The Red Violin Chapter 6: Vapid Thankyou's, a gravitation fanfic

edit My apoligizes if this appears twice in your email. I deleted the notice, and then I realized the link to this chapter got killed when I did that, so I had to reupload the notice in to the slot for chapter 5 and then reupload this into the slot for chapter 6.

Omigod I'm on chapter 4:sheads tears: Well, it's kinda techniqually chapter 5... Screw it I'll just call it chapter 5 even though the last chappie was way too short.

Anyhow, I know that getting to chappie 5 is not a big deal to most people, but to me, this is a break through. I never stick with stuff this long.

Yeeeeeeee.

Chapter 5

The night drifted off, and then dawn had risen, and he knew that the day was just dipped with the morning rise, by the colors sitting on the blinds; raw red leaking across the shards of plastic. Eiri still could not see why sleep hadn't come. After what had happened, Shuichi was exhausted, and had fallen swiftly into slumbers arms, his face relaxed and content against the puffy sheets, much like him self should have been.

Eiri didn't like to be touched after sex, and so earlier he had shied away in hopes of escaping the boys grasp, but found it was impossible without waking him which was worse then being touched. And so he lay there, staring up at the ceiling with vapid eyes, tense at the feel of Shuichi's chest rise and fall against him.

What was going on?

Eiri felt some thing. It was only a tingle of a sensation, induced in vanity. But it was enough to make him shutter unnoticeably at Shuichi's hand, but half way, maybe a little more then half, he was also drawn to it. He could relate such feelings to… people he didn't... particularly wished not to remember.

He really didn't want to meddle on things that had long passed, especially connect them with the present. If anything, that was the last thing he wanted.

Even if he did, Eiri's memory was far too fuddled to think back to such… pain and hostile terror. The last time he had tried understanding the meaning of such things it hadn't ended so well. He didn't want to swerve back into taking –that-many pills for his mental state alone.

No.

Eiri didn't want to think of this. It had nothing to do with the boy lying next to him. It was a futile effort. His thoughts were in the wrong direction, and to fix the problem he just stopped thinking of it. This was a one night stand. He only used the kid for a good fuck. Eiri was just doubtlessly just getting bored with only being with Tohma, and he had needed some thing to clear his head after dealing with Hisano.

The violinist nuzzled his face into the sheets, trying to find some thing soft about it that would quickly induce him. He struggled to move, finding it difficult, with Shuichi still clinging so lovingly. Risking the boy's dream, Eiri shifted just a little, and it did wonders to his comfort level, also, to his satisfaction, Shuichi didn't seem bothered.

And so, his eyelids fell slack, and the world slipped from his view. The vertigo of exhaustion devoured him.

When Eiri awoke it was to the sound of a yelp. Eyes cracking open, he searched around for the source, taking notice to Shuichi's absence, and the sound of the water running in the direction of the closed bathroom door. A humming replaced the yelp, and the violinist sighed, assuming Shuichi had stumbled on some thing and regained his balance.

It wasn't his problem if the kid was a clumsy idiot, anyway.

Eiri pondered the time with some annoyance, wishing he hadn't woken – and pulled his wrist up into his view almost subconsciously, only to see his watch wasn't there. Grumbling and wondering why Shuichi had to take everything off him, he leaned down against the side of the bed, flopping over a few clothes, turning over, and then seeing its gleaming black metal against the carpet. Swapping up the small garment, Eiri pulled back up into the pillows, reading the time. 1:34! How long had it been since he'd slept in so late?

Shuichi began to sing a tune the violinist didn't recognize. Eiri meekly listened, yawning and resting once more. Even with the sleep last night, he was still so tired.

"Guess she knows, from the smiles and the look in their eyes,"

Eiri perked up, making out the lyrics,

"Everyone's gotta theory about the bitter one, they're saying,"

The boy had a nice voice.

"Mama never loved her much, Daddy never keeps in touch,"

Splatter. Splash. Hum.

"It's why she shies away from human affection..."

