Title: Tainted Gold

By: Aina Song

Fandom(s): Gundam Wing/Gravitation

Genre: Yaoi

Rating: NC-17

Warning(s): Language; Angst; Saap; Song Lyrics; Rumored Death; Slight OOC.

Pairing(s): To be revealed as story develops. (Trust me, you'll appreciate it better that way.)

Reviews: Yes, please.

Author's Note: Standard Disclaimer. This story was not written for money.

Teaser: The pain of broken promises is not so easily mended…

Chapter Three - Here I Am

Touma's aqua-blue eyes hardened. "How did you get this number?"

Noriko looked up in surprise, having never heard him speak in such a cold tone before. Motioning that it would probably be best if she waited in her apartment across the hall, she quietly let herself out the front door.

Touma locked it behind her, feeling suddenly angry that the easy mood of the day had been ruined twice in three minutes. "How did you get this number," he repeated. "I took every precaution that it could not be traced by any of you."

"Is that so?"

"Quite obviously, I'd underestimated one of you." He fisted his hand at his side, "What do you want? I seem to recall demanding never to hear from you again."

"I apologized most profusely for what happened, and I'll do so again if you insist. But that is not why I've called."

"If your reason doesn't come to standard, I'm warning you here and now that I'll hang up this phone, drop this identity, and disappear more thoroughly in the very near future."

There was brief pause, lasting just long enough to test Touma's rapidly fraying patience. Then, very solemnly, "He's alive."

Touma's heart missed several beats at once, and then began thudding against his chest. He took an unsteady breath. "I don't believe you…"

"Winner, please. Listen to me. What you believe to have happened is mistaken."

"Don't lie to me! He died! They told me-"

"Their diagnosis was too hasty. It happens. His pulse failed for several seconds en route to the hospital, but they were able to revive him."

"If any of this is true, why wasn't I told? Why did it take so long for someone to contact me?" Why wouldn't he have come to me himself, Touma's despairing thought rang in the back of his mind.

"Even if I hadn't known you for so long, I can already predict that you're not going to like my answer."

"Chang," he warned through clenched teeth.

A sigh, "He asked me not to tell you."

Feeling as though his entire world had frozen over with those few words, Touma tightened his grip around his cell phone so that he would not drop it. "You're lying again…"

"I'm not. I've no right to tell you this, but after the accident there was barely anything of him left. He insisted he couldn't let you see him like that, so he took the most drastic measure possible to ensure that you wouldn't try to seek him out before he was ready."

That sounds like him. "But it still took you far too long to tell me this. I'd convinced myself that I had lost him forever. And now, you expect me to believe that he's been alive this whole time? You're asking a great deal more from me than you deserve."

"I know. But-"

"I'm hanging up now."

"Winner, wait! Damn it, not yet!"

Sighing, he brought the cell once again to his ear. "What is it?"

"The other reason I called. He's looking for you."

Yet again, Touma's heart began to pound within his chest. "What?"

"It took forever for him to be released from that hospital, but the very first thing he said was that he'd made a promise to follow you anywhere, so… He's been missing since last November. All his records have been wiped clean; I don't know exactly where he is just now. But you and I know how very determined he can be when he wants something."

"He's… here in Japan?"

"I believe so. And, Winner? I feel I should warn you - don't expect to recognize him the very first moment you see him."

And then Touma finally got his wish, as the connection on the other end was at last cut short. He brought his cell phone away from his ear, glaring at it in frustration before letting it fall from his hand. It hit the carpet with a few soft thumbs before sliding under the coffee table. With a sudden shout, he threw out his fist, knowing only a little satisfaction in the pain he felt as his knuckles collided with the wall.

Bringing his hand away, observing the broken skin and blossoming bruises, he clenched his jaw and sank to his knees on the floor. The pain in his hand began to shudder up his arm, and he could vaguely hear Noriko's worried voice on the other side of the locked door, but he ignored them both for the greater hurt within his chest.

It was a lie. It had to be.

He wasn't coming here. Touma would never see him again…

~o~

"Q…?"

