Chapter 4

As I sat on the couch in my baggy trousers and comfy sweatshirt, feet propped up on Megumi�s favorite and most prized coffee table (which if she ever saw me sitting like this she�d have my legs chopped off for such a horrendous action on her furniture), nursing my fourth or fifth bottle of water, my mind was yet again trying to work out the details of the previous night.

I�d basically spent my entire morning like this � getting a new bottle of water whenever I finished the last, watching a new dorama start on every hour, hitting the restroom every 15 minutes to empty my bladder, and spending every second trying to recall what happened the night before.

Unfortunately the only thing crystal clear in my mind was that I started the night with Ken and Sakura and ended it the morning after at Gackt�s house.

The idea of what could have possibly happened between that time worried me more than I thought possible, as I chewed on my lip staring blankly at Oguri Shun wailing from my television screen.

After rubbing my eyes countless times to shake the view of Gackt�s face first thing in the morning, I figured my mind was playing tricks on me and could now only faintly recall riding in his car, having him walk me to my door (again) and then standing tiredly on the porch as Gackt made a call to my housekeeper who had to come and let me into my own home, since I had apparently misplaced my keys.

After Gackt left I found those bastard keys sitting on the table in the hallway near the coat rack, along with a temperamental note from Megumi inquiring about the sullied state of our living room. Carrying her note in my hand, I tried not to crumple it as I was brought face-to-face with the disaster that once was my living room, now looking like a bloody tsunami made its way through it. There were emptied liquor bottles everywhere, dirt trod on the carpets, furniture out of place, pillows everywhere, and a set of cleaning supplies near the entrance where Megumi had specifically instructed me to �clean your damn mess up�.

I was in no state to do that however so rather I padded to my room, changed into something comfortable and on my way to the lounge, grabbed a bottle of water to nurse my hangover as I watched dorama after dorama unfold, trying my best to disregard how much of myself and my situations I was noticing in each storyline.

As the day went on little tidbits of what happened the night prior would enter my mind and then disappear as soon as they came. I was able to conjure that at some point during the night, Ken and Sakura had decided, without my approval, that we were going to hit a bar while already stupidly drunk. This is where I forgot my keys in lieu of a taxi which took us to some hotspot where apparently I ran into Gackt.

I remember everyone fighting at the bar and a fleeting moment about being in an awkward situation riding in Gackt�s limo, but other than that I couldn�t figure out any other sensical reason that I ended up at Gackt�s place.

Yet my brain was still trying desperately to piece together why I left my friends and woke up on a familiar leather futon in a familiar dark and rose-scented home with a familiar face staring back at me. For a moment my mind lingered on the thought and how well I was becoming acquainted with Gackt�s facial features when my cell phone began to ring, startling me out of my trance.

Those stupid hearts dancing around my display screen told me it was Gackt (and god help me that I couldn�t figure out how he got them there in the first place and more importantly, how to remove them).

�Moshi moshi,� I answered formally, even though I was fully aware who was on the line.

�Hyde, daijoubu? I was just calling to check up on you,� He sweetly asked.

I decided that rather than waste the rest of my day watching the trials and temptations of Oguri Shun�s obviously dramatic life, I should just come out and ask Gackt to explain some things to me.

�Gacchan, I�m so glad you called��

�Oh Hyde, really? Are you doing well?� I asked into my phone, my eyes looking out over my band mates as they set down their instruments and stretched their limbs. You sat on his chair, arms crossed over his chest, and stared at me as I spoke. I was in the recording booth, away from the rest of my group with the door shut but the way You-kun was watching me through the glass was enough to indicate that he knew just who I was talking to.

�I am, sort of� I guess.� Hyde replied, sounding unsure of his own health. As he stuttered, I pulled out my ear pieces from band practice and let them hang around my neck, swirling a finger gently in my free ear, trying to force away the hollow-sound I always experienced after practicing while wearing them. �I drank enough water to make my teeth float but otherwise I think the hangover�s gone now,� Hyde responded with a small laugh.

�That�s great to hear,� I responded, switching my cell to speaker phone to alleviate my other ear. I sat it down on a free spot among the sound board and was about to tell him that I had his contract drawn up and ask about when I could bring it over when he interrupted me with-

�Gacchan, what happened last night?�

My face fell serious. �What do you mean Hyde?�

�I� don�t remember everything that happened,� he stuttered. I moved my arms to lean on the table, neglecting to avoid all the switches and buttons littered among the board as I pulled at my irritated ears.

�Hyde, you passed out so I took you back to my place,� I started. I noticed You�s head shoot up and look at me through the glass. It was an odd reaction, as if he suddenly recalled he left the iron on or something. I looked down at my phone as I twiddled one of my earrings. �You woke up while we were in the limo because you caught me on top of you reaching into your pants,� I said with a laugh in light of the situation which was thankfully quickly resolved once Hyde realized what I was doing. As I looked ahead, You-kun continued to glare at me through the glass and my other band members were now looking over at me as well.

�Yeah� I sort of remember the limo ride part,� Hyde hastily spoke. �But after that, everything is a blur��

Ju-ken�s eyes narrowed as he looked at me so I smiled and held up two fingers indicating we could come back from break in about 2 minutes. Then he, Ryu and ChaCha looked at each other strangely while You seemed to be silently fuming.

�Listen Hyde, this isn�t a very good time to get into such a discussion. I�m in the middle of practice,� I apologized. �But I�ll be dropping by your place later to drop off the movie contract, if that�s okay?�

�Please, I could use the company. I�m boring myself to tears watching doramas and avoiding house-cleaning. And it�s eerily quiet around here with my wife being out of town,� he replied. Ryu started banging the drums as he watched me through the glass.

�Great, I can�t wait to see you. And then we can talk as much about last night as you want,� I finished, trying not to sound so coquettish at the mention of �last night�.

