Not much to say for this except that I'm sorry that it took so long. If anyone's read my journal, they would know why, but if you didn't, here's the short hand version of why. Me and my friend…my sister…got in a huge fight over "how I deal with reality" and I'll just say that y'all are lucky that y'all are lucky that you're getting the rest of this fic. Okay…you can read now…
Disclaimer: Nope…checks important files and data…it's not mine…
Visitation Hours…
It had been two weeks since he had been admitted. Two weeks of torture, two weeks of hell, two weeks of confusion. Why was he here? Who were the people around him? Who had given the hospital the permission to admit him? Why didn't anyone fight for him?
Shuichi opened his eyes and gazed around the hospital room. Cold, sterile, white. Everything was white. The wall, the floor, the curtains, the sheets, the tables, the door, the handle,…even the icy metal of the bed frame was white. White. The color of life, the color of purity,…the color of madness.
The lonely boy pulled his legs up to his chest and secured them with his arms, lying his head on his knees. He checked the clock. It was four o'clock in the morning and he wasn't even tired. The three hours of sleep that he'd gotten were enough to last him the entire day. He titled his head a little bit and checked the bed next to him. His roommate was still dead asleep. That wasn't surprising. That girl could sleep for days and never wake up. Yeah, that's right…a girl. Once the staff found out that he was gay, he had been moved from his original room and put into a different one. The thought made the boy chuckle.
Sighing, the boy leaned back and laid his head against his metal headboard so he could stare at the ceiling. Almost immediately after evaluation, the doctors had diagnosed him with bipolar disorder and DID. He laughed. Of all the people in the world, he never thought that he would be the one to have multiple personalities. Knowing that he would be on drugs for the rest of his life didn't make him any happier, but at least he knew that he was doing better than everything around him…because everything around him was going to hell.
Bad Luck was falling apart, broken by he and Hiro's failing friendship. Eiri was hardly able live with himself after finding Shuichi in that bathroom in the hospital. Tatsuha was alive but as pissy as ever and still in the hospital. Touma and Mika were fighting to keep their marriage together as the birthing of their first child drew closer. Ryuichi was dead, metaphorically speaking.
"What has become of us?" Shuichi whispered to the ceiling, the only thing that didn't argue with him when ever he asked it a question. "Why has everything gone so hopelessly wrong in our worlds?"
The ceiling, just like always, didn't answer but smiled down upon the boy in polite respect.
The boy snorted and looked away to stare at the dresser across the room, wishing…no, praying for a blade. The patients in the hospital weren't allowed to have anything sharp. No pens, no pencils. Their shoes had to be laceless for the fear that one of them would remove the laces and use them to hang themselves. They were denied more than they were given and the list was too long to go on.
Shuichi sighed and untangled his arms from around his legs, letting them splay out on the bed before him. He stared at his toes in fascination, wiggling them a little…just staring. There really wasn't anything fascinating about the way the toes moved, but why had humans been given the strange appendages? They really didn't do anything…did they?
A quiet mumble echoed throughout the room and pulled Shuichi from his thoughts. He turned his head and gazed upon his slumbering roommate. The girl was nice enough and very pretty, with her short, chopped dark auburn hair and piercing blue eyes, and she understood Shuichi in a way that no one had ever been able to. She understood why. She, like him, was a cutter and understood his need to cut without him even needing to explain. Nothing was wrong with her, she most definitely wasn't crazy. She was like him. Alone. Scared. Troubled. Locked within a relentless mind. She knew.
One of the best things about her was the fact that she wasn't intimidated or flustered by his stardom. Yeah, she liked Bad Luck's music, but he was just a normal person. Just like every other celebrity out there.
Shuichi watched as the girl rolled over onto her side to face him and turned his head when she opened her eyes with a smile.
"Hi, Shu-chan," she whispered and checked her clock. "Why're you up so early? Couldn't sleep?"
Shuichi shook his head. "No, I got sleep, just not much. Why're you awake?"