"Mm?"

"You awake?"

The other chuckled, opening his eyes. "I wouldn't be able to answer you if I wasn't."

"You could be talkin' in your sleep."

"To the best of my knowledge, that's never happened before." He glanced toward their alarm clock, and then gave his lover a quietly considering look. "It's nearly four-thirty; shouldn't you be getting ready for your trip?"

The first was hovering over the other on his elbows, their bodies comfortably lining each other under the sheets. "Yeah, but I wanted to kiss you goodbye first. And it would be like stealing if you were asleep the whole time."

"I see," the other smiled. Reaching up, he cupped the back of the other's neck and pulled him down. Their mouths met with a hunger that had always been shared between the two of them, and it was with great reluctance that they eventually pulled away. "Go on, now. You've been waiting for months for this trip; you wouldn't want to miss your flight."

"You sure you can't come with us?"

"I'm very sorry, and I wish I could. I'll miss you terribly while you're away, but don't think I won't be waiting for you when you get back."

"Okay…"

The other offered a gentle smile, teasingly adding, "Just so long as Wufei keeps his word to look after you, and you remind him from me to keep his hands off."

With a shout, the first tackled him under the sheets.

~o~

A handful of weeks had passed since that ominous phone call, and the bandages wrapped around Touma's knuckles still reminded him of the details of its conversation. A number of his best informants had been put on the alert for anyone who might be showing a suspicious interest in Touma or his whereabouts. If his perception of what had happened had indeed been falsified, and… he… was now searching for him to fulfill their promise, then Touma had much facing up to do with the decisions he had been making.

Then came the day he and Noriko would be auditioning a number of singers to find the one that might join their group. Touma was very dedicatedly distracting himself, helping Noriko to rid his apartment of its most recent clutter. His coffee table was cleared, the sheet music removed from atop his piano, and his floor vacuumed. Noriko had taken her keyboard back across the hall, as they had agreed the piano would be enough for simple auditions. And because Touma's hand was still mending, she had also agreed to provide the music for those of the auditions that might need it.

*buzz!*

And there was the first hopeful now.

Noriko hopped to her feet in that wonderfully spunky way of hers, disappearing for a minute or two to answer the door and coming with another young woman behind her. Touma willed himself to focus on the task at hand, perusing briefly over the few pages of personal information the woman had needlessly brought with her. "This will be a very informal audition. All we need from you today is to hear how you sound."

In her case, looks had not been deceiving. The woman had a very shy manner about her, and the voice to match it. Not enough power in her diaphragm to charge a 20-watt bulb. The next several auditions were much the same. Men, women; too soft, too loud… One young man even had orange punk hair and far too many piercings to count.

"Oh!" Noriko grunted in exasperation after that last one saw himself out. "I'm ready to pull out my hair!"

"Easy," Touma chuckled, passing her a chilled soda. "It's almost over."

"How many do we have left?"

He glanced down at a slip of paper listing a number of crossed out names. "Just the one. And he should be arriving right about-"

*buzz!*

"-Now," Touma smiled.

Noriko heaved a greatly exaggerated sigh, stealing a few swallows from her soda on her way to the front door.

Touma Seguchi tried not to stare at what followed her back into his living room. The man was sex incarnate. Mid-twenties, with a lithe build and fluid posture. Smooth, vanilla-coffee colored skin. Eyes a dark blue shade that, when the light fell across them just right, shone almost amethyst in color. And a quirky smile that could in a crowded plaza draw every gaze to him and him alone.

Something twinged in Touma's heart and, try though he might, he could not ignore it.

He cleared his throat, "This will be a very informal audition. All we need from you today is to hear how you sound."

That quirky little grin returned, and the beautiful stranger spoke in a velvety tenor voice. "Aren't you even going to ask my name first?"

Sitting upon the arm of his sofa, Noriko quipped, "Oh, I'm sorry. I never knew poster boys came with their own names."

"But rent girls do?" The man shot back without missing a beat. "Introductions first; that's the rule."

She giggled, "You sound such the child."

