Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Apogee ❯ Chapter XVI ( Chapter 16 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: Gravitation is not owned by me, it is owned by Maki Murakami. I own nothing.

Author's Note: Sorry this is so late... Writer's block hit with a vengeance. I know what will happen, I am just having trouble actually writing it down. This is short, but here it is.




When Shuichi got off the plane, it wasn't hard to spot Yuki's blond head in the sea of black and dark brown at Narita International Airport. He weaved his way in between families and friends greeting each other and made his way toward Yuki, suppressing the urge to hug him. He didn't have the right to do that anymore, and Yuki would only look down on such a public display of affection. He looked silently up at Yuki and softly bit the inside of his bottom lip, not sure what to say now that he was here. Yuki only looked at him for a minute, then turned and walked away. Shuichi followed quickly, not wanting to be left behind, and before long he was climbing into the passenger seat of Yuki's Mercedes.

He stared silently out the window, aware of the looks Yuki was giving him, sure that Yuki was wondering what was wrong with him that he wasn't talking more. That didn't worry him now, though. Now, he wanted to know something. Taking a deep breath, he screwed up his courage and asked.

"Yuki, I need to know... After- after we made love, why did you leave?"

Yuki didn't answer immediately, pulling into an empty parking space in front of Shuichi's apartment building. He got out and waited by the door for Shuichi to get out and let him in, then followed him up to his apartment, still silent. Shuichi took his silence as refusal to answer and led the way, an anger beginning to burn as he walked and Yuki still didn't speak. He tossed his bag toward the bed when he entered, then went to the kitchen to see if he had left anything behind. He slammed the doors on the empty cupboards and started when he heard Yuki say his name. Shuichi turned and looked at him, leaning back against the kitchen counter.

"Decided to answer me?"

Yuki looked at him for a long moment, and Shuichi was just about ready to tell him to get out, when he spoke again.

"You called out Tohma's name when you came."

Shuichi felt the blood drain from his face and the anger he'd been holding on to evaporated just as quickly.

"Yuki I- I'm so sorry. I didn't know- I thought you just didn't want me anymore."

Yuki sighed, stepping forward and using one arm to pull Shuichi close. Shuichi closed his eyes and leaned into Yuki's chest, taking advantage of the comfort Yuki didn't offer very often.

"Yuki, I-"

"You don't need to explain, Shuichi. I think I've got it pretty well figured out."

"No, Yuki," Shuichi looked up, determined to make Yuki hear him out. "I love Tohma, yes. But you were my first love and you always will be. You'll always have a piece of me."

"I know, brat."

Yuki let go of him and turned away. "Did you have a plan for how you are going to tell him?"

Shuichi blushed, looking down at the floor. "I hadn't really thought past getting here."

Yuki snorted. "That's what I thought. Go shower while I make some phone calls."

Shuichi didn't ask questions. If Yuki was willing to help him, he wasn't going to argue at this point, and he really did want a shower. He'd just spent twelve hours on a plane, and even though he had been able to sleep, he had done it mostly sitting up and it had left his body feeling stiff and his mind feeling fuzzy. He stepped into the shower and sighed as the warm water fell over his back and shoulders. He leaned his head back letting the water cascade through his hair, and took his time lathering and rinsing out the shampoo. His mind wandered as he took a few minutes to just let the water relax him. He thought about Hiro and the way he had left. He knew Hiro had to be kicking himself right now. While part of Shuichi felt sorry for that, for letting Hiro beat himself up over this, another part was happy that it was happening. Hiro needed to let Shuichi make his own mistakes, even if it meant he got hurt, sometimes.

Shuichi turned off the shower and dried quickly, then wrapped a towel around his waist, using another to rub at his hair as he stepped out of the bathroom. He hadn't taken any clean clothes in with him, and it wasn't as if it was anything Yuki hadn't seen before. He walked to the closet, not looking around, still rubbing absently at his hair as he reached in and randomly grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, tossing them in the direction of the bed.

"If that's what you plan on wearing to seduce my ex-husband, you need more help than Eiri thought."

Shuichi jumped at the voice, the towel on his hair pulled down to cover his bare chest and he could feel a flush start at his toes and travel upward.

"M-Mika-san?"


Author's Note II: Like I said, it's short. However, I hope this cleared up some questions. I'll update again as soon as I get the rest written!