Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Doesn't Love Make You Crazy?! ❯ Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravitation, or its characters, and I make no profit from this story. I humbly dedicate this fic to all the lovely readers and reviewers of the prequel, “Disappearing Act.”

 

Doesn't Love Make You Crazy?!

 

By: ladygizarme

Partial Beta By: ren and Houseki (Only partial because, though both have read different lengthy scenes in this chapter, neither have read it in its entirety. Also, neither are currently available and, as ren is due to visit Houseki for a week starting tomorrow, probably won't be readily available very soon)

All other Warnings/Info: see chapter one

 

A/N1: I'm so glad so many people are excited about this story! Thanks so much for your reviews, e-mails, and enthusiasm, guys!! *cough* And on that note: sorry this took so long! I seriously had this mostly done WEEKS ago, and had plans to write the Y/S lemon May 26th (and was pretty sure I could finish the chapter completely that same night). However, then I was ATTACKED by an obsession with Tokio Hotel (an awesome, totally hot German band), thanks to Houseki and ren. Subsequently, I spent nearly a week straight using my sparse free time to nab pics, listen to the music, and chronically search YouTube for any vids I could find (particularly music vids and interviews with English subs). After that, I tried to tone the raging obsession down a bit, but it took time. As I write this, I'm still listening to TH on my media player. Yeah, so thank them for the EXTREME DELAY!!

 

Ah, oh well… I'm glad for the new obsession, even if it did put a major hitch in my writing there for awhile. XP

 

Anyway! Thanks again for all the reviews for chapter one! Now, on with the story!

 

Chapter Two:

 

“Has there been any news?” Hiro asked Noriko as Suguru walked into the studio on a cold Friday in mid-December.

 

“Well, K checked in again this morning, if that's what you mean. But as for catching up to Ryuichi…” the purple haired woman trailed off, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head in answer.

 

“That's surprising, I thought K-san would have an extensive network of spies and hired muscle set up in America for catching rogue pop stars,” Suguru remarked dryly as he set down the folder of sheet music he'd been carrying.

 

“Me, too,” Shuuichi added, looking dumbstruck.

 

Noriko shrugged again. “He does, but Ryuichi's been at this game for years, he's got more than a few tricks up his sleeve. I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't seen until the night of his performance.”

 

“Do you really think he'll show?” Suguru asked skeptically. After all, it hadn't been that long since the singer had pulled a similar disappearing act, falling completely off the radar for three full days despite never leaving Tokyo. Now, he'd been missing for three weeks in a whole other country!

 

Noriko looked at the keyboardist sternly. “I know Ryuichi may seem flaky at times, but he is dedicated to both his music and his fans. He won't miss the New Year's performance. Besides, Ryuichi loves Christmas in New York. I'm sure he'll show up there soon.”

 

Suguru was still skeptical, but decided not to argue the issue any further. Really, what did he care if Sakuma was a no-show for his performance? Bad Luck was Sakuma Ryuichi's rival, so such an occurrence could only serve in their favor, after all.

 

“Still…how much longer does Sakuma-san intend to stay in America with Tatsuha-san?” Hiro wondered.

 

“Yeah, really! The longer they stay, the longer we have to have Noriko-san for our manager!” Shuuichi exclaimed.

 

Noriko glared.

 

“N-not that… we don't love having you, Noriko-san,” Shuuichi placated, waving his hands dramatically in defense in case she decided to strike him. “It's just that we're so used to K now, getting used to you again will be strange. I hope it won't affect the tour too badly.”

 

Suguru piped in, “Knowing you, Shindou-san, I'd say Noriko-san will probably be the least of our troubles on tour. Have you prepared your list?”

 

Absently, Suguru wondered at the ease with which he was beginning to say their interim-manager's name. Noriko had been quite insistent that they call her “Noriko-chan” in the beginning (she'd relaxed on the demand for “cute” and “little” preceding that title), however, none of the boys had felt quite comfortable doing so. Therefore, a truce had been made, with the final product landing them right in the middle between “Ukai-san” and “Noriko-chan”. After nearly three weeks of calling her “Noriko-san,” it was almost second nature by now. However, that wasn't the topic at the moment.

 

Shuu scowled at the younger boy, but handed over the scrap of notebook paper onto which he'd scribbled a list of the songs he wanted included on their tour playlist.

