Author's Notes: There is some more sex in this part and is purely Tohma and Ryuichi. As an added note, the idea of them exchanging clothing is an odd one but it seems to fit with the dynamics of their band.

track ten

I don't remember falling asleep. I don't remember anything much past the point where we laid on the floor, open bottles around us and piles of paper everywhere. Waking up was a blurry mess, made even messier by the fact I think I fell asleep with a rug on my face that just turned out to be Tohma's infamous feathered coat.

But that was okay, because I had two people curled up next to me, even if we really were getting too old for this kind of thing. Sure, we've done this kind of thing during our careers, but now, just past the thirty mark, I know it was starting to smart lying on the floor in a wreckage of papers and pencils and empty bottles. Not that I was really thinking at that point in time. All I really wanted to do was roll over and tug Noriko's dress on top of me for a blanket.

Things snapped into focus and I sat up, sticking my tongue out to get a look at it. I mean, it felt like a fuzzy carpet had died on it so I had to make sure if that really happened or not. Noriko came bouncing by, wiggling around as she tried pulling on a pair of my looser jeans, her hair already comb out into two long pigtails. I tugged on a piece of paper glued to the side of my face, and whistled at her wiggles. Married or not, she still had one fine ass.

"Pervert," she snapped, turning and whacking me with a shirt I didn't know I owned. I ogled some more and ducked as she tried hitting me again. She put her hands on her hips and glared. "I don't know how you can stand wearing something like this."

"It's loose on me," I said and slowly stood up. My head throbbed, but I could ignore it if I didn't do anything sudden. "You've must have gained weight. I don't remember you having trouble fitting into my clothes before."

"I have hips now, silly Ryu," she declared and gave my jeans a tug. They moved another half an inch and she sighed, buttoned them closed and pulled on my shirt. "There. Do I look like I spent the night drunk on my ass?"

"No, you look like you had an affair with a high school kid," I said, and brushed a quick kiss on her cheek. "Going home, already?"

"Nah, Ive already called home and everything fine so I thought I would go to work," she replied and reached up, rubbing her fingers against my cheek. "You've got kanji all over you face."

"Where's Tohma?"

"In the shower." She looked around the room, yawning and stretching. "What were we doing?"

"Being Nittle Grasper," I said, and leaned on her, yawning too. Everyone in my life was morning people, just my luck. "Saa, I just wanna sleep."

"Well, once we go, you can have the whole apartment to yourself," she said and gave me a small push. "But boy, you should really take a shower."

"That bad?"

"I wouldn't call it your worse smell, but you should anyways."

Tohma stepped into the room, tugging my leopard print faux leather shirt over his head. It fit him slightly tighter than it did me, as did my leather pants. I huffed slightly and crossed my arms over my chest, trying to glare. Course, I really did not have enough in me to really glare, but I thought the thought would count.

Tohma laughed and picked up his hat from Kumagoro's head, tilting it back so he looked absolutely cute and not evil or sexy. I pouted some more. Honestly. Why do they have to look better in my clothing than I do?

"Is something wrong, Ryuichi?"

"You both better wash my clothing before giving it back," I replied, sticking my lower lip out more. "Just because we live together on the road or anything does not mean I am so going to wear stuff still sticky with your cooties or anything like that."

"Same old Ryu," Noriko said and kissed me on the cheek.

"Yes, it is nice to have him around again," Tohma said, picking his coat off the floor and shaking it out. He was even wearing my gloves, the evil blond. "I don't think I've had this much fun during the last couple of years." He bent down and captured my lips in a simple kiss, and pulled away, making a slight face. "Although he does need a bath."

"Gee, thanks."

He tapped his forehead against mine and pulled on his coat. Noriko fell into step with him, and the two left me alone in my apartment. I looked around at the mess, nudged an empty bottle and huffed. Fine. I guess I'll just stay home and clean up and such. That though lasted maybe half a minute, since my bed was calling with its nice big dark windows and such. I crawled under the covers, curled up with a very quiet Kumagoro and slept half the morning away.

