Evolution

Disclaimer: I DON’T OWN THEM! Ryosuke’s got dibs on Kyoichi’s…everything, so I’m kinda screwed that way. The same vice versa, but I’m not as afraid of Kyoichi as I am of Ryosuke. Have you seen that man wield a computer? I’d probably wake up one morning without a bank account or something…

Warnings: None really. Smut free, to an extent. Nothing graphic because this is a ‘change of heart’ chapter. There will be shounen-ai or mild luffins but nothing to get your hopes up over. Adult language, fighting and depressing relationship stuff.

Notes: This made me cry. Enjoy. –grins and hands out boxes of tissues- Review plskthnx.



After a brief exchange of phone numbers between Kyoichi and the other somewhat skilled Irohazaka driver, the Toyota driver escorted his lover back to the car and took him back to the restaurant, giving the barest hint of a kiss before waving as the future doctor scooted out and into the FC, a blaze of dust marking where he had just been.

The elder man waited until the light Mazda was out of sight before he dug in his pocket and pulled out the other Nikko driver’s phone number, turning it over and over in his hands, giving it more thought than he figured he should have.
It wasn’t as if the boy himself interested him, but his driving was absolutely immaculate, only off by a few small things which could easily be corrected with practice, his heart beat racing a bit more as he imagined a use for such skills. His race team seemed so much closer on the horizon, a bright smile plastered across his face as he imagined the two cars barreling downhill, barely inches from each other.


The drive home for Ryosuke was less than amiable, his head dipped slightly as he festered over Kyoichi’s attitude after beating the other dark haired boy, the seemingly innocent conversation they had echoing in the young Takahashi’s mind. Was it his own imagination, or did his lover seem more interested in the Silvia driver than he did with his own boyfriend?
Shaking his head as he tried to clear the idea, the regal young driver pulled into his driveway and parked beside his brother’s beloved vehicle, begrudgingly hefting himself out and into the house, his need for a shower and a good rest overriding his earlier sexual needs.

The sound of the shower running told him the younger boy was using the facilities instead so with a polite nod to his parents and a nod back from his father, the raven haired med student carried his pajamas and towel to their ensuite and made use of the shower, working very quickly and retiring for the night with a mind filled with anger and sudden resentment.


“Oi, Aniki! The phone’s for you!”

The blond Takahashi wailed up the stairs as he fidgeted with his shoelaces, holding the cordless item in his other hand as he straightened up and stared at his ruffled looking brother, biting back laughter.

“It’s some guy. Kinda sounds like that loser with the Sup-“ he was silenced by a hand over his mouth, the other snatching the phone as Ryosuke hurried back up to his room, the door slammed unceremoniously.
“Jeez, you didn’t have to break my teeth…”

Locking his door, Ryosuke sat on the bed and answered, smiling a bit as he feigned the sound of interest.

“Moshi? Ahh, Kyoichi. How are you?”

“Fine, Ryo. Listen, I can’t make it for our date tonight. That new kid, Seiji? He’s coming over so we can go work on his right-handers.”

“A..ah, sou ka. I suppose that’s fine. I can take Keisuke somewhere for the night.”

“Aww, thanks, Ryo! I knew you’d understand. I’ll call you when I get home.”

The elder man hung up and was no doubt getting ready to go visit his new acquisition, the skin on Ryosuke’s face feeling tight as he flushed red and then grew hot, his mouth open in a slight grimace as the rage welled up inside.
The poor phone, as with Keisuke’s poor alarm clock, suffered a nasty fate, its battery flap and part of the bottom shattering as it came into contact with the wall beside his door, the pieces thumping to the floor. The only thing he truly believed in besides his driving skills and the love he felt for his young brother, was destroyed. Angrily, he left the items where they lay and crawled back into bed, burying himself under the light blankets as if to hide from his sorrow.

Sousuke however, had heard the loud bang from the elder boy’s room and had come upstairs with a look of concern on his face, gently rapping on the door before he caught the muffled ‘go away!’, a command hardly listened to by a doctor who dealt with difficult patients all day. Slowly, the eldest Takahashi turned the knob and peeked around the door, spying his son’s foot sticking out from under the massive pile of bedclothes.