 

That playlist, and what variations, if any, would be made for which cities on the tour, was the main focus of their work that day. They managed to mostly finalize the master list by lunchtime, with only a couple exceptions.

 

“I don't see what the problem is,” Noriko told Suguru after fifteen minutes of arguing over the same song.

 

“Simple, we're Bad Luck, but you want us to play two Nittle Grasper songs!”

 

Noriko rolled her eyes, becoming exasperated. “Yet again, I don't see the problem. You guys play covers all the time.”

 

“Yes, when we're doing a set in a club or when Sakuma-san decides to get involved on a whim, but we're not doing that on tour! We have our own songs to play!”

 

“I don't mind singing a couple covers,” Shuuichi interjected honestly.

 

“We do it often, anyway,” Hiro agreed.

 

Suguru whipped his head around to the pink haired traitor, “Shindou-san! Don't you see what she's trying to do?”

 

Large, purple eyes widened curiously, eyebrows raised imploringly as the singer waited for Suguru to explain.

 

The younger boy sighed. “Since Seguchi-san is currently incarcerated, Nittle Grasper is unable to tour to promote their new album. Ukai-san is handling our management while K-san is in America, and Sakuma-san is only kami-sama knows where, so obviously neither of them are able to properly promote the album, either. Therefore, Ukai-san is trying to float their promotion on the coattails of our tour by having us play Nittle Grasper songs!! Why else would she suggest one of them be a song off the new album?!?!” Suguru finished his rant panting, having inadvertently gotten himself quite worked up over the issue.

 

Shuu stared at him. “Don't you think you're reading too much into this? And why am I the only one getting yelled at? Hiro agreed with me, too!”

 

“Hmph!” was Suguru's only reply as he turned his nose up at, not only the singer, but the entire discussion. “Fine, do what you like. I'm going to lunch.”

 

With that, he exited the studio and headed for the NG cafeteria.

 

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

 

“Damn, he really needs to get laid. I think he's actually getting more uptight. I didn't even know that was possible!” Shuuichi remarked when the keyboardist left the studio.

 

Hiro gave Shuu a sidelong look. “Don't start, Shuu.”

 

“What? I'm not starting anything,” Shuu defended in an exaggerated innocent tone. “It's not like I said, `Why don't you do something about it, Hiro?'” Shuu smirked.

 

Noriko's eyebrows shot up listening to the exchange.

 

Noticing Noriko's interest, and knowing arguing more would only encourage Shuuichi, Hiro decided to change the subject. Or, rather, go back to the original topic.

 

“He's right about your motives, isn't he, Noriko-san?”

 

“Hmm,” Noriko shrugged, not really concerned with denying it. More interested in the latest soap opera in the office, she leaned forward with a ravenous grin. “So, Nakano, you and the kid, eh?”

 

Hiro sighed long-sufferingly, “No, there's nothing going on.” With that, he stood and made to leave the room.

 

“But, Hiro—” Shuu protested.

 

“Give it up, Shuuichi,” Hiro cut him off before walking out the door.

 

Shuuichi glared poutingly at the closed door, then looked down at his hand, closing it into a fist dramatically. “I'll get those two together if it's the last thing I do!” he vowed, energized by the challenge set before him.

 

Completely lost in his own inevitably diabolical (insane; half-baked) thoughts, Shuuichi nearly jumped out of his skin when an arm draped over his shoulders. He'd nearly forgotten there was anyone left in the room.

 

“You do that, Shindou,” Noriko said, ignoring his scared-rabbit flinch and near-shriek. “Just don't do anything that will sabotage the tour. I need this band in good working order, you know.”

 

Nodding frantically, Shuuichi extracted himself from under her arm and escaped the studio to scrounge up his own lunch and think about his plans.

 

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

 

Yuki slid the balcony door closed before extracting a cigarette from the pack in his pocket and lighting up. He took a long, much-needed drag, filling his lungs with the smoke before releasing it from his mouth in a heavy stream. Closing his eyes, he took another draw, letting the nicotine calm him a bit and ignoring his body's instinct to shiver from the cold. Perhaps the freezing temperature would also help cool his irritation at the moment.

