Chapter 16
Bite me
The day before at NG on the tenth of March, Shuichi had been happy to sit in the circumference of Eiri's arms. They had been getting closer, and the writer felt he'd been making progress. But their new-found "companionable relationship" was quite… dissatisfying.
Today, on the eleventh of March at the Toyama City concert hall, Eiri blew a breath of frustration out his nostrils, chin cupped in a propped hand on the armrest of his backstage seat. His eyes looked past the backstage chaos, thinking about a certain pink-haired irritant. There was something missing in their relationship, for all that it was quite companionable, and the writer was all too aware of that emptiness, that absence. He was not pleased. It was obvious Shuichi was holding him at arm's length, was being very careful about conduct in his presence, and it was damnably frustrating to not know how to get the little singer to relax.
Then there was Shu's temper problem…
Like when he'd been surprised that Shuichi loved Tabasco sauce on his pizza; that Shu liked cats, and kids, and fishing? Or when Shu'd floored him by offering an administrator's wife advice on medicating her infant, then turned around and changed the brat's diaper? Turned out Shuichi had a family, a younger sister and three small cousins he'd helped raise, family his lover of two years had never even heard of, let alone visited.
Just more things he really ought to have known. Even Suguru knew! His surprise had earned him annoyed glances from Shuichi over the weeks since they had become 'friends'.
Earlier that day, the keyboardist had asked if Shuichi would be taking the few days between concerts to run a quick visit to his parents' home in Yamanashi. Eiri had never been to Shuichi's parents' home; he had not known Mr and Mrs Shindou lived there. It bothered him now that he had never made an effort to get to know the singer's family when he had always known full well what importance Shu had placed on blood relation.
He sighed.
"Show time in fifteen minutes!" K bellowed, and Eiri sat up.
He would not have much time to go and wish Shuichi luck. Already Jubilee were ready and waiting by the stage side. He pushed himself up and out of his seat, and made for the dressing room hallway. Most of the door way signs had been printed in large font on plain printer paper then tacked to doors. There were no directions marked but Eiri had paid attention enough to know where the little singer's dressing room was. He politely knocked.
"Come in!" Shuichi called. "Hi, Eiri."
The writer made his way to a chair closest to Shuichi, who was stretching out with the band trainer and physical therapist, Kazumi. There was not a lot of room in the main back stage area, but the dressing rooms were quite large here. Eiri cringed at the sound of snapping bones when Shuichi was pulled over the trainer's back.
"That looks like it hurts," Eiri commented, reclining in the canvas seat folding chair.
"What hurts is to watch Kazumi-san and Hiro spar," Shuichi shot back, rotating his arms. "Have you seen them go at it? They really scare me!"
"Hiro's a real handful now. He's gotten a lot better, Shuichi," the trainer said. He paused to give Shu a grin, "When are you going to resume your own lessons?"
"Shuichi fights?!" Eiri blurted, incredulous.
"He was pretty good to begin with, actually," Kazumi volunteered, saving a possible awkward situation… if Shu's furrowed brows at him were any indication. Shit, not another one. "He was more of a street fighter when we first started, a little rough around the edges. Even then he had naturally good reflexes and his flexibility's amazing--"
"Kazumi-san," Shuichi interrupted with that strange press-pleasing smile on his face that Eiri had come to truly detest. "I'm sure Eiri knows all that already." The singer tilted his head down, but the writer had already seen the expression of irritation cross Shu's youthful face.
"Ah," Kazumi rubbed the back of his neck, looking a little sheepish. "You're right. After all, you two were together for years. It would only be natural he would know everything about you."
Natural, Eiri thought, feeling a little guilty. Shuichi didn't even look at him.
Kazumi-san turned to Shu and gave a quick half bow. "I apologise, but you're a quick learner and a pleasure to teach, it's great to work with you and I had to say so. I do hope you reconsider, now that we have time on tour." The trainer and former student smiled at each other.
"I'll try to do some training with you for the rest of the tour, Kazumi-san," Shuichi promised, chuckling a little. "But you have to help me drag Suguru into it, too!"
"Deal!" And, with a wave, Kazumi stepped out to go attend to the other band members in case they needed anything.
"He's pretty passionate about teaching," Shuichi said, turning to face him fully. Pausing, Eiri looked the little singer over.
