Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation, the wonderful Maki Murakami does
Chapter 8: Pain and betrayal
"That's a wrap," the producer yelled through the microphone and into the sound booth where Ryuichi stood. The singer had just gotten through recording the song for their first single-Poetic Beauty.
Ryuichi nodded as he took off his head set and ran out of the booth. "So is that all for today?"
The producer nodded as he looked over at Tohma and Noriko, who were sitting on the couch. "That's all for today. Tomorrow you have a meeting with Beat magazine to discuss your up and coming single. Then you have a photo shoot followed soon after."
"Is there anything else that we need to know about tomorrow?" Tohma asked as he wrote down the information.
"Yes, after the photo shoot you will meet with Keiichi Miyamoto, the man who will direct your video. He will go over concepts with you all so if you can think of some ideas let him know."
"Okay then we'll see you tomorrow," the blond said as he stood up walked towards the door.
Ryuichi and Noriko said their goodbyes and went after him.
After they left the studio, everyone went their separate ways. Tohma headed back to his apartment, Noriko went home as well. She mentioned having to meet a friend, Ryuichi felt it was time he went to see Takashi. It had been three weeks now and he hadn't heard a peek from him. That was unusual considering they were always there all the time.
First he stopped at the bar to see if he was working, but unfortunately he wasn't. Then he decided to go to his apartment. It had been a while since he was last there, he remembered running there after he ran out on a recording session almost a month ago. A small chuckle escaped is lips as he thought about seeing his friend again. He needed to get there as soon as possible to tell him the good news.
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Ryuichi rang the bell as he waited for Takashi to answer the door. He thought about how he would greet him. They had never been apart this long so he was sure things would be a bit awkward. But after ten minutes no one answered so the singer decided to use the spare key that he had gotten from his friend.
Unlocking the door and stepping inside, he took off his shoes as he wondered into the living room. He didn't hear anything nor did he see Takashi. He wondered back into the bedroom and to his relief, Takashi was in there asleep.
"No wonder he didn't answer the door," Ryuichi said out loud to himself.
He walked into the room and he could hear his friend's light snoring. Making his way over to the bed, he sat down on it and continued to stare at his friend. Why hadn't he been around the past few weeks? Why didn't he pick up the phone when Ryuichi called? His mind wondered about everything as he lay down beside him. It felt so good to be beside him again. While he loved being with Tohma, he loved being with Takashi as well, if not more.
When he placed his body down beside Takashi, he felt him shift over and move closer to him. Ryu couldn't help but to grin at that as he laid his head on his arm and placed his arm across Taka's chest. Suddenly feeling a bit guilty he considered getting up when he thought about how Tohma had a fiancée and that was worse than what he was doing right now.
"Takashi," Ryuichi whispered in the man's ear.
"It took you long enough," he whispered back in a hoarse voice.
"What is that suppose to mean?"
"Exactly what I said."
Ryuichi frowned as he realized that his friend had been waiting for him to come to him this whole time. "Is that why you didn't pick up the phone or come and see me?"
Takashi laughed as he rolled over on his side to face Ryuichi. He slowly opened his eyes as his hazel orbs stared at the singer. "I needed to know."
"Needed to know what?"
"That you loved me. If you came to see me if you couldn't contact me any other way I would know."
"But why did you need me to contact you this way?"
"Because…" Takashi trailed off and diverted his eye contact. "Has Tohma been keeping you busy?" He asked changing the subject.
Ryuichi stiffened at the sound of Tohma's name. What could he possibly tell Takashi about his relationship with the blond?
"It's okay, it's one of the reasons why I backed off," he reassured.
"Back…off?"
"Yea…Tohma said that you seemed happier when you weren't in my presence, so I backed off."
"What?" Ryuichi said as he raised his voice. So Tohma was the reason why Takashi hadn't been around?
"It's okay, because you managed to get away and come and see me. That says a lot, at least to me."
Ryuichi leaned down and kissed Takashi's forehead. He knew that he shouldn't do that but he was really sorry about what had happened-even though he didn't know all of the details.
"Aoi…" Takashi said softly.
"Yes?" Ryuichi felt good whenever he heard his real name being spoken, mostly by Takashi. It was like their little secret, even though he knew that two other people knew him by that name.
"I never stopped loving you, and I never wanted to not be with you. I just felt that in order for you to heal you needed to deal with one thing at a time…I didn't mean to push you away." Takashi said as he took a deep breath. "It's just I saw what so much could do to you. When I saw you in the hospital after that incident…I knew I had to help you before I put my personal needs first. That's why I broke up with you but stayed by your side. Because when you were okay again I wanted to be with you again," he confessed.
Ryuichi felt his heart beat speed up rapidly, he had been waiting to hear that for so long and now he finally had. However there was his relationship with Tohma…
"Takashi, I slept with Tohma," he said seriously.
"I'm willing to let it be."
"Could you do that?"
"Sure, it's not like we were together and you needed someone," he reasoned.
"I miss being with you."
Takashi laughed as he kissed the tip of Ryuichi's nose. "Ryuichi 'Aoi Ito' Sakuma…"
Ryuichi laughed at hearing his two names combined into one. He really didn't mind if he was called Aoi, as long as it was by him. He was still getting use to being called Ryuichi even though his name had been changed for three years now. Aoi was nice, Aoi reminded him of their relationship in the past.
"Yes?"
"I know you have something going on with Tohma but…"
"I'll end it for you," Ryuichi responded quickly.
"It won't cause any tension between you two will it?"
"Maybe it will," Ryuichi shrugged. "But Tohma's engagement will cause even more tension so it was going to end anyway."
Takashi looked at Ryuichi with concern. "Is that the only reason why you're willing to be with me?"
"That's a dumb question."
"Just wanted to make sure."
