"Right there. I want that one."

"Which one?"

"That little puppy dog holding the big heart!"

Yuki nodded and pulled out his wallet to buy the figurine for his date, sighing inwardly. It had been three weeks since he had last seen Shuichi. It was progress, yes, but it still killed him inside knowing that there was no one next to him when he awoke. Well…none that he truly wanted to be there. He had been going on dates with a few of his fans and had even bedded some of them, but nothing brought him satisfaction. Not like him.

Stop it. Get a hold of yourself.

"Yuki, is everything all right?"

He glanced over to look at his date, Sayuri, a petite, red-headed woman with green eyes. He nodded tersely, forcing himself to smile a little for her. She smiled sweetly in return and giggled. "Ok, just making sure. Thanks for getting me the figurine."

He nodded yet again, taking the bag it was placed in. "Of course. It's my pleasure." He held out his arm for her to take out of courtesy, which she quickly took without a second thought. As they walked, she began talking about her day, which Yuki only half-listened to, inserting in an "Uh-huh" or an "Oh, I see" when was necessary. He was observing the plaza they were walking through, watching the people strolling around on their Sunday afternoon. A group of teenagers were laughing and chasing each other through the park, flinging water at each other.

He sighed softly again. All he could see was— Shit. He tried not to tense up, to no avail.

"Yuki, wha—"

"We should get some food." Yuki began leading Sayuri towards the food stands and away from a certain pink-haired boy and his date, but she wouldn't budge.

"I'm not hungry…What's going on?"

"Nothing," he said, still attempting to lead her away. Sweat drops were building up on the back of his head. Damn it, he's looking over here. Shit. Shit—He's walking over here, fuck! I have to get out of here—ohh it's too late. He took a deep breath and fixed his face into cool indifference as the boy skipped over to them and all but collided into Sayuri. He managed to wrench his arm away before getting pulled into the rolling dust cloud. He watched as Sayuri and Shuichi wrestled around on the ground, giggling like idiots. His left eyebrow twitched. Oh god…what have I gotten myself into?

"How are you? I haven't seen you since high school!" Shuichi giggled with mirth as he helped Sayuri, throwing Yuki a quick glance. His sea green eyes glittered in the sun and he smiled, making Yuki feel weak inside. He looked away haughtily.

Sayuri dusted herself off. "I know! I've been all right. I got a job working as a librarian and I'm going to school as well. Congratulations, by the way, I heard you're finally making it big. I'm surprised no one's tried to ransack you yet."

Shuichi's eyes deadpanned. "No, they have…ehehe… anyways! What are you doing here?" As if that's not obvious enough. He snuck a quick glance at Yuki again and his eyes narrowed slightly. Remind me to get an apology from him later.

"Oh, I'm here on a date. Yuki, meet Shuichi. Shuichi, meet Yuki."

"We've met before." Yuki turned his gaze back on the two of them, his voice gruff and annoyed. "Well, if you're going to get acquainted, I will leave you to that. Sayuri, I'll see you around." He turned away, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter as he began walking away.

"No, no, that's OK. I need to get back to my date too. Sorry for interrupting. Wouldn't want to cause drama, would I?"

Shuichi's confrontational tone brought a bitter smile to Yuki's lips. "No, but unfortunately, drama follows you around, just like your little sparkles."

Sayuri watched the two of them banter as if she was following a tennis match. Shuichi tensed up and looked down at the ground, an anger mark forming on the back of his head. "At least I have something that follows me around!" He reached over and shoved Yuki…hard. Satisfaction surged through him as he saw the blonde man stagger backwards a few feet, blinking in pure shock. Recovering quickly, Yuki glared at him.

"Overdramatized prima donna."

"Huge, insensitive jerk!"

Sayuri could all but see the lightning flashing between both of them. Sweat drops began forming on the back of her head and she laughed nervously. "Uh…guys?" However, her words were completely ignored. Shuichi made a noise, torn between a scoff and a groan and threw his hands up in the air. "That's it, I'm leaving!" He stormed off, grumbling lightly. His date, Reina, blinked as she watched him leave, stammering. Quickly, she gathered her things and ran off after him, calling his name.

Yuki's eyebrow twitched and he made a "tch" sound in the back of his throat. Without a word, he walked off as well, leaving Sayuri behind. His blonde hair whipped around in the wind as he moved through the crowds. He wouldn't deal with this. He wouldn't deal with the pain of seeing his lover every time he walked outside and not be able to hold him again. He knew he was being an ass, but he couldn't help himself. I just need to get the hell out of Japan for a while.

Sayuri in the meantime watched Yuki leave, unable to say anything. She sighed softly to herself and made her way over to the side of the street, hailing a cab to go home. She would give him his space and then would call him. Not that it really mattered to her. Yes, she was happy to have gone on a date with one of the hottest men in Japan, but it wasn't the end of the world if it didn't work out. She stayed silent the rest of the car ride, gazing out at the scenery as she rode in the cab, unable to say or do anything further in comforting herself.

~/~/~/~

"Tohma, do me a favor. I need to get out of Japan for a while and I need you to watch my house for me."

Yuki flitted around his room, pulling out clothes from his dresser with one hand and stuffing them into suitcases. He had already found a summer home in the Hamptons and had everything set to leave the next morning at dawn. Tohma sighed softly. "Is this going to be a vacation or are you permanently going to be leaving us?"

Yuki rolled his eyes. "If it was me leaving permanently, I wouldn't ask you to watch my stuff."

"Yes, but to you, a vacation could ultimately mean that. What happened this time?"

Yuki stopped in front of his closet, glaring down at the ground. "Your band prodigy star. Shindou. I don't want to see his face anymore. That's all it comes down to." Walking into his drive-in closet, he began pulling out suits and dress clothes that he wore often, taking them over to his suitcase and stuffing them in as well. If they got wrinkled, he simply could take them to a steam cleaner.

Tohma sighed again. "Wow, I know he's annoying, but I don't think it's any cause to leave an entire country."

Yuki shook his head. "It's not that. It's…complicated."

"Well, you know I'm here to listen, and so is Mika. That's another thing. What about your family? What about Ayaka?"

Damn it…I totally forgot about that. She's still my fiancé… A soft, frustrated sigh escaped his lips and he raked his fingers through his already tousled hair. "They'll live. It's not like they're going to keel over and dismantle once I step off the country."

Tohma paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. He sighed softly and shook his head. He knew that when he got like this, he wouldn't be able to talk him out of it. "All right, Eiri, you win. I'll watch your stuff. Call me when you get to your destination so I know you're all right, OK?"

"Fine."

Tohma hung up, leaving Yuki to brood over the conversation. Everyone would be fine. No one needed him here. Making this his resolve, he continued packing and forced out all negative thoughts, trying to ignore a certain pink-haired boy that was constantly circulating through his mind.

A/N: So, so sorry that it took so long for me to post this. I've been crazy busy with a new schedule that I'm still trying to figure out. Anyways, thank you all for the awesome reviews though and I promise I'll crank out a new chapter as soon as I've got things figured out.