Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better [Chapter 6]
Title: Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better
Author: Thursday Saint Giles
Pairing: Gackt/Miyavi
Rating: NC-17 (eventually) PG-13 (for language for now)
Summary: SKIN needs a forth member, but Gackt still isn’t sure why they need anyone but him. Also, Crack!Fic
P.S. Next chapter will have pr0n
When Gackt went on HeyHeyHey!, Miyavi meant to watch it, really, but then he’d been distracted by the sudden need to steal all of Kei’s clothing while he showered. He was waiting for the elevator when the cell phone rang.
“Really, sir,” the attendant said, eyeing him nervously, “I don’t think it’s going to fit.”
“You just have to put your shoulder into it,” Miyavi said, waving his hand negligently. “Sometime this decade-Sugi-chan, what can I do for you-he’s going to be finished soon.”
“Are you watching this shit?” Sugizo asked, between guaffs of laughter.
“Little busy,” Miyavi grunted, taking a running start. The dresser didn’t budge.
“It’s stuck on the edge of the elevator,” Hank said, voice getting higher pitched by the second.
“Megumi’s on the show!” Sugizo wailed. “It’s like watching Godzilla and Mothra.”
“Which one’s Mothra?” Miyavi asked. He put his hand over the speaker. “You lift, I push.”
“There is a utilities elevator, sir!”
“He showers for precisely twenty-seven minutes,” Miyavi said dangerously. “And twenty-one of them have passed.” He narrowed his eyes and Frank sagged in defeat. “Sugi, I’ll call you back,” he promised, and shut the phone, shoving it in his pocket.
It went in easily enough when they worked together, though Miyavi was trapped between the wall and the drawers. He tapped his foot against the side while they went from the forth floor to the first. Sachiko-baa-chan answered the door and blinked at him. “Oh, dearie!” She exclaimed. “Coming for tea?”
“Actually, Baa-chan, can you do me a favour?”
It was really easy to sweet talk her into letting the dresser remain in her genkan until he came to get it for Kei, saying it was a birthday present. Good thing Sachiko had no memory for dates, considering Kei’s birthday was three months passed. “Such a darling girl,” Sachiko said fondly in parting.
“She thinks you’re a girl,” the attendant told him politely, on the way back to the penthouse.
“Yeah,” Miyavi agreed. “Thanks for the help, Joe.” He reached into his pocket for his money, but all he had was a few rubles, pence, quarters and woolong. He tucked them in the attendant’s jacket pocket in parting.
HeyHeyHey! was still playing when he came in and he caught his name, which was the only thing that stopped him.
“Miyavi?” Gackt echoed. He wore a distasteful expression on his face. “I suppose if you have a thing for prepubescent boys who use their impressive knowledge of English curse words to make up for dearth of actual vocabulary. Not to mention his dubious talent. He has a lot to learn about music.”
Miyavi giggled, and would have loved to watch more, but then he heard whir of the approaching elevator. He had just enough time to fling himself in his own shower before his front door banged open.
“OONIIIISAAAN!!” Kei could really project when he was in the proper mood. He heard banging in the genkan and living room, drawers and doors slamming.
Miyavi’s phone jingled again, and Kei must have heard it, because then he was coming down the hall shouting Miyavi’s name. Miyavi cringed in amusement and dove for the phone. “Yo!”
“Miyavi, I’m certain he didn’t mean it,” Hyde said gingerly.
“Well, I think he actually did,” Sugizo interjected.
“Shut the hell up, Sugizo!” Yoshiki snapped.
“Eh, he was just being a douche bag,” Ju-ken said off-handed.
“Dude, how many ways can this call go?” Miyavi muttered.
“Look,” Hyde said delicately. “He’s under a lot of stress. They never should have sprung Megumi on him. He wouldn’t have said it otherwise.”
“Who said what?” Miyavi asked, blinking water out of his eyes.
“Is that running water? Are you in the shower?” Sugizo asked. “Are you naked?”
“I don’t think he meant it about your talent,” Hyde said.
“Gackt can be rather…sensitive about competition,” Ju-ken put in delicately.
“Actually-” Miyavi began, but then Kei stormed in and startled him. He dropped the phone. “I didn’t think you’d actually come in here while I was naked,” he said, putting his head around the curtain.
