Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this fiction; they belong to Maki Murakami. I have no profit from this, nor do I seek any. They do not belong to me. However, the song and the plotline depicted here are of my own imagination, so please do not plagiarize them. Thank you very much.
Warning: Boys Love but not really. Bah, who am I kidding, they don't even kiss. There's like, a hug. Once. So if you're offended by hugging between two guys then… wait, then why are you reading a Gravitation fic in the first place? (laughs) Oh, and it swears… what, maybe twice?
The cool metal of a microphone always felt good in Shuichi's hands. It was almost like running water, or the sound of wind chimes. It had a calming effect on the boy. Nothing else in the whole world mattered for that one moment. There was no anger, no sadness, no joy, and no love… It was just Shuichi and the mike, and no forces on Earth, in Heaven, or in Hell could take that away. In spite of all this, he ventured to look into the audience, searching almost unnoticeably for a familiar face. When no image came to him, he let out a soft, inaudible sigh. He could hope, he supposed.
"You ready?" Shuichi turned, smiling bemusedly at the face of his best friend. How was it he always seemed to catch on when Shuichi was distracted? Was Shuichi that obvious, or was Hiro just particularly observant? The brunette grinned, flashing him a thumbs up. Shuichi followed suit, doing the same, flashing his smile in a toothy grin. Suguru chuckled to himself at the wordless display of confidence, hooking up his keyboard. The curtains on the platform slowly opened, the stage obscured by darkness. Slowly, Shuichi managed to concentrate in spite of the screaming fans in the crowd, eyes closed firmly shut. This was the most important moment of the concert; he needed to focus. Shuichi knew from experience that a faulty beginning only could lead to an end that would be no better. Slowly, he opened his eyes as the lights illuminated the stage. He grinned broadly, waving his hand and addressing the crowd.
"Hello, Tokyo!" Shuichi yelled to the audience, among the screams of elated fans. "We're Bad Luck!"
He grinned at the familiar cries of his fans, the feeling he got just before performing almost overwhelming him. The adrenaline rush was definitely kicking in.
"Shuichi!"
"Hiro-saaaan!"
"Suguru-chan!"
"We love you!"
He chuckled, continuing on. "We'll be singing our all-new single tonight, 'Prologue!'" Shuichi glanced back at Hiro, who gave him a nod to go on. "But first, how about a few that are a bit more familiar?"
The crowd screamed again, cheers and whoops like music to his ears.
"I'll take that as a yes!"
The introduction to "The Rage Beat" began to play, screams in the crowd escalating at the familiar music that they had come to love. You know what they say about concerts, start them up high energy and ease them on down. Balling his hands into fists, Shuichi practically attacked the opening head-on, voice resonating through the crowd like a powerful, crashing wave of sound. The well-known beginning resonated through the crowd.
Obieta mezuki de iradatsu omoi uwaki na kaze ni hakisutete…
This was the feeling that Shuichi lived for. There was nothing to compare it to. He spread his arm out wide, beckoning to the crowd, as if searching for something far beyond his range of sight. The love in his eyes and voice for the music, the intensity in his every move, that was what drove anybody who listened to him completely wild. With one look you can tell the sincerity in his delivery. He was no crafted musician, molded and shaped into the image of the fans and superiors. He was unique… special. Whether it was on a conscious level or not, each and every listener could tell he was the real deal. The older tunes played on, each one greeted with the approval and elation of their fans. With each and every tune, the oncoming of adrenaline never faded. Finally, the lights dimmed, spotlights shining in three places: Above Suguru, Hiroshi, and Shuichi. The audience fell silent, anticipation electric through the crowd. They knew what was coming next, and they just had to wait patiently.
The crimson-haired boy whispered a single word into the audience, breaking the silence.
"Prologue."
The crowd, it was safe to say, went wild. Of course, with the arrival of a never-before-heard Bad Luck song, what fan wouldn't?
A hush went over the large, encompassing room as the first few notes began to play. They could tell right away it wouldn't be like most of their songs, fast paced and reckless. Shuichi's eyes glittered by the glow of the spotlight.
With every verse came a memory. Shuichi closed his eyes, half wanted to block them away, and half wanting them to wash over him.
I hope somewhere you can see me…Without another moment wasted, the song began.
(In a dark twilight, we met unknowingly
Illuminated by only short glances of the stars
Guided by artificial light, obscured by the moon,
Somehow, two hearts connected.)
"My lyrics! Hey, come back here…"(A melody began to play in the background
Nobody can hear it but the two of us
The overture played in our ears
I can't seem to pull myself away)
"I can't forget about him Hiro… Because he was… really cool."
