To The End

Disclaimer: I don’t own Gravitation or any of its characters. Gravitation belongs to Maki Murakami, I’m only borrowing them temporarily for entertainment purposes. I don’t make money off this. I just love the characters and enjoy writing.


A/N: Ten down, four more chapters to go. Thanks to all who\'ve kept up in reading this and for everyone who\'s left a review.

Reviews:

TricksterGoddess: Thank you again. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I think you\'ll enjoy the next ones.

DivinePunishment: Wait no longer, here\'s the next installment. I think things are really starting to get interesting. =D

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Something on Your Mind
Week 9
Day 58 of Eiri’s absence

Tatsuha stared quietly at his older brother sitting in the chair next to him. Eiri was smoking and looking away from the younger man. “Well?” Tatsuha asked impatiently.

“Well, what?” Eiri snarled, moving only his hand to his lips to take a drag of his cigarette.

Tatsuha rolled his eyes. “You called me and asked me to come see you, yet all we’ve done for the past hour is exchange some minor conversation and stare at each other, or the wall.”

“You didn’t have to come, Tatsuha,” Eiri replied as he released the smoke slowly from his lungs.

Tatsuha growled in frustration, snatching his own cigarette box from its place on the table in front of him. The young man opened the box and hit it on his palm to expel one cigarette from its container. He brought the cigarette to his lips, lighting and discarding the pack from his hand back to the table. “You asked; of course I came.”

Eiri made no movement, his face still away from his brother. Slowly, he raised his hand to his mouth to take another long drag. “I like the quiet, what can I say?”

Tatsuha took a quick breath of smoke, not bothering to exhale it before he replied, “Then perhaps it would have been better if I hadn’t shown up.”

Eiri turned to look at his younger brother. “Then leave. No one is keeping you here,” he snarled.

“Damn it, Eiri! What is with you? You’re so damn contradictive,” Tatsuha exclaimed, his eyes fixed on his scowling sibling.

“What do you mean?” Eiri questioned, moving slightly forward to punch out his cigarette in the ashtray on the table between them.

“You ask me to meet you in your hotel and when I get here it’s as if you’re doing me a favor by being here.”

Eiri remained silent, he only moved to lean back into his chair.

“Then there was Bad Luck’s concert. You acted like it was stupid to go and yet you showed up.”

Eiri raised an eyebrow. “What in the world would make you think I would go?”

“I saw you, Eiri! Don’t try to act like you didn’t go,” Tatsuha said, his voice stern.

“So what if I did go?” Eiri shrugged.

Tatsuha sighed. He was already tired of running in circles with his older sibling. The monk shook his head gently. “Why are you so defensive?”

“Why do you ask so many damn questions?” Eiri retorted quickly, annoyance seeping through his tone.

Tatsuha took a deep inhalation of his cigarette and let his body relax to the feeling of nicotine in his lungs. “I want to help you, brother. I know something is going on and I want to help, but you have built these walls around you and not even I can get in anymore,” Tatsuha explained, concernedly.

“Do you really think you could help me at all? Let me assure you, there is nothing anyone can do,” Eiri answered, his voice cold and distant.

“I can listen. Sometimes it’s good to just vocalize what’s going on or to share with someone. You aren’t alone,” Tatsuha reassured.

Eiri sighed, shifting in his seat. “Will you leave it alone after I answer?”

Tatsuha nodded, hoping that he would get even a glimpse of what was eating his brother.

Eiri remained quiet for a moment before speaking. “Ask a question and I’ll answer it, but I will only answer three, so choose them wisely.”

Tatsuha blinked, mulling over questions he could ask. There were so many, he didn’t know where he should start. They had to be important, this opportunity seemed rare and he didn’t want to waste them with unimportant questions.

“Well?” Eiri growled, glaring at his brother.

Tatsuha jumped slightly, his thoughts momentarily distracting him from the present. “Alright, here’s one. Why did you leave home?”

“To think,” came the gruff reply.

“About what?” Tatsuha asked, taking a long drag from his cigarette.

Eiri eyed his younger brother, cursing softly under his breath. “I need to find out how I feel about the brat.”

Tatsuha blew smoke from his lungs, moving forward in his seat to press out his cigarette in the tray. He should have known his brother wouldn’t make this easy for him. “What is there to think about?”