Kei coloured a bright red, glaring at Miyavi. He had a towel wrapped around his head and was wearing the only thing Miyavi had left him in the apartment, a mid-thigh length slightly sheer leopard print shift with spaghetti straps and slits up to the hip.
“You just made me ruin another phone,” Miyavi said haughtily.
“I’ve told you not to take them into wet places,” Kei wailed.
“What do you want?” Miyavi asked, eyes narrowed.
Kei put his hands on his hips. “Where are my clothes, Miyabi?”
“In your dresser?”
“Where is my dresser, Miyabi?” Kei was sounding impressively dangerous. Miyavi schooled his expression to show nothing other than bored ignorance. “Fine. I’m just going to have to sell your autographed Chuck Norris photo on ebay.”
Miyavi’s eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Wanna bet? Eh, O-Nii-San?” He enunciated each syllable clearly. He was out of the room in a flash.
Miyavi didn’t even bother to shut off the shower, just grabbed a towel, secured it around his waist, and flung himself after his brother.
“I think he’s seriously pissed, Gackt,” Hyde said. “He just hung up. He didn’t even say anything.”
“Why didn’t you tell me Megumi was going to be on the show?” Gackt demanded, frazzled.
“How was I supposed to know?” Hyde argued back. “Just because she’s my wife doesn’t mean I should know her schedule!”
“Actually, because she’s your wife, you should know her schedule,” Ju-ken pointed out quietly.
“Actually, because she’s your wife you should know when she’s going to take her clothes off,” Sugizo muttered.
“Oh, snap!” Yoshiki said, delightedly.
“How many ways can this call go?” Gackt wondered, amazed.
“We’re all at Hyde’s, to watch you on HeyHeyHey!” Yoshiki told him.
“You all knew Megumi was going to be on the show?” Gackt asked, wounded.
“No!” Hyde exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Dude, you need to get over there and apologise,” Sugizo told him sternly. “He’s probably crying in his shower.”
“Why would he be in the shower?” Gackt mused.
“That’s not the point,” Yoshiki said, annoyed. “You need to talk to him. Comments like the one you made today aren’t good for the band.”
“Hey, put that fire out!” He heard Sugizo shout in the background.
“Seriously, Gackt, that was so not-Oh my God, is Chishu eating cat food? We don’t even have a cat?” Hyde wailed.
There was the sound of a door slamming open and then a horribly familiar voice screamed, “HYDE!!! WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME GACKT WAS GOING TO BE ON THE SHOW TODAY??”
Sudden chaos erupted. There was a sound like the phone being dropped and Hyde yelling “grab the children.”
“What’s going on?” Gackt shouted.
There was the scraping sound of the phone being picked up, then the sound of heavy breathing. “Who is this?” Megumi demanded.
Gackt’s lips pursed in annoyance and disdain. “Hussy!” He shouted, and slammed the phone shut.
Jun was staring at him with a dazed expression, Tanaka’s face showed confusion and horror all at once, Sho was doing his best fangirl impression and Yamapii murmured, “Dude, rock and roll is so hardcore.”
Maybe he had gone a bit too far with what he’d said, but what could anyone expect if Megumi was sprung on him. He knew where Miyavi lived, because of some letter thing he’d seen at the office, and Yoshiki thought it was important that everyone know where everyone else was.
He stewed on the drive over, thinking of a million things he should have said to Megumi, but never would have got away with on the air. And Miyavi was talented. He didn’t want to seem like the petty jerk who couldn’t acknowledge talent in others. Aloof, conceited, fine, but it was just stupid to think that no one else could make music. Maybe he should issue some formal apology.
The apartment building looked normal enough from the outside, a long building that towered over the others in the area. The doorman bowed him in when he gave his name and business, and Gackt figured there was something good about being so famous. There was an elderly woman at the elevator, wearing a blue furry housecoat and bejewelled slippers and the attendant was helping her get a dresser inside, looking harried.
“I think they delivered it to the wrong floor,” she was saying.
“Don’t worry,” the attendant assured her, “I’ll make sure it gets to the correct place.” He looked miserable.