(Naive words flew wildly to the wind
Only to be captured in the palm of your hand
In a single moment, we were connected
Beginning the end of the prologue) "Is this your writing?"(More than our chosen paths tie us together
The blood-red ribbon of fate binds me to you
Even through the terror of a fearful past Please don't cry for me, I'm still standing.)"I really wanted to be with you, but I couldn't. I didn't want to chase you away. When I remembered how I betrayed others… No, I absolutely can't go back to that time…"
(Naïve words flew wildly to the wind
Only to be captured in the palm of your hand
In a single moment, we were connected
Beginning the end of the prologue)
"You shouldn't try to write a love song with your level of skill."
(The brevity of a solemn, stoic man
Remains etched forever in my mind
That night we started our story
And tonight, I end our prologue.)
"I'm going back. Back home."
With one last, lingering note, the song faded out.
Slowly, Shuichi opened his eyes. Shock was prevalent in every face of the audience, and almost every one on stage. For a second, the whole crowd remained silent. A panicky feeling suddenly came over Shuichi. Oh, God, they must have hated it. He closed his eyes tight, wanting to run off of the stage, out of the room, out of town. He tentatively opened his eyes again. Out of the blue, a soaring oncoming of sound swept the crowd. Never, in any of his concerts, in any performances, had he gotten such an enthusiastic reaction. It was pure pandemonium. The noise was almost deafening, but Shuichi couldn't care less. He turned to Hiroshi and Suguru, who were awestruck. Hiroshi was grinning so wide that his face could have split in half. Suguru's mouth was hanging open in, it had to be said, a very un-Suguru-like idiom.
"Thank you!" Shuichi said, turning back to the audience. "Thank you very much! You guys are the best!" With one last wave, the band exited, among shouts from their admirers.
Backstage, Shuichi held a water bottle to his lips, taking a long, thirsty swig. He wiped the sweat from his brow, face practically frozen in a goofy grin. This had to be one of the best concerts he'd had in a long time. Leaning back in his chair, he let the afterglow of the concert wash over him. He wouldn't trade this for anything.
"Shuichi, you wonderful freak of nature!"
Glancing up, the pink-haired vocalist waved to his oncoming friend.
"That was awesome!" Hiro exclaimed, slapping his companion on the back. Shuichi gave a start at the force of the powerful smack. "Best performance in a while, and damn if that's not sayin' a lot coming from you!" Hiro's eyes shone with pride, more excited than Shuichi had seen him in a while.
"Right, right, I know, I'm brilliant," Shuichi said, facetious as always. "But Hiro, it wouldn't have been anything without you. The guitar solo? Inspired. Especially since I know you had trouble with that one part near the beginning, right?"
Hiro crossed his arms in mock annoyance. "What are you talking about? The Genius, Brilliant Hiroshi Nakano- my trademarked title, mind you- having trouble with a guitar solo! Ludicrous, I tell you!" After a moment of silence between the two, both of them practically exploded with laughter. Shuichi wiped a tear from his eye, clutching his stomach. They were both always like that after a performance, giddy and energized like they'd drunk forty cans of caffeine-filled soda.
"Seriously, though, Shu," Hiroshi choked, still trying to catch his breath. "That was awesome, wasn't it?"
Shuichi got a faraway look in his eyes for a second, expression uncharacteristically serious. "Yeah… yeah, it was."
Hiroshi blinked a moment. "You okay?"
Shuichi nodded exuberantly. "Never better! I just… Ah, it's nothing."
The brunette smiled softly. "Don't worry," he said, opening the door to leave. "He saw you."
Confused, Shuichi tried to say something, but Hiro didn't hear him. How was it that he always seemed to know what he was thinking? Blinking a moment, he realized that was the second time he'd had that thought that night. Shuichi chuckled to himself. Even though the thought was pretty unlikely, he did hope that somewhere Yuki was watching him sing. But Yuki rarely came to his concerts, and when he did, he usually just showed up to pick him up. It had been a long time since Yuki had come to one of his concerts. Not that the boy minded; he knew that his lover was busy. The demands of his novels often got the best of him, causing him to stop taking care of himself, let alone come to one of his concerts. Still, Shuichi mused, it would be nice.
He remembered the conversation he'd had with Yuki just this morning.
Shuichi peered into Yuki's office, timidly peeking his head around the door. "Yuki?" he said tentatively, knowing that sometimes the blonde's temper was rather short near a deadline, even more than usual.
"What?" Yuki responded dully, eyes never leaving the screen of his laptop.
"Umm, I was wondering," the boy said timidly, "Tonight, can you listen to my concert tonight? Like, not even the whole thing, just near the end?"
