Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Precious Moments ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2.

"Here you go, Yuki." Tohma handed Yuki a glass of fruit punch.

"Thanks." Yuki said absent-mindedly and took a few sips. His gaze never wavering from the person he had been keeping tabs on ever since he walked in through the doors.

In honor of Yuki and Tohma's return, Mr. Uesugi had hosted a small party, inviting a few family friends. Uesugi family was well-known among their community and a lot of people had turned up for the occasion.

Yuki had been frowning and walking around aimlessly at the party. He had been introduced to dozens of people and had to subject himself to answering their endless questions. The wanted to know where in America he stayed, what school he attended, what was his goal in life and what kind of profession interested him.

After going through the same torture for the twentieth time, Yuki was about ready to give up and go up to his room. But at that moment, a figure had entered who made escaping the least of Yuki's worries.

Sanjiro Shindou had come to the party dressed modestly in a crisp white turtle neck shirt tucked into a pair of tight blue jeans. His light red hair seemed to be sparkling brightly under all the lights. He walked around and gave his greetings to the people he was familiar with. He was now engaged in a conversation with a small group of people.

"Oh man, you've got it so bad for the Red and you know it."

Yuki nearly choked on his drink. In his silent reverie he didn't even notice that Tohma was still standing next to him.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Yuki tried to act nonchalant but it didn't work. The hot red flush spreading over his features quickly gave his feelings away.

"Oh, you don't do you? Well then let me spell it out for you. Ever since Shindou San walked in, you have been unable to keep your eyes off of him. You moved only when Shindou San moved around the place, and you are unaware of your surroundings. I have been standing here for the past fifteen minutes and you haven't even acknowledged my presence. So, once again I say, you've got it real bd."

Tohma Seguchi was grinning broadly at the end of his speech whereas Yuki was just looking at him apprehensively. Yuki should've known better. There was very little that escaped his clever friend's sharp eyes.

"Oh all right, I've got it bad." Yuki sighed and turned his eyes back to the object of his affection. "But look at him Tohma. He's..he's just.he's so beautiful." Yuki's voice had taken a dreamy quality.

"Well then, what's the problem? Go over there and talk to him." Tohma said as if stating the obvious.

"I would, but I don't want to interrupt him." Yuki said timidly.

"Interrupt him? He's standing there talking to a bunch of old geezers. I say you'd be doing him a favor. Now go."

Tohma gave his friend a slight nudge in Sanjiro's direction. Yuki nodded his head at Tohma, squared his shoulders, and walked up to the conversating group. When he caught Sanjiro's eyes, he gave him a small smile. Sanjiro excused himself from the current company and walked up to Yuki.

"Hey there. It's great to see you again." Sanjiro said shaking Yuki's hand.

"It's nice to see you too." Yuki returned politely.

"So, how have you been? Come on, walk with me to the refreshment table, I'm parched. Those guys back there could really strike up an argument, regardless of where they are." Sanjiro said shaking his head.

Yuki gave a small chuckle.

"What were you guys talking about?"

"Oh just this and that. Mainly politics. And you know how much of a delicate issue that is." Sanjiro said picking up a glass of fruit punch from the table.

Yuki spent the rest of the night in Sanjiro's company. They talked about everything from Yuki's studies at abroad, to the differences among schooling systems in different countries. They talked about sports, movies and discussed each other's hobbies. Yuki found out that Sanjiro loved reading books of all kind. Yuki, who was usually a very quiet boy, felt as though he could talk with Sanjiro forever.

At the party there were also quite a few teenagers. Most of them were dancing on the side to the music that was emitting softly from the stereo. At one point, albeit Yuki's protests, Sanjiro had dragged Yuki on the dance floor and danced a few steps with him. Yuki, who didn't know the first thing about dancing, had followed Sanjiro's lead. At one point, Yuki had stood and gazed at the way Sanjiro moved his body gracefully around the floor. The liquid movement of his hips and the twinkle of his eyes had Yuki rooted to the spot. He followed every movement, when Sanjiro's hand grabbed his own and moved him around.

At the end of the night, when everyone had left, Sanjiro was one of the few close family friends who was still there. Yuki was standing on the side chatting with Mika and Tohma, when Sanjiro approached Mr. Uesugi.

"Great party Uesugi San. I had a lot of fun."

"Oh, you're leaving already. But I didn't see my pink bundle of joy. I sure wouldn't have missed his presence if he was here." Uesugi inquired.