At this point he wasn't listening. In fact, deftly, he'd realized he hadn't eaten since before he'd left for Hisano's party, and so Eiri was searching for a the hotel phone as he gathered his shorts and pants on. He'd figured the brat would be hungry too.

"She can't remember a time when she felt needed…."

Eiri pulled his pants up, getting a brief glance at him self in the mirror hanging opposite of the bed. Chuckling a bit, he remarked, he had really bad sex hair. Doing his best to flatten it, he went back for to looking for a phone. Damn it. Where was it?

"If love was red then she was color blind."

He stopped shortly to hear the song a little more as Shuichi hit a particularly high note.

"She's sayin', love is like a barren place, and"

"Reaching out for human faith is- like a journey I just don't have a map for."

Hum. Hum. Shuichi obviously didn't know the entire song.

"Now we're flyin' to the moon and back, if you'll be"

"If you'll be my baby."

Ah! There was the phone. Just on the bedside table. Eiri convinced himself he didn't notice it earlier because of his fatigue. Sitting on the corner of the mattress, he picked up the phone, looking at the list of numbers taped conveniently on the receiver. Room service was the first number on the list. And so, he dialed.

"Uh, hello. This is room service, correct? What do you serve for breakfast?"

The sound of the shower running dissipated. And hearing the choices of food they served, Eiri decided he changed his mind on wanting any breakfast, even though it was a bit late to technically be breakfast. He was too picky.

"Ah… I see. Could you send up with some coffee to room 304? No, no, black. No sugar. At all."

Some more hummed tunes, and the sound of feet patting the tiles.

Eiri's glanced to the bathroom door. He wasn't sure what kind of food Shuichi liked. Oh well, he could always just get him some more food if he didn't like what he ordered.

"You said you had blueberry pancakes? Yeah, that would be fine. With err… Some apple juice, I suppose. Yes, that's all. And it's room 304. Alright. Bye now."

He hung up.

The sound of the bathroom door creaked, and a certain red head stepped out of the shower, a towel hanging limply from around his neck as well as the one he was using to dry his naked torso. He already had his boxers on.

"I ordered you breakfast. So you're eating whether you're hungry or not."

Shuichi seemed a little surprised at this. "I didn't know you were awake." A little saddened he asked, "Sorry. Did I wake you?"

"How can you not with that voice of yours grating my ears?"

Shuichi flushed red, chest tightening. "Y-You heard?" He mumbled.

"Yes, all of it. Now, I ordered you some breakfast, so you better be hungry."

Shuichi stopped to debate this in his mind. "Actually, I kinda am." He grinned. "Thanks for ordering me some thing. Whadidya order?" He leaned down on the floor to grab his discarded pants, hopping into each leg-piece.

"Pancakes." Eiri yawned, pulling his legs up and the blankets over himself, a little intent on falling asleep.

"Yay! I've never had pancakes before," Shuichi smiled, brimming with happiness as he plopped up on the bed just beside the violinist, making the mattress shake a little with the addition of weight. "A-ano…" Shuichi's smile fell, and he looked uncomfortable and timid. Yuki glanced dully at him. "I've been meaning to ask…" He tugged at the bed sheets. The blond wondered if he wanted to ask him; one, for his phone number, two, if they could fuck again, or three, how good he was. People tended to ask those kinds of things after loosing their virginity.

Surprisingly, it wasn't any of his three assumptions.

"The money… for… skipping out on work." The red head tried not to make eye contact. "I wouldn't ask, but," he paused, "I really… need the money. Otherwise I would have stayed at Hisano's place." Shuichi glanced back at Eiri, who had already pulled his jacket up from its spot on the floor, and was now searching for his wallet.

"How much?"

"Um… I think they were gunna pay me 27,000yen or some thing like that…" Eiri's fingers dug swiftly around the bills, and he pulled out 28,000yen, handing it to Shuichi, who, uneasily, took it. He then rolled it up neatly, and pulled up his own jacket from the floor, placing it safely into one of the inner pockets.

