Disclaimer : Sexy-legs, metal-lip, noseband-man, midget-boy and cutie-dimples all belong to the members of the Gazette. And they own themselves. Even the blonde waitress in this fic isn't mine; she's an authoress on the site!!

Enclaimer : The brunette waitress though, is all mine, well, she's me, actually, so don't you dare use me, err… I mean her!!

Summary : Ruki had mistaken his love for Reita and had thereby indirectly broken the bassist's heart. Their close friendship is almost endangered, and through it all, Uruha had always managed to be there for Ruki. Feelings start to grow, but what happens when he caught Uruha with Shou?

Notes : Dedicated to "Deidara is my conscience" because she's a good friend and because I feel like it. An UruKi fic since I just love this pairing… Enjoy!!

PS : I'm changing my name cuz the site's admin is (as well as a few people are) after me. I'm planning to change it from Maeryth to Mikaela Mae, just thought you guys needed to know. Thx for reading.

"Hitori ni Shinaide"

It all just happened too fast.

He was in his room, reading an old SHOXX magazine to check out a few Vidoll pictures since Jun had requested him to do so while listening to Distress & Coma, minding his own business. The next thing he knew, he had found his arms full with a crying vocalist who had barged in at a short notice. The guitarist didn't even have time to register what was happening. Even the position was rather weird, with Ruki straddling his hips and sitting on his lap, facing him, his small body huddled against his chest as Uruha himself sat on his bed, leaning against the wall, arms wrapped around the vocalist's small body.

"Shh, it's okay… It's all gonna be okay…" Uruha whispered, trying to soothe the crying blonde in his arms.

He managed, though, to finally coax some things out of him and it threw light on a few things.

"It just hurts," he insisted, "I mean, to know that you're the cause of everything that saddens him, it's… It's devastating!" the blonde continued to wail.

"Ruki…" Uruha whispered as the blonde continued to sob harder and he held on tighter than before.

"H - He was always there to comfort me; he was always there no matter what! He promised me that he'd be the one to -- to keep me safe, to keep me from being lonely. But because I was always clinging to him… I made him lonely. I could see it; I could feel it! I know how he feels every time he turns down an invitation to go somewhere just to be with me, or how he couldn't chase after him because of me!!!"

"Him? Him who?" the brunette frowned, and winced slightly as Ruki lightly punched his chest in frustration, over and over again, still sobbing in his arms, each punch punctuating the guitarist's name, dividing it into three parts.

"Mi - ya - vi!! He's been crushing on Miyavi for years, now, Uruha, I can see it from the way he acts and talks and all!! But a -- a dyslexic, tactless person like him really needs a push in the right direction since he doesn't even realize his own feelings, and -- and… I couldn't let him… be alone… but now, I don't have him anymore!! So I'm alone, myself, and… "

"Shh… Calm down… It's nothing big to be worth crying about, okay? People in life come and go, Ru, there's nothing you can do about it."

"But doesn't my feelings mean anything to him?!" he snapped, another weak, emotional punch aimed at Uruha chest, and the taller one winced as he answered.

"That I wouldn't know. I'm not Reita. Did you even tell him?" Uruha asked, and Ruki fell silent.

"… Yes…" he answered after a few minutes, and the honey-blonde sighed.

"And what'd he say?"

"Just a thanks… And a request for me to not wait for him… And when I asked whether that was just his way of indirectly saying no, he said that he needed time to make a choice. A choice for what, for crying out loud?! Gosh!!"

"Well, you did say that he was crushing on Meevs… Maybe he had to choose between him and you… Haven't you ever thought about it?" Uruha suggested, and Ruki fell silent once again.

"… No…"

"See? You've got to try seeing from his point of view, Ru."

"I guess… But why am I feeling like this? I'm confused. I don't want to let him go, but I don't really love love him, you know?"

"Well…" Uruha paused a minute to think it over, his hand still absent-mindedly stroking Ruki's hair, "Maybe you've mistaken your love for him?"

"Huh?" Ruki frowned, looking up to meet Uruha's eyes in confusion, and his friend chuckled.

"Well, what if you only love him like an older brother, but you've mistaken your affection for that of real love. Get me?"

"Mm-hmm."

