Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Fleeting Inspiration ❯ The Customer Is (Not) Always Right ( Chapter 7 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Anna Sartin 
Anime/Manga: Gravitation Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.30.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.9K | Visits: 846 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Gravitation Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.30.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.9K | Visits: 846 | Status: Work In Progress
Fleeting Inspiration
by Anna Sartin
. . .
Chapter Seven: The Customer is (Not) Always Right
.
Shuichi clung to the arm of "his Yuki" with hearts in his eyes as they walked though the streets of the resort town. Yesterday had been SO wonderful. Seeing the kinder, gentler side of his lover for a full 24 hours had been a dream come true. The critical writer had even helped him with his lyrics, something he'd sworn he would never do. It had renewed Shuichi's determination to restore the pessimistic man's faith in love so that maybe, someday, they could have days like that all the time. Maybe one day they could even have a normal, loving relationship. So what if he was a dreamer, dreams could come true! Yesterday had been proof!
"I'm so happy," he cooed, leaning on Eiri's shoulder.
"You've told me that a hundred times already."
"Well I am. Yesterday was SO wonderful..."
"Don't get used to it," Eiri grumbled. He wondered if a full day of spoiling Shuichi with gentle sex, cuddling and massages had ruined his icy, apathetic image.
Still, the day had been productive. Massaging the singer while he worked on his lyrics had helped relax and focus his mind while Eiri helped him find words that rhymed and gave suggestions whenever he got stuck. He had to admit they made a good team when he dropped the attitude and offered encouragement instead of criticism. They finished a full song together and got halfway through the second.
"I wish you hadn't broken my lucky pencil, though," Shuichi sighed sadly.
Eiri growled. Why did he have to keep bringing that up? "Will you shut up about the damn pencil already? I said I'd get you another one, so quit harping on it!"
Eiri hated mechanical pencils. He hadn't used them since he was a teenager under the tutorage of Yuki Kitazawa in America. He'd never liked the bother of having to figure out how to open and refill them, in his younger days he'd brought them to his tutor to refill for him. So when Shuichi asked him to refill his favorite pencil Eiri had been completely bewildered as to what to do. He couldn't even get the damn thing open. He tried using his hands, his teeth, and finally a pocket knife and only succeeded in breaking it. Shuichi had burst into tears claiming that he couldn't write a thing without it, and that had been the end of their cooperative efforts.
"I wish you'd have just asked me to open it for you," Shuichi said, as he had several times since yesterday.
"And I wish YOU would have just gotten up off your lazy ass and filled the thing yourself!"
"You wouldn't let me get out of bed!" Shuichi retorted. "I had to wait until you were either out of the room or asleep just to go to the bathroom!"
"Don't exaggerate!"
"But it's true!" the pink-haired man replied, before bursting into fits of giggles at their silly argument. He tightened his grip on Eiri's arm. "But it's okay, it was SO wonderful getting to spend the whole day with you!"
And their conversation was right back to where it had started. Eiri looked away, hiding a small smile. God, he's an idiot...
"Can we go in there?" Shuichi asked, pointing to the souvenir store.
"Whatever."
Eiri had absolutely forbidden Shuichi to go anywhere near the swimming pool or the hot springs for the rest of their trip, so to stop the boy's whining he'd promised to take him anywhere he wanted to go.
"Isn't that owl CUTE?" Shuichi asked, pointing to a plush bird in the window of the store.
Eiri stared at the stuffed animal in question. It was about four inches tall with a black leather beak and feet. And no wings. Weren't birds supposed to have wings? "It's hideous!" he exclaimed as his lover dragged him into the store.
"It is not! He's cute!"
"It's furry. Birds aren't supposed to have fur. And why doesn't it have any wings?"
"I don't know. Hey lady, do you think this bird's cute?" Shuichi asked a nearby shopper, grabbing her by the arm and pointing to the object in question.
"Uh... s-sure," the woman responded nervously, quickly moving to another part of the store.
"See, he IS cute! I'm going to go buy him!" The singer grabbed the bird and dashed off to go pay.
Eiri just rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He stepped outside the shop to smoke a cigarette and noticed a large crowd gathering at the bookstore. I wonder what's going on?
