Compilation Of Unseen Scenes - Private RP

[GGJ5]

Continued Halloween

Erin Spenser

Just before reaching the car, Erin hit an abrupt stop and whirled on Yukito. She took both his hands and looked up into his face, quizzical.

"What?"

"How am I supposed to kiss you?"

Yukito smirked crookedly. "Same as you always do." Without waiting, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, his hands at her waist, pulling her closer to him. She could feel his smile, something she loved that he did, and so she was smiling when he ended their kiss.

Yukito tilted his head to the side. "Hm...you didn't take any of my makeup. Did I take any of yours?"

"No," she answered automatically. "And you aren't gonna get any of mine off," she tacked on proudly. See, I do think ahead, when it matters. It was also a challenge for him to go ahead and try. But before he accepted the challenge, Erin slunk into the car and shut the door. "C'mon, already!" Inside, Erin rattled off the lineup for the day, including the stage and time each show started, practically bubbling over in her excitement. "Are we staying all day? For the whole lineup? Did I bring my camera??" Briefly, she scrambled about the passenger's side, shifting the abundant cloth of her dress in case it was hidden below the folds of silver. The camera was on the floorboard. "Found it! Are we getting there early? Do you think we'll get good seats? Or... standing places... or whatever?" She laughed, leaning until her shoulder was on his, and sighed happily. "I love you."

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

He hadn't really needed to demonstrate to Erin that they could still kiss without mingling their individual makeup jobs, but it was a really good excuse that he couldn't find the heart to pass up. His hands ran down to her waist to anchor her to him. As if their lips didn't do that job well enough. He was constantly surprised at the intensity and frequency of their kisses. It was like they turned into make-out machines when they were near each other. There was probably some psychological jargon to be applied to that, but it didn't make a difference to Yukito. Not really. The amount of love they could convey to each other each and every time more than made up for falling into a therapist's bubble of expectancy.

Yukito pulled away from her lips, switching modes to studying the pair with his eyes instead of with the lips of his own. “Hm...you didn't take any of my makeup. Did I take any of yours?” he asked as he tilted his head to the side.

"No, and you aren't gonna get any of mine off," she told him with complete confidence. He arched an eyebrow at her complete assurance that there was no way he could kiss her and smudge her oh-so-perfect undead makeup job. But as soon as he smirked and began to move toward her, she escaped into the temporary safety of the car. "C'mon, already!" she teased. She was teasing him. And all he could do was smile about it, shaking his head with amusement as he sauntered over to the driver's side and getting in. He had hardly sat down on the seat before her questions flooded in. "Are we staying all day? For the whole lineup? Did I bring my camera??"

He looked over to watch her look, not about to start moving her skirts aside in search. Helpful? No, it wouldn't be. “I believe your mother now expects us sometime in the new year, but I'm thinking your dad still has some issues. We can stay the whole show if we like, though. The last show is KISS from nine to eleven.” He buckled his seat belt and continued to watch her searching. “Isn't that actually your mother's camera or something?” Yukito remembered keeping a sort of hostage on that camera after their breakup. Erin had had him to hold on to it for the dance, since she had gotten her pictures and had no place to hold it. After their fight, they hadn't had a chance to...no, he'd deliberately kept it as long as he could. Extracted all the photos relevant to the two of them and saved them to his computer, without thinking of asking. He'd gone through their pictures that night a million times, and it had been totally lame and pretty depressing.

"Found it! Are we getting there early? Do you think we'll get good seats? Or... standing places... or whatever?" She laughed, leaning until her shoulder was on his, and sighed happily. "I love you."

His lips, having curved a little at the corners in a silent, solemn memory, now tilted toward the ceiling, “I love you, too. Buckle up.” He started the car before answering the latest rounds of questions. “We could have gotten there earlier, but I suppose the crack of dawn itself was pushing it for you.” He sent her a playful look. “I've never been anywhere near her around the Voodoo Fest, so we're just going to deal with what we get.” Turns out they got a pretty okay spot, less than halfway up to the stage. Yukito realized during the course of the damp, muggy day that Erin's emotional roller coaster ride definitely had its rewarding and positively entertaining moments. Or hours. He had a hard time keeping up with her enthusiasm, mostly because he was overwhelmed trying to watch her and enjoy the concert.

It was around midnight by the time they even headed towards the apartment building, and Yukito was wiped. All-day concerts could never really be prepared for. They'd spent a whole lot of money on snacks and presents and such,and lingered a little too long just messing around. At one point the two of them had somehow ended up in a photograph from a random stranger, asking something about MJ and kissing the undead. It made Yukito leap into action, sweeping Erin into his arms and dipping her before leaning in for a kiss. It sort of worked, but it almost tripped them up with her skirt. Once their lips had locked, Yukito began to slowly pull her back up into a standing position, smiling the whole while. It was one of the heightening moments of the night to him, in all honesty.

He hoped he had surprised Erin with his own enthusiasm, but it still couldn't compare to hers. She'd seemed surprised when he started screaming along with everyone else, and his elbow hurt from holding up his arm. Now he had that arm wrapped around Erin's shoulders as they went to find the car. “Well, I think it's time to go face your parents....” his voice was hoarse from relinquishing a half-screamo, half-growl sound over the thrum and roar of the audience. “Was it worth it?”

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

As soon as he was in, Erin bombarded him with questions, bubbling over in her excitement. "Are we staying all day? For the whole lineup? Did I bring my camera??" Erin dropped to looking for the little silver box, which didn't stand out well in the silver, grey, and blacks of her skirts.

“I believe your mother now expects us sometime in the new year, but I'm thinking your dad still has some issues. We can stay the whole show if we like, though. The last show is KISS from nine to eleven.”

"I know!" she said, voice strained a little from both excitement and her being doubled over searching the floorboards. She remembered hearing someone on the radio read out the schedule and it had stuck with her. "How much you wanna bet there'll be those KISS M&Ms being sold like right by the stage? Did I drop it on your side by accident?" she asked, turning to him. "The camera?"

“Isn't that actually your mother's camera or something?” Yukito asked as Erin went back to peering by the sides of the seat.

"Yeah." Really, she wasn't supposed to be using it anymore since it had "gone AWOL" while they hadn't been talking, but if her mom wasn't using it, then she wouldn't miss it. And if they got her her own camera, everyone would be happy. Of course, the one she wanted was always too expensive, because it was the nearly-professional grade that she wanted.

It was wedged by the door. Erin pulled the camera free with enthusiasm. "Found it! Are we getting there early? Do you think we'll get good seats? Or... standing places... or whatever?" She laughed, leaning until her shoulder was on his, and sighed happily. "I love you."

“I love you, too. Buckle up.”

"You're such a mom sometimes," she muttered playfully, rolling her eyes at him with a smile and sitting up again to follow his order. "It's a good think I love you or we'd have some problems."

Yukito started the car and pulled out. “We could have gotten there earlier, but I suppose the crack of dawn itself was pushing it for you.” Briefly Erin retaliated with sticking her tongue out at him, then assumed a very fake haughty position with her arms crossed. It broke soon enough, and she was smiling at him again.

“I've never been anywhere near her around the Voodoo Fest, so we're just going to deal with what we get.”

"Hmm?"

--

While they hadn't gotten as close as Erin had wanted (she was a sucker for the front row, even if it meant being caught in the pit), it was still an amazing birthday. She fell in love with new bands she hadn't heard of before and remembered just why she loved the bands she got excited about. And halfway through, she started losing her voice from all the yelling, screaming, talking over music, etc. that she kept doing. It. Was. Amazing.

Too soon they were back at the car, and back at her home, Erin now carting around (in a band's bag she'd got at Voodoo) a new collection of souvenirs of sorts: a CD that came with a live DVD concert, band stickers and buttons, a hoodie, and two posters. Yukito looked kind of tired now, but Erin was still stoked, despite her still-ringing ears and nearly nonexistent voice. "I wish we could've gotten a copy of that picture!" she half-whispered. "I bet it turned out so good! I wonder what's gonna happen to it?" She was thinking of searching through all the Voodoo galleries until she found it.

“Well, I think it's time to go face your parents....” His voice was hoarse, too. Maybe not as much as hers, though. Not yet, anyway.

"I know," she drawled out as best she could with no voice, looking up at him with a bright smile. "I can't believe it's over already!"

“Was it worth it?”

"Yes!" Erin replied immediately, laughing. "It was so amazing, Yuyukun! Everything was amazing!" She looked closely at him and gave him a smug smile before adding in a more solemn tone, "Don't you have something you need to tell me, Yukito?" Say it, c'mon! Don't tease me...!

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

Erin's voice was as hoarse as his was, if not moreso, and she held her merchandises with all the enthusiasm as a girl who had just fallen in love with all things full of pounding rhythms, dark vocals and screaming guitars all over again. "I wish we could've gotten a copy of that picture! I bet it turned out so good! I wonder what's gonna happen to it?"

“Yeah...Well, I think it's time to go face your parents....” he reminded her with a smile.

"I know," She smiled, even if her voice sounded almost painful. "I can't believe it's over already!"

“Was it worth it?” he asked.

"Yes!" Erin replied immediately, laughing. "It was so amazing, Yuyukun! Everything was amazing!"

Yukito, always a little more calmed than she was - and he was fine with that, enjoying hyperness and energy vicariously through her - just nodded and told her, "I'm glad."

She sent him a searching look, then a smug look crossed her face, "Don't you have something you need to tell me, Yukito?"

A blank look took over, "Huh? Like what?" As if. A smile broke out through his lips. "Ohhhh...you mean like, 'Happy birthday, Erin' or something like that? Well, I dunno..maybe it's better if I-" he cut himself off by giving her a deepening kiss, letting it linger in the hopes that it could somehow convey to her all the things he was thankful to have since her last birthday. As if one kiss could tell her all the 'thank you's he hadn't remembered to say, and all the 'I love you's that hadn't slipped out soon enough. Once he managed to separate his lips from hers, he smiled and added in a gruff and hoarse voice, "Tanjobi, omedeto gozaimasu, sunshine..."

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

"Don't you have something you need to tell me, Yukito?" she asked him, her smile growing impishly.

Yukito turned to her with a clueless expression. "Huh? Like what?" For a second, Erin thought he really didn't get it. At least, until he smiled. He was going to drive her crazy doing that, she thought, her own smile brightening. "Ohhhh...you mean like, 'Happy birthday, Erin' or something like that? Well, I dunno..maybe it's better if I-" He broke off mid-sentence to kiss her, deeply, catching Erin by delighted surprise. It was one of the few ways he was spontaneous. Her hands were in his hair when he pulled away, leaving her feeling a little stunned, a little blissful, and a little intoxicated. It really was ridiculous how she let him get to her like that, and she preferred to keep it that way. Erin smiled as his raw voice reached her ears. "Tanjobi, omedeto gozaimasu, sunshine..."

She couldn't recognize the words when he said them-- he spoke too fast for her to catch all the sounds-- but it really didn't matter. He could have told her that her nose felt like a goldfish and she wouldn't have known. She wouldn't have cared. He was saying it, and so it sounded just brilliant to her. Her arms wrapped around Yukito in an impulsive hug as she buried her head-- hair now completely mussed from the long day-- in his chest. "I love you." She lifted her eyes to meet his again, giving him a quick kiss. "I don't want to go yet.... can't I just stay with you?" she joked, punctuating her words with laughter, then conceding to reality. "All right, fine...." Erin turned, one hand in Yukito's and one hand on the door knob.

"You're back!" the immediate greeting came from her mother, who had curled up in the couch under a blanket as if the time they'd gotten home was so incredibly late. Like she'd been attempting to look like she was relaxed and everything, but really just watching the door. She'd sat up the moment the two stepped through the doorway. "Jake, they're back now," went the call down the hall, making a head poke out the back room.

"Didn't you say eleven?" he asked as he walked up to the living room. (Erin was busy getting her final pictures in, taking some more of her and Yukito with her arm outstretched before them.) "It's eleven in Utah, maybe..." A sigh and soft smile. "Just call next time... both of you," her father added. He glanced curiously at Erin, having missed her complete costume earlier. "Wow. I think you have all the creativity genes concentrated inside of you..." He chuckled, lifting a little strand of Erin's hair that, having been outside all day, had caught a bit of dead grass. "Did you know that was there?"