�Give me a call when you�re on your way over, ne?� Hyde cutely ended and then hung up. I grinned and shut my phone, looking back out through the glass to where my band mates where staring at me with the strangest expressions. As I left the room I couldn�t help but laugh at them.

�JOB-tachi, what�s with the weird faces?� I said with a chuckle, placing the ear pieces back into my ears as I moved in behind the microphone. �And You-kun, what�s wrong?�

Everyone else had their instruments up and ready but You continued to sit with his arms over his chest and a pout on his mouth. As I called him out, he stubbornly stood up, taking his violin and putting it into place under his neck. I knew he couldn�t possibly still be angry at me from the night before because he was fine with me this morning and most of the afternoon. His sudden mood swing was making me uncomfortable. Ju-ken began to warm up and soon ChaCha and Ryu joined in.

�Not that kind of relationship, ne?� You spat quietly at me, playing a twitteringly difficult string of notes along his violin.

�What are you talking about?� I whispered back in confusion.

Just then we heard voices loudly chatting about the �disgusting chicken patties from Shoku-gan� and how �Reike was about to go all the way�, causing everyone�s heads to look over to the recording room where our team of sound engineers had just returned from lunch. I heard You play another line on his violin and as I turned back to face the band, they were all staring at me with knowing expressions while You gave me a violent glare.

I pulled one of the ear pieces out and walked over to the glass as the guys continued to talk. Somehow, I heard every single word they were saying. I tapped loudly on the glass.

�Excuse me, guys?� They grew silent when they saw me standing there. �I can hear everything you�re saying.�

They made shocked expressions and one of them (presumably the one talking about Reike) blushed. Then one of them looked down at the board and leaned into the microphone.

�Sorry boss, somebody must have bumped the auditory button in here. It appears to have been on before we entered the room,� And then he pushed a button on the board and all grew silent as I saw them continue to chat amongst each other.

It was in that very moment that I wanted to crawl into the nearest hole and hide for the next week. My face probably changed to every shade of red in the color spectrum as the realization that my conversation with Hyde had just been broadcast to the entirety of my band. My mind was racing from the moment I put him on speaker phone to the moment I possibly bumped the button and just how much of what we were saying they had heard. Immediately I realized how wrong the conversation could have been taken and all the weird faces they were giving me and pouts I was getting from You-kun suddenly made sense. The guys in the sound booth went to work with the buttons and switches to set things up for our next song and I dreaded the moment I was going to have to turn around and face my band mates.

Everything was quiet save for You-kun playing a few tattered notes on his violin.

�C�mon Gackt, let�s finish up this song and get outta here,� Ryu said, tapping on his cymbal a few times. I slowly turned around, making my way to the microphone as casually as possible.

�Yea, after all, some of us have plans later this evening,� Cha Cha teased, a purposeful lilt in his voice that caused my blush to deepen and Ryu to laugh while playing a loud cymbal toss.

�One more time from the top then,� You-kun started, leading the band off with his violin intro. I gripped the microphone and tried to focus on the lyrics at hand.

In the few times I�ve met with Gackt, it�s always been at his house or an outside location. Now for the first time he was going to be coming to my place, and going beyond the door outside of my home. I had this sudden desire to make the house look as clean and immaculate as his did every time I visited so I rolled up my sleeves and got to work on calling my maid to get to my house immediately.

As she worked, smartly bringing along two fellow maids for help, I stood in my closet, choosing carefully from my plainly colored wardrobe of expensive brands for the outfit I thought would show off my posh rockstar taste the best.

Just as I was holding things up to the mirror, I started to wonder why I was stressing over the appearance of my house and myself for the sake of Gackt. For all I know, he was merely dropping off a slip of paper that I was required to sign and that�d be it. Yet I felt that I needed to impress him with all I had, no matter how much or how little time I was given to do so.

In about an hour�s time my maids made the house sparkle, I finally settled on a black button down top and some dark, classily ripped, denim jeans, and just as I was tossing the last of my empty water bottles into the pura bin, my phone was glaring those familiar hearts as Gackt�s name danced across the display of my cellular.

�Gacchan,� I nearly cooed as soon as I flipped the phone open.

�Hyde, I�m on my way now, I should be there shortly,� Gackt quickly spoke. His voice didn�t sound as cheerful as it usually did which dashed my hopes slightly.

�The door will be open,� I replied as he hung up. Sensing that Gackt was feeling a little under the weather I realized that this might be my chance to finally repay him for everything he had done for me thus far.

As the maids were leaving my home I thanked them, slipping an envelope of money into their hands and proceeded to my liquor cabinet where I noticed that it severely needed restocking. Ken and Sakura had nearly cleaned me right out last night and as I realized that I wouldn�t have enough time now to run out and refill it, instead I decided to head down to the wine cellar, instantly grateful for Megumi and all her wine connoisseur friends that she met with weekly. I pulled out a few good years of various brands and brought them up, setting them in the liquor cabinet and getting out some of our finest champagne glasses for the occasion. My phone started to buzz just as I was lining them up, making sure that either the brand or the year was visible. I glanced at my cellular, not recognizing the number so I chose to ignore it as I brought two glasses out to the coffee table.

I wisely chose to stop answering random numbers that I didn�t know ever since the incident when I answered �This is Hyde� and some girl on the other line, who had accidentally dialed my number, proceeded to scream my ear off when she realized who she called. Then I subsequently received calls from all of her friends for the following two weeks until I had the chance to get a new phone and number.

As I worked on the drink line-up, my phone�s buzzing was getting more and more annoying and I realized why Gackt was anxiously fishing after it the night prior in the limousine. Irritated, I finally chose to flip it open.

�What?� I shouted into the phone, figuring if it was someone who knew me, they�d proceed to chat away and if not, they�d likely hang up.

�Hyde, it�s uh, Sakura. I had Ken give me your number, I hope that�s alright,�

I paused my hands from their work, choosing rather to simply eyeball the wine bottles as my mind tried to tell me the right words to say in response.

