The Changing Tides

Title: The Changing Tides
Author: JadeHeart
Archived: Found on gurabiteshiyon.net. If anyone else would like it, please ask me first!
Fandom: Gravitation
Rating: R
Warnings: bad language, angst, sexual situations
Timeline: After the anime/manga finishes, I think.
Characters: Shuichi/Yuki
Feedback: Feedback is always welcome!
Summary: Can Shuichi withstand the ebb and flow of Yuki’s affections?
Author’s Notes : Okay, this came about from the same first line of the song that created ‘What’s Hidden Beneath’, only this story is almost the opposite and has slightly darker over tones. I can’t seem to help but come up with angsty thoughts when I get tired.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, they belong to the creators of ‘Gravitation’ , nor am I making any profits from this.

The Changing Tides

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‘I’m gonna believe in your eyes’
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Shuichi ran up the stairs as fast as he could. His heart was pounding from his exertions, but the smile didn’t leave his face. He had finished, he finished the last song for their latest CD! He had done it! He was so pleased with himself. It wasn’t that he was trying to stroke his own ego or anything, but he had really worked hard to get to this point, and he had done it!

Hiro and Suguru were just as pleased with their efforts. The whole of ‘Bad Luck’ had been slaving feverishly for months. They had all wanted this to be one of their best efforts. For some reason they were all aspiring to great heights, trying to outdo everything they had done before. And they had! He truly believed that!

Even K had congratulated them on their accomplishment. He hadn’t even had to threaten any of them during all that time! That was amazing in itself! Although, he had seemed a little disappointed about that also. Sometimes, K was a little scary to have as a manager! Mr Sakano had just about wept with joy. They had all watched with amazement as he, literally, skipped down the corridor. Now, there was a happy man!

It had all just gone so well! From the start to the finish, it had gone off with barely a hitch. No major conflict of personalities, which is a surprise in itself! No technical problems, no equipment failures. It had almost been too good to be true. He thought they had all been just waiting for something to happen at some point, but it hadn’t. Everything had gone fine! The only thing that really would have made his day was if Tohma Seguchi had turned up to express his satisfaction.

Then again, it was probably far better that Tohma hadn’t turned up. Shuichi was never comfortable around that man. Something about him….bothered him. It was like the feeling you get of eyes boring into your back, or your skin crawling. Not even really in a bad way either. His feelings about Tohma Seguchi were very, very conflicting. He still admired Tohma for his place in Nittle Grasper. All the years of admiring the man from afar, aspiring to be like his favourite band. All that didn’t just disappear over night. He continued to be completely amazed by Tohma’s efforts as President of N-G Productions, and the way he promoted ‘Bad Luck’. The man really was a genius. However, Shuichi knew that he would probably never actually like Tohma.

This was most likely due to Tohma’s relationship with Yuki. Shuichi could accept and understand the fact that Tohma was married to Yuki’s sister. That automatically put them in close contact with each other. He even understood that they had a deep connection from the time that both Tohma and Yuki were first in New York, and all the subsequent events that occurred at that time. Shuichi could accept that, and in some ways he was just so glad that someone had been there for Yuki, to help him.

However, even with all that, the connection between Tohma and Yuki was such a strange one. It was something that Shuichi still couldn’t quite figure out. Yuki wouldn’t really say anything about it or bother trying to explain it so Shuichi understood it, and Tohma was just so damn mysterious over it all. When Tohma and Yuki were together, there were so many undercurrents to their conversation, so many hidden meanings behind the words. Even Shuichi could tell that, though he didn’t understand what those meanings were. Tohma clouded his meaning behind innuendos, and false smiles. That man could say something that could have a thousand different meanings for every person that heard it. He was the master of smoke and mirrors. He didn’t have to even try to confuse people. He just seemed to have a knack of being able to make them do it to themselves, whilst he just stood back quietly and watched. Shuichi trod very carefully around Tohma Seguchi.

