5. Meal.

T: Warnings: Please see the first chapter, Disclaimer: I am not the one who created Gravitation in any form though Arai is all mine!

Chitose: Yay Ryu! The bouncy one is also my favourite and I'm doing what I can to keep him himself while sneaking in little nuances that work better with the story as a whole! Glad you're still enjoying this madness!!

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He'd woken to the distinct memory of Ryuichi's face but inches from his own and a relentless jabbing at his lower ribcage. He rolls a little from this jabbing, a grumpy protest falling from his lips as he does as such.

"There is a someone waiting for you on the telephone." His brother remarks as he pulls the covers from about him, "Someone important." The tone of the other's voice is enough to have him stumbling, still half asleep, to the telephone.

"This is Uesugi Tatsuha."

"This is Mirada Keri phoning from Tokyo general hospital."

"Then the results have come in?"

"That's correct."

"So what's the damage?"

"There are no traces of cancerous cells in your lungs, nor in the tissue about them. The tests show that the breathlessness you have been experiencing is due to late onset asthma, a condition that would also explain the abnormalities that appeared in your x-rays."

"So what's my next step?"

"There is a prescription inhaler waiting for you at the hospital's pharmacy that will help you elevate the breathlessness, I'd also advise you to contact your own doctor at the earliest convenience as he shall be able to give you an action plan."

"Thank you very much, Mirada-san."

As he sets the phone back onto its cradle he feels a wave of relief wash through him and, though Eri is lurking on the threshold of his office awaiting his news, he picks the thing back up and dials in the number for Arai's store.

Despite the relatively early hour the man picks up on only the second ring, a cheery edge to his voice,

"Moshi, moshi,"

"It's me, pops."

"What can I do for you at such an early hour, Tatsuha?"

"I've just got off the phone from my doctor."

"And?"

"I've got asthma, but that's the worst of it."

"That's amazing news!"

"I thought you'd be happy."

"Would you mind me telling Ryu?"

"Feel free…anyway I'll let you get back to whatever it is you're doing."

"I'm dusting and thanks for letting me know,"

The moment that he sets the phone again to its cradle his brother wraps him into tight hug and, his voice numb, he says,

"I never want you to keep me from something like that again."

"You'd go bold simply for stress if I told you every little niggle in my life!"

"It'd be worth it."

……………………………………………………………………………………

He and his brother are engrossed in an impromptu game of chess when there is a flurried knock on the door and, lingering a moment to place him into check, his brother goes to see their 'guest'.

There a long moment of mumbled conversation out in the hall and then a pair of hands are blocking the world from him,

"Guess who!"

"Ryuichi?"

The singer's hands disappear and a moment later the man is crouched before him, his lithe frame wrapped in the tighter, brighter, style of clothing indicative of his 'stage persona'.

"Would you like to come and have a little dinner with me?"

"Have you run away from rehearsals?"

"You mean this?" The singer enquires as he gestures to his outfit, "I'm making an effort."

The words bring him to look again at the other's attire and the thought that such an alluring sight has been simply for him burned on his mind he says,

"I'll just change."

………………………………………………………………………………….

They have been taken to an upmarket restaurant in a chuffer driven car, this something the singer apologies for and the explanation of, "I never got around to taking my test."

He wonders at this, at the uncertainty in the singer's manner as they settle down at their table and, once they are alone, he says,

"We can go elsewhere if you want."

"This place is fine, it's just…"

"You're not really used to it, right?"

"Right! I'll normally eat at home or out with the guys, something like this is a little excessive in comparison."

He belatedly understands the singers comment about being himself before he was a celebratory, belatedly understands that the other has no desire to live the high life. This is something that he should have known already, something that is clear in the singer's every action and, feeling a little ashamed of himself, he says,

"I think I got a little caught up in the glamour of 'your' world, Ryuichi, for I began to believe this was how you led your life always, despite everything telling me otherwise."

"It's easy to mix the fantasy with reality, Tats-chan and you nothing to feel ashamed of." The singer leans a little towards him then and, a bright smile on his lips, he says, "I did the same thing for a while after Grasper was formed."

"Really?"

"Really! I got the sense knocked into me eventually though and learned to see that sometimes big wasn't always beautiful."

They fall, after that, into easy conversation and, though this is only the second time that he has talked to the other as such, he feels completely relaxed in his company. Feels, despite how foolish it sounds, as though he has known the other for years.

This levity turns, without prompting, into a gentle flirtation and the Singer's posture has just relaxed into an almost inviting stance when his phone rings. Apologising profusely the other dashes into the foyer in order to answer the thing and returns, all of ten minutes later, a changed man.

His face fixed into a frown he makes a curt apology and, once he has paid the bill, leaves the restaurant without further explanation.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

T: I'll try to get the next chapter up tomorrow morning but, should I be distracted by something shiny (as is likely) it'll be up Saturday avo! Review?