"And that's also why you're being a tad possessive with him. And clingy. And childish. And --"

"Whoa! Hold it!! Who says I'm like that towards him?" Ruki protested, sitting up, glaring playfully at the teasingly smiling Uruha which he was still sitting on.

"I just did. And everyone can see it. You've just said so yourself, didn't you?"

"I guess…" he sighed, pausing for a minute, "But you know something? I think you're right. I don't actually feel sad in the way I should, if I ever dare to say that I love him more than I would a brother. Somehow. I mean, I'm glad he's found someone, but I'm also sad that I'm losing another shoulder to cry on. So, yeah, basically, I'm just being childish and very possessive."

"Well you'll still have me. Am I so bad you're having me as a last resort?" Uruha tried to joke, but Ruki took it the wrong way and he felt guilty.

"No! No, ofcourse, I like talking to you better than to anyone else, actually, but… Well… You're just so distant… And I don't want to disturb you with anything…" he admitted, bowing his head and hiding his eyes behind his blonde bangs. Uruha merely smiled gently and lifted his chin with his index and middle finger, their eyes meeting.

"Well don't you mind about it. Ever. Cause I don't. If you need to talk, just talk, okay?" Uruha offered.

Ruki paused a while, sniffled and suddenly sat up straight, staring innocently, honestly, into Uruha's eyes, who looked back at him nervously.

"Uruha…"

"What?" he asked back cautiously, knowing that he'd probably regret hearing Ruki's next words. His look didn't seem promising much.

"Y -- You're not gonna leave me too, are you?" the vocalist asked tearfully, and the guitarist was at a loss for words. What was he supposed to say? He didn't even understand what Ruki meant by the question!!

"Well, I -- I dunno… I guess not… I mean, you're my best friend after all…" he answered hesitatingly, and Ruki looked at him with a mix of disbelief and confusion, making Uruha more nervous than he already is. He didn't want to upset Ruki, but he honestly didn't know what else to say! After a few minutes though, Ruki merely smiled gently and buried himself in the embrace once again.

"Sorry… I know it's kinda confusing… It's just that I feel so lonely sometimes, and I really need a shoulder to cry on… I'm just scared that someday, you just won't be there for me anymore …" Ruki explained, understanding Uruha's confusion and the older of the two blondes sighed in relief.

Thank God… So that's what he meant…

"Oh… Well in that case, no. I'm not gonna leave you and you can always count on me… Okay? Now stop crying, you'll look more chibi than you already are," Uruha suggested, stroking Ruki's hair once again, his other hand embracing the shorter one's waist protectively.

"Hmm… Okay… But can I just stay like this for a while longer? It's kinda comfortable… You don't mind, do you?" the vocalist mumbled in contentedness, hugging him tighter and the latter smiled.

"Go ahead… Just don't fall asleep," Uruha warned jokingly and the two of them chuckled.

They stayed like that for awhile, with Ruki still straddling his band mate's legs and sitting on his lap, embracing him tightly. Ruki's eyelids were already closed, though he wasn't exactly asleep. He was just indulging in the moment. It felt nice like this. As for Uruha, the tall honey-blonde was starting to get comfortable too and was really starting to fall asleep when his door suddenly opened, revealing a certain blonde bassist, without his usual bandana around his nose.

"Ne, Uruha-kun, did you happen to see Ru -- What the…? Am I interrupting something?" he asked, his eyes a bit wide in shock, and the two's eyes immediately opened, and both eyes were directed onto the Gemini male.

"R - Reita…?" Ruki gasped with a hint of guilt, while Uruha merely stared.

"Um, I think I'd better go. Sorry guys," Reita apologized, and he went off in fast-paced steps, not even bothering to close the door.

Ruki's wide-eyed stare turned from the empty door to the man he's embracing, back and forth, before Uruha released his hold on him. He then stared at his friend questioningly, without a word, a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Well? Aren't you gonna chase him?" Uruha broke the silence and Ruki stared back dumbly.

"Wha -- ?"

"You should go," Uruha advised calmly.

"But what about you, I mean -- ?" he started, glancing worriedly at Uruha, but he merely smiled.

"Don't let me stop you."

For a minute there, Ruki seemed more than confused. But as Uruha's words sunk in, he smiled brightly. Yup, he was gonna go out there, chase Reita down the hall and explain him everything!

