The Life of an Aries ~ Happy birthday, Shuichi~!!!
Title: The Life of an Aries
Fandom: Gravitation
Characters: Shuichi-centric (includes Eiri/Shuichi, Hiro-Shuichi, Ayaka-Shuichi, Sakano-Shuichi)
Rating: PG-16
Dedication: Happy belated birthday, Shuichi!
Notes: I couldn’t think of a decent birthday plot that wasn’t just an excuse for a pointless sex story. And while that would have been fun, I suppose, I decided to try something different. So instead of focusing on his birthday, this is centered around his Zodiac sign.
Aries is the sign of the ram. The ram implies great strength and courage, along with the ability to climb great heights in their lifetime.
The press people were growing impatient. The conference to discuss the outcome of Bad Luck’s newest album was scheduled to begin fifteen minutes ago. Sakano was in a complete tizzy. He ran through the building frantically, wiping the sweat off his brow as he sped through hallways and studios, calling, “Shindou-kun! Shindou-kun! Where are you, Shindou-kun?!”
When he returned to the holding room he found Hiro and Suguru standing casually by the window, their expressions serene.
“What are you doing just standing there?!” He fussed at them. “Why aren’t you trying to find Shindou-kun?!”
He turned to leave to search the building again, but Hiro stopped him by calmly replying, “He’s climbing the building.”
Sakano froze then turned slowly to face them again.
“…Eh?”
Hiro and Suguru pointed out the window and repeated, “He’s climbing the building.”
“Wh…” Sakano hurried to the window, stuck his head out, and looked up. If he squinted he could see a figure moving steadily up the side of N-G. “Wh…WHY, SHINDOU-KUN?!”
From below, the press people heard the producer’s cry and lifted their eyes upwards. Instantly, cameras started flashing and journalists started writing on their notepads. They were eating it up; the pop star’s peculiarity and unpredictability had them foaming at the mouth.
Shuichi, oblivious, glared determinedly at his object of destination: a Bad Luck billboard that advertised them as “the popular sound that produced a startling one million hits.” He reached the rooftop and didn’t pause to rest before he ascended onto the billboard as well. Once he had a good-superhuman-grip on the ad, he let go with one hand to take the black sharpie that he’d held in his mouth the entire time, crossed out the “one million”, and excitedly replaced it with “two million” and a large smiley-face. Then he raised his free arm in the air and let out a cry of triumph that echoed over the city and caused the beginning of a very painful headache for a certain blond romance novelist at work.
Being a masculine sign - they are action -oriented, and full of nonstop energy.
“I’m so PUMPED!”
High off of cheers and multi-colored lights and the glitter that decorated his face and hair, Shuichi jumped up and down backstage, grinning, slapping the stagehands on their backs, and laughing like a maniac. Hiro watched him with an amused smile; he and Suguru were drained after concerts, but Shuichi seemed like he could keep going for hours.
“Let’s go out!” Shuichi linked his arms with his band mates. “Let’s find a club or something else awesome, like a bowling alley!”
“A bowling alley, huh?” Hiro laughed. “You just want to play with some big balls.”
Shuichi threw his head back and cackled. Suguru cut his eyes at them both.
“I’m going back to the hotel.”
“That’s because you’re lame!” Shuichi stuck his tongue out at him. “Or maybe you just want to play with your own balls. Oh! I cut your socks! Booyah!” He released their arms to bound over to K to beg him to let them go out somewhere.
Suguru let out a sigh and looked at Hiro exasperatedly.
“Why do we bother?”
Aries is ruled by the planet Mars, God of War, which will generally give most a strong aggressive personality, and can be quite argumentative.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes!”
“No.”
“…”
“…Stop crying.”
“I can’t help it.”
“Yes, you can.”
“No. You know, I don’t ask for a lot-”
“You’re joking, right?”
“You don’t love me.”
“So?”
“I don’t mean anything to you. I’m just furniture. Something convenient.”
“Don’t be stupid.”
“According to you, I was born stupid! Right? I can’t do anything and you hate me for it!”
“You’re overreacting.”
“Well, screw you! Who cares what you think anyway?”
“Now you’re angry?”
“You don’t give me a reason not to be! You’re never kind to me! I’m so sick of it!”
“I’m sure you are.”
“Dammit, Yuki! I hate you sometimes!”
“I don’t blame you.”
“…”
“Crying again?”
