Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Disappearing Act ❯ Chapter 17

Disappearing Act

 

By: ladygizarme

 

Disclaimer: I don't own these gorgeous boys; Murakami Maki-sensei does *sobs*

I make no money off this story, no matter how much I wish I could. So leave me alone and stop trying to mooch money, I don't have any!!

 

Beta'd By: Ren

 

Warning: BEWARE the slight angst and the WAFF!! Oh, the sap!!

 

A/N: Yes, I'm still alive. No, I didn't forget or abandon the fic. Some stuff came up and… well, if you really wanna know, read A/N3. Anyway, to make up for it, this chapter has 5, count `em, FIVE lemons… yeah… so… why are you still reading this note??!!

 

Chapter Seventeen:

 

Mika and Noriko were walking down the hallway, when suddenly Tatsuha and Ryuichi ran past them.

 

“What's going on?!” Mika exclaimed in surprise, tears momentarily forgotten.

 

“Gotta get outta here before anything else happens!” Tatsuha called back without stopping.

 

“Tatsuha, Sakuma-san, wait!”

 

They paused, running in place just a few steps away from the door to the stairs. Well, Ryuichi was running in place, anyway…

 

“What is it, aneki? I hope you're not planning on trying to talk me out of this again,” Tatsuha warned, eyes narrowing slightly as Ryuichi looked worried.

 

Mika shook her head and smiled softly. “Sakuma-san, take care of my otouto.”

 

Ryuichi's frown turned into a grin. “Of course, Mika-san! And Tatsuha will take great care of me, too!” Then the two men continued their escape, leaving the two women to their former intentions.

 

“Coffee okay?” Noriko asked as she handed a can to Mika who sat on a cushioned bench near the vending machine.

 

Sniffling a little, Mika nodded. “Thank you.”

 

Noriko sat beside her, watching her intently. She had so many questions she wanted to ask now, having just learned that all these years Touma and Ryuichi had actually been having an affair… and Mika knew. After seeing Touma's desperate confrontation with Ryuichi, Noriko could just imagine how Mika had been feeling all this time. Maybe she could even understand a little of why Mika had thought of Ryuichi the way she did, even though now it was clear that Ryuichi had been manipulated by Touma. She was glad Mika was now showing approval of Ryuichi and Tatsuha's relationship, because the two would be good for each other, though she had to admit she was quite a bit surprised by Mika's sudden acceptance. Noriko knew her curiosity would have to wait for a more appropriate time, however, as Mika probably wouldn't exactly be up for that kind of `dishing'. Oh well, she would get Ryu to talk later and try to piece things together from there until she could ask Mika herself.

 

Noriko at least wanted to try consoling Mika, though, so she asked, “So… do you want to talk about it?”

 

Before Mika could reply, Yuki came around a corner, followed closely by Shuuichi.

 

“Did Tatsuha run past here with Sakuma-san?” the blonde asked, and Mika saw Hiro and Suguru peek around the corner curiously.

 

“No, I didn't see them,” Mika answered innocently.

 

Yuki contemplated a moment, then stepped towards the stairs, muttering, “Wherever they went, maybe I can head them off.”

 

“Don't worry about those two, Eiri,” Mika said suddenly with a semblance of her usual older sister authority. “Let them go.”

 

He raised a brow at her. “Like hell I will. That brat owes me an Armani suit!”

 

Mika looked puzzled, “What about the suit I returned to you this morning? It seemed in perfect condition when I saw it.”

 

“That is what Sakuma-san was wearing just now. Another souvenir of Seguchi's insane obsession. Who knows where the hell my suit is… Scratch that. Tatsuha knows, and he'll tell me or face the consequences.”

 

Mika rolled her eyes, “It's just a suit! If it's that important to you, I'll buy you a new one myself!”

 

Yuki's looked hardened. “That's not the point. Tatsuha has pulled stunts like this too many times. And Sakuma-san isn't getting off scot-free either. First Tatsuha tried to pass off that reproduction of Sakuma-san's as mine, and then Sakuma-san wore the suit to seduce Shuuichi!”

 

At this, the pink haired boy behind him paled to an almost deathly white, then immediately blushed bright red. Mika and Noriko both couldn't help but wonder what exactly they'd missed before they'd gotten to the lounge.

 

“Speaking of which…” Yuki began, turning to the now tomato-faced boy. “You never did explain why exactly you were making out with that guy.” He crossed his arms and gave Shuu a stern and irritated look.

 

Shuuichi's pooly purple eyes looked shamed and worried as he answered, “I'm sorry, Yuki! He said he needed my help, and then he was talking like you, and then the kiss… I didn't know what to do, I couldn't think!!”

 

A blonde eyebrow rose at this and he suddenly pinned Shuu to the wall with his body. “You couldn't think, huh?”

 

“Y-Yuki—” Shuuichi stuttered worriedly, but was cut off when Yuki's lips captured his, stealing his sentence and his breath in a possessive kiss.

 

Purple eyes went wide at the force with which Yuki's lips and body pressed against him. Then Yuki's hands dug into bright pink locks, tilting Shuu's head as his tongue insisted on entrance to the singer's mouth. Shuu's eyes rolled back slightly before closing as he moaned into the kiss, welcoming the intruder.

 

Yuki pulled back, pinning Shuuichi with a heated golden glare. “Can you think now?” he demanded huskily, getting a whimpered moan in answer as he reclaimed those kiss-swollen lips.

 

“Get a room,” Noriko commented, though she kept her eyes glued to the show.

 

Yuki made no reply, though it seems he did comply with the order as he opened the door right beside Shuu and dragged him inside, slamming the door.

 

From their snooping spot by the corner, Hiro and Suguru held similar knowing smirks on their faces, though the younger of the two accompanied his with an eye roll. Deciding the task of looking for Tatsuha and Ryuichi had officially been abandoned, they returned to their studio to await their vocalist. Mika and Noriko, also knowing what was about to take place in that room, decided to make themselves scarce as well. Mika really didn't care to hear her brother having sex.

 

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

 

Again Shuu was pressed against the wall as his mouth was ravaged. Tongue writhing against Yuki's, occasionally sucking on the intruding muscle and drowning in the taste of his blonde lover. He moaned, arms wrapped around Yuki's neck as the blonde's hands caressed his body hungrily through his clothes. Yuki's hands found their way under Shuuichi's shirt, and the singer arched to the touch of those skilled fingers dancing across his heated skin. Soon his shirt was being lifted and he shivered slightly from the open air, but had no thought or time to complain as Yuki's tongue found his nipples and lavished attention on them, hands still moving over the soft, tan skin of Shuu's back and sides, thumbs stroking the singer's belly and dipping down just barely into the front of his pants to caress the skin of Shuuichi's hips and pelvis.

 

Yuki's tongue traveled from Shuuichi's assaulted nipples up to his collarbone and neck to nip and suck and mark him as his. Gasps of pleasure met Yuki's ears and he couldn't stop the pleased and possessive growl that came immediately from his throat as the erection he was already aware of grew, blood rushing further south with each sound from the singer's lips. He knew Shuuichi definitely couldn't think now, as he could tell the singer was in a similar situation, pants becoming increasingly tighter. The pink haired boy dug his fingers into the shoulder of the blonde's shirt, his other hand diving into Yuki's hair as the novelist attacked his throat. He felt his knees going weak and held on for dear life, never wanting this to stop, yet wanting so much more and unable to bear any second Yuki's body wasn't completely pressed against his.

 

If he was able to think at that moment, which he wasn't, Shuuichi would come to the realization that no matter how much Ryuichi imitated, he could never have come close to the real thing. Yuki's possessiveness of him that he showed in every touch and taste and barely controlled moan; his presence totally consuming Shuuichi as they pressed together; the scent of Yuki; the taste of him. Those hungry golden eyes piercing through him and causing his blood to boil. The way Yuki knew exactly where and when and how to touch him to make him lose his mind. All of this was Yuki and no one could ever duplicate it. And though Shuuichi lacked the thought process currently to properly realize this consciously, his body and soul already knew it.

 

Yuki's hands kneaded Shuuichi's ass through his pants, then impatiently moved to the front to undo the button and zipper, relieving the boy of his remaining clothing. Shuuichi just barely had the presence of mind to toe off his shoes for the pants to come off as well, before Yuki's hands grabbed his ass and lifted him up by his thighs. Shuu's legs automatically lifted to wrap around Yuki's waist and he gave a whimper of pleasure at the friction of Yuki's hard cock meeting his through the novelist's pants. The fabric added a delicious friction and Shuu squeezed his thighs around Yuki, trying to draw them even closer together, attempting to thrust his hips toward his lover's as he was braced against the wall.

 

Yuki kissed Shuuichi deeply, tongue sweeping through the singer's delicious mouth, sliding over lips and teeth and against the smaller tongue. Shuuichi clutched Yuki to himself even more, the actions of the writer's tongue making his straining cock weep in anticipation. Suddenly he felt two slick fingers enter him without preamble and his body gave a small jerk backward at the intrusion before he relaxed onto the touch, thrusting down and craving more.

 

Yuki made quick work of stretching him, ghosting over that sensitive spot within Shuu just enough to leave the singer trembling with need and mewling protest when the fingers left him. Before Shuuichi could fully vocalize a whine for more, Yuki had one-handedly undone his pants, releasing his erection from the confines of clothing and coating it with lubrication before directing himself to Shuu's entrance. Shuuichi's breath hitched as he felt the large head press against him, and forced himself to relax a little to make Yuki's entrance easier. Yuki wasted no time pushing himself in, needing to feel that familiar heat and tightness around him and know it was his alone; he waited only a moment for Shuuichi to adjust, savoring the moment and the thought that this was all his, before he began his thrusts.