Sanjiro laughed softly.

"He isn't here for the same reason Tasuha Chan isn't here. Way past their bedtimes. But I'll bring him around tomorrow."

"You make sure and do that. Oh, I see you're leaving Mr. Sasaki. Here, let me walk you to the door. See you tomorrow Sanjiro." Uesugi saw one of his friends leaving and went up to join him.

Sanjiro walked up to Yuki and ruffled his hair, which caused a slight blush to spread over Yuki's cheeks.

"Bye Yuki. Wonderful party."

Yuki's smile fell from his face.

"Oh, you're leaving." He said in a disappointed tone.

"Yeah, have to." Sanjiro said looking at his watch. "But I'll be by tomorrow. I'm bringing someone special I really want you to meet."

Yuki's heart skipped a beat. Who was he bringing?

"Umm.are you...your girlfriend?"

Yuki asked stammering, unable to form a sentence. Sanjiro gave a loud laughter.

"Oh ho ho, no. Not a girlfriend. I'm quite single nowadays."

The declaration helped in perking up Yuki's spirits again.

"All right, see you tomorrow. Bye guys."

Sanjiro waved his hand and headed for the doors. Mika saw a friend of hers leaving with her family, so she too went over to say her goodbyes. Yuki was left standing alone with Tohma.

"Well, he doesn't have a girlfriend. There maybe hope for you after all." Tohma said in a teasing tone.

Yuki playfully pushed him and made for his room. All he wanted to do now was to hit his bed and think about tonight's events. Meaning, he wanted to lay down and think about Sanjiro. He fell asleep recalling his deep voice and his wonderful heady scent that still seemed to cling on Yuki's senses.

*~*~*

The next morning, Yuki was up early going through his closet. He had wanted to look his best for Sanjiro. He had chosen to wear a black button- down shirt, and a pair of snug blue jeans.

The whole house seemed to be coming to life slowly around him. Mr. Uesugi had done very well financially in his life. He was a successful businessman and he took care of the temple that had been in Uesugi family for many generations. For a single parent, he had raised his kids very well. Mika, his oldest who was now 19 years old, was attending a university and majoring in Fashion Industry. She hoped to open up and run her own boutique one day. Yuki, his middle child, was a brilliant minded young man. He had done well in schools here. But his father had sent him to America, along with Tohma, so he could not only get a foreign education but also a practical experience in life. Mr. Uesugi wanted Yuki to not only learn how to read and write in English, but also how to deal with different types of people. His youngest son, Tatsuha, would soon be starting second grade. He was the heart and soul of the family. With his energetic spirit and extremely loving nature, Tatsuha was easily the most doted upon person in the family.

The house, which was located right behind the temple, was a lovely two- story building. It was constructed beautifully, with many spacious rooms. The living room and dining room were connected. The family room was the largest room in the house, with plush carpeting and many cushions lining up against the walls. There were many pieces of lovely art adorning the walls, along with the works that Tatsuha had done in his early school years. A giant, 56" screen T.V. stood at one wall, with surround sound system, and an excellent stereo system was placed on the shelf on another wall. Most of the family's bedrooms were on the second floor, with the exception of Mr. Uesugi, whose was on the first. Mika's room was on the far corner, with Tatsuha's right next to hers. Next was Yuki's room and at the last room was occupied by Tohma Seguchi.

Tohma was the son of Mr. Uesugi's business partner Terao Seguchi. Those two had been friends since High School. They went to the college together and started their business together. Like Uesugi, Seguchi had also been a single parent. Uesugi wife had passed away shortly after Tatsuha's birth, whereas, Seguchi's wife had just up and left her husband's home. Seguchi had received divorce papers and full custody to Tohma, a few days later. Ever since then, Uesugi's family had adopted Tohma as their own. Which is why 5 years ago, when a severe heart attack had taken Seguchi's life, Uesugi immediately asked Tohma to pack his bags and moved him into the room right next to Yuki. A year later, Uesugi had sent both Yuki and Tohma abroad to get better education, while he ran the business here.

Yuki was walking around impatiently in the house. The couldn't wait for Sanjiro to get here so he could spend more time in his company. He had learned from his father that Sanjiro was the Financial Advisor for this father's company. And he was the 'best damned employee' they had had, according to his father. He was an extremely hard working and ambitious young man with high hopes to succeed further and start a business of his own one day. As his father was telling him that, Yuki felt himself falling more and more in love with him.

