Disclaimer: Maki Murakami owns Gravitation and its characters. That one lyric belongs to the Ataris. All the rest of the words belong to me.
Chapter Two: Shimmer
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Blink.
Shimmer.
Shuichi sighed into the pillow, watching the splotches of golden stardust behind his eyelids fade away, along with the last of his dream.
A dream that had, he remembered with another shaky sigh, seemed far too real.
Clutch.
He wrapped his arms tighter around the pillow, hugging it, crushing it.
And slowly, as slowly as his stardust dream was flickering away, it dawned upon him.
He hadn't fallen asleep with a pillow.
Blink.
He shot up, tangling himself in the silky sheets, panting wildly and desperately.
Where was he?
Someone's home? No. No. He didn't do homes. He did...hotels. Roadside motels. Cheap and dirty.
Like him.
He glanced around the room – so bright, under the sunlit glow of a new day, that he couldn't tell if the walls were painted white or beige.
But it was...clean.
Tidy.
Freaking immaculate.
He didn't belong here.
Where was he?
He curled his legs up against his chest, set his chin on his knees. Hugged himself, wrapped up so tight in the soft, soft sheet.
And he rocked. Back and forth, back and forth. Slowly. Shaking.
Don't cry, he pleaded to himself. Don't cry, you're safe here.
Maybe.
He sniffed back a sob, trying to ignore the lingering scent of freshly-sprayed air freshener. Swaying back and forth, back and forth, he did the only other thing he could think to do.
Sing.
He didn't know what he was singing. Just a jumble of words, whichever ones were rattling around in his head.
Glitter. Diamond. Sunset.
Passion.
He liked pretty words, ones he wasn't familiar with. Ones he would otherwise never get to say.
He liked to sing...glamourous words.
That was the kind of lifestyle he'd always imagined for himself. Back in high school, back before everything. His entire life revolved around that dream.
Not so much the luxury and sparkling champagne, though.
All he wanted, really, was to make music. Music was in him. There was a song inside him, he knew there was. Any moment now, it would be ready to burst into life and technicolor.
He just wanted...to sing. To share his words. His song.
His heart.
The heart that had, through all this, everyday, threatened to give up.
But no matter what...
No matter what.
He would never give up on love.
And he would never, ever give up on his dream.
That's why, every night...
He squeezed his eyes shut tight, and pretended not to notice as his voice faltered. Cracked.
Someday, he knew it...
He knew it.
He would find his song.
Knock.
Knock knock.
A dainty knock on his door...
Was it a girl?
Oh God. Oh God oh God oh God, this could not be happening.
"C-Come in," he croaked. Choked. Licked his dry, chapped lips, and choked again.
This...was...no girl.
He couldn't have been much taller than Shuichi, but he seemed to tower over him. He was...intimidating. Scary.
And fancy.
"Ah, you're awake," he said...in...that voice. That voice.
Lights. Sounds. Music.
That had been a dream, hadn't it?
Hadn't it?
"Would you mind...joining me for lunch?" The man asked, suddenly, in that voice, swirls of color and piano melodies.
Shuichi scratched the back of his neck. He couldn't think of anything else to do.
He couldn't imagine how stupid he looked.
He bowed his head. "I...I'm sorry."
"Hmm?" A short hum. Confused...concerned.
"I don't know how I got here, but..." He clenched his fists, trying to stop his shoulders from shaking, his teeth from chattering. No use. "I'm very sorry for taking up your space."
"No, no, that's quite alright," the man said, taking off his hat and sitting carefully on the bed, next to Shuichi. Blond hair. Almost white. Like a crown of feathers. Platinum feathers.
Shuichi had never felt more ugly in his life.
"I was the one who invited you here, after all," the man finished with a wink. He placed his gloved hand on Shuichi's. More silk. This guy must be super-rich!
Gulp.
"I'll send you up some clothes, and I expect you to be downstairs in half an hour," he said with a smile.
One that held something that seemed a lot like...kindness.
Gulp.
Around the various lumps in his throat, Shuichi finally managed to whisper a "Thank you."
But the man had already left, and closed the door behind him.
xx
Sometimes this all feels like a dream.
xx
"Eiri-san," the voice on the other end of the phone cooed, already sounding sticky-sweet.
Fuck. Why had he even picked up the damn thing?
The scene had actually been moving along quite nicely in his mind, and he kind of needed to type it out. Right now.
It was like an itch. In his brain. He couldn't get to it, couldn't scratch.
It was torture.
Normal people could cradle the phone between their cheek and shoulder, and continue on typing flawlessly, if somewhat uncomfortably.
But Yuki Eiri what not, under any circumstance, what most people would consider normal, and...dammitall, his writing mood had been completely terminated.
"This had better be good," he snarled into the receiver.
"Oh, it is," Seguchi assured him, his voice reaching the octave it usually only reached when he wanted to annoy the living daylights out of Eiri.
And here he thought it would be a good day.
"Be at the club in half an hour," Seguchi told him sweetly, without so much as an explanation.
He chewed his cigarette angrily. "Half an hour? Are you fucking kidding me?"
"Half an hour," Seguchi repeated, clipping his vowels in that ever-so-businesslike manner, making himself perfectly understood.
Eiri raked a hand through his hair. Dry. Brittle.
He was planning to take a shower once he'd typed that scene out, but that wouldn't be happening now, would it?
He growled. "This had better be good."
"Oh, don't worry, Eiri-san," Seguchi giggled. Eiri cringed. "It will be."
xx
A/N: First things first: I hate this chapter. This is like its sixty bajillionth rewrite, and, well...I've pretty much come to terms with the fact that it's not getting much better than this. Oh well. My Chapter Twos always suck eggs.
Next chapter, though, I assure you, is much much better than this. (If that's saying much at all...) I know I've been keeping it pretty vague, but that's 'cause I'm trying to make it all very mysterious...whether or not I'm succeeding, I have no clue.
Hopefully, it's not too vague...or is that a good thing? I don't know! What was I thinking, trying to write serious literature??!! -wails-
Well, anyway, I really like how Chapter Three's coming along. Shu and Eiri finally meet, and (some of) Tohma's evil plan is revealed! Yay! This may or may not be a hint: I'm naming it 'Rapture'. I wonder if anyone's stuck around long enough to be intrigued by that. Hmm.
I've gotta stop drinking chocolate milk as I type.
Okay, one last thing, um...WOW. Holy cow, you guys. I cannot BELIEVE the response this story has gotten! Like...wow! Thank you so much, from the very bottom of my heart, for all the reviews and stuff! You have no idea how much it means to me!
I really hope this chapter didn't turn you off. Please stick around for the journey, I'd be so happy if you did! Thank you so so much for reading, everyone! Constructive criticism is always welcome...just go easy on me...hee.