“Shut up. I’m in pain.”
“Of course.”
“You don’t care. You never care. I don’t know why I do. I wish I didn’t.”
“Shuichi.”
“…”
“Fine. Fine, all right? You can have the last shortcake. It’s fine.”
“I love you, Yuki!”
“…You are so full of it.”
When you meet an Aries - what you see is what you get! There is no front with this sign, because they speak honestly.
“Okay. I know you don’t like me very much. In fact, you probably don’t like me at all. That’s fine; I’m not asking you to. It’s not as if I don’t understand. We’re very different people. I’m…loud and spontaneous. I’m brash and I don’t really think things through too well. I’m overdramatic and a brat, according to your son. I wear tank tops and girl shorts. Heck, I’ve even borrowed underwear from my own sister. (As you, well, saw, and I apologize for that, by that way.) I know I’m not the kind of person you’d want your son involved with, to say the least. But I care for him. A lot. As much as you do. And that’s one thing we have in common. All I want to do is to let you know that I’m going to take care of him. I’m not in this for anything material or to make a scandal. I would never disrespect him or you or this family by doing something like that. You can hate me all you want, as long as you know that. And allow me it.”
Shuichi took a deep breath when he finished, inhaling the smell of the incense, and bowed his head in thanks, respect, and prayer, to the urn that sat on the Uesugi family altar.
Their fire element needs activity - as they get bored easily.
There were two ways he could go about it. He was prepared with the usual-“Yuki, I’m bored”-but now he had to decide upon which course to take to gain the novelist’s attention. He could either put emphasis on the “bored” and sound whiny, needy, the tone that he knew Eiri couldn’t stand and consequently gave in to in order to shut him up. Or, he could emphasize the “Yuki” in that purring voice that suggested his lover knew exactly what to do to cure his bout of ennui. Decisions, decisions.
The singer slipped stealthily inside the open study door, eyeing the working writer carefully. He didn’t look too annoyed, which was good, and he didn’t look too engrossed in his work, which was even better. He could probably use a break, take an hour or so to stretch and soak in some inspiration-Shuichi was all too willing to help him.
“Yuki, I’m bored,” purred perfectly into his over-sensitive ear. He was rewarded with Eiri’s body stiffening and his fingers pressing the wrong keys. He grinned on the inside, but made sure to form his lips in a more enticing expression when the novelist turned his head to glare at him.
“Then go out and play.”
“I’d rather play with you,” he drawled, sliding his arms around Eiri’s neck and shoulders, and running his hands down to the expanse of chest exposed by his unbuttoned shirt, rubbing fingertips on the smooth skin suggestively. Oh sweetie, you walked right into that one, Shuichi thought as Eiri barely repressed a shiver. He nipped gently at his tender lobe and tongued playfully as his earring. Come on…
Eiri growled, but not in a threatening way-which was very good-and turned his chair around to face the singer. Shuichi leaned down a bit to capture his lover’s lips in an enthusiastic kiss, feeling very victorious as he felt Eiri’s hands undressing him. He was certainly not bored anymore.
Fire rises with intellectual Air signs.
“Next one. ‘April is the cruelest month.’” Ayaka waited until Shuichi shrugged. “T.S. Eliot.”
He looked at her blankly.
“He wrote the lyrics for Cats.”
“Oh, okay!” Shuichi grinned and Ayaka pitied him. “So, my turn. ‘Life is like a box of chocolates.’”
“You’ve got to be kidding.” She sighed. “Forrest Gump.”
“Psh. Tom Hanks. Duh.”
Ayaka rolled her eyes.
“Honestly. Don’t you read?”
“Like, books?”
Something inside of her died a little.
“Yes, dear pink one. Books.”
Shuichi puffed out his chest in a manly way.
“I don’t need to read books. Books are for people who like to pretend they’re smart.”
Ayaka groaned and shook her head.
“Shuichi, ‘you are truly primeval’.”
He snapped his fingers excitedly.
“Beauty and the Beast!”
After a pause, Ayaka’s lips quirked upwards. And they laughed together.
Fire is secure with stable Earth signs.
The riot shook him up like nothing Sakano had ever seen. He was used to the singer’s slumps when Eiri Yuki was being particularly cruel or when a lyrical masterpiece just would come. He’d seen the singer insulted, offended, ticked off, and the like. But he’d never seen the singer scared.
It would be a very, very long time before the image of those wide, purple eyes left his mind.