Gazing back at Eiri, Shuichi showed him his smile again. "Thankyo-," The sound of knocking cut him off.

"That's probably room service with the food." Yuki grunted, getting up from the bed in mild annoyance, wallet still in hand, as he made his way to the bedroom door, through a twist in the hall, onto the cold tiles of the kitchen floor, toward the front door. The knocking creased as he opened it, light from the hallway illuminating the hardwood.

"Uesugi-san, correct?" The man in the doorframe smiled, rather nervously, Eiri noted. He looked a bit ruffled up, with his thick rimmed glasses threatening to fall off his face, and his sleek black hair, shining in waves of whites and grays. The violinist skimmed the name tag resting on his tuxedo, which read Sakano in neat kanji.

Eiri could feel Shuichi peeking from behind him as he tugged a little on the sleeve of his shirt; a pleading, pathetic and yet some how, adorable gesture. He paid it no mind, however, as Sakano pushed the cart with the food sitting on top a bit closer. Listing the price, Eiri took out some more cash from his wallet, and handed to him, along with the tip – pondering momentarily why he was carrying so much money on him. Oh well, he still had his credit card if he ever ran out.

Shuichi stepped around Eiri, taking the plate of pancakes, coffee, and apple juice all carefully into his arms, and found a suitable spot for it all on the glass table in the corner of the kitchen.

Sakano bowed, pulling the cart back and motioning kindly, "I hope you enjoy your stay here." Eiri shut the door on his face. Manufactured happiness. Yuck. This was why he hated hotels.

He walked over into the kitchen, just where Shuichi was, and took up the seat across from him. Shuichi had his hands clasped together, eyes closed, and nose pressed against his thumbs, looking as if in deep concentration. Eiri remarked,

"The plate isn't going to float, no matter how hard you try." He snickered inwardly.

"I'm praying," Shuichi mumbled, frowning and opening his eyes.

"Ah? So you're catholic. Or Christian. Or Jewish, or whatever." Honestly, he didn't know the difference, nor did he care.

"Jewish." Shuichi corrected, and then smiled a little at Eiri. "Do you believe in God?"

That was quite the awkward question. Eiri felt himself stumble a little on the anwser (which was odd enough as it was.). "That's none of your concern. Anyway, it wouldn't make much a difference in my life if I did or didn't, would it?" The blond responded ill willingly, taking the dark mug in his hands, enjoying the warmth it spread into his palms. Shuichi looked a bit lost by his reply. "I'm supposed to be Buddhist by some irrational standard. I'm more of an atheist though."

"So you don't think we go anywhere when we die?" Shuichi asked sadly, unrolling his napkin and letting the metal fork and spoon glisten across the table. Eiri wondered why the topic got turned towards religion; a topic that rarely drifted into his mellow mind.

"Doesn't really matter." He pulled the mug closer to his lips, letting the liquid spread in his mouth and stream down his throat, rattling through him like a bullet. Really, really strong coffee always snapped him up.

Silence crept in after that, making Shuichi uneasy and Eiri – well, thoughtful; on what he had to face when he got back his and Tohma's condo. It didn't seem like any excuse could cover up the fact that he did run off from Hisano's party and on top of it, he did tell her off – which Eiri wasn't certain whether Tohma knew by now or not, but, it was a possibility. "These are really yummy!" His eyes shot up.

"The food?"

"The pancakes!" Shuichi quibbled, stuffing an entire pancake into his mouth and nearly choking, making Eiri give him an interesting expression. Shuichi giggled at it.

"Chew slowly, unless you have a death wish kid." The giggles subsided to a frown; shuichi munched and swallowed, then spit out,

"I'm not a kid!"

"Sure you're not." Eiri muttered off handedly.

"If I'm a kid that means you're old!" he accused; a pout on his lips.

"I wouldn't consider 20 old."

