I'm sorry this chapter took so long! A lot has been happening lately. Please forgive. -bows-

I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I'll have you know I've got many tricks up my sleeve for this story. There's going to be lots of pairings. You'll be seeing one of them at the end of this chapter. ;)

Please R&R when you're done.

Losing Gravity - Chapter 2

Hiro's P.O.V.

I sighed, slinging my guitar case over my shoulder as I hopped off my motorcycle, taking off my helmet. I ruffled my hair into place, feeling exhausted. These past few days have been extremely, extremely busy. And not in the good way, the kind of busy that you know will all be worth something in the end. Ever since Yuki died, things…changed. I have to admit; even I felt sadness that the famous novelist had passed away. I couldn't believe it when I heard it. I found out on the TV first, rather than from Mr. Seguchi or even Shuichi. I haven't seen Shuichi since, and, to be honest, I was missing my best friend terribly. The pain he must be going through now…I only wish I could share in it. Shuichi always came crying to me, for everything, for every little problem he ever got, and now, when he needs someone the most, he's nowhere to be found. Shuichi pulled a disappearing act, and no one has seen him since.

I opened up the door to the N-G Pro Building, heading into the studio. We still had work; life still went on, even if it had become really quiet lately, there were just some things that had to be done. But Shuichi hadn't come to work at all. He's been gone, as I said before. I just wish that I heard from him, a phone call, an e-mail, anything, just to let me know how he's doing. I tried visiting his place countless times, but no matter how many times I banged on the door, no matter how long I stood there, there was no answer.

"Hey Hiro," I heard K say from the room as I entered. Fujisaki, K, and Sakano were there.

"Looks like we're all here," I said softly, setting my guitar case down. Fujisaki nodded glumly, setting up his keyboard. A heavy silence followed. That's how it's been ever since Yuki died. No one felt like talking. There were no hyper outbursts or yelling of insults, nothing. I'd have definitely preferred anything if it meant any sort of conversation. What bothered me the most was that, through it all, Shuichi wasn't here.

"What do we work on?" Fujisaki sighed, pressing random keys to warm up.

"How about--," I started, but I stopped just as the door swung open.

"Hey you guys! Starting without me?" My head swiveled in the direction of the door, and froze.

What was Shuichi doing here?

Everyone else in the room looked just as shocked as I was. Shuichi didn't appear to notice, and proceeded to drape his arm over K, looking up at him with dewy eyes.

"Hey K, how've you been? Did you miss me?" He giggled, letting go of K, who by now looked positively alarmed. He twirled around in circles in the center of the room, and all I could do was stare at him in shock.

I said I had wanted to see Shuichi, but I never expected him to act like…this.

"Shu?"

"Yeah, Hiro?" Shuichi twirled over to me, a big grin plastered on his face.

"Are you…feeling okay?" I looked him over, trying to see if I smelled alcohol on his breath. Maybe he was drunk, or completely high. This is how Shuichi normally acts, but after Yuki had died, I thought maybe he had changed a little.

"I feel fine! Why's everyone looking all shocked to see me? Huh? Huh?" Shuichi grabbed a mic and turned it on, opening his mouth as if to sing. He blinked, seeing that no one else in the room was moving. "Uh…"

There was an awkward silence. I shifted my guitar into place, unsure of what to do. Fujisaki's face went slack, looking around the room as if confused.

"Shuichi…are you sure you're all right?"

"Yeah! Why wouldn't I be?"

K cleared his throat, looking the other way. He ran his hand through his golden locks. "Well, with what happened with Mr. Yuki…"

Shuichi paused, looking to the floor. I looked at him, trying to figure out what was going through his mind. I instantly felt sorry for him. For some reason, I was unable to move. I couldn't go over to him. My feet felt glued to the floor.

"Well, yeah, but…" Shuichi started, his voice cracking. His bangs covered his eyes, so we couldn't see the tears that started to form there. "What I was trying to say is…"

"Shindou-kun," Sakano said, piping up from the corner of the room. He clutched a cup of tea nervously in his hands, using a finger to push his glasses further up his nose. He looked anxious, as if Shuichi suddenly bursting into tears was the last thing he wanted to happen. "I know this may be a very hard time for --,"

Shuichi's head snapped up and stared right into Sakano's eyes. He drew back, pushing his glasses back again, his gaze shifting around the room awkwardly.

"Shuichi, it's all right," I said, as if trying to comfort him. Right now the look on his face reminded me of a lost child, of someone who just realized that they had lost something very dear to them. I sighed, brushing some strands of my hair back behind my ear. Everyone was silent. The words I said rung in the air, and everyone paused. Why? What was everyone waiting for?

Shuichi placed a hand onto his forehead, his shoulders drooping, as if he had lost his energy. "I…I'd better go," he said, his voice sounding low and tired, shaky almost. I couldn't do anything. I just watched as he silently left the studio, running out the door. The sound of the door as it shut reverberated through the room, leaving the rest of us frozen in place, as if unsure of what had just happened.

Shuichi's P.O.V.

A few hours later

Going to work today was stupid. Stupid. How stupid was I to do such a thing? It was ridiculous. Everyone must think I'm a fool now. But all I wanted to do was show them that I was all right, that maybe I didn't need Yuki to be 'normal' at work.

I lay on the couch, too drunk to do anything more. I let the empty beer can slip from my fingers, wincing at the sound it made as it hit the floor. The apartment looked like shit lately. If Yuki were here, this would never have happened. I'd give anything now to have him yell at me right now.

I whimpered, placing my hands over my ears. "Yuki…" I moaned. "Make the room stop spinning…" I curled up on the sofa, waiting to hear his voice, his touch, anything. I stay that way for a long time, just…waiting.

Then, reality hit.