Erin's eyes found what he was referring to. "No!" she squeaked out, only half audible, and frantically brushed the foreign material out of her strands. She turned to "glare" at Yukito, unable to suppress her smile. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

[GGJ5]

One Year Anniversary... awwww (:


Erin Spenser

By now Erin had come to the conclusion that as much as she might want to have a huge blowout type party, Yukito wouldn't like a minute of it. Which still disappointed her some, but it's not like there was anything she could do about his own personal preferences. So she'd decided she'd work around them-- since his birthday and their anniversary were so close together anyway (and it felt so incredible to say "anniversary", almost like they were married...!), she would just make it as special of a date-day that she could. She'd been sure to tell him to make sure he had the entire day cleared for them, even though it was a school day and she still couldn't skip school without everyone on campus knowing, and since he was picking her up anyway, their real date would start then and go on as long as he wanted.

The entire time she was stuck in class, Erin had spent it texting him as often as she could sneak time away from the teachers' attention. Little things, like when she woke up she texted, "good mornin luv! happy 1!" No amount of cheese or cliche was unacceptable today, because it was perfectly allowed to celebrate their anniversary in whatever way she wanted. And later, other things: "ily <3". "Countin down til our date startsssss". "im excited r u??", "1 yr!! how many more u think we can make? lol <3" and "almost there!!"

Of course, now that school had just let out, Erin would have to go home and change into a better, more anniversary-approved outfit. But according to her plan the date would start at her house, anyway. She felt totally restless all day, and now was no exception. Erin stood on the sidewalk, peering as far down the road as she could at the students' rides, searching for the familiar vehicle. "where r u?!" she texted, bouncing on the balls of her feet anxiously, before seeing the familiar vehicle. Dodging the others still waiting for their rides to get close enough, Erin weaved through them until she was next to his side door, and elatedly pulled it open, giving him an excited kiss before even saying a word. "Kinenbi omedetou!" And she'd been sure to say it aloud dozens of times beforehand so she could at least halfway say it right. Erin assumed her new favorite spot, in his lap with her arms around his neck, and gave him another, quicker, kiss. "And happy birthday, too, even if it is pretend." With a grin, she nuzzled her nose close to his face, and she could feel her closed eyelashes against him. I'm so lucky with you. I just am, and I know you are afraid of some things and might not like thinking about us so far ahead, but I want to have tons more anniversaries with you, and not all of them dating anniversaries.

--

OOC: Yukito's outfit today brought to you by Miyavi. I just googled for a hat, and liked the rest of the getup, too. Just take away the ponytail thing. 0.o

s.bebo.com/app-image/7925868006/5411656627/PROFILE/i.quizzaz.com/img/q/u/08/04/03/Miyavi_-_Hi_no_Hikari_sae_Todokanai_Kono_Basho_de_Limited.jpg BIC:

Yukito Maki

Sometimes there was no going back to the way things were before. Today was one of those days, he'd decided. I can't believe it's been a year... He felt strange to think of it, feeling like he should be so much older. Instead he just felt different. A year ago...he'd been cockier, distanced and trying to hide it between sarcasm and a cold attitude. He started going to the highschool thinking he would have to keep dealing with all the stupid drama over and over again, and that it wasn't any different now from before. But Erin made things different. And he wanted her to know it was a good different. Without having to explain in just how many ways he had changed.

His cell phone rang again, blasting out a verse halfway through Dir en Grey's "Vinushka". While keeping his eyes on the road, he reached out towards the passenger seat and plucked his phone up from among the piles of CDs and junk there. Once at a stoplight, he held it up to see the two hundred and forty-sixth message from Erin he had received in the last few days.

"where r u?!" He smiled, one thumb jamming on the keypad to send her a response.

down road. 2 mins tops. She'd been spamming his message inbox constantly that morning, making him wonder if she would actually learn more from school if she was kept in a dark room with back-to-back sedatives. He had considered just stealing her before school was out, but he was trying to be good. Trying.

Yukito didn't have any idea what plans Erin had for today. He was just going to let her lead this time - she was pretty good at that - and filter in some of his own surprises as they went. He already had a few up his sleeve. The main one, that is, the one he was most shocked and pleased with himself over, was hidden under the hat.

He had the hat pulled deeply over his long, shaggy hair, so that only a few dark strands jutted out from the corners of it, the bill cutting off a higher portion of his vision that he hadn't thought about before today. The idea he was going for was the element of surprise. Until she was close enough to pull it off - and he could confidently place bets in the triple digits that she would - he didn't want her to see. The thought made him grin roguishly when she came into sight, bouncing up and down looking for his Volvo. He pulled up as close as he could in front of the school, knowing Erin would probably leap dangerously through the post-school-day traffic to get to him fast-fast-fast. She spotted him and raced over, and he leaned over to the passenger seat to swipe the crap he'd left there out of the way. Before he looked up she had opened his door, making him jump in surprise and sit up straight just in time for her to give him a kiss that felt starved and anxious to be let out. He laughed into it, remembering one of the reasons he loved her like that.

"Kinenbi omedetou!" she declared happily, and he nearly choked on his own air. Or was that some organ trying to come out of his throat the hard way? She's been sneaking in a few weapons. I'll have to try harder to comeback with a more serious jolt.

"Kinenbi.. daisuki dayo..." he said with a smirk, still chuckling as she crawled into his lap, her hands behind his head. Automatically, he stifled the chilling feeling in his gut, entwining his arms around her waist.

"And happy birthday, too, even if it is pretend." He rolled his eyes and she nuzzled up close to him. Yukito liked it when she did that. Just think, a year ago I didn't think anyone could do that to me. Not anymore. She kept with him, mingling stubbornness with something else he never got around to understanding completely, and seriously didn't want to. He had discovered that Erin was not invincible or always happy. But she was honest more often than she might have liked, and he knew that she cared when no one else did. He knew she was learning to take all the crap he was able to throw her way, and selfishly couldn't avoid handing over to her. Did you know you make it so much easier?

"Forget about that day," he said flippantly, "It sucked for both my mother and me, and probably has been annoying more than pleasant every day since then." He noticed then that their overtly-eager kissin had tipped the bill of his hat up, and he reached up to adjust it. He smirked at her, trying to will her to notice it. Because he'd done what she had laughingly told him he wouldn't. He had remembered their watching of Aladdin, when she had asked him about the streaks in her hair. And he had told her if she did, he would dye his. Pink. The bright streaks through his black hair were thicker than his thumb in each section, and stood out like hot-pink-prominence in its physical form. He watched her face and humorously asked, "So, girlfriend, what are we doing today to celebrate?"

--

Erin Spenser

"Kinenbi omedetou!" Erin tried, more sure that her words were actually what she wanted to say.

"Kinenbi.. daisuki dayo..." She could hear the laughter still in his voice, and she declined to admit that the only word she actually had understood was the one for 'I love you'. Without a thought more, Erin found her place on his lap and automatically linked her hands behind his neck, Yukito holding her waist. Probably one of her favorite gestures of his. Definitely top three. "And happy birthday, too, even if it is pretend." She missed the look he gave her for mentioning it, busying herself with nuzzling closer to him. She was just thinking how the car's AC gave a chill to his face when Yukito responded to her comment.

"Forget about that day," he said flippantly. "It sucked for both my mother and me, and probably has been annoying more than pleasant every day since then."

"Overruled," Erin countered, tone smug.

Yukito's response was to reach up and tug down on the bill of his hat, an expression on his face that Erin couldn't place. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, starting to laugh. "And I've never seen you wear a hat before, I didn't even know you owned any, why are you--?" Her rapid-fire questions were cut short by a car's long horn behind them, and Erin rolled her eyes in exasperation. She crawled back outside, picked up her bag that she'd dropped haphazardly beside his car door, and deliberately circled to the other side slowly. If they could wait in the line that long, they could wait a few more seconds. With her free hand she habitually pulled on the hem of her shirt and then tugged open the passenger door, her bag dropping on top of the usual business on the floorboard. "Fun sucker," she mumbled in reference to the driver behind them, impatient to get home for what? The afternoon news? Lame... now I forgot what I was saying... How did I get marker on these?! she noted with dissatisfaction at a spot on her dark jean bermudas. Erin poked at the spot until she remembered Yukito and the random hat that usually signified "bad hair day"... only Yukito didn't have bad hair days, or good hair days, or hair days at all for that matter-- she was pretty sure he didn't give a flying rat's tail about it. So....?

"Did you try to shave your hair off and fail? Because if you shaved your hair off I think I'd have to hurt you," she teased.

Instead of an answer, she got, "So, girlfriend, what are we doing today to celebrate?"

Erin scoffed at his stubbornness,folding her arms across the Beatles' faces. "You're really freaking stubborn, you know that, right?" She looked over at him with a smile before reaching over to grab at his hat with the intention of wearing it herself. But instead as she yanked it off backwards and her hand halfway retracted, Erin's eyes took in the sight, and her mouth fell open into a dropped jaw mingled with a wide grin. "What did you do?" she demanded, voice pitched high in surprise. Immediately Erin thrust her hands into his hair, lifting up the ridiculously loud strands to see how deep the color went, or if it was his real hair at all. "It's real!" she squealed, laughing through her incredulity, and continuing her perusal of his seemingly random dye job.

Then she remembered her own, the one Yukito had said no to and she'd ignored it. And she remembered what he'd said he'd do if she went through with that. She felt her own smile grow, floored that he'd actually meant what he'd said. "You were serious!" A statement and a question. "I can't believe you!" she forced through laughter. "All our pictures from today are gonna have you with pinkness everywhere!" She ran her hands through his hair, playfully trying to muss it as much as possible. "Ten years from now I'm gonna go back to our first real anniversary and see your ridiculous pinkness!" Her laughter continued as she dropped her face to his shoulder, her own shaking in mirth. "I love you, big frikken goofball."

Then once she'd had enough time to laugh, Erin lifted her head and gave him a kiss on his cheek. She peered at him, still grinning, but trying to play serious. "It's not a bad look, really," she decided. "Which means I get to keep the hat, right?" Erin fished for it once more and tugged it down onto her head, purposely placing the bill sideways and pretending to look tough. It only lasted for a short time before Erin started giggling again.

--

Yukito Maki
He tugged pointedly at his hat, a smug look in his eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, starting to laugh. Come on, Erin... "And I've never seen you wear a hat before, I didn't even know you owned any, why are you--?" His grin had been growing as she spoke, unable to keep the thrill of the surprise off his face or out of his eyes, but they were interrupted by an annoyed driver behind them, making Erin grumble as she crawled into the passenger seat. The way she tossed her bag in on top of his stuff make him want to chuckle - she did it with the air of someone who would always pile her things with his, and not even think about it. But maybe he was weird for noticing stuff like that. "Fun sucker,"

"Did you try to shave your hair off and fail? Because if you shaved your hair off I think I'd have to hurt you," she started the conversation again on a flippant note, prodding at her jeans as he turned the air conditioner down and made himself look busier than he actually was - he wanted to see her reaction, and driving while doing that wasn't going to be as fun. Impatience riding their ass or not.

He didn't directly answer her, but he smiled at the idea of her being so attached to his hair. Yukito sort of wanted to prod her to tell him how much she thought of his hair, but instead he asked in a pompous tone, "So, girlfriend, what are we doing today to celebrate?"

Erin scoffed and crossed her arms, the light hitting her own streakage just right and emphasizing the difference in color that wouldn't quite match his in extremity. "You're really freaking stubborn, you know that, right?"

He shrugged, just as she reached over to take the hat off - I win the bet he thought with a smirk - he looked over to see the complete and utter shock on her face. He laughed. Hard.

"What did you do?" Her voice went up into another octave in her shock, which was only more amusing.

He let the laughter die down just enough to respond in a patronizing tone, "It's called hair dye, Erin. You like?"

Her fingers flew up to his hair, running through it and testing to see if it would disappear, to assure herself of just how pink it really was. His laugh remained only as a brief chuckle, his mind distractd by the reminder that he liked it when she played with his hair. "It's real!" She squealed. He watched her face for a moment, still beaming with pride at winning such a reaction.

"I told you..." he rolled his eyes.

"You were serious! I can't believe you!" she forced through laughter. "All our pictures from today are gonna have you with pinkness everywhere!" He shrugged while she ran her fingers through the pinkosity a little more, her face glowing. "Ten years from now I'm gonna go back to our first real anniversary and see your ridiculous pinkness!"

"I figured it would be a fun way to remember it...why? Do you mind?" his eyes glimmered mischeviously up at her, his head bowed a little bit so she could run her hands through it more easily, and to see it better. His mind only half-registered what she'd really said about anniversaries...he didn't get the chance to notice how she had said 'our first' or dwell on it with a strange feeling in his chest that he liked but couldn't put words to. He shifted into first and they left the school at last, the initial response to his fun little ploy over now. The car behind them was practically steaming as they finally left.

