Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Inspired ❯ Chapter 27 ( Chapter 27 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Effort was, as the very word implied, a hard thing at times. And as far as Ryuichi was concerned, it was highly over rated. He preferred those tasks that came naturally to him. Such as singing, playing games and acting. Of course, even with those tasks, he was required to expend effort, especially when it came to singing. Because, in order to sing, you needed a song, and to get a song, you had to write one. Which Ryuichi never minded, except when the song had to be… meaningful and deep.

The vocalist had learned long ago that being deep was hard and writing deep lyrics, without it being stupid, clichéd sappiness was an almost impossible task. Tohma was far better at it and Noriko, while having no interest writing, did have a critical eye at the very least. Unfortunately, this wasn’t something that he could ask either of them to do for him. It wouldn’t have been right to have someone else finish the song he wanted to write for Taki.

He had just randomly picked up the paper with the unfinished lyrics last night and realized that he wanted to finish them. Of course, he already knew what Taki thought of them, sort of. It was hard to tell what was on the man’s mind sometimes. He did know that Taki found them amusing, maybe even flattering, but that didn’t guarantee anything. He might not like the finished version at all.

[Hmmmmm…. I wonder if he’d let me sing them live?]
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“No.” Taki said it coldly and without emotion, his arms crossed. Ryuichi looked up at him pleadingly.

“But, come on… You like attention, right?”

“Not that much. It’s a dorky song and it‘d be embarrassing if everyone knows that you‘ll be singing it for me…”

“No one has to know that I wrote it for you! No one will! It’ll be an uber special secret just between the two of us!”

“You already blabbed to Seguchi-san and Ukai-san.” Ryuichi swallowed guilty.

“Well, they don’t count! Well, actually they do, but they aren’t going to tell anyone… Then again, if it was good publicity, Tohma-chan might let it leak out… But, I’ll make sure to tell him not to! If he does, Kumagoro will beat him up! Smack! Pow! Bam! Right in the kisser!” Ryuichi was now flying the rabbit around like it was superman.

The younger man merely shrugged. “I don’t care. I don’t want you singing that song in public. Or recording it in the studio either.” And there went Ryuichi’s only other option.

“Well, why not?” He whined pitifully. “I’m trying to be romantic and you won’t let me. I wanna be romantic!” Now he started whimpering, hoping that Taki would fall prey to pity as the younger man usually did.

“Well… It’s embarrassing when you do stuff like that.” He was looking away now, and sounded a little shy.

The older man looked at him, now confused. “What’s so embarrassing about that? Love’s not embarrassing! It’s cute, sweet and wonderful!” Sometimes, Ryuichi just really didn’t get Taki. He had to wonder if the y younger man’s heart three times too small like the grinch’s.

“It is embarrassing. You act like a big dork, everyone stares and they whisper.”

“So? I thought you liked it when I act like a dork?”

“Not in public!” Taki turned around and looked at him, now obviously getting exasperated.

“That can’t be the problem, can it? You like it, I know you do.” Ryuichi closed in on him and looked up into his eyes, daring him to lie.

“Yeah. But then, I have to do something stupid in return.”

“Oh… So you mean, it’s not that you don’t like the idea, you just don’t want to make a big gesture in return?”

“…” Taki nodded and then turned away again, stalking off towards the kitchen.

“You won’t owe me anything in return! In fact, letting me sing the song will be your gift to me!” The older man called out after him, not yet ready to give up. Not by a long shot.

“Nope. I don’t care. You’ll just have to keep it all to yourself.” Ryuichi was about ready to pout until he realized that Taki was smirking a little. The victory smirk. That insufferable little smile the younger man had whenever he won.

“Alright, you win. I won’t let it go just beyond the being some words on paper.” Of course, if Taki had been paying attention, he might have realized that Ryuichi was being insincere. Fortunately though, Taki was the type who didn’t look any deeper than he had to, unless it was convenient for him.
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“Uh Ryu-chan… If he said he didn’t want you to sing the song, then you shouldn’t sing the song.” Noriko said to Ryuichi as he fidgeted next to her in the studio. “Some people just don’t like big gestures.”

“But, but, but, but, but… He’s supposed too!!! It’s normal!” At that Ryuichi fell onto the floor and began to roll around like a child throwing a tantrum. Okay, he WAS a child throwing a tantrum. A very big child.

“Not the way you do it.” She sighed, wondering why she was even here. Oh, that’s right, Ryuichi wanted her to help him with the song because Tohma had refused to. The blond keyboardist had felt that such a thing was below Nittle Grasper, more suited for a band like Bad Luck.

The vocalist stopped crying and stood up, looking at Noriko curiously. “What’s wrong with the way I do things? What’s so wrong with it!?” He now sounded a little irritated.

“Well…” She touched a finger to the side of her face, now in thought. She had to phrase this right. “Tell me Ryu, how many normal dates have you had with him?”

“Uh, none. Why?”

“Well you see, Ryu, those big, odd and unforgettable moments you come up with are all really, really special, I’m sure. But, you gotta remember, not everyone’s like you. Some people get tired of every moment being extravagant or strange. It’s exhausting and after a while, well, it’s just not as special as it should be.”

Ryuichi sat a few minutes, obviously thinking hard, before he finally spoke. “So what you’re saying is I should stop doing special things for him.”