"Well, I'm 18! That's only two years younger." Shuichi stopped; late reaction. "Wait, you're only 20?" Eiri frowned, nodding and drinking the last of his coffee. "Not that you look old!" Shuichi quickly corrected, sheepishly smiling. "It's your personality. You're a lot more mature then the 20 year olds I've known. I thought you'd be 26 or around that."

"Whatever."

"Hehe." Shuichi busied himself with eating, watching Eiri carefully, who ignored this, drinking away the contents in his mug. "That party was really retarded." Eiri leaned up; back stiffening, giving an audible grunt for a response. "Really boring…" Shuichi slumped a little. "And everyone there was pretty mean to me."

"Do I look like I care?" Eiri spoke dully.

"No, b-but…"

"But what? Do you think after last night, there is some thing between us?" He found himself snapping automatically. "Do not be so haste, Shindo, on your decisions of people."

"I'm not! Not usually!" Shuichi broke out, standing, staring down at Eiri, who scarcely looked entertained by any of this. Lifting up to meet Shuichi's determined eyes, however,… he felt himself… coming unglued. "There's some thing about you," he whimpered, surprising Eiri as he mirrored his thoughts from earlier; when he had woken up and watched the younger boy sleeping beside him.. "There's some thing about you that draws me to you. I think some one's trying to tell us some thing. We've already bumped into each other 3 times now! Don't you think that's a bit too much to be coincidence? And you look so sad… all the time…" That caught the blond a bit off guard. He glared, but Shuichi continued, "I want you to be content… I want to see you smile…"

"You hardly know me. Secondly, I'm not sad constantly, just when I'm around idiots like you maybe. You bug me."

Instead of lashing out and leaving, as Eiri expected, Shuichi stretched himself across the table, casting his plate aside, and cupping Eiri's cheeks in his hands. His whole body froze, as Shuichi's gaze pinned him in place. He felt like an animal waiting to be shot.

"Why are you lying to me? To yourself?"

"I'm not lying." Eiri hissed, even with the loss of his ability to move. "I don't care enough to make up a lie for you. I don't care about you. Get over it."

"That's not true. I'm not as stupid as I seem, and your body doesn't lie as well as your voice. I know you want me, maybe not as much as I want you, but it's there. And I will find it, and exploit it, no matter what it takes. I won't stop until I've won you over." Shuichi then, let go, and the numbed feeling in Eiri's body was finally fading off. The red head pushed him self out of his chair, bowing,

"Thankyou for the meal. We'll see each other again, later, perhaps."

With those departing words, Shuichi left.

Shuichi fumbled with the buttons of his jacket, shuttering all over. Goosebumps covered the exposed pieces of his skin, his heart racing as he walked quickly down the sidewalk, dodging bodies. He thought back to Eiri, smirking to himself in triumph. Shuichi had faith in the cold-hearted man; had faith in his ability to care and love. He would remain true to his word, in helping Eiri to be happy, to bring some color and shine to his life. Eiri certainly needed it, God knew.

That was why they kept bumping into each other, wasn't it? Shuichi balled his fists to his chest, skipping once on his toes happily. They would meet again. Definitely. An angel, or god himself, wanted them too, or some thing. Some thing was happening between the two men, that it was beyond their own control, and Shuichi had little to do but embrace it whole-heartedly.

Only seconds seemed to pass as he made his way home, to the apartment. Shuichi looked up at it – paint peeling off the walls, bricks chipped - trash askew.

Even the front entrance seemed gloomy. The hotel Eiri had picked out had been much nicer, but he just shrugged off the comparison. This was undoubtedly better then his little hut-thing he made in the alleyway, after Maiko had, once again, lost it and kicked him out without actually saying 'get out'.

He knew when not to cross his sister and leave.

More then usual, in fact, he had fought with her. It wasn't as if he'd tried to piss her off, which was the contrary of her belief. Shuichi was really, honestly trying to get along with her, to be kind and thoughtful, but it seemed as if anything he did made her mad.