“Ryosuke, what was that noise just now? Keisuke has left for the day so it couldn’t have possibly been caused by him.”

The dark haired boy peeked around the blankets and sighed, pulling them back just enough so that he wasn’t being rude to his father.

“It was me, Too-san. I had an argument with Kyoichi on the phone. It’s over there actually. I’ll clean it up once I get dressed. I have to go into town sometime today anyway so I’ll replace it if it’s really broken.”

Bending down, the polite doctor scooped up the pieces and popped them all back together, mentally thanking modern electronics because of their resiliency to damage.
“It’s fine, Ryosuke. Just relax if you’re so upset. Your mother and I are going out to the market but we’ll be back by dinnertime. Are you going to be ok until then?”

A quick nod and a halfhearted smile followed the elder man out as he closed the door and replaced the phone in its cradle at the bottom of the stairs, giving a fast look over his shoulder before he shook his head, knowing that his most promising son was into something that might jeopardize his mental state.
After all, what kind of nineteen-year-old boy had red-rimmed eyes and tear-streaked cheeks after fighting with a male friend of his?


A week later, the blond streak of life known as Takahashi Keisuke fairly flew into the house as he returned from his day out, the pleasant beep of Kenta’s mother as she drove off following him as he entered the hallway and jumped up the stairs, immediately spying the light on under his brother’s door. Shoving his face up against the glass, something his mother loathed with a passion, he made silly faces at the dark haired driver, sucking the smooth surface and them blowing against it to make his mouth look bigger than it was, his hips pulled away from the glass so he could put as much weight on his face as possible.

A tired look greeted him instead of a smiling, laughing one, so he pulled away from it and entered without being told to, ungracefully flopping his teenage body onto the other boy’s bed and falling over onto one side, propping his head up on one bent arm, his upper leg draped over the other as he made himself comfortable.

“What’s wrong, Aniki? You’ve been really quiet the last few days. Did something happen at the clinic? Or did you have a fight with your boyfriend?”

The look shot towards the smart mouthed teen was enough to wilt flowers, causing the boy to cringe noticeably.

“It’s none of your business, Keisuke. I just haven’t been feeling very well. Hopefully, it’s nothing…contagious.”

“Ugh! You’ve got the flu or something?! Nasty!”

The future driving star bade a hasty retreat out of his brother’s room and bee lined for the fridge, his rummaging heard over the general household noise and Ryosuke’s computer, the little machine whirring noisily as he finished typing up a proposal on illness of the mind. He smirked a bit at the irony, his own mind suffering from a lack of attention, his last meeting with Kyoichi still fresh in his mind as the elder man had beaten the Silvia driving Nikko resident.
He spoke softly to himself as he waited for the printer to finish spewing out the neatly spaced sheets, his eyes glazing over as they again threatened to start the flow of tears.

“I’m sick, Keisuke. I have a boyfriend who’s been avoiding me. He spends more time with his new friend than he does with me. I suppose driving is a better thing to be in love with than a demanding med student...”


The tension turned out to be too much for Ryosuke and he broke down one night in the family room, picking up the phone with the tiny piece of electrical tape on the back, a smart move on his father’s part as it helped the battery panel stay in place. The future doctor punched in Kyoichi’s number and waited patiently as it rang, the sound irritating him with each passing second, until the other end finally picked up, laughter heard in the background and the voice Ryosuke had so missed answering the device.

“Moshi, moshi, Sudo here.”

“H..hai, Kyo? It’s me.”

“Ahhh..kuso. Ohayo, Ryo. How are you?”

The FC driver frowned slightly at the curse but answered anyway.
“I’m good. Can I ask why you didn’t call me last Friday night? Or any day since then? Usually we meet at least two times in a week.”

Light chuckles and a snorted response came from the other man’s home, the distinct sound of another male in the room making Ryosuke grit his teeth in sudden anger.

“Ahh, yeah. I’ve been really busy. Work’s been hectic and then there’s the overtime hours because its registration season…”

“Who’s there with you, Kyo? I can hear someone and it certainly doesn’t sound like your sister. It’s that new driver, isn’t it?”

“Seiji? Yeah. He came over after our practice tonight. Just a few beers and a game of shogi. You know, the usual.”

