When the Christmas Lights Aren't Bright Enough - Prologue & Chapter One
Title: When the Christmas Lights Aren’t Bright Enough
Fandom: Gravitation
Pairings: Eiri x Shuichi, Hiro x Ayaka, Riku x OC, Yuji x Suguru
Rating: Ranging between PG-13 and R
Disclaimer: Gravitation and its characters do not belong to me.
Prologue-
“-and the results show that Bad Luck’s popularity is rising off the charts! It seems like these boys from Japan have become an overnight sensation! Who knew?”
“I think it’s the accents, Bill. That awkward English is almost as sexy as the boys themselves!”
“Ha, ha, well! There you have it! Let’s listen to another one of their hits, here-”
The sound of the radio was drowned out by the splash that resulted from Riku’s cannonball into the new, freshly filled pool. The pool had actually been the deciding factor that led Eiri and Shuichi Uesugi-Shindou (officially, they’d both kept their last names, but combined them for Riku’s sake) to purchase the Los Angeles beach house. Eiri had originally opted for an apartment, but had been persuaded by Shuichi’s desire for a place all their own.
And so, there they all were. Shuichi and Hiro, as boyish as ever, were playing Marco Polo with K, Michael, and Judy-a game the American agreed to solely to have an excuse to grope his bikini-clad wife. Suguru was watching bemusedly, while rebutting Yuji’s attempts to pull him into the water with a few choice kicks to the out-of-work-actor’s face. Riku, now a tall and lanky boy of twelve, was performing impressive feats of water magic, entertaining the pretty and sweet little angel that was Hanako Nakano-the girl that had so kindly popped into Hiro and Ayaka’s life seven years ago in the form of a tiny bundle of sunlight and joy. Her mother was keeping a close eye on her-as any good mother would-while making small-talk with Eiri, who was drinking for both of them; Ayaka’s belly, swollen underneath her flowery sundress, looked just about ready to pop.
It seemed as if they’d never been happier. Judy and Michael were thrilled to have K home at long last; with school finished, Suguru was able to concentrate on his music, and Yuji’s advances had finally been fully accepted; Hiro had started a family with the girl of his dreams; and Riku had not one, but two fathers. Shuichi’s eyes met Eiri’s and he grinned cheekily-the promise of a rather wet hug in the very near future-and the writer didn’t resist winking back at him; they both felt as if they’d never been more in love.
Everything was picture perfect.
But unfortunately, it’s impossible for a happy ending to come at the beginning of a story.
Part One-
11 long years later…
“Is this a habit of his? A normal occurrence?”
“He does it just to spite me.”
“Hmm. Well, what makes you think that?”
“Do you really have to ask?”
“Sorry!” The door flew open to reveal Shuichi Shindou, panting and hurriedly tugging on a green sweater over a mesh shirt. He smiled apologetically at the counselor as he took a seat beside Eiri, who was glaring pointedly at a random spot on the wall. “I’m so sorry, Dr. Curtis. I was buying decorations for this party we’re hosting and had trouble getting here because someone left me with the car with a stick shift, without teaching me how to drive with one.”
“That’s quite all right,” Dr. Curtis assured him, adjusting her glasses. “Eiri and I worried that you might be skipping out on us today.”
“Of course not!” Shuichi exclaimed in over-earnestness. “I’m all for fixing this marriage, believe me.” Eiri scoffed and Shuichi turned to him. “Something to say, Eiri?”
“Of course not,” the writer mocked, flashing him a fake smile.
“Well, let’s get started, shall we?” Dr. Curtis quickly interrupted. “All right, our last session ended a bit abruptly-”
“And whose fault was that?” Eiri muttered.
“I was needed in the studio,” Shuichi hissed at him.
“Just you and your choreographer.”
“He was teaching me some new moves!”
“I’m sure he was.”
“We were discussing,” Dr. Curtis interjected, “the list of things that bothered you about one another.”
“Can I add something to that list?”
“No, not today. Today, we’re discussing the list of things you like about each other.”
For once, the couple was silent. Dr. Curtis expertly suppressed a sigh of exasperation.
“Eiri, let’s start with you. What do you like about Shuichi?”
The singer shifted and avoided eye contact as the writer looked him over, scrutinizing.
“He’s decent with a vacuum.”
Shuichi snorted and Dr. Curtis admonished him, “No, no, that’s a start. And it’s a compliment. Go on, Eiri.”
“He’s…good at remembering what we need from the grocery store.”