Shuichi was dressed in low-slung purple lycra and leather trousers. His silver tank top shimmered, accentuating the glitter powder generously distributed across every inch of exposed skin. The top had lace trim at its hem, neckline and arm holes. A strand of the same silver lace was also wound at his throat like a choker. His bubblegum pink hair had been sculpted into chunky pink flames, with slender wisps artfully feathered about to frame his face. From his left ear, a tiny amethyst and crystal cross dangled from a silver earring.
"You like the earring, huh?" Shuichi asked, amused as Eiri stared.
"That ear isn't pierced," Eiri said with certainty in his tone. Well, at least he knew that… right?
"It isn't," Shuichi confirmed, turning to the mirror; Eiri relaxed a little. Shu angled his head and shook it a little to swing the cross a bit. "But I liked it as soon as I saw it in a shop window this morning. Lucky for me, one of the craftier make-up artists cut off the prong and glued a snap-on mechanism to it." He looked over his shoulder at Eiri. "Hey, you have a piercing, don't you? Here!" Shuichi swept up an earring box off the dressing table and shoved it at Eiri. The writer could see the jeweller's box contained the earring's matching pair. "You can have that one."
"Thank you," He said automatically, startled. He looked down at the earring in his hand with some surprise before looking up into Shuichi's eyes. Suddenly, he realised Shu was looking a little startled himself, as though he had only just realised what he had done.
"If you don't want it," Shuichi rushed, embarrassed, stepping forward and making to take the box back, "You really don't have to--"
"No!" Eiri pulled his arm back instantly, taking the box in his hand out of Shuichi's reach. "I want it."
Again, both were embarrassed, the awkwardness a testament to how fragile things still were. Their gazes met and there was a moment of understanding: they had both just done something automatic and natural, not really thinking about how their actions might seem to the other. It had been based on their history together, though it was something which did not really apply anymore.
"Well, now we're even," Eiri commented wryly, giving the singer a small smile.
"Yeah," Shuichi said slowly, dropping his outstretched hand, "Sure."
"Thank you for the earring," Eiri said sincerely. He looked at the pair on Shu's ear and looked away before saying, "Now we can match."
"Match..?" The singer looked aghast.
"Shuichi?" Eiri asked, a little alarmed at the singer's expression. "Are you alright?"
"You said 'we can match' and I know you did!" Shuichi pointed accusingly. "You did!"
"I did," the writer slowly confirmed, a little puzzled. He looked into Shuichi's wide eyes, not understanding, but then those lovely purple eyes gleamed.
"Why, Eiri," Shuichi cooed slyly. "You can actually be romantic in real life, too…"
"Shut up," Eiri said instantly, but his cheeks coloured a little. Chuckling, Shuichi shook his head in disbelief.
"You just keep amazing me everyday," he said. He sighed hesitantly then gave the writer a shy glance. "Do you…" he paused and Eiri held his breath. "Do you want me to help you… with that?" he gestured at the earring in the box.
"Yes, please," Eiri held the box toward Shuichi immediately. Best not to give the kid time to change his mind.
Shuichi took the box from the writer's hand, plucked out the earring, and slowly stepped forward. Eiri bent forward a little, tilting his head to give Shuichi access. Unbidden, memories of giving Shu a different kind of access with this same movement flashed through his mind. Not good, not good… He took a steadying breath at the same time Shuichi did. Awkwardly, they glanced at each other, before the strangeness broke and they chuckled.
"I won't bite," Eiri said then muttered to himself, "Well, not right now anyway." There were still traces of his earlier erotic thoughts; how could there not be when he had been without Shuichi in his bed for over half a year?
"Be good, Eiri," Shuichi admonished with a teasingly wagged finger. He stepped closer easily, naturally, and reached up with the earring in hand. "Now hold still."
Luckily, it was Eiri's right ear which was more sensitive than his pierced left, but Shuichi's touch still sent tingles scattering across his scalp. He gave a small gasp, tensing, unable to stop the reaction. He looked at the singer out of the corner of his eye to check if Shu had caught his reaction.
He had.
"Still sensitive?" Shuichi snickered, eyes shining with laughter. Eiri couldn't see it, but he felt Shu breath lightly over the shell of his ear. Jerking away, the writer clapped a hand over his ear, snatching a breath sharply, and glared at the laughing miscreant.
"Don't give me a reason to retaliate…" Eiri growled threateningly.
