Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Fleeting Inspiration ❯ The Bet ( Chapter 34 )
[ 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: 08.12.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.9K | Visits: 713 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Gravitation Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 08.12.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.9K | Visits: 713 | Status: Work In Progress
Fleeting Inspiration
by Anna Sartin
. . .
Chapter Thirty-four: The Bet
.
"Is this okay?" Shuichi asked when he'd finished taping a piece of paper over the hole in the living room window.
"It'll have to do until we can get someone out here to replace it," Eiri responded, sweeping up the broken grass.
"She looks REALLY mad," the younger man commented, pointing out the broken window where the landlord and his wife could be seen glaring up at it from the parking lot.
"She's STILL watching?" Eiri asked.
"Yep, and her husband is out there now, too."
Eiri groaned inwardly. The window had just been replaced three months ago.
"Should I go out and apologize?" Shuichi asked. "I'm sure they're going to want an explanation."
"Just ignore them," Eiri said, dumping the broken glass in the trash can. It was a shame he couldn't blame K for the damage like last time. Both the landlord and his wife were terrified of the insane foreigner. "They'll be up here soon enough, anyway." He took a seat on the couch and reached for a bag of shortcakes. "Besides, you shouldn't have to apologize for something you didn't do."
Shuichi refrained from remarking that he was constantly apologizing for his boyfriend's actions. In fact, he apologized to his friends and Eiri's family members almost on a daily basis. He'd already apologized to Tatsuha today for not being able to let him in and he'd probably wind up apologizing to Mika later when Eiri refused to take her call (again).He also found himself apologizing to random people on the street who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. On their vacation he'd apologized to three members of the hotel staff, the cop that booked them, Mamoru Eto (while security was throwing them out of the bookstore during the old man's book signing) and the half-crazy monk Eiri had the threatened to beat the shit out of over his broken cell phone. He'd lost track of all the people he'd apologized to since meeting the blond and adding one or two more people to the list couldn't possibly make any difference. He sighed and joined his lover on the couch.
"Did the mail come while I was gone?" Eiri asked, taking a bite of the shortcake he was holding.
"Yeah, and you got another package." Shuichi picked up the small box sitting on the coffee table. "Here."
Eiri shoved the rest of the shortcake in his mouth and took the box from the pink-haired man, eying it carefully. It was too small to be Four Gay Elves. He picked up the accursed book, which was also sitting on the coffee table, and compared them by weight. It's also too light...
"Are you going to open it?" Shuichi asked. "I can do it for you if you're afraid it's a letter bomb or something."
"Why would I think that?" Eiri asked, putting the book down and turning the package over. It was from the phone company.
"Well, maybe Lola Eto is out for revenge! Maybe she wants to kill you to get to me!"
"I don't think Lola Eto works for the phone company," Eiri said, opening the box and pulling out his newly-repaired cell-phone.
Before Shuichi could reply there was a knock at the door. Both men cringed and the singer sighed, "Bet it's the landlord."
"Or Tatsuha trying to worm his way back in," Eiri said, reaching for another shortcake.
"Let's bet on it!"
"Huh?"
"If I'm right and it's the landlord you have to do whatever I want for the rest of the day, and if it's Tatsuha I have to do whatever you want for the rest of the day!"
Eiri's lips curled up in a half-smile. "Fine." His partner was rather cute when he got fired up over such childish ideas, but he was certainly not about to tell him that. There's no way the landlord could get up here so fast... he thought, grinning smugly. He would enjoy turning the cute singer into his obedient little sex-slave for the night. He opened the door and nearly dropped his shortcake. It was the landlord. Damn it!
"Uesugi-san, I need to speak with you."
"Terashima-san," Eiri acknowledged, opening the door wider to let him in.
"Uesugi-san, the last time one of your guests broke a window Shindo-san told me you would both try to be more careful. This is the third time this has happened since you've moved here!"
"I'll write a check."
"This isn't just about the window. I've gotten numerous complaints from the other tenants about the noise level today, and why is there a TENT outside your door?"
"Ask my brother," Eiri responded as he wrote the man a check.
"It needs to be removed. It's blocking the hallway and it's a fire hazard."
"Sorry, Terashima-san!" Shuichi apologized. "We'll get it removed right away." Eiri glared at his lover. The singer smiled at him sweetly and said "Yuki, why don't you help Tatsuha move his things inside?"