 

Why exactly was the great Yuki Eiri so irritated, you wonder? Despite the fact that many people found Shuuichi annoying and the mere idea of living with him enough to make one go insane, Yuki actually held an affection for the boy and usually found his presence within his home quite tolerable, if not preferable (at least you would be hard-pressed getting him to admit it was preferable). Therefore, Shuuichi's recent arrival home from work couldn't be the only thing that was currently bugging the blond novelist. If you assume this, you would be right, however that did have something to do with it.

 

Just an hour beforehand, Shuuichi had stalked through the door with a look full of purpose and determination set upon his features. Yuki had been sitting on the couch, flipping through channels on the TV, looking for something of interest to distract him from his current deadline. When Shuu came through the door, panting and looking so fierce, it immediately set a fire through Yuki's nerves, giving him a brand new idea of how to spend his time.

 

However, before he could make good on his brilliant plans, Shuuichi had opened his mouth and, rather than a baldly suggestive greeting with no sign of tact but every sign of sexual intention, the pink haired singer had started blathering on about his newest plans to finally get Nakano and Fujisaki together. It had completely killed the mood before Shuu even knew there'd been a mood to begin with.

 

Yuki rubbed his temple with his cigarette-free hand as he again exhaled smoke into the night air. It gave him a headache just thinking about it.

 

Having reached a dead end as far as bouncing ideas off an uncooperative Yuki was concerned, Shuuichi had then proceeded to call his sister, Maiko, and fill her in on the latest hatchings of his sugar-crazed brain. The two siblings had been scheming over the phone ever since, and the only consolation to Yuki was that Shuuichi told her no when she offered to come over and help him plan in person. The last thing the writer needed was one of his fangirls coming into his home—even if she was the sister of the boy he was (living with) screwing.

 

Yuki finished his cig and tossed it over the balcony just as the door behind him slid open.

 

“It's all set,” Shuuichi informed him happily.

 

“Congratulations,” Yuki said sarcastically.

 

“Luckily, Maiko's already the gossip columnist for her school paper, so it won't be too hard to get her a press pass,” Shuu added, oblivious to his lover's irritation.

 

Yuki's only reply was the lighting of another cigarette.

 

“Yukiii!” Shuu complained suddenly. “I thought you were going to cut back on those things! Didn't you just finish one?”

 

Ignoring him, Yuki continued smoking his cancer stick, closing his eyes as he once again reveled in the artificial calm it sent through his nerves.

 

Never deterred by Yuki's silent disregard, Shuuichi launched himself at the blond, causing him to stumble slightly but still manage to maintain his grasp on the cigarette, despite the added burden of Shuuichi's slight-yet-awkwardly-clinging frame. However, his hold on the singer didn't last as Shuuichi struggled to right himself while marveling at his misjudgment of the depth of Yuki's devotion to the cancer stick. In the process, Shuuichi went crashing to the floor of the patio, burning his fingers slightly as he took the cigarette with him (accidentally, despite the fact that had been the original intention), and knocking Yuki back against the glass of the patio door.

 

“Ow!” Shuuichi exclaimed, both from his fall and from the cigarette, the red hot cherry of which was now smashed under his hand.

 

“Thanks a lot, brat,” Yuki growled lowly, rubbing the back of his head, which was throbbing at the point of impact with the door. “That was the last of my ration for the day.”

 

He briefly considered lighting another, but the solace he'd gained from the ritual had already been blown. Instead, while Shuuichi was distracted rubbing his own `wounds', Yuki turned and slid the patio door open, stepped inside, closed the door behind him, and locked it—all with his back still to the door. He'd barely stepped into the kitchen to grab himself a beer when he heard the wailing start. Yuki smirked as he got out a beer and popped the tab. That would teach the brat!

 

However, it only took another moment for the guilt to start creeping in. Sure, he was irritated, but did Shuuichi really deserve to be locked out on the balcony, in the cold December night, where he didn't even have the option of walking away to someplace warmer? Yuki very well knew he could be cruel, and in the past had often prided himself on being so. Yet, since he began living with Shuuichi, he'd begun to care more and more about not hurting the younger man. (Not that he was going soft, mind you, it just got boring after awhile of having the same victim for your harsh words, cruel insults, and insensitive actions. Yeah, that was all. Really!)

 

Sighing to himself despite his attempt at self-delusion, Yuki waited only to finish his beer before returning to the patio and letting the singer in. Shuu had already worked himself from raging indignation to apologetic pleading, and Yuki barely managed to step reflexively out of the way as the cold and now-runny-nose-sporting singer again launched himself at Yuki, both to scold him and thank him for letting him back in.