“Floor, sir,” he asked, when Gackt managed to squeeze himself in alongside the dresser. Didn’t they have a utilities elevator for this sort of thing?
“Penthouse.”
The attendant gave him a sidelong look. “I’m sorry, sir,” he said under his breath.
Gackt didn’t know how to take that. The elevator opened to a wide marble hallway with one set of double doors along the far wall. He stepped out, but the elevator didn’t leave immediately, the attendant trying to manoeuvre the dresser out.
Before Gackt could knock, he heard some shouting and the heavy sound of bare feet slapping on a marble floor from inside. “And then I’m going to call Mana and invite him over for a sleepover, and I’m going to play it!”
“You can’t!” He heard Miyavi shout back. “You’re all wet. And talentless!”
The door opened forcefully and Kei backed his way out, tugging the Gig Pig behind him. He bumped into Gackt and let out a startled squeak. He jerked upright, spun around and held his arms in front of his body, no doubt trying to hide his skimpily clad form.
“Gackt-sama!” Then his eyes lit on something beyond Gackt’s shoulder. “My clothes!” He exclaimed, and flung himself in the direction of the elevator. His arms went around the top of the dresser. “Oh, thank you, Akira-san.”
Miyavi rounded the corner, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist and dripping water from his hair. He skidded to a stop when he saw the tableau in his hallway. “Oh.” He shook back his hair and stood up straighter. “Honestly, Kei, put on some clothes. You look indecent. Frank, give the man some clothes”
“I’m leaving,” Kei said, eyes narrowed. “And I’m taking Akira with me.” The attendant looked relieved by this, and the two of them disappeared behind the closing elevator doors.
Miyavi shrugged his shoulders loftily. “He’ll be back.”
“You have a great deal of confidence in yourself,” Gackt murmured. He felt a strange tightness in his chest at seeing the boy at Miyavi’s apartment, the two of them dressed as such.
Miyavi made a ‘pfft’ sound and waved his hand. “Please, don’t take me for an amateur. I took all the clothes out before I moved the dresser. Makes it much lighter. And, I have his apartment key.”
“He lives in this building?” Gackt asked, almost cringing at his own tone.
There was a glint of amusement in Miyavi’s eyes. He licked his teeth slowly. “Of course. I like keeping him close. After all, he is very dear to me.”
“You have a funny way of showing it,” Gackt mused.
“So…” Miyavi drawled, posing himself in the entrance of his apartment. “What brings you here today, Nii-chan?”
Gackt shifted on the spot uncomfortably. “It has been brought to my attention that some of what I said on the show today was…uncalled for.”
Miyavi made a clicking noise with his tongue and tilted his head back, looking vaguely amused. “So, Mommy and Daddy and Ane-san scolded you and now you’ve come to apologise?”
Gackt held his tongue against his annoyance, and Miyavi swung the door wider open. He jerked his head. “Come on in.”
“What about the Gig Pig?” Gackt protested.
“Ah, Kei will move it when he comes back.”
The genkan was a wide grey and white marble area with a wine coloured mat and a neat little shelf for shoes, a mirrored table piled in mail and an elegant coat rack, all in dark cherry. Gackt toed off his shoes and placed them in a slot and followed Miyavi up two steps and through a second set of double doors. He couldn’t help but watch Miyavi’s hips shift under the thin, damp towel, and up, the amazing lines of sutra streaming down his back, hugging the curve of him, leading inexorably down, down.
The living room was more on par with what Gackt would have imagined for Miyavi’s apartment. Each of the five walls was a different colour, all bold, one green, one blue, one orange, one pink and one purple. The couch was a pair of bright red lips, the coffee table a huge checker set made up of toys and candy as the pieces, the end table a clear box with several live and a few dead fish. There was also an antique writing desk from the regency period in France, only covered in bold colours.
“What is that?” He asked, staring at it in horror.
“Oh, it was a gift from Sachiko-baa-chan. It was so dull. But luckily my nail polish and I came to the rescue.” Miyavi beamed at it fondly. “I think it adds character.”
Miyavi went into another room and came back with a tray and set it on the table, offering Gackt a juice box. Closer inspection proved it to be a box of wine. Miyavi took a seat on the sofa, forcing Gackt to take the purple plastic…hand…thing.