"I love you, big frikken goofball." she giggled happily, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Love you, too." he glanced down at her when they came to their first stop sign, "What do you think of it?"

"It's not a bad look, really," she announced, and he had to admit he felt easier once she'd said that. Not that he wouldnt' have defended himself if she had gotten upset by it. She dove suddenly after the abandoned hat. "Which means I get to keep the hat, right?" She put it on crooked and made a face at him before bursting into giggles.

He rolled his eyes and let out a snort. "Whatever you want. I don't care. I'm man enough to bear it." He turned to stick his tongue out at her, still chuckling, "I'll probably change it tomorrow to the color I actually wanted to do. I just couldn't resist seeing your face..." Yukito's smile grew, and he added, "I told you I would..."

--

Erin Spenser

"Ten years from now I'm gonna go back to our first real anniversary and see your ridiculous pinkness!" Why ten years slipped out, Erin didn't know or even think about, as she laughed, brightly smiling at his general ridiculousness.

"I figured it would be a fun way to remember it...why? Do you mind?" She played around with the strands more, now recovering from her disbelief, until Yukito started to pull away into traffic. So she sat back down, head resting happily on him as he drove them. "I love you, big frikken goofball."

"Love you, too.... What do you think of it?"

She made a show of looking at him intently, registering the image as a mental picture before declaring, "It's not a bad look, really." Without another word, Erin scrambled for the abandoned hat. "Which means I get to keep the hat, right?" She really just wanted an excuse to keep--and probably wear-- something that belonged to him. Erin made a show about sticking it on her head, at least until she broke character and succumbed to giggles again.

He rolled his eyes and let out a snort. "Whatever you want. I don't care. I'm man enough to bear it." He turned to make a face at Erin, who only laughed at him a bit. "I'll probably change it tomorrow to the color I actually wanted to do. I just couldn't resist seeing your face..." Her eyes brightened in curiosity at the statement. Yukito's smile grew, and he added, "I told you I would..."

"I thought you were just messing with me, though!" she objected with a laugh. "What color did you wanna make it?" Erin tacked on eagerly, genuinely curious.

"Okay, you need to go ahead and come home with me, because I have something for you there, first, and I wanna change anyway. Okayletsgo!"

--

Yukito Maki

He rolled his eyes and let out a snort. "Whatever you want. I don't care. I'm man enough to bear it. I'll probably change it tomorrow to the color I actually wanted to do. I just couldn't resist seeing your face..." He smiled her way before adding, "I told you I would..."

"I thought you were just messing with me, though!" she objected with a laugh. "What color did you wanna make it?" Erin tacked on eagerly, genuinely curious.

"Take me seriously next time, then," he said with a smile, "And I was going to add highlights like this, big ones, with..uh...some reddish stuff and a sort of blond-white mix. I have the dye, I could show you. It's pretty colorful, but not like this." He couldn't keep the self-satisfied smirk off his face.

"Okay, you need to go ahead and come home with me, because I have something for you there, first, and I wanna change anyway. Okay-lets-go!"

He sighed, flipping his turn signal on almost as a reflex. "Fine. But you know your parents don't like me."

--

Erin Spenser

"I told you I would..."Yukito told her smugly, making Erin laugh again.

"I thought you were just messing with me, though! What color did you wanna make it?"

"Take me seriously next time, then," he said with a smile, to which Erin responded with a mock salute that bumped her hand into the bill of the commandeered hat that she immediately remedied. "And I was going to add highlights like this, big ones, with..uh...some reddish stuff and a sort of blond-white mix. I have the dye, I could show you. It's pretty colorful, but not like this."

The description made Erin bounce a little with enthusiasm. "I want to see! Are you gonna let me help?" Before he could answer, Erin continued on eagerly, "Okay, you need to go ahead and come home with me, because I have something for you there, first, and I wanna change anyway. Okayletsgo!"

Yukito sighed before consenting, " Fine. But you know your parents don't like me."

To that Erin just rolled her eyes. "Screw what they think. I like you enough to make up for it, so there. Plus it's a really good present!!" she insisted, a smile growing on her face again, her excitement revived by the reminder of her gift, and it was really hard to try to contain her enthusiasm. She tugged on the seatbelt strap crossing over her shoulder. "I hate seatbeeeellllts," she announced with annoyance. "Why do you have to be such a prude about driving, Yukito?" It started out as a serious complaint, but halfway through her sentence, Erin found herself grinning at him, silently daring him to joke back. "I love you!" she chirped as a disclaimer before laughing again. He was so endearingly ridiculous. And besides the effort to buy and use the neon hair dye, he didn't even have to give it any effort.

--

Yukito Maki

He warned her to take him more seriously the next time, and she saluted with energy, almost knocking off the too-big hat from her pretty head. The purple letters spelling out 'LOVE' glittered in the sunlight as she replaced it. In answer to her question of the color he had meant for, he responded, "And I was going to add highlights like this, big ones, with..uh...some reddish stuff and a sort of blond-white mix. I have the dye, I could show you. It's pretty colorful, but not like this." It was harder to explain than to show her.

She bounced in her seat. "I want to see! Are you gonna let me help?" He smiled, "Okay, you need to go ahead and come home with me, because I have something for you there, first, and I wanna change anyway. Okayletsgo!"

Yukito sighed, "Fine. But you know your parents don't like me."

To that Erin just rolled her eyes. Maybe she didn't know that there was more honesty in that comment than he let show. But that was his own fault for being cryptic. "Screw what they think. I like you enough to make up for it, so there. Plus it's a really good present!!" She grinned and tugged on the seatbelt strap impatiently. "I hate seatbeeeellllts," she announced with annoyance. "Why do you have to be such a prude about driving, Yukito?" she waited a moment, then tried to remedy with, "I love you!"

He started to smile and send her back a sarcastic remark, but he froze just as his mouth dropped open to speak. Yukito had realized with a start just how closely Erin and Natalie had mentioned his driving, and for some reason coming to such a conclusion made him feel guilty. Stop thinking that way. Lots of people think I drive like an old lady. He made himself smile again, and retorted with a lame, "Heeey...it's for the Volvo's sake. I don't want her to get all beaten up again." he patted the dashboard with one hand and rolled his eyes, "I missed her while she was gone, you know?" He chuckled, "I love you, too. But keep your seatbelt on, we're almost there."

--

Erin Spenser

"I hate seatbeeeellllts, Why do you have to be such a prude about driving, Yukito?" She waited a moment, then tried to remedy with, "I love you!"

"Heeey...it's for the Volvo's sake. I don't want her to get all beaten up again." Yukito patted the dashboard like it was a pet. Erin grinned at him incredulously.

"I missed her while she was gone, you know?"

"Heyyy yourself! Why's the car always gotta be a girl, huh?" Her lips bowed, and he chuckled. "I love you, too. But keep your seatbelt on, we're almost there."

"Fiine, but I still think it's a stupid rule, especially when you're going, what, 30 miles an hour?" she joked, trying to peer over at his speedometer.

As soon as the car was in park, Erin was out of the car, tugging impatiently at Yukito's hand to get him out of the driver's seat and into her living room. Inside, Erin dodged off into her bedroom to collect a change of clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. "Ten minutes!" she called. By the end of it all, and after a shower, drying and styling her hair, adjusting makeup, and finishing off her wardrobe choice, it totaled to forty-five minutes. Not including the time it was taking her to relocated Yukito's present. She searched in her room with the door closed. "Hold on just three more seconds!"

--

Yukito Maki

"Heeey...it's for the Volvo's sake. I don't want her to get all beaten up again."[/b] Yukito patted the dashboard with care. Erin grinned at him incredulously. "I missed her while she was gone, you know?"

"Heyyy yourself! Why's the car always gotta be a girl, huh?" She chuckled, so he allowed himself a smirk.

"I love you, too. But keep your seatbelt on, we're almost there." he chided her. Erin had no inkling of how much little moments like this could mean. But maybe she does...

"Fiine, but I still think it's a stupid rule, especially when you're going, what, 30 miles an hour?" she joked, trying to peer over at his speedometer. He rolled his eyes and didn't bother to answer at first, instead slowing the car down to 15 for a full block - which went by significantly slower than it had previously - then sped back up to his 'normal pace'.

"I don't cave to peer pressure." he muttered as they parked. Immediately Erin raced them up to her apartment. Yukito hesitated a little in the doorway, still feeling awkward. Were they home? Did he have to make small talk, or should he just play himself and sit silently?

"Ten minutes!" she called, disappearing. Yukito slipped off his shoes at the doorway and went to sit on the couch. He was willing to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

He let out a sigh when he noticed the shower was running, and wandered into her room. Yukito started looking around in her stuff. He wasn't sure what for - random things he could remember? It was mostly stuff he already knew. She liked bright colors, she was awful at cleaning up after herself, and she liked music as much as he did. Yukito sighed, his eyes dropping to the pile of debris by her bed as he sat down on it. It's messier than when I last saw it. For a few moments he just looked around her room, trying to imagine it as Erin's world, instead of Erin's bedroom. What does she think about when she's in here?

Hopefully some of the things I think of will never cross her mind. He shuddered and changed the direction of his thoughts, flopping down on the bed. After a fraction of a second he groaned, pulled out the spiral notebook out from under his back that had been jutting into his skin, and sighed. His eyes scanned the cover, scrawled on by Erin's signature, saying hilarious things like 'I <3 YM'. He opened it to find lyrics. Most of them mimicked his own. Partial thoughts, bits of bridges, sections of stanzas. But they differed too, and he liked hers better. For one thing, her handwriting was awful compared to his, and while his lines were neatly sporadic, an unaffected organization method of passing ideas, hers stretched across the pages in a spiral-like form. He smiled. Some of the poetry was bad, but in his opinion, none of it matched up to the god-awful crap he'd churned out in the past. After a few minutes, he got paranoid of Erin wandering in and getting upset because he'd been 'snooping', setting aside the notebook and turning instead to a different pile of stuff that flowed out from under her bed. He arched an eyebrow when he spotted a record, though. Yukito lay on his belly on the bed, leaning down to snatch up an album by Journey, of all people. He chuckled. This just fit so perfectly. His mind flickered to amusing moments with Kagasan, who happened to love Journey into a million pieces, but also his mother, who would insist they play 'Open Arms' until Yukito buried his head in the couch cushions, screeching in protest and begging for something, anything different.

Just then he heard Erin call out to him, and he looked up with a slight blush as he quickly slipped out of her room, as if guilty. Yukito dropped onto the couch again so he could look like he had been there the whole time. "You ready yet?" he asked when he heard her enter the room.

--

Erin Spenser

Okay, so it took longer than ten minutes... but Yukito wasn't going to run away on her so it was okay, plus she was spending more time for him, anyway. So it was totally okay. She'd put on a red tunic and dark, well-loved jeans, adding every piece of jewelry he'd gotten for her with enthusiasm: the necklace rested against her collarbone, the earrings dangled next to her face, the mood ring shone purple in her excitement, and the bracelet slipped onto her left arm. But she still had to look for the gift she'd made for Yukito... "Hold on just three more seconds!" she called, scrounging around her room for wherever she'd left the thing.

Ah, there it is! Erin found the little box underneath a discarded shoe and the bag for her guitar and snatched it up, then scampered into the living room. She kept her hands behind her back to "hide" her gift as she grinned excitedly at Yukito, who had apparently grown bored waiting and had sunken into the couch. "You ready yet?" he asked her, making her laugh.

"What does it look like, Yukito?" she retorted, freeing one hand to tug on the fringe of her top. "I have something for you! Close your eyes!"

Just as the order was given, the familiar sound of a key in the lock and a twist of the knob reached Erin's ears. She sighed and dropped to her seat next to Yukito. Erin had hoped they'd have more time to themselves, but noo... Still she kept the gift hidden as much as she could. By the look on his face, it was clear that Jacob Spenser hadn't expected to see the two of them there. And she knew he didn't like them in the house alone-- Erin mentally counted the seconds until the chastise came.

"I thought you had plans, Erin," her dad greeted casually, absently setting his bag filled with papers in a vacant chair.

"I do! This is part of them," she said, unable to hide the plead entirely from her voice.

The answer didn't satisfy, but he didn't press, even though she knew how it grated him... How many times had she heard what must have been one of his mantras-- No friends without one parent, especially if the friends were male. Heck, he probably didn't even think they'd kissed yet, or if he did, he wasn't going to touch that subject. Now Jacob acknowledged Yukito as he pulled out a pile of essays to read from that bag, sitting in the formerly vacant chair. "How have you been, Yukito? No longer in high school, right? Where did you decide to go for college?" His look softened with concern. "Are things going okay?"

