Kumagoro\'s New Shiny

**Typical fanfic warnings—we don’t own Gravi or it’s characters. Please be respectful to our originals and not use them without asking. This fic takes place near the end of Ryuichi’s time in America, shortly before the beginning of the anime.

Major angst warnings—if you’re hoping for a constantly bouncing Ryu-chan, this isn’t the fic to read. -_- This is angst angst angst, so read at your own risk!

Thoughts in italics
::= speaking in Japanese
**


Kumagoro’s New Shiny
Chapter Two


Ryuichi flopped onto his back on the apartment couch, staring up at the ceiling. He was bored, desperately so, but with K and the rest of the crew out preparing for next week\'s concert, there was no one he could call or find to do something with. As he thought that, his eyes were drawn to the phone, to the small white card he\'d left next to it. He snorted. Don\'t be stupid.

A few minutes later he was outside, dressed in sunglasses and a hat, humming to himself with Kumagoro perched happily on his shoulders. He walked down towards the theater he\'d sung at the previous week. I wonder if he always works down here. Not that I\'m looking for him or anything, but....

\"Heh, nice one, Jace. That\'s attractive.\"

\"Aw shut up, it\'s hot out.\" Jace reached for a napkin, wiping away the trails of chocolate ice cream from his chin. He and his brunette roommate Tracy had found themselves a seat on the sidewalk, and were sharing a carton of chocolate ice cream as the downtown started to get busy. Jace always insisted on ice cream before a busy night--he told his friends it gave the customer\'s something sweet, made them wonder. Tonight was chocolate, even if the weather was trying to melt his dessert faster than he could get it to his mouth.

Ryuichi continued to sing, now and then pausing to point out something to his rabbit in Japanese; Kumagoro wasn\'t speaking too much to him lately. He finally gave up and simply walked on.

A pair of teens ran past with ice cream cones, reminding Ryuichi that he hadn\'t eaten since earlier that morning. \"Kumagoro, can you see the ice cream store? We should get some nice ice cream, don\'t you think?\"

Jace and Tracy were just about to get involved it what could potentially be a very sticky ice cream battle, when Jace happened to glance up and spot a familiar figure coming toward them. \"That\'s him,\" he whispered to his friend. \"With the rabbit.\" He waved, calling out to the man. \"Hey! Ruchi!\"

Startled, he winced away first, almost expecting some fan to come barreling down on him. When nothing happened, he finally spotted the boy waving at him. So, he does work around here. Since it seemed that the pair watching him were right outside his current destination, he made his way over with his usual smile. \"Hi.\"

\"Hey, long time no see.\" Jace indicated the teen at his left with his spoon. \"This is Tracy--my roommate.\"

Tracy smiled coyly around his own spoon. \"Nice to meet ya. Jace said you were hot, but--\"

Jace elbowed him with a look. He\'s so mine, you tramp. They exchanged childish faces before Jace turned back to Ryuichi with a grin. \"You\'re not singing tonight, are you?\"

He shook his head. \"Nope, me and Kumagoro are getting ice cream.\" Ryuichi glanced over the pair. \"Looks like you already got some,\" he kidded, head tilting so the rabbit swung back and forth.

\"There\'s enough to go around,\" Jace invited. He and Tracy scooted away from each other, opening a space for him on the sidewalk. He offered his spoon.

\"A skinny bitch like Jace couldn\'t finish his half anyway,\" Tracy laughed, which earned him another playful jab.

Kumagoro ducked a little behind Ryuichi\'s head as he considered the pair. Between two of them, I won\'t have any money left. But he was still sitting down, pulling Kumagoro into his lap as he accepted the spoon. \"Thanks! Chocolate\'s my favorite, but Kumagoro likes strawberry, so he\'ll have to wait until later.\"

Tracy frowned at the rabbit, looking as if about to make some remark, but Jace cut him off. \"Help yourself. There\'s plenty.\" He considered Ryuichi a moment. \"So what brings you down this way if you\'re not singing?\"

\"We wanted ice cream,\" he reminded, taking a large mouthful and laughing as some of it tried to dribble down his chin. \"Mph, it\'s melting!\" Ryuichi put a hand over Kumagoro\'s head protectively. \"Don\'t get sticky Kumagoro!\"

Tracy\'s frown deepened, and with Ryuichi between them Jace couldn\'t smack him to make him stop. \"What\'s with the rabbit? Kinda weird.\"

\"What about it?\" Jace countered lightly. It was then that he noticed the rabbit still had his bracelet secured around its neck, and he touched it idly. \"You still have stuff animals.\"

\"I do not!\"

\"He\'s not an animal,\" Ryuichi replied easily. \"He\'s Kumagoro.\" Dropping the spoon back in the ice cream carton, he hopped the rabbit onto his knee. \"Damn right!\" the stuffed bunny said in his high voice, head tossing so his ears flopped. \"I am a very important worker with Ryu-chan ban-san.\"

Tracy\'s frown returned, and he looked to Jace. \"Is…this guy for real?\"

Jace shrugged a little, not sure what else he could say. I don\'t mind playing along, but.... He wiped his hand on his pants to make sure it didn\'t have ice cream on it and patted Kumagoro on the head. \"I\'m sure you are,\" he replied to the rabbit.