 

Noticing some fresh snow flurries follow Shuuichi through the door, and seeing the state the poorly dressed singer was now in—shivering, runny nose, cheeks and nose bright red from cold—Yuki sighed again. The last thing he needed was for one of the crazy people that handled his lover's musical career to come breaking down his door to chastise him for his poor treatment of Shuuichi if the pink haired singer actually got sick from this. Deciding that was a good enough excuse for his conscience, Yuki retrieved a blanket to wrap around Shuuichi. Then, while the singer was dazed from this action, Yuki led him to the bathroom and ran Shuuichi a hot bath to warm up in.

 

The steam filling the room made Yuki's actions even more surreal to Shuuichi and he couldn't help but stare at the blond man through the thick haze of warm, comforting moisture. So dazed was he, that he barely noticed as Yuki undressed him, scrubbed him down, and led him into the bath. As his cold frame sunk into the hot water, Shuuichi finally started coming back to his senses. He glanced up at Yuki and, seeing a severe look on the writer's face, ducked his head down and wrapped his arms around his bent legs.

 

“Thank you, Yuki,” he said softly, his bottom lip touching the surface of the water as he spoke. “…I'm sorry.”

 

The meek words made Yuki look up from what he'd been concentrating on: towel drying his wet arms and shirt. Realizing from the kicked-puppy expression on his face that Shuuichi must have misread his own expression, and also having decided that drying his shirt was a lost cause, Yuki decided on his next course of action: making good on his earlier plans to thoroughly ravish the singer.

 

What better distraction from Shuuichi's melancholy could there be? (Not to mention it was in his sanity's best interest to distract from the original issue—Shuuichi's “brilliant” plans—before Shuu got his thoughts straight again.)

 

Shuuichi watched, spellbound, as Yuki, rather than scolding him, began to unbutton his damp shirt. Each button that was freed revealed more and more of the chest he suddenly longed to worship with more than just his eyes. It really didn't take much to distract him from either anger or sorrow when it came to Yuki.

 

Feigning ignorance of Shuuichi's ever-watchful gaze, Yuki continued to undress himself, letting his shirt fall from his shoulders before going for his belt. Shuuichi gasped as Yuki unbuttoned his pants, and swore every tooth of the zipper being undone echoed in the small, tiled room, making him hold his breath in anticipation. Soon, the pants dropped, and the boxers were quick to follow, leaving Yuki bared in all his flawless glory.

 

Water sluiced down Yuki's perfect, hard body as he showered, quickly readying himself for the bath. Finally, the water cut off, the handle squeaking slightly with the action, and Shuuichi gulped as Yuki slowly turned to face him. Seeing Shuuichi's reaction, Yuki smirked. Though he knew the younger man would be drooling, which had been a big part of his tantalizing and drawn out actions, it was still a boost to the ego to see it. Yuki would never tire of turning Shuuichi on.

 

Pinning the singer with his smoldering, amber eyes, Yuki swaggered over to the tub and stepped in, taking the space behind Shuuichi. It was a large tub, and Shuu fit comfortably between Yuki's outstretched legs. Still not saying a word, he slid his hands over Shuuichi's shoulders and down his arms, coaxing the smaller man to lean against him. Shuuichi obeyed the touch, turning his head slightly to look over his shoulder as he was wrapped in Yuki's arms.

 

“Yuki…” Shuuichi started, but stopped as Yuki's hands continued their path along his body.

 

The novelist's expert hands rubbed firmly over Shuuichi's chest, teasingly skirting around the younger male's nipples as he did so. Each time he would get closer, evoking an expectant moan of pleasure from the smaller man, only to hear it cut off in disappointment as he again moved away from the nub of flesh that was quickly hardening despite his neglect. They weren't the only things hardening, either, as was proven with a glance downward over Shuuichi's shoulder.

 

Shuu then shifted, wiggling his hips a bit to try to relieve the pressure somehow and also signal to Yuki what he needed without having to beg. As he shifted, the movement of the water pressed him back further against Yuki and the singer felt the evidence of the writer's own arousal pressing against him. Feeling mischievous, he shifted again, raising himself a little as he was sitting on his knees. After his attempt at sly maneuvering, Yuki's shaft was pressed into the cleft of his buttocks, sliding back and forth between the cheeks with the rock of the water.