�Sakura-chan� yea, of course it�s fine. Uh, what�s up?� I said, casually making conversation as I shut the glass doors of the liquor cabinet and stood back to admire my work.

�Let�s cut the small talk Hyde; do you have a minute?� Sakura�s voice rasped from the other end.

�Uh�� I glanced out the window. There wasn�t any sign of headlights yet but I knew that Gackt would be arriving any time now. �If you keep it short.�

�Oh, are you on your way out? Cuz I could meet up with you somewhere. Or maybe I could drop by your place? I know yesterday you said Meg was leaving town and I really want to talk to you, so-�

�Bad timing; I�m kind of expecting someone��

�Oh you are?� he started, �What, is Gackt coming over to see you or something?� I heard his laughter on the other end and didn�t know how to respond. I didn�t want to tell him yes, but I didn�t want to lie to him either. However, it appeared that my silence responded for me. �Oh.�� he finally concluded.

�Sakura-chan, look. I�m� I�ll be free tomorrow. Maybe we can me--�

�Don�t bother, Hyde,� Sakura interrupted. �If Gackt�s visiting you tonight, planning tomorrow might be making an empty promise.�

I tightly shut my eyes at his comment. How dare he assume such a thing! Here I thought there was maybe the slightest possibility that Sakura was calling to apologize and instead he was mocking me for no good reason at all. I wanted to lash out at that very moment but was interrupted by the doorbell. �I have to go. My guest is here,�

�Fine. Enjoy your evening.� Sakura mocked and promptly hung up. I growled at my phone and snapped it shut, shoving it in my pocket as I made my way to the door and opened it with more force than I intended.

�Hyde�� Gackt said, startled and looking alarmed at my reaction. �I� didn�t catch you at a bad time, did I?� He inquired and I shook my head, extending an arm of invitation.

�No, not at all. Please, come in,� As he walked past me I eyed his attire and noticed a manila folder in his hand that probably contained the paper that was going to legally bind me to the MOON movie project.

Gackt stood in my foyer for a bit as I closed the door behind us and offered to take his jacket.

�Actually, I don�t think I can stay very long,� Gackt started, bringing the folder in front of his chest.

�What? Why not?� No, dammit! I wanted him to sit down, relax and stay a while so I could show-off. I wanted him to be made at home while I slowly got him drunk on the finest wine, leading up to the point where he�d ask about touring my house and I could show-off some more and then eventually he�d fall asleep in my not-nearly-as-luxurious-nor-very-comfortable futon.

�Well, there are some things going on with my band mates you see,� Gackt began, nervously tapping his fingers on the folder. �But I have the contract. Is there some place we can review it?�

Something was strange. Gackt had barely looked at me and all he wanted was to discuss business. What happened to the Gackt who had been pursuing me and making me nervous for my backside every ten minutes? I noticed, as I led him into the living room I had spent so much time arranging, that there was a role reversal taking place. Now it felt as though I was hunting him like some helpless fangirl hot on the pursuit. Well good. It was time to make him squirm and see the torture I�d endured from all his empty advances.

Gackt seated himself on my couch, placing the folder on the coffee table and rubbing his hands nervously down his red PVC pants. It was strange to see Gackt acting so awkwardly around me so I tried to lighten the situation by offering him something out of the liquor cabinet. When he chose the burgundy, I pulled it out and showed it off a bit before shaking the bottle, causing Gackt to lean back a bit as I did so. I reached for the top to remove the cork and after nearly biting a hole in my lip and two (hopefully manly sounding) grunts later, the cork finally dislodged itself and flew into the air� landing square onto Gackt�s forehead.

�ITAI!� He exclaimed, his eyes shutting tightly as his hand moved to his head to touch the spot where the cork just conked him.

�Kami-sama!� I cried out, putting down the wine and rushing to Gackt�s side. �Gacchan! I�m so sorry! Are you okay?� I moved his hand out of the way so I could check his forehead carefully � no blood, no red marks� It didn�t even appear that there would be a bruise later.

�Hyde! What were you thinking?� Gackt nearly growled, shocking me when I didn�t hear his usual calm and cool demeanor. �You could have poked my eye out!�

�I know, I�m sorry! I had no intention of� I mean, there�s no way I would ever try to-�

�This better not leave a mark,� Gackt sighed, rubbing his head again. �I have a photoshoot tomorrow morning.�

�It looks fine,� I replied, tightly-lipped and moving his hand out of the way again and now starting to notice the slightest lump forming. �But� just to be safe I better get you something to put on it.�

I disappeared quickly, cursing myself under my breath as I raced to the kitchen to fill a bag with ice. How could I be so stupid? Well if I wanted to create any sort of mood between us now, I was going to have to work extra hard at it. Not only had I just injured him, but Gackt�s tone of voice was a good indication that he wasn�t very happy and therefore wouldn�t want to stay around much longer, regardless of if he could or not.

I made my way back to the living room, where it appeared Gackt had already poured himself a full glass and nearly downed all of it.

�Here,� I said as he sat his back along the couch, tilting his head back and closing his eyes as I brought the bag of ice to his forehead. �That should reduce any possible swelling. How�s the wine?�

�It�s good.� Gackt blankly responded, swatting my hand out of the way to hold the bag on his own. I sighed and stood up, pouring myself a glass and taking up residence on a chair across the room.

�So,� I started, unsure where to even lead the conversation but wanting to keep it away from the contract and stall time as much as I could. But I couldn�t even think of something decent to ask him to get us talking. So I just asked the first thing that popped into my mind. �What�s wrong with your band mates?� That was not the direction I wanted to go into.

�I�d rather not talk about work right now, Hyde.� Gackt said, his voice still bland and empty sounding. �I have your contract in the folder there if you could look over it.� Damn. So much for that.