Eiri's glare intensified. "What?!!"
Shuichi smiled smugly. "Bet!" His eyes sparkled with mischief, conveying a silent but clear message: I won Yuki, and you have to do whatever I want!
Eiri held out the check for the landlord. As if I didn't have enough problems!
Terashima took the check from Eiri's extended hand. "And another thing, the utility closets in the building are NOT to be used for dumping unwanted items."
"You can save that lecture for my brother," Eiri told him, giving him a push out the door before he could find something else to complain to them about. He shut it quickly and turned to Shuichi. "You can't be serious!"
"You heard Terashima-san, Tatsuha can't stay out there!"
"Then he can stay somewhere ELSE!"
"Eiri, he's your brother," the boy told him, as if he didn't already know. "You were planning on giving him this place when we moved out anyway, right?"
How the hell did he know that?!!
"Besides, I won the bet. Let him in!"
"Fine. But he's YOUR problem, not mine!"
.
"You could have let me in BEFORE that guy torn me a new one!" Tatsuha complained later as he sat on the living room floor going through his pile of stuff. Mr. Fuzzy was asleep nearby on a pile of clothes.
"Just be glad I let you in at all!" Eiri told him as he shoved an entire shortcake in his mouth and reached for another. He was going to need all the sugar he could get to survive a day of dealing with both his brother and having to do whatever Shuichi told him. He was also going to need nicotine. Plenty of nicotine. Having some fresh coffee on hand might not be such a bad idea either. "Make some coffee, would you?" he asked Shuichi as he headed out to the balcony for a smoke.
"Hey, you're supposed to do whatever I want, not the other way around!" Shuichi protested.
"Oh. Right. Tatsuha, go make coffee!"
"Yes, Master," the young monk grumbled sarcastically. The phone started ringing as he trudged off to the kitchen.
"And answer the phone!" Eiri yelled, pulling his cigarettes out of his pocket. He took one in hand and shoved the box back in his pocket. He secured his lighter next, but he didn't get the chance to make use of it.
"Aniki, it's for you!"
"Tell Mika I don't want to hear it!"
"It's somebody from your publishing company!"
Eiri shoved his cigarette and lighter back in his pocket and stepped back inside. They'd better not be planning to push my deadline forward or they're going to be sorely disappointed. His creative juices seemed to have dried up for the moment and he was more interested in finding a new house, anyway. Whatever they want they can go to hell! he decided as he took the phone from his brother. "Go make coffee," he ordered, pointing in the direction of the kitchen. His sibling made an obscene gesture behind his back before stomping off to comply.
Shuichi hobbled over to his boyfriend, listening as he conversed with whoever was on the phone. He too was hoping (and praying to any divine entity that might be listening) that it please please not be Yuki's editor calling to move up his deadline. There would be no living with the author if his stress level increased any further, and more importantly he worried that the added stress would negatively affect the blond's health.
"What?" Eiri asked whoever was on the line, looking completely flabbergasted. "Seguchi's funding it?"
"Aniki, you're out of coffee!" Tatsuha yelled from the kitchen.
"Shut UP!" Eiri roared.
"What's going on?" Shuichi asked, but Eiri motioned for him to be quiet.
"You can't be serious," Eiri said, staring at the painting on the wall as he spoke into the receiver. "THAT idiot?"
"You can't expect me to make coffee when you haven't got any!" Tatsuha said, coming out of the kitchen. Eiri took one of his slippers off his foot and threw it at his brother before turning his attention back to the phone. The youngest Uesugi sibling went over to the couch and sat down, complaining about he couldn't be expected to turn water into wine (or, indeed, coffee) until Eiri threw his other slipper at him to get him to shut up. Mr. Fuzzy attacked the slipper with gusto until he grew bored with it and started biting Tatsuha's foot instead. "OUCH!"
"What's going on?" Shuichi asked again when Eiri finally hung up.
"One of my books is being made into a movie."
"WHAT?!" Shuichi exclaimed, dropping one of his crutches. "Yuki, that's incredible!!!"
"Not really, considering Tohma Seguchi is funding it," Eiri replied, retrieving the fallen crutch and handing it back to him. "The royalties will useful considering how much money it'll cost to buy a decent-sized house in Tokyo, but I can't believe my work is going to be defiled by THAT idiot..."