Abandoning his impatient walking, Yuki went downstairs to the family room. Tohma and Mika were already sitting there, conversating in low tones. Tatsuha was lying on his belly in front of the T.V. with his chin propped up on his palms. He was watching Nickelodeon, because that ridiculous blue dog was currently hopping around on the screen. Yuki clicked his tongue in exasperation at the T.V. and went over to join Mika and Tohma.

He only hoped his enthusiastic brother wouldn't notice him right now. For the past few days, Yuki was dragged all over the place by hand to wherever Tatsuha directed him. He had seen all of his artwork, his schoolwork, found out about his friends, played his favorite games, learned about Tatsuha's favorite hiding places, and even looked at the pretty fishes that swam in the small stream. They even visited the park that was located close to their house. Yuki had felt guilty about missing out on his brother's life, so he allowed himself to be dragged around all over the place. But at the moment, he just wanted to sit back, relax, and wait to the man of his dreams to make his appearance. Tatsuha didn't look like he was going to be a bother, for he was immensely involved in the events on the screen. From time to time, an excited yell of "A clue! A clue!" could be heard coming from him.

At the sound of the doorbell, Yuki got up immediately and went to answer the door. But his father had already beaten him to it and was now shaking hands with Sanjiro. Yuki took in the red-headed man's appearance and stopped in his tracks. Today, Sanjiro was wearing an extremely tight navy blue T Shirt, tucked into a pair of tight black jeans. The man's frame seemed that of an athlete, with his slightly muscular arms, tight stomach and long lean legs.

Tohma walked up from behind and nudged Yuki slightly as he passed by. Yuki came to his senses when he heard Tohma's whisper.

"Hey, wipe the drool off you chin."

Yuki frowned at him slightly but was answered with a lop-sided grin. He went up to say hello to Sanjiro and was greeted with an enthusiastic handshake and a wide grin.

"Hey Yuki. Remember I said I want you to meet special in my life." Sanjiro asked grinning broadly. "Well, here he is."

He looked behind him at the doorway and furrowed his brows slightly.

"He was here just a minute ago."

When he felt a slight pressure at the back of his legs, he smiled up at Yuki.

"He's just a little apprehensive when he meets someone for the first time." He then glanced down behind him. "It's o.k Schu-Chan. Yuki is a very nice boy. Come on out and say hello."

Yuki followed Sanjiro's gaze down to his legs. From where, now, there was a head peeking out. A head-full of bubble gum pink hair and large, liquid violet eyes looked up at Yuki. Sanjiro stepped out of the way and revealed a boy of about 6 years of age. The little boy was wearing a white T Shirt and a blue jump suit, whose ends had been rolled up. When Sanjiro moved out of the way, the little boy quickly shot out his hand and grabbed onto the man's wrist.

"Shuichi, remember I told you that you were going to meet a very good friend of mine. Say hello to Yuki Uesugi."

Shuichi, who was looking up as the man spoke, brought his large violet gaze to Yuki and offered him a small nervous smile. Yuki was looking down at him with a very serious expression.

"Yuki, say hello to my pride, my joy, my heart and my soul, well basically my everything. This is Shuichi Shindou, my son."

One moment, all was right with the world. And the next, everything came crashing down around Yuki.

'He has a son.'

The phrase kept repeating itself over and over in Yuki's mind. Yuki snapped out of his thoughts at the loud yell from behind, which was emitted by his own sibling.

"Shu-Chan!"

"Tatsu-Chan!" Shuichi gave a yell of his own and snatched his hand out of his father's. he ran over to Tatsuha, who was frantically beckoning him over. He sat down next to him and they both returned to the position Tatsuha had been in, in front of the television.

Yuki glanced up and gave Sanjiro a thin lipped smile.

"He's nice." Said Yuki.

Sanjiro's eyes were still on the little pink head, who was now talking animatedly to Tohma , Mika and Mr. Uesugi. He had a beautiful, proud smile on his face over his son's antics.

At the lack of attention from Sanjiro, Yuki felt an intense wave of jealousy rushing throughout his body. He turned around and looked at Shuichi with narrowed eyes. Who was now dancing around, hand in hand with Tatsuha. Both of whom were singing, "We just figured out Blue's clues!" at the top of their lungs.

*~*~*

TBC.