My idea of having a nice quiet evening, where I should have had plenty of opportunities to show-off my possessions and make a good name for myself, dispelling any strange thoughts Gackt might have had about me, was rather quickly turning into a sorry business meeting of sorts. I reached over to the table, picking up the folder and trying to keep my jaw in place on my face as I looked over the seven pages of small print. All my eyes really caught was Gackt�s name in several places, along with Shochiku, something about Taiwan and the word MOON about a dozen times. After making sure there weren�t any suspicious words in here that would later have me tearing my hair out because I didn�t take time to read the fine print, I exhaled loudly, placed the contract down on the table and picked up a pen, ready to add my autograph�I mean, signature to it.

�Wait,� Gackt yelled, moving his hand in front of the paper just as my pen was about to make contact with it. I looked up at him. It only took a moment to get lost in those bright blue contacts and for the first time this evening, I was starting to see what I thought was some emotion from Gackt.

�Yes, Gacchan?� I asked, kicking myself mentally for reducing myself to pathetic goo anytime he looked at me like that.

�Is that blue or black ink?�

I think the corner of my mouth twitched at his random question.

�I� think it�s blue� Why is this important?� I asked, quickly becoming frustrated with the lack of interest I was receiving from him.

�It needs to be signed in black,� he responded, reaching into his jacket to hand me a different pen. �Use this and give it back to me when you�re done.� He held the pen out to me and for a moment I just stared at him, trying to figure out who replaced mywonderful, kind Gacchan with this equally pretty yet very dull and careless jerk. I snatched the pen from his hands, attached my signature, and slid the folder and the pen back to his side of the table.

As I downed the rest of the contents in my wine glass, I slumped back into my chair, unable to stop watching Gackt with what must have looked like a very angered expression. This was not the way I had been planning this evening, although when I stopped to think about it, I really had no plans in store anyway and rather was hoping that our actions would determine where things would go.

But at the moment the only actions I could determine were that I�d be escorting him out very soon, unless he offered to leave on his own. I�d rather spend my night alone than deal with this frustrating change of mood between us.

We sat in silence for a bit, Gackt eloquently finishing his wine and then adjusting his jacket awkwardly, as if he was waiting for me to let him be excused from the table, so to speak. But I continued to watch him carefully from my chair in the corner and just when I thought he was about to get up and go�

�Would you like to see the rest of my house?� I blurted out. Gackt looked over to me in surprise at my sudden random outburst. A few minutes earlier I wanted him gone but as I sat, draining the rest of my wine and contemplating, I realized that getting the chance to have Gackt over while Megumi was gone and me with a free night seemed to be a rare feat and I wanted to seize the opportunity. If I wanted to show-off, it�d have to be now or possibly never.

Gackt shifted uncomfortably and looked as though he was thinking of something polite to say in decline so I stood up and began to narrate,

�Well this is the living room�� then I started to walk across the foyer, indicating he should join me. Gackt stood up and thankfully, started to follow me. I led him through each room, no matter how important or infrequent I may have used them, and then came back around to the front foyer where I stopped in front of the stairs.

�Hyde, I should probably get going,� Gackt started.

�What�s the rush? Where do you really have to be?� I asked as I moved up the first step without facing it so I could keep watching him, and then, still backwards, stepped up another, and I could see my height now reached his.

�Well� I don�t really have to be anywhere, I just have a lot to take care of,� Gackt answered, still sounding very much in business mode.

�Come on, you�ve only seen half of the house. It won�t take that much longer to show you the rest,� I said, stepping another stair backwards. �Besides, you don�t sleep anyway. You have all night to do whatever you have to do before tomorrow gets here.� I moved back to step up another stair but my foot didn�t quite reach it right and before I had a chance to correct my footing, I was tumbling forward and landing safely in Gackt�s quickly extended arms.

I looked up at him, catching my breath from the shock of the fall and he glanced back down at me when I noticed something change in his eyes.

�Careful Hyde,� Gackt whispered, holding onto me tightly and lifting me up to my feet, just as he had done the very first time I tripped in his house.

As I stood there holding Hyde, his big brown doe eyes looking up at me, I further realized the reason I had to leave his house as soon as possible. Knowing that we were alone in his place and that Hyde wanted to talk about what happened last night (even though nothing really happened), had me on the edge. Initially I was excited but after the disastrous fiasco at the studio earlier today and the looks and attitude I had been getting from You-kun as of late, I started to wonder if perhaps he was right and I was getting myself into something too deep that I would never resurface from.

Hyde had taken my heart long ago, although he didn�t know it, and our every encounter was only further fueling my desire to be with him. Not that I would ever change a thing about having Hyde star in my movie, but it was becoming clear that if I was to ever survive all the time we were to be together from here on out, I was going to have to harden my emotions, rather than certain body parts, and make sure our friendship remained just that.

Slowly I let him go and he stood back from me, smoothing down his shirt and staring at the floor with the slightest blush across his cheeks. I had to look away from how charming it was to his appeal.

�Actually, I have the script upstairs,� Hyde said, interrupting my thoughts and causing me to look at him again. �And I have a question about a certain part of it. Could we maybe look over it quickly before you go?�

As long as Hyde wanted to talk business and the movie I should be safe. �Certainly,� I replied and his face lit up as he began to head up the stairs. I thought maybe he would bring the script down to me but instead I was being beckoned to follow him. I decided to remove my jacket and hung it on the post at the end of the stairs before making my way up. At the top I was greeted by a lovely hallway adorned with L�Arc-en-Ciel�s platinum and gold selling albums, various plaques he had received and the occasional mirror or random painting along the way. It was a visual feast for the eyes. I slowly followed Hyde, taking in all the surroundings when he disappeared into a room.

Leering around the corner of the room he just entered, I peeked my head in and then slowly entered. As I took in my new environment I realized this must be Hyde�s room, indicated by the large messy bed, desks and tables full of papers, guitars and various instrument accessories strewn about and his large closet in the back. I swallowed just as he was coming around the corner, looking somewhat surprised that I came into the room and neared me with the large script.