“So I’m a good housewife.”
“Far from it! You mix your reds with the whites and you couldn’t cook to save your life-”
“I’m getting better!”
Dr. Curtis cleared her throat loudly and said, “Let’s try letting one person talk and waiting until they are done before the other starts, all right? Eiri, what about Shuichi’s personality? Are there any traits of his that you’re fond of?”
Eiri considered this question for a moment; Shuichi looked doubtful that the writer would come up with a serious question, and was surprised when he said, “His positive attitude. It was more obvious when I first met him, but…it comes out every now and then.”
“Good, good,” Dr. Curtis said, jotting down a note on her writing pad. “Now, elaborate on that. What do you think you could do to bring out that positivity in him more often?”
“I don’t know,” Eiri shrugged. “I suppose I could just stand aside and let him screw around when he wants and not say a word about it.”
“God, Eiri!”
“What? That would make you happy, wouldn’t it?”
“That isn’t fair!”
“All’s fair in love and war.”
“And which one is this?”
“You tell me!”
Dr. Curtis removed her glasses and rubbed wearily at the bridge of her nose. She desperately needed a break. And a drink.
Eiri pushed a Santa balloon out of his face for the fifth time and scowled at the road.
“Did you have to buy so much shit?”
“Yes.” Shuichi rolled up his window to keep some rogue tinsel from escaping. “And it isn’t shit. It’s Christmas decorations.”
“Christmas is full of shit.”
“You’re full of-”
“You know we have some decorations in the basement.”
“Those are old,” Shuichi explained impatiently. “We need new decorations. Perfect decorations. Things have to be perfect and amazing for Hiro and his family.”
“…Oh hell.”
“I know…”
-
Hiroshi Nakano was a happy, perfect man. He was a doctor-a very good doctor-and all his patients were happy and perfect. Except the ones that died.
Hiro’s wife, Ayaka, was also happy and perfect. She was a housewife and spent her time making the house sparkle. Happily and perfectly.
Hiro and Ayaka had three happy and perfect children. Hanako, eighteen, was a straight A student and wanted to be a loving wife and mother, like her own. Taichi, eleven, wore only suits and ties and wanted to be a lawyer. And Souta, only five, knew all the letters of both the Japanese and English alphabet and could count to one thousand. All of them went to bed on time. They hardly ever got sick, and they had fantastic teeth; once, a man saw all three of them smile at once and was literally blinded by the happy and perfect shine.
Indeed, the Nakano family was happy and perfect. Even when they knew they were going to spend the Christmas holiday in L.A. with the Uesugi-Shindou family.
Bad Luck had enjoyed five years of success in the U.S.A. before they’d decided to split. Hiro had been the only one to return to Japan. He and his family had settled quite comfortably in Kyoto and he’d started medical school. Shuichi and Suguru had stayed in America, although Suguru-now a pianist legend-spent more time abroad than either of them. They all had remained close during the following years, although visits were few and far apart. Even so, he was smart enough to figure out that things weren’t as happy and perfect for Shuichi and Eiri as they were for him.
“So do remember not to cause any trouble-but look at who I’m talking to! You kids know to be on your best behavior, right?”
“Of course, father!” The three angels said in unison, smiling, and Hiro was grateful for the pair of sunglasses he kept on hand.
He reminded them to pack everything before they went to sleep; they had an early flight. After receiving a kiss on both cheeks from each child, he bid them all goodnight and joined Ayaka in the kitchen, where she was washing the night’s dishes.
“You think Eiri’s gone completely bald yet?” He joked.
“Speaking of not causing trouble!” But she was giggling all the same. She dried her hands and turned to face him as he approached and slid his arms loosely around her waist (Even after having three kids, she still magically managed to maintain a perfectly petite figure). “I do hope things aren’t going so roughly for them.”
“Me too.” He sighed. “But it doesn’t seem likely.”
“It’s a pity.” She leaned forward and brushed their noses together gently, effectively distracting him for a moment.
“Yeah…” He closed his eyes, prepared to kiss her, but couldn’t help adding, “Without the reminder of Riku coming home, I think they’d surely kill each other.”
-
Riku Kitazawa had a purple mohawk. He didn’t mind it, though it wasn’t what he’d had in mind when he’d asked his roommate to cut his hair. But then, his roommate had been high. So it really was all his fault. He knew that Dad-Eiri was going to hate it. He spent pointless hours trying to cover it with the hood of his blazer or hide it with his hat. He even tried to make it look more appealing by decorating it with barrettes that his roommate’s little sister left behind in the dorm room. Nothing helped; although his last attempt did gain him a nice compliment from his roommate (“Duuuude, you make a pretty lady”).