"But I couldn't resist!" Shuichi giggled, "It's not my fault if your ear is so tempting to tickle."
"Hmph," Eiri snorted, returning to his bent position to wait for Shuichi to put the earring in his ear. Reaching up with both hands, Shu deftly fastened the jewellery in place. Flicking a finger at the dangling cross, he smiled.
"It looks nice on you," he said. Eiri turned to catch the smile he had only just glimpsed sidelong… and the movement suddenly brought his face very close to Shuichi's. He remained still, forced himself to remain calm despite the nearness; he did not want to leave Shuichi's proximity but neither did he want to scare the singer away.
"Thanks," the writer murmured, eyes roving over the familiar features. He remembered how that face looked, eyes squeezed shut and mouth gaping a little, in the throes of passionate completion…
"You're welcome," Shuichi whispered back, smiling comfortably as though unaffected by Eiri's nearness.
Despite being disappointed that Shu wasn't as bothered as he, Eiri enjoyed being near the singer. It was not as rare as before, touching and being near each other, but he wanted to savour each one. That they could tease and banter was what made things strange; they had never done that in the past. Even now, it was strange to speak to Shuichi as 'Shuichi' and not as 'brat' or 'kid'.
He still thought of that, still applied those words to the singer before him, no matter everything he had learned. Maybe those had become endearments after all… and he missed using them. He missed teasing Shuichi.
There was so much he missed.
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On the twelfth of March, the day after the Toyama concert, Eiri took Shuichi out to lunch. It wasn't planned, it had been entirely impromptu…
Oh, who was he kidding? Eiri had been paying attention to Shu's habits and had managed to be in the right place at the right time. He managed the appropriate expression and self-possession to not let his invitation sound lewd or date-like or anything Shuichi might feel wary about. He was not refused, and off they went on their merry way.
How bloody charming.
Eiri growled a little to himself, feeling more than a little foolish when they were led to their table in a small and quaint café. The crew would all be leaving after lunch, off to Nagoya in the Aichi district, so this lunch could not run too late. It was better this way, Eiri told himself. This way, never mind if things were going really well and he might wish that they could keep going, they would be forced to stop before he could make a fool of himself.
Yes, a good thing.
"The fish sashimi platter, two bowls of rice, and two bowls of miso soup, please," Eiri ordered politely, sparing the bored waitress a small smile. Shuichi liked fish. Thank the Gods he knew that now.
"One Espresso and a can of Budweiser for him," Shuichi said, "And I'll have a milk tea."
"With pearls?" (1) Asked the waitress dutifully.
"Yes, please," Shuichi nodded. He smiled at Eiri across the table, whose lips curved a little back. "We're even."
"Maybe," Eiri murmured mysteriously. Ah, so the brat had noticed his efforts, how he had ordered the kid's favourite afternoon meal. The singer had matched him with the can of Bud and the requisite afternoon espresso. But really, Shuichi would win these little contests hands down, the boy had done his homework; it had been years in the making. Maybe the offer of 'even' was a kind acknowledgement, a small appreciation that he was trying at all…?
"We're even," Shuichi chuckled, tone more firm this time. "I'm enjoying just being with you; I'm glad you're here."
"I'm glad, too," Eiri muttered, keeping his voice low though he was being careful to vocalize his feelings, as his therapist had advised.
"You keep saying things like that." With a shake of his head, Shuichi regarded Eiri curiously. "Are you sure you're Uesugi Eiri?"
"I'm sure," Eiri growled, rolling his eyes a little, mock annoyed. He knew Shuichi was aware he wasn't really annoyed. It had become all the more apparent over the past weeks on tour that the little singer could still read him well.
"Writer and monk?" Shu prodded, doubtfully, "Sibling to Mika and Tatsuha, Seguchi Tohma's brother-in-law?"
"Shut up."
"Make me…"
"I'm about to, as soon as the food arrives," the writer grumbled. "You should be hungry enough to eat enough for the both of us by now. Where is that waitress?" He glanced about as though looking for the girl, though his attention was held by Shu's teasing smiling face.
"Not here! In the mean time, you'll just have to deal with me!" giggled the little singer.
Gods, he was so adorable.
"I'm sorry," Eiri said suddenly, sober and startled.
"Why?" Shuichi tilted his head over to one side, looking worried.