He flipped through it, occasionally licking his lips in the process. �I don�t remember where it was�� he said, turning the pages as I stood next to him uncomfortably, my eyes darting around to avoid his sinful little tongue and rather stare at his lack of decoration and also lack of neatness. As he noisily flipped the script in his hands my eyes fell to his laptop computer and what I can only assume was his personal website, judging by the name �Hydeist�. I made a mental note to check it out in my own free time. For a moment we stood there awkwardly until I heard the familiar buzz of his cell phone. Hyde dropped the script on his desk and pulled his phone from his pocket, grimacing at the number.

�What do you want now?� Hyde immediately spoke as he opened his phone. I assumed it was his wife. �Yes I do�.. No, it wasn�t�.. What do you mean?...�

I started to think that anytime I feel a strong emotion for Hyde, I should remind myself that he is married. Happily or not, it�s unlikely that he would actually share any of the feelings I am harboring for him, regardless of what I may like to think, or even what some of our friends have started assuming. I groaned in my head, realizing that this pursuit of mine was ridiculous and I should work on establishing a comfortable friendship with Hyde, rather than an uncomfortable one-sided love affair.

At that thought, I felt as though I were intruding and decided to excuse myself, heading down the stairs and right for another glass of the delicious burgundy wine. My head had begun to lightly pound, likely from tonight�s earlier disaster, so I trusted the wine would help relieve some of that pain. As I exhaled I sat myself down on the couch, my eyes drawn to the folder where I opened it to see Hyde�s sloppy signature jotted across the bottom of the MOON movie contract. I took a hearty gulp of my wine and soon Hyde was joining me in the room, a cigarette hanging from his mouth as he shoved his cellular back into his pocket.

�I�m sorry about that,� Hyde said, pulling the cigarette from his mouth and puffing out the smoke. �It was-�

�Your wife?� I supplied with a fake grin, my eyes moving down to stare at my wine.

�Actually no, it was Tetsu,� Hyde answered, pouring himself another glass of burgundy and sitting next to me on the couch. �I had run into him at that party the other night so we�re trying to catch up on some things. He just has the worst timing because now I forgot where that part in the script was. If I remember it I�ll let you know later.� Hyde removed the cigarette from his mouth and took a long sip of the wine and I couldn�t help but be entranced at watching him.

�Um, mind if I--� I started pointing to his cigarette, the desire for nicotine suddenly strong as I sat in his presence. I began reaching into my pocket for my pack but before I could, Hyde was gingerly placing his own cigarette in my mouth, mimicking an action I had done to him a few days ago. His eyes focused on my mouth before moving upward to look me square in the eye.

�We can share this one,� he quietly said, his eyes drifting back to my mouth as I took a long drag and puffed out the first grey fumes. It tasted so good. As I looked back over at Hyde I noticed he was licking his lips while watching my mouth carefully. I decided I needed more wine.

As I poured myself another full glass, I could still feel an ache in my head, no doubt caused by the cork incident moments earlier. Hyde shifted his position on the couch, taking another sip before setting his drink down on the coffee table and turning his vision back to me. I took the cigarette from my mouth and leaned into him and he began to part his lips slightly.

Slowly I moved forward, locking our eyes as I placed the cigarette into his mouth. Hyde purposely brushed his lips on my fingers as he took the nicotine stick from me and inhaled. I leaned back and turned my body slightly, watching as Hyde tilted his head back and enjoyed the rest of the cigarette solemnly. What am I doing dawdling here? I thought to myself. I had the signed contract and we weren�t accomplishing anything business-like now. My head was still throbbing in pain and I had much work to do now that everyone was signed onto the movie project. But as much as my brain willed me to stand up and leave, my body longed me to stay.

Nine shared cigarettes, a second bottle of wine and countless meaningless conversations later, I ended up on my back in the floor of Hyde�s living room� with an ice pack nursing my forehead. In the opening of the second bottle of wine, somehow Hyde had managed to once again knock me in the head with the cork. I was beginning to wonder if the strange coincidence that it should happen twice in one night was somehow linked to my overall belief of the destiny I believe we shared, when Hyde suddenly appeared standing above me, staring at me with one of his patented pouts.

�Is it feeling any better?� he asked and I looked up at him through glazed eyes.

�I can�t tell anymore. The wine seems to have numbed me somewhat,� I responded with a slightly tipsy laugh, my eyes falling shut again. Hyde giggled as well and then I felt something move my legs and before I knew it, Hyde was kneeling at my side, tenderly lifting the ice pack and tracing one of his fingers around my head. �I can�t believe I have to go to a photoshoot tomorrow,� I murmured.

�It doesn�t look bad, honestly. The camera will never tell,� Hyde said with a smile, discarding the ice pack to the coffee table.

�That�s because they�ll cover me in makeup and then photoshop the hell out of it afterwards,� I commented, propping myself up on my elbows and feeling a little woozy. Hyde pushed the damp hairs away from my forehead and I grew interested in the adorable pinkish tint that filled his face due to our rapid consumption of alcohol.

�I used to think that�s what it was,� Hyde replied. �Make-up, and the photo shopping and all that. But after seeing you in person, I have trouble believing you�re anything but every bit as gorgeous as you look, Gacchan.�

I�m sure the color of my face filled to match that of his own at his fluffy endearments.

�Get off it,� I said with a laugh to break the tension, sitting up fully. �You don�t have to suck up to me anymore now. You�re the film�s star � you get whatever you want automatically.�

�Is that so?� Hyde said in mock-disbelief. �In that case I want my trailer stocked with enough brandy for us to get perpetually drunk every night, ramen noodles stacked to the brim, and a big bowl full of M&Ms. But ONLY the blue ones.�

I laughed at him. �Why only the blue ones?� I asked, leaning my back against the couch. Hyde tilted his head as he looked at me.

�Because they match the color of your eyes,� he cooed in his gleefully intoxicated state.

�You know that�s not their real color�� I responded in jest.

