Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Because of You ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

“Because of You”

Sequel to: “This I Promise You”

Written by: Chocho

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravitation, or the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Story summary: A new baby. An autobiography. A funeral. A pregnancy. A shocking discovery and a woman with a grudge. And that's just this month.

Chapter summary: Eiri spends some quality time with the boys while his husband rests. Then, later, as Shuichi is packing the car for the trip back to Tokyo for his grandfather's funeral, he reminisces about the past.

Warning: Angst/death, m-preg, language, sex,

 

***

 

Chapter 2

 

“That's not really my problem now is it, Mizuki-san?” Eiri asked his editor as he walked out of the study. His voice was strained and tight as his annoyance reached its pinnacle. “…Because if memory serves me, I specifically told you not to schedule any personal appearances until further notice and yet you did just that. So,” he continued, raising his voice over her stuttering protestations, “you have no right to throw me a guilt trip when something more important comes up.”

 

As Mizuki Kanna screeched her protestations, Eiri clamped the cordless phone between his shoulder and his ear as he gently switched the sleeping lump of lead that was Kira to his opposite shoulder, the one that did not feel as if it were about to fall off. Releasing the phone, he held it to his other ear, the one that was not ringing and going deaf. He looked up when he heard the heavy stomps of tiny feet.

 

Kane raced out of his bedroom and threw himself at his father, knocking Eiri off balance. “Daddy!”

 

Eiri took a step back to catch himself and tightened his hold on Kira. He glared down at Kane. Ignoring his editor's rants about how unfair he was being at canceling his trip to Kyoto at the last minute, he clamped the phone under his chin, freeing his hand, which he used swiftly to smack his idiotic son upside the head. The impact sent Kane's head snapping forward. The boy tightened his grip as he buried his face in his father's pants leg. “I told you not to do that when I'm holding your brother,” Eiri snapped angrily. “What part of that do you not understand?”

 

“Yuki-san?” came Mizuki's questioning voice over the line. “Did you say something?”

 

“Nothing that concerns you,” Eiri told the woman. He was beginning to get a headache. Mizuki was trying desperately to get him out of canceling his cancellation of the lecture he was supposed to give at the university. He glanced down at the top of Kane's bed-head when he heard muffled sobs. He sighed heavily. It was too early to deal with this shit. As if that were not bad enough, Kira stirred against him. Great, he thought. The last thing he needed was for Mini Brat III to wake up. He had enough to deal with without that. He breathed a sigh of relief when Kira settled back down.

 

“Okay, about the lecture-.”

 

“Get someone else to fill in for me,” he said, cutting her off. He pulled the phone away as the woman screamed at him angrily. “Look, Mizuki,” he said when she had calmed down some-what. “You're the one that promised the university a noted author would come speak. So, this is your problem and has nothing to do with me…Mizuki, you have other clients. Bother them for a change…Because Shuichi's grandfather passed away yesterday.” Immediately, he was greeted with blissful silence. It was something he had not been privy to for almost two decades. He wondered what it would be like to be surrounded by absolute silence. “…His mother's father I believe…Shut up, Mizuki…We're going to Tokyo after breakfast…Yes, I'll pass on your condolences,” he said. “Now if you'll excuse me…? …Yes, good day to you too.” Eiri pressed the talk button, ending the phone call, and sighed heavily. Should have said something about Shuichi's grandfather sooner, he realized. Then he would not have had to endure all of Mizuki's crap. A tug on his pants drew his attention. He glanced down at his son who was sobbing quietly against his leg. “Kane, stop it and go wake your brother up.”

 

Kane pulled away from his father and wiped his tear and snot stained face. “Okay,” he hiccup-sobbed.

 

Eiri felt a pain of guilt and sighed. It would make things so much easier if both of the boys took after him. Keitaro was exactly like him. He loved to read and actually wrote several short stories that Eiri had bound and were now in the library/office. Yes, trying to get him up in the morning was like trying to wake the dead, but at least he did not run around the house like a chicken with its head cut off, screaming and yelling and turning the place upside down as if a typhoon hit it, unless Kane bothered him too much and then there was hell to pay. Kane on the other hand, unfortunately, was more like Shuichi then Shuichi was and that was not always a good thing.

 

Eiri squatted down in front of his son, keeping a tight grip on Kira. Setting the phone down besides him, he tapped Kane's chin gently to get him to lift his head. “Hey,” he said softly. “You know what? You don't have to go to school today.”