Eiri shifted in his seat again, thinking over his answer. “I need to find out if I like Shuichi around because it’s convenient or because he won’t go away or if it’s because I actually like the damn brat.”

“You mean love, don’t you, Eiri?”

Tatsuha’s question was answered with a glare. “You’re three questions are up, Tatsuha.”

“Fine, but let me tell you something, brother. For a man with great intelligence, there are some things you are a complete idiot about.”

Eiri growled low in his throat, and his anger and annoyance showed on his face. “How dare…”

Tatsuha held up a hand and interrupted his older brother. “I’m not done.” Eiri quieted, but his angry demeanor stayed. “As I was saying, you’ve blocked people out for so long. You hide behind your walls and shut everyone out. Now that someone has peaked through, you’re freaking out. I know the answers to the questions you seek. Do you love Shuichi? Does he love you? How could he love you? Do you think it will last? What if it doesn’t? Will he betray you? I could answer them all easily.”

“How would you be able to answer them?” Eiri questioned.

Tatsuha smiled. “Because, dear brother. I watch the two of you together. Anyone who pays attention could answer those questions.”

Eiri watched Tatsuha in silence for a few moments before breaking the deafening silence. “Well?”

Tatsuha couldn’t help the smirk that spread across his face. The tables had turned in his favor. “Well what?”

Eiri snorted. “So you know these answers and won’t tell me, is that it?” Tatsuha could tell his brother wanted to hear what he had to say, but was playing as if it didn’t mean anything to him.

Tatsuha leaned back into the loveseat, watching the other man. Was that a glimmer of fear in his brother’s eyes? “Answer me something first, Eiri.”

The writer looked to the young man, offering only silence as his answer.

“You’ve been away from Shuichi for what, eight weeks now? How often do you think about him? How much do you miss him? Can you see yourself living without him, living like this, waiting in an empty room, alone?”

Eiri looked away, finding the wall more interesting than his sibling. “When did you become Mr. Relationship Expert?”

Tatsuha grinned. “Let’s just say that Ryuichi and I are now dating.” The young monk sighed softly; he knew that Eiri had no intentions of answering his questions. He could only hope that his brother would think on them. For now, he would let the blond change the conversation.

Eiri let out a hoarse chuckle. “I can’t believe you’re dating that imbecile.”

Tatsuha felt himself turn hot for a moment as anger washed over him. The younger man took a breath and decided it was best to use this to his advantage. “I like who I am when I’m around him and I like how I feel when he’s near me.”

Eiri looked at his young sibling with a look of surprise. It didn’t go unnoticed by Tatsuha. That got you, didn’t it brother, the young monk thought.

Eiri recovered, his face going back to one of annoyed amusement. “You deserve each other, idiots.”

Tatsuha stood up, and laughed quietly. “You’re so contradictive, brother. You say one thing and mean the complete opposite. You’re not so hard to understand.”

Eiri watched Tatsuha. His face gave his brother no answers, but Tatsuha was certain the blond understood what he was saying. “I meant exactly what I said, that you’re both idiots and you deserve each other,” Eiri replied.

The young man laughed again softly and shook his head. “You must forgive me, Eiri. I must go to Tokyo to pick up my boyfriend. We’re having dinner with Shuichi tonight.”

“Make sure he doesn’t burn the place down, would you?” Eiri replied, not moving to walk his brother out.

“I doubt he would. He’s been taking cooking classes.”

“God help his instructor,” Eiri said shaking his head.

“You’d be surprised. From what I hear, he’s been doing well and is one of the top students in the class.”

Eiri turned in his seat to look at his brother putting on his jacket. “We are talking about the same Shuichi, aren’t we? The one who cuts himself to shreds when cutting carrots.”

Tatsuha chuckled. “Yes, the same Shuichi, but he’s changed a bit. You’d even be proud of him.”

Eiri stared blankly at his sibling. “Shuichi,” he mumbled.

“Do me a favor, Eiri. Don’t wait too long. He’s changed, but don’t wait until he’s changed too much. He’ll lose himself in trying to be perfect for you.” Tatsuha put on his shoes and looked back into the hotel room to his quiet brother. “Think about what we said.”

“Thank you,” Eiri mumbled again.