"Bad dream," the girl sighed and Shuichi nodded in sympathy. He'd had a lot of those since being admitted into the hospital.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, hating the way he sounded like the counselor he was forced to see.
The girl chuckled and shook her head. "No. Not right now, maybe later."
Shuichi nodded and leaned his head back, letting it rest on the top bar of the metal headboard.
"Are you okay?" the girl asked.
Shuichi shrugged. "Depends on your definition of okay," he said, turning his head just in time to see her scowl prettily.
"You know damn well what I mean, Shuichi," she said in all seriousness.
Shuichi smiled and looked away. "Sorry, Aiko-chan. I guess I need longer than two weeks to get rid of my smartassiness."
"Is that even a word?" she asked, crinkling her nose and smiling.
Shuichi shrugged. "It is now."
The girl giggled and a comfortable silence fell between them. But they didn't need words to communicate. Shuichi unconsciously started to rub at his arms and he heard the girl smirk.
"You promised me," she whispered.
"Yeah. You, Eiri, Ryu, Nori-chan, Mom, Dad, Touma, Ben, Suguru. I promised all of you, but that doesn't mean that I'm gonna be able to keep it," he replied. "You should know that."
"I know," she said softly, then added: "How long's it been?"
"Since the hospital," he said, diverting his eyes from her cobalt blue eyes.
Aiko chuckled. "You're lying, Shu-chan," she sang. Shuichi still kept his eyes away from hers. "Please tell me, Shu-chan," she asked quietly. "You know that I won't tell anyone. I'm not a hypocrite."
"Yesterday."
The girl gasped and Shuichi smiled despite himself. He looked over to her and saw her face turn hard and serious.
"Why?"
"What?"
"Shuichi."
"Okay, okay. Ryuichi was supposed to bring Tatsuha with him yesterday to visit and Tat didn't come," Shuichi said, more to himself than to the girl. "I think he still hates me and blames me for what happened."
Silence. Shuichi heard the squeak of bed springs and then extra weight was added to his own mattress. He looked up to see Aiko looking at him in sympathy.
"And you only have him to blame for being in here. Him and that good-for-nothing 'best friend' of yours," she hissed, surprising Shuichi in the coldness of it. "They're fakes, Shuichi, and don't deserve your affection."
Shuichi smiled and patted her hand. "If only you knew."
"You seem to forget that I do."
Shuichi started and looked up to see Aiko's usually cold, blue eyes turning soft and sad. The hardships that she had been forced to go through had hardened her heart, and Shuichi was the only one who could bring out the real her. The girl's eyes were glassy and Shuichi cursed himself mentally. Why did he always make people cry?
He reached out and brushed away her tears with his thumb. "Please don't cry, Aiko. Not for me or anything to do with me, please"
Aiko sniffed and shook her head. "Crying is healthy. Cutting is not."
Shuichi sighed and closed his eyes. "Well, then. How long has it been for you?"
"The last one that I showed you when we talked a while back," the girl said, but something showed in her eyes.
Shuichi scowled. "And who's getting mad at who for lying?" he asked.
Aiko returned the scowl but had an ashamed look in her eyes. Shuichi's mood softened and his heart went out to the wreck before him. Aiko was only sixteen years old and had suffered from one straight year of self-injury. Not just cutting, but self-injury in general: cutting, hitting, burning, bulimia, excessive nail-biting, banging her head against inanimate objects until she passed out; he knew almost her entire story. Her worst, though, was cutting, and Shuichi always started to panic whenever he heard that she had started again. Her arms were covered in scars and he didn't want to see anymore.
"Aiko,…-" he started, not sure of what to say, and laid a hand on top of one of hers. "How many?"
The girl's eyes saddened and more tears began to well up in them. He sighed and wrapped his arms around the girl.
"It's okay, Aiko-chan," he cooed, petting her hair softly. "It's okay."