Ryuichi sighed, watching as the rabbit crossed its arms and pouted. He gave it a pat on the head before tucking him up under his arm. \"Well, you two have good luck,\" he said with a bright smile, pushing to his feet. I guess...it\'s a good thing I really wasn\'t looking for him after all.

\"Hey, hold on.\" Though it earned him a glare from Tracy Jace pushed to his feet, dropping the carton in his friend\'s lap. He gave Ryuichi a tug to get him out of Tracy\'s hearing range. \"You okay?\" he asked seriously. \"I mean, you\'re not one of those coked up rock stars that end up dead on the toilet, right?\"

Ryuichi made a face. \"I don\'t like drugs--they\'re gross.\" He shrugged. \"It\'s just boring today. No one wants to play or anything.\" He could feel his expression falter a bit, and he glanced away.

\"Oh.\" Jace shrugged. \"Sorry, just...you see it a lot, you know? Around here. In…this business.\" Tracy had pushed to his feet and was throwing the rest of the carton away, his eyes narrowed as he watched the pair. Jace shifted, and finally asked, \"You wanna grab some coffee or something? I can procrastinate a little longer.\"

Ryuichi brightened, just a bit. \"Sure. I\'ll treat you, so it won\'t be a complete waste of your time,\" he added teasingly. His eyes darted to the other. \"Would you friend want to...?\"

Jace laughed. \"I\'m not so bad off that I can\'t afford my own coffee,\" he assured. He looked to Tracy. Don\'t you dare.

He needn\'t have worried--the teen shrugged, his face vaguely irritated. \"You two go ahead. I\'ve gotta get to work; rent\'s coming up.\" He waved at the pair and started off.

\"Seeya later!\" Jace called after him. What\'s his problem? He turned back to Ryuichi. \"So, where should we go?\"

Ryuichi shrugged. \"I need dinner,\" he proclaimed, hugging Kumagoro to his chest playfully. \"So we gotta go somewhere where I can get a cheeseburger and fries.\"

\"Yeah, okay--there\'s a diner just down this way.\" Jace hooked his arm through Ryuichi\'s to lead the way. \"Sorry about Tracy being a priss. He can get that way sometimes.\"

\"He seemed nice,\" he replied. I shouldn\'t be doing this. In the end, he\'ll just want.... Ryuichi followed the other along, reminded forcefully of that night--his fingers curled slightly. \"So he\'s...got the same job, huh? As you?\"

\"You can say it, you know,\" Jace chuckled. \"But yeah, he is. You should see him in fishnets.\" He glanced up at Ryuichi\'s face. \"It can just be dinner, you know. Two working guys taking a break.\"

Ryuichi smiled, scratching his head in embarrassment. \"Guess I\'m really easy to read, huh? Kumagoro\'s always telling me that.\" He grinned down at the rabbit, poking out from under his arm. \"Sorry--I wasn\'t sure you\'d go for something like that, taking \'time off\' I guess.\"

\"It\'s just a job. You\'re taking time off, right?\" At least...it was nice, thinking of it that way. Jace smiled. \"Though you must be pretty desperate, hanging out with a tramp like me on a perfectly good night.

\"I\'m not from here,\" he replied easily. \"Other than the crew, I don\'t really know anyone.\" Ryuichi was a bit surprised by his easy, honest answer, not sure what prompted him to be almost serious. \"Besides,\" he added. \"You\'re the one that asked me for coffee.\"

\"Heh, I guess I did.\" Jace straightened a little. \"Well, I\'m glad. I know it\'s tough being in a new place on your own.\" They reached the diner, and Jace tugged him inside and into a booth.

Ryuichi sat, being sure Kumagoro was comfortable between himself in the wall. He can stay quiet, for now. When the waitress came, he ordered himself a cheeseburger and fries without even bothering with the menu. \"If you want something, go ahead,\" he insisted to the other, pulling off his sunglasses.

\"I was going to,\" Jace laughed. He ordered a chicken salad sandwich and a chocolate malt, ignoring the knowing glance the waitress sent them on her way back to tell the cook. \"But I told you, I can pay for myself.\"

He shrugged. \"All right. I won\'t say anything else.\" Ryuichi sipped from his water glass, wondering for a moment if the waitress had thought they were on a date. It certainly could have looked that way.... \"So do you always go to concert parties?\" he asked, not liking the sudden quiet. \"Hit on the band?\"

\"Yeah, when there\'s a group in town,\" Jace admitted. He wasn\'t afraid of talking about his work--he was pretty familiar with this diner and the people liked him--but he wasn\'t sure if it was what Ryuichi wanted to hear. \"You can get a drunk musician to pay you anything. I\'ve got some big names under my belt.\" He laughed. \"Literally.\"

He smiled faintly. I\'d believe it. He...was really good. \"I guess I was a disappointment then,\" he said lightly. \"Being broke and all.\"