"That idiot?" Shuichi asked, confused.
"Ryuichi Sakuma is starring in it."
.
~End chapter thirty-four~
by Anna Sartin
. . .
Chapter Thirty-four: The Bet
.
"Is this okay?" Shuichi asked when he'd finished taping a piece of paper over the hole in the living room window.
"It'll have to do until we can get someone out here to replace it," Eiri responded, sweeping up the broken grass.
"She looks REALLY mad," the younger man commented, pointing out the broken window where the landlord and his wife could be seen glaring up at it from the parking lot.
"She's STILL watching?" Eiri asked.
"Yep, and her husband is out there now, too."
Eiri groaned inwardly. The window had just been replaced three months ago.
"Should I go out and apologize?" Shuichi asked. "I'm sure they're going to want an explanation."
"Just ignore them," Eiri said, dumping the broken glass in the trash can. It was a shame he couldn't blame K for the damage like last time. Both the landlord and his wife were terrified of the insane foreigner. "They'll be up here soon enough, anyway." He took a seat on the couch and reached for a bag of shortcakes. "Besides, you shouldn't have to apologize for something you didn't do."
Shuichi refrained from remarking that he was constantly apologizing for his boyfriend's actions. In fact, he apologized to his friends and Eiri's family members almost on a daily basis. He'd already apologized to Tatsuha today for not being able to let him in and he'd probably wind up apologizing to Mika later when Eiri refused to take her call (again).He also found himself apologizing to random people on the street who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. On their vacation he'd apologized to three members of the hotel staff, the cop that booked them, Mamoru Eto (while security was throwing them out of the bookstore during the old man's book signing) and the half-crazy monk Eiri had the threatened to beat the shit out of over his broken cell phone. He'd lost track of all the people he'd apologized to since meeting the blond and adding one or two more people to the list couldn't possibly make any difference. He sighed and joined his lover on the couch.
"Did the mail come while I was gone?" Eiri asked, taking a bite of the shortcake he was holding.
"Yeah, and you got another package." Shuichi picked up the small box sitting on the coffee table. "Here."
Eiri shoved the rest of the shortcake in his mouth and took the box from the pink-haired man, eying it carefully. It was too small to be Four Gay Elves. He picked up the accursed book, which was also sitting on the coffee table, and compared them by weight. It's also too light...
"Are you going to open it?" Shuichi asked. "I can do it for you if you're afraid it's a letter bomb or something."
"Why would I think that?" Eiri asked, putting the book down and turning the package over. It was from the phone company.
"Well, maybe Lola Eto is out for revenge! Maybe she wants to kill you to get to me!"
"I don't think Lola Eto works for the phone company," Eiri said, opening the box and pulling out his newly-repaired cell-phone.
Before Shuichi could reply there was a knock at the door. Both men cringed and the singer sighed, "Bet it's the landlord."
"Or Tatsuha trying to worm his way back in," Eiri said, reaching for another shortcake.
"Let's bet on it!"
"Huh?"
"If I'm right and it's the landlord you have to do whatever I want for the rest of the day, and if it's Tatsuha I have to do whatever you want for the rest of the day!"
Eiri's lips curled up in a half-smile. "Fine." His partner was rather cute when he got fired up over such childish ideas, but he was certainly not about to tell him that. There's no way the landlord could get up here so fast... he thought, grinning smugly. He would enjoy turning the cute singer into his obedient little sex-slave for the night. He opened the door and nearly dropped his shortcake. It was the landlord. Damn it!
"Uesugi-san, I need to speak with you."
"Terashima-san," Eiri acknowledged, opening the door wider to let him in.
"Uesugi-san, the last time one of your guests broke a window Shindo-san told me you would both try to be more careful. This is the third time this has happened since you've moved here!"
"I'll write a check."
"This isn't just about the window. I've gotten numerous complaints from the other tenants about the noise level today, and why is there a TENT outside your door?"
"Ask my brother," Eiri responded as he wrote the man a check.
"It needs to be removed. It's blocking the hallway and it's a fire hazard."
"Sorry, Terashima-san!" Shuichi apologized. "We'll get it removed right away." Eiri glared at his lover. The singer smiled at him sweetly and said "Yuki, why don't you help Tatsuha move his things inside?"
Eiri's glare intensified. "What?!!"
