Just a scene. This is for you — you know who you are.

✖

Your phone rings shrilly in the otherwise quiet apartment and you look outside the window, finding a view that was finally to your liking. There are no clouds or stars, but the cityscape lights shine brightly before your eyes. You decide that it was fine, and finally take the infernal contraption to your ears. Your voice is hoarse from sleep. The call finishes and you set the phone back on the side table, yawning.

( You pull yourself out of the bed grudgingly. )

Rain poured heavily on the windshield that it was hard to see anything through it anymore. The streetlamps looked nothing but blurred lights in the onslaught of rain and the wiper was barely any help keeping the water pounding and blocking sight. Aoi thought that perhaps it hadn’t been a wise choice to drive away and simply stayed home…

…and the thought had him scowling. He is on his way home.

Nobody in their right mind would drive through such a harsh rain like this, of course, but sometimes Aoi’s mind didn’t like staying put, especially whenever Uruha was concerned. It was supposed to be a night of relaxation in each other’s arms, relishing in the coldness the rain brought them. One wrong word and Uruha was out spouting some stupid nonsense – Aoi refused to admit that he was the reason why they had yet another verbal spat. Come to think of it, he didn’t remember why they argued in the first place; what Aoi remembered was the flaring anger in his chest when Uruha looked at him with disdain. He knew it was a wise choice to get out of there before he started breaking any of Uruha’s things.

It was only a drizzle when he started driving out of Uruha’s block and to his way home when the weather decided to kick a man down further by obscuring his vision. At least the cold and waiting in traffic helped in calming Aoi down, but the silence agitated him all the more. He hated the exact moment when his anger subsided and reason came back to him because that was usually the time when he realized it probably was his fault.

Aoi flipped the radio on and narrowed his eyes just a little bit when he recognized the song being played. It was a calming ballad, just perfect for the rainy occasion, which also happened to be one of Uruha’s favorite songs. Of course Uruha didn’t admit to this, but the way his face relaxes whenever it played somewhere was a good enough indication that he did. People always have a certain image or a certain stereotype assigned to Uruha, but Aoi has watched him for quite some time to know that 99% of the time, they just misunderstood.

Sighing, Aoi gripped the wheel and sped up as he looked for the nearest U-turn.


Uruha opened his door to a wet and obviously shivering Aoi, but he just stood there, staring the older man down, tucking his conscience to the farthest corner in his brain.

“S’cold,” Aoi mumbled, his teeth chattering and all of a sudden, Uruha’s defenses promptly crumbled down. Aoi offered an awkward smile and tried to ignore his already freezing bits.

Uruha sniffed and opened the door wider to let the other in. “Come on in, rain damages bleached hair, you know.”

It didn’t make sense to Aoi at all but he accepted the explanation anyway, just happy to have Uruha’s hands back on him.

This little bundle of fluff was written to - egad! - a ballad sung by one of the members of MBLAQ (or something). You have granitemouth to blame for this.

They want me. I want you. And you want someone else. But none of us want to turn around.

✖
Another tour passed and yet Ruki did not feel the exhaustion dawning on his body, just annoyance with the way his sweaty encore shirt clung to his skin. That was always a disgusting feeling.

At this rate there really shouldn’t be anything he’d be bitchy about. He got everything he wanted and more in a snap of a finger and from the looks of things, this will continue for years to come. One could say that Ruki was already getting bored but of course he wasn’t completely an ungrateful ass, just tired of mindless repetition. He needed something dynamic.

Everybody had already walked past him and proceeded to fall to their respective positions on the floor. Ruki looked at his band mates, all looking tired as hell as he was, and somehow he couldn’t help drawing a mental smile.

Trying to look cool and all, Ruki took his sweaty shirt off and leaned against the doorframe. The wood felt even more disgusting against his bare skin, but he needed to stay at that position for at least ten more seconds.

“Not much package to show there Ru, so don’t even bother.” A snicker followed, and Ruki wondered why he hadn’t mauled Aoi’s face whenever he felt the need to speak up at random times.

“I strongly disagree. I bet I have a bigger dick than you anyway.”

Aoi’s eyebrow rose. “Since when did short people have bigger dicks?”

“Since time immemorial, actually.” Ruki gestured to the nearby roadie for the pack of cigarettes and lighter by the table. He winced at the slick sound that he made when he pushed himself off the doorframe.

“Well prove it.” It was always easy to tick Aoi off, especially with Ruki’s sharp tongue.

The vocalist only shrugged. “How do I know you’re just not trying to get into my pants?”

“Because I’d be much more subtle if I were trying to get into your pants, Ruki-chan.” The words sounded as if Aoi was getting them out through his teeth.

“Then there’s no reason for me to show you my dick, Aoi-ojiisan.” Ruki grinned at the roadie who grabbed his smokes, who in turn gave him a sheepish and confused smile.

✖

For #119 of 15_minute_fic

✖

Dust, it was something so small and insignificant and yet people are always bothered by it – Ruki was no exception. He obsessively dusted his clothes every time he’d notice even the smallest fleck of dust just so he could keep his clothing immaculate, and yet the action really didn’t have any value, it didn’t solve world peace, it didn’t make Ruki happy, it did nothing. But it was there, he noticed it, and he wanted to get rid of it.

As small as dust – that was something that Ruki never wanted himself to be thought of. And it was almost impossible to think of him as such, it was almost blasphemous – Ruki, the vocalist of Gazette, he certainly is larger than life. His ego wouldn’t let that happen, his fame would contest to that, nothing in him would ever indicate that he was ever small.

And yet whenever he’s under Aoi’s scrutiny, he felt no more than an insignificant speck. Those dark, mysterious eyes taking in his full form – Ruki would always feel so insecure about that, and if there’s any feeling that he hated then it would be insecurity. He wasn’t an insecure person, but each time he’s in Aoi’s gaze, then he was. Aoi was one person that turned him inside out. He hated that.

He hated the fact that he actually loves Aoi so damn much, and yet there’s nothing he could do about it; for some reason he just couldn’t.

He hated the fact that he loves Aoi to the point that it hurt, so damn much.

Ruki was a subtle person, and maybe that was his fault. He never did say what exactly was on his mind, but anybody would’ve caught on to what he actually wanted to say, and Aoi wasn’t dumb. Maybe just insensitive.

Or maybe Ruki was just the one who didn’t notice. Like a speck of dust, Aoi’s actions were barely noticeable. Until now.

“I notice you, Ruki, you just don’t look hard enough.”

And with that, Aoi went out the door, leaving Ruki with his mouth wide open, his chest pounding hard, and somehow he didn’t feel so little in Aoi’s eyes anymore.

after sono.

✖

We stretch out our hands
as if to take the world into our arms

(then again, the world means only the two of us)

and feel the wind against our skins;
my hands on your hips,
your hair on my lips.


You pout when
I say we’d never
be Jack and Rose
even if we tried
and I only laugh.


Of course we’d never
be like them –

one:
for obvious reasons,
and two:
there’s no iceberg big enough

to sink us down.