“So, your apology?” Miyavi prompted, sipping a thick, cream coloured drink from his teacup.
There was no dignified way to stab his straw into the juice box, nor to sip it, so he just got it out of the way to be polite. “Miyavi, I believe you have a great deal of talent and potential.”
“Wow. Did Hyde feed you that word by word?” Miyavi asked, leaning forward. He’d crossed his legs at the knee and leaned forward with elbows crossed on his legs. Gackt really wished he’d go put on some clothes, because the slit in the towel kept opening more and more.
Gackt clenched his jaw. “I’m saying it because it is true.”
“Hmm…I suppose what you said had some truth,” Miyavi said, after another sip. There was a thin line of whatever he was drinking clinging to his upper lip. Gackt clenched his hands in his lap to keep from wiping it away. “There is always room for growth, after all, hmm, Gackt?”
Gackt cleared his throat. “No one told me Megumi-san was going to be on the show and she and I…don’t get along.”
Miyavi leaned back, legs spread a bit. The shadow between his thighs was just deep enough to hide what lay beyond. “I understand. Your darling Hyde-sama is so delicate. Without you, who would there be to protect him from his scary wife?”
“They aren’t exactly…getting along right now,” Gackt told him tightly. That was an understatement. Chishu was about the only thing keeping them together. That, and Hyde’s weird sense of honour.
“It is odd, the way you let him get to you. Usually, you keep so cool. You are a very difficult man to make flustered,” Miyavi murmured over the rim of his cup.
“Some people can manage it,” Gackt told him, leaning forward, swiping a finger across Miyavi’s lip, showing it to him.
Miyavi let out a breath through his nose. He made a clicking sound. “Lucky them.” He licked the tip of Gackt’s finger.
Gackt jerked his hand back, the feel of Miyavi’s tongue against his skin sending warm sparks down his spine. The moment was interrupted by the front door opening.
“Miyabi!” Kei shouted. “Where are my clothes? And my key?” The younger man came into the room, wearing the furry blue housecoat of the old lady’s. At least someone had some decency.
Miyavi made a disappointed, annoyed sound that made Gackt wonder. He flopped back on the couch. “Just wear something of mine,” Miyavi said.
“Your clothing is huge on me,” Kei protested. “Just give me mine back.”
“It’s under your bed. And your key is right here.” Out of nowhere Miyavi produced a key. Gackt was intrigued. Kei stormed across the room and reached for it, but Miyavi jerked back at the last second, knocked Kei off-balance, and into Miyavi’s lap.
“A kiss, first,” Miyavi said.
Kei rolled his eyes, shoved Miyavi away and grabbed the key. “You’re sick,” he said light-heartedly, and left the room.
“You two have a very interesting relationship,” Gackt observed.
“I like to think it works,” Miyavi told him with a smug grin. “But Gackt, listen, I’m really touched you came here to apologise. However…I have a very thick skin, Nii-chan, and besides…what makes you think I would take anything you say to heart?” He leaned back, his lids lowered making his eyes dangerous slits. His longish bangs were falling over his face like a veil.
“I…” Gackt was befuddled. It was difficult to think with Miyavi looking like he currently did. He shook his head. “I had thought that we were…”
“We were?” Miyavi prompted, one corner of his lip twitching. “Please, enlighten me.”
“Well, band mates, for one. And that relationship generally leads to a…bond. We’ve worked together to create something, and creatively we’ve…we’ve…” Gackt couldn’t think straight. Miyavi kept smirking. No one had ever been able to render him speechless like this before in his life…well, other than Mana, but that had never been in a good way, seemingly always a symptom of rage.
“You know,” Miyavi said, voice soft. “You’re fun like this, too.”
Gackt narrowed his eyes. “Like how?”
“Flustered,” Miyavi said, and giggled. He threw back his head, all beautiful in his joy, lip ring glinting. Gackt hadn’t known tattoos and piercings could enhance appearance. In fact, he didn’t generally care for them. But somehow, they fit Miyavi so well-they were a part of him.
“I’m sorry?” Gackt murmured, distracted. “What?”
Miyavi laughed again, delighted. “Just proving a point,” he said flippantly.