It was ‘the usual’ for Kyoichi and Ryosuke to have the same sort of night when they weren’t feeling amorous, a night filled with old movies, beer and shogi. Go if they were feeling territorial. Now, it seemed, the tradition had been passed on to a boy the other driver had known less than a week.

“Oh. Well, I hope you’re having fun. I’ve been alone for most of the week because Keisuke’s always out with his friends and my parents work such long hours. I was just kinda worried that I’d done something to bother you, since you hadn’t called in so long.”
He waited for a moment before interrupting the far off conversation, hearing the chat between the other two men and growing more angry by the second.
“Kyo? Kyoichi!”

“Uh, huh? Pardon? Sorry, Seiji was telling me a story about his ex boyfr…”

There was little more talk as Ryosuke hung up the phone and tossed it onto the couch, angrily wiping away tears as he ran to his room, the door slamming shut with enough force to dislodge a picture from his wall, one of the two boys standing in front of their cars, smiling broadly and holding up frosty cans of soda. It remained where it fell because its owner was currently curled in his blankets, sobbing loudly into the soft material.

The only thing that could possibly make the Mazda driver feel better, was a trip in his well loved method of transportation, slowly shifting himself off of the bed and snatching up his keys and wallet, hurrying to the garage where his shoes and jacket laid in wait.

The White Comet roared to life and in minutes, he was at the top of the mountain, not intending for a battle of any kind because it was too wet, the day spent covered in mist and a miserable dampness that only added to his already upset mood. He drove around the last corner towards his favourite gallery and he pulled in, right away noticing a set of cars at the far end. Certainly his eyes were deceiving him. That wasn’t a black Supra and a light blue Silvia. No, it wasn’t.

Making the wheels squeal, Ryosuke drove back towards the pair of cars, frowning darkly out of the windshield before parking and storming out, stalking right up to the driver’s side door of the Supra, staring with disbelief at the pair of men inside, neither noticing him as he had neglected to close his own door.

Kyoichi seemed to be in a life or death battle with the younger driver, his arms clamped over the boy’s wide shoulders as he kissed him firmly, the car’s windows slightly steamed as if they had been at it for quite sometime. Still gawking, Ryosuke’s hands clenched into fists and he brought both down on the side window, not harming the glass but causing both men inside to jump and pull apart, Kyoichi’s eyes wide and Seiji’s only wide for a second before he glared and swore, lifting his hands in a disgusted gesture.

He wouldn’t stand by and wait for the men to get out of their cars, so the FC driver turned around and hurried back to his car, intent on driving back home and burrowing himself in his bed, never to return to the light of day. So long as his boyfriend can cheat on him and lie about it, Ryosuke wasn’t going to be involved.
He didn’t get the car started before the Toyota driver got out of his car and hurried to the FC’s driver’s side, tapping on the window and giving the most pleading look, one Ryosuke recognized as the man’s ‘I’m sorry, I’m an asshole, please forgive me’ look. It wouldn’t work this time. Ryosuke shook his head and started the light coloured Mazda, looking back at his boyfriend for a brief second, the dark haired man standing dumbfounded on the tarmac, his new lover coming over to stand with him, one arm snuck around Kyoichi’s waist in a possessive gesture.

Through a cloud of tears, the young Takahashi drove home, missing the guardrail by mere millimeters in some spots before he reached the main flat road and driving more normally, crossing the center median line more often than he would have liked, risking his life although there were no other cars on the road to consider a threat.

He wanted nothing more than his comfortable bed and loving family, his mind strong enough to allow him the gift of ignorance, something he could use as he tried to forget what he had seen, the sight replaying like an endless film reel. The Takahashi estate loomed in the distance and he signaled his turn, pulling in and simply collapsing in his seat after parking back in the garage.

Nothing could make him trust anyone to that level again. He still loved the dark haired driver but his heart hurt terribly because of it, anger subsiding within only to be replaced with hatred and loathing, things he could use in the future as a better downhill driver. The promise of forming his own team suddenly popped into his mind and he smiled, crookedly but still smiling, his right hand lifting to gently pet the dashboard.

“You and I are going to make him sorry. If only on the road instead of in person. I’ll be so well known that he’ll be nothing anymore. Just…nothing.”