 

It was not slow or gentle, but it was not rough or angry, either. It was hot, heavy, passionate, frenzied yet at the same time seemed to be in slow motion; time stopping for them as they reaffirmed the undeniable gravitation between them. Yuki kissed Shuuichi, plundering his mouth until bright white started creeping into the blackness behind his closed lids and he had to break to breathe. Then his lips traveled Shuuichi's jaw to his ears and neck, devouring all he could before once again finding those inviting kiss-pink lips and losing himself again, gripping slim hips as he pounded into the pink haired boy trapped willingly against the wall.

 

Shuuichi wanted so badly to thrust more against Yuki, but the somewhat awkward position did not work to his advantage in this attempt, for when he did he felt his thighs' grip on Yuki start to slip. Instead, he tightened his thighs further, hooking his ankles behind Yuki's back to pull him even closer, and vocalized his need in place of returning the thrusts.

 

“Yuki! Yuki! More… Yuki, more!! Haa… harder, Yuki!! Ohh, please… please!! Fa-faster! Ohh… ahh… Ah! Yukiii!!”

 

The blonde complied with every demand, every mewl and moan and unintelligible utterance in between also spurring him on. Shuuichi's cries increased in volume and urgency, his cock quivering from the delicious friction of being trapped between their two bodies, balls twitching and tightening as he neared the edge and Yuki hit his prostate. Yuki felt the walls start to tighten around him before the singer's orgasm hit full force and hot cum splashed between them, dripping down his chest as Shuuichi screamed his `name'. Idly Shuu wondered when Yuki's shirt had been unbuttoned, and whether it had been him or Yuki that did it, but the thought was quickly washed away in his bliss. A few more quick, hard thrusts and Yuki's own climax hit, shooting his seed into his little lover with a groan of pleasure.

 

The novelist braced them both against the wall, panting in time with Shuuichi as they caught their breath and wound down from the exciting activity. Then, slowly, he pulled out and set Shuuichi on wobbly legs as he turned to find a convenient box of tissues to clean them up. When they were dressed again, Yuki gave Shuuichi one more mind numbing kiss before smirking at the dazed look in the vocalist's eyes and lighting a cig as he exited the room to leave the building, making sure to pocket the lube he'd again conveniently placed in his pants pocket that morning. After all, when in a hot and heavy relationship with a horny and oh-so-fuckable young singer, one must always be prepared for spontaneous sex in any and all likely or unlikely settings and situations. Where do you think Tatsuha learned most of his `always be prepared for sex' tips, anyway?

 

Unable to hold himself up anymore once Yuki left, Shuuichi's body slid down the wall, limbs feeling like jello as a goofy smile adorned his face and his head buzzed with a Yuki-high. He would need a few more minutes to be able to stand and return to his band mates in the studio.

 

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

 

Ryuichi ran down the steps, pulling Tatsuha by his hand. Despite the drama that had just occurred in a room some floors above them, he now felt completely happy and carefree. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he would eventually have to deal with the consequences of everything that had happened or been talked about today. Now was not the time for that, though, so he pushed it out of his mind to focus completely on the feelings of elation that came with knowing how Tatsuha felt about him.

 

Unable to contain himself any longer, he suddenly pulled the boy to the side and pressed him against the concrete wall of the underground garage they'd just entered, kissing him fully and ravenously. When he finally let go, they both gasped for breath, and Ryuichi grinned at the look of joyful surprise on Tatsuha's face. He squeezed the hand he was holding on the wall above their heads, then turned to continue their journey.

 

Somewhere between the first and fifth level (as Ryu hadn't really been paying attention to how many levels they'd passed), in the middle of the open area between the lines of cars, Ryuichi suddenly stopped. Tatsuha barely caught himself from crashing the two of them over from the pace they'd been going, then turned to see Ryu's look of perplexity. He was about to ask what was wrong, when Ryu spoke first.

 

“Nope, it's no good, na no da.”

 

Tatsuha's brows knit into a frown. “What's no good, Ryuichi?”

 

Bright blue eyes lit on him, full of concern and a look of sorrow. He felt his heart drop into his stomach. Then the singer spoke again.

 

“Ryu-chan has no idea where Ta-kun's bike is!”

 

The sudden relief of the almost absurdly normal Ryuichi statement caused Tatsuha to laugh. Then he pulled his hand from the singer's grip and slung his arms around him, kissing his cute pout with a smile. Pulling away, Tatsuha grabbed Ryu's hand again, and this time he took the lead.

 

“This way, my dear Ryuichi.”

 

Soon they found his bike and got situated on it, Tatsuha as usual giving Ryuichi the helmet. Before he started the motorcycle, though, Tatsuha remembered something.

 

“I'm going to have to stop to fill up the tank,” he commented, patting down his jeans for his wallet and frowning as he found it empty. Yuki apparently took a `rental fee' for the suit. “Ryuichi, I—” he began, unsure what to say really. Luckily, he was relieved of the need to finish the sentence.

 

“Don't worry, Tatsuha! Ryu-chan knows what to do, na no da!!”

 

Again he was pulled through the garage until they made it to the street entrance to the underground structure. In a reserved space near the security cubicle, a black limo sat with the driver waiting in it. Since Ryuichi hadn't dismissed the driver, and he'd gotten no calls from his place of employment for other jobs, he'd parked in the spot reserved for waiting limos, anticipating a call from his fare. Ryuichi opened the back door for Tatsuha and gestured the teen inside. As the taller male slid onto the leather seat and Ryuichi followed him in, the singer found himself idly realizing he normally would have gotten in first without regard for decorum. Already he was changing his approach to things because of Tatsuha, and he thought that couldn't be a bad thing. He smiled softly and turned to give the teen a sweet kiss in appreciation.

 

The driver interrupted his thoughts, asking where they were to go. Ryuichi crawled up to the separating window, which had been rolled down, and whispered orders for the destination to the driver. Then the black-tinted window rolled up and he looked coyly over his shoulder at Tatsuha leaning forward with interest and a little bit of perturbance on his face. Ryuichi couldn't help a small, victorious chuckle as he came to the conclusion that Tatsuha hadn't heard his instructions to the other man. He returned to his spot on the leather seat farthest from the driver's window, next to Tatsuha.

 

“So where—” the teen started to ask, but was cut off as the brunette dug his fingers into his black locks, pulling him in for a mind numbing kiss. Lips pressed together bruisingly, tongues slithering from one mouth to another, tasting each other and drinking deeply of the passion they felt so strongly.

 

Ryuichi climbed into Tatsuha's lap, straddling the younger man. Their kiss deepened impossibly as fingers gripped hair and shoulders, pulling at clothing, teasing and caressing exposed skin. Tatsuha broke their kiss only to angle Ryuichi's head with a hand to the back of his neck, moving in to kiss and nip a trail down his jaw to his ear lobe and then down his neck. He practically ripped the remaining buttons off Ryu's already partially-opened shirt as he pulled it off, completely exposing the singer's lightly muscled chest. Taking a moment to admire the vision before him, Tatsuha gasped at the depth of feeling shining clearly out at him through bright blue eyes.

 

“Gods, Ryuichi, you're so beautiful,” he said, the words leaving his lips almost unconsciously. If possible, the cobalt eyes sparkled brighter still, shining with happy tears that didn't well up, but merely added to the liquid blue color. It was… other worldly.

 

During the time Tatsuha was admiring him, Ryuichi's hands had worked at the buttons of his young lover's shirt and he pulled it down the teen's shoulders. Nimble fingers stroked across the pale skin lovingly and reverently, leaving no centimeter untouched.

 

“No, Tatsuha, you are the beautiful one.”

 

Then the older man leaned down again to recapture the boy's mouth. The kiss was just as deep as before, but slower, taking the time to savor every last shared taste and touch and breath. He leaned back, Tatsuha following with his mouth, and Ryu was able to pull the teen's shirt the rest of the way off his arms. Tats leaned back again, the leather of the seat soft and cool against his heated skin. Ryu's mouth moved down, leaving a hot trail of kisses across Tatsuha's neck and shoulders, down his chest and sides. His tongue dipped into the teen's navel, drawing symbols with his tongue just below it as his hands worked to rid the boy of his pants.

 

Tatsuha's soft moans and pants grew with every touch from his vocalist. Ryuichi tugged at his pants, and Tats lifted his hips up to help with the removal of the obstructing clothing. As his pants and boxers dropped to the floor, Tatsuha gave an outright groan of pleasure as Ryu teased his tongue around the head of his hard, straining cock before engulfing it in the hot, wet rapture that was his mouth.

 

The singer bobbed and sucked on him fervently, delighting in the now-familiar taste of Tatsuha's skin and precum. Tatsuha gripped Ryu's hair, forcing himself not to buck. In answer, Ryu moaned and then deep-throated him, taking the young monk's whole length into his relaxed throat and swallowing.

 

“Ah! Ryuichi…!” Tatsuha practically screamed at the action.

 

Ryuichi suddenly pulled back, letting go of Tatsuha's dick with a light `pop'. Smirking up at the disappointed sound Tats made, Ryu slowly undid his own pants, pulling them down along with his boxers. Scooting up again, he kicked his shoes and the garments off as he reached into the pocket of Tatsuha's pants around his ankles. His smirk grew wider when he found what he was looking for.