Author: Thursday Saint Giles
Pairing: Gackt/Miyavi
Rating: NC-17 (eventually) PG-13 (for language for now)
Summary: SKIN needs a forth member, but Gackt still isn’t sure why they need anyone but him. Also, Crack!Fic
P.S. Next chapter will have pr0n
When Gackt went on HeyHeyHey!, Miyavi meant to watch it, really, but then he’d been distracted by the sudden need to steal all of Kei’s clothing while he showered. He was waiting for the elevator when the cell phone rang.
“Really, sir,” the attendant said, eyeing him nervously, “I don’t think it’s going to fit.”
“You just have to put your shoulder into it,” Miyavi said, waving his hand negligently. “Sometime this decade-Sugi-chan, what can I do for you-he’s going to be finished soon.”
“Are you watching this shit?” Sugizo asked, between guaffs of laughter.
“Little busy,” Miyavi grunted, taking a running start. The dresser didn’t budge.
“It’s stuck on the edge of the elevator,” Hank said, voice getting higher pitched by the second.
“Megumi’s on the show!” Sugizo wailed. “It’s like watching Godzilla and Mothra.”
“Which one’s Mothra?” Miyavi asked. He put his hand over the speaker. “You lift, I push.”
“There is a utilities elevator, sir!”
“He showers for precisely twenty-seven minutes,” Miyavi said dangerously. “And twenty-one of them have passed.” He narrowed his eyes and Frank sagged in defeat. “Sugi, I’ll call you back,” he promised, and shut the phone, shoving it in his pocket.
It went in easily enough when they worked together, though Miyavi was trapped between the wall and the drawers. He tapped his foot against the side while they went from the forth floor to the first. Sachiko-baa-chan answered the door and blinked at him. “Oh, dearie!” She exclaimed. “Coming for tea?”
“Actually, Baa-chan, can you do me a favour?”
It was really easy to sweet talk her into letting the dresser remain in her genkan until he came to get it for Kei, saying it was a birthday present. Good thing Sachiko had no memory for dates, considering Kei’s birthday was three months passed. “Such a darling girl,” Sachiko said fondly in parting.
“She thinks you’re a girl,” the attendant told him politely, on the way back to the penthouse.
“Yeah,” Miyavi agreed. “Thanks for the help, Joe.” He reached into his pocket for his money, but all he had was a few rubles, pence, quarters and woolong. He tucked them in the attendant’s jacket pocket in parting.
HeyHeyHey! was still playing when he came in and he caught his name, which was the only thing that stopped him.
“Miyavi?” Gackt echoed. He wore a distasteful expression on his face. “I suppose if you have a thing for prepubescent boys who use their impressive knowledge of English curse words to make up for dearth of actual vocabulary. Not to mention his dubious talent. He has a lot to learn about music.”
Miyavi giggled, and would have loved to watch more, but then he heard whir of the approaching elevator. He had just enough time to fling himself in his own shower before his front door banged open.
“OONIIIISAAAN!!” Kei could really project when he was in the proper mood. He heard banging in the genkan and living room, drawers and doors slamming.
Miyavi’s phone jingled again, and Kei must have heard it, because then he was coming down the hall shouting Miyavi’s name. Miyavi cringed in amusement and dove for the phone. “Yo!”
“Miyavi, I’m certain he didn’t mean it,” Hyde said gingerly.
“Well, I think he actually did,” Sugizo interjected.
“Shut the hell up, Sugizo!” Yoshiki snapped.
“Eh, he was just being a douche bag,” Ju-ken said off-handed.
“Dude, how many ways can this call go?” Miyavi muttered.
“Look,” Hyde said delicately. “He’s under a lot of stress. They never should have sprung Megumi on him. He wouldn’t have said it otherwise.”
“Who said what?” Miyavi asked, blinking water out of his eyes.
“Is that running water? Are you in the shower?” Sugizo asked. “Are you naked?”
“I don’t think he meant it about your talent,” Hyde said.
“Gackt can be rather…sensitive about competition,” Ju-ken put in delicately.
“Actually-” Miyavi began, but then Kei stormed in and startled him. He dropped the phone. “I didn’t think you’d actually come in here while I was naked,” he said, putting his head around the curtain.
