Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Sorry ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

“Sorry”

Written by: Chocho

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravitation.

Story summary: AU. Ryuichi? Or Eiri? That is the question. Who will Shuichi chose? (Shuichi/Ryuichi, Ryuichi/Tatsuha, Shuichi/Eiri)

Chapter summary: Ryuichi gets a threatening phone call.

Warning: Language, OOC (Duh! Do I look like the creator?)

Sources: Based on the song “Sorry” by Madonna

 

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Chapter 6

 

(Noon Sunday-Tokyo, Japan)

 

Tohma was standing before the French doors, staring out over the balcony when the sudden ringing of the phone shattered the stillness of the apartment. Blinking, he stared down at the mug in his hands. It took him several seconds to remember that he made himself some tea earlier. Sighing, he turned away from the breathtaking view of the city and walked around the dining room table and into the kitchen. Setting the mug of untouched tea that had long since gone cold on the table, he grabbed the phone off the wall, cutting it off mid-ring.

 

A voice snapped abrasively in his ear, “Give me Sakuma's number.”

 

Tohma blinked. Well, he thought. “Hello to you too, Eiri.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Do you have it or not?” the writer snapped in annoyance.

 

Tohma sighed, shaking his head. “Eiri,” he scolded sadly. “Can't I even get a, `Hello? How are you, Brother?' out of you?”

 

Eiri snorted.

 

“Fine. Fine! After everything I've done for you.”

 

In his black Mercedes waiting impatiently for the light to turn green, Eiri felt his eye twitch and gritted his teeth in irritation. He had no idea why they even bothered to throw him a guilt trip. It never worked. Never had and never will. All they ever managed to accomplish was to make him even more ticked off than he already was. If he did not desperately need that bastard's number, he would hang up on his irritating brother-in-law. “Just give me the damn number,” he barked.

 

Tohma raised an eyebrow at the other man's tone. When he heard a car horn wail loud and long in the background, he squinted with a frown. His brow was furrowed in contemplation. “Eiri? Where are you?”

 

“On the way to the airport if you must know,” came the reply.

 

“'The airport'? Where are you going?” He did not think his brother-in-law had any special out of town appearances scheduled or anything. He would know if he did.

 

Eiri sighed heavily. He pressed a finger to his temple as he felt a threatening headache.

 

“Come on, Eiri. It would not hurt for you to just tell me, would it?” Tohma whittled

 

Yes, Eiri thought, it would actually. “Fine,” he said instead. “I'll tell you only if you give me Sakuma's number.”

 

Tohma had a nagging feeling he should not agree to the exchange. “Deal.”

 

Eiri smirked. “I'm flying out to Toronto.”

 

Tohma blinked. “”Toronto'? What's in-?” His eyes widened. He tightened his grip on the phone. “Eiri! You're not-!”

 

“I am,” Eiri answered calmly as he turned into the busy airport.

 

“Eiri.” He had a really bad feeling about this.

 

“Tohma.”

 

Tohma sighed. Against his better judgment, he rattled off Ryuichi's home number. “What are you going to do in Toronto?” he asked, even thought he already had a sinking feeling he already knew.

 

Tohma heard the unmistakable sounds of the airport in the background. There was a female voice echoing loudly over what had to be a loud speaker, a crowd of voices all speaking at once and over each other and the roar of an airplane. He could not tell if it was taking off or landing.

 

“Eiri?”

 

“I'm going to do something I should have done a year ago,” Eiri finally answered.

 

*

 

Ryuichi pressed the tab and the near scolding needle-like spray that had been raining down upon him vanished, being directed instead to the tap. He turned the hot and cold water dials and the roar of water was silenced. The quiet was deafening. Pulling aside the curtain, he stepped onto the towel he set on the floor earlier. Steam had filled the bathroom, fogging the mirror above the sink and making it a little suffocating in the bathroom. Reaching for a towel on the shelf, he started to rub himself dry.

 

The heavy silence of the condo was shattered by the sudden ringing of the phone. Ryuichi stopped what he was doing and listened as the rings echoed shrilly through the quiet halls. The phone had been ringing off the hook all morning so he had no desire to answer it. Ignoring it, he doubled over and hung his head upside down and vigorously rubbed the towel through his hair. Straightening, he tossed his hair back and as he was tying the towel around his waist, a familiar voice filled the apartment. His heart leapt. Ryuichi threw open the bathroom door and raced down the hall to the phone.