 

He crawled back up Tatsuha's body, leaving kisses along the way. When he was again straddling the teen's legs, Ryuichi threaded the fingers of one hand through Tatsuha's silky, black locks and pulled him in for a kiss as the other hand deftly unscrewed the cap off the lube, dropping the cap on the seat beside them. He squeezed some lube onto his fingers, still with one hand, and tossed the tube in the general direction of the cap.

 

He moaned into Tatsuha's mouth, loving the feel of the boy's still partially moist erection rubbing against his own as they slowly started thrusting their hips towards each other. As their pace began to pick up, Ryu found Tatsuha's hand and slid the lube from his fingers onto the teen's, coating them. Then Ryu led that hand behind him to his entrance.

 

Tatsuha's fingers obediently circled the opening, but he gazed up into Ryuichi's eyes with a look of uncertainty.

 

“Are you sure, Ryuichi? You feel pretty swollen…”

 

Ryuichi cut off the boy's further protests with a hard, lips only kiss. Meeting the teen's gaze, he replied, almost pleadingly, “I'm sure, Tatsuha. Please, after all that happened last night and today, I need you inside me again. I need you to fix what he broke.”

 

At this, Tatsuha's eyes grew dark with jealousy, realizing what those words meant and exactly who `he' was. Touma had been alone with Ryuichi all night. After all, he had never come home to Mika while Tatsuha stayed the night. Of course Touma wouldn't have just been idle, surely knowing exactly what Ryuichi had been off doing with Tatsuha. He would have wanted to prove his continued hold on Ryuichi as soon as possible, and it was obvious, especially after this morning's big scene, exactly how Touma would do that. The urge to fully throttle his blonde brother-in-law suddenly came back to the teen full force.

 

Before it was able to overtake him, though, Ryuichi took Tatsuha's face in his hands and touched their noses together. His pleading look intensified in his serious eyes, causing Tatsuha's rage to calm a bit, his heart softening again under the attentions of his love.

 

“Please, Tatsuha,” Ryu nearly whispered. “Take back what he's taken.”

 

One of Ryu's hands slid down Tatsuha's face then, ghosting down his shoulder and arm, wrapping around Tatsuha's wrist behind him. Then, with very little force, the singer pushed two of Tatsuha's fingers into him, thrusting back onto them. He hissed slightly from the intrusion into his slightly swollen entrance, but pushed back harder as the slick digits thrust into him.

 

Tatsuha's fingertips brushed his prostate and Ryuichi moaned, “Ahh.. nngh.. more, Tatsuha, give me more!”

 

The teen readily obliged, pushing another finger inside his lover's abused entrance. Tats spread his fingers, widening the soft, swollen tissue. Again he found that spot within his vocalist and massaged at it. Ryuichi panted and moaned, leaning his face into the crook of Tatsuha's neck as the sting numbed and turned to pleasure from the teen's ministrations. The brunette stroked his hand over their erections, causing the boy to thrust his fingers into him even faster. Soon, a fourth finger was added and Ryu blindly reached for the lube, not wanting to wait a minute longer to have Tatsuha inside him. Realizing what Ryuichi was searching for, Tatsuha tore his eyes away from his lover's and grabbed the tube as soon as he spotted it. The fingers of his other hand left their task in order to lube up his erection. Knowing what was coming, Ryu didn't protest but lifted himself to his knees with a lust-hazed grin, positioning himself over Tatsuha's erection.

 

The singer sighed in pleasure as his young lover finally entered him. He lowered his hips, letting the teen's slick member slide in and seated himself fully onto Tatsuha. Tats gripped Ryu's hips tightly, forcing himself not to thrust yet, but the singer was having none of that. He needed Tats and he couldn't wait any longer. So, slowly at first, Ryuichi began pistoning his hips, whimpering softly at the agonizing sense of loss as Tatsuha's cock left him, which turned to a pleasure-filled moan as he was soon filled again.

 

Tatsuha's hands guided Ryu's hips, steadily increasing their pace, as his lips again found Ryuichi's. Their thrusts became quicker still as their tongues met and entwined, pulling louder moans from them with the mimic of their delicious dance. Lips were licked and nipped, tongues were rubbed and sucked, hair was tugged and pulled, skin was groped and caressed, and teeth clinked together occasionally as their need increased with each second, driving them to madness, a frantic fury of taste and touch and movement in their search for blissful completion.

 

With a final cry of his lover's name, through teeth clenched from the power of his oncoming orgasm, Ryuichi came. As his warm seed splashed onto their skin, Tatsuha also came with a breathless, “Ryuichi!”

 

In that moment, they shared another searing kiss as they rode out the waves together. Then Ryu's head dropped back to Tatsuha's shoulder, the teen nuzzling against his lover's hair as they caught their breath and calmed their hearts a bit. Within a few moments, they pulled apart, and Ryu used his dress shirt to clean them up.

 

“Well, I guess that makes two suits ruined,” Tatsuha laughed lightly.

 

Ryuichi looked from Tats, to the shirt, and back, then grinned brightly and laughed.

 

They calmed down and redressed, Ryuichi wearing the suit jacket without the shirt, and by the time the limo stopped, Tatsuha had completely forgotten about wondering where they were going.

 

When the door opened, he was surprised and somewhat disheartened to find himself in front of the hotel again. He'd been hoping that Ryuichi would be taking him to his real place again.

 

“Ta-kun's upset we're not at Ryu-chan's apartment, na no da,” Ryu said softly with glistening questioning eyes.

 

Tatsuha looked at him. “Ryuichi…”

 

The singer kissed him gently, then whispered in his ear, “It's okay, isn't it? I can't go back there right now. I want us to be somewhere he hasn't been.”

 

Finally understanding, Tatsuha simply nodded, squeezing Ryu's hand in his as they made their way inside to the front desk. They were given a key and took the elevator up to their room, which turned out to be a completely different one from what they'd spent the weekend in. The setup was very similar to the other suite, even down to some of the personal touches like the candles (though they were new and unused) and the sound system, but without the portraits. The color scheme was also different; shades of light and dark blue, with accents of silver.

 

At Tatsuha's questioning look, Ryu smiled softly and said, “I had the driver call ahead. I wanted something that's just for us, no memories of anyone else. Is that okay, na no da?”

 

Tatsuha filled with warmth at this and smiled at his lover, nodding. “Yes, Ryuichi, that's more than okay,” he answered, and cupped his face for a sweet kiss.

 

Standing in the middle of the room, they just held each other for several moments, Ryuichi resting his head on Tatsuha as the teen's fingers idly played with the hair at the nape of Ryu's neck. Then Tats noticed Ryu's barely-concealed yawns and suggested they get some much needed rest. The singer looked up at him, eyes at once grateful and sleepy, and nodded. Pulling the black haired boy with him to the bedroom, Ryu stripped both of them along the way before they both collapsed on the bed. Though the day was still young, they'd both had a very trying night and morning, and sleep soon overcame them as they were wrapped in each other's arms beneath the covers.

 

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

 

Though she knew the purple haired keyboardist was trying to help, Mika found that she just couldn't talk about the problems in her marriage that had so recently been made public to her friends and family present in NG. After a very short conversation, in which she apologized for her behavior regarding Ryuichi, Mika excused herself to think on her own about things.

 

She wasn't sure how long she sat in the small empty studio she found, but finally she came to somewhat of a decision and left to share it with the other person it concerned.

 

When she reached Touma's office, the secretary knew better than to try to bar her way, though the president had looked as if he didn't want disturbed. Mika was, after all, Seguchi Touma's wife and had near the same amount of authority just by sheer will alone. Mika didn't even bother to knock, though she didn't barge in. She quietly opened, entered, and closed the door behind her, leaning up against the door with her hands still clasping the handle behind her.

 

The back of Touma's chair was to her, the blonde man staring out his office window forlornly, lost in a world not of the present but of memories— both recent and long since past.

 

“Touma,” she spoke, shattering the silence with a soft but insistent voice.

 

Even the chair seemed to give a start at the sound; apparently his thoughts had kept him from noticing her entrance to his office. He turned his chair around to face her, casting weary, shadowed eyes upon her, silently asking what she wanted now. He held an ice pack to his face where Tatsuha had punched him.

 

Mika walked further into the office, hands grabbing the back of a chair in front of her husband's desk, but remaining standing— using it to merely keep her hands from any unconscious nervous ticks.

 

“We need to talk, Touma.”

 

He did not reply; she expected perhaps he couldn't. Still, the small amount of sympathy pricking the back of her mind would not change her decision, and now was the time to tell him, before it had a chance to. Things could not stay as they were; neither of them were happy, and it was time to stop pretending. She opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly Touma spoke first.

 

“Are you going to leave me, too, Mika-san?” A small, closed-eyes smile, barely a shadow of his usual mask, was forced to his face with the defeated-sounding question.

 

The brown haired woman sighed. “Honestly, Touma, I don't know. I know we can't continue as we were, though. Not anymore. Now that things are really out in the open, we can't ignore the problems with our marriage anymore. Do you really even want me anymore?”

 

“Of course I do, Mika-san!”

 

Mika's arms crossed and her eyes moved from her husband's face to study the corner slightly to the right.

 

“That display you made down there in front of everyone has me believing differently.” Her eyes flickered back to see him look down at his desk.

 

“I am sorry you had to witness that. I'm sorry anyone did.”

 

Her eyes narrowed slightly, “But it doesn't change the fact that it happened. You declared in front of everyone that you love Sakuma-san! I knew your obsession with him had been growing, but I never knew you would take it this far! Do you realize how much this whole ordeal has hurt me?!” A hand clenched over her heart as she bit her lip, trying to keep her returning tears at bay.