 

The blond repressed a moan at this simple, teasing action, and moved a hand lower in response, trailing his fingers over Shuu's lower belly and stroking lightly through the beginnings of his trail of pubic hair. The singer's erection remained untouched despite jutting eagerly, begging for those fingers to complete their journey and wrap around it. Shuu's teasing continued sparse seconds longer before, huffing an impatient whine, he suddenly turned to face Yuki, straddling the writer as the water swirled around them, splashing over the side of the tub. Yuki couldn't care less about the mess it would make on the floor, however, as his attention was currently on the pink haired teen in his lap, and the eager lips now demanding his attention.

 

More than happy to comply, Yuki returned Shuu's demanding kiss in like fashion, soon asserting his dominance, his tongue plundering the willing mouth before him. Shuuichi's hands dove through Yuki's blond hair, tugging lightly as he moaned softly in pleasure from the deep kiss. His patience having already snapped, Shuuichi rubbed his body against Yuki's wantonly, craving more contact and friction. He felt Yuki stiffen minutely as their erections came in contact, and Shuuichi knew Yuki was just as eager as him, even if he wouldn't say so.

 

Taking some initiative, Shuuichi brought a hand below the water, wrapping it around both of their cocks and stroking. In answer, Yuki stroked a finger down Shuuichi's spine, causing a shiver of pleasure which intensified as that finger ran over the cleft of Shuuichi's ass. Teasing him for a moment, Yuki enjoyed the way Shuu tried to wiggle and thrust back towards his lightly stroking finger while still maintaining the grip around their cocks.

 

“Nngmmf!” Shuuichi finally groaned, feeling Yuki smirk into their kiss at his obvious frustration. Reluctantly breaking their kiss, Shuuichi glared at the golden eyed man and demanded, “Yuki, stop teasing!”

 

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Yuki's finger finally pressed against his entrance, pushing through the first ring of muscle with practiced ease. Shuuichi's grip on his and Yuki's erections tightened momentarily at the sudden intrusion, but he soon relaxed and continued his stroking, allowing Yuki's finger to push in further.

 

Shuu's actions sped up a bit, his hips thrusting forward into his own hand and against Yuki's hard cock, then backwards against Yuki's prodding finger. With the actions, and the pleased mewling noises accompanying them, the writer soon found himself impatient to be within that lithe, tempting body. So, after quickly wriggling a second finger into Shuuichi's opening and scissoring for good measure, he retracted his fingers and pushed Shuuichi away. Before more than a gasp of protest could be uttered, the blond had spun the singer around and lifted his hips until the pink haired male was once again straddling Yuki—this time with his back to the writer's chest.

 

Shuuichi's gasp of protest soon became a moan of pleasured encouragement, as he felt the head of Yuki's manhood pressing against his opening. Too impatient to wait for Yuki's gentle easing, Shuu dropped his hips down, wanting to impale himself on that hard, rigid flesh. The water resisted the swift action, however, slowing the movement so that not much more than the head made it in before the momentum ceased. Even so, that was enough to make Shuu groan at the mix of pain and pleasure.

 

Shuuichi's body was plenty used to this by now, so it didn't really hurt per se, but he still found it a bit uncomfortable in the beginning sometimes—particularly now, when there was no lube to ease the way. He was still loosened up a little from activities the previous day, though, so it wasn't too bad.

 

Soon, Yuki was thrusting in more, and Shuuichi welcomed the action with another drop of his hips. The writer's fingers gripped the singer's thin hips tightly, helping Shuu in his efforts to match Yuki's thrusts against the resistance of the water. It didn't take long for them to quicken their pace, and Shuuichi soon found himself nearing his climax, one hand gripping the edge of the tub, the other fisted behind him in Yuki's hair as the writer kissed and sucked on his neck, pulling at him relentlessly—one hand on his hip, the other stroking his cock fervently. Shuuichi's moans and cries echoed around the tiled room, seeming to feed the frenzy their coupling had become. Shuuichi suddenly found himself crashing over the edge, exclaiming Yuki's name exuberantly as he continued riding the older male until Yuki's muscles twitched and tightened and the blond bit his shoulder, groaning and coating Shuuichi's inner walls with his release.