"I'm gonna name him Eiri-chan!" Shuichi announced a minute later, waving the owl in front of the real Eiri.
"Don't name that ugly thing after me!" Eiri yelled, pushing it away from his face. The distracted author hadn't noticed that his lover had exited the shop. He'd even forgotten that he wanted a cigarette.
"He's not ugly, Yuki, he's just misunderstood! Like you! That's why I'm naming him after you."
Eiri rolled his eyes again and turned back to the commotion going on at the bookstore.
Shuichi turned to see what had attracted his lover's attention. "Let's check it out!" he said, pulling Eiri by the hand.
The couple read the large sign sitting outside the front of the store.
Mamoru Eto book signing!
One day only!
Please form an orderly line here.
Shuichi looked up and noticed a familiar manic fire in his lover's golden eyes. Oh no... Before the singer could stop him, the irate author marched into the store.
. . .
"Way to get us thrown out, Yuki!"
"Oh, shut up!"
"Do you think that guy's really serious about pressing charges?" Shuichi asked nervously.
"Who the hell cares?" Eiri snorted, reaching in his pocket for a cigarette. The box was empty. Damn!
"But he thinks you're stalking him, Yuki! What if-"
"Hey, do you want to go in there?" Eiri cut him off, pointing to the CD store across the street.
"Huh?" Shuichi looked at where his boyfriend was pointing. "Yes!!! I need to get Nittle Grasper's new CD!"
Thank Buddha that idiot is so easy to distract. Eiri stuck his hand in his other pocket, hoping that by some odd chance a stray cigarette might have magically found its way there. No dice.
"Look!" Shuichi pointed at the window of the music store, which was covered by various signs and posters. One of them read:
Whispering Phantom
Debut Album
GRUDGE
On sale now!
Shuichi bolted in the door, where the advertised CD was on display in the front of the store. He grabbed a CD off the shelf and read the back of the case. Sure enough Shining Collection was listed; it was the second song after Grudge. "Who the hell ARE these people?!" he shouted, looking at the picture of the band on the cover.
Eiri also took a CD and examined it. He wondered which of the four bimbos on the cover was Lola Eto. There was only one male in the group, a husky black man sitting behind a set of drums. Eiri hadn't seen a dark skinned person since the last time he was in America. In fact, only one of the members of Whispering Phantom looked even remotely Asian. He assumed that to be Eto's granddaughter. The other three women were Caucasian, and is his opinion not the least bit attractive. Two had ratty blonde hair in desperate need of combing and the third, a brunette, was overweight. How had these losers become part of N-G?
"We have to ask Seguchi-san about this, Yuki!"
Eiri decided now would not be the best time to tell the aggravated singer that he'd had that very opportunity yesterday and blown it by throwing his cell phone out the window. "What are you DOING?" he exclaimed suddenly, as Shuichi began grabbing all the CDs from the display.
"We can't let people buy these!"
"Put those back!" the author ordered, grabbing them from Shuichi's arms. "What are we supposed to do with so many copies of a CD we hate?"
"We can melt them in the microwave!"
"No!"
Shuichi's eye caught a teenage girl passing by holding a copy of "GRUDGE" is her hands. "You can't buy that!" he cried, snatching the CD away from her.
"Hey, give that back!" the girl yelled, grabbing for it.
"Shuichi, stop it!" Eiri shouted, but the singer refused to release his hold on the CD.
Pretty soon a crowd had gathered to watch Shuichi and the girl's game of tug-o-war. Deciding that he wanted no part of this stupidity, Eiri decided sneak away and try to find someplace that sold cigarettes. He would just slip off without being noticed and Shuichi could take care of the problems created by his own stupidity. He needed a nicotine fix. He slowly moved away from the scene his lover was causing and headed for the door. Unfortunately he'd forgotten that he was still holding a stack of CDs, which set the alarm off as soon as he tried to exit premises. So while security was breaking up the fight between Shuichi and the teenager, he had the pleasure of trying to explain to the staff of Music World that he was NOT trying to steal the fourteen copies of "GRUDGE" he'd tried to walk out the door with.
. . .
"Way to get us thrown in jail, moron!" Eiri yelled at his new cell mate.