Enough of that. He skidded to a stop at the apartment door, pulling out his key, smiling once more. Tohma wasn’t here, so he wasn’t going to worry about it. Because they had finally finished, K had given them the next two days off whilst the studio techs played with the tracks. After that, would be the gruelling final mixing and cutting, but for now he had two glorious days off!

Two whole days! He could hardly believe it. He knew that Yuki had recently finished off his latest novel as well, so he didn’t have anything pressing to do. Well, nothing that he had told Shuichi about. So Shuichi was going to ask Yuki to spend some time with him. They had both been so busy lately, that they had barely seen each other, and certainly been too tired to do anything except sleep. Now was the opportunity for that to change. Perhaps they could go on a date somewhere, go to a movie, go anywhere!

Shuichi opened the door and toed his shoes off, letting his pack fall noisily to the floor. “Yuki! Where are you?” There was no answer.

“Yuuuki!” he called again, running into the lounge. A quick glance showed no sign of Yuki there, or in the kitchen. He ran down the passage, calling, “Yuuuukiiii!”

“Will you shut the fuck up!!” The shout reverberated through the apartment, bringing Shuichi to a sudden skidding halt in surprise.

Oops! Slowly he sidled the last few steps down the passage. Yes, it was as he feared. Yuki was lying on his back on the bed, shirt unbuttoned, as was the top of his jeans. The man held a hand pressed against his forehead, his eyes squeezed shut. The curtains had been drawn across the window, plunging the room into shadow.

Shuichi bit his lip. He should have thought sooner, before he came rushing in. Yuki often suffered from migraines after finishing a book. Probably because he lost so much sleep, and spent far too many long hours sitting hunched over, squinting at his laptop screen. Shuichi could see the open packet of painkillers resting on the bedside table, next to a glass. He crept in a little closer.

“I’m sorry, Yuki.” he said quietly, keeping his voice low. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I wasn’t asleep, brat.” Yuki growled, not opening his eyes. He let out a deep sigh. “What are you doing home?”

Shuichi gingerly sat on the end of the bed, careful not to jostle Yuki. “We finished the last track, so K told us to go home. It’s not really that early.”

“What time is it?”

“About 6pm.”

“Huh.”

“Can I get you anything?”

“Another fucking head!” was Yuki’s muffled retort.

“Well, that might be a little difficult. Anything else? Something that I might be able to manage? Do you want me to order something to eat? Could you eat something?”

Yuki cracked an eye open then, peering at Shuichi from under his hand. “Stop trying to fucking mother me!”

Shuichi glared back at him. “Well, excuse me for trying to be considerate of your condition! It’s your own fault anyway! You’re like this after you finish every book!”

“And what if I am, you dumbass?! That should mean you would fucking remember, and shut up, and be quiet!”

“Fine! Wallow in your own misery! See if I care!”

Shuichi leapt to his feet and began to move to the door, when a hand clamped hard around his wrist, jerking him backwards. He lost his balance completely, his feet, encased in socks, slipping immediately from under him, and he landed backwards across Yuki’s stomach. He felt the air rush out of Yuki’s lungs at the impact, and he was immediately concerned.

“Are you alright?!” He wriggled around so he was looking down at Yuki, checking to see if there were any signs of hurt.

Yuki’s cold hard stare met his worried one. “Shut up.” Yuki growled, and then expertly flipped them over, reversing their positions so Shuichi was now underneath.

“Yuki, I thought you had a migraine.”

“I do. So, shut up. Your annoying voice just makes it worse.”

Shuichi pushed at Yuki’s chest, trying to ignore the way Yuki’s bare flesh felt under his hands. “Then you should be resting.”

“I said, shut up.” Yuki snarled, reaching down and latching his mouth to the side of Shuichi’s neck. One hand snaked up under Shuichi’s shirt, quickly finding a nipple and squeezing it hard, hard enough to hurt.

“Yuki! Ow! Be careful!”