Kei coloured a bright red, glaring at Miyavi. He had a towel wrapped around his head and was wearing the only thing Miyavi had left him in the apartment, a mid-thigh length slightly sheer leopard print shift with spaghetti straps and slits up to the hip.
“You just made me ruin another phone,” Miyavi said haughtily.
“I’ve told you not to take them into wet places,” Kei wailed.
“What do you want?” Miyavi asked, eyes narrowed.
Kei put his hands on his hips. “Where are my clothes, Miyabi?”
“In your dresser?”
“Where is my dresser, Miyabi?” Kei was sounding impressively dangerous. Miyavi schooled his expression to show nothing other than bored ignorance. “Fine. I’m just going to have to sell your autographed Chuck Norris photo on ebay.”
Miyavi’s eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Wanna bet? Eh, O-Nii-San?” He enunciated each syllable clearly. He was out of the room in a flash.
Miyavi didn’t even bother to shut off the shower, just grabbed a towel, secured it around his waist, and flung himself after his brother.
“I think he’s seriously pissed, Gackt,” Hyde said. “He just hung up. He didn’t even say anything.”
“Why didn’t you tell me Megumi was going to be on the show?” Gackt demanded, frazzled.
“How was I supposed to know?” Hyde argued back. “Just because she’s my wife doesn’t mean I should know her schedule!”
“Actually, because she’s your wife, you should know her schedule,” Ju-ken pointed out quietly.
“Actually, because she’s your wife you should know when she’s going to take her clothes off,” Sugizo muttered.
“Oh, snap!” Yoshiki said, delightedly.
“How many ways can this call go?” Gackt wondered, amazed.
“We’re all at Hyde’s, to watch you on HeyHeyHey!” Yoshiki told him.
“You all knew Megumi was going to be on the show?” Gackt asked, wounded.
“No!” Hyde exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Dude, you need to get over there and apologise,” Sugizo told him sternly. “He’s probably crying in his shower.”
“Why would he be in the shower?” Gackt mused.
“That’s not the point,” Yoshiki said, annoyed. “You need to talk to him. Comments like the one you made today aren’t good for the band.”
“Hey, put that fire out!” He heard Sugizo shout in the background.
“Seriously, Gackt, that was so not-Oh my God, is Chishu eating cat food? We don’t even have a cat?” Hyde wailed.
There was the sound of a door slamming open and then a horribly familiar voice screamed, “HYDE!!! WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME GACKT WAS GOING TO BE ON THE SHOW TODAY??”
Sudden chaos erupted. There was a sound like the phone being dropped and Hyde yelling “grab the children.”
“What’s going on?” Gackt shouted.
There was the scraping sound of the phone being picked up, then the sound of heavy breathing. “Who is this?” Megumi demanded.
Gackt’s lips pursed in annoyance and disdain. “Hussy!” He shouted, and slammed the phone shut.
Jun was staring at him with a dazed expression, Tanaka’s face showed confusion and horror all at once, Sho was doing his best fangirl impression and Yamapii murmured, “Dude, rock and roll is so hardcore.”
Maybe he had gone a bit too far with what he’d said, but what could anyone expect if Megumi was sprung on him. He knew where Miyavi lived, because of some letter thing he’d seen at the office, and Yoshiki thought it was important that everyone know where everyone else was.
He stewed on the drive over, thinking of a million things he should have said to Megumi, but never would have got away with on the air. And Miyavi was talented. He didn’t want to seem like the petty jerk who couldn’t acknowledge talent in others. Aloof, conceited, fine, but it was just stupid to think that no one else could make music. Maybe he should issue some formal apology.
The apartment building looked normal enough from the outside, a long building that towered over the others in the area. The doorman bowed him in when he gave his name and business, and Gackt figured there was something good about being so famous. There was an elderly woman at the elevator, wearing a blue furry housecoat and bejewelled slippers and the attendant was helping her get a dresser inside, looking harried.
“I think they delivered it to the wrong floor,” she was saying.
“Don’t worry,” the attendant assured her, “I’ll make sure it gets to the correct place.” He looked miserable.