Shuichi whimpered under Eiri's death glare as the cell door slammed shut behind them, closing off any chance of escaping his lover's wrath. He gulped, wondering what his chances were of living to see tomorrow.
.
~End chapter seven~
by Anna Sartin
. . .
Chapter Seven: The Customer is (Not) Always Right
.
Shuichi clung to the arm of "his Yuki" with hearts in his eyes as they walked though the streets of the resort town. Yesterday had been SO wonderful. Seeing the kinder, gentler side of his lover for a full 24 hours had been a dream come true. The critical writer had even helped him with his lyrics, something he'd sworn he would never do. It had renewed Shuichi's determination to restore the pessimistic man's faith in love so that maybe, someday, they could have days like that all the time. Maybe one day they could even have a normal, loving relationship. So what if he was a dreamer, dreams could come true! Yesterday had been proof!
"I'm so happy," he cooed, leaning on Eiri's shoulder.
"You've told me that a hundred times already."
"Well I am. Yesterday was SO wonderful..."
"Don't get used to it," Eiri grumbled. He wondered if a full day of spoiling Shuichi with gentle sex, cuddling and massages had ruined his icy, apathetic image.
Still, the day had been productive. Massaging the singer while he worked on his lyrics had helped relax and focus his mind while Eiri helped him find words that rhymed and gave suggestions whenever he got stuck. He had to admit they made a good team when he dropped the attitude and offered encouragement instead of criticism. They finished a full song together and got halfway through the second.
"I wish you hadn't broken my lucky pencil, though," Shuichi sighed sadly.
Eiri growled. Why did he have to keep bringing that up? "Will you shut up about the damn pencil already? I said I'd get you another one, so quit harping on it!"
Eiri hated mechanical pencils. He hadn't used them since he was a teenager under the tutorage of Yuki Kitazawa in America. He'd never liked the bother of having to figure out how to open and refill them, in his younger days he'd brought them to his tutor to refill for him. So when Shuichi asked him to refill his favorite pencil Eiri had been completely bewildered as to what to do. He couldn't even get the damn thing open. He tried using his hands, his teeth, and finally a pocket knife and only succeeded in breaking it. Shuichi had burst into tears claiming that he couldn't write a thing without it, and that had been the end of their cooperative efforts.
"I wish you'd have just asked me to open it for you," Shuichi said, as he had several times since yesterday.
"And I wish YOU would have just gotten up off your lazy ass and filled the thing yourself!"
"You wouldn't let me get out of bed!" Shuichi retorted. "I had to wait until you were either out of the room or asleep just to go to the bathroom!"
"Don't exaggerate!"
"But it's true!" the pink-haired man replied, before bursting into fits of giggles at their silly argument. He tightened his grip on Eiri's arm. "But it's okay, it was SO wonderful getting to spend the whole day with you!"
And their conversation was right back to where it had started. Eiri looked away, hiding a small smile. God, he's an idiot...
"Can we go in there?" Shuichi asked, pointing to the souvenir store.
"Whatever."
Eiri had absolutely forbidden Shuichi to go anywhere near the swimming pool or the hot springs for the rest of their trip, so to stop the boy's whining he'd promised to take him anywhere he wanted to go.
"Isn't that owl CUTE?" Shuichi asked, pointing to a plush bird in the window of the store.
Eiri stared at the stuffed animal in question. It was about four inches tall with a black leather beak and feet. And no wings. Weren't birds supposed to have wings? "It's hideous!" he exclaimed as his lover dragged him into the store.
"It is not! He's cute!"
"It's furry. Birds aren't supposed to have fur. And why doesn't it have any wings?"
"I don't know. Hey lady, do you think this bird's cute?" Shuichi asked a nearby shopper, grabbing her by the arm and pointing to the object in question.
"Uh... s-sure," the woman responded nervously, quickly moving to another part of the store.
"See, he IS cute! I'm going to go buy him!" The singer grabbed the bird and dashed off to go pay.
Eiri just rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He stepped outside the shop to smoke a cigarette and noticed a large crowd gathering at the bookstore. I wonder what's going on?
"I'm gonna name him Eiri-chan!" Shuichi announced a minute later, waving the owl in front of the real Eiri.