"I can't tease you back about you being different," Eiri said slowly, softly. "I didn't know you all that well before to be able to tell the difference from who you are now. I'm sorry." His breath caught when anger flitted across Shuichi's face fleetingly. But it was quickly replaced by that carefully pleasant expression the singer wore when dealing with media personnel… or him.
"Don't worry about it." Shuichi said pleasantly, the one hand on the table curling into a little fist which Eiri tried not to stare at. Shu turned to smile up at the waitress who had just arrived with their food, dismissing their conversation.
Shit.
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On the evening of the thirteenth of March, Eiri told Shuichi, "You're such a brat."
It just slipped out. He meant it as an endearment, it was said in jest. But Shuichi's calm expression cracked, his face twisted and he glowered at Eiri with such hostility, Hiro automatically reached to hold the singer back just in case. But Shu did nothing. Turning stiffly away, he'd marched off, leaving Hiro, Suguru, K and Eiri staring dumbly. Naturally, Hiro flashed Eiri a look before jumping up and following after his best friend.
Suguru sighed and shook his head at Eiri, and K snorted before leaning back in silence.
"He's got every right to be angry," Suguru said. Eiri nodded, pulling out a cigarette, glad they were on the Nagoya City concert venue steps outside in the night air where he could smoke. Lighting up, he regarded the synth-master calmly, deciding he might need some back up after all.
"He's got every right to be angry with me," he said evenly. "I have been waiting for him to break."
"He will resist to the very end," said K, looking away distantly.
"Then maybe he needs a little prodding in the right direction," Suguru suggested, arching a brow at the irritated writer.
"Excuse me?"
"Wind him up," K double translated, speaking in English.
"Bite me," Eiri said bluntly, getting to his feet.
"We aren't blind to what you are trying to do, Eiri-san," Suguru said smoothly, sounding ominously like a certain cousin of his. "And if you want to make any more progress, this is probably the best move you can make."
The writer paused, scowling at the little keyboardist who stared coolly back.
"This time, and don't make me regret making this overture," Suguru gave Eiri a hard look. "You'll have help."
Eiri sat back down and K began to laugh.
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Rude, impatient and as cranky as he had ever been, and it had been so easy; it really ought to frighten him, how quickly he had slid back into his uncaring persona.
But Eiri knew what he was doing. It was also a lesson for him, too, seeing how being nice and proper really was a matter of choice. It was simply paying attention and making small choices every day, building a new habit and easing out of the old. He finally pulled the last straw that night, fourteenth of March, when he went to fetch the singer from his hotel room and had summoned him by calling for 'the brat.'
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Shuichi stormed, face flushed, fists clenched and eyes blazing.
Uh oh.
"Nothing is wrong with me, I'm a bastard remember?" Eiri snapped back, careful not to look into those haunting violet eyes so as not to be swayed. He hoped to the Gods he was doing the right thing.
"Yes!" Shuichi screamed at him. "You are a bastard! I don't know what I was thinking believing you had changed!" He paced a little, still glowering. "And I'm an idiot!"
"No," Eiri corrected, looking at the door in a carefully schooled bored expression. "You're a brat."
"Brat, idiot, it doesn't make a difference!" Shuichi snarled, "And you're a Liar!"
"Come on, is that all I am, a Liar?" Eiri scoffed, shrugging casually as he turned toward the window. "You can call me something worse than that, can't you? After all, I have been--"
"You're a lying bastard!" the singer interrupted. "A cold-hearted conniving son-of-a-bitch!"
Ouch.
"You've been playing me all this time, haven't you?" Shuichi shouted, tears spilling over down his cheeks. He was shaking, standing stiffly with his hands clenched at his sides. "Being nice, driving us around, worrying about me, it was all a trick!"
"That would be so like me, wouldn't it?" Eiri growled, unable to stop himself from being annoyed that Shuichi could be so quick to assume he was so bad.
"Pretending, scheming!" Shuichi sobbed, his voice taking on a pained edge. "Why, Eiri?" At the sound of that pained cry, Eiri had to pause, focus. He had to remember what he needed to do with this opportunity.
"Why else except to have some fun?" He asked tauntingly, still watching Shuichi only out of the corner of his eye. "You're such a foolish brat; it's so much fun to play with you. You're so easy to trick…"
"You disgusting..!" Shuichi flew at him, little fists cocked to strike. Eiri dodged and blocked, surprised at the little singer's fervor, glad to have been forewarned of the kid's skill. "Two-timing," Punch. "Disloyal," Kick. "No morals," Knee jab. "Betrayer!"
