For those of you who haven't seen one or the other series (no real spoilers): Gravitation is a short (13 ep + 2 OAV) series that centres on the lead singer of the boy band 'Bad Luck', Shindo Shuuichi. Shuuichi falls in love with famous author Yuki Eiri, and the series is basically the roller coaster ups and downs of his life. Other people of note: Nakano Hiroshi (whom this fic centres on) is Shuuichi's best friend and guitarist, and the other original member of Bad Luck. Fujisaki Suguru is the keyboardist and music writer for Bad Luck, but was a late addition to the band. 'Nittle Grasper' was an extremely popular band, now disbanded - Ryuichi was the lead singer and song writer, Touma was the keyboardist and now runs the production company NG who produce Bad Luck's albums. Sakano is Bad Luck's producer, K was originally Ryuichi's manager but left Ryuichi to manage Bad Luck.

Weiss Kreuz is a series about four young men who work in a flowershop by day and are secretly assassins by night. Youji, Aya, Ken and Omi work for the organization 'Kritiker', and their job is to bring justice to those who think they can escape it. Their primary target for the first half of the series was Takatori Reiji, a corrupt politician - for the second half it was Schwartz, a group of psychic assassins who work for Esstet. Other people of note include: Manx, Persia and Birman, Kritiker agents (Weiss uses cats for codenames), Aya-chan (Aya's little sister), and Momoe, who owns the flowershop Weiss use as a cover.

WARNINGS: Violence, bombings, SPOILERS for Omi's past, the end of Weiss, and a few bits and pieces of Gravitation.

Author's note: You don't HAVE to have read 'Falling Forever' to understand this, but it would probably help. ^_^

Catch Me When I Fall

Chapter 1

Hiroshi felt like he was still flying on an adrenalin high as he lovingly packed away his guitar and amps into their respective boxes. The concert had been fantastic, absolutely mind-blowing in intensity - the energy had been there, the crowd had been responsive and the band had sounded better than they ever had before.

It doesn't hurt that for once Shuuichi and I are both in good moods at the same time, he reflected to himself wryly. Over the last year the group had been through a lot of ups and downs - first because of Shuuichi's obsession with the writer Yuki Eiri, and then because of Hiroshi's own roller-coaster love life with Tsukiyono Omi.

Even after several months of adjusting, he still couldn't quite get used to the idea that his sweet, caring boyfriend was a deadly assassin by night. Weiss, the group that Omi worked in, were vigilantes who had dedicated their lives to protecting innocents from the powerful and influential people in the city who believed they were safe from justice. Hiro did everything he could to support his lover, from soothing him through his nightmares to reassuring him - sometimes on an hourly basis - that what Weiss did was both necessary and right. Omi did not kill easily, despite his years of experience at it, and Hiroshi was glad for that. If ever Omi stopped fretting about the blood on his hands, THEN Hiro would start to worry about him.

It could still be difficult, though, watching him go out at night and knowing that he might be hurt, or even killed, before Hiroshi ever saw him again. He kept his fear for Omi's safety buried deep in his heart where the sensitive teen would never see it - otherwise Omi would have been torn to pieces trying to both fulfill his duties to Weiss and keep Hiro from worrying about him.

Take tonight, for example. Omi had been forced to miss the concert due to a last-minute lead on the location of a ring of kidnappers. With over twenty kids under the age of ten currently missing, Hiroshi knew that Omi couldn't risk losing a lead, certainly not over an issue as mundane as attending his boyfriend's concert. But Omi had fretted right up until he'd left for the mission, afraid that Hiro would feel slighted or ignored. Hiroshi had practically pushed him out the door, assuring him over and over that there would be other concerts for his lover to attend, and this was more important.

That didn't stop him from worrying about Omi, though. He knew this had been a particularly difficult mission, both in terms of mental and emotional involvement for the youngest White Hunter. Kidnapping missions always hit Omi harder than others, because of his fuzzy memories of the terror of his own kidnapping at age eleven - the event that had started into motion his current life as a vigilante. He hadn't been sleeping well, and Hiro had barely seen him because he spent most of his free time at the Weiss headquarters under the Koneko no Sumu, searching for a clue with his other three teammates.