He could understand how being pregnant and working brought down a great deal of stress, but he was stressed worrying too! When he'd brought up the idea of starting a band with Hiro and making some money that way, she'd blown a fit, saying all he wanted to do was waste time, and that such an idea would only bring neglect, and in his carelessness, their cousin would die.

Did Maiko think he their cousin to die? Far from it!

And it wasn't absolute that he would die. He had been sick yes; he had been tired, yes, and ill. It could just be a passing cold or some thing (although he doubted it by now), which was what Shuichi was hoping for; more then anything; some thing that wasn't lasting, and would heal with time.

But, without the money a stable family normally held, they hadn't been able to get the man to a doctor.

And so, Hisano's place was where Shuichi had landed, off to make some money for his cousin's expenses. He felt a tad guilty, for running off with Eiri (gringrin) to 'busy' himself with other matters. But, in the end, he still got the money, and he was, head over heels in love with the most beautiful person he'd ever encountered in his life.

That was a good thing, wasn't it? And he still had the money. He was allowed to be a little happy some times, even if his life was going to hell. Yes?

Maiko couldn't get too mad with him for not coming home. Still, very gingerly, he went through the staircases, leaving the elevator alone for the elderly that needed it much more then he did. And, still, very gingerly, he approached his family's apartment door, taking out the prepared key from one of his pockets and slipping it into the lock. It was too much to hope for that they weren't home. With a deep breathe, he turned the door knob.

Upon entering, the rooms were an eerie silent. He kicked off his shoes, taking in the familiar scenario that he noticed quickly enough. There were some cups across the wooden table, a few blankets littering the couches. The cheap blinds were pulled down, blocking out a good portion of the sunlight. A box-shaped TV sat on a table across from the couch. Shuichi looked to his left, into the carpeted den, which seemed considerably cleaner. Wallpaper was coming off the yellowish walls, the baby crib in the corner of the wall laid untouched, a few dark drawers were closed. The only window in that room was also shielded with blinds.

Knowing he had to go on, Shuichi stepped through the living room, into a small hallway, and up a flight of black-metal stairs. They tinged with sound at his every step, rattling throughout the apartment. Surely if they had not heard the door, they would hear that. Once in the hallway, he looked from side to side, trying to gather his confidence.

All doors were closed.

With the exception of one.

"Maikooo?" A hoarse whisper cooed. "You're home already?" It asked. Shuichi pulled himself in the direction of open doorway, feeling nervous for not any particular reason.

Ryuichi's face lit up, as it always did, at the sight of his young cousin.

The room was terribly hot with the heater in the corner, running full-blast. The green-haired man lay tucked away, cocooned in blankets, smothered with pillows. Ryuichi must have been sleeping all day again. It was hard to believe that a person with so much energy had suddenly fallen sick enough that they spent their days sleeping.

Shuichi smiled warmly. Ryuichi was a fighter, despite his illness, and did his best to 'function' throughout the day, although every time he worked at the rate of an average person he ended up passing out, or having a horrible nose bleed, or, some thing relevant to that. Even a little work made him so tired he seemed drugged. Anything was possible, when they did not know what was causing the man to be so wearisome.

Even so, he hopped from the bed, blankets and all, rushing to Shuichi and pouncing right on him. "Yay! Shuichi's home!" He yelled for no one to hear except Shuichi himself and the walls. Shuichi felt comforted at the touch. "Did Shuichi have a shiny day yesterday!" He asked, seemingly lively. "Ryuichi wants Shuichi to tell him alllllllllll about it! Where did Shuichi go after his job was done?" Ryuichi poked the red-heads face, deep into his cheek. "Was it a fun place? Ehhh Shuichi?" Despite himself, Shuichi's face turned hot with embarrassment. Ryuchi made a little 'o' with his mouth to show his astonishment. "Shuichi's blushiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!"

"R-Ryuichi, you shouldn't get out of bed," Shuichi mumbled, pushing himself up with his elbows, avoiding the subject of work. The older man pouted, attaching himself to Shuichi.