 

As he came down from the high of his orgasm, all Shuuichi could think was that he was definitely warmed back up now.

 

A few minutes later, after Yuki had extracted himself from the smaller male's body and started in on the job of cleaning up after their activities, Shuuichi finally stepped out of the tub, drying himself off with a towel and wrapping it around his waist before throwing himself at Yuki and attacking the writer's lips once more. After a very thorough kissing, the pink haired man pulled away with a smile, humming to himself as he left the room in search of clothes.

 

Just as Yuki was smirking to himself for a job well done, Shuuichi suddenly popped his shaggy, pink head back into the bathroom.

 

“Oh, Yuki, I almost forgot! What do you think my chances are of convincing Sakano-san to give my sister's school an invite to the special press conference?”

 

Shuuichi soon found himself locked out of the apartment once again, this time in only a damp towel.

 

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

 

A week later, Shuuichi was practically shaking with impatience as the day finally came for his ingenious plan. He tried not to be obvious, but the not so furtive glances he'd been giving Hiro and Suguru for the past week and the way he kept bouncing his legs and looking at the clock now made Suguru highly suspicious.

 

“Nervous, Shindou-san? It's just a press conference, nothing we haven't done before,” Suguru fished calmly, despite his high-strung, extremely skeptical thoughts.

 

Flinching as if he'd been found with his hand in the cookie jar, Shuuichi tried to play off his jittery actions with a grin directed at the green haired boy that clearly said, `Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.' Though the reason for it wasn't quite what Suguru had accused, the result was still the same: a creepy, over-exaggerated, wide, toothy grin that made Suguru's face hurt just looking at it.

 

Shuuichi chuckled nervously, almost madly. “Why would I be nervous?! I just want to get out there already!” he insisted, which was quite true. Suguru didn't need to know the reason why.

 

The hint of lunacy Suguru heard in that chuckle did nothing to calm his fears that Shuuichi was planning something. The keyboardist was determined to stay on his guard.

 

A few minutes later, Hiro finally arrived. As the red haired guitarist stepped into the room, Suguru's eyes were naturally drawn by the sound and movement of someone coming in. What he saw when he looked made his eyes widen and his breath catch. There stood Hiro, in all his fresh-from-a-windy-ride glory. His long, red hair was wild and wind-blown, his face was slightly pinker than normal attesting to both the cold outside and his exhilaration, and, as he unzipped his leather jacket, Suguru saw that the shirt he wore underneath was one of his favorites—a silky, blue button-down, with several top buttons left undone, baring part of his smooth, hard chest. He was drool-worthy.

 

Catching the direction his thoughts were heading, Suguru blinked rapidly and forced himself to look away before anyone noticed, pretending he hadn't just been ogling the guitarist. Or that he'd thought of Hiro's shirt as one of his favorites. Ridiculous. `One of his favorites.' As if there were not just one, but several shirts he preferred to ogle Hiro in. Which there weren't! Because he didn't care to ogle him at all!!

 

Unfortunately for him, Shuuichi had been watching Suguru's reaction raptly, and turned his head to hide the wide smirk that couldn't help but bloom across his face. His legs again started bouncing impatiently.

 

His plan was so going to work.

 

“Hey, guys,” Hiro greeted his band mates, oblivious to both their internal thoughts.

 

“Hey, Hiro!” Shuu greeted his friend happily.

 

Suguru would have said hi, also, but he was afraid of what sorts of squeaky sounds might emit from his mouth in the attempt, so he just gave a small wave in acknowledgement.

 

“I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get this press conference started!”

 

“Hm,” Suguru agreed halfheartedly. It was true he was eager to get it started, but only so they would finally have it over with. He wasn't looking forward to the actual event at all.

 

Normally, Suguru didn't really mind press conferences. Despite the fact that he always had that fear lingering in the back of his mind that Shuuichi was going to find some new and horrible way to embarrass them in front of the press, the keyboardist saw press conferences for what they were: excellent publicity opportunities. And, no matter what actually happened during the press conference, they always came out of the experience with more press than most people knew what to do with. Besides, whatever Shuuichi may do, Suguru was confident he was well-spoken and accustomed to the singer's antics enough to cope with whatever may be thrown at them.

