'*******' flashback
'' change of scene but still in the present.
Italics usually thoughts or important sentences.
Chapter 2: Say Something Nice!
"Eiri…" Shuichi stared at the man who stared back at him. Ok so maybe I have to make the first move. Shuichi smiled broadly. "Eiri, you never came to greet me, you meanie. You don't know how much I've been waiting to see you." He stepped into the house and looked around.
"Shuichi-kun." Eiri nodded no smile or any friendliness in his gaze at all. Shuichi ignored it even though it hurt to be treated like that. He sat down on a couch and watched Eiri shut the door and take a seat on an armchair diagonally opposite. There was more silence, until Shuichi couldn't take it anymore. "So Eiri, how have you been? I wrote to you so many times and you never replied! Do you know how much it bugged? Sometimes I wondered if I was just wasting my time writing to you."
"Maybe you were wasting you're time. I didn't bother with replying because I had more pressing things on my mind." Eiri lied. Actually he loved those long nice letters telling him about the fun Shuichi was having. But they also made him jealous, he'd never had that. He caught a hurt look flitting across the younger man's face, but it was swallowed by another grin.
"Gosh, you're such a mean bastard you realize?" Shuichi made a sweet hurt puppy face. "Come on Eiri say something nice to me! Please Eiri, please!" from somewhere a puppy costume had appeared as well. Eiri smirked and went to the kitchen. Shuichi got rid of the costume and followed him frowning slightly. "Eiri, you haven't seen me in five years and you've got absolutely nothing to say to me? By the way do have any strawberry pocky?"
"No, brat I don't have any pocky. Now are you here for a reason or should I just chuck you out and go back to work?" Eiri glared at the pink haired man who was looking all happy. Didn't the boy have somewhere to go rather than spend time with a cold bastard? He stiffened as two arms wrapped around him.
"Eiri, I came to see my best friend! Why you have a problem with spending time with me I cannot understand but I will drag you out, bug you and spend as much time as I want with you now that I'm back. I didn't get to spend too much time after you got back…" Shuichi hugged the man closer, not minding that he wasn't responding.
Eiri pulled away and glared at him. "Fine, what do you want to talk about? Should I ask you about your university? I don't care really because I'm not interested!" Eiri just about held himself back from yelling. He'd done really well by being alone and now this idiot was trying to mess him up.
"No. you tell me how you are? I wrote to you all the time from university, so I don't have much to tell you. But I'm sure you'll have a lot to talk about…Tatsuha told me you were still womanizing and I was hoping that you'd have met someone by now." Shuichi stretched out on the couch and lay back almost like he was going to take a nap.
"I'm fine. I'm a writer now of romance novels." His mouth twisted slightly on the word 'romance'. "I don't have any romance in my life, those women are all about sex and that's it. They want to get some fame from me and I want to get rid of some sexual tension. End of story. I am quite rich now and have tons of people worshipping, but I don't really get anything out of it. I don't have friends don't need them. I only hang out with people at press conferences, Tohma's parties and some other occasion which come about rarely. That's it that is the story of my existence. Is there anything else you want to know?" Eiri glared at the pink haired man who was looking out the large French windows.
"No, that's all I needed to know. Now I'm going to call Tatsuha and ask him to get me. I know Ojii (Mr. Uesugi); will be waiting to see me! But I guess I'll be back in Tokyo tomorrow and will have to go settle in the dorm. It is awesome to stay in a dorm!" Shuichi picked up the phone, turning his back on his friend/brother and hiding a frown. When did he become so bitter and cold to people? Tatsuha picked up on the second ring. "Ta-kun, its Shuichi. Can you come get me? Yeah I'll be waiting downstairs then. Bye."
Eiri was already up and standing by the door. Shuichi sighed and walked to it, it was maddening that Eiri was almost chucking him out like this. He slipped his arms around him again. "Eiri, if you need me, I'll be right here!"
Eiri watched him walk out and shut the door behind him. He couldn't help remembering.
He had just been walking home, he hadn't done anything…but then they usually didn't need an excuse. He didn't see that punch coming until he was on the ground, his cheek throbbing. They were kids from his school, most of them from his class. He didn't know why they hated him, but they always picked on him. "Hey, weirdo what are you doing in our neighborhood? Didn't we tell you not to hang around here?"
Eiri could feel fear welling up inside him. "I was just walking home, I had to buy groc…" he cried out as a foot caught him in the stomach. The kids grinned maliciously. "Well, next time hurry home fast you don't need us to get the wrong idea! We don't want to see your weird hair or crazy eyes around here got that?" he tried to nod, but that earned him a punch. They started to punch him again when he heard a small voice yelling.
"Let go of him, you idiots! He didn't do anything, if you don't let go, I'll kill you." Eiri had looked up in shock and fear. Shuichi was standing in the middle of the group between the guy holding onto Eiri's shirt and Eiri himself. He was looking angry. "He's not weird you're weird! Let him go!" it had started to rain. Eiri took that as gods blessing, he didn't want Shuichi involved in this at all.
The kids had just let go of him and left, smirking and muttering about a pipsqueak protecting him. Shuichi had run up to him and hugged him. He'd started to cry, getting soaked in the rain. "Are you alright Eiri? Why did they do that? Are you sure you're ok." Eiri had answered in affirmative to all his questions and they had started to walk home.
Then Shuichi had suddenly turned to him, his face full of concern and pain for him. "It's ok Eiri, if you need me, I'll be right here."
"So how did your meeting with our great sibling Yuki Eiri go?" Tatsuha grinned as he drove. They'd borrowed Mika's car for the purpose of delivering Shuichi safely into their father's arms. Shuichi tore his gaze away from the country side that he loved.
"It went well. It was pretty, um... how do I put it? It was an eye opener. I haven't seen him for five years, since he left home actually. He's different, very bitter about life and stuff…any idea why?" he gave Tatsuha a direct questioning gaze.
"No, I have no idea. I know Aneki and Tohma do, but they're not telling me anything. Yes he is a cold hearted bastard now isn't he?" Shuichi looked up in surprise at the bitterness in Tatsuha's voice, but before he could question it, Tatsuha's phone started to ring. It was one of his girlfriends so he was on the phone for a long time.
By the time he finished, they were almost home and Tatsuha's face discouraged Shuichi from asking more. Shuichi got out as soon as they drove into the drive. He stared at the doorstep for a while.
He stared at the doorstep. How was he going to cross the threshold of this house and go away. He was leaving his only family behind. He was suddenly scared. London seemed very far away and all the excitement he'd been feeling was slowly fading away.
Ojii had suddenly come up behind him with a soft rare smile. "Come on Shuichi-kun, you should be all ready now. Are you excited the world awaits you!" he'd smiled back and given them all a hug. Eiri's absence was the one he felt the most…why wasn't he here to see him off and wish him the best? He'd pushed away, the hurt and stepped over the threshold knowing that by doing so he was giving up a chance of being with Eiri and making him feel better. "Goodbye, Eiri…"
Shuichi stopped staring at the doorstep and pushed the buzzer. The door opened and his stepfather enveloped him in a hug. Shuichi sighed and stepped over the threshold, now it was time to bring Eiri back. He had a light snack with his father. "Ojii, you're so thin, why haven't you been eating properly? Well, I'm coming down every week, to make sure you eat ok?"
Shuichi went up to his room. He stopped at the door and looked into Eiri's room. He went in and found it was still the same, the colored patchwork quilt still lay on the bed, and all the pictures were untouched. Shuichi missed the notice board Eiri had on one wall. It used have all the snaps of the fun things the family used to do together. He remembered how Eiri had ripped them all up two days after he'd got back from New York, they had to hold him down to stop him from destroying the rest of the room. Shuichi closed the door behind him and went into his own room.
He sank onto his bed and tried to think of anything but Eiri. He even called Hiro and talked to him about some trivialities. He hung up and found that he was still thinking of his best friend. Cursing he just called Eiri up.
Eiri frowned as the phone started to ring. He picked it up and growled into it. "Eiri here." The last person he expected it to be was Shuichi. He didn't think the boy would bother to call after the meeting today.
"Eiri, just say something nice to me please. Then I wouldn't think of you so much…" Eiri almost dropped the phone that was also the last thing he'd expected Shuichi to say.
"I don't want to say anything nice, I don't have anything nice to say." Eiri glared knowing that it was futile as the object of his glare couldn't see him. He heard a small whine from Shuichi on the other end.
"Eiri, come on…I'll keep calling until you say something nice so I can't forget about you and get some rest…I'll say something nice about you…" Eiri smirked as Shuichi tried to bargain with him. He sighed, maybe if he did say something nice the brat would leave him alone.
"Ok, um…it's nice to see you've grown a few inches, even if you are on of the shorter species in the male population." He held the phone away as Shuichi yelled something. "Eiri, I said something completely nice, not something which gets messed up!"
"Ok, fine. I liked your letters Shuichi-kun."
"That's so sweet; you made me feel so happy I wrote them. And now for my nice thing about you…I'm grateful that you're a good writer and that everyone loves you. Ok I'm going now have fun!" Eiri stood still holding the phone to his ear as Shuichi hung up. That was a nice thing…
Shuichi hung up worried. Since when had it become so hard for Eiri to give complements? It was usually very easy for him; he used to say such nice things to people. He picked up a photograph on his beside table and stared at it. It was of him and Eiri when, they had gone fishing together. That was when Eiri had made him feel so proud by telling him that he was an excellent fisherman!
Shuichi ran his thumb along the frame. I'll bring you back Eiri, I promise I will!
A/N: ok update done! Thanks for the reviews everyone, you guys have been my inspiration and this chapter is dedicated to you all! Oh and if they are a little ooc, sorry about it, I've tried the best way I can to bring out Eiri of the past and Eiri of the present. Ja!
Taka
