Authoress here.

I took a sick day today (well, a half day, didn't want to miss band) and I was planning on writing this during my free recoup-time. Ha. Well, after the five hour nap, I decided enough was enough. Listening to my new Gackt CDs (thanks for Love Letters, Ankara!) I am raring to go.

I CAN'T BELIEVE GRAVITATION (the manga series) IS OVER! Great ending, though…Too cute!

WARNING: If you have issues with slight/mostly implied not very physical yaoi, then don't read on. But why, I would then ask, are you reading Gravitation?

Breaking the Tie
Chapter Eleven: Seduction of the Requiem

Gravitation

"There…." Toshi pointed at the monitor with the eraser end of his pencil."And there. The rhythms aren't fitting with the fifth and third parts."

He was sitting at the computer in Suguru's extensive in-home studio, working out the bugs in the mini-symphony composition written for the new song, with the working name of Pale Child. Working on the lyrics individually had proven less difficult than he had first thought, but the computerized background with the five-violin set had needed the expertise of Suguru. The older man had been more than happy to help when Toshi had asked for his assistance, and for the past hour, then had the set nearly perfected.

"Yes." Suguru scribbled something down on the staff paper in his lap. "The third line has to stay that way, unless you want to change the fourth and second as well."

"No thanks."

Suguru laughed at Toshi's fervent response. "Agreed. So why not try a syncopation rhythm, instead of the triplet run?"

The older man shifted in his chair, his knee touching Toshi's. Unconsciously, Toshi moved, concentrating on the screen.

"Nah, the sync rhythm would then screw with the first line. How about a dotted half there with a sixteenth rest…Suguru-san, you listening?"

"Yeah." Suguru shook himself, crossing and then uncrossing his legs, looking very uncomfortable. "Hey, Toshi, I'm gonna run to the bathroom. I'll be just a minute."

"Kay."

Suguru set down his staff paper and hurried out of the studio, not slowing until he was in the bathroom. Locking the door, he leaned against it.

"Damn." He let his head rest on the door, breathing slightly faster than normal. He crossed to the sink, and turned the taps on cold. Cupping the water in his hand, he splashed his face, emitting a low gasp at the frigid temperature.

When he had first joined Bad Luck, and had his first close encounter with a gay guy, Suguru had thought himself high above the love-struck Shuichi. He had been taught that male love wasn't only unnatural, but sinful. And that's why his affection for Shuichi's son bothered him so much.

Suguru had attended most of Toshi's birthday parties and school-concerts. As a child Toshi had assumed that Suguru was his uncle, a delusion broken when he was around nine. Aoyou, Yuki and Shuichi all trusted him, all considered him a family friend.

Each of those ought to have been reason enough to know that the way he felt was evil.

Toshi was so young.

So beautiful in his innocence.

He was so fragile.

And yet strong in such a graceful way.

Suguru splashed his face again, blushing at his thoughts. The boy was just down the hall!

He never thought he was gay.

He watched the boy grow up, damnit! Grow into the handsome, talented man he was today. He wasn't supposed to want to hold him, caress his cheek, caress his lips-

Another handful of the icy water splashed his face as he cursed the thought out of his mind. He would not be gay.

But you are. And fighting it won't help. Shuichi tried to fight it. How did that help?

He barely tried.

He's happy, though. Are you happy, Suguru?

Yes. I have my daughter, and a successful career.

Really. You have no wife, no girlfriend- Only your thoughts of Toshi.

Toshi and Keyara-

She hardly acts like she even enjoys his presence.

Toshi is a boy. A kid.

A man.

Doesn't matter. He's like a little brother to me.

Don't you think if that were true, you wouldn't feel this way?

"I don't!"

Suguru glared at the mirror, his reflection glaring right back. Water coursed down from his bangs, threading between his brows and down the side of his face, finally dropping off of his chin. Eyes, half-haunted, bored right back at him, and the remains of his blush still stained his cheeks.

Come on. Toshi's waiting for you.

Suguru took a towel and patted his face dry, noting the droplets that had fallen onto his shirt. Hopefully Toshi wouldn't notice.

Seize the chance while it's here, Suguru.

He unlocked the door, smoothed his shirt, ran his fingers through his hair, and started back down the hall.

What's to lose?

There Toshi was, engrossed in the program on the computer, counting aloud softly, pausing to make an adjustment. The redheaded boy hardly noticed Suguru's return, deep gold eyes fixed on his work, a lock of the rebellious hair half-covering one eye. He chewed on his lip thoughtfully, unknowingly bringing an ache to Suguru's chest.

He looked up as Suguru sat down. "I think I got it! The final rhythm of this d-a-m-n song!" He laughed, and blushed slightly. "'Scuse my language."

"You're excused."

"Okay, instead of the bit from measure forty-two, I added this-" Toshi pointed at the glowing screen- "And here I added just a measure of rest, then it doesn't interfere with anything else."

"Nice. Let's hear it." Suguru masked his discomfort by loading a blank CD into the computer tower, getting ready to record the computerized score.

Toshi nodded, and selected the option on the computer menu.