 

He winced at her voice, steadily raising and slightly shrill with emotion. “Mika-san, I…” He didn't know what to say. He knew no apology he could think of would be enough to soothe her anger with him right now. Slowly he set the ice pack down, stood, and approached her, shoulders still sagging. “What do you want me to do?”

 

She would not meet his gaze and, though his shame automatically issued the same reaction, he put his hands on her shoulders and forced himself to catch her eyes. “I'll do anything, just please don't leave me!” he pleaded, pale brows knitting together as his eyes begged for her acceptance of him. If there was anyone that could possibly still accept him, it had to be her! She had put up with so much from him through the years; had she finally reached her limit?

 

She gave a soft laugh, though it wasn't happy or mocking. It was… self-deprecating; mirthless.

 

“That's it, isn't it?” He frowned in question to her statement, and she continued, “It's not that you love me, or even Sakuma-san. You just can't stand to be alone. If you're alone, the world you believe revolves around you will stop on its axis or spin out of control. Either way, you'll be lost. Isn't that so, Touma?”

 

He let go of her shoulders as if burned, and took a step back at her softspoken harsh words. “Mika-san, no, that's not true. Please, I really do love you! I've been such a fool, I know that now, but please understand. I haven't stopped loving you!”

 

This time her laugh was sharp, and cut into him like a dagger of ice. “It's just as Sakuma-san said. You really only want what you can't have, don't you, Touma?”

 

He didn't even try to mask his pain at her words.

 

Mika sighed again. “I'm not leaving you, Touma. At least not yet. I do need time to think, though, and so do you. I don't want to live my life as a last minute guest in my own marriage. I don't want to force you to love me. You have to decide that on your own. And quite frankly, after today, so do I.” Finally she came to the decision she'd come here to voice. “I'm going home, to Kyoto, to think things over. I suggest you take this time to do the same. Think long and hard about whether you actually want me back. I'll tell you right now, if we do try again to make this work, we are getting professional help.”

 

She turned to walk back to the door, but paused with her hand on the handle, looking back over her shoulder.

 

“If you want to call me, that's fine, but I can't promise I'll answer.”

 

She didn't wait for a reply, promptly leaving Touma to his once again empty office.

 

The blonde president stared after her, unsure how to react now, and tired from the emotional roller coaster of the day; the full effects of her words not fully hitting him yet. Looking back towards his desk, he moved in a daze to pick up his ice pack and move to the bar to pack more ice into it from what had melted. As he brought out the ice bucket, the bottles nearby caught his eye. Then the ice pack was abandoned for a glass, and the day's itinerary was abandoned for `self medication'.

 

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

 

In Bad Luck's studio, Hiro and Suguru idly adjusted their respective instruments as they awaited the return of their third band member. K was gone, having chased after Sakano when the spastic producer ran off to no doubt try to find and comfort his Shachou.

 

As he tuned his guitar, Hiro stole glances of Suguru at his keyboard. He had questions plaguing his mind, and wondered if he should voice them. He was also beginning to rethink the plans he'd made with the teen for that night.

 

What had Suguru's earlier comment in the lounge meant? Had Touma done something inappropriate with him? Forced him into something? Was Hiro assuming too much, reading too much into the utterance because of what was happening at the time? But if that wasn't it, what else could it be? This, and the idea that Hiro was basically tricking Suguru into a date that night, weighed heavily on the guitarist's conscience.

 

Just as Hiro had made up his mind to cancel the plans for dinner and the movie, Shuuichi returned to the studio, dopey smile plastered to his face. Immediately spotting the huge, repaired, pink bunny on the studio sofa, he bounded over to it and gave it a huge, stuffing busting hug. Luckily, the repairs stayed intact and no stuffing actually came out. When his bunny-glompage was finished, Shuuichi found his cell phone in his pocket (where Yuki had placed it after their `reconciliation') and called Yuki.

 

“Oh, Yuki! Thank you for fixing Kuma-chan! I love you!” he gushed when his call was answered.

 

“Heh, I know, brat.” Shuuichi could hear his smirk through the phone, and smiled. Yuki really cared.

 

“Have you thought about where you want to go for our date tonight?” The novelist asked through the phone.

 

Shuu gasped. He had almost forgotten! “I don't know yet, Yuki, but I promise I'll decide before I leave the studio!”

 

“You leave early today, because of Fujisaki's tutoring, right?”

 

“Hai,” Shuuichi answered, nodding to the phone. “At three.”

 

“I'll be waiting, so look for me.”

 

“Okay, Yuki!” Shuuichi replied, surprised but nonetheless happy at the prospect of his blonde lover picking him up from work.

 

Conversation done, Yuki hung up. Shuu announced he needed a drink, again leaving his band mates alone in the room.

 

Once his pink haired friend was gone, Hiro cleared his throat to address Suguru. The green haired teen looked to him at the sound, and Hiro spoke when he saw the other boy's attention.

 

“Uh… about tonight—” He was promptly cut off by Suguru's phone ringing.

 

“Fujisaki desu,” the keyboardist answered. “Hai, okaa-san. Work is fine.” There was a long pause as Suguru listened to his mother speak.

 

A frown of concentration knit the teen's brows together and Hiro found himself staring longingly at the resulting pout, unconsciously licking his lips. Realizing what he'd been doing, he firmly reasserted his attention to tuning his guitar as Suguru finished up the short conversation.

 

“Okay, okaa-san. I will be there.” He hung up the phone and turned back to Hiro, slight frown still upon his face.

 

“It seems I won't be able to attend dinner with you tonight, Hiro,” he said regretfully. “My presence has been requested for dinner with my parents tonight.”

 

Though he'd just been geared up to break those plans himself, Hiro still felt let down at the words.

 

Seeing Hiro's look, Suguru rushed to add, “My mother also told me that my tutor had to cancel for tonight, though. So, if there's an earlier showing of that movie, we could still go see it before I go home… if… you'd like…”

 

Before he could remind himself that he'd decided to cancel the whole excursion, Hiro found himself nodding, lips spreading in a genuine smile. Then Hiro's senses returned and guilt settled in his stomach again. He was still thinking of this as a sort of date, whereas Suguru was completely clueless as to his intentions. This was not fair to the teen at all. It wasn't like Hiro to be so… sneaky. Besides, there was still Suguru's comment about Touma to consider, and perhaps that had bearing on his decision to stay single and sex-free.

 

Unaware of the guitarist's inner turmoil, Suguru gave a small smile, nodding to Hiro's nod, and returned to adjusting settings on his synth.

 

“Suguru,” Hiro then spoke. “Can I ask you a question?”

 

“Sure, what is it, Hiro?” the boy asked, glancing up from his task curiously.

 

Hiro felt awkward asking with the boy's eyes on him, so he turned his own blue gaze back to the strings of his guitar, his long hair falling around him to shield him from scrutiny.

 

“You don't have to answer if you don't want to, and I'll understand if you don't, but…”

 

Suguru gave a soft, but exasperated sigh. “Spit it out, Hiro, what is it?”

 

Hiro took a deep breath, and pushed on. “Earlier, in the lounge, you said something under your breath about Touma. You probably didn't mean for anyone to hear it, but I did, and I was just wondering…”

 

At that moment, Shuuichi loudly returned to the room, declaring their work may now recommence with his much-awaited triumphant return. As he looked up sharply at the noise, Hiro barely caught a glimpse of Suguru's uncomfortable expression before the keyboardist's professional look of concentration took its place. Hiro frowned, cursing in his head Shuuichi's impeccably bad timing. There was nothing he could do about it now, though. Even if he was able to subtly get Shuuichi to leave again, he had a feeling the moment to get his answer had been broken. Sighing to himself, he returned to his work, wondering if the opportunity would arise again.

 

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

 

The air in the studio felt weird to Shuuichi when he returned from getting his drink. It was thicker somehow; tense. He looked curiously between his two band mates, trying to figure out exactly what he had missed, but was given no answers as the two busied themselves with their instruments again. Shuu's eyes narrowed in suspicion, sure that there was something going on, he just didn't know what. He knew if he asked, he wouldn't be given any real answers, either, which bugged him to no end, though he kept his mouth shut. Instead, he decided to keep a close eye on the two for the rest of the day.

 

Idle unnecessary tuning of instruments was abandoned soon after, as K corralled Sakano back into the studio at gunpoint. The members of Bad Luck were again set to the task of deciding the order of their track list, along with other random last minute, pre-production decisions concerning the compilation. Time flew quickly, and Shuu watched Hiro and Suguru as closely as possible the entire time. He wasn't subtle about it, either, as proven from the curious looks of K and Sakano, not to mention the irritated glances Hiro kept directing towards him, and the look of perturbance scrunching Suguru's features every once in awhile when he caught Shuuichi's nosey gaze. Finally, the green haired teen had had enough.

 

“Would you quit it already, Shindou-san?!!” Suguru exclaimed in exasperation.

 

Shuuichi merely grinned at him. “So, I'm still Shindou-san, huh?” His grin then turned toward Hiro and turned to a mischievous smirk.

 

Hiro's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. “Shuuichi…” he began warningly. He was surprised when Shuu didn't press the matter further, but instead turned his attention back to their current task.

 

Suguru looked confused for a few moments, but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth by asking further questions. A few minutes later, Suguru was the one breaking his concentration, a thought coming into his mind. Turning to Hiro, he asked, “What was the name of the movie we're going to see? I should call for show times.”