"And why shouldn't I," he challenged, stepping past the grand piano to gaze upon Touma's violin in its glass case. "Children have all the fun, anyway."

"Her name is Noriko Ukai," Touma provided, feeling uneasy to find his abandoned instrument under such fierce speculation. "I am Touma Seguchi."

Those piercingly blue eyes left his violin, but turned his way and fixed him with their burning gaze. "Ryuichi Sakuma," the other finally answered. "Nice to meet you… Touma."

His name falling from between those lips was in likeness to the murmuring of a secret lover's confession. Inevitably, the sound of it sent a thrill up the blond's spine which he tried his very hardest to dispel. "Have you brought any music with you, Mister Sakuma, or would you rather sing a cappella?"

"Ryuichi." He produced a cassette from his back pocket, "Got somewhere I can stick this?"

Giggling at the man's choice of words, Noriko stood and plucked the thing from his hand. Crossing the room, she pulled open the glass door to Touma's modestly displayed stereo center. She slipped the cassette into the player, turning the volume to a level which would be clearly heard without drowning out the accompanying vocals.

As soon as it had begun to play, Touma's heart did a double-jump. Though he had never before heard its music, which had supposedly been mixed together by Sakuma himself, the blond could almost swear he recognized the underlying melody. He briefly closed his eyes as he listened, trying to recall why it felt so familiar.

That was when Sakuma began to sing.

"With eyes glittering in the distance/ Those about to awaken me are waiting/ Invited to the night castle/ Into the empty shell of transient dwellers/ Without an exit."

Touma's eyes flew open, his heart now racing as he discovered the young man focusing his fierce gaze upon him as he sang. All the world darkened and seemed to disappear, leaving only to two of them. The performer, and his one-man audience.

"If you mean to endure the shock/ To the point of crumbling/ show me the lies!"

Fast and passionate. That was how Sakuma sang. The song itself was still lacking, its sound needing a filler-tempo to even out its rhythm. But the vocals were raw and savage, demanding to be heard and understood.

"The light I still can't reach and where it's gone/ Let's sketch out the brilliantly dancing thoughts/ So that the guiding words do not spill over/ Don't fear the changing times/ Without even an exit-"

Noriko chose then to cut the song short, and the world abruptly fell back into focus. Touma shook his head, trying to clear it as the sound of his friend's clapping reached his ringing ears. "Wow," she praised, drawing their attention back to the task at hand. "You're the best we've heard all day."

There came a sudden but quiet knock upon the front door. She went to answer it, then came back with an apologetic look on her face. "My husband. Dinner with the in-laws."

Touma forced himself back into the moment, rising to his feet and coming over. "Forgive me, Noriko. I didn't mean to keep you so long."

"We're in this together, remember? Tell you what, though," she added in a stage whisper. "I really like the way that guy sounded. And with him, we might actually have found that style we've been searching for."

"Haven't your mother ever told you," Sakuma's voice cut in as he approached them. "It's rude to talk about someone in the third person when that someone is in the same room."

"You're kidding," she giggled.

He tossed her a raspberry. "Now you're making fun of me. And here I thought we were gettin' to be such good friends."

Somehow, Touma reclaimed his voice. "Are you leaving as well, Mister Sakuma?"

"Ryuichi," the man corrected again with a slow grin. "And yes. Sorry, but Miss Noriko isn't the only one with someone important waiting at home. Here," he added, pressing a slip of paper into Touma's good hand. "My number. I hope you were serious about likin' what you heard." Then, with not so much as a second glance, he walked out of the apartment.

"Good thing we're both taken," Noriko sighed after he had gone. "We'd be fighting over who'd get to call dibs over an ass like his."

Chuckling softly, Touma kindly saw her out of his apartment and closed the door behind her. He then turned and leaned his back against the door, loath to end the day's distraction. Quickly, before the maddening thoughts in the back of his mind could push to the fore, he glanced down at the paper in his hand. And immediately felt his heart grow cold behind his lungs.

"Nice violin. Paganini would be proud.