He was looking forward to the end of this mission, which had dragged on for nearly a month now. Kritiker always gave Weiss a week off between missions at a minimum, and for once it happened to coincide with some time off NG had given Bad Luck. Hiro planned to take his koi out and work hard at making sure the boy didn't think of Weiss or his secret double life once all week. A lustful grin spread across his face without his realizing it - given past experience, it likely wouldn't be difficult to distract the sexy teen.

"Oi, Hiro... what're ya grinning about?" Shuuichi demanded, waving his hand in front of his guitarist's face. Hiro blinked at him, then blushed a little.

"Nothing," he answered a little too quickly, and Shuuichi gave him a knowing smirk.

"Planning what you're going to do to celebrate the concert with Omi, huh?" he snickered, and Hiro smacked him irritably. "Itai! Hey, where is Omi, anyway? He's usually back here helping us pack up after a concert." Shuuichi looked around like he was expecting to find the boy hiding in one of the boxes or something, and Hiro shrugged.

"He couldn't make it - had to study for an exam," he replied easily. He didn't like lying to his best friend, but as Omi pointed out, it was bad enough that Hiroshi knew who and what he really was. Kritiker, the organization backing Weiss, would not appreciate the information making its way to anyone else - particularly a loudmouthed gossip like Shuuichi. Omi had enrolled in a few correspondence college computer courses, mostly to provide just such an excuse.

"Maa, that sucks," Shuuichi commiserated with him. After a rocky start, the vocalist had finally begun getting along with his best friend's boyfriend, and they were slowly but surely forming a real friendship based on their mutual adoration of Nittle Grasper. "Are you gonna be able to tear him away long enough to..." he waggled his eyebrows ridiculously, "celebrate?"

Hiroshi blushed a little harder, and rolled his eyes. "None of your business," he chided his friend, chuckling. "Do I ask you for details of your love life with Yuki?"

At the merest mention of the man, Shuuichi went starry-eyed and swooned. "Yuuuukiiiiii..." he mumbled, wandering off with a sappy grin on his face, walking into the wall beside the door three times before he found the doorway itself. Hiroshi laughed outright at his star-struck best friend.

He jumped as his cell phone rang, the sharp beeps sounding from the pocket of his jacket laid over the back of his chair. His mouth twitched downwards in a frown - the only person who would be calling him at this time of night was Omi, and he never called unless he was in trouble...

He leapfrogged over the amps to get to his jacket, fishing for the little phone and stabbing at the 'talk' button on the fourth ring. "Nakano," he answered, breathless and worried.

"Hiroshi," the man on the other end greeted him, and Hiro's eyebrows rose. It wasn't Omi, it was Ken - one of his friends and a fellow member of Weiss. It had been Ken who had made Omi and Hiro talk it out and get over it both times they'd nearly broken up, and Hiro was always aware that he owed a great deal of his current happiness to the ex-soccer player.

"Ken!" he exclaimed in surprise. A bad feeling started to form in the pit of his stomach - why would Ken be calling him and not Omi?

"Omi's hurt," the other man told him, confirming his suspicion. Hiro drew in a sharp breath and collapsed into his chair, shaking. Ken sounded exhausted and in pain, and that didn't bode well for Omi's condition.

"How bad?" he managed to get out through the clenching sensation in his gut.

"A couple of knife wounds and he was shot in the shoulder, but he's gonna be okay," Ken hastened to assure him. "They'll be releasing him soon, but he can't drive his bike with his arm in a sling, and none of the rest of us are in any shape to take him home. I'd just put him in a cab, but he's pretty shaken and I thought he'd appreciate seeing you."

"Where are you?" Hiro asked, already shrugging into his jacket and reaching for his helmet and keys. The equipment could wait - Omi was more important.