"Are you sure? Should I really go?" Ruki started to beam and the older blonde smiled with a nod.

"Yea I'm serious. Come back and tell me all the details when you're done, okay?"

"Thanks a lot, Uru-kun," Ruki smiled happily, and pecked Uruha's lips quickly before getting off of Uruha, onto his feet and bolting out of the room, calling out to the bassist, "Rei-kun!! Hold on!!" his footsteps resounding through the halls and room…

…leaving Uruha there to gape at the open air. He didn't even realize what he'd done. But unfortunately, Uruha did. And he was confused. Very confused. The honey-blonde touched his lips uncertainly, frowning.

Did Ruki just…?

But after a few seconds, he left it at that and shrugged. They kissed each other often, so what? It shouldn't surprise him at all by now. He shook his head and took his SHOXX magazine, flipping through it once again.

A few minutes later, short-period yelling and the sound of a door being slammed could be heard echoing all across the house.

And Ruki never came back to Uruha's room.

---

Rehearsal went well.

That was, at least, according to Kai, who failed to notice the rather tense air between the Kanagawa men. Aoi, though, didn't only feel it, but he could clearly see it. Ruki was obviously guilty while Reita refused to meet the younger one's eyes as Uruha merely stood by, pretending as if nothing happened.

"Ne, Uruha-san…?" Aoi asked, approaching the taller honey-blonde as the five of them had decided to take a break and go somewhere together. They've stopped at a local café-bookstore near the studio which was usually packed with their label-mates and sometimes other PSC crew as well. The other three had stayed in their seats in silence, each minding their own business while Uruha had felt extremely bored and thus had gotten up from his seat, looking at the collection of books the café had.

"Hmm?" Uruha replied with a hum, not really turning to face the older guitarist, his eyes still scanning the title that the books possessed. He took out a book titled "ai no marionette", examining it and reading the summary on the back before returning it to its former respected place.

"What's happened to Ruki and Reita? I mean, they're so distant and Ruki won't even talk to anyone!" Aoi asked, tailing Uruha who didn't even bother to look at him.

"I dunno. Ruki's emotional like that; when he's angry he's quiet and when he's happy he's hyper. It's normal. As for Reita…" Uruha paused a while, examining the summary of another book called "Do Guitarists Really Fuck Their Guitars?", chuckling at the title and summary before putting it back, continuing, "Maybe he's sick or something."

"Don't give me your ignorant shit! You three live with each other in the same house!! You guys arrive and leave together!! You guys go home to Kanagawa together as well!! Don't try and tell me you don't know anything that has happened!!" Aoi whispered heatedly, getting a bit tired of Uruha's ignorance. The honey-blonde sighed and turned to him with a slight glare.

"Well I don't know, okay? They've not been telling me anything and I've not been asking. It's their problem, not mine. All I know is that it's some kind of a love-life problem. Okay?" Uruha stated tiredly, and Aoi sighed as well. He knew the blonde good enough to know that he was tired and that he was telling the truth. Plus it was pointless trying to debate with Uruha since the blonde would insist on winning no matter what.

"Okay, okay. But aren't you gonna do anything about it? I mean, they are your best friends, and --"

"Aoi, could you please drop it? They'll come to me themselves when they're ready to talk. I don't like pushing people because I hate to be pushed myself, okay?" Uruha cut in, and once again Aoi merely nodded.

Something then came to mind and he was about to ask again when a purple-highlighted brunette showed up beside him. It was the waitress, a young girl named Amano Mae whom Tora had claimed for being his cousin, though nobody really bought it. That was until they've checked her height which turned out be 170 cm and noticed the surname-and-pale-skin resemblance. Kai had once even mentioned that Tora had freaky height-hormones in his family, thus the abnormal heights the family members possessed (in Japan, it's kinda weird for a girl to be taller than 155 - 165 cm, and a guy to be more than 165-175 cm or something).

"Ne, Aoi-san, Uruha-san, I've just placed the orders on your table but no one seemed to notice or bother to get you two, so I just wanted to tell you that," the girl informed with a smile, standing at almost the same height as the two guitarists, "Wonder why they're depressed like that?" she asked with a hint of curiosity in her eyes, and Aoi just sighed.

"According to Uruha, love-life problems," he answered and the girl smiled knowingly.

