A/N: Chapter two is up! Still not very much action in this one either, sorry...

- Chapter two –

About penguins and evil men

"Welcome, Shindou-kun! We thought you'd never show up!" Seguchi Touma greeted Shuichi as he and Eiri had finally arrived. Their tranquillity in the car had soon ended, because they had found themselves stuck in a traffic jam. Eiri had cursed all the drivers and Tokyo's traffic settlements, while Shuichi had started whining about being even more late. Eiri had quickly told him to shut the hell up, but Shuichi had continued, blaming Eiri for waking up so late. This had made Eiri piss off even more, and he had threatened to throw Shuichi out of the car if he didn't keep his mouth shut. Shuichi had started crying, apologising to Eiri a hundred times. The rest of the drive was full of groaning, shouting, cursing and crying. When Eiri had parked the car onto the yard of the Seguchi residence, it was already quarter to twelve.

"I'm so sorry, Seguchi-san!" Shuichi exclaimed. "We were caught into a traffic jam, and… and…" Shuichi got lost in his words. He had just had a good look at the Seguchis' house. It was huge. It had three floors, a vast terrace ad two big balconies filled with flowers. The windows were high and clear, with long elegant curtains. Touma was standing on the front stairs which led to the terrace. The front door was left open, and revealed an equally huge hall. Shuichi turned around to look at the yard and his eyes widened in bewilderment; if the house (or should he say mansion) was to be considered big, then the yard was massive. It had a fountain in one corner, a long wooden table and a grill in another. There was a swimming pool at the back, and the blue water glittered in sunlight. Flowers, bushes and trees blossomed in the garden in uncountable numbers. Shuichi blinked, since he had never in his life seen a home like this.

"Haven't you ever seen a house?" he heard Eiri's low voice behind him. Shuichi turned to look at his lover.

"Not a house like this…" Shuichi murmured and followed Eiri to the terrace.

"Oh, Eiri-san, you came this year!" Touma said happily, but not truly in amazement. Eiri gave him a death glare. A butler in black and white clothes came to escort them inside.

Shuichi looked at the butler. They really look like penguins, he though smiling. He was just about to give the penguin his jacket, when he heard a familiar voice.

"I thought I'd never see you enter this house without force after our wedding, Eiri-nii-san," Seguchi Mika said, walking down the main stairs. She wore a crimson red dress, and her auburn brown hair flowed free behind her back. She was five months pregnant, but the dress still suited her perfectly. She looked stunning, and made Shuichi wonder how come all of the Uesugi offspring had so good looks.

"It's not like I came here because I wanted to," Eiri grunted and threw lightning bolts from his eyes towards his sister. Mika blocked them completely and smiled sweetly at Shuichi.

"It's good to have you here too, Shindou-kun," she said pleasantly and gave Shuichi a light kiss on his cheek. Shuichi beamed. Eiri rolled his eyes. It wasn't long ago when his sister had wanted to make Shuichi disappear from his life forever.

Eiri shrugged, gave his jacket to the butler and walked into the living room. When he passed through the hall, he saw three muscular bodyguards standing backs against the wall. He secretly thanked Touma for them. The house was full of famous celebrities, so all kinds of sick stalkers could come and cause chaos. He wasn't afraid for his own safety; he could defend himself pretty well. But Shuichi… he would need protection, if some freak decided to attack. But Eiri knew nobody could know about this party, since Touma had always kept quiet about his personal life.

Eiri sat down onto the black couch. The living room was spacey, decorated in a modern style. The stereo played silent music. Eiri closed his eyes. Though it was a family and friends occasion, he hated parties. Right now, he wanted to lie in bed with Shuichi, maybe sleeping, or doing something else…

He snapped out of his fantasies when Shuichi fell onto the couch next to him. His pink-haired lover looked excited; his cheeks were a rosy red and his eyes shone. Eiri smiled inwardly and lifted his arm behind Shuichi's shoulders onto the back of the couch.

Shuichi was about to start to wonder where the other guests were, when Sakuma Ryuichi bounced into the living room, followed by Uesugi Tatsuha, Eiri's younger brother.