"Police hospital," Ken replied predictably. "Aya and I are in the waiting room outside the emergency surgery - Youji and Omi are still in there."

"I'll be right there," Hiro promised, and clicked the cell phone off. He jumped out of the seat and strode for the door, a grim look on his face.

"Oi, Hiro! Where are you going?" Shuuichi collared him a few steps from the door out of the change rooms. "We still have all this equipment to move!"

"Omi was in an accident," Hiro told him, not slowing his steps at all. Shuuichi's eyes went wide, and Hiro saw Fujisaki and K behind him looking worried as well. "He's okay, but he needs a ride home - and a friendly face, I think," Hiroshi added. "I said I'd go pick him up. Sorry guys - I'll clean up double next concert, I promise."

"Don't worry about it," K told him airily, waving off his concerns. "Take care of Omi, and we'll clean up here." With his typical ingenuous ease, Omi had captured the hearts of Hiro's friends hook, line and sinker. There were very few people in the world who could resist the sweet combination of adorableness and sincerity that was Omi. Hiro nodded his thanks, and vanished down the hallway.

It was a twenty-minute ride to the police hospital, and Hiroshi cursed every second of it. He kept telling himself to calm down, that Omi was fine, but his heart was racing in his chest and he knew he wouldn't believe his lover was actually okay until he saw it for himself. Parking the bike took another two minutes, and then he was running for the emergency entrance.

He skidded to a stop in the waiting room, seeing Ken slumped over in one of the hard plastic chairs and Aya leaning up against the wall with his customary scowl firmly in place. They both looked up and nodded as Hiroshi entered, and he nodded back, panting for breath. Weiss were all aware that Hiro knew who and what they were - it had seemed foolish to try to hide it from them, and it came in handy for cases just such as this.

Ken had a bandage around his head, and his eyes didn't seem to be tracking quite right. Aya was pale, even more so than usual, but there weren't any visible injuries on him. Ken gave him a weak grin. "Omi should be out any..."

The doors swung open, and the boy in question limped out, pale and sweating, with his arm in a sling. The tatters of his t-shirt and jackets hung off his shoulders, the long, thin tears showing off the white bandages beneath them. He caught sight of his boyfriend standing with his teammates, and his face lit up. "Hiroshi!" he breathed out, collapsing into Hiro's waiting arms. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you! How did you know?"

"Ken called me," Hiro told him, holding him tight and stroking his hair, trying to surreptitiously check out his lover's wounds. "You okay?"

"I'll be fine," Omi assured him, the pain in his eyes and strain on his face belying the casual statement. "We ran into Schwartz, and I got on the wrong end of Farfarello's knife, that's all." Hiro repressed a shudder - his sole encounter with the other assassin group had been with Schuldich, the German telepath; but he'd heard enough stories from Omi, and seen enough of his lover's nightmares, to realize just how bad Schwartz could be. "A couple of new scars on my chest, and I have to keep my shoulder immobile for a few weeks, but nothing life-threatening. I didn't even break anything," Omi added with a wry twist of his lips.

"Any news of Youji, Omi?" Ken asked, and Hiroshi realized for the first time that he hadn't seen any sign of the fourth and last member of the team. Omi shook his head.

"No, he was still in surgery when they let me out. The nurses and doctors aren't saying a damn thing," he added, his frustration clear as he swore. "Youji-kun was shot as well," Omi told Hiro at his questioning glance. "We think the bullet nicked a lung - his breathing wasn't very good, and he was coughing up blood."

Hiro hugged him a little tighter, understanding now the worry on everyone's faces. They all knew that any of them might die at any time on a mission, but the reality of it was always more difficult to face. He didn't even suggest leaving with Omi - he knew his lover wouldn't be willing to move from this room until they had assurances that Youji was out of danger. The alternative - that the lanky playboy wouldn't make it through the operation alive - just wasn't worth considering. He steered Omi to one of the chairs, sitting beside him and drawing his head down to his shoulder to rest. Omi snuggled against him gratefully, holding his hand in a death grip.