“Nooo!” She whapped him lightly. “What I’m saying is you should try being more subtle for once. Do something special but be subtle about it. Subtle! Understated! Got it?”

Even thought Noriko’s hit hadn’t hurt at all, Ryuichi rubbed his head and looked up at her cautiously, least she hit him again. “Okay, I got it. But, Noriko, what’s subtle?” And at that moment she nearly exploded.
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After that day, Taki was surprised to not find himself allowed over at Ryuichi’s for a while. He would have worried that he had offended the other man, except for he still made time to go over to Taki’s apartment. But, Ryuichi seemed to be very adamant that Taki not go over to his apartment. It was weird, even for the older man, but Taki accepted it. After all, Ryuichi had forgotten all about that song nonsense.

It wasn’t that Taki hated the song, not at all. He rather liked it. But, he liked to think of it as a gift from Ryuichi of sorts. And Taki was not the type who liked sharing. No, he hated sharing. He didn’t want anyone hearing that song ever. Yes, it was selfish on his part, but he didn’t care. And Ryuichi would just have to get over it.

Though, Taki had been going out of his way to be extra nice to the older man, knowing that he had probably disappointed him. He even was doing little things that he normally would have refused to do for Ryuichi, both in and out of bed. Taki had been surprised to learn that being a little generous sometimes really wouldn’t kill him.

Still, it didn’t necessarily feel natural either. Especially when he didn’t get anything in return. Which was unusual, as Ryuichi was normally more responsive. Maybe he really was depressed? At least, that’s what Taki had been thinking about before he found a little letter tucked under his nightstand. It was written in Ryuichi’s incredibly horrible kanji. Taki had never been able to figure out how a guy who could speak perfect, fluent English could be so bad at his own native language. It took him a bit to finally make out the message.

“So, I’m finally allowed back at his place?” Taki looked down at the letter and shrugged. He didn’t know if he really wanted to think about what was going to happen. It could be something really annoying to make up for not being allowed to sing the song.
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When he did get to Ryuichi’s place, he found the door unlocked and entered after his knocking went unanswered. The first surprise was that the place was unusually clean. And he knew it shouldn’t have been, because Ryuichi’s maid usually left after four o’ clock, which gave the man plenty of time to dirty up the place.

Secondly, the lights had been dimmed, candles were lit up every where and there were flowers strewn about. Most of them red roses. The only thing missing was some incredibly sappy, romantic music. “Ugh…” Taki muttered, glancing around for any sign of Ryuichi.

Seeing a light coming from the kitchen, he was about to walk in when a voice called out. “Taki, don’t come in! Just wait a moment, ‘kay?” Taki huffed to himself slightly and decided to sit down at the table in the dining room which was nicely set and had its own huge assortment of candles.

After a more minutes, Ryuichi came out carrying a big platter of food and hurriedly set it down on the table. The singer served the dinner quickly and than sat down across from Taki, with a big expectant grin. “Uh… What is all this?”

“Ryuichi’s own super romantic, no holds barred, yet very, very super subtle romantic dinner!” Taki raised an eyebrow than stared down at his plate. The meat looked edible, sort of…

“Did you make this from a box?” He poked at it questioningly.

“NO!!! I made it with my own two hands! Kumagoro saw me! If he was still here, he’d tell you so!” Taki looked around for moment, wondering where the plushie had gone. Maybe the singer had sent the rabbit away, as he often did. Ryuichi claimed that there activities were not fit for the rabbit’s virgin eyes. “But, come on! Let’s eat! Then you can see how good my cooking really is!”
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As it turned out, the food had indeed been Ryuichi’s own cooking. Nothing else could end up making Taki feel sick in that, ’ill, but not ill enough to hurl’ sort of way. It was disconcerting, but not so much that Taki was ready to call it quits for the evening. He had decided to hide his displeasure on account of the fact that Ryuichi seemed so intent on having a perfect little evening.

The older man wasn’t present at the moment having run off somewhere, promising to be right back. Ryuichi had been acting very oddly as he left, asking that Taki not get mad at him. He had resisted asking why he’d be upset, deciding that it was best to wait until Ryuichi had actually offended him before losing his temper.

Out of no where he could hear the radio playing suddenly. The voice was Ryuichi’s, deep, luxurious, filled with the sort of power that only the legendary singer could muster. But, he couldn’t place the song, having never heard it before. Which was strange, since he knew he had heard every Nittle Grasper piece out there. The words did seem oddly familiar though.

[Wait a moment… Is this?]

At that moment he felt a pair of arms wrapped around his neck, someone’s chin resting on his shoulder. “I didn’t break my promise completely. Only you get to hear this song, no one else.”

“You still did something I told you not to.” Taki said it quietly, not moving.

“Yeah, but do you like it?”

“Of course I like it. Though, it’s bad enough the fan girls call me an angel, but to hear you do it too…”

Ryuichi chuckled, holding on a little tighter now. “Well, it’s true. You are an angel. A kinda scary one, but an angel none the less.”

“Sweet talker. You’re just trying to get laid.” Taki glanced up at Ryuichi, now amused.

The older man chuckled. “Well, we’d have ended up in bed either way, song or not. But, I do expect a lot of sex for this.”

“Pervert.”

“Romantic sex.” Ryuichi was giggling now.
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To Be Continued…

Next time, tying up the loose ends, well, as much as I possibly can. Don’t beg me to right more, because it’s not going anywhere.