Erin knew exactly what he was trying to get at now, and she squealed, "Stop it! Daddy, we were busy." Her dad cocked an eyebrow, and she retracted, "Oh, stop it! Can't you go grade or whatever somewhere else?" She crossed her arms with a frown, slouching back on the couch.

"I wasn't aware that I was doing anything so disruptive," came the wry response tinted with injury. "Are you going to be out tonight then?" He stood and silently obliged her, gathering his things.

"Yes."

"Home at ten-thirty. We'll call you if your late."

"What? Why?!"

" That's thirty minutes more... Did you finish your homework?"

"Daddy!"

"Be safe, then... I'll see you at ten-thirty."

Erin rolled her eyes. Not even a "have fun" or "happy for you" or anything, just "be safe", as if they were going to go do stupid things like vandalize the park or something... "Sorry," she muttered to Yukito in apology.

--

Yukito Maki

She flew past him - that was the only way to describe the way Erin
went through a room: flying - and called out another uneducated guess
at a time he knew she couldn't keep. Yukito listened to her rummaging
through her room, then smiled a little once she had returned, hiding
her 'gift' behind her back, grinning from ear to ear.

"You ready yet?" he asked. She laughed and he wasn't sure what was
funny about that. His best guess was her gift to him had to be
amusing.

"What does it look like, Yukito?" she retorted, freeing one
hand to tug on the fringe of her top. He took a moment to look her up
and down, his eyes warming when he spotted most of his previous
presents to her sparkling as today's accessory.

"It looks hot. Luckily she's already mine."

"I have something for you! Close your eyes!" He made a face at
that, and was about to argue against it. But then they were
interrupted by one of those sounds that normally are very quiet and
unnoticable, but in certain circumstances stand out more prominently
than a piano falling on cement. The key turn in the lock, Erin
flopping onto the couch next to him just as the door opened, revealing
Mr. Spenser.

Yukito glanced at both their faces and knew this wasn't planned, and
by Erin's reaction - and the dropping sensation in his gut - he was
sure it wasn't going to be too friendly a conversation anyways. He
decided to stay out of it if he could. There was a strange moment of
silence.

"I thought you had plans, Erin," her dad greeted casually,
absently setting his bag filled with papers in a vacant chair.

"I do! This is part of them," Erin told him. Yukito assumed
Erin had told her parents she would be out for the day, and he
wondered if 'I thought you had plans' was Mr. Spenser's way of asking
what had gone wrong.

Mr. Spenser sat down with some essays and turned to Yukito, who wished
inwardly that he could have been invisible to Mr. Spenser's analyzing
eyes. What grated Yukito more than the feeling that Erin's father
thought he knew so much about the human psyche and the confidence that
he could crack Yukito's code, was the fact that he was usually right
about every guess. It seemed wrong to be right so much. "How have
you been, Yukito? No longer in high school, right? Where did you
decide to go for college?"

Yukito gave the slightest of shrugs, "Uh..I have a few I'm looking
into - a few big-names for mom's sake - but I'm actually looking more
seriously at UNO." Because I love Erin and I want to be close. And
I don't care where I go to college. Because every time I go through
lists of preferences, I can't choose any. I don't care. I'm not even
sure I want to go to college anymore. But I'm thinking I should,
because then I could fill the time while Erin is at highschool still.
If I manage to speed things up, maybe I could be done not long after
she's graduated, and then we'll be freed up completely. Those are my
plans. That's where I've decided to go.

"Are things going okay?" Yukito arched an eyebrow at the tone
he detected, and the look on Mr. Spenser's face. Can you spend five
minutes without probing me? You're like a freaking personality quiz
with a face.

"Stop it! Daddy, we were busy." Her father's response to
this was an eyebrow-raise, and for some reason the expression amused
Yukito, who couldn't refrain from a twitch at the corner of his lips,
his eyes flickering towards the arm of Mr. Spenser's chair instead of
his face.

"Oh, stop it! Can't you go grade or whatever somewhere else?"
She crossed her arms with a frown, slouching back on the couch. This
was one of the reasons he didn't like being at Erin's house - every
time her parents were around it was like she had to defend him to
them, like she was constantly making excuses for him being there. He
hated that feeling.

"I wasn't aware that I was doing anything so disruptive," His
tone was always too cool, too calm and collected. But he started
collecting his things. Yukito frowned.

"No, Mr. Spenser. You don't have to move. We were about to leave
anyways." he mumbled, for some reason trying not to sound too
apologetic in his tone. His eyes flickered over to Erin.

"Are you going to be out tonight then?"

"Yes."

"Home at ten-thirty. We'll call you if your late." At this
point Yukito stood up to leave, wandering towards the doorway and then
hovering there until Erin came over, like he was attached to her by a
leash but still wanted to maintain some distance from her father. He
couldn't help listening, though, and that was the problem. Their
conversation over when she would be home, and the slightly-creepy-calm
warnings masking the worry her father constantly felt for her was like
from some silly sitcom or something. The father warning his only
daughter to be safe, trying to keep his distance but being unable to
at the same time, with his girl rolling her eyes and insisting that he
back off and cut her some slack because she was older now, and could
take care of herself a little more.

"Sorry," she muttered to Yukito in apology. He just shook his
head dismissively, turning to open the door for her, one hand
automatically touching her arm as she passed.

"See you later, Mr. Spenser," he called back over his shoulder,
hesitating in the doorway before slipping out after Erin. His mind
kept wandering back to the situation between Erin and her father, and
he was having a hard time staying focused as they went to the car.
Yukito took the hand he was holding in his and stopped her for a
second just outside the Volvo, sighing and looking her in the eyes.
For a second, he just stared at her, then a smile played at his lips,
"He didn't mention my hair."

--

Erin Spenser

Excusing herself out of the house as quickly as she could, Erin automatically apologized to Yukito as he turned to open the door. She let him give the goodbye as she scrambled halfway down the stairs, stopping on the landing to wait for him, still trying to keep her present out of sight, smiling in expectation.

One hand she left free for Yukito, who continued to hold it when he halted just outside his car. She couldn't help the growing feeling of expectation and excitement that he was about to tell her something special, maybe something really big. Instead, Erin heard, "He didn't mention my hair."

The suddenness of Yukito's observation overshadowed the fleeting let-down, and Erin laughed. "Sure, he did! 'You're out of high school now.'" She briefly shook her head. "Nah, he won't mention it directly if you're there, but he'll probably try to mention it oh-so-casually later, like I won't pick up on that or something?" She rolled her eyes, ready to be done with that subject, and finally presented her little gift to him-- a very thin square box covered in a too-shiny silver wrapping paper.

"Okay, open it!" she insisted, bouncing a little on the balls of her feet. She was especially excited about this one, a CD with a playlist of songs she'd compiled that she hoped would mean to Yukito what they meant to her. Erin had done her best with making a cover and track listing for the back of the case, which really hadn't turned out bad at all-- it looked pretty abstract, so it wasn't super cheesy or anything, all colored black, white, and red in its boldness. She'd listed all the tracks on the back:

1. Weezer-- Buddy Holly
2. Coldplay-- Yellow
3. Lifehouse-- You and Me
4. Matt Nathanson-- Come on Get Higher
5. Phil Colins- Groovy Kind of Love
6. Beatles-- I Wanna Hold your Hand
7. Sixpense None the Richer-- Kiss Me [Japanese release]
8. Oasis-- Wonderwall
9. 12 Stones-- Hey Love
10. Emery-- Walls
11. Offspring-- Hammerhead
12. Lifehouse-- Breathing
13. Aerosmith- I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing
14. The Last Goodnight-- In Your Arms
15. Goo Goo Dolls-- Iris
16. Plain White T's-- 1234*
17. Anberlin-- Love Song*
18. Bon Jovi-- Livin' on a Prayer*


The last three she'd put stars by because they were special recordings... Special in the sense that they were now unreleased covers from Veritas that she only planned on giving to Yukito, because they'd only been made for him. She hadn't bothered to explain why she insisted on going on a cover spree to her guys when they'd recorded them, and they'd been wary to ask. And she refrained, somehow, from springing this information onto Yukito. She kind of wanted him to automatically play it in the car and maybe jump around and accidentally find her voice coming out of his speakers. But even if he didn't he'd hear that eventually, and he'd know it was for him, so it was okay. She just wanted to do something that she'd know would connect, and Erin was sure she'd hit the nail on the head this time.

--

Yukito Maki

Erin laughed at his comment that her father didn't notice the pink hair. "Sure, he did! 'You're out of high school now.'" She briefly shook her head. "Nah, he won't mention it directly if you're there, but he'll probably try to mention it oh-so-casually later, like I won't pick up on that or something?" She rolled her eyes and brought out whatever it was she had been hiding - to be honest, Yukito had forgotten about this alleged 'present' - and offered it to him, her eyes sparkling.

"Aw...Erin..." he said in that tone people use when they're about to say 'you shouldn't have' or something to that effect, but figure the tone said it all anyways, so they let the sentences dangle. "I love you. Thanks."

"Okay, open it!" She bounced as he tore off the silvery wrapping paper, revealing a mix CD created with love. His eyes widened as he realized she must have actually spent a lot of time creating the cover, with all the songs listed on it and everything. She really goes all out. I feel bad because I bought her stuff instead of making anything for her.

"Wow...that's really cool, Erin." He flipped over the CD to read the songlist, and he couldn't keep the smile off his face as he read the list. "You have the two songs I played with you and your band on here..." Any song on the list that wasn't a catchy and memorable love song held or would hold a special meaning between them, and that made him relinquish a happy sigh as he read the back four times. After a moment, his smile morphed into a curious expression, and he mumbled, "What're the stars for? Special tracks?"

He looked up into her face, his smirk returning. "Thanks. Really." Yukito leaned forward to kiss her on the lips, chuckling a little with realization. "I have a surprise for you, too. If we can fit it in your plans somewhere...If not we can do it tomorrow. I'm flexible." He tilted his head to the side, as if doubtful, "Mm...but unfortunately, it's not something I can wrap or anything. And it's not really something you can use afterwards. Well, not really. But it's something I want to show you." He pulled her close, the CD held in both hands against the small of her back. Yukito smirked, "It's kind of weird, and maybe a bit selfish, but I want to show you the way I celebrate my birthday. Instead of the whole party thing and gifts." The expression he held was still smiling, but there was a solemnity behind his eyes as they met hers. "I want to share it with you."

--

Erin Spenser

And of course, he had to start on that whole, "you didn't need to," thing blah, blah, etc.... Fortunately he didn't get far before finally finishing with, "I love you. Thanks."

"Okay, open it!" she replied automatically, eager to see his reaction.

"Wow...that's really cool, Erin." Awww, come on, Yukito, isn't it worth more than just that? But she made herself wait-- he hadn't really opened it all the way until he listened all the way through. "You have the two songs I played with you and your band on here..."

"Yeaahh," she drawled out with a little laugh.

"What're the stars for? Special tracks?"

Augh, you're making it so hard to not ruin the surprise! Stop that! She smiled wide, laughter bubbling out a bit more now. "Sure, that's what they are, we'll go with that!"

"Thanks. Really." He punctuated the thanks with a kiss, which, really, tended to communicate better than the overused 'thanks' anyway. He could have saved himself the trouble; she would've been totally okay with that. "I have a surprise for you, too." Her smile brightened in anticipation. Yes!!! "If we can fit it in your plans somewhere...If not we can do it tomorrow. I'm flexible."

"Nooo, Yukito!" she insisted, pulling him to her in a hug. "You can't make me wait til tomorrow now that you said it! That's just mean," Erin informed him with a playful expression.

He tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "Mm...but unfortunately, it's not something I can wrap or anything. And it's not really something you can use afterwards. Well, not really. But it's something I want to show you."

"Okay!"

He pulled her close, the CD held in both hands against the small of her back, smirking. "It's kind of weird, and maybe a bit selfish, but I want to show you the way I celebrate my birthday. Instead of the whole party thing and gifts." What? You told me you celebrated by not celebrating or something... "I want to share it with you."

Aww...! She answered him with a kiss, only a bit longer than his last one to her, before telling him, "Okay, let's go so you can show me!" And with that Erin scrambled out of his embrace and into the passenger's seat. "We are going somewhere, right?"

--

Yukito Maki

"What're the stars for? Special tracks?" he asked, wondering if he was gonna be listening to a remix version or something. When he glanced up at her, he could tell she was dying to tell him, but was refraining.