Aiko shook her head. I-I…didn't want…t-to do it," she muttered through sobs, "but…I-I couldn't not do it." She looked up at him and Shuichi's heart broke, that much numbness and pain wasn't supposed to show in her eyes…they were either cold or happy, no where in between. "Do you understand?"
Shuichi nodded and Aiko smiled sadly before breaking down again. Shuichi just sighed and rubbed her back and petted her hair until she calmed down enough to talk coherently. Silence fell between them when that time came and Aiko just stayed in Shuichi's arms until he couldn't stand the buzzing in his ears any longer.
"Let me see," he whispered, smiling when he heard Aiko sigh.
"What good will it do you?" she asked. Great, now he was going to have to deal with the cold, bitch Aiko.
He sighed. "Please, Aiko, I want to help you."
Her eyes got colder and she turned away, trying to get up off the bed, but Shuichi held onto her waist and pulled her back into a seated position. She writhed and struggled in his grasp, but he wouldn't let go.
"Aiko, please calm down," he said softly. "I just want to help you, is all. I'm not trying to hurt you."
Her struggling calmed slightly but that was only because she had broken down into tears again. Shuichi sighed and rubbed her back gently until she stopped struggling all together and just collapsed into his arms in a fit of tears and violent shudders.
A few minutes later, Aiko pulled away and finally looked Shuichi in the eye.
"Sorry," she said and smiled slightly. "I didn't mean to be such a bitch."
Shuichi laughed and brushed her bangs back out of her face. "Hey, don't worry about it. I shouldn't have asked in the first place."
Aiko shook her head. "No, it was rude and dumb of me. I know that you just want to help," she muttered. "God, I don't know what came over me."
Shuichi smiled. "Like I said, don't worry about it."
Aiko returned the smile and pulled back the left sleeve of her black sweatshirt jacket. Shuichi looked at her in question but she just stared back. He looked down and blanched at what he saw. In perfect rows down her arm were straight cuts…some were healing, some were in the process, and some appeared to be fresh. Carefully, he reached out and ran his fingers over the cuts lightly.
"I lost count at forty…," she whispered, seeming to have read his thoughts.
Shuichi looked up at her in surprise and she smiled at him. He, however, scowled.
"Why? Why did you get this bad again?"
Aiko just smiled again. "No one's come to see me or have tried to get me out for the past month," she whispered. "I think they've forgotten about me."
Another tear ran down her cheek and Shuichi's heart broke. He hadn't even noticed. What kind of friend was he?
"Hey," she muttered. "Don't worry about it, right? They've probably just been busy."
Shuichi nodded. "Does Kobata-san know?"
Aiko snorted. "That bitch knows everything," she said. "I mean, how could she not when she practically strip searches me every time I go in there for counseling."
"That's good then," he muttered.
Aiko scowled at him, but he ignored it, choosing to check the clock out of the corner of his eye.
He yawned loudly and stretched. "We still have a couple of hours 'til call. Let's try to go back to sleep."
Aiko nodded and stood up from the bed, scowling but still giving Shuichi his customary kiss on the cheek before returning to her bed. It wasn't a passionate kiss in the sense that some would think. Yeah, it was passionate, but friendly.
Shuichi watched as the girl disappeared beneath her blankets, the top of her auburn head just peaking above the comforter.
"See ya in a few hours, Shu-chan," she mumbled miserably.
"Yeah," Shuichi muttered and lay on his back, his attention going back to the ceiling once again.
A few minutes later, he heard Aiko's breathing deepen and even out, letting him know that she was asleep. The boy sighed and reached below the bed, pulling out one of his dorky (but sweet) Velcro shoes. He pulled at the padding in the bottom of it and lifted it out, revealing his sacred hiding place. He pulled out the piece of cold metal and examined it before pulling up the legs of his shorts, exposing his inner thigh. Taking a deep breathe to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over, he pressed the blade down and drew, watching as the small bubbles of blood welled up at the opening before running down his leg.