"Ah, I see. Well, I should be going then. Oh, one more thing, Miyavi-san had just gotten here but he disappeared with Reita-san. I don't really know where they've went off but I still think you guys should check it out," she informed them, and Uruha sighed heavily, the sigh clearly indicating something, and with a frown at him, Aoi nodded absent-mindedly before turning to the girl.

"Oh right. Well then, uh… Mai, could you do us a favor?"

"It's Mae, and yea, sure," the girl nodded nonchalantly, reminding the guitarist of his mispronunciation of her name.

"Uh, yea, sorry, Mae. Well, if they happen to show up, but nowhere near us, could you keep an eye on them and tell me what they did or talked about?" Aoi requested, and the girl frowned with a suspicious and confused smile.

"So I'm playing a spy for today?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry to bother your work, but it's kinda important. If a vocalist's having problems…"

"Then the whole band could fall apart. Yeah, I know. Okay then I'll see what I can do. I gotta go now, Isshi's calling me," the girl smiled, indicating to Kagrra's vocalist with a glance of her mahogany eyes and she went off. Aoi then turned to Uruha.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Are you gonna tell me what the sigh was about?"

"What sigh?"

"Uruha, don't play dumb with me. You feigning incompetence to get out of trouble wont work on me," Aoi threatened, and Uruha sighed.

"Okay, okay. Last night, Ruki came to my room crying and told me a few stuff about his problems with Reita. I sighed back then because I remembered that he said that Reita's falling for Miyavi but he's still a tad possessive about Reita."

"So?"

"So, if Reita disappeared, with Miyavi, right infront of Ruki's nose, and something unwanted happens…" Uruha trailed off suggestively and Aoi immediately got on track.

"Then he's going to be in an emo state for weeks," Aoi finished his fellow guitarist's sentence, "And the air will be tense between the two, and rehearsals will hardly ever get right… Damn. I see what you mean."

"See?" Uruha said in a I-told-you-so tone and jerked his head towards their table, "Come on, let's go back. Your boyfriend's starting to get lonely."

"Yours is too," Aoi joked, and Uruha half-glared with a smile.

"I'd wish."

The two of them walked back to their table, Aoi sitting beside Kai with the drummer immediately and childishly resting his head on Aoi's chest with a cute pout while Uruha took his seat beside Ruki and looking at the vocalist's troubled face. He placed his bigger hand on top of the blonde's smaller ones and a set of grey-contacted eyes came up to meet his mahogany-contacted ones.

"You okay?"

"I don't know. Maybe," he answered vaguely, taking his hand back from beneath Uruha's.

"What happened last night? I waited up for you but you didn't come back," the honey-blonde tried again, but Ruki replied without eye-contact in a whisper.

"I explained him everything, when it turned out that he actually loved me. When he saw me with you, he got it at the wrong end and I tried to explain it to him but we ended up yelling at each other, and…" Ruki trailed off, and he seemed very unwilling to continue the conversation.

"And…?"

"I don't know. I couldn't look him in the eyes and he -- he won't talk to me. I -- I tried, this morning, and he was acting as if I'm not there… And then Miyavi suddenly waltzed in, and he took his hand and left to God-knows-where. Without a word. Saying a small 'see you later' to Kai and not giving me any damned explanation!!" his whispered tone turned almost into a yell, turning Kai and Aoi to glance at them, and then the little blonde closed his eyes, as if holding back tears, and he buried his face in his hands.

"I don't know… I just don't know… Is it normal? For me to be so possessive over him? If it's only affection instead of love… is it normal? Uruha?" he asked, turning to the taller honey-blonde, his grey eyes obviously looking for answers, and Uruha smiled gently.

"Maybe. You are an only child, after all. After your brother's death, I mean. You did say that he reminds you a lot of Takashi… Maybe you just can't stand losing another brother, right?"

"But I've got you! Why should I be -- ?"

"Because you're closer to him than you are to me. Simple as that," he explained, ruffling the blonde locks with affection. He glanced at the raven-haired couple seated in front of them and saw that they were busy with their own problems. He was about to say some more assuring words to his younger friend when Mae suddenly showed up.