"Ah, aniki," Tatsuha panted with a smirk from the doorway. He ran his hand through his raven black hair. "I never thought – "

" – you'd see me in this house ever again, yes, I know," Eiri finished his sentence for him. Tatsuha had a quick look at Shuichi, who was being suffocated by a hug from Ryuichi, and then looked back at Eiri. Tatsuha gave his brother a knowing look. Eiri granted his little brother with a glare. Tatsuha smiled, shook his head and tried to save Shuichi from Ryuichi's grip.

"Kumagorou Beam!" Ryuichi, the child in his thirties, screamed and threw his stuffed pink bunny in Tatsuha's face and jumped on top of him. Shuichi was freed, and started laughing at the sight of the battling couple. Without knowing about doing so, Shuichi took Eiri's hand in his own and Eiri didn't push it away.

"We leave these guys alone for a few minutes, and this happens," Nakano Hiroshi chuckled entering the room, Fujisaki Suguru on his tail. Shuichi's eyes lit as he saw his best friend, who sat next to him. Suguru took a seat from the big, cushy armchair opposite them.

"Hiro!" Shuichi said with wide eyes. "I didn't know you were invited too! And Suguru, you also."

Suguru lifted his legs over the arms of the chair. "Of course I was invited, I'm Touma's cousin," he stated and yawned. "I just hope he didn't invite any other relatives… Our family isn't exactly the most - well, tolerable."

Eiri had to agree with Suguru. He remembered Mika's and Touma's wedding… he had smoked almost two packs of cigarettes that day just so he would be left alone from the Seguchis'. The novelist hoped that Mika hadn't invited any of the Uesugi family either. If his father showed up, he and Shuichi would be gone before anyone could utter a single word.

"And naturally, Bad Luck being the number one band in NG and Japan, our lovely boss decided to invite me," Hiro explained. "He probably did it only because you and Suguru would be here too, though."

"Didn't you bring Ayaka-chan with you, Hiro?" Shuichi asked innocently, looking around as if trying to find Ayaka hiding. She and Hiro had been going out for awhile now.

Hiro went a bit red and cleared his throat. He threw a fleeting look at Suguru, who was studying his hands as though they had something very interesting in them. The tips of his ears burned red.

"Umm, me and Ayaka... well, we sort of split up, Shuichi," Hiro said with a strange tone. Shuichi's purple orbs widened again, this time with confusement and pity.

"You did? Oh, that's too bad, Hiro," Shuichi said and gave the guitarist a hug. "You ok? When did it happen?"

Hiro stammered in his words a bit when he told Shuichi he'd explain later and that right now he just wanted to have fun. Shuichi fell for the excuse completely, staying oblivious to Hiro's awkward tone of voice and to Suguru, who was shifting in his chair uneasily.

Eiri, on the other hand, saw and understood the whole situation perfectly. Actually, he found it rather amusing. Maybe homosexuality really is infectious, he thought, fighting the urge to laugh.

Shuichi let go of Hiro and smiled. He was glad he had got Eiri out of bed and coming here too. To Shuichi, being invited along with Eiri meant acceptance about their relationship from Touma, and he was happy about it. Shuichi snuggled a little closer to his lover, who didn't reject him. Shuichi inhaled Eiri's scent and felt even more happy. Today is perfect, just perfect, he mused.

After a while, Sakano and K came over. Sakano had apologised Touma uncountable times for being late; he also had been caught in the traffic. K's excuse was that in midway he had remembered leaving his brand new machinegun on the kitchen table, loaded. His son (a gunholic like his father) had already shot down a pigeon or two and a couple windows the time K had returned to retrieve his beloved gun.

Finally, all the guests (and to Eiri's and Suguru's relief, any unwanted relatives weren't invited) were asked to move to the dining room by Touma and Mika. They sat around the huge dining room table, made out of luxurious mahogany. The butlers - yes, there wasn't only one penguin, but two - served them their courses. The food was delicious. Shuichi ate so much Eiri could just wonder how big his stomach really was. He also made a mental note about not driving too fast back home, since he didn't want any half-digested food around his Mercedes.

While they waited for their desserts, the company started chatting casually, everyone except Eiri. But he didn't mind. This was the way he liked it; the other's could talk as much as they pleased, as long as he wasn't forced into it. He seldom grunted an answer to someone who asked his opinion on something, mostly to Shuichi.

