Transaction

Disclaimer: Mrr?

Author’s Notes: Okay, so like I promised, the next chapter. The daycare is wonderful! Such a pleasant change. Working and laughing with kids compared to getting beaten up by them. And they're still learning. I'm teaching. Not professionally, of course, but in a sense I am and it feels wonderful.

And I'll have loads of time. I get off at six, home by seven... I really have no idea what to do with myself right now. lol It's a weird feeling.

Anyways, please enjoy the next chapter!
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Transaction

Chapter Seventy-Four
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Haido was cool and defiant looking, all sparkles and glitz, courtesy of whoever was in charge of their wardrobe. He had a corner of a small towel tucked into the tight clingy pants. The lights were bright, large and hot after a few minutes on stage. A bottle of water was held in his hand, because his mouth was drying out every few seconds.

Keiko was not happy with her attire, at all. They made her girly. Not only that, but bordering on things falling out skin showing! She'd be cooler than the boys out on stage, but she was not happy!

Tohma was, as usual, calm, cool and collected, doing nothing but sitting in the back room, legs crossed and hands interlocked as he stared up at the ceiling. It had started snowing again early in the afternoon and stopped. It was going on six now, the concert starting in two hours and he had no doubt it would wind up snowing again later on tonight.

Kenji was trying to relax himself. He'd paced the length of the room so many times Keiko had almost tripped him to make him stop. The pants he had on were tight, but that wasn't anything unusual. His shirt was clearly see through, and it would likely come off within the hour or so they were on stage.

He had just started pacing again when he heard Taki approach them, and stopped. The silence now felt awkward, and while he hadn't minded it before, he wanted more then ever to be onstage and away from whatever they'd unknowingly put themselves into.

"Can we go out yet?" He finally asked, glancing at Taki where he stood near Tohma, but noticeably apart. Taki hadn't sat down.

"You should get into your positions," Taki decided, and Kenji couldn't help but notice that his voice was soft. He wasn't looking at Tohma. In fact, Kenji didn't remember Taki acknowledging that Tohma was in the room. He'd at least nodded at all the rest of them. "The stage hands will show you where you need to go. It's downstairs."

Kenji nodded hurriedly, eager to be out of the room. "Yep! We're coming up through the floor, I remember!" Almost desperate to be out, he grabbed Haido by the hand and tugged. He knew Keiko would follow to make sure they didn't get lost. "Come on, let's go!"

He wouldn't have been surprised if the door knob had left a dent in the wall as it swung open, and then drifted shut again.

Free!

Taki didn't flinch as the door shut, and neither did he make a move to sit down next to Tohma. He kept standing, a foot from the couch with his arms crossed over his chest.

After a long, charged moment, he asked, "How's your wife?"

Keiko and Haido had no choice but to follow their moron out the door and to wherever they were going. They felt like time was slowing down when Taki entered the room and said nothing to Tohma.

What Keiko might've jokingly called a 'lovers spat' was more serious than that. They did not need or want to be in that room anymore.

Tohma didn't feel anything different when Taki walked in. Well, he felt the emptiness of it. He heard the soft tone in Taki's voice when speaking to Kenji. But after that, there was nothing. Tohma had given up. He knew this.

Still, he moved all the way to the other end of the couch before answering.

"She's well. Taking some bed rest," he said, smiling just slightly and made a motion for Taki to sit now that he wasn't in the middle of it anymore.

"I'm sorry you didn't make it to the shower," the blond sighed. "It was a nice party. You would've been more fun than half those stuck up people."

There was a furrow in his brow as Tohma spoke. Taki couldn't help it, and did not, would not move any closer to the couch. More fun. He knew what kind of fun he was to Tohma, and he knew that the invitation, the grossly formal, impersonal invitation was the last of it.

It felt less like he was crossing his arms and more like he was holding himself together.

"It's better that I didn't go." Tohma wouldn't be able to sit there now and describe it as a nice party if he'd have gone, Taki knew that. It was taking all of his effort now to keep his voice conversational. He wanted to scream, cry, throw himself at Tohma and make him say that it was all some stupid joke.

But, he didn't move.

Instead, he thought of all the things he could say.

'I came to visit you this week. I talked to your secretary. She smiled at me when I left, because she knew it was over before I did.' Or, maybe, 'How could you do this to me, you rotten bastard?'

His voice was still quiet and careful when he spoke again, two things he was not accustomed to being. "Why didn't you tell me about this yourself?" Why with an invitation? Tohma had never been so cowardly before.

For the first time since Taki had entered the room, Tohma looked at him. There was nothing as happy or light on his face that was in his voice. He wasn't smiling, his teal eyes felt tight around the corners. All he wanted to do was run his hands over his face and cradle his chin. Be more comfortable. Less stiff. Just like he had always been around Taki.

Why the invitation? How could he explain without sounding like he was struggling for words, making something up?

"That day," Tohma said, swallowed and cleared his throat before going on. "That day we were arguing in my office and I had gotten the call from my wife. That was the day I found out. And I wanted to tell you... but..."

He shifted in his seat and looked almost pleadingly at Taki to understand.

"You know how some men say that, or joke about, being married is just pressure and a loss of freedom and unhappiness? I never felt like that. I never treated Mika with disrespect either. She understood and was welcome to tell me anything she felt. But... this child..."

The blond stirred nervously.

"I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't know how this would've changed anything. We both said so many things, and... I wanted to believe they were all true, but-"

A stage hand came running in, announcing that they needed everyone to do the final check.

Tohma was... babbling, Taki realized dimly. He'd never heard Tohma speak like this. Rushed and unsure of himself. Tohma was always calm, collected and in control. Even when he wasn't, and Taki knew he wasn't, he always sounded as if he were.

And now, he sounded like a man at loss. As if he had no idea what to do, or where to go from here.

Taki didn't like it. He didn't like being the one to see the only path out, even though it would hurt, even though it would give a level of separation that they'd never be able to reach across again. This, he knew, would be his last real conversation with Tohma.

It tore him apart inside to realize that this conversation, this desperate, clinging conversation with a man that he knew was Tohma, would be their last.

The urge to reach out and touch was strong. Just brush back that little bit of blond falling in front of one eye. His fingers itched, and he pressed his elbows tighter against them. His eyes stung. He hated feeling so weak, so helpless, and it was worse because he knew he had to be the one to get them out of this.

Tohma was just as helpless as he was.

They were both saved by the stage hand, and Taki nodded at the man to leave. They knew. The final check.

Finally, he moved. He took that step forward, put a hand on the back of Tohma's neck, and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be okay," He lied, forcing a smile onto his face as he stepped back, let his hand fall, and made himself look at Tohma with only professionalism. "We'd better get started on the check."

The sooner they started, the sooner he could go home.

Taki was the one comforting him. The blond wasn't use to this new comfort. It felt nice though. Taki's hand had been warm on the back of his neck and the brief press of his lips made him actually smile.

He knew it wouldn't be okay. He didn't even know if Taki would listen to him again, but a small part of him did hope that they were going to find out together. As long as it was together.The blond stood up and nodded, following the stage hand out for final checks. And then people would start to be let in. Opening act, and then Opium was on.

Everything was in motion and couldn't be stopped.
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Author's Notes: Not much to say on this one. It's the obvious climactic point Kel and I were first working towards when we started this as a one shot. How close to the originals plans it is remains to be seen... hah!

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~Subby