Title: Sing Along Song
Series: Gravitation
Rating: T for Teen
Started: 15-May-2006
Finished: 17-May-2006
Summary: Shuichi fiddles with the radio until "The Rage Beat" starts to play.
Why: I was working on a paper for my Shakespeare class, listing to "The Rage Beat" on one of my Gravitation CDs when the idea popped into my head. I wrote it down on the back of some paper and stuck it in my folder. I didn't have time to work on it until now.
Disclaimer: Do you seriously think I own Gravitation? If you do, go see a doctor.
Fingers jammed on an imaginary guitar. They raced up and down the strings, stalling a moment for the pause in the song. The song started up again, and the fingers switched to drums, smashing the air on the off beat. The singer began to sing again, and the pink-haired boy in the passenger seat sang along. His head rocked back and forth to the singer.
"READY STEADY CAN'T HOLD ME BACK
READY STEADY GIVE ME GOOD LUCK
READY STEADY NEVER LOOK BACK
LET'S GET STARTED, READY, STE—"
"We're starting up another hour of commercial-free music, right here on the Light Station—103.5, Light Rock…"
The pink-haired boy screamed in agony.
"YUUUUKIIIIII! You changed the station! Why! I was jamming out to L'arcenciel!"
The blonde driver quickly shot his eyes over to the left to give a death glare at his noisy companion.
"You know I don't like rock bands, especially when you have the radio cranked up as loud as it can go. Besides, I'm trying to drive, if you haven't noticed."
Shuichi opened his mouth to retort, but received another glare, and snapped his mouth shut. He pouted, and sunk further into the leather car seat. A few moments passed with nothing but the radio playing a soft Utada Hikaru ballad. Shuichi twirled his thumbs for a few seconds and looked up at Yuki from the corner of his eyes.
"Can I find some music?"
"No."
"But it'll give me something to do so I don't bother you!"
Crap. Did he let the radio stay where it was and have to endure Shuichi's incessant babbling, or did he suffer through songs of bands he wasn't fond of? The brat had a point…
A few moments passed, during which Shuichi's fingers had moved as close to the radio as possible without actually touching the dials. Yuki noticed this and sighed.
"You can listen as long as you don't get some punk-ass band who thinks they're cool just because they dyed their hair blonde."
Shuichi squealed.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you Yuki!"
The bouncing boy threw his arms out to the writer, intending to hug him, when Yuki's left hand smacked the younger man on the forehead.
"Don't hug me, I'm driving, you idiot!"
The singer grinned, and began to surf the airwaves. He found nothing for about a minute and a half before the stopped on "Easy Action" by Kotani Kinya. Before Shuichi even sang a phrase, Yuki turned the dial, commenting that he didn't like the singer's voice. (1) A few more moments passed with Shuichi failing in his attempt at finding music, when he hit the last line of a Do As Infinity song. It ended, and the radio announcer came on.
"Hey all you folks out there, this is Fujioka Tetsuya. If you didn't know already, we've got exclusive tickets to the sold-out T.M.Revolution concert in Shinjuku. If you don't have your seats yet, tune in and listen to Kagome-chan tomorrow morning at 7:20. She's giving away two fifth-row seats, just for you! And don't forget to donate blood every six-months. Okay, we're back to the music faster. This is "The Rage Beat" here on 101.7, NINX."
Shuichi sat up.
"Cool…I don't hear myself on the radio all that often…"
The beat began. Shuichi closed his eyes, imagining Fujisaki's fingers flying on the keyboard with Hiro swaying to every note he hit on his guitar. He listened to himself, enjoying the sensation of hearing his music over the radio. He knew that it was through the radio stations that the Japanese people heard Bad Luck's music, but…he didn't get the chance to listen to the radio often, and when he did, he was looking for music from other bands, not himself. So when he heard his music, his voice coming though the speakers…it was like an out-of-body experience.
Shuichi hummed for a while, and began to sing softly when the chorus began.
"Doko ni mo tomaranai
Mitasanai Emotion SHIKATO kimete oikose yo."
Yuki didn't say anything when Shuichi's song came on. He figured the brat would've changed it, being too embarrassed to listen to himself on the radio. When the station didn't change, Yuki was surprised. If he had been a singer, he sure as hell wouldn't want to hear himself coming through a speaker.
The odd thing was, he was expecting to get an ear-full of how "Oh my gosh, I'm on the radio!" But when Shuichi said, "Cool…I don't hear myself on the radio all that often…" in a calm voice and only hummed, Yuki thought the world was going to end.
Suddenly, the sound of Shuichi's voice came to Yuki's ear. It was soft, and sweet, quite unlike his normal conversational voice. The writer hitched a small breath, and just listened.