\"I\'ll let you off this time, since you\'re hot,\" Jace replied with a cool smirk. \"I saw your video on MTV the other night. You\'re Japanese or something, right? That really is a long way from home.\"

Surprised, Ryuichi brightened a bit. \"Oh yeah? Wow, I didn\'t know Mr. K had it out already.\" He leaned back in his seat, thinking that over a moment before pulling himself back to the conversation as their food arrived. \"But yeah, I\'m Japanese. Didn\'t my accent give me away?\"

Jace shrugged. \"No offense, but I can never tell the difference. There\'s so many different kinds of people running around, who can keep it straight?\" He set his chin on his palm. \"You touring the world or something?\"

\"Nope, just doing some American releases. When things started to heat up back home, they thought I should come over hear, try for some real fame.\" Ryuichi stirred the ice in his cup, watching a few bubbles free themselves and float to the surface.

Jace nibbled at his sandwich. \"It seems like you got a good group. So many bands come through here you never hear of again.\"

\"That won\'t be me,\" he replied easily, though there was a bit more conviction in his voice. \"I\'m always going to be singing.\"

Jace\'s eyes thinned a little as he smiled. \"Yeah. You should.\" He took a huge bite of his sandwich and gulped it down with some of his malt. \"From what I heard, you\'re pretty good.\"

He chuckled. \"Maybe you should actually go to one of the concerts before sneaking in the back,\" he teased. \"At least then you\'d know who you were dealing with, right?\"

\"Would you have wanted that?\" Jace asked, lifting an eyebrow. \"If I\'d bounced back there and told you how ama~zing and how ta~lented you are, and how I\'m your biggest fan and hey, while we\'re at it, how about you pay my electric bill?\"

Ryuichi stuck out his tongue. \"That trick never works anyway,\" he returned. Though he does have a point. It would have been boring if he said he was a big fan. He took his own bite of his burger before continuing. \"But it is nice to be flattered now and then.\"

\"Yeah, I guess so.\" Jace sucked noisily at his malt. \"But then, what\'s the point if you know they don\'t mean it, right? At least, that\'s what I think.\" It\'s not like I don\'t hear it all the time, anyway.

He nodded. \"Yeah, that\'s true.\" Ryuichi grinned, blushing faintly. \"Well, I can honestly say that you do your job really well. Do you, you know, enjoy it, I guess? I mean, you\'re not forced into it or anything?\"

Jace was just setting his drink down, and stopped with Ryuichi\'s words. For a moment his expression tightened; he forced it aside by taking another huge bite of sandwich. He shrugged. \"It\'s prostitution,\" he answered lightly. \"No one does it \'cause they want to.\"

\"Oh.\" Ryuichi ducked his head, only now really thinking about what he\'d said. \"Um....\" Feeling rather stupid, he started eating with a little less enthusiasm. \"Sorry.\"

Jace shook himself, and when he lifted his head again his grin was back in full. \"Hey, don\'t sweat it. We can\'t all be pop singers.\" He stole one of Ryuichi\'s fries. \"At least I\'m good and can live off it, right?\"

He nodded, still feeling a bit guilty. \"Yeah.\" Ryuichi tried to turn the conversation to lighter topics, chatting idly over the strange things some of his crew members had got into over the last few days. When the check finally came, he quickly stole it away. \"My treat,\" he insisted despite protests. \"I know you can, but I want to.\"

Jace sighed, letting his chin fall into his hands as he watched Ryuichi pull out his wallet. \"I really should be treating you,\" he said, sucking down the rest of his malt. \"Being from out of town and all.” Though really, he was pleased, and his face couldn\'t hide that.

\"I wouldn\'t have found it if you hadn\'t been there,\" he pointed out. \"Consider it pay for being my tour guide.\" Handing over enough money to cover the tip as well, he grabbed Kumagoro and stood with a grin. \"It was good--I\'ll have to come back here.\"

Jace stood as well. I guess…that\'s it, then? \"Well then, I\'ll see you out,\" he said gentlemanly. He took Ryuichi\'s arm once more to drag him outside, and there paused on the sidewalk. \"Stay out of trouble, all right?\" he said brightly. \"It\'s a big town.\"

Ryuichi nodded. \"You too. I\'ll probably see you around.\" Feeling bold, he stepped close to touch a quick kiss to the boy\'s cheek. His skin\'s soft.... When pulled back, he chuckled and raised his rabbit. \"Kumagoro too!\" He pressed the rabbit\'s nose to the other cheek, grinning.

Jace blinked, but once he\'d gotten over his surprise he smiled, and nodded. \"Yeah.\" He took a step back and offered a wave. \"Take it easy.\" Before he could give it any more thought he turned and started down the sidewalk once more, humming lightly to himself.

Ryuichi watched him go, hugging his rabbit close. I guess...it\'s like having a friend. Or maybe I\'m just being stupid. He glanced down to see Kumagoro nodding at him. Yeah. I\'m being stupid. You\'re right. He turned away, heading back towards his apartment.

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