Sighing in content and release, he stuck the blade back into its hiding place and put his shoe back under his bed with the other. He sucked up a mouthful of spit and stuck his finger in it, using the liquid to clean away the steady flow of blood leaving the wound.
Done and set, Shuichi pulled down the leg, glad for the black cotton, and rolled onto his side under the blankets. It wasn't long before he fell asleep.
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What was happening to him? Why could he remember some things, but others were just fuzzy blanks in his memory? Why was he so angry? So sad? So…confused?
Tatsuha threw his head back as his brother rolled him through the park on the rainy, spring day, letting the cool drizzle fall onto his face and into his eyes. There were so many things that he couldn't remember and it drove him crazy. What happened between him and Shuichi? Were they still together? Judging from the way his brother talked about the boy, he was guessing that they weren't. He hadn't seen and/or talked to the man since that day in his hospital room when he had condemned him for things that he never did.
Oh, he had the chances to see him. Ryuichi had asked him a few weeks ago to join him on a visit, but he had refused. Why? He hadn't been sure at the time, but now he knew. He wanted to see him alone. He wanted to apologize for all of the harsh things he had done, for destroying the rest of the glue that was left to hold together the shattered pieces of the broken man.
His mind set, Tatsuha turned back to his brother
"I want to go see him," he said. Yuki nodded.
"You're sure?" the blonde asked.
Tatsuha nodded. Yuki pushed him out of the park as quickly as he could and to the sidewalk beside the street, where he hailed a taxi.
Yuki helped Tatsuha into the back seat of the yellow car and folded the wheelchair up, placing it into the trunk, before climbing in beside Tatsuha.
"Wellstone," Tatsuha muttered, ignoring the questioning look the cab driver gave him.
"Okay," the driver said and started the clock (A/N: I've never ridden in a taxi before, but don't you pay by how long it takes it get to your destination?). It wasn't long before the yellow car stopped outside the white, two-story hospital.
"That'll be seven-fifty," the driver said and Tatsuha handed him a ten.
"Keep the change," he muttered and waited for his brother to get his chair and help him out.
It was a while after the taxi had pulled away before Tatsuha got the nerve to tell Yuki to take him inside, his entire body breaking out in nervous goosebumps. What would Shuichi say? What would he think? How had being in this hell hole changed him?
They went up to the front desk and smiled brightly, politely, at the receptionist.
"May I help you, gentlemen?" the woman asked nicely.
"Um, yes," Tatsuha said. "We're here to visit a patient."
The receptionist smiled (a woman by the name of Izumi-san…told by her nameplate). "Great. It's so nice when visitors come to see the patients," she said. "May I ask who you would like to see?"
"Shuichi Shindou."
The woman's eyes widened for a brief second, but Tatsuha saw it.
"What? Has something happened to him? Is he okay?" Yuki asked, his voice rising in panic. Terror began to arise inside Tatsuha, setting his nerves afire like a flame.
The woman diverted her eyes away from the men before her and began to type at her computer. "No," she said, sighing quietly. "He's fine, but he was put into solitary confinement last week." Tatsuha's panic rose even higher. "But he's out now, so he should be fine."
"W-Why was he put into solitary confinement?" Tatsuha asked, dreading the answer.
The woman sighed again. "Shindou-san was found with a blade. He had it conveniently hidden within the sole padding of his tennis shoe. The doctors found him just in time."
Just in time for what? he asked himself, but dreaded the answer. The one he got as a reply from his mind was enough…What in the hell do you think?
"But, we can see him, right?" Tatsuha asked frantically. "I need to see him!"
The woman smiled. "Of course you can, sir. Just sign the visitor's sheet and I'll call a nurse to lead you all back."
Tatsuha nodded, trying to hold back the flood of emotions, and signed his and Yuki's names, phone numbes, and the date on the piece of paper attached to a clipboard. By the time he was done, a nurse was already there and waiting for them.
"Thank you, Izumi-san," they said politely in unison.
The woman just smiled and returned to pecking away at her computer. They turned to the nurse.
