Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Last Smile ❯ Last Smile ( One-Shot )

Last Smile

"I can so hold my liquor," Shuichi Shindou retorted after his best friend Hiro Nakano laughed at him and told him he couldn't.

Hiro snorted. "Oh yeah, that's why you haven't walked straight since we left the bar."

"Hiro! How can you be so mean?"

Hiro laughed as Shuichi staggered along beside him as they made their way towards Hiro's house. Shuichi was such a lightweight but Hiro had figured it would probably be the best thing for his buddy if they went out drinking and Shuichi could get nice and mellow.

Okay. Nice and smashed. Anything to get his mind off the blond bastard of a romance writer who'd broken Shuichi's heart, yet again, the night before.

Of course, when Yuki Eiri decided that he'd do Shuichi the "favor" of allowing him to grace Yuki with his presence, all would be forgiven. Until the next time Yuki made Shuichi cry.

Man, when that happened, it sliced into Hiro's heart, making him want to bang his head against the wall because there was nothing a person could do -- even when they were your best friend -- if they wanted to make self-destructive choices.

Shuichi knew Yuki would only hurt him yet he blinded himself to that fact and followed his heart, not his head. Hiro knew it was a lost cause because he'd warned, coaxed and cajoled his best friend to not make the same mistake over and over again but was unsuccessful each time. The least he could do was to keep Shuichi's mind off Yuki, at least for the night.

Hiro turned the key in the lock and opened the door. "You think you can make it into my place without falling over, Shuichi?"

Shuichi stuck his tongue out at Hiro. "I only had two strawberry daiquiris!" He paused a moment. "Or was it three?"

"It was four." Hiro shut the door behind them.

Shuichi giggled. "I lost track."

"I know."

Shuichi swayed a little. "Whooooooops!"

His body started to fall backwards but Hiro caught him in his arms. "I take it back. You're so trashed you can barely stand up."

"Don't wanna stand up."

"Well that's obvious." Hiro sighed, wondering if his plan to help Shuichi numb himself had backfired. "Come on, I'll lead you to the bed. I'll take the floor."

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiro," Shuichi slurred in protest as Hiro sat him down on the bed, "you can't leave me alone in this big empty bed."

"Alright," Hiro told him gently, "I'll sleep here with you. But don't hog the blankets this time, okay?"

"I don't hog the blankets; you just give them to me."

Hiro didn't bother to reply to that remark; instead he carefully undressed his friend down to his briefs, placed him underneath the covers and turned off the light. "It's late," he said as he stripped himself of everything but his boxers and slid in beside Shuichi. "Let's get some sleep."

Then he jumped as icy feet rested against his own. "Cripes, Shuichi, whatdja do, put your feet in the freezer?"

"Hiro," Shuichi sang out, "I know how you can warm them up."

"Oh? How?"

Hiro got his answer a few minutes later when Shuichi's feet burrowed under Hiro's legs. "Shuichi! Get your freezing cold feet away from my warm body!"

"But Hiro, you shouldn't be greedy with your body heat!"

"Shuichi, move your feet before you freeze me."

At first Hiro thought the other boy was listening to him because he pulled his feet out from under Hiro. Then he felt a foot slowly slide up his leg….

"Shuichi," Hiro asked patiently, "what are you doing?"

"Moving my foot," Shuichi said innocently, his foot making its way higher, towards Hiro's thigh.

Then past it, towards an area that Shuichi's foot had no business being, and despite himself, Hiro felt himself stirring at that touch.

The idea of taking their friendship and love for one another to a physical level was something that felt as natural as breathing to Hiro. During high school, they'd fooled around a little here and there, and if Yuki hadn't come along, Hiro could easily have seen the two of them taking things further. However, not under these circumstances. Not like this. "Shuichi, you don't want to do this," Hiro said calmly, then gasped as Shuichi's now warm foot brushed against his growing erection.

Hiro made a decision and pushed Shuichi's foot from between his legs. "I understand you don't want to be alone tonight and I'm here for you if you need me. You don't have to have sex to feel loved."