 

“Ryu, honey, I am so sorry! I know you wanted to keep our relationship quiet, but…I guess we took one too many risks, huh?” He laughed nervously. “But this might all be for the best, ya know?” It sounded like he was pleading for him to agree with him. “I mean, you know I love you and I hate having to sneak around. They say everything happens for a reason, right? So, please, give me a call. Please, Ryu! I love you and I don't want to lose you! I'm sure we can work something out!”

 

Ryuichi leaned heavily against the doorframe. “Tatsuha.”

 

“Ryu? Honey?”

 

Ryuichi hung his head. His chest felt tight.

 

“Please call me,” Tatsuha pleaded.

 

Ryuichi sighed and sagged against the doorframe, exhaling deeply. Banging his head against the archway, he stared blankly into space.

 

This sucked. This sucked big time. He hoped this was a joke or a really bad dream. If Shuichi somehow got hold of those photos, if he somehow found out that he had been unfaithful to him all of this time and with the same boy he caught him with before, before he was able to talk to him himself…He did not even want to think about the consequences.

 

Ryuichi fisted a hand and slammed it against the wall, putting all his anger, pent up frustration and indecision behind it. He did not even register the pain and the tingling sensation that traveled down his arm.

 

He loved Shuichi. He loved him with all his heart and wanted it to work out with him, but for some reason when he was with Tatsuha, rationale and logic jumped ship. The little devil on his shoulder managed to persuade him to leave his morals at the door.

 

He hated it! He hated that Tatsuha made him so weak!

 

The ringing of the phone jerked him back to the present. Lifting his head, he stared at the phone blankly. Again, he did not feel the urge to answer it.

 

Instead, he felt nauseous.

 

Pushing away from the wall, he turned and started towards the bedroom just as the answering machine clicked on. He would have ignored it, like he had been doing all morning, but the sound of a voice that sounded oddly like Tatsuha's filled the condo. He stopped in the threshold of his bedroom and listened curiously as the man's voice filled the apartment.

 

“Sakuma.”

 

Ryuichi jumped, feeling a chill race down his spine. He gripped the doorframe tightly, whether it was out of fear or something else entirely, he was not sure. What he did know was that this man's angry voice echoed through the empty halls, reverberating off the walls. Whoever he was, he really did sound an awful lot like Tatsuha, on the surface at least. But on closer inspection though, this man was angrier and…colder, much colder than Tatsuha ever could be. So then, who was this guy? And what did he want with him?

 

“I know you're there,” the man hissed. “So, listen and listen well.” His voice had dropped to an icy whisper. “You…sicken me! You disgusting, filthy gigolo!”

 

Sakuma gasped, his eyes gone wide in shock and his mouth slack jawed. He dropped his hands to his side and stepped out into the hallway. Gigolo? What the hell? Who the hell was this guy?

 

The photograph of Tatsuha and him from the tabloid paper flashed through his head. He groaned and covered his face with his hands. Great, just great, he thought as he scrubbed his hands over his face. This was all he needed.

 

“Shuichi was the best thing that ever happened to you! Do you know how many people would love to be in your shoes?!”

 

Ryuichi dropped his hands and lifted his head, staring down the hall blankly with a sigh. So it was like that. Whoever this man was was obviously a huge fan of Shuichi's. He must have seen the photograph of Tatsuha and him, but then again who has not seen it by now? Wasn't this just peachy? Dropping his head, he heaved a heavy sigh.

 

Wait a minute!

 

His head snapped up, his eyes wide. How did this guy get his number? It was unlisted and only friends and family had it. He felt a flash of fear.

 

“To call that damned brat theirs?!”

 

Something tugged at the corner of his thoughts, but it slipped just out of reach as he tried to focus on it. That phrase. Ryuichi squinted, trying to think, his fear momentarily forgotten. Where had he heard it before?

 

“To be able to hold him, kiss him, go to sleep with him in your arms every night and wake in the morning to see him sleeping peacefully like the angel that he is besides you?”

 

Ryuichi was brought out of his thoughts by the soft tenderness in the man's voice. He clenched his hands tightly and gritted his teeth. A flare of anger flashed through him as he thought of someone else touching his husband. How dare this man? Who the hell did he think he was?

 

“You had it all!” screamed the voice, startling Ryuichi out of his thoughts. “And what did you do?! You threw it all away! And for what?! A teenaged lecher!”

 

Ryuichi's anger flared, but then he felt it melt away. His hands uncurled and he felt tightness in his chest. His throat constricted and his eyes misted over.

 

That was right. He had. He had thrown in all away. So he had no right to get jealous at the thought of someone else with his Shuichi. He did not even have the right to think of Shuichi as “his”.