"Furueteru SHAI ne seikai no nuke-michi o
Neratte tadoritsuku basho e
I Want New World."
As the song hit the second verse, Shuichi closed his eyes, and began to tap his right hand on his leg to keep with the beat. His head rocked back and forth slightly, and he smiled the entire time, imagining himself performing with Bad Luck in front of an entire crowd of screaming fans; Yuki standing backstage and smiling at him.
In the middle to the second verse, Yuki decided he didn't want to hear the accompaniment, and slowly turned the radio down until the music wasn't audible. He prayed that Shuichi didn't realize that he was turning the radio off, and suddenly stop singing for him. When the singer kept going, Yuki smiled and kept listening.
It was amazing. Yuki didn't hear Shuichi sing a cappella very often. In fact, this was the first time he had ever heard his lover go at a song without music. And it was awesome. Yuki got to hear how connected the notes were, and how he kept the song flowing. He could also tell that Shuichi was putting everything he had into the song, even though he was just singing in the car.
When they pulled up to the garage of the apartment, the writer parked the car and turned the engine off. Yuki propped his right elbow on the side of the door, and put his chin into his hand as he listened to Shuichi belt out the last few lines.
"Furueteru SHAI na seikai no nuke-michi o
Neratte tadoritsuku basho e
I Want New World."
Shuichi kept his eyes closed and his head up for a few moments before he came crashing back down to reality. When he opened his eyes, he realized the car was no longer moving, and that the radio wasn't on.
"Wha…"
"Welcome back space cadet."
Shuichi whipped his head toward Yuki.
"Did you shut the radio off Yuki?"
Yuki smiled.
"And if I did?"
The singer's hands clasped his face which was turning pink.
"How could you! Why would you do that, Yuki!"
The writer slung his arms over the steering wheel, bringing his hands together. He looked out the windshield for a few seconds before responding.
"I wanted to hear you sing. Not with the music, not with the radio, just you. Besides, you didn't even notice that I turned the music off. Were you that engrossed in yourself singing?"
Shuichi scratched the back of his head and looked out the windshield as well.
"Well…I imagined I was at the Tokyo Dome, singing in front of a sold-out crowd. I was on the stage, in front of all those people, and I wanted to sing the best I ever had. It was a feeling, you know? I wanted them to know how much I put into all the songs I sing. I wanted to show them that I appreciated them coming, and for listing to us."
The pink-haired boy looked back over at Yuki.
"You were there too. You were standing backstage, clapping you hands to the beat. You had this soft smile on your face, and when I looked over at you, you gave me a warm smile, telling me to do my best. It made me want to sing even better than I was."
Yuki moved his arms off the steering wheel, and sat back in the seat.
"At least I didn't have to pay for the concert you gave me here."
Shuichi scoffed.
"Are you telling me that you wouldn't pay to come see me in concert, Eiri Yuki?"
"I don't actually. Tohma gives me free tickets every time I go."
The singer crossed his arms and pouted.
"Jerk! See if I ever buy another one of your books!"
Shuichi's left hand reached for the car door when he felt his right arm being pulled on. He turned his head, and Yuki's lips came down on his. Shuichi moaned, and slid his arms around the blonde's neck. Yuki's right hand was on the back of the singer's neck, while his left was on the small of his back, bringing him as close to the writer as possible.
They exchanged kisses for a few moments. Yuki got particularly passionate and moved to sit in Shuichi's lap, pinning him to his seat in the car. The kissing continued, and eventually Yuki slid his hand up Shuichi's shirt. When the pink-haired boy moaned, Yuki pulled away, opened the car door, and stepped out, leaving the poor boy panting. The singer opened his mouth to say something when the writer's finger landed on his lips.
"That is what you get for not wanting to buy my books."
At that the blonde shut the car door and walked through the garage toward the door that would get him to the elevator. Shuichi fumbled with the knob on the car door, and when he finally got it open, he sprinted toward the writer.
The singer latched onto Yuki's hand when he caught up, and said,
"I'll buy all your books, Yuki! I promise! Just…kiss me again, would you?"
Yuki grinned as they stepped onto the elevator.
"You are so easy to tease."
Fin
Author's notes:
(1) Kotani Kinya is the singing voice of Shuichi in the Gravitation anime and OAV.
Well, I like that one. It was really bothering me that I hadn't typed it up. I got these stupid fake nails for three weeks and I couldn't type at all, our computer was down for three days because it got attacked with about 18,000 viruses at the same time, I had a bunch of friend problems, etc. Anyway, thanks goes out to my sister for letting me bounce the idea off of her (she always approves my stories) and to all of you who read my fic. Please review! I finally figured out how to respond to the reviews you guys write me.
Thank you very much.
Tamababymiko-chan