 

However, this time was different. This time, it wasn't just the usual reporters in that pressroom. This time, their sadistic manager (and producer-cum-president, whose sanity Suguru often found himself questioning) had gotten the idea in their heads to also invite a select number of high school reporters, as part of an outreach promotion designed to further strengthen ties with the bulk of Bad Luck's target audience: teens and young adults. The reporters would all get to ask up to two questions each, write about the experience of participating in a real live press conference, and submit their story to a popular teen magazine for a chance to have it published nationwide.

 

Judging from the ratio of boys to girls usually attending their concerts, Suguru knew the chances of their pressroom now being filled with screaming, foaming-at-the-mouth, rabid fangirls were extremely high. He shivered at the thought, dreading being in such a small, enclosed space with that volume of insanity. Finally, he took a deep breath as the inevitable moment finally came: Noriko opened the door to the room they were waiting in, giving them the signal to follow her out to the pressroom.

 

The excitement as they entered was like electricity in the air, the atmosphere almost tangibly thick with expectation. It was definitely different from their usual press conferences, and Suguru was sure the reason had something to do with the three rows of seats off to the side near the front of the room, currently filled with teens. A cursory glance told him most of the “reporters” were girls, as he'd expected, though he could see at least a few boys in the small crowd.

 

He was pleasantly surprised, though, as they all seemed to be on their best behavior. Of course, they must have been strictly instructed on proper behavior and etiquette before coming. After all, they were here representing not only themselves and the fans of Bad Luck, but their schools as well. Happy at least with this unexpected turn of events, Suguru let himself relax and go into his usual press conference mode.

 

Once the band was seated at the table at the front of the room, flanked by Noriko and Sakano, the press conference finally began. The adults were given their turn first, questioning the boys on everything from their thoughts on the new album, their excitement about their upcoming tour, what songs they intended to play at the Christmas concert the next night, and even more personal questions concerning Shuuichi's relationship with Yuki Eiri, and their thoughts and feelings on Seguchi Touma's recent legal troubles.

 

All professional questions were answered with heartfelt enthusiasm—after all, they were all very excited with how well their music careers were going. The personal questions were skirted a bit, Shuuichi merely affirming he was still with Yuki without giving any of the juicy details the reporters really wanted. He didn't want to give Yuki anymore stress than he'd already experienced with the fame of their relationship. The questions about Touma were dodged in similar manner, and more questioning along that line was hedged with a stern reprimand and threat to call off the press conference by none other than Sakano.

 

Finally, the time came for the high schoolers' questioning. Shuuichi was working hard to hide his antsiness the entire time up to that point, and almost breathed a sigh of relief when Noriko finally gave the teens permission to question them.

 

Despite his best-laid plans and excitement about the prospect of being questioned directly by their fans, Shuuichi found himself growing anxious as question after question was asked concerning his relationship with Yuki and what their sex life was like. A few questions were asked regarding their songs and lyric-writing process, whether certain songs were inspired by or about a certain person, and even if their hair colors were natural, but mostly it was questions about him and Yuki. Was this really all the fans wanted to know? He never realized girls were so crude and blatant, asking such personal questions with no shame whatsoever! Guys he would expect it from, but girls? He hadn't expected that from anyone other than his sister.

 

And speaking of his sister… where the heck was she?! She better hold up her end of the bargain, or he so wasn't holding up his!

 

Finally, after a question about Hiro's guitar from a boy in the front row, a hand in the third row began waving frantically. Noriko called on the person and, as they stood, Shuuichi had to work hard to keep the smirk off his face. He failed, but luckily no one noticed, as their attention was completely attuned to the person that had just stood. And for good reason, really. She did stand out a bit, after all.

 

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

 

When the person in the third row stood to ask their question, Hiro was sure his eyes were going to bug out of his head. Was this person for real?! It had to be a joke—a prank of some kind.

 

It appeared to be a girl, though it was a bit hard to tell in her strange outfit. She wore a tan, high-collared, belted trench coat, the collar ending just below her mouth. The top half of her face, except her nose, was covered with large, dark sunglasses, and above them was a large, floppy, red hat with a long peahen feather sticking out of the purple, leopard print band. She wore her press pass pinned to the side of her hat, reminiscent of reporters in old comics. She held a pencil and pad of paper, and held herself importantly, as if she wasn't dressed ridiculously in a room full of serious journalists.