 

“What that damned brat ever saw in you, I'll never know! He must have been blinded by his idolatry of you!”

 

Ryuichi's head snapped around. He glared with renewed anger through his teary eyes in the general direction of the phone.

 

“Knowing you, you most likely seduced him by catching him on the rebound!”

 

Ryuichi growled. What the fuck was this guy playing at? How dare he-? Wait a minute. “Rebound”? Now, he remembered.

 

[“Who were you looking for?”

 

Shuichi blinked, startled by the sudden question. “What?” He turned and looked at Ryuichi. Gone was the innocent childlike man that he had seen backstage at Zepp Tokyo. In its place was the serious singer whom had sung with him earlier on stage. It was kind of unnerving.

 

“During the concert. That's why you didn't start singing right away. It wasn't because you forgot the words or had stage fright. You were looking for someone.” Ryuichi glanced at his young friend out of the corner of his eye, a serious expression on his face. “Wasn't it?”

 

Startled by the sudden powerful insight, Shuichi was shocked into silence. He opened his mouth, but closed it without saying anything. He tried again. “I…I don't-”

 

“Shuichi,” Ryuichi scolded.

 

Shuichi was still a little unsettled by the split personality of his idol and the almost psychic-like abilities he seemed to possess. It took half a dozen tries, but he finally managed to say, “I…he had a date. I asked him to come…he, he hated my song and I challenged him, but he, he said…he said he was busy, but I thought…I mean, maybe…” Shuichi shook his head, sighing. “Never mind,” he mumbled.

 

“You like him…”

 

Shuichi bit his lip and turned away from the penetrating stare of the older man. Tears stun his eyes and his throat constricted around a sob. His chest hurt and his heart ached.

 

“…don't you?”

 

Fat tears rolled freely down Shuichi's face. Sniffing, he nodded.]

 

Yuki! Eiri Yuki! It had to be! That was why he thought he sounded like Tatsuha. Because Eiri was Tatsuha's brother! And he was Shuichi's ex-boyfriend. He suddenly had a very bad feeling.

 

“You disgusting louse! But now everyone in Japan knows what a lowdown creep you are.”

 

It sounded like Yuki was laughing at him. Ryuichi clenched his hands and gritted his teeth. He wished he could just reach through the phone and strangle this damn bastard.

 

“And soon everyone in the whole world will too!”

 

Ryuichi gasped. His eyes popped out of his head and his face paled.

 

“You had your chance with him!”

 

Ryuichi felt his heart starting to beat faster. A surge of adrenaline and fear washed away his anger.

 

“You even had a second chance to prove yourself!”

 

Oh, God! He did not like this! Shaking, his breathing rapid and shallow, Ryuichi took a shaky step down the hall and then another.

 

“And you blew it! You detestable lout! So now,” Eiri continued, his voice turning falsely sweet.

 

Ryuichi paused halfway down the hall, straining his ears to listen carefully.

 

“It's my turn.”

 

His eyes as wide as saucer's, Ryuichi gasped again.

 

“Too bad, Sakuma. You should learn to take better care of your belongings.”

 

“No,” Ryuichi breathed. “No, no, no, no!” He raced down the hall and into the den.

 

“If you don't use them, you're bound to lose them,” he heard Eiri mock.

 

Ryuichi skidded to a halt by the phone. His heart racing, he grabbed the extension off the cradle. His hands shaking uncontrollably, the phone jumped from one had to another like a game of hot potato. Juggling the phone to his ear, he cried out in panic and alarm, “No! Yuki! Yuki!”

 

Low chuckles flowed into his ear and then nothing.

 

“Yuki? Shit!” he cursed, hearing the buzz in his ear. He slammed the phone onto its cradle.

 

His vision blurred behind a stinging veil of tears. With a sob, Ryuichi covered his mouth, his other hand still holding the phone. Oh, God. What had he done? Would he lose the love of his life because he was a weak, insatiable fool?

 

No!

 

With renewed vigor and determination, Ryuichi dropped his hand from his mouth and wiped his face free of tears. He picked up the phone. His fingers danced over the keys.

 

“Tohma,” he said as soon as his long time friend picked up the phone. He did not bother to wait for him to say anything. “Get me a flight to Toronto. Now,” he ordered.

 

Sitting behind his desk in his home office, Tohma sighed and sat back in his leather chair. He knew this was going to happen. “Alright, Ryu. I'll do what I can.” He just hoped he was doing the right thing.

 

***