555-0809."

~o~

"I really miss you, Q."

He offered a gentle smile as he shifted through his paperwork. "I miss you, too," he spoke into his earpiece. "But I certainly hope you aren't keeping yourself from enjoying the trip. What have you seen so far?"

"Everything!" The other answered excitedly. "And tomorrow, Wuffie's taking me biking through the mountains."

"That sounds a little tame, coming from you."

"Actually, I owe him for going through with the bungee jumping this morning."

He laughed, "Just promise me you're being careful. I'd like very much for my lover to come home in one piece, if it isn't asking too much."

"Don't I make enough promises for you? Anyway, Wu gave his word. And believe me, he's doin' everything under the sun to keep from breakin' it."

~o~

Touma awoke with a start, gasping for air as he fought against his covers that he might sit upright. Another forbidden memory, bubbling up to the surface.

He glanced over at his nightstand, upon which rested the slip of paper with its innocent yet disturbing praise. Twelve days had passed since that day, and still he had to wonder. How had someone so carefree and… wildly fierce, been able to tell with a glance that his most prized violin had been a Paganini replica?

And the tone in which that little note had been written - complimentary, of course, but with its own hint of cockiness. Even the handwriting itself, which he thought he might recognize if he could get his head on straight, had boasted a certain bit of self-assuredness.

More and more, the puzzle that was Ryuichi Sakuma continued to bury him under its many pieces.

~o~

(one month later)

"I can't believe it."

He tried to offer Noriko a small smile, flexing his newly-mended hand as he sat down in his chair. "I did try to warn you."

"But N-G was supposed to be the very best opportunity for us. They have a reputation for taking in new talent; why wouldn't they give us our chance?"

"Hello!"

They both looked up as Ryuichi Sakuma let himself in. The suave yet energetic brunet sauntered across the room, his quirky grin ever in place. By now, they had both gotten used to the way he would often show up in the most unexpected but convenient moments. Even Noriko had begun to respect that somewhere behind his childishness lay a deceptively sharp mind and a passion for their music.

"I think I heard enough to guess what's going on." He deduced, "They didn't like our sound?"

"No," Touma shook his head.

"Where were you?" Noriko asked the brunet, scooting along the sofa to allow him room to sit. "Why couldn't you have come with us today?"

"Didn't I call and tell you I couldn't make it?" Sakuma pouted, cocking his head curiously. "That I had a prior appointment?"

"Sure," she nodded. "But you never said what that was."

"Ah," he smirked, falling comfortably back against the cushions of the sofa. "Why didn't you say so? I met with my doctor. Nothing more."

"Doctor?" Touma wondered, reluctantly concerned. "Are you unwell?"

Sakuma seemed to think about it, but finally shook his head. "No. Not in the way you mean, anyway. I was in an accident, a couple years back. The doctor's just to help me down the road to recovery. Physical therapy, that kind of thing."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Noriko declared, clapping a hand over her mouth. "What happened?"

Touma was suddenly wondering the same thing.

"Nothing to lose your pretty head over," Sakuma assured, smirk still in place. "I try to put it behind me; no reason you shouldn't, too. Now, c'mon," he added, changing the subject. "Tell me what happened with you guys."

"We were shafted," Touma replied. "They wouldn't even bother listening to our sample disc."

Noriko nodded, dropping her hand again. "Somehow, I don't believe N-G is living up to its reputation."

"N-G?" Sakuma shrugged, "That's easily explainable. It was in all the papers; their staff took on a new president. The guy's trying to refocus their standards, so that only the very best would ever receive contracts."

"Well, that doesn't seem fair. How will they ever find out who that is, if they're not willing to try anybody?"

"That's easy, too. Touma can buy them out. Then they'd pretty much have to do as he wants."

The aforementioned blond, who had been idly rummaging through their portfolio, looked sharply up at the suggestion. "Excuse me?"

Noriko suddenly gave a burst of giggles. "Touma? He's got people, sure, but there's no way he'd have that kind of money."