�Ok then maybe just the pink ones, to match your lips,� Hyde quietly remarked, his hands cupping the sides of my face and immediately bringing our joyful drunken banter to a more serious level.

�Hyde�� I whispered as he slowly began to bring our faces together�

I�m not sure at that moment just how drunk I was, but my face was warm and my vision was glazed over so all I could see in front of me was Gackt�s moist, full, plump lips. I had this strange desire to bite down on them to see if they were real; they were so perfectly perfect.

And as I sat there, very near to him, my hands around his warm face and that gentle blush covering his features, I noticed that I had just placed us in the most precarious of situations. My body grew hot and my mouth began to salivate and my pants were getting tight but Gackt was just staring at me, his eyes wide and yet soft.

In my drunken stupor, our casually teasing remarks had somehow gone wrong and drove us to be in the position we were now, where all it would take was a single move forward for our lips to meet. The burgundy wine was warm in my belly and I was too far gone right now to remember how I ended up on the floor of my home with Gackt in the first place.

�Hyde�� Gackt whispered again, and I�d be wrong if I didn�t say his voice sounded like he was pleading for something. But whether he wanted me to move forward or let go was in the air. I looked at his mouth again just in time to catch his tongue reaching out to moisten his lips and the heat traveled fast from my face to my stomach and right to my groin.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending how you look at it, just as my thoughts began to darken and I was leaning toward the action that could imminently spell my doom but satiate my lust, our staring contest was interrupted by a loud and lively,

�HELLLLOOOOO!!�

I felt Gackt tense and saw his eyes flash wide so I let go of his face and turned my head toward the doorway. There was no mistaking the energetic voice I just heard but what the HELL was it doing in my home at this hour?

As if on cue, Tetsu was waltzing through my doorway, bags in his hands, three scarves around his neck, and those god-awful platform shoes that made me feel shorter than usual in his presence.

�Tetsu!? What the-�

�Hey when I asked you when could I drop by you said �whenever��� He tossed his bags in the corner and plopped himself down on the chair across from where Gackt and I had rapidly moved ourselves from the floor to the couch, and I noted as I quickly moved to cover my pants with my hands, that Gackt was doing the same thing. Interesting.

�Yea but whenever doesn�t mean--�, I glanced at the grandfather clock in the foyer, �MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!� I yelled, a slight bit of soberness starting to come over me.

It was strangely amusing to watch Tetsu�s cheerful friendly demeanor suddenly go into absolute shock when he finally noticed that I was sitting next to Gackt.

�OH MY GOD.� Tetsu said, standing up from his seat, a hand over his mouth. �Is that!! Are you?? Why are!! What??�

Gackt�s eyes were still wide in surprise from the sudden turn of events. Tetsu was gaping like a fish and pointing his hand accusingly at poor Gackt, who had since crossed his legs and shrunken into himself, making him look much smaller than he was.

�Can you finish any of your sentences, Tetchan?� I tried to calmly ask, becoming increasingly annoyed at the fact that I was now just sitting next to Gackt when only moments ago I could have possibly been doing something else with my mouth rather than using it to degrade my rudely interrupting friend. My brain was nearly mush from the wine, and because of that I was, as usual, horny as hell, and my pants were still tight and I was not very pleased.

�GACKT!?� Tetsu finally spat out. �What are you doing at Hyde�s house?! I didn�t know you guys were FRIENDS?!� He enunciated the last word a little too strongly for me to feel comfortable with.

�Uh, well we�re kind of, um �cough� working on uh, a collaboration,� I stuttered. I could see Gackt glancing wide-eyed at me from the corner of his eyes.

�REALLY?!� Tetsu�s shouting was proving to be too much for my intoxicated brain. �I would have never thought a relationship like this to take place��

�Relationship? What do you mean?� I nervously questioned. �We�re just working on a movie together--�

�A MOVIE?!� Tetsu shrieked. Again, with the yelling� �Hyde! That�s so�. that�s� so�. A movie? What the hell. You can�t act!�

�How do you know?!� I retorted quickly standing up and then just as quickly sitting back down as I was made conscious just how aware everyone else would be of my bulging jeans. Although thanks to Tetsu�s outburst it was quickly going away.

�I think Hyde will be a fantastic actor,� Gackt chimed in, causing Tetsu�s attention to leave me as he turned to look at the one speaking.

�The infamous Gackt, huh,� Tetsu started. Then he glared back at me. �So THIS is the plan you have for your summer is it? Why didn�t you tell me that the other night? Why didn�t you tell me you were working with Gackt � on a MOVIE of all things?!�

�When I saw you I didn�t KNOW I was going to be working on a movie yet. I just signed the contract tonight,� I said, pointing to the folder. Tetsu�s eyes went down to the opened manila folder, with my signature in plain sight, and then he looked up at me again.

�Well,� he started. �I brought some things over for you,� Tetsu continued, pointing to the bags in the corner. �Magazines I subscribe to that you just happened to be in, some of those cookies my mom sent me that you love so much, and a couple of things from my wardrobe I�ve decided to give up,�

I blushed a little as I realized Gackt was getting quite an insight to Tetsu and mine�s strange little relationship.

�I guess I should get going though since this isn�t �whenever� and it also appears that I�m interrupting some important contract discussions,� he articulated the last word as he shot Gackt a glare and slowly drug his eyes over to me where I had trouble keeping his gaze. �Give me a call when �whenever� is actually convenient for you, ne Doihachan?� He turned on his overgrown boot and stomped out of my house, slamming the front door loudly as he left.

My eyes fell shut and I let out a long sigh. When I opened my eyes Gackt was standing up, brushing off his pants and grabbing the manila folder holding my contract.

�Where are you going?� I asked, worried that he was going to storm out as well.

�I should have left a while ago, Hyde,� he started, making his way out to the foyer and retrieving his jacket from the post at my stairs. I rushed out to follow him. �I will probably hate myself in the morning,� he wobbled a little as he pulled his keys from his pocket.

