I am soooo sorry that it took so long for me to update! But, I finally know what I want to write, so I should be updating at least once a month (hopefully). This chapter's a bit longer than the others. I hope that you all like it!

*Disclaimer- I don't own Gravitation. Not even in my wildest dreams. It is owned by Maki Murakami*

This chapter was betaed by Charsity. Don't know what I'd do without her

It Started With a Song

Ch 4- New Beginnings Maybe?

Yuki had been silently staring at his black computer screen for a few hours, listening to the radio, whose music could be heard throughout the entire apartment. He hadn't meant to say something so harsh to Shuichi. He didn't want the boy to leave. He wanted to try to open his heart to Shuichi, who had saved him from himself many times. But because of his own anger and stupidity, he had probably lost his chance forever. And what was he doing to fix the situation? Absolutely nothing.

Yuki looked at the clock, and was startled to see that it was already 6pm. He sighed and rubbed a hand across his face. If he hurried, he'd be able to take a shower and still get to a restaurant at a decent time. He didn't want to eat at the apartment. His home reminded him too much of the man that lived with him, who he had possibly just lost forever. He woke up the screen on his computer, saved the manuscript he'd been working on, and stood to go take a shower, leaving the radio on behind him.

When he made it to the restaurant, he was seated right away, although they were quite busy. After ordering a glass of wine, he looked across the restaurant…and of course, the very person he didn't want to think about was sitting right there, with that stupid Sakuma, and some boy he'd never seen before. Instead of looking at his menu, he watched the small group. He scowled as he watched the unknown man leaning to whisper into the pink-haired boy's ear. He was flirting! With his Shuichi?! And the brat was blushing and grinning as if he enjoyed it! As the group's waiter walked away from the table after leaving their ticket, the black-haired boy leaned in and kissed the singer. Yuki couldn't watch anymore. He threw some money onto his table and stormed out of the restaurant, deciding to wait for his brat outside.

~ISWAS~

After Anthony kissed him, Shuichi didn't know to do or say, so he just smiled shyly at the younger man. Anthony smiled back, much more confident than Shuichi. Ryuichi cleared his throat quietly, a smirk painted on his face. "Hey guys, we have the ticket. We can go pay as soon as you're done making googely eyes at each other." Shuichi turned bright red. "Hey, we weren't -" The older singer interrupted him by laughing. "I was just teasing you, Shu-chan! Come on, let's go pay. Then we can go home and sing karaoke with Kuma-chan!" Shuichi sighed, then followed the other two out of the restaurant, a small smile on his face.

Once they had paid, the trio made their way to Ryuichi's car. When he wasn't on tour, he hated being driven by other people, so he drove his "baby". He had named his car Ru-chan. It was a Porsche that was the same shade of deep blue as his eyes. Anthony and Ryuichi were laughing at some inside joke as they got in the car. Both men had already shut their doors by the time Shuichi opened his. As he was about to climb in, a hand reached in front of him to close the door.

"Why did he just shut the door?" Anthony asked Ryuichi. It wasn't until then that the actor realized that the singer's knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel. "His ex is talking to him…just give him some privacy. If the bastard does anything to Shuichi, I'll kill him." Anthony sat back and remained silent, knowing better than to aggravate his friend when he was in this kind of mood.

Shuichi looked up into familiar amber eyes…that looked like they were filled with unshed tears. "Yuki…what're you doing here? I thought you were working on your book?" Yuki took a deep breath before answering. "I was until after that last text I sent you. Then I couldn't stop thinking. That's why I left the apartment. And what do I see during dinner? You flirting with some boy! Just because we got mad and said things we didn't mean, doesn't mean we aren't together anymore!"

Shuichi was surprised by the hurt on the blonde's face, but then he became defensive. "Who said I thought we broke up? There's nothing wrong with a little harmless flirting. Besides, you basically kicked me out! I'm tired of loving a selfish bastard who doesn't care about me! I love you, and you treat me -" His sentence was interrupted by a hand slapping him across the face. He looked up slowly in shock. Before the blonde turned around, Shuichi saw a tear running down his face as he walked away.