Eiri avoided most of them, took a few strikes when his half-hearted blocks were not quite as solid. But, damn, the brat was as fast as--
"Ugh," Eiri grunted when the later part of a well-timed combo hit its mark on the left side of his abdomen. Quickly, he refocused on his blocking, certain that the landed strike would embolden Shuichi to follow it up with something just as nasty. Sure enough, the singer's next blow was powerful, but it was a wild one. The writer was forced backward and he tripped over the foot of a small coffee table, just managing to direct his fall so that he landed in a nearby chair.
"Good shot," Eiri quipped, breathing a little heavily. Shuichi's eyes narrowed further at the compliment.
"Shut up!" he hissed, stepping back and giving up. His violet eyes were drowning in tears. "You didn't have to do it to me! You could have played your games on your women, on your little toys, why me?" He sobbed, hands clutching at his chest. He hunched over as though in pain, his voice was barely over a whisper when he said, "Why on someone who loves you?"
Not 'loved' as in past tense, Shuichi had said 'loves'.
Control crumbling, Eiri pushed himself back up to his feet, stepped forward and let his concern show on his face. He opened his heart and his arms, and let the singer see how worried he was. This was it…
"I'm sorry," Eiri said hoarsely, almost begging for Shuichi to understand. "I didn't want her more than I wanted you. I was drunk and it was no excuse, and I knew better…" He swallowed, trying to push down the lump in his throat. He slowly reached for Shuichi's shivering form. "I knew better but I didn't think. I was a fool, Shuichi…" He took a deep breath, gently curling the fingers of one hand under the singer's chin, "I was such a fool."
Shuichi gasped, mouth dropping open slightly. Those impossibly large purple eyes glittered wetly, widening with obvious shock. Nervously, the boy swallowed, his tongue briefly touching to moisten his lips. The writer almost groaned, having witnessed the small, skittish gesture. His loins tightened and his senses became far too aware of the boy's mild cologne. His thumb, from the hand lightly gripping Shu's smooth chin, arched up to slide along the bottom of that rosy bow. Shuichi sighed softly, and Eiri drew a ragged breath in reaction.
Without having been aware of it, Eiri had reached up with his other hand to cradle Shu's face. He had stepped forward, closer. And now, it was so easy to bend, just a little and ghost his lips over Shuichi's petal-soft, half-open mouth…
The singer sighed and Eiri swallowed the soft breath. He gently closed his lips around Shu's bottom lip, pressing a soft kiss upon the tender flesh then opened his mouth again to close his lips upon the boy's upper lip. Shuichi responded, amethyst eyes slipping shut and kissing back tentatively. Eiri let his own eyes close, giving in to the kiss, angling his head to slant his mouth over Shuichi's. He gently slid the tip of his tongue over the singer's lips and was pleased to feel them part further in silent invitation. Obliging, he slid his tongue past…
Gods, Shuichi's mouth was so wet and so warm..! The taste of the boy sent tendrils of liquid fire swirling down ever nerve ending in Eiri's body. He almost could not bear it, could not keep himself away…
Had it not been for the alarm bells ringing in his head. With a gasp, he forced himself to move away but gently pulled the singer further into his arms.
"Please," Eiri whispered, closing his arms around the boy. It was a plea, really. A beg for Shuichi to accept his apology, to accept that he had not meant no hurt, that he was truly a different person now.
"You're still a bastard," Shuichi muttered, but his thin arms clung to the writer.
His hands fisted in Eiri's shirt and he leaned into the embrace like never before. Hurting and pained, Shuichi still fought to forgive. Eiri could see it, he knew it, and he loved Shuichi more than ever because of it.
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Shuichi avoided Eiri the next day.
Cursing inwardly, the writer respectfully gave Shu his space. Everyone was busy with setting up for the following day's concert anyway. Without complaint, he allowed himself to be ignored. He stood a bit away from conversations but stayed near enough to be of help. He continued to drive the bands around and play nice with everyone. He nodded apologies to the roadies he had 'pretended' to be nasty to the previous day; most of them had been in on it and so there had been no problems getting back to being part of the crew.
He gritted his teeth and bore with it. When lunch time came around and Shu still refused to meet his eyes, he contented himself with frowning. However, by late afternoon, he could not help but scowl and growl.