"Hello. May I ask your names?" she asked, leading him down the first hall.
"Tatsuha Uesugi."
"Eiri Uesugi."
"Ah, yes," she said. "I'm glad that you all have come to visit Shindou-san. He could use your company."
Tatsuha nodded.
They walked the rest of the way in silence. Down several hallways, up an elevator, down several more hallways…it seemed like an eternity before they finally stopped outside a set of doors.
"Here we are," she said and punched a four-number code into the ominous keypad beside the door, frightening Tatsuha momentarily.
The doors opened and the nurse led the two men inside. Tatsuha looked around the room, staring in surprise at all of the sane looking people.
Seeming to sense his surprise, the nurse chuckled. "This is the acute unit. Patients who deal with issues such as Shindou-san's are here. Shindou-san's problem has gotten somewhat dangerous, but we have a closer eye over him now."
Tatsuha nodded. Cutters, self-injurers. He didn't think that there were so many…so many people like Shuichi.
He let his eyes scan the room and saw Shuichi sitting at a table with a dark-haired girl across the open area, his amethyst eyes wide in surprise at seeing Tatsuha. Tatsuha smiled at him and waved, but Shuichi looked down ashamedly.
"Excuse me, Aiko," Tatsuha barely heard him said over the noise of the crowd.
"Aw,…where are you going, Shu-chan?" the girl whined.
"I'll be back," Shuichi said and Tatsuha watched him stand and begin to walk away, down the hallway behind him.
The nurse gasped. "Shindou-san!" she yelled. "Shindou-san! You have a visitor!"
Tatsuha put a soft hand on her arm to tell her to stop and she looked at him in confusion. He smiled. "Don't worry about it," he said and looked behind him at his brother. "I can take it from here." Yuki nodded and let go of the handles, letting Tatsuha take control of the chair.
The nurse didn't say anything against it, so Tatsuha kept rolling. He followed Shuichi back to the door he had disappeared behind and tried the handle.
"Locked," he muttered under his breath and sighed.
This was going to be a lot more difficult than what he had planned in his mind on the ride over here.
"Sh-Shuichi," he started tentatively, knocking lightly on the door.
"What do you want? Have you come to torture me some more?" Shuichi asked from behind the door, ice laced into his voice.
Tatsuha shook his head and laid his palms flat on the door, leaning his forehead against the cold faux wood. "No, I came to say that I'm sorry, but I'll leave if you don't want to see me."
Shuichi didn't reply and Tatsuha sighed again. Oh yeah…this was just going to be a little bit harder than he thought it would be.
"Shu, please let me in. I just want to talk to you, I don't want to hurt you," he moaned, tears filling his eyes.
What have I done?
A hand fell lightly on his shoulder and Tatsuha turned around to see his brother smiling down at him.
"Let me handle it," he whispered and Tatsuha nodded. Yuki knocked lightly on the door. "Shuichi, hey, it's me. Can you let us in, please?"
"E-Eiri?"
Yuki smiled and you could hear it in his voice. "Yes, it's Eiri."
They could just barely her feet padding across the floor behind the door before the handle turned and the door was opened to reveal a wrecked Shuichi. He was ten times worse looking then when Tatsuha had last seen him. His shaggy black hair was in dire need of a trim and his skin was paler than it had been. His body had grown lanky, almost as if he was in need of something to eat, and his clothes hung off his body loosely. The worst things about his appearance, however, were his eyes. They were dead, void of everything and anything.
"Hi, Eiri!" Shuichi chirruped. "How are you?"
"I'm doing very well, Shu-chan," Yuki said and opened his arms wide. Shuichi smiled and almost ran into the blonde's embrace. Yuki held him and ran his hands through his hair softly. "How are you doing, Shuichi?" he asked when they pulled apart.
Shuichi grinned, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm doing okay. But obviously not well enough to avoid counseling, I still have to go to that."