"Yeah, yeah," Yuki murmured, pausing from his typing, taking a drag from his precious cancer-stick. "Sure."
"Okay," Shuichi responded, turning to leave. He knew that was 'Yuki Language' for 'If I feel like it.' "I'm going. 'Bye."
"Seeya."
Shuichi glanced behind him, trying not to get downhearted right before an important concert. For a moment, his eyes lingered on the office door, giving a nearly silent sigh. With a tug of a jacket and the shuffling of shoes, the teen hurried out the door, knowing that K would, quite literally, shoot him if he were late.
Shuichi pulled on his coat, heading towards the back entrance where the fans couldn't get to him so easily. I'm being selfish, he thought, walking out the building. His eyes traveled upward, marveling at the night sky. Snow floated down from the heavens, a snowflake landing on his nose. A small smile flitted across his face. He always loved the snow, and with good reason. It reminded him of Yuki; it was his name after all.
He strolled down the lot where the concert was being held, grinning at the still noisy building behind him. He looked down at the ground, snow beginning to pile on the pavement. With every step he left footprints, a gentle crunch sounding underneath his feet. Besides, He reflected, his train of thought continuing, Yuki's got a deadline in less than a week, of course he's not going to have time to-
"Do you normally walk by somebody without even saying hello?"
Shuichi started, meeting with a familiar blonde-haired figure. Strangely gentle, golden eyes considered him, a small smirk residing on the man's face.
"Yuki?" Shuichi breathed, shivering slightly from the cold. "What are you doing here?"
"You asked me to watch your concert," Yuki said, as if this was the most obvious answer. "Didn't you?"
"W-well, yeah, but I meant on T.V. or something!"
The novelist brushed off the remark. "I felt like coming," Yuki said mildly, tucking his hands in his pockets.
"Oh…" Shuichi said, knowing that was the most detailed explanation that he would get. "Well, how did you know about this exit? Nobody does; it's to keep the fans at bay…"
Yuki jerked his thumb in the general direction of the building. "Your friend, Hiro or whatever, tipped me off."
Shuichi blinked, suddenly understanding what Hiro had meant before. "Well," he mumbled, "You still didn't have to come…" He considered that a moment, adding quickly, "I mean, don't think I'm not happy about it, but you have a deadline coming up really soon, don't you?"
Yuki gave a low chuckle. "My editor told me to take another week, there was some problem with publishing company or crap like that. I wasn't really listening. I'm ahead of schedule, if anything."
Shuichi smiled happily. "That's great!"
Yuki shrugged nonchalantly, as if he didn't care either way. There was a strange, unfamiliar pause between the two. Shuichi, flustered, shifted from foot to foot, trying to think of some way to bring up his question. Yuki looked at him, a mildly quizzical look on his face. Normally, Shuichi wasn't exactly shy about anything, so this behavior puzzled him.
"So… um…" Shuichi began, "When did you get here?"
Yuki was quiet for a second. To Shuichi's shock, a serene (albeit small) smile bloomed across the older man's face. "Right before your last song," Yuki said quietly, placing an arm around the younger boy's waist.
"My last song?" Shuichi asked him, stepping closer to the older man. "So… did you like it?" Yuki's other arm wrapped around him, Shuichi's head coming to rest on Yuki's chest. He vaguely acknowledged the warmth of Yuki's embrace, letting the rarity of tenderness in the moment sink in. Shuichi realized couldn't feel the snow falling anymore. After a moment of silence between the two, Yuki set his chin on the boy's bright pink hair. In a gentle and would-be kind voice, he whispered, "You have zero talent."
Shuichi half-heartedly cuffed Yuki on the arm, trying to suppress a laugh. "Jerk."
"You're welcome."
THE END
Author's note: Wow, that's gotta be the longest one-shot I've written. But… Geez, fluffy much? Sorry to rot your teeth with sugar there. Normally I try to avoid overly fluffy endings, but this scene played out in my mind over and over again, so I just had to write it. And darn it if Yuki and Shuichi aren't one of the (and forgive me for this fangirl-like remark) cutest couples out there, guy-on-guy or otherwise.
Oh, and the italicized quotes in between verses were lines from the series that I deemed appropriate for those particular moments. I tried to make that obvious, but I can understand if it left ya a bit confused.
I also couldn't resist the remark about the 'cancer stick,' I just think it is such a weird and unique way to refer to a cigarette. (snickers) (I have a large dislike for smoking- no offence to smokers out there.) ANYWAY! Thank you for reading, and please review! As a relatively new writer in fanfiction, criticism is very much appreciated!