 

That got his attention. Kane's head snapped up, a bright smile on his face. The tears dried instantaneously. “Really?”

 

Eiri nodded.

 

“Yeah,” he cried. He threw his hands up and jumped up and down.

 

“Shh,” Eiri warned his son. “Otokasan and your brothers are sleeping.” Though truthfully, both Keitaro and Kira could sleep through Armageddon.

 

Kane's eyes widened in shock and horror. He slapped his hands over his mouth. “I'm sorry,” he whispered.

 

“That's okay. How would you like to go visit Grandma and Grandpa Shindou for a week?”

 

“Just me?”

 

“No,” Eiri said shaking his head. “We're all going.”

 

“You too, Daddy?”

 

“Yes, me, too.”

 

Kane's eyes sparkled with excitement and he began hopping up and down again.

 

“Listen to me for a minute, okay?”

 

The boy nodded, his excitement dwindling slightly at the sudden serious expression on his face.

 

“You have to be careful around Kira, okay? He's just a baby. You can't go running into people like that. Okay?”

 

“Okay,” Kane answered quietly.

 

“You're not a little kid anymore, right?”

 

Kane looked up and shook his head defiantly. “Nuh, uh. I'm five,” he proclaimed, holding out five fingers. “I'll be six pretty soon,” he announced proudly. “I'm a big boy!”

 

Eiri nodded. “Okay, then you shouldn't have to be treated like a baby, right?”

 

“I'm not a baby,” Kane said boldly.

 

Eiri smirked. “Then I don't have to repeat myself, right? You'll never do that again?”

 

Kane shook his head.

 

Eiri kissed his son and pulled him into a one armed hug.

 

The boy giggled, stepping away and rubbing his cheeks on his shoulders. “Your face's all scratchy, Daddy!” he exclaimed.

 

Eiri ran his hand along his jaw. “Guess so,” he noticed. Having been up since three o'clock this morning, dealing with Kira and a husband who just lost his grandfather had consumed all his attention. Shaving had been the last thing on his mind. “Guess I'll have to go shave huh?”

 

“Yep!”

 

“Okay,” Eiri said standing up, “why don't you go drag your brother from bed while I put Kira to bed and then we can go have some breakfast, alright?”

 

“Okay,” he cried as he tore down the hallway. “Keitaro,” he shouted. “Daddy said to get up! Now!”

 

Chuckling, Eiri stood up with a grunt and walked towards the master suite, setting the phone down on the small table outside the door. He pushed open the door and stepped into the cave like room, shutting the door behind him. The lump on the bed stirred.

 

“Shu, you up?”

 

“Mmm,” Shuichi mumbled. He flipped onto his back and stretched, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and stared up at the ceiling hidden within shadows. His eyes felt heavy and gritty. He could barely keep them open. His mind was cloudy and his reflexes slow to start. All he wanted to do was curl back under the covers and slip back into oblivion. He turned his head and watched as his husband carried an obviously sleeping Kira towards him. A smile flittered across his face. “'Morning,” he whispered.

 

The bed dipped as Eiri sat down. They exchanged a soft, lingering, chaste kiss. “Mmm,” he smiled as he pulled back. “How'd you sleep?”

 

“Pretty good,” Shuichi yawned. He pushed himself up and leaned against the headboard. “Are the boys up?” he asked. “Here,” he commanded with another yawn. Damn, he could not stop yawning.

 

“Kane's up,” Eiri said as he gladly handed over his son. He shook his arms, trying to get the circulation back into them. “Keitaro,” he continued, “on the other hand-“

 

Suddenly the door was flung open startling both men. “Daddy! Keitaro won't get up,” Kane tattled. Eiri and Shuichi watched as the boy raced through the doorway and across the room.

 

Shuichi chuckled. Keitaro was definitely not a morning person. Just like someone else he knew. His gaze slid to his husband, a sly glint in his eyes. Eiri felt his husband's gaze on him and turned to look at him. He peered through narrowed eyes at the younger man. “Don't even,” he warned.

 

That prompted Shuichi to laugh harder.

 

Eiri glared at his husband, but was soon distracted by a tug on his sleeve.

 

“Tell him to get up, Daddy! I'm hungry,” Kane whined.

 

“Yes, Daddy. Hurry up. There're hungry people waiting to be fed,” Shuichi reminded his husband, his voice low and husky.

 

Eiri's breath hitched and his cocked twitched. Slowly, he turned towards Shuichi. They stared at each other with matching lustful expressions. Eiri found himself drowning in his husbands gaze. They pulled at him, sucked him in.