Giving up with a groan, Riku stuffed some last-minute essentials-underwear, CDs, socks, Gummi Bears-into his duffel bag. His roommate looked up from the textbook he was pretending to read.
“You leaving already?”
Riku nodded, zipping up his bag and sliding it onto his shoulder. His roommate waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
“You gonna see your, uh, lady friend?”
Riku shrugged and his roommate chuckled.
“All right. Don’t forget to send me a postcard with a beach on it.”
“Okay,” Riku said and waved goodbye. He hailed a taxi once he got off campus and checked his text messages on the way to the airport. He had one from his girlfriend, indeed promising, “See you in L.A., hot stuff. XOXO.”
Biting his lip in repressed anticipation, he sent a message to both his dads with his flight times. He hoped they wouldn’t be fighting. The last time, they’d both come to pick him up, each in one of the cars. Riku refused to go in either and made them split the fare for the cab he took.
Most times, they pretended to get along in front of him. Sometimes, they slipped and their biting, scathing words stuck in Riku’s memory. He didn’t even want to know what they were like when he wasn’t around.
But surely it wouldn’t be too bad this time. Not only would he be there, but so would Hiro and his family, not to mention Suguru and Yuji. He smiled at the thought. One good thing about Yuji Nakano was that happiness seemed to follow him wherever he went.
-
“You were fabulous, my darling! My sexy little Mozart!”
Suguru had given up on requesting peace and quiet after his performances. Yuji somehow always managed to sneak into his dressing room, stuffing it close to bursting with multi-colored roses. He appreciated the sentiment, though it did sometimes feel like he had his own gay pride parade in one little room. Shrugging his suit jacket off and into Yuji’s eagerly awaiting hands, Suguru sat down in front of the mirror, wiping his face and neck with a cool, moist cloth; he hated getting sweaty.
“-so amazing!” Yuji was still gushing. “Every single time-I’m not even kidding-you just do something to me, my Beethoven beloved-”
“Thank you.” Suguru-speak for “Please be quiet now”. He put the cloth down and tugged off his tie. “Where to next? These winter concerts all start to run together after a while…”
“Los Angeles.”
Suguru caught Yuji’s gaze in the mirror and quirked a questioning eyebrow.
“We’re spending Christmas at Shuichi and Eiri’s, remember?”
“Oh no, we’re not.”
“Sure we are!”
Suguru groaned and held his head in his hands miserably. Yuji laughed, stepping up to him from behind and placing his hands lovingly on his shoulders.
“Don’t be like that. You know you miss them.”
“Yes…and when I miss them, I like them. When I’m with them, I hate them.”
“Ah, you exaggerate.” Yuji gave his shoulders an affectionate squeeze. “You’ve got a quick concert scheduled the day before Christmas Eve in Vegas. Then, you and I are going to rent a car and drive to L.A. It’ll be a blast.”
“It’ll be a disaster. Drama breeds in that house.”
“I promise you,” Yuji soothed, smiling at Suguru’s reflection in the mirror, “it will have the drama level of a box of flaky cereal.”
“…What?”
“Just trust me! It’ll be one jolly holiday!”
-
“Fuck you!”
Shuichi barely managed to catch the garlands before they were thrown into his face. He tossed them to the floor, sparing only a second to match Eiri’s icy glare, and grabbing the keys to his car.
“I won’t be long,” he promised as he pulled on a jacket. “I just need to do some retakes of our last shoot.”
“I don’t care what you’re going to do or how long it takes you to do it,” Eiri snapped. “But if he calls our house one more time-”
“He’s my choreographer, Eiri! He needs to get in touch with me sometimes!”
“That’s what your cell phone is for.”
“Rafael can call whichever phone he wants.”
“Get the fuck out.”
“I’m going.” Shuichi unlocked the door and paused, adding, “I’ll pick up Riku on my way back.”
“Don’t bother. You’ll just be late.”
“I will not!” He looked at the writer over his shoulder. “Just finish decorating the house while I’m gone, okay?”
“Why the hell should I? They’re your friends.”
“But I have to-”
“Learn some new moves.”
“Fix your hair,” Shuichi teased in a nasty manner, “baldy.”
“Go to hell.”
The door slammed. And for a few lonely hours, all was quiet.