“How many times do I have to tell you to shut up, you stupid brat? I’ve been busy for a long time. I want to relax.”

Yuki’s hand continued to roughly tease Shuichi’s nipple and skin, his mouth kissing and biting across Shuichi’s neck. Shuichi knew that there would be marks left tomorrow.

He stopped trying to fight against Yuki then. He knew that when Yuki was like this, he wasn’t going to stop. Shuichi let himself go, and relaxed under Yuki’s touch. As though he had been waiting for that sign, Yuki’s hand became a little more gentle. It was still rough, and hurried, but it wasn’t trying to hurt.

Shuichi lay back and let himself enjoy the sensations, enjoy the feelings they were igniting. The sex was quick. Yuki pushed quickly to his release, bringing Shuichi crashing to his climax at the same time.

Yuki pushed himself to one side, lying there, breathing heavily, his body still shining with sweat. Shuichi curled up beside him.

“Is your head still hurting?” he questioned softly, hoping it wouldn’t make Yuki angry.

Yuki turned his head to look at the boy. “Not much.” he answered.

Shuichi looked into those golden eyes. Yuki didn’t turn his head away, matching his look. It wasn’t often that Shuichi would see Yuki’s eyes unguarded. Yuki maintained a solid mask for the world. He was like that with everyone. So few times, did he let his iron control slip, and his true emotions show. When he did, it only ever showed in his eyes.

Shuichi could see a glimmer of that then, the mere faintest flickers of something other than Yuki’s normal cold disdain, or anger. He smiled, a small warm smile, filled with love for the man lying beside him. No matter what Yuki did or said, it was these moments, these small moments of seeing something more in Yuki’s eyes, that made all the difference.

Yuki suddenly turned his head away and swung out of bed. “Get things cleaned up.” he ordered sharply over his shoulder, as he made his way to the bathroom.

Shuichi sighed, watching Yuki disappear out the door, then rolled over and stood. He threw his clothes back on quickly. He would shower after Yuki had finished. These clothes would go in the laundry then, so it didn’t really matter if they got a little more soiled.

He pulled the sheets from the bed, bundling them up in the corner, and going to get some fresh ones from the cupboard. He had just finished remaking the bed, when Yuki returned to the room, a towel wrapped low around his hips.

Shuichi licked his lips at the sight. Yuki looked wonderful, his skin tinged pink from the heat of the shower, his body still slightly glistening with moisture.

“Well, don’t just stand there, idiot! Get all that dirty stuff out of the way. I’d like to get dressed in peace.” Shuichi quickly picked up all the bedding and vacated the room, closing the door behind him.

He dropped all the laundry in the bathroom, adding to the pile as he stripped off his clothes, before stepping into the shower. He sighed as he washed himself. Yuki was just so hard to read sometimes. Why did he feel that he had to keep going back to his cold self? Didn’t he realize by now that he didn’t need to be like that when he was with Shuichi? Maybe he wasn’t doing enough to make Yuki understand that. Perhaps he should try harder to understand him.

He dried and changed into fresh clothes. The bedroom door was open again, and the room empty. Shuichi made his way into the lounge room. Yuki was standing there, just finishing a cup of coffee. He placed it in the sink, and walked straight past Shuichi.

“I’m going out.” he stated in a flat voice.

“Where…?” Shuichi began, when Yuki stopped him mid-sentence with a glare.

“It’s none of your business.”

“‘But, Yuki…”

“Shut up!” Yuki said harshly, pulling on his coat and picking up his keys. “Stop your whining! Where I go, and what I do, has nothing to do with you, so stop trying to cling to me.” He walked to the door. “I’ll be late. So don’t bother trying to wait up.”

“Yuki…” Shuichi cried, hand stretching out, but Yuki disappeared out the door.

“Oh, Yuki!” he said brokenly, collapsing on the couch in the darkness, alone. He hadn’t even been able to ask Yuki to go out with him!