"Dun wanna! I'm not that sick! Nope!"

"You are." Shuichi corrected sadly.

"But I've been in bed all daaaaaaaaaaaaay! Ryuichi gets bored, na no –"

Both men stopped their speaking as the sound of heels clicking up the stairs broke past their vocal cords, the noise traveling towards them, and ending before them.

Maiko crossed her arms, eyes narrowed, staring down at her younger brother with a look of loathing. Ryuichi, now, moved himself away from Shuichi, afraid to be stared at with such a scary face. Shuichi gulped, propping himself up though not standing, starting, "Maiko-"

"Where the hell were you last night?"

"I…" He just stopped, dead within the wrath of his older sister. Burning in her eyes, he knew, he'd never be able to lie to her – but certainly couldn't tell her what had happened.

"Oh so, what, you're not going to answer me?" Her temper was already rising; a wave in an ocean to crash on him. "You know how worried I was when Hiro showed up, asking us if you had come here? You're already WELL aware of how stressed out I am! And how sick Ryuichi is! But you're just screwing around while we're all suffering here - You just tell us you're going to help, then sneak off!"

Shuichi winced as if he'd been slapped, biting his tongue, Maiko's words making his ears cringe in distaste. Seeing he wasn't going to say anything, she continued, "We need that money for Ryuichi! Or have you forgotten? Or worse, do you even care anymore?"

"W-wait!" Shuichi, hurt, shattered off her rage momentarily. Her gaze on him was fierce. "You didn't even give me a chance to explain-"

"Well save it! I don't care anymore!"

"Maiko!" Ryuichi interrupted, looking torn. "Don't be so mean! Shuichi didn't even do anythi-"

"EXACTLY! He didn't do anything, and he's not ever going to do anything!" The red head felt a powerful pang in his chest as his thoughts swirled. This wasn't fair! He had been helping before, and she knew it! It had just been that time... damn it! "And look, he doesn't even have anything to say. So you really don't care, do you Shuichi?"

"Maiko!" Shuichi yelled, bolting up, his face retorting with menace to her. Unable to come up with anything against her words, he screamed, "I HATE YOU!" Tears prickled down his face as he dashed down the stair case, and right out the front door. The slam sounded through out the apartment, making it ring in a low echo.

Ryuichi stood before Maiko, his childish demeanor gone. "Look what you did now. He didn't even do anything."

"He did!" Maiko answered back, still up for more yelling.

"It's cold out, he'll get sick," Ryuichi turned back for his room, gathering up his coat lying at the end of the bed. He seemed weary as he buttoned it up, and rubbed his head, sighing.

"Don't tell me you're going to go out and find him." The woman muttered; vocal cords now lowered from being exasperated out.

Ryuichi shrugged, rubbing his throat. He felt really dehydrated right now, for some reason. Shuffling out of the room - He did not return Maiko's gaze as he brushed past her and made it down the stairs, steadily, gripping the railing lightly as he did. "Of course I am. I'm going to get him back, and then you're going to apologize."

"I won't." She replied calmly, though her lip trembled as she watched Ryuichi approach the door. Abruptly, Maiko raced down the stairs. She hugged him, tugging him backwards. "No. Don't go out. Shuichi will come back. I promise to apologize if you don't follow him."

Ryuichi sighed, giving in. He just hoped that Shuichi wouldn't stay out too long.

Meanwhile, Shuichi was speeding down the unforgiving, chilly Tokyo streets, racing far from home. Actually, it wasn't even technically a home; with how often Mika kicked him out, now that he thought about it.

There wasn't any where to go, he knew, but instead of making the boy slow down and turn back around, he sped faster.

He brought up all possibilities. There had to be some place he could go! The image of his long auburn haired friend popped into his brain. To Hiro's? He was wallowed into a pool of guilt, shutting off that option. He then blinded thought of Eiri, halting to catch his breathe. A few snotty faces darted him appalled stares, but he ignored it as he leaned against the brick outer wall of a small store.