 

“Dad~dy!”

 

Eiri and Shuichi snapped back to reality. Shuichi looked away, a blush tinting his cheeks. Eiri cleared his throat and stood up.

 

“Here, put him in the bassinette for me,” Shuichi told Eiri. He gently handed the still sleeping Kira to Eiri and watched as the blond writer placed him carefully in the bassinette several feet from the bed.

 

Eiri walked back over to the bed and kissed his husband. “Get some sleep, okay?”

 

Shuichi nodded as he wiggled back under the covers. That sounded like a very good idea. A huge yawn seized him, making his eyes water and his jaw pop. Sleep weighed heavily upon his shoulders once more.

 

“I'll take care of the boys.”

 

Shuichi had no problem with that. He mumbled out, “I love you” and “good night” as he rolled over onto his side and pulled the covers around his shoulders. He was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow.

 

Eiri shut the door behind him and let Kane drag him across the hall towards the twin's room. The sight that greeted him had him chuckling. Keitaro and Kane's room was literally split down the middle and you could clearly see which side belonged to which brother.

 

Kane's side look like everything else he did, like a hurricane hit it followed by an earthquake and than a flood. Things were flung in every direction. Clothes spewed out of several open dresser drawers as if it had exploded. His closet door was wide open and a quick look told Eiri that it was in an identical condition as the room. Kane's covers were thrown back and were hanging over the foot of the bed, covering the trunk. His pillows were nowhere in sight. The floor was gone, hidden under mounds of…stuff.

 

“Kane, before we leave, you are cleaning up this pig sty.”

 

As predicted, Kane groaned. “I don't wanna!” he whined as he crawled onto his bed.

 

“Either you do it or I will,” Eiri warned.

 

“You do it,” Kane said as he stood up on the bed and started bouncing.

 

“Hey,” Eiri barked. “Down. Now.”

 

“Awww!”

 

“Kane.”

 

With a final bounce, Kane plopped into a sitting position.

 

Eiri walked through the disaster area to the clean side. “If I get in here, I'm going to start tossing stuff.”

 

Kane's eyes went wide in horror. “No!”

 

“Yes.”

 

“No!” Kane jumped off his bed and flung himself at his father. “Daddy!”

 

“Will you clean your room, then?”

 

Kane nodded his head vigorously.

 

Eiri smirked. Works every time. “Good. Why don't you go downstairs while I drag Sleeping Beauty from bed?”

 

“That's Keitaro, not Sleeping Beauty. Silly Daddy,” Kane laughed.

 

“Oh?” Eiri feigned ignorance. “Really? My mistake.” He planted a kiss on his son's head and swatted his behind. “Now, go.”

 

“Okay!” He started out of the room, but stopped halfway out the door. “Can I watch TV?”

 

“If you keep it down.”

 

“Okay,” Kane shouted as he tore out of the room. Eiri could hear him pounding down the staircase.

 

Eiri strolled across the bedroom towards his comatose son.

 

Keitaro's side was the complete opposite of his brother's, just like their personalities. All his toys and books were off the floor and in there appropriate places. The toys were in the toy bin and his books, which there seemed to be hundreds of, in the bookshelf. He had them in alphabetical order, which he claimed made it easier to find the book he was looking for. Shuichi did not understand what the point of that was. Eiri thought it made perfect sense. Keitaro's clothes were neatly folded and placed in their respective drawers. The top drawer was for socks, underpants, undershirts, second drawer for pajamas, third drawer for shirts and bottom drawer for pants. His school uniforms and other dressier, more formal clothing were hung neatly in the closet. His shoes were placed in an orderly fashion on the floor of the closet. Keitaro kept his bed straight and as neat as a pin. Put simply, his oldest son was a neat freak.

 

Eiri stood by his son's bed with his arms folded over his chest and smirked as he watched the boy sleeping.

 

Keitaro had kicked his covers off sometime during the night and they were now crumbled at the foot of the bed. He was lying corner to corner on the bed, spread out on his stomach with his feet hanging off the side of the bed. His pant legs were hiked halfway up his legs and his shirt was riding up. His blond hair was sticking up and his mouth was hanging open. There was a crease mark on the left side of his face.

 

Eiri snickered. He bent over the boy and shook him. “Keitaro. C'mon. Time to get up.” As expected, Keitaro remained an impassive log. He did not so much as twitch. Eiri chuckled again and shook his head. Sighing, Eiri braced himself- knowing how heavy the boy was- and lifted him out of the bed. Only then did the boy start to stir.