Another half hour went by, every second seeming to drag on into eternity, before a tired-looking doctor in scrubs came through the swinging doors. Instantly everybody was on their feet, staring at her; she didn't even blink, used to being the sole focus of attention from worried families and friends.

"Kudou-san is out of danger," she said, and the rest of what she'd planned to say was drowned out by whoops from Ken and Omi. Hiro grinned at the two madly cheering boys, and even Aya looked infinitely relieved. The doctor waited until the noise had died down, then continued, "We'd like to keep him here for observation for the next few days, but he should be ready to go home after that. He'll need complete bed rest for at least a week after that; we'll want him to come in for a check up then, and we'll decide whether more bed rest is needed or whether he can do some light activities."

Ken made a face and rolled his eyes. "Keeping Youji in bed shouldn't be difficult," he commented dryly, using humour to cover the relief of fear he felt. "It's getting him OUT of it that's usually the problem!"

Omi giggled with him, the sound more a release of tension than anything else. His good arm squeezed Hiro tightly around the waist. "Let's go home," he whispered to his lover, sounding exhausted. "Youji-kun won't be able to have visitors until the anaesthesia wears off, and that won't be for hours yet. I need sleep!"

Smiling softly, Hiro nodded, and started to guide him out of the emergency room. Ken and Aya were likewise getting ready to go, Aya limping badly and actually leaning on Ken's shoulder for assistance. Omi waved at them as he and Hiroshi exited the room.

Back at the bike, Hiro got the extra helmet for Omi and got him arranged on the back of the bike. "Can you hang on okay with your good arm?" Hiro asked, noting the bandages on Omi's forearm. The boy nodded sleepily, the adrenalin rush that had been keeping him on his feet finally wearing off. "Okay, but we'll take it slow so you don't fall off."

He kept the bike well under the speed limit, feeling Omi leaning against his back like a warm, human blanket. The arm around his waist went lax quickly, and Hiro knew his passenger had fallen asleep on him. They made it back to their condo without incident, and Omi woke just enough to stumble into the elevator with him. Hiro manoeuvred him into the apartment they'd been sharing for the last three months, helped him strip out of the ruined clothes and tucked him into bed. Omi was asleep before his head even hit the pillow, but the frown didn't leave his face until Hiro was in bed beside him, curled around his body like a shield. Hiro smiled softly at him, grateful for the warmth against him and the soft sound of Omi's breathing that meant his lover was alive and well beside him. He refused to think of what he would do on the day that it was Omi on that surgery table...

The next morning dawned bright and early - much too early and far too bright for the comfort of the two exhausted men curled up in bed together. Hiro awoke with the sun in his face, Omi mumbling a sleepy protest and burying his face against Hiroshi's shoulder to block out the light. Chuckling, Hiro rolled over and checked out the alarm clock. Eight o'clock - much as he would love to stay and just hold his lover all day, he needed to get up. They had one last meeting at NG Productions today before Bad Luck started their well-earned vacation, and he didn't want to be late.

"Omittchi," he whispered into his koi's ear, his breath feathering the soft hair lying there. Omi wrinkled his nose adorably, and turned his head to escape the irritant. Hiro snickered again, and shook the boy's shoulder gently. Gently, because with his shirt off the bruises from the battle the night before were far more obvious, as were the stark white bandages against his pale skin. Hiro could see a few streaks of dried blood that hadn't quite been cleaned up, and his heart squeezed again at the knowledge of how close he'd come to losing the most important thing in his life. "Wake up, koi," he murmured, shaking insistently. "I have to go to work."

Omi blinked sleepy blue eyes at him, yawning adorably. "Mou," he complained blearily. "Why can't you stay here with me?"

"K insisted on one last debrief on the concert before he would let us go for the week," Hiro reminded him regretfully. "I should be done by lunch - when I get back we can go out to the park for a picnic. Sound good?"