The singer's hand slowly rose to touch his cheek as he fell to his knees. Anthony was by his side in seconds. "Did he just hit you? Are you okay? Shuichi?!" With no warning whatsoever, Shuichi collapsed against Anthony, crying so hard he couldn't see, and could barely breathe. Anthony lifted the singer into the car as they saw a black SAAB speed away. Anthony managed to buckle Shuichi into the back seat. He was about to settle himself beside the boy when he saw the murderous look on Ryuichi's face. Anthony opened the front door and gave his friend a hard look, saying "Ryu, I'm driving home."

The brunette looked up slowly, his eyes looking as if they'd turned black. "We aren't going anywhere until I've killed that son of a bitch!" Shuichi was now crying so hard, he was almost hyperventilating. Anthony growled in frustration. "Right now, Shuichi needs us. You can kill that dumb blonde some other time, Ryuichi. But if you drive in this state, as pissed as you are, you'll just get us all killed. Now get back there and comfort our friend!" The singer slowly looked back at the young boy he thought of as family. The boy had pulled his legs onto the seat next with him. He was hugging his legs while he cried, his whole body shaking from the sobs.

After taking a deep breath, he got out of the car saying, "Just…be careful with Ru-chan." He slowly got into the backseat. As Anthony maneuvered out of the parking lot, Ryuichi pulled the pinkette close to him and began humming softly. He stroked the boy's bright hair, wishing there was more he could do to comfort the boy. He started to sing the words to a song he'd heard recently, the words fitting perfectly with his feelings for Shuichi.

"Your little hand's wrapped around my finger

And it's so quiet in the world tonight

Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming

So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light

To you everything's funny, you got nothing to regret

I'd give all I have, honey

If you could stay like that

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up

Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up

Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple

I won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart

And no one will desert you

Just try to never grow up"

The young singer was like a brother to the singer of Nittle Grasper. He hated seeing Shuichi so upset. But even more than that, he hated the people who hurt his family. The last person who'd upset Noriko had ended up with a few broken ribs thanks to the angry brunette. He protected his family, no matter the cost. He would dish out as much money as he had to in order to keep people quiet and to make sure his friends stayed happy. Ryuichi continued to sing to the boy as Anthony drove.

~ISWAS~

Yuki sped the whole way home, trying to hold in his tears. He had thought that his heart was guarded well enough that no one could get in. But without even knowing it, the brat had made his way deep into the author's heart. The boy had been the only person stubborn enough to stay and try to love such a cold man.

Once he parked his car, he walked slowly into his home, closing the door behind him. He leaned up against it, taking a shaky breath. He heard music coming from his study, and realized he'd left the radio on. He listened to the lyrics, hoping the song would comfort him, or at least put him slightly at ease.

"Please don't leave me

Please don't leave me

I always say how I don't need you

But it's always gonna come right back to this

Please don't leave me"

The lyrics sparked something within the author. His lip quivered slightly before he lost it. He screamed in rage and knocked a picture off of the wall. He ripped Shuichi's Nittle Grasper poster that was pinned to the wall. He flipped their coffee table over, shattering the glass top. And as he did this, he continued to listen to the lyrics.

"How did I become so obnoxious?

What is it with you that makes me act like this?

I've never been this nasty

Can't you tell that this is all just a contest?

The one that wins will be the one that ends the hardest"

Yuki stopped focusing on the lyrics as his mind flashed back to when he'd slapped Shuichi. He had actually hit Shuichi…his little brat. So full of energy and love. Love for him. Love that filled the whole boy's heart. The boy accepted him, even with his many flaws. And he hit him. The blonde focused on the lyrics once more, not wanting to dwell on the memory.

"I forgot to say out loud

How beautiful you really are too me

I can't be without

You're my perfect little punching bag

And I need you

I'm sorry"

Yuki picked up the only picture that was left unharmed in his living room. It was a picture of the two of them, Shuichi looking extremely happy, even though the blonde was barely even smiling. Yuki slid down the wall to the floor, his tears finally falling as the chorus played again. He had never wanted this. He just wanted Shuichi…just wanted to make the boy happy. But he'd been too busy trying to protect himself. He pulled out his phone and called the one person he never thought he'd turn to for help.

~ISWAS~

The black haired man groaned as he rolled over to look at his ringing phone. It was too late at night to deal with a hyper active Ryuichi. Without looking at the caller ID, he answered the phone. "Hello?" From the other end of the line, a strained voice replied, obviously trying not to cry. Tatsuha's eyes shot wide open, now fully awake from the shock. "Yuki?! What happened?!" The blonde managed to speak clearly so that he could answer. "I hit him…and now he's gonna leave me…I didn't want any of this…I fucked up so bad, Tatsuha…"

"Geez, bro. I've never heard you like this…I'll be there as quick as I can, okay? But I'm at home in Kyoto, so it'll be a bit." Yuki took a shaky breath before replying. "Just please hurry, Tatsi-kun. I need you." Yuki hung up, but Tatsuha was frozen, still holding the phone to his ears. Yuki hadn't called him Tatsi-kun since before he'd met Kitazawa. And he said that he needed him…Tatsuha flew into action, getting dressed and running out the door as fast as he could.

When Tatsuha finally ran in, Yuki was still in the same position, staring at the picture. Tatsuha was shocked at the state of the place. There was almost nothing that wasn't broken. He carefully made a path through the rubble to his brother. Yuki's eyes were swollen from his silent tears. He was completely silent, making no noise at all. "Hey, Yuki? You all right? Eiri? Come on, say something." Yuki stared straight ahead with haunted golden eyes. Tatsuha sighed, knowing he had a long night ahead of him. He lifted his brother from the floor and managed to drag him into the bedroom, tucking him into bed.

~ISWAS~

By the time they reached Ryuichi's apartment complex, Shuichi had cried himself to exhaustion. He couldn't even keep his eyes open. Ryuichi carried him up to his apartment, then straight to his bedroom. The brunette had spent the whole ride singing quietly, trying to control his rage. He tucked Shuichi into the bed, then walked out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

He ran a hand over his face as he walked into the living room. Anthony was already sitting on the couch, a steaming cup in his hand. He pointed towards another cup he'd put on the table and stated, "I thought you could use a glass of tea to calm you down." The younger man smiled slightly, not sure of his friends mood. Ryuichi sighed as he sat next to his friend and picked up the cup. He turned to Anthony, giving him a strained smile. "Thanks…I don't think I've ever been this angry. Maybe when Tohma decided to break up Nittle Grasper. But that's it."

Anthony was quiet for a moment before he responded. "It's obvious that you care for the kid. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so angry. He took a drink of tea before he continued. "So, I have an idea. But I wanna make sure you're okay with it first, 'cause I'd hate to be on the receiving end of your anger." Ryuichi raised a quizzical brow, but didn't say anything, waiting for his friend to continue. "I'm gonna ask Shuichi to go on a date with me tomorrow. Just a casual picnic at the park. And if things go well, I'm going to ask him to be my boyfriend. He can text the bastard to end it or something, I don't really care."

Ryuichi was about to respond when his phone rang. He was surprised to see it was his boyfriend calling. It was almost 10pm, and Tatsuha never called that late. "Hey, Tatsuha…" He trailed off as he listened to the tired response on the other end of the line. Ryuichi had never heard Tatsuha sound so exhausted. "Yeah, you can come over. Shu-chan is asleep in my bed…mhm. Yeah, that's fine." He shut his phone and sighed.

Anthony looked a bit confused. Ryuichi sighed again and started to explain. "That was my boyfriend. He's in town and wants to come over. Would you mind sleeping on the couch just for tonight? I hate to kick you out of the guest room, but he seemed really exhausted." Anthony smiled brightly. "I don't mind at all, Ryu. Besides, if he stays tomorrow, that means you won't be lonely while me and Shuichi are out…if he says yes, that is." Ryuichi smirked. "Oh, I think he will." Anthony began to speak, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Ryuichi hurried to answer it, eager to see his Tatsuha.

The younger man looked exhausted. His hand had a bandage wrapped around it, which was soaked with blood. Ryuichi's eyes widened in shock. "Oh my God, Tat, what happened?!" The young boy forced a smile onto his face and replied, "Oh, nothing. Just a small accident. I was just in the neighborhood, and thought I'd ask if I could see my lovely Ryu." Anthony stood quietly and left the room, leaving the couple alone to talk. As soon as he was gone, Tatsuha pulled Ryuichi into a tight embrace. Ryuichi put his arms around the boy, slightly surprised by the show of affection. His eyes widened once again when he realized that Tatsuha was shaking slightly. He'd never seen the boy so upset. He pulled back slightly and put a hand to Tatsuha's cheek.

"Alright, now what really happened? And don't give me the 'it was an accident' thing again." Tatsuha sighed as he moved toward the couch, sinking into its cushions. He rubbed his hands over his face before responding. "I know you hate my brother, but Ryu…I've never seen him like this. He called me, and I could tell he was trying not to cry. And once I got there, he didn't say a single word. He just sat there. He looked so…broken."

Ryuichi looked as if he was going to say something, his face set in anger, but Tatsuha continued talking. "He broke almost everything in his living room, except for one picture. He curled up with it when I put him to bed. It was a picture of him and Shuichi. Everything else was broken. I cut my hand cleaning up his living room. He broke his glass coffee table."

Ryuichi stood, too angry to sit. Not wanting to wake Shuichi, it took all of his self control not to yell at his boyfriend. "Why in the world did you clean up his mess? He's the one who broke stuff. And who cares if he was upset? He slapped Shuichi for no reason at all! He's a jackass." Tatsuha was silent for a moment before he moved, standing in front of Ryuichi so they were face to face. "Look, I know my brother isn't perfect. But he isn't the ass you make him out to be. He was upset, and he did something stupid. Are you gonna tell me you've never done that?"

Ryuichi looked towards the ground, trying and failing to forget the one time he'd slapped Tohma. The blonde had decided that Nittle Grasper was over, and the singer had snapped, slapping his friend. That had been years ago, and the brunette still regretted it. Still looking at the floor, he spoke to his boyfriend.

"I'm not saying I've never done it. But Shuichi didn't do anything to deserve it." Tatsuha scoffed. "Bullshit! He had to have done something! The last person bro hurt physically was the guy that raped Shuichi. And the only other person that he's hurt was the guy that raped him. He doesn't do things unprovoked, Ryu. Maybe he overreacted, but Shuichi did do something to upset him."

Ryuichi was going to argue, but instead he sighed for what felt like the millionth time that night. He didn't want to fight with Tatsuha, especially not about someone else's relationship problems. He leaned up and kissed Tatsuha lightly before turning around, saying, "Come on Tat, let's go to bed."

As the couple passed the kitchen, Anthony gave his friend a quizzical look. Ryuichi smiled slightly, letting the boy know that everything was okay. He then continued towards his bedroom. Behind him, Anthony walked back into the living room.

Ryuichi and Tatsuha were both exhausted from the events of the night. Ryuichi immediately lay down on the bed, not even bothering to undress. Tatsuha rolled his eyes at the brunette as he stripped down into his boxers. He then climbed into the bed next to Ryuichi. The older man rolled over and laid his head on Tatsuha's chest. He intertwined their legs, and laid one hand on the man's chest, the other staying between them. Tatsuha smiled down at his boyfriend. "You comfy, Ryu?"

The older man yawned before answering. "Yeah, I love listening to your heart beat. It's so pretty. Makes me feel safe." Tatsuha smiled wider and kissed the top of Ryuichi's head as he wrapped his arms around him. "I love you so much, Ryu-kun." Ryuichi, who was already half asleep, mumbled back. Tatsuha smiled gently, then yawned. He kissed the brunette's head again before whispering, "Goodnight, my little angel." He then fell asleep, still holding Ryuichi in his arms.

~ISWAS~

Shuichi took his time taking a shower and getting dressed. Though he was still upset by the events of last night, he felt refreshed after crying so much. He sang to himself quietly while in the shower…or at least, he thought he was singing quietly. When he was clean and dressed, he walked into the kitchen. The three men that were talking stopped when he walked in, all of them snickering. Shuichi raised a brow, not sure what was so funny. Ryuichi was the first to calm down, stopping long enough to say, "Have fun with your debut shower concert?" At that, Anthony and Tatsuha both lost it, laughing so hard that they had tears running down their cheeks. Shuichi turned bright pink.