 

“Ugh,” Keitaro moaned, reaching out towards his bed.

 

“C'mon sleepy head,” Eiri said as he tucked him under his arm like he was a piece of luggage. Turning on his heel, he started out of the bedroom. He had not taken more than a step when Keitaro started groaning and wiggling around.

 

“No,” the boy whined.

 

“Don't give me that, Uesugi-Shindou Ichiro Keitaro.” He was having a hard time keeping a hold on his son. Eiri placed Keitaro over his shoulder in a firemen's hold. “It's past seven o'clock. Time for all little writer's to be up and out of bed.”

 

“No wanna!”

 

Eiri chuckled. He sounded exactly like Kane. “I don't care if you don't wanna. You have to.”

 

“Daddy!”

 

“Keitaro!” Eiri mimicked as he started down the steps. Then an idea hit him. “You don't have to go to school today or tomorrow or the next day and the day after that…”

 

All movement stopped immediately. “Really?”

 

“Really.”

 

“Really really?”

 

Eiri sighed. At times like these, Keitaro reminded him of Shuichi. “Yes, really really. We're going to Tokyo to visit Grandma and Grandpa Shindou.” The only answer he received was stone silence. Curious, he slid Keitaro off his shoulder and set him on his feet. He knelt before the boy and noticed the disappointed expression on his face. “What's wrong? Don't you want to go visit Grandma and Grandpa?”

 

“But I wanted to go to school today! We're supposed to have a party!”

 

Eiri nearly fell over in shock. Chuckling, he stood up and escorted the boy to the kitchen. As he passed the living room, he called out to Kane. “Come on. There's something I need to talk to you about before we eat, okay?”

 

“Okay,” they both said as the three blond haired, golden hazel eyed, pale men entered the kitchen.

 

*

 

The seatbelt snapped together with a resounding click.

 

“There you go,” Shuichi cooed to his son.

 

Kira's large blue eyes darted around the inside of the black SUV.

 

It was amazing how different Kira looked from his brothers. They did not even look like they were related. Where Kane and Keitaro had their father's pale looks, Kira took after him. He had a head full of raven black hair and a dark complexion.

 

Grabbing the diaper bag from the floor, Shuichi placed it on the passenger seat. Backing out of the car, he grabbed his suitcase that was sitting by the tire and kneeling on the backseat, lifted his luggage into the back of the vehicle. The only other things in the back were Eiri's suitcase and a small cooler that he packed with drinks and munchies for the long road trip to his parent's house.

 

As Shuichi turned back around, he caught Kira staring intently at him. “What?” he breathed with a giant smile. He felt an overwhelming surge of pride wash over him. His heart swelled as he stared down at his son.

 

Kira smiled widely. His mother said it was only gas when he smiled. She used to say the same thing when Kane and Keitaro were babies. Whatever. A smile was a smile and it was beautiful, just like his son.

 

Shuichi giggled. He reached over and brushed a lock of hair out of Kira's eyes. He would have to cut his hair soon, if Kira let him. The kid already needed his nails cut, but refused to let him cut them. He certainly was something.

 

Chuckling, Shuichi planted a kiss on his son's forehead and backed out of the car. He glanced around and spotted Kane playing on the swing set. Keitaro, he knew, was in the playroom buried in a book. Eiri was up in the study. He was not sure what exactly he was up to. Shuichi looked up at the closed double doors where the study he and his husband shared curiously.

 

“Is it time to go yet?” Kane shouted across the lawn.

 

Shuichi snapped out of his thoughts and watched his son. Kane had a goal to swing above the bar and was determined to do so, but so far had been unsuccessful. Shuichi could remember when he had been as driven to achieve that same goal. It had been such a thrill to go higher and higher, to feel the wind against his face, but to think of his own son trying to do the same thing scared the shit out of him. What if he went too far and he went over the bar or crashed into it? What if he lost his grip and slipped off? Sometimes he hated being a parent.

 

“Yes, it is,” he called back.

 

“Okay!”

 

Shuichi nearly had a heart attack as he watched his son jump off the swing mid-swing. Kane landed neatly on his feet like a cat then raced across the yard towards him. Shuichi sighed heavily and fell back against the side of the car, a hand over his racing heart. That boy is going to kill me one of these days, he thought. “Go get your and your brother's suitcases for me.”

 

Kane's face fell. “Aw! Why can't Keitaro do it?”