It started out softly, the first part electric violin wailing out a melancholy melody. It was pop in feel, but still remorseful. Slowly, it was joined by the second, third and fourth parts, which were ranging from rock to classical, giving the song an overwhelming feeling of confusion and hurt. Then, a sudden, harsh silence, broken shortly by the single sawing of the fifth part.

Toshi looked at Suguru a wild grin on his face. "It's perfect!"

Suguru had to agree. Even with the musical genius of Shuichi, Hiro and himself being the forerunners of Japanese pop music, this would rival their popular latest single on the top twenty charts.

Toshi was speaking again. "-Now imagine the electric guitar part just crashing up scales here, chromatically, and the drums just whacking it out…." He drifted off, savoring the music with a happy smile.

Now!

Almost without recognizing what he was doing, Suguru leaned forewords, brushing the strands of hair away from the striking eyes of the young man. He leaned even closer, the breath of his words hot on Toshi's cheek. "You're wonderful."

Toshi was paralyzed, unable to move at Suguru's intrusive touch. Half-confused, half-terrified, he hardly heard the front door slam a hallway and a few doors away. He locked eyes with Suguru, wanting to push him away, wanting to ask what he was doing, but Suguru was talking in the same, low, voice.

"I'm sorry, Toshi-" How his lips caressed the word-! "But I can't kid myself any more. I know it's…different, but..."

Without any of the hesitation of his previous reservations, Suguru leaned foreword and connected his lips with Toshi's.

Toshi Shindou

I can't breathe.

I can't move.

It feels like the only thing I'm capable of doing is wondering why in the heck is Suguru- Uncle Suguru, Dad's friend and band-mate, Keyara's father- is kissing me?-!

Oh, God. He's kissing me.

His hand is still on my cheek.

He's kissing me. I want to throw up. I want to run away. I want to do something.

He thinks I'm gay?

He's gay? Since when?

Finally, after a thousand thoughts and horrific ideas racing through my mind, he pulls back. Not fully, though, as he takes a breath and kisses me again, though with less force than before. I'm still immobile, unable to move because of the shock.

We're apart again. For some dumb reason I feel the burn of tears against my eyes. I can't stop looking at Suguru in horrified fascination. He could be my father. He could be my brother. He could be a lot of things, but none were things were he would be kissing me.

He caught my expression, and faltered. "I-I…Um, I'm sorry…" He kept mumbling, and took out the finished CD and put it on the desk before leaping up and hurrying away.

I took the CD off of the desk numbly, one tear brimming over and spilling down my cheek.

"You…bastard."

I whipped around to see Keyara at the door, her own face shiny with tears. She must have seen-!

I found my voice. "K-Keyara, it's not l-like that-"

"So all this time, you were using me for my father?"

"No! He-"

She advanced on me, slowly. "You stole his love from me."

"What?"

"You…thief." The danger and fierce anger in her brown eyes is evident even from a few feet away. "I love him, and he chooses you-!"

The meaning of this statement took awhile to register. When it did, even more of my world crumbled. "You…love him, love him? He's you father!"

"No!" Keyara shot back. "He's my adopted father He's of no blood relation to me, and I've loved him for as long as I remember. He's always treated me like a child!"

"But…" Too much, too fast. "What about….what about you and me?'

She laughed. She actually laughed. "You're so innocent, Toshi. So innocent. You were supposed to show my dad the light. That men were interested in me. That I'm a woman, not some kid!"

Another tear slipped down my face, but anger slowly wound its way into my consciousness. "You were just using me to seduce your father?" It sounded so vile as I said it, and apparently Keyara didn't like how it sounded either. She crossed the gap and slapped me.

The stinging blow didn't hurt half as much as what she was saying. I was such an easy pawn for her! I risked hurting Seiya, our band, to be with her.

"He's not my father!" Keyara hissed. "And yeah, so what? I love him, and I was willing to do anything to be with him! Wouldn't you have done the same?"

I didn't answer. She didn't deserve the answer. I did do what it took to be with the person I thought I loved, even though she manipulated the entire thing.

Instead, I wiped a hand across my face. I gripped the CD harder, and stood. Keyara stepped back a pace, and in our close proximity, I towered over her. I stared down at her, matching her glare.

"You stole my kiss." Keyara whispered. She looked about ready to hit me again.

Somewhere in my mind I rationalized her actions. Yes, to be in love with someone lager than life, and through chance, come to be his legal daughter, might have erased her better sense of judgment. To be so close to what you longed for, but always unable to pass the line between father and daughter and lovers would hurt.

But right then I didn't care.

"So when you kissed me?" I had to ask.

She gave me the grimmest, most awful smile, thin-lipped and barely there. "I pretended you were him."

That hurt. It hurt so badly, so deeply. I brushed past her, out of the front door, out of the expensive apartment building, into my car. I moved in a daze. Dumbfounded by fate, seduced by the allure of music and the requiem of romance, I had ultimately lost.

End Chapter

Authoress here.

TWISTY TWISTY! How's that for a nice, juicy plot twist? I was originally going to make this two chapters, but since the last one was dismally short and was posted forever ago, I decided that two big surprises (hopefully they were surprises) would be a proper apology.

Review!