Yuki nodded and walked into the room, hand in hand with Shuichi. Tatsuha had to admit, it did hurt him, but he guessed that it was his own fault after all. Wasn't it? He had been the one that had left and caused Shuichi to be put here in the first place.
Yuki sat Shuichi down on the end of the bed and sat down next to him, wrapping a hand around their entwined fingers. Tatsuha just rolled as close as he dared and watched them.
"I'm gonna go sit out in the hall for a little while, okay, Shuichi?" Shuichi nodded. "Tatsuha wants to talk to you so he's gonna stay here with you." He nodded again.
Yuki stood up and headed for the door, giving his brother an encouraging smile on the way out. Tatsuha returned the smile and looked up at Shuichi when he heard the door snap closed behind his brother. Shuichi was just staring at him, patiently waiting for him to start talking.
"Hi…, Shuichi. Um…how are you doing?"
Shuichi scowled. "Don't play nice with me, Tatsuha."
Tatsuha started and blinked a couple of times before he realized that this was the same Shuichi who had been full of cuteness just a few minutes ago.
"Shu,…I-I'm…-"
"You're what, Tatsuha?" Shuichi spat, making Tatsuha flinch. "Sorry? Don't make me laugh."
Tatsuha looked at the ground and sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought.
A cold and awkward silence fell between the two, both at a loss for what to say. Finally, after an eternity of uneasy silence, Tatsuha spoke up and tried to lighten the mood a bit with nice conversation.
"Is that girl a friend of yours?" he asked.
Shuichi nodded. "Her name's Aiko and she's my roommate," he muttered, still not looking at Tatsuha. "I had a male roomie, but they moved me when they found out that I was gay. Kinda discriminatory, but hey…"
Tatsuha chuckled and rolled a little bit closer to where the broken man sat. Shuichi watched him roll over, his amethyst eyes boring into Tatsuha's. Tatsuha kept eye contact for as long as he could stand, but, in the end, he ended up moving them to the window.
"How are you doing, Shuichi?" he asked, closing his eyes when he heard Shuichi smirk.
"Why does it matter to you?" Shuichi asked.
Tatsuha sighed and looked back to the man. "Because I'm worried. I know that I said some harsh things that day, but I was delusional. I want you to know that I didn't mean any of it."
Shuichi laughed and looked away. "I don't want your pity, Tatsuha."
Tatsuha looked at Shuichi in surprise. "I'm not giving you pity, Shuichi. I'm being serious."
"Whatever," Shuichi laughed and rolled his eyes.
Tatsuha scowled and eyed coldness and surprise.
"What's done this to you, Shuichi?" he whispered. "What has changed you into this uncaring, cold bastard? Why're you the way that you are?"
"What hasn't?" Shuichi answered simply.
Tatsuha hung his head and he heard Shuichi chuckle.
"Why do you look so sad, Tatsuha? So defeated? What do you think has done this to me?"
Tatsuha didn't answer and Shuichi laughed again. Silence fell between them, uncomfortable in all of its intensity. Neither of them made eye contact and Tatsuha kept fidgeting. He kept coming up with questions to ask Shuichi, but decided against voicing them. He didn't want to make the raven-haired man angrier than he already was. Finally, Shuichi spoke up.
"H-have you talked to, Hiro?" he whispered, startling Tatsuha. It was sudden and his voice was full of a worry and sadness Tatsuha had never heard.
"No, I'm sorry, but I haven't. No one except Ben and Suguru have seen Hiro since…God…it's been about three weeks now. Ayaka left him and he stays locked up in his house most of the time. The lights dimmed, the shades pulled shut. The doctor's say that he's having a breakdown," Tatsuha explained. "It's all just been too much for him to handle."
Shuichi's eyes widened for a second before closing in sadness.
"I've been too much," he whispered, barely loud enough for Tatsuha to hear.
Tatsuha shook his head and rolled over to the bed. "No," he said, putting a hand on one of Shuichi's, "it's not just because of you. It's because of all of us. It's not fair for you to just blame yourself for it all."