"Sure, that's what they are, we'll go with that!" He pulled her closer to thank her, and ended up just kissing her. It was simpler to do that from the first. Why didn't he ever remember that? Then he found himself telling her about his surprise, saying that they could push it to the next day if she had the day too full. He was trying not to chicken out of it at the last second so he'd gone and blabbed to her today, instead of the day before his birthday like he'd planned. Because once he mentioned something like that, Erin wouldn't forget it.

"Nooo, Yukito!" she insisted, pulling him to her in a hug. "You can't make me wait til tomorrow now that you said it! That's just mean,"

He arched an eyebrow. "What about your curfew, young lady?" A laugh escaped him, then he tilted his head to reassess her and their situation. "Mm...but unfortunately, it's not something I can wrap or anything. And it's not really something you can use afterward. Well, not really. But it's something I want to show you."

"Okay!" Erin was always eager. For anything new. He pulled her close, the CD held in both hands against the small of her back, smirking.

"It's kind of weird, and maybe a bit selfish, but I want to show you the way I celebrate my birthday. Instead of the whole party thing and gifts. I want to share it with you."

After a second of watching him with an adorable expression, she moved forward to give him a kiss. A teasing one that made him lean forward only a fraction of a second too late to prolong it four times as much as before, instead of the three times he had to suffice with. Erin vanished into the car, reminding him of a four-year-old ready to go to the park. "Okay, let's go so you can show me! We are going somewhere, right?"

He shook his head and laughed, leaning down towards her seat with one hand leaning on the top of the car above her door. "You want to go right now?" Yukito rolled his eyes and sighed, closing her door and walking casually to the other side, slipping his cell phone out of his pocket as he went and sending a text while simultaneously getting into the car. When he was finished, he looked up at her with a smile and put the cell in his pocket. "Buckle up or I'm not starting the car." he said cheerfully, reaching for his own buckle. After a minute or two, they were setting off towards the community theatre. There were only two other cars in the parking lot. Once the car was turned off, he found himself unable to keep a smile off of his face, refusing to say anything until they had gotten to the stage door out back. He jiggled the knob a little, and found it unlocked, pulling it open and gesturing for Erin to go in first. Yukito slipped in and took her hand in his, ready to explain a little bit more now as they walked down the hall, only the light from the door leading the way.

"It started when I was kinda little, I guess. Some years I skipped the tradition, which I guess makes it a broken one, but it doesn't really matter. Anyways, my dad was always really musical, and that rubbed off on me. I've been playing the guitar for a long, long time. It was my dad's main instrument. But whereas dad was into the older rock...you know, AC/DC, Black Sabbath...Led Zeppelin..." he smiled, "Mom was stereotypically into classical and pop love songs. So she wanted her bit too, I guess. And she had me take piano lessons with the guitar. At the time, I was really happy about it. Two weeks later I hated the lessons more than anything." He automatically turned left down the hallway, ignoring the numerous options on their way to the stage as he talked, "I'm glad I had the piano, now. Once everything went down with my dad, I basically burned my guitar and swore off him entirely. I would've sworn off music but mom kept insisting that I didn't have to lose that part of me. After all, there're billions of songs in the world, millions of artists, hundreds of genres. Why should I hate them all because one guy... in one group... messed with me like that?" He sighed, and shrugged, then stopped in the next doorway to face her. "Mom didn't convince me to keep music. That was someone else. But she really helped. Even after we left dad behind, even after all the issues we went through, I kept up our tradition on my birthday. Mostly to make her happy, I told her. But really, it's something else. There's something in it I can't exactly explain, but I like it. And I don't want to let it go. Even if it's just a silly little tradition that takes only a little of my time." He smirked. "Every year, on some day around my birthday, I play the piano for my mother. Her request, any song she wants. If she wants one I haven't learned, she has to tell me in advance...but.." he rolled his eyes, "She usually sticks to same ones." He leaned forward for emphasis, wanting her to remember, "Genesis, Maroon 5, sometimes Queen or something like that. This year she chose Savage Garden...and Journey." He smirked, stepping into the auditorium. His mother was waiting by the grand piano that had been pulled out into the middle of the stage. She was sitting there, smiling at the doorway in jeans and a button-up shirt with warm colors. Korkoro saw Erin and her smile faltered a little, looking wounded, but she stood up to greet them nonetheless.

"Yukitokun...Erinchan..."

--

Erin Spenser

"Okay, let's go so you can show me! We are going somewhere, right?" she said, waiting for him to join her in the car.

He shook his head and laughed, leaning down towards her seat with one hand leaning on the top of the car above her door. "You want to go right now?"

"You told me we were!" she argued back lightly, smiling easily. Yukito rolled his eyes and sighed, closing her door and walking around to come sit on the driver's side. "Buckle up or I'm not starting the car,"came the chipper order as he reached for his own. "Freaking driving Nazi," Erin muttered with a playful smile as she conceded. "You should let me drive... We might get there before the freaking curfew."

He'd driven her to the place where the community theater did all their plays, and Erin looked at him, totally baffled. "You spend your birthdays in empty theaters? That's... uuh.. unique," she joked, laughing a little as she pretended to find the right word.

Yukito didn't answer her with anything but a smile as he led her into the building. "Okay... creepy factor slowly increases..." she mumbled as he led her down the hall a bit. At least then he finally started to talk a little, and she grinned, chalking that up as a little victory for her.

"It started when I was kinda little, I guess. Some years I skipped the tradition, which I guess makes it a broken one, but it doesn't really matter. Anyways, my dad was always really musical, and that rubbed off on me. I've been playing the guitar for a long, long time. It was my dad's main instrument. But whereas dad was into the older rock...you know, AC/DC, Black Sabbath...Led Zeppelin... Mom was stereotypically into classical and pop love songs. So she wanted her bit too, I guess. And she had me take piano lessons with the guitar. At the time, I was really happy about it. Two weeks later I hated the lessons more than anything." Erin laughed, the sound echoing about the empty walls as he took her around a corner, still leaving her clueless. "I'm glad I had the piano, now. Once everything went down with my dad, I basically burned my guitar and swore off him entirely. I would've sworn off music but mom kept insisting that I didn't have to lose that part of me. After all, there're billions of songs in the world, millions of artists, hundreds of genres. Why should I hate them all because one guy... in one group... messed with me like that?" The way he was talking to her, it made Erin feel like she must have been honored to hear him speaking so freely about things that had to be so private, so difficult and uncomfortable. And he chose to let her be a part of it. Even though what he was telling her was tainted with sadness, she relished the opportunity to listen to him speaking openly and sharing with her this way. And I love hearing your voice when you talk, too. I kind of wish you would do that more often, but I guess then I'd get spoiled to it and wouldn't like it as much...

Now he'd stopped in front of a door that Erin figured led to the main stage. "Mom didn't convince me to keep music. That was someone else. But she really helped. Even after we left dad behind, even after all the issues we went through, I kept up our tradition on my birthday. Mostly to make her happy, I told her. But really, it's something else. There's something in it I can't exactly explain, but I like it. And I don't want to let it go. Even if it's just a silly little tradition that takes only a little of my time."

"Silly can be good," Erin responded quietly, just for the need to say something to let him know she'd been listening. And maybe to encourage him to continue. I wish there was more I could say besides that... I feel like there's too much I don't know about you still, and I want to hear it all...

He smirked. "Every year, on some day around my birthday, I play the piano for my mother. Her request, any song she wants. If she wants one I haven't learned, she has to tell me in advance...but.." he rolled his eyes, and Erin laughed a little, feeling she knew what was coming. "She usually sticks to same ones. Genesis, Maroon 5, sometimes Queen or something like that." I like those, too... don't give me that look, she thought to him jokingly. "This year she chose Savage Garden...and Journey." He smirked, then walked into the auditorium. Erin looked around the empty place, eyes settling on the gorgeous piano waiting happily for someone to play. Oooh... I want to play that....! Because of this, it took Erin longer to register that they weren't alone, and the piano already had a friend nearby. Oooh right, he said he played for his mom... awww that's so sweet! "Konnichiwa, Makisan!" she chirped with a wave. It was hard to feel any kind of resentment against her when she was in the same room, and when she had always been so nice to Erin...

"Yukitokun...Erinchan..."

Brightly, Erin scampered up to the striking piano and automatically played through a melody as she waited for Yukito to take over. It's sooo prettyyy... When she found Yukito again, Erin found herself laughing brightly and looked briefly at Makisan simultaneously gesturing to Yukito. "Lookit how pink he is!" she chirped with some more laughter, happily ruffling more of his multicolored strands. "I haven't taken any pictures yet!" she observed, feigning shock over her slowness. "Are you gonna play now?" she switched to asking eagerly.

--

CON'T

[GGJ5]

Yukito Maki

He'd driven her to the place where the community theater did all their plays, and Erin looked at him, totally baffled. "You spend your birthdays in empty theaters? That's... uuh.. unique," he didn't really answer that, just smiling quietly to himself and unable to wipe the expression away. He gestured for her to enter the unlocked door, and she stepped in tentatively. "Okay... creepy factor slowly increases..." He chuckled, then slipped his hand into hers and led her down the hallway. He took the time to explain to her - kind of at length, really - about his birthday tradition. Erin surprised him by not interrupting at all, smiling and listening quietly.

"Mom didn't convince me to keep music. That was someone else. But she really helped. Even after we left dad behind, even after all the issues we went through, I kept up our tradition on my birthday. Mostly to make her happy, I told her. But really, it's something else. There's something in it I can't exactly explain, but I like it. And I don't want to let it go. Even if it's just a silly little tradition that takes only a little of my time."

"Silly can be good," Erin responded quietly. He smirked.

"Every year, on some day around my birthday, I play the piano for my mother. Her request, any song she wants. If she wants one I haven't learned, she has to tell me in advance...but.." he rolled his eyes, and Erin laughed a little, "She usually sticks to same ones. Genesis, Maroon 5, sometimes Queen or something like that. This year she chose Savage Garden...and Journey" He led her into the auditorium, and Erin's eyes sparkled as she took in the surroundings, and he watched her eyes settle on the grand piano with an eager gleam.

"Konnichiwa, Makisan!" she chirped with a wave to his mother, who stood waiting with a demure look.

"Yukitokun...Erinchan..." she greeted them as she walked over, looking more casual today than she did approximately 350 other days of the year. Yukito chuckled as Erin was pulled like a magnet to the side of the piano, her fingers reaching for the keys, playing a little melody. Yukito looked up at his mother, shoved his hands into his pockets, and started over slowly.

"Hey.." he mumbled. Korkoro smiled at him.

"You changed your hair..." she spoke even more quietly than him. Her fingers worked nervously, clasped in front of her as they stood a few awkward feet apart.

"Yeah." his eyes averted to the many seats in front of the stage, the dimmness of the building really hitting him when he glanced out into the shadowy lack of audience. He waited, knowing she wouldn't comment because he knew she didn't like the hair. "I'm not coming home, mother. But some things shouldn't die. I want this part to stay happy."

"Yukito..." her voice was pleading, but he moved to lean over Erin's shoulder, smiling again.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked in a thick, teasing voice.

"Lookit how pink he is!" Erin commented to his mother, punctuating the remark with a merry laugh. She reached up, unable to stop herself from touching it again. "I haven't taken any pictures yet!" she observed. He rolled his eyes.

"You'll have plenty of opportunities. I promise."

"Are you gonna play now?" she asked. He nodded.

"If you'll excuse me..." he took hold of her jeans and gently tugged her to the end of the piano bench, sitting in its center right next to her. Sending a smile his mother's way, (she had moved to stand at the right side of the piano, leaning against the side of the instrument) he started on a scale, making it perhaps a little more elaborate than usual to show off.

Korkoro moved a little closer, her smile proud as she whispered, "How about 'Truly Madly Deeply'?"

Yukito shrugged. It was an easy one. Nothing fun about it if you didn't put the right emotion into it. He started in on the most popular Savage Garden song ever. A slow, sappy love ballad that he started thinking about differently now, when he was singing it to his mother and Erin. His mom swayed gently to the music, closing her eyes. He sang it differently than the original - heavier and not so delicately, and he substituted some of the riffs for his own.

"I'll be your dream
I'll be your wish
I'll be your fantasy...

I'll be your hope
I'll be your love
Be everything that you need..."

--

Erin Spenser

Erin had been so preoccupied by the piano that she hadn't heard a word of the exchange between Yukito and Makisan, and she jumped a little when Yukito caught her off guard, asking teasingly, "Are you enjoying yourself?"