Tatsuha grinned ear to ear. “I’ll be sure to give Shuichi your gift.”

“My gift? It’s from you, it’s your gift.” Eiri huffed.

“But you helped. Good bye, Eiri, I’ll check in on you in a week or so.”


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Shuichi poured the contents of his pan into a bowl, putting the pan down carefully. He put the top onto the bowl to keep it warm and placed the now empty pan into the sink.

The young boy looked to the clock. Tatsuha and Ryuichi were late. He hoped they were still coming for dinner as planned. He let out a soft sigh and began to pull out plates and chopsticks to set the table.

Mindlessly, he pattered to the table, setting it properly as he remembered Eiri had showed him.

Shuichi again looked to the clock with a long sigh. He made his way back to the kitchen and began the task of washing the dirty pans and dishes from prepping and cooking. The cooking instructor’s voice rang into his head. ‘Clean as you go, so you don’t have a ton of dishes to overwhelm you at the end.’”

The kitchen was quiet, except for the splashing of water and occasional clang of a pan hitting another. Shuichi’s mind felt numb. He had been to Bad Luck’s single release at a local music store early that morning. A day of smiling and signing autographs left him emotionally drained and his hands sore.

When he had arrived home, Shuichi had been excited about making dinner for his friends. Shuichi had started early in preparation, wanting everything to be perfect. He had taken his time slicing vegetables and shelling the prawns. His timing had been great. His rice had finished at the same time as the main course and now sat in the cooker, warming.

Shuichi was proud of himself, but he couldn’t help the nerves that had slowly eaten away at him the entire time he was cooking. This would be the first time he had cooked for anyone outside of class. He was worried that he had messed up somewhere along the lines and would disappoint his friends. He kept telling himself he had followed the recipe to the letter.

The last of the dishes were dried and tucked away into their rightful cabinet. Shuichi moved the bowl containing his hard work into the dinning room to set in the middle of the table. He pushed a chair back and sat quietly, staring at the food.

Shuichi sat in silence. The gentle click clack of the clock in the living room was the only sound to break the endless silence. The young boy sighed softly. Perhaps he should just go lie down, he thought. It was possible that Tatsuha and Ryuichi were distracted, (namely with each other) and had forgotten.

As the pink haired boy rose from his seat, a knock sounded through the apartment. Shuichi’s heart skipped and a smile pulled onto his lips as he raced to the door, opening it quickly.

Tatsuha and Ryuichi stood before Shuichi. Ryuichi was wearing tight black leather pants and a light blue button up shirt that seemed to be a little off, but for some reason Shuichi couldn’t place why. Tatsuha was next to him, arm around the older man, in black skin tight jeans, a dark form fitting shirt and his signature black leather jacket.

“Tatsuha! Ryuichi! Come in!” Shuichi exclaimed excitedly.

“Sorry we’re late. We got stuck in traffic,” Tatsuha replied, walking in and taking off his shoes.

“That’s not true, Tat. We left late because…” Ryuichi began before being quickly quieted by one of Tatsuha’s hands.

“Now, now Ryu, no need to explain why,” Tatsuha blushed.

Shuichi blinked a little confusedly as he watched Ryuichi giggle. He saw the older singer lick Tatsuha’s hand to get it from his face then he took off his own shoes. Shuichi noticed what was off with Ryuichi’s shirt. The buttons were off by one, leaving the bottom of his garment a little long on the bottom left hand side.

Shuichi giggled and leaned over to whisper in Ryuichi’s ear. “You’re buttons are wrong.”

Ryuichi blinked and looked down at his state of dress. He let out a squeek before excusing himself to the bathroom.

“I’m sorry,” Tatsuha replied guiltily as Ryu disappeared into the hallway.

Shuichi gave a soft smile. “Don’t be, it’s happened to me before.”

The young singer ushered Tatsuha to the table in the living room. “I would ask how your trip went, but seeing Ryuichi, I could guess it went well. At least the reunion part of it,” Shuichi said, trying his best to be light hearted.

Tatsuha smirked. “Ah yes, that went very well. As for my trip, it was fine, thank you.”

“Good,” Shuichi replied. Sitting in a chair at the table, he motioned for Tatsuha to follow.

