Transaction

Disclaimer: We own nothing but the characters of the made up band Opium.

Author’s Notes: This is where the tension boils. Inner band conflict and worry, not to mention out two ex band members Tohma and Taki.
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Transaction
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Chapter Eleven
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Standing for four hours had not been intelligent of him. Taki could admit it, but not aloud. He had started back up the stairs, and his knee gave out, sending him down hard on the steps.

It wasn't the first time it had happened. He'd collapsed on the steps to his apartment once, and getting out of the car... It was normal things that did it. Like standing.

He was seated now, leg stretched out in front of him. He should have taken the elevator, but he was stubborn and impatient. And irritated.

That irritation only grew when he heard a familiar voice coming up the steps. Kenji rounded the corner with Keiko and stifled a laugh as he caught sight of Taki. He managed to wipe the grin off his face when he received a dark glare, and stopped a step above his manager.

"Dude... do you need help?"

Taki glared as he looked up at Kenji. "I'll be fine."

Shaking his head, the singer and guitarist continued up, Kenji humming to himself as they went.

Keiko still looked puzzled as she let the conversation drop. What was going on with everyone? What was going on with Kenji? She figured as long as he kept singing, it couldn't be too bad, right?

...

Right.

~x~

Tohma was seated back in the recording room after half an hour exactly. He was slightly disappointed to see the place empty, but paid it no mind. After all, the band was young. Though Taki certainly should've been here, no? Wouldn't the manager know best to arrive early rather than later? Especially after all the times he'd been late or close to it before.

He sighed quietly. Well, he had given them forty-five minutes tops. They could indulge in that if they wished. A few more minutes of boredom, and then Opium arrived noisily through the door. Keiko trying to hit Kenji for something he must've said.

"Sonoda-san?" Tohma asked, getting the singer's attention. "Where is Aizawa-san? He seems to be late."

Kenji was grinning as he shied away from Keiko's blows, dodging around her and into the room. His attention shifted as Tohma asked him a question, and Keiko landed a solid blow to his shoulder. Wincing, Kenji shrugged.

"He's on the stairs. Wouldn't let me help him up." Idiot.

Keiko grinned victoriously and stopped to let him talk to Tohma, heading back into the practice room with Haido. She didn't really care where Taki was. They had the deal already, she was happy with it.

Tohma raised an eyebrow at the answer from Kenji. Taki was on the stairs? As in, fallen down them? Collapsed on them?

...

No, no... his legs, of course. His remark had caused Taki to remain standing the whole practice. They must've given out because taking the elevator would've been to easy for him.

"Alright. Thank you. Please start working on the next song and I'll be back shortly," the blonde said, getting up from his seat and exiting.

Ah, bullheaded Taki. He certainly hadn't changed in the least. Tohma wasn't smiling though as he traveled down the stairs, taking them carefully one at a time. Eventually, Taki's form came into view. He stopped on the stair he was sitting on, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"Comfortable?"

"No." Taki said flatly, looking over at Tohma from the corner of his eye.

He was waiting for it now. The comment. The one that said he should have listened and sat down, or something about not being able to properly do his job because of his health condition.

Health condition. It sounded so serious. He was fine! It was just his damn legs. It wasn't like he could help it.

Alright, he could help it. He could have sat down, given them a break, but that would have proved Tohma right. He couldn't do that. He wasn't going to work in a place where he was constantly on edge, and Tohma was putting him on edge.

One of them would have to give a little, and it certainly wasn't going to be him.

Tohma sighed, smiling a little. Same old Taki. It seemed as though he would never change no matter how many years. It was almost comforting. He was surprised at how much he was glad about that. He was surprised at how much Taki didn't try to kill him or avoid him.

"Would you like some help? I have the band rehearsing the next song, so we do have some time if you'd like to wait a bit," the blonde said.

He wasn't using the word 'rest', or anything to suggest that Taki was injured or weak. Just offering a friendly hand to a coworker.