�Wait Gackt, you�re in no condition to drive,� I said, trying to steady him as he stumbled while putting his jacket on. He dropped the folder and the contents scattered across the floor. I scrambled to pick up the pages.

�I�m fine, really,� he replied, a hand touching his slightly marked forehead. I came over to him holding the folder and Gackt reached to take it but I quickly moved it behind my back. �Hyde, please give me that��

�No. Give me your keys.� I demanded, holding out a palm. Gackt sighed loudly. �I�m not playing games, Gackt. I refuse to let you drive home like this.�

Quickly his hand moved to my face and I flinched thinking he might hit me but instead he cupped my cheek and smiled through tired eyes.

�You�re right, how stupid of me.� He reached into his pocket and gave me his keys. I let out a sigh of relief and thanked him, placing the folder underneath his keys on the table behind me. Gackt smiled tenderly as he watched me make my way back to his side and lean along the wall for support.

�Well you can have your choice of rooms to stay in; they all have comfortable furniture. I should know, seeing as I fell asleep on most of these couches at one point or another until I was able to convince Megumi I needed my own room since we just don�t get along being in the same one together for very long,� I wordily sputtered adding a fake laugh at the end.

�What does it matter where you put me? I recall you mentioning earlier how I don�t sleep anyway, remember?� Gackt teased. I playfully punched him and realized he still had his jacket on. Boldly I reached out, dragging my hands up to the collar and slowly slid it off of him. Gackt obliged to my actions by standing up straight from his position against the wall and allowed me to take his jacket off.

�Ok, let me show you to your room, then,� I said, hanging his jacket on the coat rack next to my three or four already hanging there and then led him down the hallway to the lounge. As we walked into the room I realized that my mental checklist (being show-off the house, get Gackt drunk on wine and have him fall asleep on my futon) was slowly being marked off one-by-one. I smiled in a strange sort of pride of my accomplishments and turned on a single small lamp in the corner, trying to keep in mind Gackt�s dislike of the light, as I got to work on un-folding the futon. However it was difficult to do on my own and when Gackt noticed me struggling, he graciously went to the other end and helped me fold it out to its full-size bed form.

�It needs some sheets, let me get you some,� I said leaving the room momentarily to gather a couple blankets and pillows from the linen closet. When I entered the room I tossed a pillow at Gackt when he wasn�t expecting it, resulting in getting himself walloped upside the head and tumbling over onto the futon. I was about to laugh but he was dead silent.

�Gacchan?� I exclaimed, rushing to his side to check on him. Talk about a string of bad luck; this was the third time I�d hit him in the head tonight, though hopefully this one hurt much less than the others. I chaotically tossed the blankets onto the bed and removed the pillow from his face to find Gackt laughing uncontrollably and in turn whopping me in the face with the same pillow. �Why you--� I started, picking up another pillow to hit him back.

Gackt jumped up on the futon, whacking me fiercely (well as much as you can with a soft fluffy object) on the back and realizing my extreme disadvantage from the ground, I jumped up on the futon to join him and soon we were in an all-out pillow pounding war.

I had the upper-hand; striking him once, then twice in a super fast ninja-like move, and then Gackt raised the pillow above his head and began racing forward to attack back. But just as he did his foot got caught up in the bundle of sheets lying on the bed and soon he was hurriedly crashing down on top of me.

It didn�t really hurt, considering what I landed on and the fact that there were pillows and blankets all around us, but the fast impact of our fall, combined with the wine sloshing in my brain and stomach, caused the wind to be knocked out of me momentarily. I coughed a few times as I pushed the blankets away from my face, using the sound of Gackt�s continued drunken laughing to find the way out.

�I couldn�t--�, Gackt paused to laugh, �--even begin to tell you--�, more laughing, �--the last time I had a pillow fight!� He laughed as he lay half on top of me and half on the bundle of blankets.

�Me neither,� I breathily replied. �Though I think it�s become more dangerous since the last time I did,� I laughed back.

�That�s because we�re bigger now,� Gackt replied, still chuckling. �Well, maybe not you�� He boldly joked.

�Ooh, you bastard,� I playfully retorted at his remark on my size, reaching around me for the nearest pillow to hit him again. But Gackt already had one and plopped it in my face, laughing some more. I pulled the pillow away, all intentions of hitting him back but noticed that he was no longer laughing but now just smiling at me, a tender expression in his eyes.

Gackt pushed the messy stray hairs away from my face, his hand trailing down my cheek to cup my chin and ever-so-gently tilt my head up toward him. My breath hitched momentarily in my throat and then I heard a slight rustling of the sheets and noticed Gackt was moving his body so that he was now lying almost entirely on top of me. I swallowed noisily as I was suddenly conscious of him being able to detect the way the lower half of my body had just sprung to attention.

Gackt�s blue eyes seemed to darken as he looked at me, his expression now more serious with a hint of smile still lingering at the end of his lips. All I could smell was the strong scent of Egoiste enveloping around me. I could feel the heat not only in my face but coursing through my whole body, especially a fire down below when Gackt moved his leg and it lightly brushed across my groin. I couldn�t help the quiet moan that escaped my mouth.

Gackt leaned his head down, closing his eyes and touching our foreheads, leaving just the slightest bit of space keeping our lips from meeting. I stared up at him, using the quiet moment to take in all his facial features closely and could feel his chest heaving above me and the warm air on my face from his breathing. His leg moved again, but this time it was moving away from me. Gackt slowly opened his eyes and I locked our gazes. He shifted his leg once more, pushing it into my bulging need and causing me to elicit another moan from low in my throat.

As I did so, I saw Gackt�s eyes widen slightly, a blaze burning within them. He moved his leg yet again, obviously discovering what it was he was doing to bring forth my yearning noises.