“Floor, sir,” he asked, when Gackt managed to squeeze himself in alongside the dresser. Didn’t they have a utilities elevator for this sort of thing?
“Penthouse.”
The attendant gave him a sidelong look. “I’m sorry, sir,” he said under his breath.
Gackt didn’t know how to take that. The elevator opened to a wide marble hallway with one set of double doors along the far wall. He stepped out, but the elevator didn’t leave immediately, the attendant trying to manoeuvre the dresser out.
Before Gackt could knock, he heard some shouting and the heavy sound of bare feet slapping on a marble floor from inside. “And then I’m going to call Mana and invite him over for a sleepover, and I’m going to play it!”
“You can’t!” He heard Miyavi shout back. “You’re all wet. And talentless!”
The door opened forcefully and Kei backed his way out, tugging the Gig Pig behind him. He bumped into Gackt and let out a startled squeak. He jerked upright, spun around and held his arms in front of his body, no doubt trying to hide his skimpily clad form.
“Gackt-sama!” Then his eyes lit on something beyond Gackt’s shoulder. “My clothes!” He exclaimed, and flung himself in the direction of the elevator. His arms went around the top of the dresser. “Oh, thank you, Akira-san.”
Miyavi rounded the corner, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist and dripping water from his hair. He skidded to a stop when he saw the tableau in his hallway. “Oh.” He shook back his hair and stood up straighter. “Honestly, Kei, put on some clothes. You look indecent. Frank, give the man some clothes”
“I’m leaving,” Kei said, eyes narrowed. “And I’m taking Akira with me.” The attendant looked relieved by this, and the two of them disappeared behind the closing elevator doors.
Miyavi shrugged his shoulders loftily. “He’ll be back.”
“You have a great deal of confidence in yourself,” Gackt murmured. He felt a strange tightness in his chest at seeing the boy at Miyavi’s apartment, the two of them dressed as such.
Miyavi made a ‘pfft’ sound and waved his hand. “Please, don’t take me for an amateur. I took all the clothes out before I moved the dresser. Makes it much lighter. And, I have his apartment key.”
“He lives in this building?” Gackt asked, almost cringing at his own tone.
There was a glint of amusement in Miyavi’s eyes. He licked his teeth slowly. “Of course. I like keeping him close. After all, he is very dear to me.”
“You have a funny way of showing it,” Gackt mused.
“So…” Miyavi drawled, posing himself in the entrance of his apartment. “What brings you here today, Nii-chan?”
Gackt shifted on the spot uncomfortably. “It has been brought to my attention that some of what I said on the show today was…uncalled for.”
Miyavi made a clicking noise with his tongue and tilted his head back, looking vaguely amused. “So, Mommy and Daddy and Ane-san scolded you and now you’ve come to apologise?”
Gackt held his tongue against his annoyance, and Miyavi swung the door wider open. He jerked his head. “Come on in.”
“What about the Gig Pig?” Gackt protested.
“Ah, Kei will move it when he comes back.”
The genkan was a wide grey and white marble area with a wine coloured mat and a neat little shelf for shoes, a mirrored table piled in mail and an elegant coat rack, all in dark cherry. Gackt toed off his shoes and placed them in a slot and followed Miyavi up two steps and through a second set of double doors. He couldn’t help but watch Miyavi’s hips shift under the thin, damp towel, and up, the amazing lines of sutra streaming down his back, hugging the curve of him, leading inexorably down, down.
The living room was more on par with what Gackt would have imagined for Miyavi’s apartment. Each of the five walls was a different colour, all bold, one green, one blue, one orange, one pink and one purple. The couch was a pair of bright red lips, the coffee table a huge checker set made up of toys and candy as the pieces, the end table a clear box with several live and a few dead fish. There was also an antique writing desk from the regency period in France, only covered in bold colours.
“What is that?” He asked, staring at it in horror.
“Oh, it was a gift from Sachiko-baa-chan. It was so dull. But luckily my nail polish and I came to the rescue.” Miyavi beamed at it fondly. “I think it adds character.”
Miyavi went into another room and came back with a tray and set it on the table, offering Gackt a juice box. Closer inspection proved it to be a box of wine. Miyavi took a seat on the sofa, forcing Gackt to take the purple plastic…hand…thing.