"I'm fine." Taki protested stubbornly, but he didn't try to get up. How pathetic was it that he didn't trust his own legs to support his weight? He didn't even weigh that much. It wasn't that he kept himself purposefully thin, he ate anything put in front of him, it was simply that he had a fast acting metabolism.

He hadn't gained or lost more then a few pounds since high school. He wasn't concerned about it. He hadn't grown any, either.

It was actually irking that Tohma was an inch taller then him. The man could seem so small, but Taki was keenly aware of their height difference whenever he had to stand next to the man.

"Of course," Tohma agreed with a slight nod.

He crouched down, hands out of his pockets, and eased himself on the step next to Taki. He rested his arms on his knees, lacing his gloved fingers together and sat in silence for a few moments.

Taki would not accept his help. Was Tohma being egotistical? After all, a part of him did think he had helped by pushing him in front of the car. A portion of him thought he was helping a great deal by offering him the contract. Now this.

He'd always been looking out for Taki in the long run it seemed.

"Taki," Tohma said finally. "I can understand if you still hate me, but do you have to be so stubborn with everything I offer?"

A valid question.

"Understand?" Taki couldn't help himself, voice indignant. "Have you ever sat in a hospital bed, wondering when the doctors are going to tell you you can't use your legs anymore? Have you ever seen car headlights barreling at you, and knowing as you fell that they wouldn't stop?"

There was no stopping it. He'd been waiting for this for two fucking years.

"Of course you haven't. You have no fucking idea, so don't tell me you understand. I'm just getting back up on my feet, at least metaphorically, because you were the one who pushed me off them in the first place." Taki's eyes were narrowed, and he was undeniably angry.

And all because of one, little word.

Understand. Ha!

"It was your offer that started this. You kept it going. Don't even start to blame me for carrying it on. Without your shove in the right direction, this would have never happened, and you wouldn't have to be asking me stupid questions like this!"

He looked over at Taki, nothing written on his face. He looked calm and capable. He wished he had a drink though. Tohma had to pick his words carefully from now on it seemed. No problem. Nothing a little extra thought couldn't help.

"Taki, I assure you that I don't completely and fully understand your anguish," the blond explained carefully. "What I said, was that I understood your reasons for hating me."

Yes, to use the word 'understand' again may cost him, but it was necessary.

"Now, let me try again. I'm not blaming you for anything. Did I say that before? I'm sorry if I did. All I wanted to know, was if there was some way we could smooth things over," Tohma said calmly. "It's outbursts like these that I would like to avoid. I want you to do the work I give you willingly. If you'd rather not, I can sign your band off. I will refer you to other companies willingly if this is what you choose."

He looked at Taki directly.

"I want to make it so you can work here and accept things without being so stubborn. Even the littlest of things."

Like being offered a seat.

Taki's eyes hardened, and he reached up to use the rail attached to the wall to pull himself up. It took more effort then he cared to admit, muscles protesting the movement with everything they had. "I have to get back to work."

Leaving NG. It would be tempting, but there was a band that would never forgive him. He didn't particularly care about the way they felt, he reminded himself, he just didn't want to listen to them whine.

But a free ticket away from Tohma. It was almost too much.

He forced himself to take even steps up the stairs, holding onto the rail as he went. As much as he would never say it, he had no trust in himself to hold his own weight. Not after how many times his legs had collapsed out from under him, though it was normally from too much use.

The problem was, he didn't give himself a break. It was obvious enough from that morning. He'd known he needed to sit down, take the pressure off his joints, but he hadn't. He'd stayed upright, without a brace on his knee, and it had cost him later.

It was costing him now, too, as he reached the floor as started toward the corner.
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Author’s Notes: There’s nothing like an old fashioned drama queen Taki to get the real conflicts off and rolling. Sometimes, with my Tohma, I do things without thinking why I did them. I don’t remember planning to have Taki collapse with Kel, but it seemed to work out for the best. I wonder how this makes Tohma see. Did he try to wear Taki down on purpose? Maybe he did. I’m not really sure.

Either way, I’m sure Tohma could’ve done worse if he wanted to.

~Subby