Go to Eiri's? I don't even know where the hell he lives! Shuichi frowned at this. It would be a little weird for him to show up so soon anyways – but, still. He needed a place to go.

What the hell am I gunna do? He glanced at the passing pedestrians, boredom and worry written on his face. Ask that old lady over there if they heard of a man named Eiri Uesugi? Oh yeah, that's great. 'Hey lady, have you seen some sexy blond guy? He's got sharp eyes, like a raven, and he's a total catch, you can't miss him'.

Yeah. Shuichi kicked a bent can out into the sidewalk. Great plan Shindo. A sigh emitted. Guess I'm going to Hiro's.

Feeling defeated by none other then his evil sister; Shuichi's back slumped as he walked towards the pathway to Hiro's apartment. The path that'd he'd memorized so long ago.

Hiro seemed quite surprised by Shuichi's appearance at his doorstep, otherwise pleased. "Shuichi?"

"Na.. Hiro… I've got no where else to go," The boy hung his head, his hair and clothes disarray from his earlier self sprinting marathon. "Maiko kicked me out again."

"Oh." He could hear the smile in Hiro's voice, as the taller man stepped out of the doorframe. "It's fine. Come in, Shuichi-" His sentence was slivered off as the boy whizzed into him, knocking him over with a tight hug, crying into his shirt.

"HIRRROOO! WHY are you so NICE!" Hiro, wide eyed, settled down after the impact, and simply patted Shuichi's back with a tender fondness that only came from the kindest hearted people. "I'M SORRY! Maiko's such a BITCH lately! Otherwise I wouldn't-" Sniffling broke off his words, "COME HERE!"

"Hush now." Hiro whispered gently, patting the red head's back, helping him to ease the chaos out of his system. He then lifted the body lightly, closing the door with his foot and turning around to go down the hallway, placing Shuichi on his couch.

A little calmed down; Shuichi whipped his nose on his sleeves, staring up at Hiro with eyes filled awe. "Hiroooooo," he pouted. "I feel bad for all the times I have to depend on you…"

"You shouldn't." Hiro sat beside him, smiling. "I'm here for you, and you don't have to have any doubts or hold back from running over here whenever you want. Seriously, I don't care if you came here at 2 in the morning. If you need me, it doesn't matter when, where, or how you get here."

"Do you know how good of a person you are?" Shuichi looked off to the side, taking in the new décor of the living room. "You redecorated?"

"Yup!" Hiro patted Shuichi's head. "But who cares? What'd Maiko say to you that was so bad you had to ditch her?" Shuichi jerked back to face Nakano, his lilac eyes dimmed. He fell slack against the cushioned sofa, crossing his arms and looking down at his feet to avoid eye contact with his friend.

"She's just being bitchy lately."

"For you leaving work yesterday?" Something caught in Shuichi's throat. He'd forgotten Hiro knew about that. Gulping, he looked over at his friend, knowing he'd expect an explanation. Blushing, he curved away,

"um….. Yeah."

"Care to enlighten me on why you left?" His fingers knotted into the fabric of the sofa. Hiro could see him shaking, and suddenly seemed worried. "Did some one hurt you?"

"Nononono!" Shuichi quickly denied, shaking his head roughly. "It's not anything like that."

"Then… why…?"

"It's just a little embarrassing… to explain…" Shuichi brought his hands to his lips, feeling his cheeks grow warm. The floor was becoming increasingly interesting to look at.

He could feel Hiro's arm as it curved its way around his body, pulling him against the other man. "Shuichi…" A soft voice wavered in silence, "We've been friends for a long time now… You should know by now that you can tell me anything. And I know some thing's bothering you."

"I'm sorry Hiro." Shuichi's illuminating eyes blinked up at his friend. Hiro smiled, tousling Shuichi's hair in his hand.

"No need to be sorry."

"Well… um." The red head thought of a place to start. "You know I left yesterday already, soooo…. There was a reason."

"And?"