"Shuichi," Eiri cornered the singer in his dressing room where they'd been laying things out for the next day's concert. "I told you, yesterday was all pretend. The nastiness, the rudeness, none of it was real. You know that, don't you?"
The singer bowed his head, shoulders slumping. Oops.
"But the apology was genuine," he gruffly amended, wishing he had a cigarette in hand to calm his discomfort.
"Stop it." What?
"Excuse me?"
"I'm the one who should be apologising," Shuichi's hands fisted, "I'm the one who attacked you."
"Well, it was about bloody time," he snorted. Shu looked up at him, startled.
"But I--"
"No, you really needed to," Eiri interrupted, as gently as he could. "Remember? I said you needed to let it go and that when you were ready, I would be there for you."
"That was weeks ago," Shu muttered. His brow furrowed.
"Like I said, it took you long enough," Eiri mock grumbled, trying to lighten the mood.
"I thought you had forgotten." That hurt, but the writer felt he deserved it.
"I will never forget again, Shuichi," Eiri promised.
And poor Shu looked downright flabbergasted.
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In the dressing room before the concert, Eiri made his appearance. He was 'grudgingly' supportive, and eager for further progress…
"No, it doesn't have to mean anything more," Eiri reluctantly admitted. Shuichi frowned. "I mean, our… relationship can be whatever you want it to be." The writer grumbled internally. This was not how he had wanted things to go. But it was time to lose battle to get one step closer to winning the war. He continued, "We can be friends and that doesn't have to change. However, neither do we have to stop…" Here we go. "Touching or kissing. We both benefit from them, you benefit from them, and that is important to me. I won't ask you for anything more."
For now…
"No strings attached?" Shuichi looked reluctant, hesitant. But his eyes sparkled with interest and Eiri was not going to let this moment pass. This was a chance; one little window of opportunity he couldn't help but exploit.
"None," He would not push, that would be a very bad idea. This would work out, he had to believe.
Shuichi sighed and looked away. That was not a good reaction. Come on, Shuichi, this is a good thing… a good thing…
"Are you sure?" Shuichi looked at him worriedly. "It would be very unfair, you know."
Are you kidding me?!
"No, it wouldn't really be unfair," he had to force himself to sound calm and reasonable and it was making his heart jump up his throat. "It would be… simple. You'd be in control and I'd be along for the ride. I want to be along for the ride." Give some guarantees; tip the scale completely over. "And if you want to stop, you can just say so."
"Are you sure?" Shuichi asked softly, eyes shining.
YES!!
"Yes."
Come on…
"Okay."
"Good," Eiri smiled gently.
"Right."
"So…"
Thank you, Gods!
"Since you're about to head up on stage soon, may I kiss you good luck?" The writer smiled his most charming small smile.
Shuichi chewed on his lip a little, his demeanour wary. But his eyes glowed with warmth.
"You don't have to let me, it's alright," he was careful to give the singer his space. No pressure. Just give the space…
"Um," Shu looked pleased, uncertain and excited all at once. Eiri held out his hand.
Slowly, the singer lifted his own hand and settled it in the writer's palm. When Shuichi had curled his fingers into the grip, Eiri unhurriedly stepped forward and bent his head. Angling his chin, he pressed a soft kiss to Shuichi's cheek, studiously keeping his other hand away from the singer's body, squelching the urge to gather that small form against himself.
When the novelist straightened back up, amethyst eyes sparkled at him warmly. The expression in them was not as uncertain as before, and Eiri confidently bent his head once more, this time brushing his lips over Shuichi's lightly, briefly.
"You asked if you could kiss me for good luck," Shuichi berated jokingly, "One kiss was all you asked for, and now you've given me two! That's bad luck now."
Eiri chuckled. Shu really was a brat.
"So can I have another kiss?" the writer asked mischievously. "We can make it an odd number again and thereby restore the balance." His breath caught at the happiness in the singer's lavender eyes. But the gaze turned naughty, laughing, and Shuichi replied,
"Bite me."
(1) Tapioca pearls - commonly put into chilled milk tea in Asia, as an additional dressing for the drink.
Please comment or review...
And this is it, everyone!! I'm setting this story aside for a while. I need a break, emotionally and to restore my creative juices. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and commented, your words were inspiring! Thank you, and please keep me on your author alert list, you will be the first to know when I get back to this story...
See you all again soon. Happy New Year!
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