"Don't name that ugly thing after me!" Eiri yelled, pushing it away from his face. The distracted author hadn't noticed that his lover had exited the shop. He'd even forgotten that he wanted a cigarette.
"He's not ugly, Yuki, he's just misunderstood! Like you! That's why I'm naming him after you."
Eiri rolled his eyes again and turned back to the commotion going on at the bookstore.
Shuichi turned to see what had attracted his lover's attention. "Let's check it out!" he said, pulling Eiri by the hand.
The couple read the large sign sitting outside the front of the store.
Mamoru Eto book signing!
One day only!
Please form an orderly line here.
Shuichi looked up and noticed a familiar manic fire in his lover's golden eyes. Oh no... Before the singer could stop him, the irate author marched into the store.
. . .
"Way to get us thrown out, Yuki!"
"Oh, shut up!"
"Do you think that guy's really serious about pressing charges?" Shuichi asked nervously.
"Who the hell cares?" Eiri snorted, reaching in his pocket for a cigarette. The box was empty. Damn!
"But he thinks you're stalking him, Yuki! What if-"
"Hey, do you want to go in there?" Eiri cut him off, pointing to the CD store across the street.
"Huh?" Shuichi looked at where his boyfriend was pointing. "Yes!!! I need to get Nittle Grasper's new CD!"
Thank Buddha that idiot is so easy to distract. Eiri stuck his hand in his other pocket, hoping that by some odd chance a stray cigarette might have magically found its way there. No dice.
"Look!" Shuichi pointed at the window of the music store, which was covered by various signs and posters. One of them read:
Whispering Phantom
Debut Album
GRUDGE
On sale now!
Shuichi bolted in the door, where the advertised CD was on display in the front of the store. He grabbed a CD off the shelf and read the back of the case. Sure enough Shining Collection was listed; it was the second song after Grudge. "Who the hell ARE these people?!" he shouted, looking at the picture of the band on the cover.
Eiri also took a CD and examined it. He wondered which of the four bimbos on the cover was Lola Eto. There was only one male in the group, a husky black man sitting behind a set of drums. Eiri hadn't seen a dark skinned person since the last time he was in America. In fact, only one of the members of Whispering Phantom looked even remotely Asian. He assumed that to be Eto's granddaughter. The other three women were Caucasian, and is his opinion not the least bit attractive. Two had ratty blonde hair in desperate need of combing and the third, a brunette, was overweight. How had these losers become part of N-G?
"We have to ask Seguchi-san about this, Yuki!"
Eiri decided now would not be the best time to tell the aggravated singer that he'd had that very opportunity yesterday and blown it by throwing his cell phone out the window. "What are you DOING?" he exclaimed suddenly, as Shuichi began grabbing all the CDs from the display.
"We can't let people buy these!"
"Put those back!" the author ordered, grabbing them from Shuichi's arms. "What are we supposed to do with so many copies of a CD we hate?"
"We can melt them in the microwave!"
"No!"
Shuichi's eye caught a teenage girl passing by holding a copy of "GRUDGE" is her hands. "You can't buy that!" he cried, snatching the CD away from her.
"Hey, give that back!" the girl yelled, grabbing for it.
"Shuichi, stop it!" Eiri shouted, but the singer refused to release his hold on the CD.
Pretty soon a crowd had gathered to watch Shuichi and the girl's game of tug-o-war. Deciding that he wanted no part of this stupidity, Eiri decided sneak away and try to find someplace that sold cigarettes. He would just slip off without being noticed and Shuichi could take care of the problems created by his own stupidity. He needed a nicotine fix. He slowly moved away from the scene his lover was causing and headed for the door. Unfortunately he'd forgotten that he was still holding a stack of CDs, which set the alarm off as soon as he tried to exit premises. So while security was breaking up the fight between Shuichi and the teenager, he had the pleasure of trying to explain to the staff of Music World that he was NOT trying to steal the fourteen copies of "GRUDGE" he'd tried to walk out the door with.
. . .
"Way to get us thrown in jail, moron!" Eiri yelled at his new cell mate.
Shuichi whimpered under Eiri's death glare as the cell door slammed shut behind them, closing off any chance of escaping his lover's wrath. He gulped, wondering what his chances were of living to see tomorrow.
.
~End chapter seven~