"And…" Shuichi snuggled up against Hiro's chest, the intimate gesture a usual practice in their relationship. A light pink continued to devour his cheeks. "I went up to the bathroom because there was some one in the downstairs one. And I opened the door, and there was this… blonde guy." Shuichi left out the part that he had met Eiri earlier, deciding it was pointless explaining everything.

"Hmmm? There was a blond guy at the party?" Hiro poked Shuichi's stomach, and then tightened his grip around his shoulders. "And? What ever happened with this blond guy?"

"You're teasing me." Shuichi pouted, burying his face in the cloth of auburn haired man's shirt. "well… He was… sorta drunk."

"And?"

"And… He sorta… kissed me... and stuff."

Hiro flung his hands onto Shuichi's shoulders, pushing him backwards so he could look straight into his face. "I thought you said no one hurt you. That includes some one touching you."

"It wasn't like that. I mean, I didn't push him away…" Shuichi eyes filled with a slur of confusion, but in it, as plain as night and day, Hiro could see admiration – and it some what took him aback. "He was so… I don't know, Hiro. I know he's good looking, but it's weird for some thing like that to make me nervous. I've seen plenty of people, guys and girls alike, and it's just… I don't understand it! I've never felt like that before around anyone!" The boy began his rant, taking a deep breathe before he did. "I mean, sure, yeah, I didn't kind of want it at first, and I did try to run awaybutstill, I gave in eventually, and it felt soooooo good! It kinda hurt but yeah and he was really being nice for once after because hegotme breakfast and I hadda few pancakes and it was all good even though he was being a little mean too and-" Hiro clasped his hand over his friends face to hush him.

"Okay, let me get this straight." His pressed his forehead to Shuichi's. "You had sex with him, then?"

Shuichi's bit his lower lip. Very, very slowly, he nodded. "So you're not a virgin anymore?" Hiro laughed, pressing his back to the couch once more and taking a box of pocky from his pocket, shoving a stick between the boy's pink lips. Shuichi suckled on the stick, turning it in different directions before allowing it to dissipate on his tongue.

"I think I gave it up to the right person." Shuichi bobbed his head in agreement with himself. Or was it to the question Hiro had yet to ask? "My virginity, I mean. And even if I didn't, well… At least it was good."

"Did you by any chance catch his name?" Hiro snickered at Shuichi's glare.

"Of course I did! His name is Eiri." He giggled a little bit as the word coaxed his throat like a smooth lotion when it was spoken. "Uesugi Eiri."

"Well, I've got some good news then. You know, Hisano's is putting up another party in the next 2 weeks. This Eiri may be there – she tends to invite the same people." Hiro munched on the end of the pocky stick. "And you know, since I'm the arranger, I could, you know, hire you again – you might see him there."

The violet orbs went wide with delight and cheer. All thoughts of any doubts were stashed away into a forgotten closet instantly. He did not know he had even begun to hug Hiro until the older man began to choke from lack of hair. "THANKYOU! Thankyou sososososossooooo much Hiro!"

"You're gunna kill m-" Hiro sucked in a large portion of air as he was released. He took a breather, and once the balance in his lungs had regained, stood from his spot on the couch and moved to the kitchen. "Common. Let's try to make dinner. I'll let you… slice some thing. Maybe."

"Naaaa Hiro! You don't think I can make any food!" Shuichi hopped after, delight in his tone even though he should have been a little angry with Hiro for off-handedly insulting him. He could forgive him for that little indiscretion, he supposed.

chp 5 end

My god. I'm finally done.

It came out supeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer long! I hope it made up for the last chappie. Also,

; ; Hope it wasn't boring

Oh yeah. And about their ages and the fact that Maiko is older then Shuichi. I did that on purpose. I know their real ages and I know that Maiko is, in fact, younger then Shuichi in the real manga. I also know that Ryuichi and Shuichi aren't related. But this is an AU so who cares.

Leave a review if you like me. 0 : Like meeeeee. :eats food randomly: