Chapter 8

For the first time, Kaito and Gakupo were sitting on the same piece of furniture, meaning that they were closer than they had ever been. Actually, Kaito had moved over to Gakupo's side of the room on the pretense of showing him how to move his mouth to make the sound he needed for the song. In all honesty, Kaito couldn't resist the urge to touch Gakupo. Gakupo's face was smooth and unblemished, and Kaito's body felt hot as he thought of the skin underneath his clothes.

"I wrote this originally," Kaito said, "as a duet. But then I decided it might...be cool if I recorded both parts myself and play them together...and everyone did think it was. Cool, I mean."

Gakupo nodded. "That's unique."

Kaito's confidence lifted with his compliment. "Thanks. Basically, we're singing the same words, just changing syllables and starting at different times."

"Okay."

"Should we practice?"

"Yes."

Kaito picked up his songbook and stared intently at the page even though he knew it by heart. "My voice is higher, so I'll be singing the top part."

"Of course."

Kaito blushed slightly. He could hear the smirk in Gakupo's voice. He counted to three, and they both started singing their respective parts:

"The snow light faintly shines / The shadow of the moon / Petals turn into vivid red / Falling drops make ripples / on the water surface and disappear. / We both are in a silent warmth.

"We walked along a lane lit by lights, didn't we? / Ah, a song we crooned was drowned out / and swayed in the town. / We walked the stone-paved lane / leading us to a slope / as we were numb and barefooted.

"We believed we could go anywhere. / Will the day come when a cooped bird / in a cage flutters its wings? / If I can stay by your side when you shed tears, / I dare to stay here with you."

Kaito stopped and looked at Gakupo in surprise. "You're really good at this."

"I've heard this song before," Gakupo replied. "I didn't know it was by you, actually. I guess hearing two different versions of your voice at once makes you unrecognizable."

"Oh," Kaito uttered, unsure whether to be flattered or offended. He decided to be flattered that Gakupo liked the song. "Well, since you know it so well, why don't we record it now?"

Gakupo nodded in agreement, and Kaito hurried over to the console, nearly stumbling in the process. He watched his back as he began to mess with the knobs and things Gakupo could never understand. He was good at so many things, but it seemed that Kaito couldn't see that about himself. Even though he was so famous and adored world-wide, his confidence was low. But then Gakupo suddenly remembered Kaito's past, and felt a pang in his chest. What did that mean?

The duo recorded the song and played it back to make sure all had gone well. It had, of course, since they were both very talented. But unlike they usually did, neither of them left.

"Have you eaten?" Gakupo asked suddenly.

Kaito looked at him. "Huh? Oh, uh, no. Meiko couldn't stop by today. Luka had an accident or something, so she went to see her in the hospital."

"I see. Then come with me."

"Where?"

"To my favorite restaurant," Gakuop replied as though it were obvious.

"Uh, but why?" Kaito asked, bewildered.

Gakupo frowned at him. "I don't want to go alone, that's pathetic. And my agent is busy as well, and seeing how I don't have any friends, there's little choice for me. You'll have to do. Now come on, my treat." He left the room, grabbing his jacket off of his chair, and didn't look back.

Kaito suddenly pulled himself together. He had just been invited to eat with Gakupo, and he was standing around like an idiot! "Hey, wait up," he called, quickly gathering his things and rushing out of the door to catch up.

Gakupo was already halfway down the hallway. He felt relieved when Kaito chased after him. For a moment he thought that he had come across too strongly and that Kaito wouldn't join him. Gakupo allowed a small smile tug at the corners of his lips.

"So what's this restaurant?" Kaito asked airily, matching strides with him.

Gakupo forced his eyes to stay ahead of him, trying to play cool. "It's called TuneLand. They have the best eggplant soup."

"TuneLand? Sounds like a record store...And eggplant soup? Really?" Kaito winced at the thought of a bowl of purple slop.

"It's delicious," Gakupo said defensively. "Better than ice cream."

"I doubt it," Kaito muttered under his breath.

They pushed their way out of the glass doors at the front of the building and stepped out into the bright sunlight.

"My car is over here."

Kaito followed Gakupo to a shiny, new purple maserati. It was a beautiful vehicle, so of course it was owned by Gakupo. It made him think of his own crappy convertible, and Kaito was glad Gakupo wasn't riding with him.

"Um," Kaito said as he got into the passenger side, "isn't it illegal to park like this?" He gestured needlessly to the four parking spaces the maserati was taking up.

Gakupo shrugged. "It keeps my car safe."

"Uh-huh," Kaito uttered.

Gakupo started the car and carefully pulled out of the parking lot. The ride was smooth and relaxing, and silent. It seemed that Gakupo didn't usually listen to the radio. Or eat in the car.

"Did...did you buy this car recently?" Kaito asked. There was literally nothing in the car. No smell, no trash, no dust, nothing.

"This morning," Gakupo said, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

Kaito stared at him. "Why did you buy a new car?"

"I felt like a change."

"Oh."

They fell into a long silence until Gakupo asked, "So what do you eat besides ice cream?"

"Huh? Oh, uh," Kaito said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I guess normal food."

"What's considered normal food? Cheeseburgers? Spaghetti?"

"I guess so."

Gakupo sighed. "Don't you ever go out to eat good things?"

"Cheeseburgers and spaghetti are good."

He shook his head pityingly. "No, Kaito. It's not. I'll show you real food."

After a few more minutes of driving through the city, they had reached their destination. Kaito was surprised that it was so close by to the recording studio. And that it looked like a dump.

"This is where real food is served?" Kaito asked skeptically.

"Yes." Gakupo didn't explain further, but got out of the car. Kaito followed suit.

Gakupo walked in like he owned the place, with Kaito trailing behind him. He was shocked to see that on the inside it was fancy and beautiful. Golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting soft light on the spacious, table-filled room below. Several patrons were already seated and chatting quietly as they ate.

"Two, please," Gakupo said to the hostess standing at the front.

She nodded with a smile and bid them follow her. She took them to a private white-clothed table and handed them menus. "Drinks?"

"We'll take your best wine," Gakupo said.

She smiled at him. "Sure thing, Gack. And your usual?"

"Of course. You know me so well," Gakupo replied, giving her a rather seductive look and raking his eyes down her body. Kaito felt a surge of jealously, but bit it back.

The waitress, whose nametag read Teto (which he thought was a weird name), looked at Kaito. "Any idea what you'd like, or do you need more time, dear?"

Kaito's eye twitched at the pet name. "I know what I'd like," he said, forcing a polite smile. "Eggplant soup."

"Oh, Gack's usual," Teto said, scribbling on her notepad. "Well, we'll get that right out to you, then." She left, and Kaito glared at her back until she had disappeared with their menus and orders. Then he turned back to the table, and was surprised to see Gakupo looking at him with a bemused expression.

"Eggplant soup?" he asked. "Really?"

Kaito blushed. "Shaddup."

"Ah, I see the family resemblance now."

Kaito was about to retort, but stopped when Gakupo laughed. For the first time since they'd met, Gakupo had laughed whole-heartedly, his face lighting up happily. It was breathtaking to see. And Kaito couldn't help but to laugh with him.

A/N: song is Dreaming Little Bird.

Thanks for reading! This is chapter 8 out of 14, meaning we've passed the halfway mark already! \0/ Yay!