Yuki wasn't here. How could he take away my pain? He was dead. He wasn't going to come back for anything, was he? He never will. Not even for me.

"Just a few days ago, the beloved novelist Eiri Yuki committed suicide in his own home. Details are sparse, and there has been no comment from Shuichi Shindou, vocalist for the band Bad Luck, also believed to be his lover. Thousands of fans across the world are devastated ---,"

I shut off the TV. How did it get on, anyways? I sighed. It was too late, anyways. The news channel had shown a picture of Yuki on the screen, my handsome angel. He was gone, forever. I'll never forget the sight of him as he lay on the floor of the bathroom, bleeding, his face looking serene and peaceful, as if he had finally gotten something he had been searching for.

"Why couldn't you tell me, Yuki?" I slurred to the empty house, tears filling my eyes. Why couldn't he tell me how much he was silently suffering? Did it really have to end with his suicide? Was that the only was he could escape?

I found the bottle. I'd never seen the thing before. It lay in the sink the day he died, discarded as if he had knocked it there carelessly. From what the label on the bottle said, it had been prescribed to Yuki more than three weeks ago. He was suffering from depression. Well, he had been, anyways. But why hadn't I noticed? For more than three weeks he had been suffering. Why did I not notice the pain he was facing every day of his life? Yuki was my lover. I loved him. Perhaps, if I had opened my fucking eyes, Yuki wouldn't be lying in his grave right now, buried forever beneath the earth. The thought of it brought tears to my eyes.

"Why didn't you say anything Yuki?" I yelled again, my own words sending shooting pains in my head. "Did you think I was too stupid? Too dense to know the truth?" I stood up, ignoring the dizziness I felt. There was a picture of Yuki right over there, on the dresser, smiling smugly. "Are you happy now? Did you finally get what you wanted?" I yelled to the picture, tears streaming down my face. I was drunk, extremely drunk, taking my anger and sadness out on a fucking picture frame. I paused, as if considering what I was doing. Maybe I was hoping for a response from the picture. I was so desperate to hear Yuki's voice again.

I collapsed onto the floor, suddenly crying like a child would, cradling my head in my hands. I was too drunk to care about anything anymore. Yuki was gone. I'm sure some of it was my fault.

"Yuki…" I whispered shakily, wiping my eyes furiously. I was mad at myself for being so weak. Fury rose up within, not directed at myself, per say, but at Yuki. I loved him so much, and this is what he does in return? He leaves me, without saying anything about his condition. I could have helped him. He knows I would have done anything for him. So why? Why?

"You never did love me, did you?" I cried, my voice muffled the hands that covered my face. "It was a lie. I was a toy to you. You didn't care about me." I wiped the corner of my eyes, standing up to look at the picture frame again. He was still smiling smugly, like he had a secret that he would never tell.

"Fuck you, Eiri Yuki!" I shouted at the picture, as if it were the real person. I stopped, breathing heavily, my face felt heated. All at once I realized what I had done, and I collapsed onto the floor again, as if a wave of exhaustion swept over me.

One hour later

"Go the hell away," I mumbled, blinking tiredly. The door wouldn't shut up. It just kept banging, making these awful noised that sent shooting pains into my head. I didn't want to do anything anymore. My head felt like it was going to explode, and the door isn't helping.

"Shuichi! Come on, open the door!"

Wait. The door was talking? Doors…can't talk. Can they?

"How…how do you know my name?" I mumbled, sprawled out onto the floor. I haven't moved an inch ever since I collapsed. I no longer had the energy to.

"Shuichi, are you drunk or something? It's me, Hiro. Now open the door."

Oh. So doors can't talk after all. It was only Hiro. I shut my eyes again. "Stop banging on the door," I complained. "My head feels like it's going to fucking split open."

The banging noises stopped. I heard the doorknob jiggle. There was a silence. I moaned, the world suddenly spinning out of control. Maybe drowning my sorrows wasn't such a great idea after all. I heard Hiro whistle as he neared me. Good old Hiro. Always there when I needed him. It was like...maybe he had a sixth sense. Like Spiderman. His Shuichi sense were tingling.

"You look like shit, Shu."

I moved my head to see him better. He was kneeling on the floor beside me, looking at me with soft eyes. I felt tears threaten to spill over my cheeks. "Hiro..."

He sighed, sitting on the floor cross-legged. "I'm here," he said gently.

I forced myself to sit up, ignoring the fact that it made everything spin completely out of control. I tried to focus my vision onto Hiro, but he became blurry, as if he were zooming in and out of my sight. For a moment, I thought I saw my blonde-haired angel. My breath caught, and I started sobbing.

"Hiro..." I cried, one hand covering my eyes as I cried. I felt so ashamed, so vulnerable. Hiro said nothing, only watched me sadly. "Hiro, I loved him," I whispered, my sobs catching in my throat. "I loved him so much."

Again, he was silent, but suddenly he wrapped me in his arms, holding me tight. I didn't fight it. I clung to him, sobbing like the baby I truly was. I cried for Yuki, for his death, his suffering...but for mine as well.

"Why did he have to do this, Hiro? Why?" I cried, burying my face into his shoulder.

Hiro sighed, tightening his grip on me. "I don't know, Shu," he breathed. "I don't know."

"I-I..." I faltered, inhaling deeply. "I don't want to remember anymore, Hiro. I just want to forget. He causes me so much pain, and I can't handle it any longer." I sighed, exhaling all of the pain I had been holding inside. I reached out a hand and gently caressed Hiro's cheek. My tears were gone now. I was all cried out. All that was left now was dry, heaving sobs. I was a wreck. I was drunk. I was sad.

"Let me forget." I brought my face to his and kissed his cheek. "Make me forget, Hiro. Please."