 

Hiro told him, and Suguru got out his phone, calling information for the number of the local theater he knew to show foreign films. When he hung up, he informed the red haired man, “There's a showing at 3:30, so we should make it if we leave here on time.”

 

“3:30?” Shuuichi asked curiously. “I thought you had your tutor until 6 tonight.”

 

Suguru quirked a brow at Shuuichi's sudden concern over his studies, and answered slowly, “My tutor cancelled tonight.”

 

“But,” Shuuichi began, already rising to an argumentative state. “That doesn't mean you should just go straight from work! What about freshening up, and changing! And… dinner! You're going out to eat first, aren't you? Surely there's a later showing…”

 

It was obvious to Suguru that Shuuichi had eavesdropped earlier on his and Hiro's plans for dinner and a movie. He tried to curb his irritation at the singer's rudeness, merely answering, “My parents want me home for dinner tonight, Shindou-san, so I suggested we go earlier to accommodate my parents' wishes.”

 

“You can call him `Shuuichi', Suguru,” Hiro rushed to say, and Suguru treated the guitarist to his raised brow at the completely off topic comment. At the look, Hiro blushed, realizing the curiosity-inducing quality of his sudden declaration. This caused the keyboardist's already raised brow to move higher still, his other eyebrow joining its mate in height as Shuuichi started snickering from his seat across from them.

 

Trying to save a bit of face, Hiro cleared his throat nervously and tried to pick up the previous topic. “Well actually, Suguru, maybe we shouldn't try to push it tonight. Since I wouldn't want to make you late for dinner with your family, perhaps the movie isn't such a good idea.”

 

Suguru's raised brows immediately fell, and his mouth twitched down in a crestfallen pout, but he quickly blinked the expression away to blankness. He wasn't sure why, but Hiro trying to break their plans together made him feel… hollow somehow. Didn't the guitarist want to hang out with him anymore? What was this all of a sudden? For lack of a rational explanation as to his feelings, Suguru decided to play it cool and allow Hiro the out he seemed desperate in this moment to have. Before he could agree to Hiro's suggestion, however, Shuuichi voiced his own opinion on the matter.

 

“No! Hiro, what's wrong with you? It's obvious Fujisaki was looking forward to going, if he's willing to fit it into his plans still. I know you want to go with him too, Hiro. So get your head out of your ass and agree to take the kid to the damn movie!”

 

Shuuichi was seething. What the hell did Hiro think he was doing? He was clearly on his way to making progress with Suguru, but rather than allowing that to happen he was sabotaging himself! Shuuichi wasn't going to stand for that! In his opinion, this was Hiro's last chance to take care of the matter on his own, and if he wimped out Shuuichi was definitely going to take matters into his own hands. The blazing violet glare he set on his redhead friend said this loud and clear.

 

Hiro saw the look in his pink haired friend's eyes and resisted the urge to gulp in trepidation. Then his eyes flicked to Suguru's face and softened at the expression he found there. The teen looked… hopeful, for lack of a better term. Shuuichi was right, wasn't he? Suguru really did want to go. What kind of friend was he to make and break plans all in one day, when the one he really wanted to go with was actually wanting to go as well? Even if Suguru didn't see it as a date, and Hiro's feelings were destined to remain unrequited, that didn't mean they couldn't still have a good time together as friends, did it?

 

“Shuuichi's right, Suguru,” he addressed the keyboardist. “I really do want to go with you. I just thought maybe it would be easier on you if we didn't, but if you still want to go, I'd be happy to take you.” Hiro desperately hoped he wasn't betraying anything of his true feelings with these words. They were innocent enough, weren't they?

 

Suguru nodded at the offer. “I still want to go, Hiro,” the teen answered in a relieved breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

 

“It's settled then!” Shuuichi declared with a final nod, and the three returned to their work, K and Sakano each wearing curious looks over the entire exchange.

 

Shuuichi continued to watch his band mates, but only with furtive glances now and then. Finally, the work day came to its early end, and they gathered their things to leave. Hiro helped Shuuichi carry Big Kumagorou down to Yuki's awaiting car, Suguru accompanying them since he would be riding with Hiro to the movie.

 

When they reached Yuki's car, Shuuichi promptly jumped into the front seat, glomping his blonde lover and leaving Hiro to wrestle the huge pink bunny into the backseat by himself. Then Yuki drove off, and Suguru followed Hiro to his motorcycle parked in the garage.

 

As the two band mates settled onto the bike, there was a moment of awkwardness as they realized it would be the first time they'd ridden like this, just the two of them, both completely sober. Suguru hesitated for just a moment before wrapping his thin arms around Hiro's hard body, pressing himself up against the back of the guitarist's leather jacket and gripping the sides of the bike with his thighs unconsciously. Hiro felt a thrill go through him as Suguru leaned into him, the feeling familiar from the previous night, but exhilarating nonetheless since the boy was completely devoid of alcohol now. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. It was just a ride and a movie between two friends, nothing more would come of this. He then started the motorcycle and they drove off towards the theater.

 

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

 

“So did you decide where you want to go, brat?” Yuki questioned the singer, stamping his cigarette out in the car's ashtray and blowing the smoke from his last drag out the window.

 

“Yes, Yuki!”

 

They stopped at a light and Yuki turned to see Shuuichi wearing a somewhat serious face, eyes wide and burning with determination, lips set in a fierce line of conviction. The novelist quirked a blonde brow.

 

“I want to go to that theater that shows the foreign films! You know, the ones from America, with subtitles?”

 

Yuki had to stop himself from straight out gawking. Since when did Shuuichi ask to go to one of those? He hated reading the subtitles. He voiced his thoughts to Shuuichi dryly.

 

Shuuichi pouted. “Oh, come on, Yuki! Pleeeeaaaase?!”

 

Yuki rolled his eyes as the whine entered Shuu's voice. “Fine, brat, it's your choice.”

 

Shuu grinned. “Good. Then let's hurry, the show starts at 3:30!”

 

They drove to the theater, parked, and headed inside, Shuuichi having donned his hat and glasses disguise that Yuki had brought with him. As they approached the line, though, Shuuichi suddenly gasped and pulled Yuki aside and around a corner.

 

“Kusou gaki! What the hell?!” The blonde complained testily, only to be muffled by hands over his mouth as Shuuichi shushed him and peeked around the corner.

 

Yuki's eyebrow twitched and he felt a vein beginning to pulse in his forehead. He wasn't in the mood for games, especially with how little sleep he'd had today— just a catnap before and after his meeting with his editor. Plus, he was getting the feeling that Shuuichi's intentions for coming here weren't exactly so they could see the movie. After what seemed like several minutes, Yuki decided to look at his watch. According to the time indicated, the show was already starting. Finally, Shuuichi took his hands from Yuki's mouth, and they again headed for the ticket line.

 

After getting their tickets, Yuki bought popcorn, strawberry pocky, and a soda for Shuuichi before they walked down the hall towards the theater. Then the creeping again began.

 

Shuuichi kept them pressed against the wall, walking in the shadows of the dimly lit hallway as other movie goers passed them, giving the pair strange looks. Yuki attempted multiple times to ask what Shuuichi was doing, merely earning different forms of shushing and stern glares that caused him to grumble under his breath about crazy pink haired pop stars and their eccentric quirks. Finally, they came to the door of their theater, and Shuuichi cracked it open just enough for them to slip into the darkness before closing the door quietly behind them. Yuki couldn't help but roll his eyes again. Really, what was the baka doing?

 

Shuu grasped Yuki's hand in the dark, and dragged him all the way to the back of the theater, but didn't creep down the aisle for a seat. Instead, he seemed to be searching for something in the darkness. Apparently finding it, the singer then dragged the blonde to a seat five rows up from the back and right on the end of the middle aisle. They settled in just as the opening trailers ended and the movie began.

 

The movie wasn't bad, though Yuki doubted he'd want to see it again. It was sort of amusing reading the subtitles, seeing and hearing the differences between the translation and what was actually said in English. After awhile, though, it became hard to concentrate on the film. Shuuichi kept making impatient noises and squirming beside him. It made Yuki think of other things, and he felt himself becoming aroused as the actions continued.

 

Unable to take it anymore, he put his arm around the small form next to him, pulling Shuuichi to him to ravage his neck and ears. His arm was around Shuu's waist and his hand slid down to the singer's thigh as his lips took in an earlobe to nibble. Shuuichi's antics stopped with a shudder and he released a shaky sigh. Yuki smirked, teeth scraping against the soft lobe as Shuu leaned his head away to allow the blonde better access. His hand found the hardening package in the singer's pants and rubbed at it teasingly through the fabric, causing Shuuichi to mewl in frustration.

 

“Nngh… Yuki… wait…” Shuu pleaded breathily, body contradicting his words as his hips gave little thrusts towards the teasing hand. He squirmed and pulled his head away from Yuki's mouth, however, causing the blonde to scowl.

 

“Yukiii! Not here, you're distracting me!” Shuu whispered harshly, frowning at the novelist in the faint light from the movie.

 

In answer, Yuki found the waist of Shuu's pants and opened it enough to slip his hand in and grasp the little singer's half-hard cock through his boxers. Shuuichi drew in a sharp breath, leaning his head back against Yuki's shoulder as the novelist stroked him, the cloth of his underwear adding a delicious, yet frustrating friction. Moments later, the squeaking of the seat from his undulating hips broke through the haze of lust and Shuuichi's senses partially returned. He blushed furiously, the red glow of his cheeks showing even through the darkness of the theater, and promptly pulled the hand from his pants, his head jerking around sharply to make sure no one had noticed. They hadn't.

