Author's Note: If you haven't seen Gravitation, go find it!

Here's a rundown for those who don't know Gravitation: Shindou Shuuichi and Nakano Hiroshi are best friends struggling to make their band, Bad Luck, a hit. Shuuichi meets and falls in love with a reclusive writer, Yuki Eiri, and things fall apart from there. Nittle Grasper is the name of a band that was very popular when Shuuichi and Hiroshi were kids, and Shuuichi is obsessed with the ex-lead singer, Sakuma Ryuichi. Seguchi Touma, the president of the company that is producing Bad Luck, was the keyboardist for Nittle Grasper. I think that's pretty much all you need to know. ^_^

Falling Forever

Hiroshi leaned against the bar, sipping idly at his beer and watching the dance floor. The patterns of light and movement struck his artistic fancy, and he absently hummed along with the song pounding out over the speakers. Appropriately enough, they were playing a Nittle Grasper song.

Bad Luck had finally gotten its first break - and it had come on the heels of its biggest disaster. He still couldn't believe Shuuichi had just frozen like that - it wasn't like his friend to suffer from any kind of fright, stage or other. And it certainly wasn't like him to forget the lyrics to his own song!

If not for Ryuichi's intervention, the concert would have been a disaster. With the former Nittle Grasper star's help they'd turned it into a hit, capturing the hearts of the audience - and more importantly, the attention of NG's president, Seguchi Touma.

And all because of Shuuichi's obsession with that writer, Yuki Eiri. Hiroshi couldn't believe how hard and fast his friend had fallen for the intractable jerk. Yuki certainly hadn't done anything to encourage his attentions - on the contrary, the bitterly sarcastic author had gone out of his way to hurt Shuuichi at nearly every opportunity. In Hiro's opinion, Shuuichi could do much better.

Yeah, like you for instance? his subconscious tugged at him. He scowled and drained his beer, fighting to ignore it. Sure, he'd been in love with his fiery friend for as long as he could remember, since he'd first been old enough to understand lust. But it had long ago become obvious that Shuuichi was never going to think of him that way, though Hiro'd never really had any doubts as to his friend's orientation. About a year ago Hiro had decided, once and for all, that when Shuuichi finally found someone who could capture his heart, his best friend would smile and encourage him and generally do everything in his power to make Shuuichi's life happy. Just as he'd always done.

But YUKI? his mind protested. He might as well crawl into bed with a scorpion!

Hiro sighed and gestured for another beer, slapping some bills onto the counter to cover it. He caught the long-necked bottle the bartender slid his way and raised it to his lips, tipping his head back to drink half of it in one long, practiced swallow. The facts were that Shuuichi was head over heels, for better or worse - and he'd left the concert to chase after Yuki, not even taking the time to help pack up the equipment. So much for the after-concert party he and Hiro had planned for weeks. Ironically, Hiro saluted them both with the bottle, mentally wished them luck, and drained it dry.

He slammed it down onto the counter with a little too much force, and winced. He'd already drunk more than he usually let himself, and he'd done it in half the time, too. It wouldn't do to get plastered - maybe he'd better take some time out and hit the dance floor.

Weaving his way through the crowd, he tried to empty his mind and let the music take hold of him. It wasn't hard - like Shuuichi, his life revolved around their music, and all music fascinated him. He didn't have the kind of creativity that Shuuichi did, but he loved to lose himself in the interplay of melody and counter-melody, harmony and counterpoint. The DJ had shifted from Nittle Grasper to something a little more modern, but the music itself didn't really matter, just the rhythm. Hiro let the beat grab him, and started to dance.

Even tipsy his dancing was probably better than most of the people there. The crowds parted a little to make room for him, a few people on the periphery pausing their own movements long enough to applaud him. He accepted the praise expressionlessly, hardly even aware of it, and continued to dance.

If this night had gone the way they'd planned it, Shuuichi would have been here, dancing with him. The two of them together were phenomenal, Hiro knew - a side effect of all the martial arts training they'd taken together, and the closeness of their friendship. They could almost read each other's minds, predicting what their partner would do so they could echo it in perfect time. It was the same kind of synergy they got when they played, and it was what made Bad Luck as good as it was.

The feeling of something missing became so strong, so rapidly, that Hiro almost imagined he could see Shuuichi dancing before him. That artfully messy haircut, the big, shiny eyes, the boneless grace of a martial artist in motion...

Then he blinked, and blinked again, when the image didn't fade and disappear. Shuuichi WAS there, dancing just a few feet away, Hiro's view of him blocked occasionally by other dancers coming between them. Hiro glanced around, but there was no sign of Yuki, either on the dance floor or at any of the tables ringing the open space. What was Shuuichi doing here, alone, after ditching Hiro earlier? Had he been unable to find Yuki? Had the bastard tossed him out on his ear?

He stopped dancing and shoved his way forward, ignoring the few complaints he got, making his way to his friend. He rested a heavy hand on Shuuichi's shoulder, stopping him in mid-movement. The smaller boy blinked up at him, surprised.

"Shuuichi!" Hiro shouted at him over the noise of the music. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going after Yuki!"

The huge eyes looked up at him with no sign of comprehension. "I'm sorry?" he shouted back, voice straining to be heard. "Do I know you?"

Hiro frowned, and stared down at him. After a few seconds the subtle differences began to register - this boy was a little bit shorter than Shuuichi, and though the flashing coloured lights in the club had made it difficult to tell from a distance, Hiro saw now that his hair was actually some light shade of brown. More importantly, his voice was much higher than Shuuichi's. He flushed, and bowed slightly. "Ah, gomen! I mistook you for a friend of mine. You even dance like him!"

The boy smiled, dimples appearing at the corners of his mouth. "That's okay! Though I hope that was a compliment, and not an insult..."

Hiroshi chuckled, finding himself unaccountably drawn to the boy. "It was a compliment. You're a great dancer. Do you have martial arts training?"

The boy flushed slightly, and tilted his head in an endearing manner. "Not really. I just love to dance."

Someone bumped into Hiro from behind, and he stumbled forward against the smaller boy. They both nearly went over, and only a desperate grab for each other's shoulders saved them from a nasty tumble. Hiro found himself pressed up against the boy's lean body, and felt himself react to the sensation. Blushing, he pulled away. "The dance floor's not really the place for a conversation, I guess," he commented, grinning.

The boy shrugged. "I was getting tired of dancing anyway," he replied, and glanced up at Hiro shyly through his lashes. Hiro wasn't entirely certain he was reading the boy right - this seemed an awful lot like a very subtle come-on. He decided to take a gamble.

"Want to grab some drinks and a table?" he invited. The boy smiled and nodded, and they both made their way off the floor.

Once settled with a pair of beers in a relatively quiet corner, they found themselves at something of a loss for words. Picking up strange boys on the dance floor was a new experience to Hiroshi, and he discovered he was embarrassed. Finally he decided to start with the obvious. "I didn't really introduce myself. I'm Nakano Hiroshi."

The boy frowned a bit, like he was trying to remember something; then his eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh my gosh! The guitarist from Bad Luck?"

Hiroshi was a little taken aback. They'd had a grand total of one concert so far, and that was really only as the opening act for another band. And it had been earlier that night. How did this boy know who he was? "Ah... hai."

The boy's smile widened another notch, and in his excitement he reminded Hiro even more forcibly of Shuuichi. "Wow! I was just at your concert! Well, I mean the Ask concert, but you guys were so much better it might as well have been yours. How on earth did you ever get Sakuma Ryuichi to sing with you?"

Hiro shrugged. "That was none of our doing. Apparently he just happened to be in the audience, and felt like bailing us out. Thank god! I can't think of anything else that would have jumpstarted Shuuichi like that!"

"You're so lucky," the boy replied enviously. "I'd have given anything to be that close to Ryuichi!"

Hiro raised an eyebrow at him. "Not another one!" he exclaimed in a teasing tone. "Is everyone obsessed with him?"

The boy blushed. "I wouldn't say I'm obsessed, exactly," he objected, and Hiroshi chuckled.

"So it's just an accident that you have exactly the same hairstyle as him?" he asked. The boy blushed more.

"Well, no..." he admitted, then had to laugh along with Hiroshi. "I'm Tsukiyono Omi," he finally introduced himself. "I wouldn't normally have been at a concert like that, but a friend of mine got the tickets for her birthday, and the person she'd planned to go with cancelled on her at the last minute. Her parents wouldn't let her go alone, so she begged me to go with her." He smiled and shrugged. "I don't like Ask much, but Bad Luck was great, and getting to see Sakuma Ryuichi live...!"

Hiro quirked his brow again. "You don't have to say you liked it just 'cause I'm in the band," he told Omi off-handedly. "I can tell your main interest was Ryuichi..."

"Oh, no!" Omi cut him off, distressed that he'd misunderstood. "Bad Luck was wonderful, really! I think you guys are going to go really far. And I'll be able to say I met you when you were just starting out!" He dimpled again, the smile infectious.

Hiro found himself fascinated by the boy across from him. The physical resemblance to Shuuichi was overwhelming, but their personalities were very different, while at the same time being very similar. Where Shuuichi was restless to the point of hyperactivity, this boy had a boundless energy that flowed from him in a gentle, steady stream. Where Shuuichi had a driving need to be seen and appreciated by everyone around him, Omi seemed to want to make everyone around him happy. It struck Hiro that watching the two of them together would be like watching a puppy and a kitten play.

