behind the rounded desk in the middle of the lobby.

"Kurosawa-san is ready to see you now."

I broke out into a smile of relief, glad to be out of that chair and moving. Ryuichi was bounding excitedly over to the elevators, Tohma following us calmly. The elevator felt like it took forever, me leaning against a reflective metal wall, arms crossed, tapping the demo on my side and Tohma trying to ward off Ryuichi's… propositions about elevators. Finally, finally the little chime rang out and we all snapped to attention, watching as the doors whispered open. We were faced with a long, quiet corridor, but we knew the one just to the left was Kurosawa's office. Tohma knocked lightly, waiting for the muffled 'come in!' and we entered.

The office felt closed in, although it was quite large. But there was only one window, the one behind Kurosawa's desk, and it wasn't very large. The plain white walls gave off an unfinished feeling, and the sparse furniture made me think that he'd put the chairs in there as an afterthought. All work and no play…

Kurosawa smiled, and I could finally get a good look at him this time around, sober, awake and in good lighting. He was of average height, perhaps half a head taller than Tohma. Broad shoulders accented by the neatly tailored suit, slim waist, dark brushed back hair, a slightly ruddy face and what seemed to be constantly smiling eyes.

He rose from his chair as we walked over, shutting the door quietly behind us. He shook all of our hands this time and offered us seats, taking his after we took ours. Hands folded atop the simple desk, he looked at us in silence for a moment before speaking.

"I have to say, if this demo passes with the boss… you're in, hands down."

Well… at least he was confidant.

"I'm sure your boss will be quite pleased," Tohma said evenly, a smile evident.

Kurosawa gave a light laugh. "A good attitude to have. So, may I be the first to hear it?"

Smiling, I handed over the CD, the thin plastic case had the words 'Nittle Grasper' scribbled across it in black marker. It was more for me than for him. If it had somehow gotten lost, I would've been able to find it better.

"Your group name?" He asked curiously, looking at the CD.

All three of us glanced at one another, Tohma and Ryuichi smiling politely, but their eyes were laughing loudly as I blushed, trying to ignore that night out.

"Yes, that's our name," Tohma said, laughter coating his words, and yet, he didn't laugh at all.

How did he DO that!

Well, whatever, not the point. Kurosawa got up from the desk, opening the case, removing the CD. He went over to one side of the room, popping it into a basic stereo system, hitting play. It was amusing to watch as he had to turn the volume up to hear the soft playing, then violently turn it back down as Ryuichi's powerful voice belted out the lyrics from nowhere. He was visibly excited after the first song, grinning wildly. Shutting it off, he turned to face us.

"Alright, I have to go by procedure, although I have to tell you, if my boss could hear this right this second, you guys'd be signed in a heartbeat."

One could only hope.

We talked a little more (more like Tohma and Kurosawa talked. Ryuichi and I were to busy having a sideways staring contest.) about what the contract might entail, how the set up for getting us promoted would go, managers, signings, tours, the whole deal. Another shake of the hand, a few more encouraging words and we were back out the door.

"I'm going back to bed," I groaned, getting into the waiting car.

Ryuichi followed. "I think I am too…"

"I'm up far earlier than this, and after that, you guys want to sleep?" Tohma asked, almost shocked.

"I have no idea what you two were talking about… All I know is, he liked our music," I shrugged, yawning.

Tohma shook his head and we went back to my place, where I fell into my bed, clothes and all, curling up in the unmade nest of blankets I had left. Ryuichi joined me, which I guess I would have to get used to eventually. (Although it's not every day the gay man you fell in love with is in your bed, cuddling you.) And Tohma stared at us in disbelief from the doorway.

I lifted my head. "Whose number did we give him to call?"

"Yours."

Wonderful. Kurosawa seemed to be the type to call at one in the morning to tell you how much his boss would love your newest song. I let my head fall back, eyes closing.

"C'mon, Tohma. You've got nothing better to do, a nap won't kill you," I said around a yawn.

Ryuichi bugged him until I felt the bed shift ever so slightly and saw Tohma snuggled up against Ryuichi. I smiled with a small hum, drifting off, praying to any Higher Power there was, to let them please keep their pants on.

I awoke later to darkness and an empty bed. For a moment, I actually wondered if all of it had been a vivid dream. A quick glance at my clothes said no, but I couldn't go by just that. I shuffled out of my room, the house eerily quiet compared to earlier when everyone had been bustling about. I missed Tohma and Ryuichi so much at that moment. I pulled open the fridge, goose bumps rising at the sudden exposure to the chill and as I placed the juice on the table, I found a note.

I couldn't help but smile. None of it was a dream. It was from Tohma, telling me that Kurosawa had called to tell us, once again, how much he enjoyed our CD after listening through the whole thing, and had made sure to send it along to his boss ASAP.

A tense, eventless week followed and I couldn't help but feel like we had failed somehow. We were all at my house, watching TV. It was just a do nothing night. Too bored to go out and do anything, but too restless to focus on TV. They wound up spending the night (they both practically lived here now, their spare clothes had their own drawers and closet space. Extra toothbrushes and other toiletries littered my bathroom. Not too mention the extra dirty dishes…) and in the morning, after coming back in from going out to breakfast, (Yes, Tohma had woken us up to make us go out for breakfast.) there was a message on my machine.

I hit 'play' and Kurosawa's voice poured out.

"Great news! The boss loves you guys and wants you right away! You have to call back to schedule another meeting, so as soon as you get this call my line. Leave a message if I'm out, I'll call back ASAP."

We stared at each other before I picked up the phone, handing it to Tohma. He accepted it, dialing and waiting for someone to pick up. In the mean time, I slipped back onto the couch, laying down as I drifted in and out of consciousness, Ryuichi somewhere in the house.

"You're worse than me, you know that, Seaweed?"

I let my eyes open slowly and saw Ryuichi peering down at me. "Wha…"

"Even I can be up and stay up before noon sometimes."

"Good for you," I told him, letting my eyes shut again.

"Next week at eleven. It's going to be a lunch meeting," Tohma said, prodding my leg with the short plastic antenna of the cordless phone.

"Wonderful. Now all of you get out of my damn house," I said grumpily, turning on my side to avoid more poking.

"But, Nori," Ryuichi whimpered. "Don't you love us anymore?"

Oh Gods… if he was going to cry…

"Shh, Ryuichi," I heard Tohma coo. "She's just playing."

Fuck. I made him cry.

Sitting up, I turned to look at Ryuichi who was smiling happily at me. "Yay! Nori's up!"

I looked at Tohma who was trying to hide a smile.

"You guys just suck."

Oooh, bad choice of words.

"We know," they joked in unison.

I groaned as if in pain and flopped back down. The broke out into a small fit of laughter and I smiled. They were so… them.

The week didn't seem to go by fast enough, but suddenly all too soon it was time for the meeting. We did the same routine (although I remembered pants this time around…) and went off to meet Kurosawa and his boss, Kazuki, at a fairly nice restaurant near-by. They were already there and waiting, Kurosawa chattering to his boss, who looked positively bored, trying to seem interested, but he looked like he just wanted to turn to Kurosawa and go 'shut up'.

A man after my own heart…

As we walked over, we did the handshake thing again and sat, ordering lunch, making small talk until we let Tohma take over and handle the business.

Kazuki, a man who looked to be in his late forties, was plump and squat, the jaw squared, but wrinkles filled out smooth with gluttony, hands looking like they'd never seen a day's worth of hard work. He had crow's feet around his eyes, but it didn't give them a feeling of continual smiling. His graying hair was a rug, I swear it, and his moustache quivered before every sentence.

Tohma discussed what we would want and need, Kazuki listening, interrupting, offering or denying was unknown to me. Kurosawa continually popped in with some random remark which made Kazuki's moustache jerk violently at being interrupted.

He was a fun man to watch.

I was able to sit politely, but I could tell Ryuichi was fighting off giggles and eventually had to stare down at his plate for fear of bursting out in a fit of laughter. In the end, we got the deal. Contracts would be drawn up immediately and we would receive the call once they were ready for us to sign. Kurosawa congratulated us heartily, boasting about how right he had been. Smile and nod, smile and nod…

As we stepped out of the restaurant, parting ways with our soon to be boss, we couldn't help the grins on our faces. Slipping into the car and all the way back to my house, we couldn't stop smiling. It was too perfect, too… fitting. And for a long time after that, I had faith in Fate again.

We were going to stay together.

I have no idea how the record business works, man... I was just bullshitting this whole thing, okay? No one tell me how improbable it is. Cause, in reality... uh, I don't care. Not a music fan really. Never cared how the business worked, why it's there, although I DO wanna know, how high you have to be, to let the fucking BACKSTREET BOYS MAKE ANOTHER FUCKING CD!

Dude... aren't they, like... 45 now? I find it just a bit weird, that full grown MEN can sing like GIRLS. Alright? OK? We clear? Good.

Sorry... SL is cranky when she has no cigs or sleep... mm... or food for that matter. Fuck, I forgot to eat. sigh Sleep first then eat. Bah...

So, I'm BEGGING you guys to review for me... please, let me know that my work and all-nighters are apprecieated, worth it... please. In all honesty, it does mean a lot sometimes to come one and find... even just ONE new review, y'know? Just a 'good job!' or something like that... Cause, for all I know, this is a pointless waste of my life. AND NO ONE WILL TELL ME! WAAAAAHHHHH!

Oh, damn do I need a nap. My eyes feel tired, ever get that? Your eyes just feel gritty and heavy and burny? Bah...

Okay, enough rambling. Um, I have no idea what the next chapter is... so... yeah. Uh... bye?