 

As he continued to gaze at her incredulously, Hiro began to get the strange, sinking feeling of déjà vu, as if he should know this person and expect nothing good to come of this. Just as he finally realized where he'd seen that hat before, the girl broke the silence that had settled in the room with her first question.

 

“Hi, Yuki Maiko, from Tohoko Gakuen,” the girl said, bowing minutely, and Hiro's blood ran cold as Shuuichi's little sister gave her fake name along with the name of their former high school—the school she still attended.

 

His eyes slid sideways to glance at Shuu and his suspicions were all but confirmed by the bright, expectant smirk of mischief on his friend's all-too-expressive face. Still, he didn't know exactly what was planned, or how to stop it now that the wheel was obviously already in motion, so there was nothing left to do but go with the flow, see what happened, and hope he'd still be alive in the morning. And, if he was, make sure to kill Shuuichi for it if things turned ugly.

 

“Yes, what is your question?” Suguru asked diplomatically, as no one else seemed capable of speech in the face of the girl's outrageous fashion sense.

 

Too late, Hiro realized Maiko's true target as he saw the faintest hint of a triumphant smirk on her lips before she suppressed it to ask her question.

 

“First, I was wondering if I could take a picture of you guys for my article?” she asked sweetly.

 

Suguru shrugged, turning to look at his bandmates as he said, “I don't see why not.” Then he looked to their manager, “Noriko-san?”

 

The purple haired woman's painted lips spread in a grin as she answered, “Sure, go for it!”

 

“Thank you!” Maiko exclaimed, smiling and motioning for her camera-wielding partner to stand as well. Once the girl had done so, Maiko asked her second question.

 

“Now, for my second question, will Suguru-kun and Hiro-kun kiss for the picture?”

 

A split-second after the question left her lips, several things seemed to happen at once:

 

Hiro exclaimed, “Maiko!” Then he immediately turned to reprimand Shuuichi, knowing he was the instigator in this.

 

Suguru gasped and spluttered in a mixture of astonishment and anger that nearly left him speechless, turning to glare accusingly at Shuuichi, convinced this was somehow his fault.

 

And Shuuichi, showing an amazing knack for timing and coordination, simultaneously put a hand to the back of each of their heads as they turned, leaned back out of the way, and quickly shoved their heads together, making sure their lips made contact.

 

The flashes that went off at that moment were blinding.

 

Later, when numerous rolls of film were developed, the photographers would be treated to the devilish grin of Shuuichi hovering just above the shocked faces of the lip locked members of Bad Luck.

 

TBC

 

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

A/N2: *giggles* I had fun planning that last scene. Maiko's “disguise” alone gave me fits of giggles for a good chunk of time. XD IDK, I just really thought that, in scheming with her brother, she would really get into it and do some cosplay of her own (after all, Shuu's well-known for it. =p). Ren and I had fun discussing aspects of her costume, and the reason for it. LOL

 

I know the Y/S lemon is short. This is for two reasons: 1) They're not the main pairing, and Hiro/Sug aren't even together yet, so I didn't want to take the spotlight away tooooooo much (I even debated not putting the lemon in at all, though it felt like the perfect opportunity; however, as ren said, “How can a Yuki/Shuu lemon be out of place in a Gravi fic??!!”) 2) I really was sick of how long it'd been since I posted, and REALLY wanted to post this before I leave this week! Hence, short lemon. Hope you still enjoyed it, though, for what it's worth.

 

Also, I can't remember if it was ever said/shown what the name of the high school Hiro/Shuu/Maiko went to was, and I don't have my manga handy at the moment, so I just pulled a name outta my head (literally the first thing that popped into my head when thinking about this final scene). If there's an official name, please feel free to correct me!

 

Edit: Much thanks to Saanrio, who supplied the correct name of their school!!

 

Okay, now that I'm happy I at least updated this in time, I need to tell you guys: This Thursday I'm leaving AZ to spend a couple weeks in IN with my family/in-laws before moving with my husband (fresh from army training) to TX. I will have little-to-no internet access during that time, and don't even know when we'll have our own house to set it up in once we get to TX. So, sorry, but we're probably lookin' at another month before I can update again. :( I will try to work in writing during that time, though, so I'll hopefully have some more to post once we're all settled in somewhere again.

 

Until then…

 

I *heart* you guys! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

 

~ lg