Feeling backed into a corner, he cleared his throat. "Actually…"

The woman stared, "You're kidding."

Touma Seguchi shook his head with a hesitant smile. "I'm afraid not. My father was quite the entrepreneur. But I have always believed that one must work for what they earn," he added, with a hard look directed at Sakuma. "I only ever pinch from that money in an emergency."

The brunet received the warning, and grinned in the face of it.

Noriko, oblivious, protested immediately. She was convinced that it was a clever enough idea. And after several minutes of listening to her argument, Touma finally agreed that he would see what he could do, but that it would likely take some time in putting it to effect. Some minutes later, Noriko bade them farewell and returned to her own apartment across the hall.

Which left Touma alone with Sakuma. As often as he had fought to prevent that very thing, this time Touma found the situation very convenient indeed.

"How did you know?"

"What?"

"About my inheritance," he clarified. "How did you know?"

The lithe brunet gave that same quirky grin as he spread his arms over the back of the sofa. "My little secret."

"I don't appreciate that you knew something about myself that I've been hiding from my closest friends," Touma warned, coming over to stand before him. "And I don't like that you flaunted something like that for your own personal gain."

"Yours, too," the other reminded. "Oh, and you make a lousy liar, by the way."

"I'm sorry?"

"You should be," Sakuma retorted with another grin. "Calling people like Noriko your closest friends, when I can name about four others you'd been known to trust a great deal more of yourself to."

Touma's blood froze in his veins. Very quietly, he demanded, "Where are you getting such information?"

"You insult me, Q." The other lifted his head, piercing him with those amethyst/blue eyes as his voice dropped two octaves, "Since when have I ever needed help trackin' down my info?"

His perception of the world around him abruptly shattered, and the pieces fell into place for Touma at last. Heart racing, he stared at the man reclining on his sofa, daring only one word.

"D-Duo…?"

The brunet's grin softened, and his voice returned to normal as he began to sing in slow verse. "It crumbles apart/ You've been reborn/ Your eyes light up without a smile."

"Even if the world you want suddenly turns to ashes," Touma whispered, scalding tears brimming in his eyes. "There will be miracles…"

"You've gotten better. I remember when I could compare your singing to-"

"A screeching cat on a fence," he finished. With a disbelieving shake of his head, he fell to the sofa, pulling himself into the singer's embrace. Burying his face into the brunet's shoulder, he began whispering a mantra of I'm-sorry's.

He felt the other's hands run along his spine, in an achingly familiar soothing manner. "Stop apologizing. You know I hate it when you start feeling guilty over nothing."

"This isn't nothing." Touma lifted his head, "I thought… I let myself believe…"

"Exactly what I wanted you to," the other smiled. "Listen to me, and I'll tell you what really happened. When my bike slipped and I fell off that cliff, it was all I could do to keep myself from leaving this world for real. But there were a helluva lot of rocks down that slide, and I couldn't protect myself from all of them. I was a mess when they found me, Q. I could barely manage consciousness, but I vaguely remember that even Wuffie had to turn away from the sight of me to keep from getting sick."

"W-what?"

"Q…" He sighed, "There was barely anything of me left. I'm surprised they didn't just give up on me, right there on the spot. Wu wouldn't hear of it, of course. Thanks to him, they got me to that hospital and kept me in intensive care for - Hell, I don't know how long; I kept blacking out. When they finally got me stabilized, Wu asked whether I'd like to change my mind about letting you know about my survival." He paused, brushing his thumb across the blond's cheek, catching a wet tear and sweeping it away. "I am sorry, I hope you can understand that. But I looked nothing like the man you fell in love with. And my feelings for you are too great to have let you see me like that. Wuffie felt really guilty; he felt like he'd broken his promise to look out for me. He wanted to make it up to you, to the both of us, but he didn't know how. When he realized that I was planning to disappear forever rather than return to you scarred, he finally came to a decision and made me an offer."

"And… What was that?"

"Surgical reconstruction. A damn good lot of it, too. Took twenty-eight months, and nearly a third of Wu's ancestral inheritance, but… Here I am."