Tatsuha didn’t take the invitation. Instead, he stood behind one of the chairs. “I have something for you. I just got it today. Maybe call it an apology for being late, though you would have received it either way,” Tatsuha said. Reaching into his jacket, he retrieved a photo, and slide it face down on the table to Shuichi.

The pink haired boy looked momentarily baffled before picking the picture up to look at it. His breath hitched in his throat, hazel eyes stared back at him. “Eiri,” he whispered.

“Sorry, it’s not the best picture. I caught him a little off guard, which is why he’s scowling, but then again he always looks that way doesn’t he?”

Shuichi couldn’t tear his eyes away from the blond man glaring at him through the photograph. He could feel his hands begin to tremble slightly. “He looks so tired,” he said in a barely audible voice.

“I don’t think he sleeps well. Then again, this is Eiri we’re talking about.”

“Thank you, Tatsuha,” Shuichi replied, fighting tears that threatened to spill from his eyes.

Tatsuha smiled. “Anytime! Ah, there you are!” Tatsuha said as he noticed Ryuichi entering the living room. The monk held out a chair for his partner. “What took you so long?”

Ryuichi sat down in the offered chair. “Sorry, I buttoned my shirt and then I noticed my fly was down. I had to make sure nothing else was wrong.”

Tatsuha laughed and kissed Ryuichi on the cheek, then sat down next to him. “Dinner smells wonderful, Shuichi.”

Shuichi was still staring at his photo, but shook his head to bring him back to the conversation. “Oh, thank you, Tatsuha. It’s nothing fancy. I had a CD signing today, so I couldn’t do too much.”

Ryuichi chimed in, “That’s right! You’re single came out today. I already got my copy!”

Shuichi blushed. “Thank you, Ryuichi.”

“Well, you must forgive me, but I’m starving and the food smells so good. Can we eat?”

Shuichi jumped up from his chair. “Yes, sorry. I’m a bad host.” He scurried into the kitchen, placing his photo of Eiri tenderly onto a clean counter before moving to the other side of the kitchen to unplug the rice warmer. He grabbed two pot holders and lifted the rice container from its cradle. Shuichi carefully carried it back to where the others sat and place the container onto a plate in the middle of the table.

Shuichi lifted the lid on the rice container and moved the rice paddle from the table, into the food. Then he opened the bowl and put a serving spoon into it, resting both lids next to their matching containers.

“Wow, Shuichi! This looks great,” Ryuichi sang, bouncing in his seat.

Shuichi grinned. “It’s just stir fried prawns with rice, but thank you. Please serve yourselves. I’ll get us something to drink.”

Tatsuha nodded and began to serve Ryuichi and himself. Shuichi rushed back into the kitchen, pulling the bottle of white wine from the refrigerator and resting it on the counter. He pulled out three wine glasses from the cupboard and set them next to the bottle.

The young boy picked up the wine bottle opener, glad he had already left it on the counter. He opened the bottle carefully and poured three glasses, taking two to the table, placing one in front of each of his guests.

Shuichi smiled and rushed back into the kitchen to retrieve the last wine glass before returning. When he walked to the table, he found Tatsuha laughing and Ryuichi bouncing in his seat. “I’m so glad you guys could come,” Shuichi said.

“We’re glad to be here. Thank you for having us,” Tatsuha said, lifting his wine glass to smell its contents. “Mmm… Zinfandel?”

Shuichi nodded. “I hope you guys enjoy dinner.” Shuichi served himself a small helping of rice and stir fry.

“A toast!” Ryuichi insisted.

“Yes!” Tatsuha agreed as he lifted his glass. “To, Shuichi!”

Shuichi turned scarlet as he picked up his glass. “Me?” he squeaked.

Tatsuha nodded. “Yes to you, Shuichi. To your new single and for making such a lovely dinner.”

“And for bringing Tat to me,” Ryuichi added.

Both Tatsuha and Shuichi turned to Ryuichi, their look questioning the older singer.

Ryuichi let a small grin tug on his lip, his voice serious. “You pushed me in the right direction and I’m thankful. I even told Tohma that like it or not, I’m going to date Tat. You give me hope. Thank you.”

Shuichi felt his cheeks warm, “Thank you, for being my friends.”

“To friends!” Tatsuha said cheerfully before taking a drink of his wine.

“To friends!” the two singers sang.