“So, your apology?” Miyavi prompted, sipping a thick, cream coloured drink from his teacup.
There was no dignified way to stab his straw into the juice box, nor to sip it, so he just got it out of the way to be polite. “Miyavi, I believe you have a great deal of talent and potential.”
“Wow. Did Hyde feed you that word by word?” Miyavi asked, leaning forward. He’d crossed his legs at the knee and leaned forward with elbows crossed on his legs. Gackt really wished he’d go put on some clothes, because the slit in the towel kept opening more and more.
Gackt clenched his jaw. “I’m saying it because it is true.”
“Hmm…I suppose what you said had some truth,” Miyavi said, after another sip. There was a thin line of whatever he was drinking clinging to his upper lip. Gackt clenched his hands in his lap to keep from wiping it away. “There is always room for growth, after all, hmm, Gackt?”
Gackt cleared his throat. “No one told me Megumi-san was going to be on the show and she and I…don’t get along.”
Miyavi leaned back, legs spread a bit. The shadow between his thighs was just deep enough to hide what lay beyond. “I understand. Your darling Hyde-sama is so delicate. Without you, who would there be to protect him from his scary wife?”
“They aren’t exactly…getting along right now,” Gackt told him tightly. That was an understatement. Chishu was about the only thing keeping them together. That, and Hyde’s weird sense of honour.
“It is odd, the way you let him get to you. Usually, you keep so cool. You are a very difficult man to make flustered,” Miyavi murmured over the rim of his cup.
“Some people can manage it,” Gackt told him, leaning forward, swiping a finger across Miyavi’s lip, showing it to him.
Miyavi let out a breath through his nose. He made a clicking sound. “Lucky them.” He licked the tip of Gackt’s finger.
Gackt jerked his hand back, the feel of Miyavi’s tongue against his skin sending warm sparks down his spine. The moment was interrupted by the front door opening.
“Miyabi!” Kei shouted. “Where are my clothes? And my key?” The younger man came into the room, wearing the furry blue housecoat of the old lady’s. At least someone had some decency.
Miyavi made a disappointed, annoyed sound that made Gackt wonder. He flopped back on the couch. “Just wear something of mine,” Miyavi said.
“Your clothing is huge on me,” Kei protested. “Just give me mine back.”
“It’s under your bed. And your key is right here.” Out of nowhere Miyavi produced a key. Gackt was intrigued. Kei stormed across the room and reached for it, but Miyavi jerked back at the last second, knocked Kei off-balance, and into Miyavi’s lap.
“A kiss, first,” Miyavi said.
Kei rolled his eyes, shoved Miyavi away and grabbed the key. “You’re sick,” he said light-heartedly, and left the room.
“You two have a very interesting relationship,” Gackt observed.
“I like to think it works,” Miyavi told him with a smug grin. “But Gackt, listen, I’m really touched you came here to apologise. However…I have a very thick skin, Nii-chan, and besides…what makes you think I would take anything you say to heart?” He leaned back, his lids lowered making his eyes dangerous slits. His longish bangs were falling over his face like a veil.
“I…” Gackt was befuddled. It was difficult to think with Miyavi looking like he currently did. He shook his head. “I had thought that we were…”
“We were?” Miyavi prompted, one corner of his lip twitching. “Please, enlighten me.”
“Well, band mates, for one. And that relationship generally leads to a…bond. We’ve worked together to create something, and creatively we’ve…we’ve…” Gackt couldn’t think straight. Miyavi kept smirking. No one had ever been able to render him speechless like this before in his life…well, other than Mana, but that had never been in a good way, seemingly always a symptom of rage.
“You know,” Miyavi said, voice soft. “You’re fun like this, too.”
Gackt narrowed his eyes. “Like how?”
“Flustered,” Miyavi said, and giggled. He threw back his head, all beautiful in his joy, lip ring glinting. Gackt hadn’t known tattoos and piercings could enhance appearance. In fact, he didn’t generally care for them. But somehow, they fit Miyavi so well-they were a part of him.
“I’m sorry?” Gackt murmured, distracted. “What?”
Miyavi laughed again, delighted. “Just proving a point,” he said flippantly.