 

“Yukiii!” he whispered impatiently.

 

Yuki merely smirked at him and leaned to kiss the pink haired teen's pout. Then, moving to Shuu's ear, he husked, “You know, all your protesting is only making me want to turn you over the seat in front of us and have my way with you right here with everyone watching.”

 

Shuuichi gave a violent shudder of pleasure as hot breath ghosted those words over sensitive skin, straight past his brain and to his groin. He whimpered, and clutched Yuki's shirt, wanting nothing more than to let the blonde novelist ravish him as he threatened, but knowing he couldn't let that happen; at least not until his mission was complete. In the time so many thoughts were running and bumping into each other inside his head, Yuki had again captured his mouth and his tongue was already enticing Shuu's mouth to let him in to play; which it did, without the singer even having to think about it. Thinking was bad, said his body. Unfortunately (or fortunately, maybe, for Shuuichi, but definitely unfortunately for Yuki…), Shuuichi's brain caught up with his actions, and his arms determinedly pushed Yuki away again (after taking a moment to suck on the intruding tongue, of course).

 

“Not now, Yuki,” he hissed to the golden eyed man. “I have to finish my mission first!”

 

At this utterance, a blonde brow rose. “Your mission?”

 

Shuuichi nodded fervently, but offered no further explanation other than looking back towards the screen. He pulled his feet up onto the seat and brought his knees to his chest, his arms wrapping around them to create a barrier from any attempts for further advances from Yuki. The blonde growled under his breath and continued to glare at the pink haired ball of locked limbs beside him. With such intense scrutiny, it didn't take too long for him to finally notice that Shuuichi actually wasn't watching the movie at all.

 

Following the singer's gaze with his own, he soon spotted the real object of Shuuichi's attention. Or, rather, objects; plural. People, more like. Hiro and Suguru, to be exact. Two rows up from them, and completely unaware of the pink haired spy's presence.

 

His glare returned to Shuuichi.

 

“Don't tell me we're here just to watch those two.”

 

A guilty look was received from Shuu, then the boy turned his face back into his knees, mumbling something.

 

“What was that?” Yuki questioned, using self control to keep his voice a whisper even in his increasing irritation.

 

“I said, `okay, I won't tell you',” he barely heard Shuu whisper the second time.

 

The vein on the writer's forehead made its throbbing presence known again.

 

Yuki settled back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest, patience quite thin and hanging by a thread. So Shuuichi was back to his matchmaking antics, and he wouldn't leave or allow Yuki's distractions until he was satisfied with the outcome of the supposed date the other two boys were apparently on. Well, Yuki decided, they better hurry up and do something. Or he was going to lose it. Seriously. Shuuichi's squirming and impatient mewls had started up again. Yuki gripped his own crossed arms, shifting in his seat and trying to cross his legs nonchalantly against the renewed rising of his arousal.

 

To distract himself, he turned his attention to the guitarist and keyboardist pair as well. Now that he knew they were there, he found it almost unthinkable that he hadn't noticed them before on his own, especially with how scantily populated the theater currently was.

 

Watch. Watch. Watch. A hand dipped into the popcorn bucket between them. Chewing ensued as attention returned to the screen. A smaller hand reached for the buttery kernels, and its equally small partner lifted a drink to the face of its owner. The redheaded owner of a larger hand also lifted a cup and drank. Watch. Watch. Watch. Both hands went for the bucket at the same time, making contact. They paused, looked at each other, gave quiet apologies, and each pulled back, taking a nervous drink instead. Yuki swore he could feel the chemistry coming off them in waves so thick he could cut it with a knife. Then he winced at having such a cliché, romantic thought.

 

Watch, watch, watch. Popcorn and drink actions were repeated. Yuki couldn't stand it any longer. With fluid grace, his tall form stood from his seat, leaving a curious and bewildered Shuuichi to stare after him as he stealthily approached the red and green haired boys from behind. Just as they each brought their drinks up to their lips again, he sat behind them and tapped each of them on the shoulder nearest the other; Hiro on his left and Suguru on his right. As expected, both boys turned to him— and, inevitably, each other— lips still pursed in anticipation of their drink straws. Without hesitation, the blonde grabbed both boys by the backs of their heads and pushed their lips together, effectively forcing them to kiss.

 

Yuki held them like this a few seconds, until finally both boys seemed to come to their senses and started flailing a bit. Satisfied with his work, and smirking at the sudden squeal of glee he heard a couple rows behind him, Yuki finally let them go. He left the wide eyed boys to sputter in embarrassment and figure things out on their own as he grabbed his pink haired baka and dragged him from the theater without looking back.

 

By the time they got back to the apartment, Shuuichi was still gushing Yuki's praise as the blonde unlocked the door, stuffed Big Kumagorou through it, and pulled Shuu in, shutting it behind them.

 

Pinning the singer to the door with his body, heated amber eyes caught deep purple as he husked, “Shuuichi, shut up and thank me properly.”

 

As he said this, Yuki ground his hips into Shuu, drawing attention to his prominent arousal and causing purple eyes to widen before going half-mast with lust, a dopey grin on the singer's face. Shuuichi kissed him sweetly, almost reverently, and slowly despite the near-desperation the author felt and which his cock insisted Shuuichi must feel too; simply because it had to be against some sort of rule for the other boy to not be going insane with need in his presence, especially when Yuki was already in that state. Nevertheless, Shuuichi continued to kiss him slowly, mouth parted open, but tongue still firmly in his own mouth.

 

The mindless urge to just fuck Shuu senseless lessened with each sweet, almost innocent kiss, and was replaced with a warm passion that, though it still urged him to drive the lithe body beneath him insane with desire, filled Yuki with the sudden desire to take things slow; to take his time and do this completely.

 

A small wet tongue was tapping demurely at his lips, and Yuki allowed it entrance momentarily, before sliding his own tongue past the other's and invading the strawberry and cola flavored mouth. Shuu moaned into the kiss, arms wrapping around Yuki's neck as he lifted up on tiptoes to help deepen their kiss even more. One of the singer's hands swept through his lover's blonde tresses, causing Yuki to shiver involuntarily as the fingers ghosted over his ear in the action. He thrusted toward the smaller boy as he felt Shuuichi's mouth quirk towards a smirk in their kiss, and Shuu moaned again as Yuki's hardness ground into him.

 

Their kiss broke for panting breath, and Shuuichi sighed against his lover's lips, “Yuki...”

 

The vocalist's mouth worshipped the novelist's jaw and throat, tongue sliding teasingly along his sensitive ear, as his hands went to work at ridding the blonde of his shirt. A pale, perfect chest was soon revealed, and the adoring mouth moved its attentions there, fingers toying with quickly-hardening buds as kisses were trailed all over. Fingers were replaced by a hot mouth, and hands moved down Yuki's sides and to his ass. Shuuichi gave a groaning sigh of appreciation at the feel of the hard, toned muscles, before his hands moved forward again, undoing Yuki's pants and letting them drop.

 

Yuki braced himself against the wall as he allowed Shuuichi's ministrations, reveling in the sweet sensations of his little lover adoring him. As his pants were dropped, he toed off his shoes and socks, then stepped out of his pants. Shuu kissed down his chest and abdomen, then dropped to his knees to kiss along the top of his waist band. Yuki's boxers soon joined the other garments on the floor.

 

As soon as the clothing left his ankles, a warm hand wrapped around the base of his aching cock and a heavenly mouth wrapped around the head, Shuuichi's tongue swirling around him deliciously. One of Yuki's hands left the wall to dig into the singer's pink mane, and he had to resist the urge to thrust or pull the head forward to fully engulf himself in the hot, wet cavern. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long for Shuu to do exactly that. Well, at least as much as he could manage, without gagging on Yuki's large manhood.

 

Slowly, oh so slowly, Shuu's tongue and fingers stroked along Yuki's length. His thumb stroked from the base to the sacs and back, saliva from his mouth's steadily increasing bobbing making the traveling slick. Shuu felt a barely-repressed shudder go through Yuki, and hummed a moan as he felt his own cock grow harder and strain against his pants in answer to Yuki's reaction. The speed of his bobs increased, and his sucks became harder. He knew Yuki was close; any second now he would feel the sacs under his thumb tighten and his mouth would be filled with his lover's essence. He drew in a deep breath through his nose, sucking faster at the thought. Then the hand tightened in his hair.

 

“Stop, Shuu…” Yuki's husky voice said almost pleadingly, and the singer released him obediently with one last, light suck along the way.

 

Yuki pulled him to his feet and made quick work of Shuuichi's clothes as he ravished the teen's skilled mouth. Soon they were down the hallway and through the bedroom door, falling onto the bed, mouths only breaking apart to avoid the impact before finding each other again. Yuki's hands traveled familiar paths over his younger lover's body, drawing out the mewls and moans and arches of his body that made the blonde's blood burn with desire.

 

Shuuichi's neglected erection was stroked, a thumb teasing the slit on the head as it leaked precum to Yuki's hand. Then smirking lips took in the whole thing as amber eyes burned, watching Shuuichi watch him before the singer's eyes rolled back in pleasure from the combination of sight and feel. Just as this reaction occurred, Yuki slipped a finger— lubricated from the tube he'd remembered to grab from his pants by the door— into Shuuichi's passage. As his finger stroked the inner walls of his little lover, his tongue stroked the boy's erection.

 

“Ah, Yuki, nnn…” Shuuichi cried as another finger was added.