"Okay, Eiri," Shuichi whispered and Tatsuha laughed.
"I am his brother, aren't I?"
Shuichi chuckled and nodded. More silence fell between them for a while.
"So…you're not blaming everything on me?" Shuichi asked.
Tatsuha shook his head. "No, and it wasn't fair for me to ever make you think that it was your fault."
Shuichi nodded and wrapped his arms around Tatsuha before he had time to react. Slowly, Tatsuha returned the embrace, having to remind himself that he couldn't kiss him. Shuichi wasn't his anymore, and he wasn't Shuichi's. But Shuichi did kiss him on the cheek and Tatsuha blushed.
"Thank you, Tat-chan," Shuichi said.
"No…thank you for listening to me, Shu-chan."
Shuichi nodded. "I'm glad that you came to see me. I was…I was worried that you wouldn't come and wouldn't want to be around me anymore. I don't know what I would've done if I had lost you, too."
"Don't even think about it, Shuichi," Tatsuha said sharply and Shuichi nodded ashamedly.
After another half an hour of talking and "catching up on old times", Shuichi and Tatsuha emerged out of the room and returned to the main room. The two instantly caught sight of Yuki, who was seated next to Aiko. The two were talking like old pals.
Aiko looked up and smiled brightly. "Hey, Shu-chan!" she yelled and jumped up, running across the room and tackling Shuichi to the ground.
Yuki turned around and smiled at the sight (he was doing that more and more lately), following Aiko example, except at a walk. He kneeled next to Tatsuha's wheelchair.
"I'm guessing everything went alright?" he whispered just so Tatsuha could hear him.
Tatsuha nodded and smiled. "Yes, everything went fine."
"Good," Yuki said and straightened out.
Aiko was standing and helping Shuichi to his feet when the two turned their attention on them. When Shuichi got to his feet, he smiled and waved at Yuki.
"Hi."
"Hey. I've got a question for you," Yuki said, wrapping an arm around Shuichi's shoulders.
"Shoot."
Yuki suddenly scowled. "What's this I hear about you possessing a blade?" he asked, his voice sounding as harsh as his face looked.
Shuichi sighed. "Please don't preach to me, Eiri. I've gotten enough from Kobata-san."
Yuki nodded. "And that's good. I would preach but I don't want to make you more uncomfortable than you have to be so I won't."
"Thank you," Shuichi said and hugged the blonde.
Tatsuha looked from Yuki and Shuichi, who had started to kiss softly, to the dark-haired girl Shuichi had called Aiko. "Hello," he said with a wave.
"Hi," she said and moved to bow, but Tatsuha put an arm out.
"Why the formalities? I'm a friend, you don't have to bow."
The girl stopped and straightened back out, nodding with a smile. "Okay!"
Yuki coughed and Tatsuha looked back over to him. The blonde smiled. "I think it's about time we started heading back, Tatsuha. You've got therapy in an hour."
Tatsuha nodded and smiled at Shuichi.
"Goodbye, Shu-chan," he said, embracing Shuichi when he hugged him.
"Goodbye, Tat-chan," Shuichi said and moved to Yuki. "Goodbye, Eiri," he said and hugged him as well.
Yuki patted Shuichi's head and returned the embrace tightly. "Goodbye, Shu-chan," he whispered. "I'll be in to see you soon, I promise." He kissed Shuichi softly. "And next time I better not get the shit scared out of me before I've been in the building for even five minutes.
Shuichi nodded and pulled away from the blonde, smiling at the two of them in that self-depreciating sort of way that was starting to become usual for him. Yuki reached out and flicked his cheek lightly and Shuichi actually smiled, Yuki smiled back.
"I guess we'll be seeing you two later," Yuki said and grabbed onto the handles of Tatsuha's chair.
The two nodded and smiled.
"Goodbye," Aiko said.
"Goodbye, Aiko," the two men said. "Goodbye, Shuichi." And they headed for the door.