Sure, the riot upset him. Of course it did. Lots of things upset him. Stray dogs and open soda cans upset him. He was going crazy with worry about what Seguchi-san would say or do about the people crowded outside of NG with signs and eggs and red faces and homophobic hatred pooling off of them like steam. He was terrified of what it would do to the band’s image and popularity. As a producer, he was allowed to freak out about things like this.
But he’d never seen Shuichi scared.
Anyone would be frightened by such a mob. It would be foolish of him to think that Shuichi Shindou was so different from every other human being. But he usually was. Sakano was used to him being like some little pink god that was always bursting with energy and influence, who would never cower before anything other than his temperamental-similarly god-like-lover.
He’d expected Shuichi to laugh off the egg yolk in his hair.
He hadn’t thought the singer would stop, frozen in place, fingers touching the sticky mess as if testing it to be real. He hadn’t thought that he and K-san would have to go into the crowd to reach him and pull him inside the building. He hadn’t expected the limp way Shuichi leaned into him, shaking, like a child.
So scared.
Sakano couldn’t panic even if he wanted to, not with the singer trembling against him. So he did all he could. He held the younger man-his grip probably tighter than it should’ve been, due to nerves-and told him that everything was going to be all right; he’d make sure of it. He’d keep Shuichi safe.
As a producer-and as a friend-he was allowed to promise such things.
Fire loses spark with nurturing Water signs.
“We’ll fall apart eventually.”
Eiri removed his post-coital cigarette from between his lips and glanced at his unusually morose bedmate.
“What makes you say that?”
“Because it happens.” Shuichi’s finger traced idle patterns on his pillow; he would not meet Eiri’s eyes. “Just happens. All the time.”
“Hmm.” Eiri put out his cigarette, reached over and his fingers, light touches, down Shuichi’s spine. “What happened to your previous overconfidence in forever?”
“I grew up, I guess.” Shuichi sighed at the contact and rolled over, looking up at the novelist with glistening eyes. “One day there won’t be any magic in our kisses.”
“Is there magic now?”
Shuichi scowled.
“Yuki!”
“What?”
“I’m being serious.” He took Eiri’s hand in his own and looked at it, so he wouldn’t cry.
“So am I.” Eiri frowned. He didn’t like this conversation. “A kiss is just as kiss. Ours feel like every other kiss in the world.”
“No, they don’t!” He protested. “Every kiss is special! And there’s magic when the love is there!”
“Show me.”
Shuichi’s hands shot up to grab at Eiri’s hair, to pull his head down. Their lips met forcefully, mouths opened, teeth knocking and biting, tongues thrashing against each other, soaking in that warm, wet taste-
They parted, at Eiri’s behest, and breathed heavily against each other’s faces.
“Don’t you dare tell me you didn’t feel that,” Shuichi panted, a bit of a threat laced in his voice. “Because I felt enough magic to fill a fairytale storybook.”
Eiri chuckled at Shuichi’s choice of words and leaned his forehead against his young lover’s.
“Well, if you felt that much, it had to be there.”
Shuichi smiled and kissed him again. And Eiri was pleased to see that the threat of tears was no longer present in the singer’s eyes.
Fire with Fire dance.
Hiro’s guitar set his soul aflame. He couldn’t sing without it, couldn’t curl his fingers around the cool metal microphone and open his lips to let his heart slip out-not without Hiro’s music stirring him inside, fueling him. They fed off of each other’s energy-off of each other’s heat-and it was like the best kind of high.
“What would you do without me?”
“Hey, shouldn’t you ask yourself the same?”
It was falling in love, but better, because it stayed. Because Hiro was always there when Shuichi looked for him, with a grin and a laugh and a gleam in his eye that showed they were both on the same page, and that Hiro had his back.
“Wanna know why you’re my best friend?”
“‘Cause I don't know any better?”
They used to dance in the rain in high school. They wouldn’t so much sing as they would shout, and link arms, and kick their legs up as they ran and spun, soaking their jeans in collecting water, and blaming each other for their colds the next day. Now they danced on stage underneath bright lights, bodies pulsing in time with each other, setting each other on fire. And those this was louder and more people were watching them, it was the same feeling as before, and they were willing to bet almost anything that it would be that feeling for the rest of their lives.
“We’re gonna grow old together, aren’t we?”
“Yep, and I bet we’ll blame each other for our arthritis, too.”