Omi nodded, yawning again. "I don't want to be alone, though," he said, and Hiroshi nodded in understanding. It was a common complaint after a tough mission - Omi needed human contact to reassure him, and he hated being alone after one of Weiss had been hurt. "Can I come in with you?"

"I don't see why not," Hiro answered after thinking about it for a moment. "You've sat in on the meetings before. But it does mean you have to get up now!"

Omi made a face, but sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Ite!" he exclaimed, wincing. "Ooh, I'm stiff. God, do those bruises on my back look as bad as they feel?"

"At least," Hiro agreed, wincing himself at the sight. Omi's back was livid with bruises, and it looked like he'd been lucky he hadn't broken his spine.

Omi sighed. "That's what happens when you try to take on both Farfarello and Nagi at the same time," he muttered sourly. "Teach me to be the distraction!"

Hiro's eyes widened. "Nagi... that's the telekinetic, right?" he asked, and Omi nodded confirmation, reaching awkwardly for a pair of jeans. "And Farfarello is the insane one with the knife fetish. Why were you dealing with both of them?"

"Ken-kun was setting the last of the explosives," Omi told him, struggling into the pants one handed. Hiro knew better than to offer to help - Omi stubbornly insisted on handling everything himself unless he was truly stuck, no matter how injured he was. "And Youji-kun was covering Aya-kun on the other side, that's why he got hurt."

"And Ken and Aya?" Hiro asked, scrambling into his own clothes. He grabbed a brush and started tugging it through his hair, wincing as it caught on the knots.

"We had to set off the explosion early, because of Schwartz," Omi told him, now working on a shirt. He'd gotten himself tangled up in it, unable to lift or move his left arm at all, and his big blue eyes peered out at Hiro over the hem. "Uh... help me, please?" he finally asked, and Hiro moved to straighten out the shirt, carefully keeping the laughter off his face. "Ken-kun was hit in the head by a piece of debris, and got a concussion. Aya-kun was carrying Youji-kun, and he wrenched his knee. But we got the targets and destroyed the building despite Schwartz's interference, so all in all it went pretty well."

Hiro grimaced at that assessment - all four teammates injured AND one almost fatally so didn't seem like it 'went pretty well' to him, but then again Omi had a slightly different set of priorities than he did. All Hiroshi cared about was keeping his boyfriend safe, while Omi would happily risk his life to save the innocents he fought for.

"We didn't find the kids, though," Omi concluded, his eyes going dark with that flat hardness that had surprised Hiro so much when they'd first started dating. It was only when he had that look on his face that you realized he'd seen so much more of the dark side of life than anyone his age had a right to. "There was a case full of money, and records of transactions, so they must have been sold before we got there. We turned the info over to Kritiker to see if they can track them - it's beyond our abilities."

Hiro put a comforting hand on Omi's head. "It's not your fault," he told his lover firmly. Omi had a bad habit of taking the blame onto himself for everything that ever went wrong in a mission, and this was no exception. "You guys did everything you could to get there in time - and you stopped them from kidnapping any MORE kids."

Omi gave him a watery smile, and a brief hug of thanks. "I know," he replied softly. "Thank you, Hiro."

They finally got themselves straightened out, and even managed to find time for a quick breakfast before they got to NG. They came into the meeting moments before it was supposed to start. Not surprisingly, Shuuichi wasn't there yet, so they had plenty of time to spare.

K raised an eyebrow at the sling Omi's arm was in. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned. Omi gave him, Fujisaki and Sakano a sunny smile.

"I'm fine," he reassured them. "I decided to get some snacks to munch on while I was studying, and my bike slid on some loose gravel. Didn't even damage the bike, but I got cut up from the stones and dislocated my shoulder." Hiro kept his face carefully neutral - it was a good cover story, but it never failed to surprise him just how easily and how well Omi lied about this sort of thing. With his big blue eyes and innocent manner, Omi seemed like he should have been a terrible liar - which of course made his lies all the more believable. Even his eyes were full of sincerity, as if it would never cross his mind to lie about anything.