"Um, Uruha-san, not that I'd like to bother you, but… Miyavi-san and Reita-san just got back and they're now standing right over there," she informed, almost in a whisper, pointing towards the café's patio, "And I'm telling you since I've noticed that Aoi-san's a tad too busy and you didn't realize anything either…" she trailed off, and Uruha nodded.

"Yeah, okay. Thanks Mae," he said, and the 23-year-old left with a shrug and a smile. Uruha stared knowingly at the couple on the patio, his childhood friend holding the guitarist's hand.

"Shit," he mumbled, slightly inaudible, and Ruki frowned.

"Uru-kun? What was that all about? Why are they standing there?" Ruki demanded, but Uruha didn't answer. He glanced at Aoi and -- noticing that he was still busy talking sweet nothings with Kai -- kicked the older raven in the shins beneath the table. The raven jumped, slightly shocked, opening his mouth to demand an explanation but it was Kai who popped the question and shushed his boyfriend up.

"Ow! Uruha, what the hell?!"

"Aoi! What is it, Uruha-san?"

"Patio. Your one o'clock. Raven and blonde," he stated curtly, pointing behind the tow ravens, and Aoi immediately turned, his young lover copying his actions.

"What are they doing?" Aoi asked, and Kai puffed a breath of air, smiling slightly in disbelief.

"Oh my gosh, he's holding his hand. I think he's popping the one-million-dollar-question, I mean, look at Miyavi-san's face!" Kai answered, and a few minutes later, the solo-guitarist's reaction proved Kai's theory to be correct.

He was smiling broadly, his face showing that he was completely happy as he gripped Reita's hand with both of his in almost-disbelief, asking a question, to which Reita nodded, and replied. Miyavi turned to be completely content with the answer and jumped up and down for a few times. A blonde waitress happened to walk by and Miyavi turned to her, saying a few words before focusing his attention back fully to Reita. The blonde waitress walked inside from the patio, her face a bit shocked but amused nonetheless. She talked to Mae, giggling, before walking off with the tray in her hands.

"Oi, Mae-chan," Aoi called, getting to his feet, calling the purple-streaked brunette. The girl reacted fast and made her way over.

"Un?"

"Mae-san, what did your friend say?" Kai asked curiously, and Mae replied with uncertainty.

"Well, um… Dei-dei just said that… well… Miyavi-san just got together, and… I'm not sure. It just sounds a bit too weird…" she replied hesitantly, and Uruha got an idea.

"Could you get your friend here?" he asked, and she nodded. Mae looked up, looking for her friend and whistled. The blonde turned and Mae motioned for the girl to come over.

"Psst! Deidara!!" she called in a slight whisper, and Deidara approached them with a frown.

"What is it?" she asked, and Kai repeated his question.

"We just wanted to know what Miyavi-san told you."

"Oh," she replied, a bit surprised, and answered hesitantly as well, though not as confused as Mae, "Well, he said that Reita-san had just asked him out and that they're gonna live together or something… He was really ecstatic about it and he talked really fast so it was kinda hard for me to catch everything…" she indirectly apologized, and Kai smiled sweetly at her before Mae had caught on the tense air and dragged her friend off with a last 'excuse us'. The expressions that the Gazette members wore were each different and perfectly described how they were feeling at the moment.

"Oh wow…"

"You've gotta be kidding me…"

"Ju~ st great…"

"…"

Kai seemed utterly surprised but glad, Aoi seemed a tad horrified and shocked, Uruha had a shit-I'm-fucked-look on his face as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose while Ruki's face was just blank, and devoid of all emotion. It only took a minute though, before the blonde rose to his feet and made his way out of the café and onto its patio, sliding the glass doors open, obviously angered. He had already reached his destination and had already begun yelling as the others came to and realized the situation around them.

Alarmed, the other members followed suit, scrambling to get on their feet and dashed their way to where the three of them were quarrelling, leaving the other customers as well a few of their label-mates to gape at the sudden clamor.

"… everything!! And you didn't even fucking care?! What the hell am I to you?!" Ruki demanded at a high tone, Miyavi standing by looking confused, while Reita seemed as angered as Ruki is, though there was a glint of guilt visible in his eyes, the only thing visible on his face because of his noseband.

"Hey, hey, hey!!" Aoi warned, his tone loud as well, placing his hand on the shorter vocalist's shoulder, but he threw it off with a flex of muscles, turning to Aoi.

