Never Letting Go

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Gravitation, though I continuously pray to be given the opportunity of doing so. I do however, at this moment, own Lucas Withers and Max Jesston.

Authors Note: WARNING: From here on out, scenes with Shuichi and Lucas will be quite…heavy. So, if you don't enjoy smut, don't read! I know we aren't supposed to reply to reviews, but I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter. I'm glad everyone enjoyed it. Also, I did my best to keep the time zones and such correct…but it's hard. I hope it doesn't confuse anyone.

IMPORTANT: There is a time difference between Japan and Washington (duh) I hope that doesn't confuse anyone. Would it be easier for me to put exact times on things?

Japan: Wednesday, September 14---10:30 AM Washington: Tuesday, September 13---6:30 PM

About an hour ago, Bad Luck returned to Japan after a long tour in the US, and they arrived with terrible news. Their lead singer had been left behind...

Chapter 2: Mental Abuse

"K, I can't. You know I'm supposed to keep a low profile even while I'm here in Japan. Doing you this favor could get me into a lot of trouble" Max Jesston spoke into the phone as he exhaled sharply. He turned, leaning against the table in his living room, staring at the television set. "How'd you get this number anyway?"

"I have my ways of doing things. I know you know that" K chuckled in reply. "Look it's only for a week. And you wont be doing any concerts. It's to keep Mr. Seguchi from suspecting that we've screwed up. We just need you to parade around NG for a little bit and pretend your Shuichi Shindou"

"That idiot? No" Max replied, "I can't act like that, and I know you know that"

"I know you know that I know, but I know you know you'll end up doing this anyway" K replied.

"I know you think you know me so well, K but you don't. I'm not doing this for you"

"I know you're just playing hard to get"

"I know"

"I know you know" K smirked.

"We both know a lot, don't we?" Max sighed into the phone and pushed off the table he was leaning against, and walked across the living room. "I suppose I could help you out just this once"

"I knew you would"

"I know…I hate you"

"That's okay private, a lot of people do" And with that, K hung up the phone, a broad smile washing over his features. Tohma Seguchi was a smart man and it would be difficult to outsmart him, but Max was good at what he did, so maybe now, they had a chance.

"My decoy will be here within the hour. Fujisaki, it's up to you, Nakano and Sakano to make sure that Seguchi doesn't realize that Max isn't really Shuichi"

"Who is this Max? Is he another crazy American?" Suguru asked. "We're trying to make things better. Not worse"

"Relax Fujisaki. Max is the best of the best. He used to do assignments like this all the time before he was transferred here. He was the best of the best" When he noticed their blank looks, he grinned and went into further detail, "His father was a top notch undercover police officer….Max is a quick study, and so he's learned his fathers ways. He was moved here as a safety precaution after his father was killed"

Suguru's eyebrow twitched lightly, "And why do we have to watch him, why cant you?"

"I'm going back to Washington" the man stated. "He's probably pacing around the airport wondering where we are"

"I hope he isn't getting into any trouble" Sakano worried.

"Mr. Sakano…this is Shuichi Shindou we're talking about" Suguru pointed out.

And just seconds after K left the room, Tohma Seguchi entered. "Mr. Sakano, Suguru, welcome back to Japan. I wasn't expecting to find you here, but, since I have, perhaps now is the perfect time to discuss the upcoming benefit concert Bad Luck will be performing in"

"B-benefit concert?" Sakano stuttered.

"I spoke to Mr. K about it when he called me from your tour in the US. He…didn't tell you about it?"

"It must have slipped his mind" Suguru sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"How unfortunate. Call Mr. Shindou over, you all need to begin rehersals once we discuss the details. It is important that NG be well represented in this concert, and a concert of this status could boost Bad Luck Sales"

"Mr. Seguchi?" Suguru asked, confused at why the man suddenly cared about their sales. Normally, he was concerned with Nittle Grasper.

"I'm feeling generous today, Fujisaki" Tohma grinned then turned to leave, "We'll meet in my office within the next ten minutes"

Suguru shuddered as Tohma walked away. He knew that smile all too well.

"Let me get this straight" Yuki began with an unusually loud sigh as he re-lit his cigarette and turned to stare out the large window towards the back of the kitchen. "You left him at the vending machine. You expected him to get on the plane on his own, and since you didn't have seats together you assumed that he had gotten on the plane?" He sounded bitter and angry...because he was. Hiro was supposed to be the best friend. When Yuki couldn't look after Shuichi, Hiro was supposed to do it.

Hiro remained silent and took a sip of the cup of coffee Yuki had poured for him. There was no point in responding, since he was sure Yuki knew what he was going to say. He had messed up. Being Shuichi's best friend, he should have known better than to assume Shuichi could stay out of trouble. He should have known... "I just wanted to let you know he wont be home tonight, incase you were...eager to see him. It has been a while after all"

"It's the 14th. Shuichi promised to be home on the 14th. He'll be here...he-" Yuki turned and glared at Hiro, "-better be here. You tell Tohma to pull whatever connections he has to get him back home now"

Hiro blinked twice then smirked, "You miss him! He'll be excited to know that"

Yuki put his cigarette out against the counter and glared at Hiro, "Did I make myself clear?" he asked. He did miss Shuichi, but he didn't need Hiro telling him that. Then, Shuichi would never leave him alone.