Her only answer to that was a laugh until she spotted his new look again and pointed out to Makisan, "Lookit how pink he is!" She reached up, unable to stop herself from touching it again. "I haven't taken any pictures yet!" she observed. He rolled his eyes.

"You'll have plenty of opportunities," Yukito told her. "I promise."

Erin pumped her first against the air briefly, as if she'd just won some little contest that had a col bonus prize. Then she broke character and grinned at him brightly. "Are you gonna play now?"

Yukito nodded. "If you'll excuse me..." he took hold of her jeans and gently tugged her to the end of the piano bench, sitting in its center right next to her. She really liked the way he did that, did he know?

Yukito ran his fingers along the keys, waiting for the go-ahead from his mother (which reminded Erin that she kind of wished it was just her and Yukito, and he would sing just to her, and for her, but then it would ruin the whole beauty of the tradition and including her in the family kind of thing... which is kind of what was happening, right?). "How about 'Truly Madly Deeply'?" Makisan suggested softly, the truth behind Yukito's words becoming apparent and making Erin smile lightly as she watched closely the movements of his hands. It's like moving art, she thought fleetingly, and immediately reminded herself to never ever let that thought slip out of her lips.

No question about it, she decided within the first stanza-- Yukito's cover was by far the best. And even if she wasn't biased, it would still be true, Erin knew, because he knew just how to take something so known and make it sound like it came from him. Erin watched him play, listening in pure contentment, forgetting that Makisan was even there and feeling like the words she'd heard in at least six movies when the song was played had actually been written for them.

The last notes trailing off, falling crystalline into her ears, and Erin still felt as though it was all just them. She found herself waiting for more from Yukito, not feeling like the moment had ended, and Erin didn't waste more than a moment to wrap Yukito in a delighted hug. She lifted her eyes up to him, immediately meeting his lips with a kiss, and only then remembering the other presence in the room. She quickly parted, feeling the uncommon hints of embarrassment heating her face. Crap! Awkward... "Sorry," she spouted demurely, an apologetic and awkward smile on her face as she glanced down at the keys. I wonder if there's any pianos left with real ivory keys...

--

I want to stand with you on a mountain
I want to bathe with you in the sea
I want to lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me....


He liked the feeling of her sitting next to him so much it was starting to hurt. Yukito had to stop himself from wondering about how lucky he was, and questioning if he deserved to have her there, watching him. He glanced to see the happy glittering in her large brown eyes, and suddenly the breath support was a little more difficult to keep in check. But even if he wasn't singing as strongly as he would have liked, he tried to make up for it by expressing what he was feeling in the lyrics – the easy-to-find lyrics in his mind from millions of occasions hearing them, easy-to-believe lyrics that he didn't have to think too much about – and he was thankful he was accompanying today. Otherwise his hands wouldn't have been busy enough to keep him focused on the song. This feels so right it hurts. I actually feel real, physical pain in my chest when you sit close to me with that look on your face.

He finished, letting the piano trail off gently on its own. I really like the feel of this one. Not too rough but not too soft, either. It has a really beautiful tone to it. He turned to glance up at his mother, who was crying – already? It usually takes her longer - and was surprised to feel Erin's arms wrapped around him. Not the breathless-circulation-lost glomp she usually gave, but one of her gentler ones, the ones that made him remember she wasn't always so easy-going and relentlessly cheerful. One of the things he loved about her was that she could be serious when she wished. She wasn't always one way or the other, and he felt like that was okay. He turned his head around to smile down at her and found her lips finding his in the most natural way. Yukito chuckled into the kiss, feeling his mother's gaze moments before Erin did. She pulled back and he chuckled harder at the embarrassed look on her face.


"Sorry," she murmured, her eyes falling to the keys.

”Don't be,” Korkoro added in a subdued voice, tears still reflecting in her eyes. She seemed to have her mind someplace else entirely.

Yukito sent his mother a smug look, and a shrug, “See, mother? She just can't resist me. It's not my fault.”

His mother rolled her eyes as if she was now regretting many of her compliments, and leaned down on the piano with her chin in her hands. ”Journey next, Yukitokun...”

“Which one?”

”Mmm...” she closed her eyes with a smile, ”My favorite one.”
Yukito sighed, laid his hands on the keys again, then smiled up at Erin. “My mother can't pick a song that's unpopular. Goes against her very DNA. And she doesn't even pick the interesting ones. Like...” He chuckled, then instead of doing the song requested he started pounding out the beginnings of another popular song.

“You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain
Too much love drives a man insane...
You broke my will..”
He leaned over and stole a quick kiss from Erin, deepening it quickly for the short amount of time he could feel her warmth against his lips.


“But what a thrill...
Goodness, gracious
Great balls of fire!”


The high note was effectively screeched out – he didn't like his upper voice and didn't care much about it most of the time. By this point his mother was doubled over in her laughter, and he chuckled along with her, his insides aching before were now churning in a good sort of pain he kept pushing towards. He held up his hands in defeat, “Okay, okay, seriously now..I can do this...” His fingers splayed out across the keys and somehow the opening melodies of 'Open Arms' started to ring out. Yukito leaned over a little until his entire arm could brush against Erin while he played, and his face tried to switch over from the upbeat song to yet another love song for his mother. He normally wouldn't have done something like that, and the look in his eyes told him his mother would probably mention it later. Because Erin was here. And he had more fun when she was around. It wasn't that he didn't care how she saw him or thought of him – he didn't know anyone else whose opinion mattered so much to him – but she made him feel like she could accept all the shades of him. Dark or not.

“That song is harder to sing. It's a little too high for me...” he commented afterwards to fill the awkward moment of silence, sitting back from the keyboard. Yukito let out a sigh and stretched his arm in front of him as if he was tired. “Problem is, I'll have it stuck in my head all next week.”

--

Erin Spenser

Even after feeling so familiar with being around Makisan, she was still Makisan and it was really weird to think of kissing her son in front of her. And weird as in awkward, and sort of like she was breaking a code. "Sorry."

"Don't be," came her muted response, taking Erin by surprise. Oh...kay...

Of course, Yukito was surprised by nothing, and clearly unfazed as usual. "See, mother? She just can't resist me. It's not my fault."

Smiling, Erin shifted her gaze to the dim lights reflecting on her bracelet, habitually twisting her hair around her forefinger. She glanced over at Yukito after Makisan gave another request. Something from Journey.

"Which one?"

"Mmm... My favorite one."

Erin watched Yukito sigh, she trying hard not to demand what song that was, curiosity poking her in the side over and over as he told her, “My mother can't pick a song that's unpopular. Goes against her very DNA. And she doesn't even pick the interesting ones. Like...” He chuckled, and his fingers attacked the keys in what was possibly one of the most recognizable intros to a song in the 20th century. Erin's smile broadened at his interpretation of Jerry Lee Lewis, which, yeah, was definitely more interesting. He took the rest in the stanza to catch her mid-smile in another kiss, making her laugh as he finished out the rest of the opening lines.

He held up his hands in defeat, leaving Erin still with bubbles of laughter sneaking out. “Okay, okay, seriously now..I can do this...” Erin scoffed, silently teasing him that he couldn't. Of course, he did, despite (or in spite) of her. And without even apparently trying, Yukito managed to snag her attention completely again. Did he know just how enchanting he could be to her? And she could even tell he wasn't singing it perfectly. That sometimes he was struggling for the notes and the breath. And he kept going, singing and playing like he meant it despite its gigantic cliched nature. That was what kept her, it had to be. His imperfect rendition made it all his, and somehow that made it ten times better. In spite of the mistakes, he continued to amaze her. Or because of the mistakes.

“That song is harder to sing. It's a little too high for me...” Yukito explained for himself when he'd finished.

Erin smiled coyly, twisting the chain of her necklace. "I liked it, though... I mean, you made it work for you. There's no point to singing something if you're just gonna sound like the original anyway..."

“Problem is, I'll have it stuck in my head all next week.”

That gave Erin another reason to laugh. "Then you just have to sing something else to un-stick it then. Unless you want me to un-stick it for you..."

--

Yukito Maki

He liked to make her laugh like that, smiling roguishly as he stole a kiss from her in the middle of a stanza. Afterwards, laughter alone echoed through the auditorium. Yukito held up his hands in defeat. “Okay, okay, seriously now..I can do this...”

Erin scoffed, silently teasing him that he couldn't. So he pulled a complete emotional one-eighty and started in on Open Arms by Journey. Living without you...living alone...
Yukito had a hard time not glancing over to gauge their reactions every few seconds. He opted for just focusing on the song - his more logical, get-to-practice-on-time side taking over - and that helped it get through while still pulling off the desperate plea of a love song. Was it happy? Right now it was, to him. It was like he was accepting the bad parts and the hidden expectation of disappointment, and it was developing into something he couldn't repress, couldn't hide himself from. He had to tell about it. He had to try at this love thing that pulled him beneath the cover of the world's rules like a dark coverlet. Afterwards, some burdens just seemed lighter.

There was a moment of silence afterwards that he filled with a dull comment. “That song is harder to sing. It's a little too high for me...”

"I liked it, though... I mean, you made it work for you. There's no point to singing something if you're just gonna sound like the original anyway..." He turned to look at her and he watched her play with her necklace.

"You did wonderful, Yuyukun..." His mother commented. Yukito felt an added strangeness to the situation. Before, the endless optimism and compliments from his mother had been easily brushed aside. Now he felt guilty for it, because both of them were saying it.

He struggled to cover for it, his hands brushing up and down the keys but not a note escaping. “Problem is, I'll have it stuck in my head all next week.”

Erin laughed, "Then you just have to sing something else to un-stick it then. Unless you want me to un-stick it for you..."

"Well..." his mother beamed, "I think it's Erinchan's turn to choose a song anyways. What if you did a duet?"

Moooom.... Yukito sighed, an infectious smile on his lips. He turned to Erin with an expectant look. "You up for it? I can't really say I wouldn't welcome a change. But I have no ideas on what we could do."

--

Erin Spenser

“Problem is, Yukito said, "I'll have it stuck in my head all next week.”

Erin laughed. "Then you just have to sing something else to un-stick it then. Unless you want me to un-stick it for you..."

"Well..." Makisan put in, "I think it's Erinchan's turn to choose a song anyways. What if you did a duet?"

Yukito sighed, but he was still smiling, making Erin think he didn't mind the suggestion as much as he would like to pretend. He turned to look at Erin and asked, "You up for it? I can't really say I wouldn't welcome a change. But I have no ideas on what we could do."

Erin laughed again, easily. "That's because most duets are either painfully mushy or kinda depressing. Or half-country," she added as an afterthought and a wrinkled nose. "What about the Seether one they did with Amy Lee? It goes in the kinda-depressing category but it's still kinda sweet and I like the harmonizing and the music's good. Yes? No? Yess?" She grinned, raising her hands in an "I don't know" gesture over-emphasized.

--

OOC: www.lyrics-p.com/authors/seether-feat-amy-lee/seether-feat-amy-lee-broken-chords.shtml :3
BIC:

Yukito Maki

The suggestion of a duet made a little spark flicker on in Erin's eyes. "You up for it? I can't really say I wouldn't welcome a change. But I have no ideas on what we could do." He tossed the ball back in her court, and she let out a little laugh.

"That's because most duets are either painfully mushy or kinda depressing. Or half-country,"she added as an afterthought and a wrinkled nose. "What about the Seether one they did with Amy Lee? It goes in the kinda-depressing category but it's still kinda sweet and I like the harmonizing and the music's good. Yes? No? Yess?" She grinned, raising her hands in an "I don't know" gesture over-emphasized.

Yukito touched his chin with one hand, considering. "Hmmm...one second. Mother?" he turned to meet her eyes, reaching out to her with another hand. "Can I borrow your phone for a minute?"

With a confused look, she handed over the iphone, and he took it in both his hands, flipping through the touch screens with one finger, opening up safari, and googling for 'seether amy lee duet'. "It's called 'Broken'." He told her, googling for the chords. It took awhile to load, and he pursed his lips, fingers tapping on the piano lid. When it slowly - agonizingly slow - loaded, he bent down close to the small screen and skimmed the coupled sets of letters. "Okay. I can do that." He set the iphone up against the piano, prodding at several of the chords, then nodding at Erin. "Ready?"

The intro was simplistic, but as he led into the song he tried to remember some of the accompaniment and added it in, missing sometimes and making efforts to make those guesses work into it. Improvisation was important here. "I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh..." he sang with a serious expression, meeting Erin's eyes. "I wanted to hold you high and steal your pain away...."