"Don't!! This is my problem!!" he snapped, before turning back to Reita, but this time, Miyavi had stepped in.

"Ru, what the fuck, man? Can't we just talk this over with a cool head?"

"Screw talking with a fucking cool head!! I am not talking to you, either of you, ever!!! Never after this!!" he snapped, pushing Miyavi back with every strength he's got. The guitarist stumbled backwards into Reita's arms, but he was obviously pissed. Before the bassist could do anything about it, he had already taken a few steps forward and roughly punched the vocalist until he fell on his butt, sporting his raw cheek, flexing his jaw to get the numb feeling out.

"Don't you dare touch me!!" Miyavi snapped back.

Seeing his friend getting abused, Aoi's protectiveness took over and he immediately stepped forward in front of the vocalist, who's now on the ground, and pushed Miyavi back slightly, calmly, but his face was one of those that you definitely could not mess with.

"Hands off, pretty boy," Aoi warned, but Miyavi was too angered, seeing as his anger-management was worse than Aoi's, the guitarist being very emotional.

"Don't get involved, metal-lip, none of your business!!" he snapped, and Aoi's hand had curled into a fist. In a second, the solo-guitarist was on the ground with a bleeding lip. Kai immediately shot forward and took a hold of the tall raven's body. Aoi relaxed a bit with the feel of his younger lover's touch on him, but that didn't mean that he wasn't ready and loaded for another attack.

"Aoi! What the hell are you doing?!" Reita demanded, kneeling beside his new lover, and Uruha gaped in disbelief.

"What is he doing? What the fuck are you doing?" he stepped in, confronting the bassist though he remained rooted to his spot, "You ask Meevs out after a fight with Ruru?! I thought you were better than this!!"

Reita immediately got onto his feet, leaving Miyavi to calm down on the floor, "I like him! I care about him and it's possible that I love him! So what?! Ruki cares for me as a brother; I care for Miyavi as a lover!! If you can't see this then you never knew me, Uru," he replied, though his voice sounded a bit unsure, but nobody noticed, except Ruki and Uruha who knew him better than anyone else.

"I don't believe that!! Where the hell has your head been, Rei?!" Uruha demanded, taking a step forward ready to grab his by his collar and Reita was already cracking his knuckles, taking steps forward as well.

The honey-blonde started to make his way when he felt strong arms around his waist. His body got pulled back and pressed against a broad chest that belonged to someone whose scent he thought was familiar, his right upper arm being held tightly by a pair of hands as well, preventing him to land any punches.

In front of him, he saw Akiya and Shin restraining his childhood friend gently, Saga standing beside the three and trying to talk some sense into Reita's head. Frowning, he turned to his right to find Shou gripping his upper arm with a pleading look and looking behind him, he found that it was Tora who had held him back.

Looking around, he saw that their label-mates have rushed out to help and had indirectly put a stop to the fight. Ruki was being helped onto his feet by Masato and Takeru, while alicenine. no Nao and Hiroto was helping Miyavi up. Chiyu and Kagrra no Nao were by Kai's side to try and calm Aoi down while Mitsuru, Izumi, Yuji and Isshi were standing by as if to watch, unsure of what to do.

He glanced behind him to check the patio's sliding doors and he could see people gathering around the glass doors, Mae and her friend Deidara standing at most front, both looking worried.

"I'm okay," Uruha mumbled, and Tora let go of him, though Shou still didn't let go of his hand, "Shou…"

"I'm not letting go."

"I'm fine."

"No you're not. I'm letting you go when and only when you move to get out of here. Not before," he stated, knowing Uruha's usual impulsive actions could rise to surface easily. Uruha understood this and let it be.

Ruki, on the other hand, had already gotten to his feet, and was staring at Reita and Miyavi who were also on their feet. The bassist was checking Miyavi's cut and the blonde vocalist stood by, watching, eyes filled with hurt, until he finally broke away from the two SuG member's grip and made his way to the glass doors, everyone immediately making way for him, and in seconds, he disappeared in the crowd.

Uruha glanced from those glass doors to the situation he was now in, utterly confused on what to do, when he suddenly caught Aoi's gaze. It told him what to do but he was arguing with himself. Should he really? He turned to his right to find Shou biting his lip, his big, cat-like eyes telling him the same, and he then made up his mind as he felt Shou's grip slacken.