 

“Because I asked you.”

 

Grumbling, the boy stomped up the front steps and into the house. Shuichi watched him in amusement. He shook his head with a snort. A couple of seconds later, Kane reappeared, dragging two suitcases behind him. It was easy to tell which belong to what twin. Keitaro's was the plain black one and Kane's was the pink Dora the Explorer one. “Here, Otokasan,” Kane said.

 

Shuichi bent over and kissed the top of Kane's head. “Thank you. You're very helpful.”

 

Kane grinned broadly up at Shuichi. His face beamed with pride.

 

“Did you clean your room like Daddy asked you to?”

 

Kane nodded. “Yes. And I did it all by myself!”

 

“You did? Good job. Looks like you really are a big boy.”

 

Kane's smile was so bright it could light a city for a month.

 

“Alright,” Shuichi said. He grabbed his son's ponytail and gave it a tug.

 

Kane laughed, grabbing his head.

 

“Why don't you go potty and tell your daddy we're all set to go.”

 

“Okay.” The boy raced back up the stairs and vanished into the house. “Daddy,” Shuichi heard him call and rather loudly. “Otokasan said it's time to go!”

 

Shuichi sniggered. Guess they really do have my lungs, he thought as he grabbed the suitcases and placed them in the trunk. He slammed the lid of the trunk and peered through the window at Kira, who appeared to be asleep. A soft smile crossed Shuichi's face, but his smile slipped into a frown and a deep well of sadness washed over him.

 

He had not seen his grandfather, the boys' great grandfather, since he was in middle school, but he remembered clearly what the patriarch of the Todono family looked like. It had been like looking at an aged photograph of him. Their appearance was not the only thing they had in common. Shuichi got his love of music from his grandfather as well. This commonality was what made the two of them so close when he was growing up, but it was also what caused the huge rift between them.

 

Kira blurred behind a threat of tears. Sniffling, Shuichi stepped away from the car and breathed in deeply through the nose and out through his mouth, trying to loosen the tightness in his chest.

 

He could not believe his grandfather had passed away. It was impossible to stop his mind from reminiscing about all the things he used to do with his grandfather, all the laughs they had and tears they shed, the stories and secrets they shared. They had been so close. They used to do everything together and to know the man he used to believe was as invincible as Superman was not going to be there when he walked into his grandmother's house was not something he wanted to think about.

 

He had crushed his grandfather's heart. Not once, but twice. When once they were so close, they soon had become worlds apart. His grandfather was a proud and stubborn man and refused to admit the world was changing and not the same as it was when he was a boy. In a way, Shuichi was just as stubborn as his grandfather and refused to let others tell him what to do. He knew where his life was heading and what he wanted to do with it and he was not going to let someone else dictate what that was. Because of that, he had not spoken or seen his grandfather in over twenty years, that was, until the other day when he returned home from getting ice cream with Eiri and the boys to hear a familiar gravelly voice on the answering machine.

 

[“Shuichi? This is Grandfather…I got your number from your mother.” There was nothing but the sound of breathing for several long seconds. “…It's been a while. If you could give me a call as soon as possible, I would…greatly appreciate it…Shuichi, I,” he started. “…Or maybe you could have your mother set something up…,” he said instead. “I need to speak with you, Shuichi…Thanks...” There was a click and then nothing.

 

“End of new messages,” the mechanical voice said.

 

Shuichi stood, staring blankly at the answering machine, not really believing what he just heard. Even after listening to it two more times, he still was not fully convinced this was not just some sort of joke. Shuichi had been nothing more than a giant disappointment to his grandfather. He tried several times over the years to try and mend the rift between them, but his olive branch had been snapped in two and thrown right back in his face. His grandfather had made it clear he was dead to him. So why the change of heart now?

 

Standing up from the chair he had collapsed into, Shuichi reached for the phone with a trembling hand, but at the last second his nerve broke and his hand veered off course.

 

“Message erased,” the mechanical voice said.]

 

After all that time, his grandfather had reached out to him and what had he done? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! If he would have sucked up his pride and made that phone call, he would have been there. He would have been able to say…goodbye.

 

Shuichi dropped his face in his hands and sobbed. Turning around, he leaned against the back of the car and slid down until he was sitting on the bumper.

 

From the doorway, Eiri watched his husband in sorrow, a lump in his throat and a frown on his face.

 

***

 

Todono: Mrs. Shindou's maiden name

Otokasan: combination of “otosan” (father) and “okasan” (mother)