�Gacchan�� I purred, and he brought his face directly in front of me. I should have told him to stop; told him that we were drunk and would regret this later; told him that this would definitely lead up to no good if we were to spend the next few months working closely together on the damned movie project that got us here in the first place and yet my body was crying out for more, so much that I found myself whorishly bucking my hips upward, just to feel his warm body against that part of me again.

Now Gackt groaned; it was a deep sound that only increased my lust and made me toss all my earlier thoughts of stopping aside. I shifted my hips up again, this time granted with an open mouthed �aaa-� from Gackt�s lovely full lips. Morning-after regrets be damned, this is what I wanted right now.

I suppose the moment to come next was inevitable, as it felt like it was something that had been building up since the moment I first met Gackt only a few days ago. Of course, I tried to keep these imageries buried in the back of my mind, harden my shell and neglect the fact that I had ever entertained such a thought. But my subconscious, whether I liked it or not, had been gradually creating the perfect kiss for us to share; a thought that would often rush to the front of my mind anytime I was alone with Gackt. I predicted it being slow and beautiful and romantic and everytime I was in close proximity with him, the vision of it was built upon to be even more wonderful than it was the last time I had imagined it.

Instead, I barely had time to realize what was happening when Gackt�s mouth came crashing down onto mine, devouring my lips, and in a moment that may or may not have been beyond my control, our tongues were wrestling for the domination of each other�s mouths.

During the act, my hands had finally freed themselves from the mess of blankets holding them hostage and in mere moments I was flinging my arms up � one around Gackt�s neck and the other grabbing a fistful of his hair, using all my strength to pull him as close to me as we could possibly get. It must have worked because I soon felt Gackt�s also very apparent need rubbing against mine. We moaned together as our groins made clothed-contact and then Gackt broke the kiss, moving his mouth to pleasure my neck instead.

And it was good.

Except that as he ministered to one spot and then another, panting and licking and sucking, I felt that I had been limited to simply lying there and sighing or moaning whenever it felt particularly wonderful, which was pretty much the whole time. Just as I was thinking about what I could do to please him back, I noticed the good sensation took a different approach� either that or Gackt was just getting really sloppy with his mouth near the back of my neck.

�Gacchan�� I rasped, shifting beneath him slightly. �Don�t stop�� I moved my hands to the base of his neck where I noticed he had stopped moving. �Gacchan?� I tried to move my head, pulling away so I could see his face and then it became clear to me that he had in fact fallen asleep. How romantic.

I groaned, not in pleasure but in pain as I realized that Gackt was very heavy when he was asleep and began to struggle with instant claustrophobia. I tried to push him over, I tried to move him off with my leg, I tried my damndest to smuggle my body out from underneath his, but it was all to no avail. I was weak and tired from all the wine and the pillow fighting and the rush of blood to two opposite ends of my body in the midst of finally permitting our long-awaited lust so eventually I gave up, sighed heavily, and after shutting my eyes, drifted quickly into sleep as well.

Besides waking up with an agonizing hangover, I was also instantly alerted of the fact that I had an aching hard-on.

As I blinked my eyes, slowly my vision began to clear and I tried to piece together where I was. Looking down at myself I noted I was still fully dressed and laying on a cluttered pile of mismatched sheets and blankets. But when I rolled over I was immediately made aware of the small, warm body next to me being none other than Hyde.

At once, visions and sensations came flooding back to me as I recalled our frantic make-out session only hours ago making my cock twitch for my attention again.

But before I could even think about tending to my need, I remembered that I had a photo shoot to be at and right now I looked like a ragged mess. I quickly sat up, working relentlessly to quietly untangle my leg from the muddle of sheets and then fix my tousled hair. I dashed out of the bed, my socks sliding me along the hallway in the foyer where I quickly grabbed my jacket and began desperately looking for my keys. Thankfully my search didn�t lead me far as I spotted them sitting on top of a very important document I had nearly forgotten about. Just as I was slipping on my shoes I felt a twang of guilt stab me in the stomach � or maybe that was the hangover reacting. My stomach lurched forward and I quickly covered my mouth with my hand as the sickness threatened to leave my body. Obviously all my hurried, rushing around was not cooperating with the fact that there was a good deal of burgundy wine still in my system. As I caught my reflection in the mirror I noticed how pale and ill and tired I looked and figured I should stop to get some gifts for my poor make-up team before hitting the studio. They were going to have their work cut out for them today.

Just as I was turning around slowly and concentrating my breathing, my stomach heaved again and I knew that I had to get to a restroom and NOW.

Frantically my mind tried to recall Hyde�s mini tour last night and the direction I needed to race to. I freed my feet from my shoes and my clothed feet began to lead me helplessly through his home, every now and then causing me to slide on what had to be freshly waxed floors. When finally I had found the toilet I fell to my knees and hung my head forward � but nothing came forth.

I breathed heavily, wiping the cold sweat filling my brow and stood back up, splashing my face with cold water from the spigot of his sink. I pulled out my phone and upon seeing the time, realized I had to get to the photo shoot location and fast. So I raced back out front, slid on my shoes, and scurried out the door.

On my ride over to the studio I tried to concentrate on the traffic but nearly caused a few chain collisions due to my growing headache, flip-flopping stomach, and those times my mind would occasionally slip me the memory of Hyde�s sinful smile or devious tongue, catching me completely off guard.

I stopped at a nearby gift shop, grabbing handfuls of teddy bears, flowers, and chocolates and quickly charging it all to my card before racing to hopefully still make the location on time.

I arrived about ten minutes late. The photographer was tapping his foot and waving his hands in the air because not only did I make him wait this long, but I looked like a disaster and he easily noted that I hadn�t even had my make-up done yet. I tossed some flowers at him in apology and made my way for the trailer where my management all gawked at me with wide eyes.

�Apologies to all,� I started, handing out gifts as I made my way around the trailer. When my hands were empty I sat in my chair, tilted my head back and closed my eyes. �Now� make me beautiful.�

In a hurry, the entire team was on me doing what it was they did best.