He turned on his heels and ran after the blonde vocalist, past Tora, past Mae and Deidara, past those sliding glass doors, past the crowd, and into the café. He exited the building quickly and was out to the street in no time. He ran straight ahead into the alley in front of him, his instincts telling him to do so, not that he trusted sixth senses much, but also because the logic in his mind told him that there was no way Ruki could've turned any other way, left or right, let alone make decisions with his mind in a jumbled mess like that.

His instincts and logic soon proved him useful as he found the vocalist in the alleyways, leaning against one of the street lamps, his eyes closed, facing the heavens, chest heaving. Silent tears streamed down his cheeks and he didn't even pay attention to all of the people watching him, passersby frowning at the sight as they tried to remember and register into their minds who this emo-looking person was. Uruha stopped in his tracks, staring at the blonde for awhile before finally jogging his way over to him.

"Ruki…" he mumbled, placing a hand on the shorter one's shoulder and in an instant, he had found himself in the same position he was in last night as he fell to the ground by Ruki's extra weight, his arms full with the sobbing young man.

---

Uruha had succeeded into calming his friend down and brought him back to the café where their friends were all waiting. Ruki immediately ran to Shou like a child seeking comfort to his mother, hugging him possessively, refusing to let go of the taller male who had been soothing him and stroking his hair, until Uruha had asked him to come home.

When he had left the vocalist to Shou, he had walked over to Kai, Tora, Shin and Yuji who were talking everything over. Kai had decided to cancel all rehearsals until this whole problem was solved and the others had offered their help in many ways. One of them was Tora's promise to keep an eye on Miyavi and Reita and the other was Shin and Yuji's word to make sure that Miyavi and Ruki will not even get near each other, let alone be in the same floor until this whole thing was over.

Kai then had turned to him, Uruha, and had put him on a task that seemed simple; he had to watch over the vocalist keep Ruki and Reita away from each other.

He had to keep two best friends away.

His own two best friends.

It felt unjust. It was as if Uruha's taking sides. Well, in a way, he was, he was standing up for Ruki because to his opinion, what Reita did wasn't exactly right, but he knew that the bassist just wasn't in his right mind at the time. But he decided that it was best and he knew someone had to take care of the currently emotional vocalist, and who else can do it better than himself? They did live together after all, and they're quite close.

Uruha's mind reeled though he managed to keep most of his attention focused on the road. He was now in his car, Ruki seated quietly beside him, Isshi's voice resounding from the car's speakers since Ruki wanted to listen to something calming and Kagrra was the only band calming enough that Uruha had.

Ruki refused to talk, merely humming along with "Yuki Koi Uta" or "Shigatsu Tsuitachi" once in a while, but that was the only sound that he emitted throughout the whole road. He even got out of the car and into the house without a single word, disappearing into his room, "Distress & Coma" blaring loudly through his stereo speakers a few minutes later, followed by "Burial Applicant", "Taion", "Leech", "The Social Riot Machines" and another set of GazettE's most loud collection of songs before it finally tuned down to the soft ones likes "Calm Envy", "Gentle Lie" and "Reila", a few happy, upbeat songs like "Anti Pop" and "Silly God Disco" following suit.

The music never stopped though the volume got turned down a few notches in the end, the music's mood getting more and more random as the hours flew by, and since the whole morning had been emotionally tiring for Uruha, the honey-blonde decided to go and count some sheep in his room, even though he knew it was still only six-thirty in the afternoon. He had put up with Ruki's music, he had tried to watch movies on TV, he had prepared some food, and now he felt that he needed time for himself.

---

It was at night, it was dark, it was cold, it was raining and Ruki hated it. Not because he despised the rain, no, he liked it actually, but it was the thunder that Ruki despised. He had been scared of it since childhood and it easily woke him up since he never did fall in a real sleep ever since he got out of his room to eat and talk to Uruha but found that the guitarist wasn't there.

He knew that Uruha had said that he should come to him at anytime he wanted to talk, but the minute he took a peek inside the honey-blonde's room, seeing the tired look on his face, he just didn't have the heart to wake him up.