"Crystal" Hiro allowed the smile on his face to fade, "He should be home by around 10 tonight"

"Should be?" Yuki answered, which forced Hiro to shrug and reply with a, "You know things are never easy with Shuichi"

Just then, the phone rang, but Yuki continued to let it ring.

"Are you going to get that?" Hiro asked, nodding towards the phone.

"Let it ring" Yuki replied as he walked out of the kitchen and towards the flight of stairs. He'd work on his novel until Shuichi arrived. Maybe, he'd be able to keep his deadline. "Now get out"

Hiro nodded once and left quietly.

Meanwhile, the phone continued to ring, and Yuki ignored it. Once the house phone stopped ringing, his cell phone rang. Again, he ignored it. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now...anyone except Shuichi.

After living in Los Angeles for half his life, Max had learned to do things at a very quick pace. The second he had hung up the phone, he had headed out to the pharmacy right across the street. He needed dye, contacts, and some magazines with pictures of Shindou. He managed to gather them all in a matter of minutes.

He muttered to himself as he exited the pharmacy and looked at the bottle of dye in his hands. Pink...bleh. "If it wasn't for the fact that I feared that man and his weapons, I would have turned him down" he said to himself, crossing the street and entering his apartment building once again.

Normally, dying his hair would have taken at least an hour, but he knew he just didn't have that amount of time. He set the bag down and took out the amethyst contacts. He put them on, hiding his natural green eyes, then stared in the mirror, blinking once or twice. "Okay" he said, finding it very odd. Next he got the box of dye. "Lets get to work then.." he sighed, combing a hand through his brown locks.

He headed to the bathroom and leaned over, soaking his hair in the sink since he didn't feel like using the shower. Normally, he would have bleached his hair first, but when the pink dye came out, he didn't want to have blonde hair. So, he went straight for the pink.

Once he applied the dye, he headed back to the living room, grabbed some of the magazines, then headed back to the bathroom. He began to heat the dye up with the blow dryer to speed up the process, and flipped through the magazines.

"Mm...that Eiri Yuki is delicious looking...maybe...playing this Shindou character won't be so bad"

Shuichi stared at the phone with wide and sad eyes. Why wouldn't Yuki pick up the phone? Was he not home? Was he busy? Or was he upset because Shuichi hadn't returned to Japan on time? "Yuki..." he whispered, "I really need your help right now..."

He had only been there with Lucas for a day, but already, changes had taken place. Lucas had forced Shuichi to dye his hair brown, and he was now wearing green contacts. He had even cut Shuichi's hair just a bit. Even if he did get back to Yuki, would the writer recognize him?

He heard the bathroom door open and quickly set the phone back down on the receiver and rolled over on the bed, away from the small table. Shuichi curled up into a tight ball and pretended to be asleep.

"Jess, wake up" Lucas ordered, one hand holding up the towel around his waist, the other combing through his wet hair to force it out of his eyes.

Shuichi sat up sharply, "I'm not--" he stopped and blinked as he stared at Lucas, his eyes growing wide once again. He looked…kind of like Yuki. "--Jess". Absently, he licked his lips and his cheeks turned a shade of light pink. "I'm Shuichi Shindou….and I love Eiri Yuki"

Lucas' eyes narrowed as he suddenly reached out and backhanded Shuichi across the face, "No! You are Jess…you're my Jess" He grabbed Shuichi by the hair and pulled him off the bed, forcing the singer to let out a loud cry. "Your not behaving Jess, what's wrong with you? Why are you making me hurt you?" he let go of the boys hair and Shuichi stumbled against the wall.

He slouched down and lifted his hands over his head, waiting for the blows he knew were going to come, but…they never came. Instead, Lucas leaned down in front of him and grabbed him by the chin. "I want you to.." he grinned and lifted two fingers and forced them into Shuichi's mouth. He released the towel and used his other hand to grab Shuichi's hair again, and tilted his head back.

Shuichi closed his eyes and began to suck on Lucas' fingers.

"...put on something sluttish" he instructed as he moved his fingers in and out of Shuichi's mouth. "Before I got into the shower, I called some friends. They were with me when I took you for the first time. They're on their way here to...see you "

At that, Shuichi opened his eyes wide and turned his head away sharply.

Lucas grabbed him again and forced his fingers into the boys mouth, then leaned over, sucking on the flesh of his neck. "Do you remember that Jess? Do you remember how I invited two other friends over, and we all took you at once? I've never heard someone moan so loud. You little bitch."

Shuichi tried to speak, but was unable to. His body shuddered and he tilted his head further back.

Lucas pulled his fingers out of the boys mouth and stood with a pleased grin on his face. "Get ready for the night of your life Jess...now go get dressed"

Shuichi didn't move.

Lucas kicked at him, and Shuichi scurried out of the room that Lucas had assigned to him. It was a small, empty room. Nothing decorated it aside from a table, a night stand, a bed and some clothes that Lucas had gotten him.

He closed the door behind him and skimmed over the clothes before glancing towards the window. It was actually open! Normally, Lucas locked them but it looked like he had missed a window. He gave a silent prayer before hurrying over to the window and sliding out of it.

'Yuki' he thought as he closed the window behind him. 'Yuki, I'm coming home!'. He began to work his way down the fire escape.

A/N: Oh dear, Will K be able to make the next flight to Washington? What does Tohma have planned? How will Shuichi get around Washington with only a limited amout of knowledge of the english language?