"You don't want me?" Shuichi sniffled. "Yuki doesn't want me, now you don't want me."

"I want you," Hiro leaned over and softly kissed Shuichi on the mouth, "but sober. Enjoying it. Not half out of it. And not as a way to make you forget about Yuki Eiri. I don't want you resenting me later because I took advantage of you now."

Shuichi didn't say anything for a little while and Hiro was beginning to wonder if he hurt his best friend. Then he asked in a tired voice, "Can you just hold me, Hiro?"

"Sure."

Hiro took Shuichi into his arms and let him snuggle into them. "If you still want to make love tomorrow morning, then that can definitely be arranged. It's not like I'm turning you away from my bed." Then he winked. "Even if you do take up all the room."

"I do not! Hiro!"

As Hiro predicted, Shuichi yanked the blanket away from Hiro's hands in the middle of the night and the two boys fought over it, grabbing the blanket from each other's hands. Shuichi also tried to take over the bed, kicking Hiro out of it several times before ending up on the floor himself.

Before Hiro knew it, the sun was streaming in through the windows and he'd had a grand total of four hours of sleep. He peered over at Shuichi, dead to the world and snoring like a buzzsaw. Hiro hoped his friend got at least a few hours more sleep than he did.

Shuichi opened his eyes and yawned. "Morning."

"Good morning. Sleep well?"

"Like a rock." Shuichi smiled a little. "But I had a weird dream that I tried to seduce you or something."

Hiro felt a bit of regret at knowing that he'd blown any chance of getting physical with Shuichi but he was just as relieved that nothing would happen this morning. "It'd have to be a dream," he teased, "you were too busy snatching away my blanket to spend any time seducing me."

"Well if I did seduce you, you couldn't resist me."

"Oh, I could resist you. Trust me."

Shuichi stretched out on the bed, smiling but his eyes betrayed his sadness. "So could Yuki," he said.

The words were bubbling beneath the surface, forcing Hiro to swallow them before he blurted them out. Yuki was an asshole and an idiot for rejecting Shuichi. But he knew the words would not be appreciated.

Or believed.

Instead, he just hugged his best friend, ignoring the fact that the feeling of Shuichi's bare flesh against his own was making him harden again and hoping Shuichi was too upset to notice. "He can't," Hiro told him. "He's just stubborn." He stroked Shuichi's hair. "Yuki will come around, Shuichi. He always does, eventually."

"It hurts, Hiro!" Shuichi buried his head into Hiro's shoulder but Hiro could feel the wetness of Shuichi's tears as they slid down his cheeks and off Hiro's shoulder. "I love him and it's not enough for him. I'm not enough for him because I suck in bed."

Without thinking and out of an instinctive need to comfort, Hiro lifted Shuichi's face and kissed away his tears. "If you need me, I'm here," he whispered.

"I need…" Shuichi began before trailing off.

To be touched. Stroked. Wanted. Loved.

So that's what Hiro did. His hands and lips slid all over Shuichi's skin, soothing, caring, offering unconditionally everything he could never say verbally. Like a man holding on for dear life, Shuichi's mouth fastened onto Hiro's, desperately drinking him in, hungrily accepting Hiro's love -- even though neither was in love with the other. Their lovemaking was passionate but not lustful, filled with the desire to ease the loneliness each of them felt and to pleasure each other.

Yes, Hiro realized, as Shuichi's touch brought him to orgasm after orgasm, he could have easily fallen for Shuichi's sweetness, his caring nature and his joy of life. But he valued Shuichi's friendship so much more and knew this would probably never happen again. However, he planned to savor it now.

Afterwards, they collapsed in a sweaty heap, in each other's arms. "Yuki doesn't know what he's talking about," Hiro murmured against Shuichi's cheek. "You're great in bed." I love you and would give the world to you.

"So are you," Shuichi replied shyly. Thank you for being there.

Later on that day, Shuichi went back to Yuki. Which may have not been the best thing for Shuichi's self-esteem but it was the best thing for his heart.

And it was the best thing for Shuichi and Hiro.

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