He's tired because of what happened today. He's tired because of the fight. He's tired because of me. Me and my emotional breakdowns…

He knew it, and he regretted it, deciding that he didn't want to bother the older man for the rest of the day. But he was now really starting to think it over. The thunder was just so loud, and kind of frightening, and turning on the lamp with him curled up beneath the blankets didn't even help a bit.

The thunder was really starting to get to him, and he finally made his decision and bolted out of his room and into Reita's, the last, loudest thunder scaring him to death.

"Rei-kun, I -- Oh…" he barged into the room, but then stopped as he realized that Reita wasn't there anymore. At least, not there anymore for now, but it still upset him to no end. The memories of today's events flooded back into his mind and he had almost stepped inside the room and destroyed it, if not for another set of thunder surprising him, making him rush back to his own room, curling up beneath the blankets.

---

Uruha woke up in the early night, finding himself thirsty and a bit chilly. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was already nine p.m, meaning that he had slept for two and a half hours. He opened his eyes a bit more and realized that the chill had come from the heavy rain outside. It was in January after all, the Chinese New Year having predicted that it would be raining for two whole weeks until Cap Go Meh.

He made his way out of his room and into the kitchen, taking out a glass from the cupboards, filling it with water and dropping it into the sink when his thirst was quenched. He walked back to his room and had almost entered until he stopped in his tracks. He saw that Reita's bedroom door was open, but the blonde couldn't have possible gotten back…

Could he?

The honey-blonde made his way to the bassist's room and turned on the lights, but he didn't see anyone inside. He closed the door, frowning, but decided that it shouldn't really be a big deal. Maybe it wasn't closed properly and the wind had pushed it open or something. The sound of thunder made him jump slightly but he didn't pay much notice to it.

But then he saw the light in Ruki's room through the slightly opened door, giving a bit of light to the dark hallway, and it only took him seconds to remember that the vocalist was scared to death of thunder. Worried, he made his way over in fast-paced steps and pushed the door open, finding his assumptions to be correct.

The blonde was curled up beneath his blanket, his covered form resembling that of a set of bunched-up pillows.

"Hey, Ruki," Uruha called out softly, holding out a hand to shake the bundle, and he felt the small body trembling. He took the blanket off of the lithe body and his eyes met those of Ruki's, fear clearly hinted in it. He reached out for the blonde's shoulder as said latter sat up slowly, avoiding all eye-contact.

"…"

"Hey, you okay? What happened?" Uruha gently asked, tilting the younger one's chin, who finally gazed back, though still a bit shyly, replying in a rant.

"I -- I woke up because of the thunder, and, and I got scared, and I didn't want to disturb you since you seemed so tired, but then there was this really loud one and my instincts kicked in and I ran over to Rei's room to find him not there, and I -- I got confused and I didn't know what to do so I got back here but I -- I…" and he trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Uruha smiled gently and leaned forward, hugging the terrified, shorter male. The embrace just seemed so comfortable, and he felt so safe that he didn't want to let go…

Uruha hugged him slightly tighter as he felt Ruki's body tense up in his arms due to another loud rumbling of thunder and he figured that he simply couldn't leave his friend like that. He stood up to move, but Ruki's finger caught his wrist and his dark-brown orbs looked up at him.

"Wait! Uru, don't go! Please, I…" but he got cut off as a pair of soft lips touched his forehead.

"I'm not going anywhere," Uruha said assuringly, and he moved to other end of the bed.

He settled himself beneath the blankets beside his best friend and as soon as he felt comfortable, pulled the shorter one's back against his broad chest. Now realizing what Uruha was up to, Ruki slowly took up the offer by turning around, resting his head against the taller one's chest, his body warmth calming him. Uruha smiled at the reaction, now feeling really comfortable knowing that Ruki wasn't going to push him away or was afraid of him, and he nuzzled into the vocalist's blonde locks, breathing in the scent of his shampoo.

Uruha fell fast asleep, but surprisingly, so did the owner of the small lithe body. Ruki knew that this feeling of comfort was going to end as soon as morning came, but heck, who cares anyways? He was going to indulge in the new feeling for as long as he could, and he knew that Uruha wouldn't be complaining.

The End…

… or To Be Continued?

Well, I'm ending it here for now. Should I continue? Tell me what you think!! R&R please!! Oh and Dei, I hope you don't mind that I've put your character in this fic!! Bye bye!!