Soon, they were outside in the rain again. Yuki hailed a taxi and they rode back to his apartment in silence, and Tatsuha was glad for it…he was glad for many things.
TBC…
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A/N: Okay…a short, cheesy chapter but at least it's something right? And it's actually kinda happy…kinda. And I know that a lot of you hate original characters, but I had to make Aiko. She's a cutter, she's got hundreds of sides to her personality, she's…me. That's all there is to say. You can love or hate her…I don't care; you don't have to deal with her every day. She will be playing a somewhat large role in this, as well, and some parts may be in her point of view. And yes…for those of you wondering, Wellstone is a real mental institution…
Okie dokie…time for thank-you's…
Sammy -.-zzz: Please don't cry 'cause you'll make me cry, too…; animegirl12182: Love makes the world go 'round. He, he. I hope you liked Tat-chan in this chapter!…; Guren: Okay…I wasn't planning on making Hiro commit suicide but someone confused me in a review. Sorry if I confused you, too…; tangerine-asuka: Yeah…sad. I hope you liked this chappie…; sakurastar-63: Continued…; Syaoran is kawaii: glomps Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're review makes me so happy! And writer's block's gone for now…knocks on wood…Hopefully it'll stay gone…; Asato-chan: No, Tatsuha's fine now. Just a little dependent on everyone around him…; GravityNeko: Thanks…; delia: I'll try to add some more with Hiro in the next chapter. I'm still developing him in my mind…; CassiToTheStars: Oooo…another big 'un! Yay! I'm sorry that I confused you but that's how I'm writing in my other thing and I got the two confused. And please don't stop reading! cries I love your reviews!…; sakuryo: Yeah…therapy sucks and hasn't helped me in the least bit…but, it makes my mom happy. Ugh!…; Sutzina Zion: I dunno…keep reading and you'll find out…smiles…; Kuriqa: I'm glad that you liked this chapter! And I'm glad that you took the time to care about me and my situation. It really made me a little happier…hugs…; DeMoN4EvA: Sorry…he's in the hospital. And just because he's in a mental hospital does not mean that he's crazy! Why do people always think that? Sometimes you need more than everyone else and the help from your friends and loved ones sometimes isn't enough. That's what happened to Shu and to Aiko…; Crystal Flowers: I hope you liked this chapter…; Hiyruuthewarrior: Yeah…he's got D.I.D. and he's bipolar. What a combo, huh?…; Katrina14love: grins and blushes Thank you, Katrina-chan! And it gets way darker after ch. 1…; Trina: Yeah…I have no life. Therefore…I have A LOT of free time…smiles…; The Mysterious S: They cut you off dammit! I want to read your whole pisses me off sometimes too, so you're not the only one!…; Dhampir: Man…everyone's got review problems now. I do, too. At the end of chapter 16, Tatsuha remembered some stuff but chose not to remember others. You know how your mind can make you forget things that are too bad for you to remember? Yeah, like that…smiles…Thank you, thank you…and I look forward to your next chapter, as well…; subzero13: They're on talking terms now…; pegacorn: Answer to your question…yes I do have experience in it all and it really sucks. After this past week, I'm lucky I have an arm…; Sour-Skittlez: Okay…I just thought I'd ask about it because I didn't know if you did or not. The review kinda confused me…; The Amazing Tsu-chan: I'm really glad that you liked it. And I know that there are grammar errors…I've just been banned from using the printer 'cause I use too much ink. He, he…; Silverfang0000: Thank you so much for your review and I'm glad you like the story. I hope you like this chapter just as much!…; and lastly to my Lenora-chan: I know, I know…sad, sad, but the next chapter will be a little bit happier, I hope. It really depends on if things get better…sighs…Just have to wait and see I guess…I'll talk at you later…huggles…
Okay…I think that's all. I'm very sorry if I missed anyone. And, like always, I'm sorry for any typos…
Alright…I'm off to wallow and try to keep my mind off all the shit that's been goin' on and write (hopefully)… Wish me luck…