By the time I showered, brushed and pulled on some of my own clothing, the mess in my living room got to me. I picked up all the bits of paper with writing on them and set them aside. I tossed all the bottles into a bag for recycling and then paused not sure if Tokyo had a recycling program. Oh well, I could always ask K later on. I got out the broom and chased away the dirt and then dug out a mop to scrub away the spills. The rugs were hung outside for a good airing and I put all my dirty clothes including Tohma's and Noriko's stuff into the laundry and washed them. Then I dug out one of K's leftover meals, and started looking at the stuff we wrote last night.

I could tell when we were really drunk and when we were slightly drunk by the way our handwriting got. The music also was all over the place, not one piece reading like it was from the same band as the next one. It was definitely different to see our musical styles after all these years. I had expected us to be the same, but no, we've grown up a little too. Less pop and more rock seemed to be the growing theme in what I was seeing. I put the papers into a sketchpad and sat Kumagoro down on top for safe keeping.

I brought the rugs back in and re-arranged them all over the floor. I moved some furniture around and dusted stuff. I went through my closet and found out that the stuff Noriko and Tohma got was from my stage gear. I decided to put on one of the fancier outfits I had, slick leather pants and corset-styled vest, all of it made to cling to my body while pieces of my skin showed through the crazy lacings. It fit snug and so did the boots that went with them, making my legs look even longer than they were. I struck a stage pose and then felt silly since I was no where near a stage.

But I kept the outfit on as I continued to organize everything. I ate something K called 'potato salad' and had some strawberry milk, brushed my teeth and ran through several warm-up exercises meant to keep my lungs and voice clear while I jumped around on stage. I styled my hair and put on a light coat of make up.

Deciding that I did enough screwing off, I headed out, leaving the light on in the kitchen and locking the door behind me. I decided to head downtown to N-G and see if Tohma was still around. Noriko was probably at home and no doubt apologizing for her skipping out on her family yesterday. Tohma was a workaholic so expecting him to be at work was understandable.

Seeing him leave work was another thing. I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel and then decided to follow him. He drove normally, and went in a direction that looked somewhat familiar until it clicked that he was going to Eiri's house. But yet he didn't stop there. Instead he circled around and pulled in front of a different house. He sat there for a few minutes and then got out of the car, walking towards Eiri's place. I craned my neck to see what was going on but he was still in dark clothing and it was hard to see him.

But I did see what happened next. Some guy was pushed out in front of a car and Tohma was walking back up the sidewalk, his hands in his pockets. I pulled over sharply, and leaned over, pushing the passenger side door open. He stopped, staring at me with huge eyes even as I grabbed his sleeve and dragged him towards me.

"What the fuck, Tohma?" I hissed, looking back at the accident. There were now more than a few people stopping and looking and taking out cell phones. I let go of Tohma's jacket and went back to the steering wheel. "What were you thinking?"

I knew about his little obsession. I knew about it but yet I never thought he would go that far. What was he even thinking? Was he thinking? Did he just decide to go even creepier evil blond on me when I wasn't looking?

"He wasn't taking the hint," Tohma said calmly, his arms folded and his stranger's mask back in place.

I smacked the steering wheel with my open palms and twisted in my seat to look back. There were lights added to the mayhem, and I took the moment to drive away from the scene and the strangeness of it all, Tohma a quiet form in my passenger seat.

"So, you've decided to just kill him? And who was him?"

"Taki Aizawa from ASK."

My fingers tighten around the wheel and I could almost imagine that they were digging into Tohma's throat. How could he remain calm? Didn't he know. . ? No, he knew. Tohma always knew. He cleaned up my messes enough times to know exactly what he was doing.

"You're blacklisting him?" I couldn't keep to the same dry tone he was using.

"My, what a suspicious mind you have, Ryuichi."