There was definitely a difference in the sound, ignoring his own accent/vocal style. It was even stranger and gentler than an acoustic version. As soon as Erin joined him in the chorus, he felt goosebumps up and down his arms, making him smile. "'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome..." You pick good ones, Erin.

--

Erin Spenser

After she'd told him, Erin realized she hadn't considered he might not know that particular song. He looked like he was considering it, whether it was worth their time or not, and Erin watched curiously. Until her eyes were drawn to his hair again, and she giggled to herself. Haha... pink...

By the time her attention had gotten back to what Yukito was doing, he was playing on an iPhone that Erin knew didn't belong to him, registering now that he'd jut snagged it from Makisan. "Ooh.. I like that phone a lot. I kinda been wanting one like that, but my parents won't pay for it."

"It's called 'Broken'," Yukito said, digging a little more into the internet, Erin peering closely over his shoulder. She couldn't help but giggle a little then. "I know what it's called, Yukito. I was the one that mentioned it." She grinned to watch his impatient habits waiting for the browser to load. It was funny to see him impatient now. She prodded out a little snippet on the keys closest to her without really thinking, too busy watching him until he finally sat back from reading the screen, confident he could manage the few chords. You're so freaking endearing.

She heard the familiar pitches as Yukito voiced, "Ready?"

She nudged him a little by way of response. "You start."

For not really knowing the song as well as he'd like, he managed to recover from his slip-ups pretty well-- she couldn't help but notice the parts that didn't sound quite on-- but he made it so easy for her to join in, and it felt so nice for their voices to melt together, even for that one phrase before he dropped out and she picked up. "I'm broken when I'm lonesome, and I don't feel right when you're gone away..." And sure, maybe she was biased and too caught up in the sounds and melodies, but she thought they sounded amazing. She preferred the way their voices meshed and Yukito's playing to the original, Erin decided in the back of her mind, more taken with enjoying the experience with him. Even if she hadn't warmed up any, and even though she'd said if one more person compared her to Amy Lee, she'd knock their nose. It was her, and him, connecting now in a way that transcended place, time, language... Or maybe she was pathetically more romantic than she'd ever realized herself. Either way, it didn't matter, because Erin had discovered how much she loved singing with him, almost as much as she loved being with him, period.

By the end of the song, Erin's head rested against Yukito's shoulder, her arm around him and gently resting on the other shoulder. "We sound so freaking amazing together," she noted breezily, a blissful expression on her face.

--

Yukito Maki

"It's called 'Broken'," he commented aloud, staring into the screen. He could feel Erin over his shoulder, and he felt her breath on his neck as she giggled, "I know what it's called, Yukito. I was the one that mentioned it." He didn't respond, looking up the chords, waiting impatiently for it to load, then testing it out. Okay, I can do that. He turned to see if she was ready.

She nudged him a little by way of response. "You start."


"I'm broken when I'm lonesome,
And I don't feel right when you're gone away..."

He smiled over at her, feeling her slight movement as she took in each breath and letting it out in liquid sound to mesh with him. It was like they didn't have to care if they could keep saying it. Yukito always loved as well as hated it when an artist could so perfectly find the right words to fit an idea, an emotion, a fleeting feeling that he couldn't quite pin down into lyrics. He was always striving for that, always pushing for it. And he envied the songs that accomplished it. But singing it and being able to enjoy that blissful moment of contact made it all the more sweeter that his criticisms were less founded and less determined to be compiled in his mind. He was able to just let go and sing with her, wrapping around her voice with his own much better than his fingers would ever find the keys.

By the end of the song, Erin's head rested against Yukito's shoulder, her arm around him and gently resting on the other shoulder. "We sound so freaking amazing together," she noted breezily, a blissful expression on her face. He chuckled, ignoring the quiet applause of his mother.

"Yeah...that's a fantastic harmony there..." That didn't sound right to him. It sounded too cold for what had just been flying through the air around them, so he kissed her head affectionately and murmured, "You've made me fall in love with that song now."

"That was beautiful..." Korkoro breathed, "I think I have chills." She sighed, and Yukito stared at the keys, touching them gently with his hands and pretending to play them, his hand barely brushing. "Your father used to be able to do that with a huge crowd of people... he could hold them in the palm of his hand."

Yukito didn't respond, not allowing any outward signs of the confusing, conflicting thoughts in his head shine through. Korkoro didn't mention it again, turning quickly to a more agreeable subject. Her subconscious task had been completed - Yukito inwardly swore as he realized she was planting seeds of thought that he couldn't exactly refuse entirely.

"One more, Yukito, then I'll let you two be, I promise." She tapped her chin delicately, thinking, then a smile slowly grew across her lips, "Phil Collins' Against All Odds." Yukito rolled his eyes. Unfortunately for him, she added in a coy voice, "You hummed that one a lot last December."

"Shutup, mom." he growled at her, half-playfully, half trying to keep the embarrassment off his face. It only made her giggle. He hated it when she did that. "It didn't help that you kept playing it all summer long." He turned to Erin with a partially formed frown and offered, "Last song, then we can go do whatever it is you planned today? We've been here over an hour..."

--

Erin Spenser

By the end of the song, Erin's head rested against Yukito's shoulder, her hand reaching across behind him to lightly lay on his other side. "We sound so freaking amazing together," she said airily, not missing the light applause from Makisan. She liked that she'd merited applause from her.

"Yeah...that's a fantastic harmony there..." Aww, that's it? But just then he surprised her with a kiss on her head, adding, "You've made me fall in love with that song now."

Her smile broadened. "Good," she chirped and kissed his cheek in return. And you fell in love with me, too, right? She'd have to ask later.

"That was beautiful..." Makisan said quietly. "I think I have chills." Erin wanted to shake her head, chalking the comment up to the collection of standard feel-good comments adults liked to give when there was nothing else to say. She turned to Yukito, who was poking at the keys without actually touching them enough to make a noise. "Your father used to be able to do that with a huge crowd of people... he could hold them in the palm of his hand."

Erin's expression hardened immediately, and she didn't bother to hide the look from either Yukito or Makisan. I don't care if he was freaking Elvis Presley, he hurt your son, how can you forget about that?!!

Luckily neither one mentioned anything else on the matter, or Erin might have voiced all the screaming thoughts she'd had on the topic, an overwhelming about of them targeted at her for letting it happen. It would not have ended well. Instead, Makisan started on about their playing again. "One more, Yukito, then I'll let you two be, I promise." Thank you.

"Phil Collins' Against All Odds." Yukito rolled his eyes, and Erin giggled as she continued to prove Yukito's point in his mother's choice of music. "You hummed that one a lot last December."

Oh, really? Erin thought, turning to look at Yukito with an inquisitive smile on her face. Even though later it would make her frown, somber to know that it had been because of her decision to leave him that he'd been so isolated.

Yukito fussed at her for the revealing comment, and Erin felt a little odd to be sitting in the middle of this weird little play at a family spat. "It didn't help that you kept playing it all summer long." He turned to Erin with a partially formed frown and offered, "Last song, then we can go do whatever it is you planned today? We've been here over an hour..."

"Okay," she agreed easily, perfectly happy to watch him playing and singing for a little more, and also delighted that they would finally get to go on to her part of the day.

It was a good song for him to play, too, even if he acted like it bothered him to play it. She couldn't hardly wait until she could kiss him and tell him the way she wanted how much she loved being a part of this moment. Did he have any idea just how head over heels she was for him? How much she'd be willing to do for him if she knew it'd make him happy? Can we stay like this forever? I meant it from the very moment I told you I loved you, and I don't think I could ever stop that. I don't WANT to stop that. You like to think you're so depressing and awful, but I think you are the most wonderful and strong person I know, and I want to be a part of you. You love me all the time, not just when I deserve it... you amaze me.

She let the thoughts bounce around in her head as Yukito finished his song, then the excitement of the rest of their day together revived her eagerness and Erin perked up out of her daydream. "One day, you, me, we're gonna record stuff together, okay? I can't pass that up. Do I get to do my thing now?" she asked, unable to hide her excitement. "I had to wait all day, I can't do it anymore!" Erin emphasized with a giggle.

--

Yukito Maki

"Phil Collins' Against All Odds." Yukito rolled his eyes, and sent the giggling Erin an 'I-told-you-so' look. "You hummed that one a lot last December." Yukito's face darkened and blushed in the same instant, and he could feel Erin's eyes on him as he sent his mother a glare.

"It didn't help that you kept playing it all summer long." He turned to Erin with a partially formed frown and offered, "Last song, then we can go do whatever it is you planned today? We've been here over an hour..."

"Okay," came the chirruped reply. He started through the song, eager to move on from it and not reveal just how well his voice remembered the melody. Because his mother had been right, but he didn't like it. It made him sound so whiny and cliché in front of Erin. Like he'd spent the entire winter moping around singing love songs from decades ago. In reality, he'd spent of the time burning paper. That made him a little curious as to what Erin's reaction would be to that habit.

So take a look at me now, oh there's just an empty space
And there's nothing left here to remind me
Just the memory of your face
Ooh take a look at me now

Well there's just an empty space
And you coming back to me is against all odds and that's what I've got to face

It's nice when things go against all the odds. Immediately after the thought had crossed his mind, he pushed it away, thinking it sounded like a quote from an old, cheesy movie.

Afterwards, he looked up at his mother, who gave a little nod-bow combination. With a serious look, he returned it, then his eyes flickered to Erin. "One day, you, me, we're gonna record stuff together, okay? I can't pass that up. Do I get to do my thing now?" she asked, unable to hide her excitement. "I had to wait all day, I can't do it anymore!" Erin emphasized with a giggle. He smirked at her broadly.

“Go on ahead to the car, I'll be right behind you.” As if adding a promise on the end of the comment, he sealed his words with a kiss on her lips, waiting until just when she was disappearing out the door to turn to his mother. She didn't say anything for a while, clasping and unclasping her hands in front of her.

”She's really good..for you, I mean. You're happy with her.”

Yukito shoved his hands into his pockets, his smiles having disappeared with Erin and replaced by a stoic look. “Y'know, it's so weird going to her house, and seeing her parents. I kept trying to figure out why I felt so out of place there, why I felt like I was a big black spot on a striped wall.” He glared at the floor. “We were never a family, mother. It was so different with us. It was always messed up. I wish I'd grown up with what Erin has." A beat. "That's never gonna happen for us, mother. This whole ****ed up game we play? It's over. I'm not playing it anymore." He started to walk past her, then sighed. "I'm sorry."

She didn't say anything because she knew he wasn't listening to her anymore. He made it to the car and climbed in, smiling at Erin. But almost sadly. "Where to, now that that's over?"

--

Erin Spenser

Erin knew she sounded so immature and maybe whiny when she said she couldn't wait anymore for her part; after all, Yukito had just shared a really beautiful moment --er, hour-- with her that she'd definitely keep as one of her favorite memories with him. But it came out immature anyway, and she couldn't help but smile at his easy, accepting response.

“Go on ahead to the car, I'll be right behind you,” Yukito told her, punctuating the promise with a kiss. So simple, so effective, she thought with a smile, hopping up to head out. "Okay."

Inside his car, she immediately plucked out the CD she'd made him and started playing it. It was almost funny how well people that didn't even know that Erin or Yukito existed could communicate what she felt to him so well. I want to do that, she thought humming along to the song, sporadically singing along when it suited her. But mostly her mind was on what he'd shared with her. Yukito had brought her into something normally reserved just for him and his mother-- just for family. Was that as big of a deal to him as it was to her? She so much more than liked the idea of being a part of his family. Even if it was small and screwed up. She loved it, but mostly him. And really, she wouldn't mind making a habit out of that slipping into his family thing. It was nice. Really, really nice.

The second track had just started when Erin looked up with a smile at the reason for the shadow being cast on the dashboard.

Yukito climbed in and looked over at her, himself smiling. "Where to, now that that's over?"

"Yukito! Why d'you have to say it like it was torture or something?" She laughed, rolling her eyes at him. "I happened to like that. A lot," she tacked on in case he didn't believe her seriousness. "And I was also totally not joking about us recording together, either. I'd be totally cool with it being a profession." She smiled smugly. Then, finally answered his question.

"Well, what I really wanna do has to be after sunset, sooo.... let's go get snow-cones first!" she offered brightly.

--

Yukito Maki

"Where to, now that that's over?" He asked her with a smile.