He was startled to realize that he was staring, and he blushed and looked away. He was even more startled to see a similar blush on Omi's face when he looked back, and to see that his wide blue eyes were focused anywhere but on Hiro's face. Could it be that this attraction wasn't just one sided?

"Uh... do you want to go dance again?" Omi blurted, still blushing. Hiro glanced at his mostly untouched beer, and discovered that he really didn't want any more of it anyway.

"Sure!" he replied, and Omi glanced up to smile at him again. They made their way back onto the dance floor, finding a relatively empty space to one side.

Omi was at least as good a dancer as Shuuichi, Hiroshi realized quickly. They moved together like a matched set, echoing and anticipating one another's moves so smoothly it looked like they'd practiced it for hours. It felt natural to move like this, brushing up against Omi's body every so often as their orbiting courses brought them closer together before swinging them apart again. Each teasing pass raised his internal temperature another notch, and the flush on Omi's delicate features said he felt it too.

They danced together for hours and Hiro barely noticed the time flying by. Occasionally they would stop for a breather and a drink, before heading back out to dance some more. There was none of the awkwardness between them that should have existed, no sign of strain in their rapidly forming friendship as the moves turned more and more frankly sensual.

Finally, during one break in the music, Hiro debated with himself. It was getting close to midnight, and while he wouldn't have minded dancing until dawn, sooner or later this magical-feeling night was going to come to a close. Should he risk making a fool of himself, or risk losing a chance to pursue this odd relationship further? He was still trying to decide when a very drunk young girl staggered up to them and deposited herself in Omi's arms.

"Ne, Omi-kun!" she said over-loudly, tugging at his sleeve as he deftly helped her stay upright. "'R you gonna dance all night? 'F I don' leave soon, I'll miss curfew!"

"Ah... hai, Yumiko-san!" he replied, steadying her again as she started to tilt. There was an embarrassed glint in his eyes as he looked over her shoulder at Hiro. "Anou... I think you've had a bit too much to drink... I'm sorry I haven't been better company!"

She giggled tipsily, leaning against him. "That's okay, Omi-kun. I forgive you - as long as you get me home on time, so I don't get grounded again!"

"Hai, hai," he answered, draping her arm over his shoulder and putting his own arm around her waist. "Are you sure you'll be able to stay on the bike behind me? Maybe we should call a cab..."

She made a derisive noise. "I'll be fine! It's not far."

Hiro felt his opportunity slipping through his fingers - and found that he didn't want to lose it. "Ne, Omi... this is going to sound an awful lot like I'm trying to pick you up or something weird, but... do you want to get together some time? To, uh, hang out or something?" He was mortified to feel the heat blossoming in his cheeks - the blush would make it even more obvious that this wasn't an entirely platonic invitation.

Omi had a similar expression on his face. "S-sure," he stuttered, shifting his weight to compensate for the listing girl in his arms. "Uh... most afternoons I'm working..."

"Neeeee, Omi!" the girl interrupted, whining petulantly. "When're you gonna make me that flower arrangement you promised me last week, anyway? The one for my birthday?"

Omi rolled his eyes. "I told you, Yumiko-san, the lilies won't be ready for another week yet. And you said you wanted lilies, didn't you?"

"Oh yeah." She giggled again, and turned her attention to Hiroshi. "Omi-kun makes the best arrangements!" she informed him grandly. "Better than the other three. You should come see him work!"

Omi's blush deepened. "Yumiko-san, I wouldn't go that far..." he protested in embarrassment.

"Where would I go to see him work?" Hiroshi asked, amused at his new friend's predicament. Omi sighed with a long-suffering air.

"The Kon'ko!" was the girl's unintelligible answer.

"I work at the Koneko no Sumu," Omi elaborated, leaning back a bit against the girl's weight as she tried to pitch forward.

Hiro tilted his head. "The flower shop downtown? I know it." He'd walked by it all the time on his way to and from school before he'd graduated, and often been intrigued by the swarm of ever-present schoolgirls around it. "I'll see you sometime soon, then?"

Omi nodded, and smiled at him. "Hai! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get Yumiko-san home. Mata ne!"

Hiroshi watched him make his way to the exit of the club, the bubbly girl hanging on his arm and occasionally tugging him off-balance. There was a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, and a nagging at the back of his brain. Something told him that this chance encounter was the beginning of something very important in his life.

|Chapter 1| |Chapter 2| |Chapter 3| |Chapter 4| |Chapter 5| |Chapter 6| |Chapter 7|

Return to Weiss Kreuz Page

Return to the Main Index

Email Miko no da