 

They scissored inside, heading for that familiar spot that Yuki knew would soon push Shuu over the edge. Sure enough, he found it and stroked it, massaging the small bundle of nerves that sent waves of pleasure one after another through Shuuichi until he came almost violently in his lover's mouth, crying Yuki's name as his thighs clenched around the blonde's shoulders.

 

Yuki drank the slightly sweet, salty fluid greedily, and slowly removed his fingers from the pink haired boy. Then he moved up over Shuuichi's body, pulling lithe, tan legs up with him. More lubrication was slicked over his throbbing sex and soon he was pushing through the ring of muscles that was the doorway to his heaven.

 

Once he felt those tight walls around him, it was all he could do to simply guide himself through and not full-out thrust deep into Shuuichi. Finally, after what seemed an agonizing eternity, he was completely inside. He breathed heavily from the effort to keep his self control, and Shuu panted from the effort to keep himself relaxed as Yuki's sizable length invaded his body. Both were losing their patience, needing to move, and it couldn't be told who moved first as finally their dance began.

 

Hips pistoned, muscles flexed, tan legs clamped around pale thighs. Yuki leaned more and more forward, trying to get deeper still as he nipped and sucked fading marks on Shuu's skin, renewing his claim on the boy. Shuu was pressed into the mattress, panting and moaning for Yuki; for more. He thought he may pass out from hyperventilating, but he didn't care. His knees became pressed against his shoulders, and he gripped the sheets on the bed, unable to keep ahold of Yuki in the wild pace the thrusts had escalated to. Every few thrusts, he would feel a brush against his prostate, and he could feel his precum leaking onto his belly from his reawakened cock. Yuki's body rubbed against it, pressed together as they were, but he still wished for more.

 

“Yuki! Yuki, please!!” he begged, unable to articulate any more than this as his body teetered near the edge, but never close enough to drop over. His head thrashed about as his pleas continued, and finally Yuki obliged him, leaning back enough to reach his vocalist's dick and stroke it hard and fast as he felt himself reaching his own climax. Shuuichi's orgasm crashed over him and he let out a long groan of pleasure with his release. His inner muscles spasmed and clamped around Yuki's cock, giving the writer the final push he needed as well.

 

When they were both spent, Yuki crashed to the bed, barely able to take the time to pull out as exhaustion overtook him. Cleanup could wait until after a well deserved nap, he decided, pulling the covers over them as a smiling Shuuichi curled up to him.

 

As Yuki drifted off to sleep, an arm wrapped around him and he heard, “Yuki… I love you, Yuki.”

 

“Aa,” was his reply before he fell into sweet oblivion.

 

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

 

Sakano breathed a sigh of relief as K, along with his guns, finally left work for the day. The producer needed to stay to wrap up some things in the studio and make notations on the decisions the band had made on their album today. It would make for a much easier workload tomorrow when he officially began his own work on their album, and he was only too happy to not have the trigger-happy pony-tailed blonde breathing over his shoulder while he did it.

 

Once his work was wrapped up, Sakano gathered his things and headed for the elevator. Before he pushed the button for the lobby, he thought twice and hit the number for the top floor. It had been hours since he'd seen the Shachou and he was more than a bit concerned. Now that there was no one here to stop him, he could check up on Touma without interference.

 

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

 

Touma gave a start as the knock on his office door woke him from a drunken sleep, and his arm bumped his half finished drink, spilling some of the contents and calling his attention to the remaining liquid. The knock came again as he blearily considered the dark brown liquid, and Touma gulped it down before unsteadily rising and weaving his way towards the door. The thought dwelling in the back of his mind, to just tell the person to enter, never made its way to the forefront of his consciousness. Soon he was falling against the door, purposely telling his limbs to move in order to crack it open and see his visitor. A smile broke out on the blonde's face as he was met with a familiar and welcome visage, and he grabbed the other man by his tie to pull him in.

 

Idly, he wondered when Ryuichi had acquired the tie, since it really didn't go with the style of the Armani he knew the suit should be (though his liquor-bleared eyes seemed to be playing some sort of trick on him concerning the style of the suit… it didn't even look Armani!). He appreciated the gesture of Ryu wearing the `Yuki glasses', though right now Touma really wanted them gone. He threw them off carelessly as he pulled the brunette in for a deep kiss; nimble, key-stroking fingers tangling in dark, thick locks.

 

Touma pulled him by his tie over to the office sofa, pushing the brunette down on it before quickly and drunkenly divesting him of his clothes. He couldn't figure out the tie, so it was yanked until it was loose enough to pull over the other man's head. While removing the suit pants, Touma couldn't help but giggle at the tighty-whities he found underneath. It must have been laundry day or something. His drunken mind failed to supply him with the fact that laundry day meant nothing to Ryuichi, as such work was paid to be done by other people; and besides, the vocalist hadn't owned such basic briefs since Touma had met him.

 

Once he'd calmed his giggles, though, Touma returned his attention to the underwear-clad man before him. He straddled the brunette, leaning in for another searing kiss as Touma gyrated against him, arousing the package in the younger man's underwear. Touma could feel it hardening, rising up so his ass could rub against it even more and entice it further. His own cock gave a twitch in his pants and he left the brunette's mouth to bite his lobe and husk, “Undress me.”

 

Almost timidly, shaking hands (from excitement, obviously, what else would it be?) undid the buttons and clasps of Touma's clothing; piece by piece opening, removing, and dropping everything to the floor. The blonde stood to help with the removal of his pants and underwear. His shoes ended up not being an issue, as he'd apparently removed them sometime before his liquor-induced nap. The brunette's own shoes were still on, his pants trapped around his ankles; though neither of these facts was an issue in either of their current states of mind. Touma again straddled the white brief-wearing man.

 

His hands wandered all over; greedily; drunkenly; wantonly.

 

“I need you so much,” he moaned, rubbing himself against the other man, his arousal bobbing against the brunette's stomach. He stared straight into dark eyes, and wondered if there was something wrong with the lighting in his office, to make Ryuichi's bright blue eyes appear so brown. Perhaps it was just the lust darkening them.

 

“I want you inside me,” Touma added to his previous statement.

 

A gasp and shudder went through his partner at the declaration, and Touma hummed against the other's neck in appreciation of the reaction.

 

“Stay right there,” the blonde commanded as he stood and somehow made it to his desk without falling.

 

He again found himself wanting to giggle, as he looked out his panoramic windows at the other office buildings across the way. The business day was probably still going for most of them, as the sun wasn't even setting yet. How naughty of them to be doing this, here, in the middle of the business day, and in front of the large windows where anyone using binoculars this many stories up could see them. He found what he was looking for in a drawer, and returned to his brunette lover on the sofa.

 

The tighty-whities were removed, pulled down to join the brunette's pants by his ankles. Then a chilled hand, slicked with lubrication, grasped around the erection Touma had released and stroked it dutifully. Once he deemed it sufficiently covered, Touma again brought himself to straddle the other man's lap, positioning his entrance against the crown of the awaiting cock.

 

As he began to press down, hands grabbed his biceps, effectively stilling his body, if just for a moment.

 

“Wait! Shouldn't I—”

 

Touma shook his head. “I can't wait for that. I'm fine like this. After all,” he smirked, eyelids past half-mast over deep, lust-filled, turquoise irises. “A little pain like this will only make it better.” He pulled the brunette in for a bruising kiss, biting at the other's lower lip as he quickly thrust his hips downward to take all of his lover into himself.

 

It stung, burned even, but in his current state it was absolute bliss. Oh, how long it had been since he'd had anyone inside him. He hadn't realized how much he'd really missed it. He hoped it felt equally good to Ryuichi, as this was the best apology he could think of for all that had happened. He had denied Ryuichi of this for so long, finally giving in to this sort of submission was enough to send a tremor of raw craving through Touma.

 

Once the barrier was breached, Touma had no patience for waiting, despite the weak protests of the one below him. He rode his dark haired lover as hands caressed Touma's body and lips pressed against him wherever the other man could reach. His erection was attended to by shy, teasing fingers that grew steadily bolder as Touma's downward thrusts increased in earnest. The blonde threw his head back, moaning his pleasure, and he heard the other's cries joining his.

 

Suddenly, Touma found himself on his back, on the floor in front of the couch. The brunette above him grasped his hips and drove himself into Touma, dark eyelashes fanning over pale cheeks as his eyes squeezed together, mouth dropped open in an almost-o. Touma met him buck for buck until finally it all became too much and he came with a cry of, “Ryuichi-san!” Then he promptly passed out.

 

Sakano was left to finish himself inside the man he idolized, tears of heartache streaming unhindered down his face at the realization of what really just happened.

 

Cleaning himself and NG's president up with tissues, Sakano redressed himself, then carefully dressed Touma as well. With only minor difficulty, he was able to lift the blonde to lay on the sofa. Then he left the room silently.

 

Sometime later— how long, who could be sure, but suffice to say the sun was setting— Touma found himself waking to stare at his office ceiling. Groggily, he sat up and noticed an odd tingling sensation at the action. It had been awhile since he'd felt it, but he recognized it just the same. The sticky feeling he felt beneath his clothes also helped with his conclusion.

 

Flashes of memory came back to him, and he smiled softly at the thought that Ryuichi had again returned to him. It turned to a frown when he noticed the singer was no longer there with him, though, and he got up to get his phone and call to see where the flighty man was.

 

As he made his way towards his desk, he accidentally kicked something he hadn't noticed right away. Bending down to see what it was, his blood ran cold and he could have sworn his heart stopped as he found Sakano's glasses on his floor, a large crack through one lens. All at once, he realized what a terrible mistake he'd made.