Shuichi smiled smugly. "Bet!" His eyes sparkled with mischief, conveying a silent but clear message: I won Yuki, and you have to do whatever I want!
Eiri held out the check for the landlord. As if I didn't have enough problems!
Terashima took the check from Eiri's extended hand. "And another thing, the utility closets in the building are NOT to be used for dumping unwanted items."
"You can save that lecture for my brother," Eiri told him, giving him a push out the door before he could find something else to complain to them about. He shut it quickly and turned to Shuichi. "You can't be serious!"
"You heard Terashima-san, Tatsuha can't stay out there!"
"Then he can stay somewhere ELSE!"
"Eiri, he's your brother," the boy told him, as if he didn't already know. "You were planning on giving him this place when we moved out anyway, right?"
How the hell did he know that?!!
"Besides, I won the bet. Let him in!"
"Fine. But he's YOUR problem, not mine!"
.
"You could have let me in BEFORE that guy torn me a new one!" Tatsuha complained later as he sat on the living room floor going through his pile of stuff. Mr. Fuzzy was asleep nearby on a pile of clothes.
"Just be glad I let you in at all!" Eiri told him as he shoved an entire shortcake in his mouth and reached for another. He was going to need all the sugar he could get to survive a day of dealing with both his brother and having to do whatever Shuichi told him. He was also going to need nicotine. Plenty of nicotine. Having some fresh coffee on hand might not be such a bad idea either. "Make some coffee, would you?" he asked Shuichi as he headed out to the balcony for a smoke.
"Hey, you're supposed to do whatever I want, not the other way around!" Shuichi protested.
"Oh. Right. Tatsuha, go make coffee!"
"Yes, Master," the young monk grumbled sarcastically. The phone started ringing as he trudged off to the kitchen.
"And answer the phone!" Eiri yelled, pulling his cigarettes out of his pocket. He took one in hand and shoved the box back in his pocket. He secured his lighter next, but he didn't get the chance to make use of it.
"Aniki, it's for you!"
"Tell Mika I don't want to hear it!"
"It's somebody from your publishing company!"
Eiri shoved his cigarette and lighter back in his pocket and stepped back inside. They'd better not be planning to push my deadline forward or they're going to be sorely disappointed. His creative juices seemed to have dried up for the moment and he was more interested in finding a new house, anyway. Whatever they want they can go to hell! he decided as he took the phone from his brother. "Go make coffee," he ordered, pointing in the direction of the kitchen. His sibling made an obscene gesture behind his back before stomping off to comply.
Shuichi hobbled over to his boyfriend, listening as he conversed with whoever was on the phone. He too was hoping (and praying to any divine entity that might be listening) that it please please not be Yuki's editor calling to move up his deadline. There would be no living with the author if his stress level increased any further, and more importantly he worried that the added stress would negatively affect the blond's health.
"What?" Eiri asked whoever was on the line, looking completely flabbergasted. "Seguchi's funding it?"
"Aniki, you're out of coffee!" Tatsuha yelled from the kitchen.
"Shut UP!" Eiri roared.
"What's going on?" Shuichi asked, but Eiri motioned for him to be quiet.
"You can't be serious," Eiri said, staring at the painting on the wall as he spoke into the receiver. "THAT idiot?"
"You can't expect me to make coffee when you haven't got any!" Tatsuha said, coming out of the kitchen. Eiri took one of his slippers off his foot and threw it at his brother before turning his attention back to the phone. The youngest Uesugi sibling went over to the couch and sat down, complaining about he couldn't be expected to turn water into wine (or, indeed, coffee) until Eiri threw his other slipper at him to get him to shut up. Mr. Fuzzy attacked the slipper with gusto until he grew bored with it and started biting Tatsuha's foot instead. "OUCH!"
"What's going on?" Shuichi asked again when Eiri finally hung up.
"One of my books is being made into a movie."
"WHAT?!" Shuichi exclaimed, dropping one of his crutches. "Yuki, that's incredible!!!"
"Not really, considering Tohma Seguchi is funding it," Eiri replied, retrieving the fallen crutch and handing it back to him. "The royalties will useful considering how much money it'll cost to buy a decent-sized house in Tokyo, but I can't believe my work is going to be defiled by THAT idiot..."
"That idiot?" Shuichi asked, confused.
"Ryuichi Sakuma is starring in it."
.
~End chapter thirty-four~