"I didn't think that you guys would hear me. Hey! Quit laughing at me, you guys!" This only made the two laugh harder. Anthony clutched his stomach and bent over slightly, while Tatsuha sat down in the nearest chair. Shuichi was going to yell again, but he stopped when he heard Ryuichi chuckle behind him. The brunette was at the stove, fixing breakfast for everyone. "Just ignore them, Shu-chan. They're just sleep deprived idiots." At that statement, the two "idiots" stopped laughing, sticking their tongues out at Ryuichi. Shuichi laughed at their antics before sitting down across from Tatsuha. A comfortable silence settled over the kitchen as the group calmed down.

Tatsuha was the first to break the silence after finishing his coffee. "So, what's everyone doing today?" Anthony spoke from his position across the room, his head in the fridge as he searched for juice. "Well, I thought that if Shuichi wanted, me and him would go to the park so that you and Mr. Lover over there could have some alone time." There was a small "thwack", followed by an "Ow!" as a pancake hit the back of Anthony's head with deadly precision. Shuichi giggled before saying, "The park sounds like fun. We gonna go somewhere for lunch?"

"Nah, I figured we'd take a picnic. After we eat we can go see a movie or something." Shuichi shrugged his shoulders as Ryuichi started setting food down on the table. "Sounds good to me," he said as he began filling his plate. Tatsuha was just sitting there, arms crossed and his lips set in a pout because of Anthony's earlier comment. Shuichi rolled his eyes as he took a bite of toast, then spoke with a full mouth. "Qui pouing, Tatsha. He wah jut joing." This melted Tatsuha's pout as he laughed at the pinkette. "Geez, Shuichi, try swallowing before you talk!" At this, Anthony and Ryuichi started to laugh. Shuichi rolled his eyes again as he blushed for the second time that morning. "You guys are pervs."

The room once again got quiet, the only sounds being those of forks against plates. The group ate their breakfast slowly, enjoying the companionable silence that they shared.

After they all finished their breakfasts, they started to clean up the kitchen. Shuichi and Ryuichi were both humming Shining Collection as they did the dishes together. Tatsuha smirked from where he was cleaning the table. "What are you guys gonna do, put on an after breakfast concert for us?" Shuichi and Ryuichi looked at each other and grinned. They simultaneously grabbed an eating utensil and turned around, starting the chorus together.

They grinned after they finished the song, both of them slightly out of breath. Tatsuha and Anthony jumped up, cheering and clapping. The singing duo took a dramatic bow before all four of them started laughing. When they had finally calmed down, Anthony smiled at Shuichi. "Are you ready to fix our lunch and head out, rock star?" Shuichi smiled back. "Sure! Wait, Ryuichi, do you have a picnic basket that we could borrow?"

Ryuichi, who was now sitting on Tatsuha's lap at the table, sat still for a moment, thinking. He then smiled and put his head on Tatsuha's shoulder as he replied. "Yeah, it's in the hall closet. I had forgotten that I bought one for the date that I took Tat on for our one year anniversary." Anthony and Shuichi smirked and said, "Awww!", causing the brunette to hide his face in the crook of his boyfriend's neck. The younger boy smirked and flipped the others off before patting his boyfriend's hair. Anthony and Shuichi both stood chuckling quietly to themselves as they went to get the basket.

The two spent just about ten minutes putting together their lunch. Ryuichi was watching the pair from his position on Tatsuha's lap, letting the younger man run his fingers through his hair as he hummed quietly. He couldn't help thinking that his two friends were having fun putting together the lunch even though it was a simple task. He smiled slightly as he watched Anthony "accidently" bump into Shuichi a few times. He knew that if Shuichi did say yes, he'd be a lot happier with Anthony than he was with that bastard Yuki. Once they were done packing the basket, Anthony and Shuichi said goodbye and left the apartment. Tatsuha looked down at his boyfriend and smirked. "Well, well. It looks like we're all alone." Ryuichi giggled adorably before his lips were captured.

The songs in this chapter are "Never Grow Up" by Taylor Swift and "Please Don't Leave Me" by P!nk

Well, I really hope you guys liked this chapter! I'll have another up soon, I swear! Oh, and if anyone is looking to be a beta, I'd really love to have one :3 I was rereading my earlier chapters, and realized I have a lot of silly mistakes O.o well, that's all for now! Please review and let me know what you think!

~singingsparklykuma~