 

Tears came to his eyes as the hard truth came to him. This wasn't the only mistake he'd made. He had fucked up royally with everyone that had ever cared for him. Now what was left for him? What would he do now that his world was crumbling?

 

Feeling quite hollow, and wanting to numb himself to it, Touma returned to his desk-turned-bar and poured himself another drink.

 

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

 

The open curtains of the bedroom window bathed the two men on the bed in the glow of the setting sun. They had just been sleeping moments before, but the soft stroking of fingers over skin, gentle kisses, and gracefully entwining bodies proved that they were now slowly awakening. The lighter haired one went to place a kiss on the darker's neck, but was met with lips instead. There was nothing to complain about in this occurrence, however, in fact he eagerly welcomed the mouth that moved against his, returning the tender kiss and letting it evolve into something more passionate, but just as patient. There was no need to rush.

 

When they finally pulled away to look into each other's eyes, the lighter haired man leaned up on an elbow to smile down at the boy beneath him.

 

“Good morning,” he said, uncaring of the actual time of day that was made quite evident in the approaching night sky beyond the window.

 

The boy smiled up at him. “Good morning, Ryuichi,” he returned, before pulling the vocalist down for another kiss.

 

Their hands glided over each other, caressing everywhere in reach, re-exploring each other with great care and attention to detail. Wanting to both reacquaint themselves and discover new things they hadn't yet learned about the other. Their eyes remained open, studying the differences in colors of strands of hair as they felt the different textures and noticed the different lengths. They watched each other's eyes and faces as each touch to a new patch of skin changed their expression. Each arch and shudder and twitch of arousal was memorized. Each sigh and moan and breathless utterance was added to their personal files of all-time favorite sounds.

 

Eyes and hands and mouths explored. Erections rubbed together or were teased by the other's mouth or hand or the bedding enveloping them. Slow actions steadily increased in pace, spurred on by the need that grew with the passion between them.

 

As another kiss broke for breath between them, Tatsuha looked deep into Ryuichi's eyes and asked, “Will you make love to me now, Ryuichi?”

 

Ryu felt as if the statement went straight to his heart, then turned due south to alert the eager body part between his legs.

 

Fingers were lubed and a recently-virgin passage was stretched. Tatsuha moaned and clutched the sheets as his prostate was caressed. Soon after, he was gasping and concentrating on the pleasure of Ryuichi's hand on his cock and mouth on his neck as the vocalist slowly thrust his magnificent manhood into Tatsuha's entrance, which was still slightly sore from their marathon-like escapades over the weekend.

 

Once he was in, Ryu waited a little bit, then sat up on his haunches; the new angle allowing him to let the last of his length slide the rest of the way in to the hilt. His heart raced and his body begged for him to just move as he gazed down at the beautiful boy opening himself willingly before him. He watched as Tatsuha licked his lower lip, then bit it in anticipation, and Ryu's control slipped the tiniest bit. He couldn't sit still any longer.

 

Ryuichi pulled back, sliding almost all the way out until just the tip sat past Tatsuha's initial ring of muscles. He started thrusting in, shallowly at first, causing Tats to moan in a mixture of pleasure and frustration. It felt good, but it could be so much better. He wanted so much more. Ryu did too, so finally, when Tatsuha was sure he couldn't stand the teasing anymore, Ryuichi thrust in fully— hard and fast.

 

From there, control seemed to break almost completely. Tremors ran through both of them, seeming to pass from one lover's body to the other's. Moans were captured by open lips and writhing tongues and flesh of necks sucked into hungry mouths, or echoed into the room around them with the other tell-tale sounds of their joining. The pace grew feverish; so much so that both wondered if they would make it out of this alive, as they truly felt near to bursting and it still seemed there was no end in sight as the blissful sensations just continued to climb.

 

Then something peaked, and Tatsuha suddenly found himself coming into Ryuichi's skillful and attentive hand, crying out, “I love you, Ryuichi!”

 

Again, Ryuichi felt Tatsuha's words go straight to his heart, then due south, and found himself coming unexpectedly, but powerfully, within the black haired teen. He felt tears prick his eyes, making them shine more as he smiled at Tatsuha after moaning out the teen's name. Then, heart racing, breath coming in heavy pants, Ryuichi leaned down to stare eye to eye with his lover.

 

“Is it really true, Tatsuha?” he asked, eyes full of hope, but heart still slightly guarded. He'd waited so long to hear these words spoken genuinely to him.

 

Tatsuha wrapped his arms around his love and nodded. “Yes, it's really true. I love you, Ryuichi. I've loved you for almost as long as I can remember. You're my first and only love, the only person I've ever really wanted to be with.”

 

Tatsuha felt a twinge of embarrassment admitting all these things to his godlike dream lover, but he pushed that feeling aside. Reluctance and embarrassment was moot now. They were finally really together, and he wanted to give Ryuichi his all.

 

With this thought, he added in a whisper, “You're the only one I ever wanted inside me. The one I saved my `other virginity' for.” Despite his previous determined thoughts that he shouldn't be embarrassed, he couldn't suppress the blush he felt creeping up and heating his face.

 

Ryuichi didn't seem to mind, though. He was too busy bursting with joy in his heart and soul, warmth of love flowing through him at hearing these confessions. Biting his lip to try to control the grin that could surely soon break his face, and to quell his ridiculous tears of joy, Ryuichi held Tatsuha's face and kissed him long and passionately. At some point during the kiss, perhaps during Tatsuha's expert tongue sucking, Ryu's erection returned, and another round of their reunion began.

 

It wasn't until several hours later, after again awaking in each other's arms, that Ryuichi began to wonder what Kumagorou was doing with all his free time back at the penthouse.

 

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

 

There was a crash, a crunch, his body jerked forward as he heard a loud bang, the smell of gunpowder burned his nose, and the sound of rapid inflating as something somewhat hard, yet at the same time cushiony, smacked Touma in the face. Confusion and panic set in as he tried to recall what had happened.

 

His last thoughts were of getting in his car to go home, and wishing the warm lights of the city and the passing cars could just wash over him and share their warmth. Then… nothing. Had he made it home? Had he passed out? Where was he? What was going on?

 

A tapping sound somewhere near his head made him force his eyes open, head lolling and swaying slightly on the airbag. There was someone outside his window. They looked familiar for some reason. At the same moment he thought this, he realized he must be in his car still. So, he hadn't made it home yet, apparently. He fumbled with the door controls and finally found the one for the window, rolling it down for the officer who was looking at him both sternly and worriedly.

 

“Are you okay?” the young man asked.

 

The blonde's head lolled again, attempting a nod in the affirmative. “I… mmfine… of-fi-cer…” he slurred slowly and carefully, attempting to keep his normal dignity and not mess up the words.

 

“Seguchi-san,” the officer spoke again, this time sounding quite a bit beyond disappointed. “I don't think you're going to pass the breathalyzer this time…”

 

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~ ~*

Japanese:

Aa: Yeah (rather informal)

 

A/N2 (In which things sort of concern the fic): So… as you can see, Touma still has his issues to work through. Hey, no one changes overnight, let alone in the course of a day, ne… Also, for anyone interested, the second smut scene for both Yuki/Shuu and Ryu/Tats were written while listening to "Michiyuki (Vocalless)" from the Loveless soundtrack.

 

This is the last chapter, but there is still an epilogue on its way. Why an epilogue? Well, a couple of reasons, actually. First, I think it will give it more of a complete feel (hopefully!). Secondly (but at least as important, if not more so… to me, anyway), because of how many chapters this story ended up being…

 

Confused by that? Heh… well my explanation may not help you there either. XP Basically, I have a number… thing… almost an OCD I guess… maybe… I prefer things to be nice and even, or a multiple of 5. Sometimes multiples of 3 are tolerated, too. Yep, I'm weird like that. Now, as you know, this is chapter 17. The epilogue will put the “chapter” count up to 18; a nice, even number. Ahh, I can breathe easy, not cringing at the number of chapters listed under the summary of my story! However!! On gurabiteshiyon.net, there is apparently a text limit per chapter, and the past three chapters had to be broken into two parts each to fit. This means my chapter number on gurabi will be 21 after the epilogue. Luckily!!! 21 is one of my lucky/favorite numbers (and one of the more than `tolerated' multiples of 3), and perfectly acceptable. So, now you have even more insight into just how weird I am. Don't you feel special?

 

A/N3(Beware the long author's notes of DOOM!!): So, I had originally planned to have this out before June. Obviously, that didn't happen. Why, you ask? Well, after last chapter I was informed that I deserved a bit of a break, and I readily agreed so that I could put some focus on some real life things (like my son's birthday and party). I also wrote the PoT gift!fic for Ren and posted it on her birthday. [plug] It's called “Operation: Seme!Mizuki”, and you can find it on my author page. (anyone reading on gurabi, and interested in reading it, can find it here: http://anime.adultfanfiction.net/story.php?no=600010324 ) [/plug]

 

However, also during this time, I came under siege from a renewed obsession with Naruto fanfiction… hence I couldn't get into the right feel for writing Gravitation. I even tried reading some Gravifics to try to get back in `the mood', but that didn't help either. I could barely concentrate through the pull of Naruto!!

 

(BTW, as far as Gravifics go, I highly recommend ElusiveY's “The Elusive Y”. Here's the link to make it easier on ya: http://fiction.gurabiteshiyon.net/story.php?no=1853 Beware, though! It may forever change the way you see Touma!! I know it'll be hard for me to ever look at him quite the same again lol. But it's soo good.. so read it, dammit!!)