The butlers came into the dining room with plated full of créme brulée. Eiri winced. It was Mika's favourite dessert of all time and he loathed it, but ate it with pride.

The others took a long time to eat. Eiri felt his body aching for nicotine, so he excused himself from the table murmuring that he was going outside for a smoke. Tatsuha wanted to join him, but Eiri ushered him away. He was about to grab his jacket from the hanger when two of the three bodyguards walked (or rather stomped) up to him.

"Are you going out, sir?" the one with short black hair asked. Eiri couldn't see his eyes, because they were covered with thick sunglasses. What a cliché, he mentally smirked.

"Yes, I am going out, and I don't need you company," Eiri said, making it clear he was going to smoke in peace.

The guards looked at each other in slight confusion. "But, Uesugi-sama... Seguchi-sama has given strict orders -"

Eiri narrowed his eyes. "I don't give a fuck of Touma's orders. I'm going alone, period. Go look after the ones who really need protection." And with that, he pulled on his jacket and marched out of the door. The guards shook their heads, and returned to their places. When Yuki Eiri said 'no', it meant a 'no'.

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It wasn't even two o'clock yet. Eiri lit up and drew a deep breath. He blowed the smoke slowly out of his lungs, enjoying it to the fullest. He looked at the house but couldn't see the dining room, which was on the other side of the house. He turned around to see the front door. Good. No bodyguards watching over him.

Eiri inhaled again. He knew he could defend himself if any attackers would appear, which wasn't very likely anyway. He needed fresh air (a/n: and cigarette smoke is considered fresh?) and he needed it by himself. Parties, or any socials events for that matter, made him feel uneasy. And besides, he had come only because Shuichi had wanted to go. He was actually happy about Mika being pregnant: now he at least had a good enough reason to excuse himself.

Eiri was just about to pull out another cigarette from his pack when he felt like being watched. He had an itching feeling in his back, which he always had when someone was watching him. Eiri turned slowly around, trying to stay as casual as he could. He didn't see anybody between the bushy trees behind him. He looked at the front door and the windows. Nobody there either.

"I'm imagining things," he murmured to himself, but glanced at his surroundings wearily. "I'm starting to turn into Shuichi." He was about to lit up again, when he heard a cracking noise from his left. The cigarette fell to the ground when Eiri swiftly turned to face the thick patch of trees where the noise had come from. He observed the area intently with narrowed golden eyes. Again, he didn't see anyone. But he knew someone was there, and that someone didn't have good intentions.

"Who's there?" Eiri asked with a cold and low voice. He tried to see any small movements that the intruder might make, but the sunlight didn't reach the thick spot of trees. Once nobody answered, Eiri repeated his question in a more dangerous tone. He thought about calling for the bodyguards, but he didn't want to worry Shuichi nor his sister, who, because of her pregnancy, had become very sensitive. He clenched his fists.

Nobody replied this time either. Eiri was beginning to lose his nerve. Though not showing it, the prowler made him anxious. What the hell's going on?

Eiri took a few steps closer to the neat line of trees. He tried to see to the shadows, but it was impossible to make out anything of the blurry darkness.

He stepped closer. When he was close enough for the first leaves to touch his blond hair, he knew he was being foolish. He was putting himself into unnecessary danger. Maybe the intruder had already left. But Eiri couldn't help the uncomfortable feeling of being watched.

Suddenly, too suddenly for Eiri to think straight, he heard light footsteps behind him. Immediately he turned around, making a huge mistake. The intruder Eiri had been looking for jumped on him from the treetop and clapped a strong hand over his mouth and nose. Eiri tried to shout but managed to make just a silent muffle. He had trouble breathing and he felt his heart pounding faster than ever. He kicked and attempted to punch his attacker, but he was in a tight grip. To his horror, he realised that his limbs felt numb and heavy. He was losing his consciousness. He turned his almost closed eyes at the one standing infront of him, the one who had been watching his every move since he had come outside. He was a tall man, dressed in black. Eiri wanted to have a better look at him, but his eyelids dropped close. Everything around him went fuzzy and dark. He didn't feel the hand on his face anymore; he didn't feel anything at all.

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A/N: Okay. Some action at least. This chapter was beta-read by blacksheep222. Thanks for reading and please review, even if you do it anonymous. Any comment at all is very helpful. Chapter three coming up soon.