Ryuichi laughed as he hugged Takashi. "I'll pack my bags and move in tomorrow morning."
Takashi nodded when suddenly his phone ranged. He leaned over and picked it up without looking at the caller ID.
"Hello."
"I'm fine, how are you?"
Takashi frowned, "no I'm not supposed to work tonight…"
"You couldn't find anyone?"
Ryuichi wanted to take the phone and hang it up. He wanted to spend time with Takashi tonight but it looks like he would have to wait till the morning.
"Okay I'll be there in two hours."
"Okay no problem man, bye."
"You should have told them you couldn't make it," Ryuichi pouted.
"Well look at it this way, tonight you can pack and let Tohma know what's going on and move in as early as you want. You can even move in tonight since you have a spare key," he insisted.
"Yea but…"
"No buts Ryu."
"Call me Aoi."
Takashi laughed as he wrapped his arms around Ryuichi and kissed him passionately. "No buts Aoi don't be stubborn," he whispered.
"Promise to get here as early as possible."
"Sure thing, I'll try to be off by five."
Ryuichi nodded as he got up off of the bed. "Okay see you in the morning."
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When Ryuichi arrived at Tohma's place he felt himself wavering. It wasn't like he didn't have feelings for the blond, it just so happened his feelings were a bit stronger for Takashi. He inhaled and then exhaled, Tohma was getting married anyway. The last thing Ryuichi needed was to worry about a guy's fiancée. Takashi was going to put him first and that's all that Ryuichi wanted.
He opened the door and stepped inside. He could hear Tohma fumbling around in the kitchen and he knew that if he walked in there he could get this over with quick. However he knew that he had to be reasonable since he was involved in a band with him and they had to be civil after this. And considering what he did to keep Takashi away from him, he wanted to tell him the situation and leave.
He made his way into the kitchen to find Tohma leaning over in the refrigerator. Taking another deep breath, he prepared himself.
"Tohma…" he called out calmly.
The blond stood up and looked over at the singer, his blue eyes smiled as he held up some milk. "I was wondering where you went, I'm about to make a cake, want to help?"
"No."
Tohma looked at him a bit surprised, "Okay then…"
"I'm leaving tonight."
Tohma put down the milk and his look turned to suspicion. "Why?"
"I'm…with Takashi now so…"
Tohma's complexion went pale; it was obvious that there was no need to explain anything. He just stood there speechless, not sure of what he could say.
"So…I'll see you at the studio in the morning," Ryuichi said as he turned around and walked out of the kitchen.
Tohma didn't know what to say, but he knew he had to react. He ran out of the kitchen and grabbed a hold of the singer's wrist. "Ryuichi…"
"Tohma you tried to take my best friend away from me…"
"I was only doing what was best for you."
"WHAT WAS BEST FOR ME?!" Ryuichi turned around and faced Tohma. He was angry, how could a person who barely knew him tell him what was best for him? Takashi had been there for him for years, only he could tell him what was best.
Tohma glared at Ryuichi as he let go of his wrist. Why should he care about him? He didn't want him to so why should he waste his time? Tohma continued to stare at him as he debated in his mind. Sure he was wrong for keeping Ryuichi away from Takashi, but over the past few weeks he had been happier than usual. Tohma tried to keep his emotions under control, he wanted to hurt him. He had given himself to Ryuichi, which was something he had never done with a man. He went over his limits to please him, he let him into his home and now he was just about to abandon him?
"No wonder people are always quick to dump you," he said out loud without thinking.
"Wha?!" the singer asked surprised.
"Hurry and get your things, be out within an hour," he demanded as he went back into the kitchen.
Ryuichi's heart broke, he didn't hate Tohma he was a bit angry but he could never hate him. What did that mean for Nittle Grasper? His breaths became short as tears streamed down his cheeks. He needed to hurry and pack and leave.
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Tohma downed another cup of coffee as he stared at the clock on the wall. He and Noriko had been waiting at the studio for over two hours now for Ryuichi to show. The blond began to grind his teeth as he stood up.
"No more coffee Tohma." Noriko stated coolly. She looked over at him with concern. "So what happened between you two?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Well I'm going to go and talk to him," Noriko responded as she stood up smiled down at him. You can be a bit overprotective but I know whatever you did you didn't really mean any harm.
Tohma nodded as he looked at his empty coffee cup.
Noriko pulled out her cell phone and looked through her number log, she was about to dial Ryuichi's number when suddenly there was a knock on the studio door. Something told her to hang up and answer the door and so she did that. When she opened the door she found a middle age man standing there looking extremely upset. When he noticed the door opened he looked up at Noriko with a glint of hope in his eyes. "Excuse me is Ryuichi Sakuma here?"
Noriko looked at the man confused as Tohma stood up and rushed to the door. "No what's wrong?"
The man looked like he wanted to break down in tears but he kept his composure. "There was an accident last night…when Ryuichi found out he ran off and he's been gone since then."
The color drained from Tohma's face, an accident? "Is he hurt?" He asked as he began to panic.
"No but…"
Noriko placed her hand on Tohma's shoulder to give him a bit of comfort.
"But what?!" The blond demanded.
"Takashi…he's…"
The realization of what the man was trying to say hit him.
"He's dead." The man finished.
A/N: While some of you most likely didn't care about me killing Takashi, I cared about killing him. I liked is character and his relationship with Ryuichi. When I realized I didn't want Ryuichi to pick Tohma over Takashi I felt like the only way to get this guy out of the picture without breaking his heart was to kill him. Part of me wanted to change it and just let Ryu pick Tohma but if you were in Ryu's shoes would you pick the person you have always been in love with? Or your new love who has a fiancée? I wouldn't pick Tohma and since all Ryu wanted was to be loved, he didn't pick him either.