I took a corner hard, threw the brakes on and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. The calm stranger face broke and I saw true feelings appear in his clear eyes and his slack mouth. I kissed him hard, grabbing a handful of blond hair in my free hand to twist his head back. He was slack in my hands, letting me abuse his mouth and his hair. Then he gasped, his body arching and his mouth insistent on mine, his teeth a sharp accent to the heat. I bit and clawed at him, his hands going for my shoulders and his legs sprayed out half over mine.

He must have noticed what I was wearing as his hands found one set of lacings and untied them. My hand was between his legs, pressing the leather against his groin and keeping him from moving up against me. He pulled free from my lips and I bit down on his earlobe, my foot hitting the horn as I scrambled to move over him. Neither of us noticed the sound as we yanked clothing out of the way of our hands. I let go of his hair, sliding my hands down to push those tight pants down and he groaned, his hands getting between the waistband of my leathers and my skin.

Making out in a car was messy and hard, the seats not designed for two grown people. I pulled away and reached down, releasing the seat and gained more room. He stretched, planting his right foot on the floor and hooking his left around my waist. I stopped trying to get him completely undressed, nipping at his exposed skin and making short work of what I wore. Then there was sliding heat and tightness and hot skin against my open mouth.

He cried out. I slid harshly against him, biting and sucking. His hands tighten and I nipped his jaw. He hissed and grind up. I grabbed his shoulders and pushed him down. He was chanting something under his breath, soft puffs of air cooling the side of my neck. I turned and pressed my mouth against his, swallowing his words. The slick heat tightened and I felt warmth spread between us. Another harsh slid and I buried my face against his neck.

"I should. . . wear your leather more often," Tohma breathed, his voice harsh.

I tried laughing, but all I could manage was a short gasp. "Might as well. . . keep them."

"Do they get this hot?"

"It's part of the price of looking fuckable."

"Mm." His fingers moved over my sides, tracing the crossing straps. "These are new."

"K had a fit when I bought them. Said they didn't fit my image."

"I hope we didn't destroy them."

"They're leather. It's not that easy to destroy them," I said and pulled back, wincing as a couple scrapes made themselves known.

He sat up, making a face at the mess we made. I reached behind me and checked the dash for tissue and found some fast food napkins. Tohma took them and swiped at the mess. I set my clothing to rights and slid back over to the driver's seat, pulling the vest off since it did need relacing to look right. Tohma adjusted his clothing and pulled his seat upright.

"I should pick up my car," he said, rubbing his face.

I cracked the windows open and pulled back on to the street. "Have Sakano pick it up. He looks pretty non-threatening."

Tohma glanced at me. "You think there's going to be trouble."

"It doesn't matter what I think."

His laugh sounded hollow to my ears. "If that's what you want."

I reached over and smack the side of his head with my hand, surprising both of us. He sucked in his breath and I tried to keep breathing, my hands whitening at the knuckles. Neither of us moved for a moment and then he reached over, laying his hand on top of one of mine.

"Ryuichi. . ."

A soft sigh, a silent prayer. What he did to me with a single word. I sucked in a deep breath, turning my hand over and lacing our fingers together.

"Don't leave me alone with this."

"Idiot. Do you think I can?"

Six years ago and a terrible secret. Hollow eyes framed by two pale faces, both far too fair to live comfortably among the people they were born to. Blood stained hands and silent tears. All of it held together by a strong will glued together by a friend's silent understanding. If that left, what would he do but fall apart.

"You and Mika," he said softly, his hand trembling in mine. "Don't either of you leave me again."

But I did leave, didn't I? I couldn't take the emptiness and the tears. I couldn't stand there, pretending to be happy while I watch them grew tighter and tighter, the secret seeking cracks they couldn't allow. So I did leave, because the music had turned sour.

I knew this, yet I couldn't agree to stay forever. I've changed.

"I'm here now," I said.

His hand jerked, but he didn't let go. "So you are."

Left unsaid was that I may not stay. I've tasted the road and had liked it. But I would stay for a while. After all, we were getting the band together. I couldn't sing for them if I was halfway across the world.

"I'll take you home," I said, and took the next turn towards his place. He nodded and kept hanging on to me. For now, that was what we both needed.