"I'm glad you're okay," Sakano told him sincerely. Fujisaki nodded as well.

"Thanks," Omi replied warmly. "I appreciate it. I hope you don't mind me sitting in - Hiro was worried about leaving me alone at home while I'm sort of helpless like this."

"No problem," K answered in English, leaning back in his seat and crossing his legs. The action revealed the grip of his gun sticking out of the ever-present shoulder holster. Hiro saw Omi's eyes flick to it automatically, felt the subtle tension in his boyfriend's shoulders before Omi made himself relax. The White Hunter always reacted that way to K and his guns, and Hiro supposed he couldn't blame him. If he got shot at on a regular basis, he would probably be hyper-aware of guns as well!

They settled into their seats, Omi shifting a bit until he found a comfortable position. The others had been watching the morning news, and Hiroshi glanced over to see what was on the screen as Sakano fussed with the sound.

"...act of terrorism, according to police experts," the pretty reporter on screen was saying. Behind her the wreckage of a building was prominent, twisted girders and chunks of concrete scattered over the street. "Several powerful bombs were set at strategic locations throughout the building, sending the twenty story office building crashing to the ground at two a.m. this morning."

Hiro glanced sideways at Omi, and saw that his lover looked just as shocked and dismayed as everyone else in the room. Only someone who knew him as well as Hiro did would have caught the flicker of darkness that flashed through his eyes, and Hiro knew that this was the building Weiss had attacked the night before. He caught Omi's hand under the table, and felt the White Hunter squeeze his fingers back gratefully.

"What is the world coming to?" Sakano complained, waving the remote at the screen for emphasis. "Why would someone want to bomb an office building?"

"Shh!" Fujisaki hushed him. "They're explaining it now, I think."

"Several bodies have been pulled out of the wreckage already," the reporter told her viewers, walking backwards so that the camera panned over the rescue efforts. "Prominent local businessman Matsura Kazuya, owner of the building, has already been discovered along with several of his associates. Four men the police have identified as powerful Yakuza lords have also been uncovered, leading police to suspect that the bombing may have been the result of a Yakuza falling-out. Matsura has been suspected of dealings with the Yakuza in the past, but no charges have ever been laid."

Hiro saw Omi nod minutely, as if satisfied with something. The look in his eyes was still grim, however, the darkness putting the lie to the shock on his face.

A shout went up from the rescue workers, and the reporter hurried over to see what was causing the fuss. Her eyes widened, and her face went pale as she clutched at her microphone and stared into the pit the rescuers had dug.

"Oh my god," she said, her voice broken and shocked. Hiro traded glances with Omi, who shook his head slightly, indicating that he didn't know what might have caused such a reaction. "A hidden room has just been revealed in the basement level," the reporter continued, voice still shaking. "It looks like one of the bombs was set almost directly above it." She swallowed, and turned away as if she couldn't bear to look at it. Her haunted eyes stared into the camera, sharing her horror with the audience. "The bodies of several young children have been revealed - at first count it looks like nearly a dozen, and workers are still uncovering more from the debris..."

Omi's hand tightened on his painfully, and Hiro turned to see that he looked like he was going to be sick. His mouth was open in a silent gasp, his eyes wide and horrified. "It's awful, isn't it?" Fujisaki said, misinterpreting his reaction. "How could anyone do such a thing..."

Omi turned those big, pain-filled eyes to Hiro, who saw all the things that Fujisaki had missed through ignorance. Guilt, misery, shame, and horror were just a few of the more nameable emotions floating across his face. He leaned over abruptly and buried his face in Hiroshi's shoulder, his body shaking with suppressed sobs. "We didn't know," he whispered, his voice thankfully muffled by Hiro's shirt so that the others couldn't understand him. "Kami-sama, we didn't know!"

|Chapter 1| |Chapter 2| |Chapter 3| |Chapter 4| |Chapter 5| |Epilogue|

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