"Yukito! Why d'you have to say it like it was torture or something?" She laughed, rolling her eyes at him. "I happened to like that. A lot,"

He tilted his head, as if in disbelief, but a pleased smile found its way to his lips. "Really? I'm kinda glad."

"And I was also totally not joking about us recording together, either. I'd be totally cool with it being a profession."

He shrugged, "Well, I knew you were serious about that..."

"Well, what I really wanna do has to be after sunset, sooo.... let's go get snow-cones first!" she offered brightly.

Yukito chuckled as he started the car, shaking his head. "Snow-cones..." he muttered more to himself than anything. As he pulled out of the parking lot, he tapped his fingers on the wheel slowly in time to the music Erin had turned on. Under his breath, he sang along, "Oh all the things I've done...And it was all yellow.." He parked, "Snow-cones, here we come..."

--

Erin Spenser

Missing his comment, Erin plowed onward with her thoughts. "And I was also totally not joking about us recording together, either. I'd be totally cool with it being a profession."

He shrugged, "Well, I knew you were serious about that..."

She laughed a little at that, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Well, what I really wanna do has to be after sunset, sooo.... let's go get snow-cones first!"

Yukito chuckled as he started the car, shaking his head for a reason unknown to Erin. What's funny about that? she wondered as Yukito just muttered, "Snow-cones..." And the whole way there, which wasn't very long anyway, Erin sang along with the playlist she'd made instead of talking. If she talked, she might let slip the surprise. Which wasn't anything huge or special this time really, but more... more personal for just them, maybe.

He parked. "Snow-cones, here we come..."

Erin punched the air with both fists in a little dance, then hopped out of the car. "Okay, what flavors do they have?" she asked as she scampered over to the hand-drawn list. "I want something different, I always get like, wedding cake or something like that. Oh-- but not the pina colada one. That one tastes like sunscreen." She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Oh, Yuyukun, they have nachos, too!" Erin pointed at the sign. "I bet you can get M&Ms," she tacked on with a playful smile.

--

Yukito Maki

]"Hmmmmm...You might have to choose for me." he mumbled, always unsure about making silly decisions like what to eat. He didn't prefer any flavors here. Why didn't she just choose? His obliviousness wasn't very helpful to the situation, and he didn't like not understanding.

"What? Nooo..." Erin pouted at the suggestion. "I don't feel like it, Yukito." He sighed and stared down at the list, reading them out loud, mostly to himself, but secretly hoping she would hear something that struck her.

When the list was almost done, he indicated toward a name with one finger."Cherry Cheesecake?"

By answer, Erin quickly gave his cheek a kiss before announcing, "Yeah!"

He turned to the guy manning the counter and asked, "Can I get two bags of melted M&Ms on top of those?" He got a casual, positive reply as Erin laughed.

"You can do that?" He shrugged towards her, smiling.

"How does that sound? Good? Bad?"

She laughed again, giving him another kiss on his cheek. "I dare you to guess," she joked. They both turned to the snow-cone guy, and Yukito nodded. "Two Cherry Cheesecakes with M&Ms, then, if you please." When he held out the money to pay, Erin wasted no time choosing hers and turning swiftly around on the spot to find some place to enjoy it. He followed after her, sending the snow cone a scrupulous look when he sat down. She took a bite and laughed merrily, like all the enjoyment of the bite just sort of lips into the world. He smirked, and prodded the melted M&M with one finger, leaving the tip of a thin layer of chocolate. "It certainly doesn't look too appetizing, but I like taking chances." He took a bite and struggled to control his face until he could form a solid reaction. The contrast of cold snow-cone and still-hot melted chocolate was good, but notsomuch the mix of cherry, cheesecake, and chocolate. "Woah.." his face twisted in surprise. "That's some cherry-chocolate-cheese...." He send his snow cone another look, dipped his finger in again, and before she could react, reached over to splatter her nose with some of the warm, liquid M&M. "That counts as throwing an M&M at you. Because you can't really throw melted chocolate all that well. I get eight points for hitting my partner in crime, negative two because you're a girl, and you're sitting still. Point added for my creative thinking." He smirked, leaned towards her, and slowly reached for a kiss. As his reward, of course, for hitting his target.

--

Erin Spenser

Erin enjoyed the menagerie of tastes and textures. She wasn't really picky about food anyway, which her mom would joke with her that it was weird with how picky she could be in the kitchen-- one of the few times Erin followed directions willingly, she liked to poke fun.

Yukito, however, examined it like a foreign object. It was kind of funny, since it was his idea anyway, and Erin watched him, chewing absently on the little spoon/straw. until all the chocolate it had collected was gone. Meanwhile, Yukito was poking at his food like it was alive or something. She laughed as Yukito mused, "It certainly doesn't look too appetizing, but I like taking chances."

Erin stuck the plastic utensil back into her supersweet flavored ice. "Your bravery is just beyond my mind sometimes," she teased.

In response, Yukito took an experimental bite and Erin watched him in amusement as he looked for words. "Woah.. That's some cherry-chocolate-cheese...."

Now Erin laughed out loud. "Your face! So cute and 'augh, I don't think I can finish this'!" She took another bite mid-laugh, then turned back to Yukito to tell him that if he really didn't like it, she'd take it. Instead, her eyes met a chocolate-gilded index finger landing the sweet half-liquid on the end of her nose. "Hey!"

"That counts as throwing an M&M at you," Yukito explained. "Because you can't really throw melted chocolate all that well. I get eight points for hitting my partner in crime, negative two because you're a girl, and you're sitting still. Point added for my creative thinking."

"Hey! Why are pointed deducted 'cause I'm a girl?" she said, words broken by laughter as she swiveled on her seat to face him. He smirked, leaned towards her, and slowly reached for a kiss. She smiled as her lips met his, but she was picturing herself with a brown blotch on her nose, and she couldn't be serious. Erin pulled back, laughing, then shot her eyes upward to meet his in an effort of an "I'm serious!" expression. "Get it off my nose!" she ordered, still in giggles.

--

Yukito Maki

He heard her laugh at his expression. "It certainly doesn't look too appetizing, but I like taking chances."

Erin stuck the plastic utensil back into her supersweet flavored ice. "Your bravery is just beyond my mind sometimes," she teased. He sent her a look and took a bite. "Woah.. That's some cherry-chocolate-cheese...." He mumbled in disbelief. it wasn't a bad taste. Just a really odd combination.

Now Erin laughed out loud, and freely. "Your face! So cute and 'augh, I don't think I can finish this'!" 'Awww's and 'So cute'... What's next? She continued her giggling, and he couldn't resist dabbing her nose with a little of the melted choclate. "Hey!"

"That counts as throwing an M&M at you," Yukito explained. "Because you can't really throw melted chocolate all that well. I get eight points for hitting my partner in crime, negative two because you're a girl, and you're sitting still. Point added for my creative thinking."

"Hey! Why are pointed deducted 'cause I'm a girl?" she said, words broken by laughter as she swiveled on her seat to face him. He smirked, leaned towards her, and slowly reached for a kiss. He could feel her smile in it, and he believed she was really happy, not the play-happy some people did to please others. When she pulled back, she was laughing again. She sent him a teasing sort of glare and ordered him, "Get it off my nose!"

Yukito rolled his eyes, then leaned closer to her. He slowly kissed the tip of her nose, getting off some of the chocolate with his lips. He laughed, then wiped off the rest of it with his finger. "It was cute, though. Way better than that whole Rudolph the Reindeer gig."

--

Erin Spenser

"Hey! Why are pointed deducted 'cause I'm a girl?" she said, words broken by laughter as she turned to look at him. He smirked, leaned towards her, and slowly reached for a kiss. In spite of herself, Erin couldn't keep herself from laughing at the mental image of him kissing her so seriously with melted candy on her face. She sent him a teasing sort of glare and pointed at the offensive blot. "Get it off my nose!"

Yukito rolled his eyes, then leaned closer to her. Instead of just getting it with his thumb or whatever, Yukito surprised her with the sensation of his lips on her nose. It made her want to melt just like the chocolate, and she leaned into him as he removed his splotch in a more traditional manner. She was still leaning into him with a head-in-the-clouds smile when Yukito's laughter reached her ears, and Erin began to laugh at herself. Stop making me look like the total airhead that I am around you... god, I bet I looked like a total spacecase there. But still, she couldn't help but laugh, though-- he'd made her too happy to let her get herself down.

"It was cute, though," Yukito told her. "Way better than that whole Rudolph the Reindeer gig."

She laughed out loud again, so happy to belong with someone that liked her to laugh so much. "I'm so glad I'm cuter than a reindeer." Still with some bubbles of laughs, Erin finished the chocolate covered part of her snow cone until it was just the ice flavor left, no M&Ms remaining. Erin pouted a little at the lacking chocolate, then she shrugged and reached over to steal some from Yukito. Erin gave him her best innocent smile, which she was pretty sure was actually a good one, and ate her stolen bite with a dramatic flourish of the little plastic spoon.

Then, turning back to her own, Erin cupped it in both hands and hopped to her feet. "We can finish these on the way, Yukito," she decided. "I want to do that thing I didn't tell you about!" she added by way of vague explanation, grinning at the evasiveness of it all. "C'mon!" Erin took his hand in hers and tried to pull him to his feet.

--

Yukito Maki

He was glad to have a somewhat positive reaction for 'kissing away' the chocolate on the end of her nose that he had put there. He was afraid she would have found it weird and pulled away, but her expression said she felt otherwise. She leaned in closer, silently asking for another kiss - on a more commonly preferred spot, he figured - but he delayed it, liking the adorable look on her face just as it was. He took a slow bite of his snow cone, looked over at her, then leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the lips.

"It was cute, though," Yukito lamented the loss of the brown spot on the tip of her nose. "Way better than that whole Rudolph the Reindeer gig."

She laughed out loud again, "I'm so glad I'm cuter than a reindeer." They dug back into the cones for a few minutes, still beaming from the chocolate encounter. Then a spoon appeared out of nowhere and snagged some of the last of his chocolate. The big hunk he'd been saving for last. He looked up to see Erin with an endearingly innocent expression, slowly and dramatically eating away his saved piece.

"Heeeey..." he whined, then nudged her with his elbow gently, shoving her over a bit. "Addict."

She leapt up from the bench and declared, "We can finish these on the way, Yukito. I want to do that thing I didn't tell you about! C'mon!" Erin took his hand in hers and tried to pull him to his feet. He frowned playfully, pouting his lips and looking down at his snowcone skeptically.

"You want me to eat a snowcone and drive?" He sighed, then stood up. "I guess all the chocolate's gone anyways. Besides," he added in a forcedly bored tone, "I'm just brimming over with excitement for this new, undiscovered thing you won't tell me about."

--

Erin Spenser

After she leaned over and snuck a scoop of his chocolate-covered snow cone, Erin made a show of eating it in the purest picture of innocence.

"Heeeey..." he whined, then nudged her with his elbow gently, shoving her over a bit as she laughed. "Addict."

"Am not," she objected playfully, giving him a chiding look for a second before assuming the innocent look once more. "You mean you weren't saving it for me?"

Erin jumped up from the little bench. "We can finish these on the way, Yukito. I want to do that thing I didn't tell you about! C'mon!" She took one free hand to grab onto one of his and tugged. He frowned playfully, pouting his lips and looking down at his snow cone. "Come oooon, Yukito!" She tugged again, laughing at his stubbornness.

"You want me to eat a snowcone and drive?"

"Yes!" she responded immediately, with another pull.

He sighed, then finally stood up. "I guess all the chocolate's gone anyways. Besides, I'm just brimming over with excitement for this new, undiscovered thing you won't tell me about."

"Hey! It's good, I swear!" Erin retorted excitedly before bounding off to the car. She buckled before he could tell her to so that they could get there quicker. "Okay, go back to the apartments." She knew he'd think it was a weird request. "Just do it," she ordered with a laugh. "I swear it'll be worth it, okay? Just go with it!"

Once at the apartments, Erin hopped out and waited earnestly for Yukito to follow her through the breezeway and into the large, grassy courtyard in the center of the complex. "Okay, now you have to stay here and wait. I have to go get some things," she told him authoritatively, holding both his hands in hers. "Keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them!" After that, she ran up the flights of stairs and into her home. Quickly, she collected the few things she needed: a couple of blankets, a little makeshift picnic basket, and her attempt at making curry rice for Yukito. With her arms sufficiently full, she tried to make it down the stairs as quickly as she could without risking dropping or messing up anything. And with success, she made it back into the courtyard and called out, "Don't open 'em yet!"

She spread out one of the blankets on the grass, then set up her little "picnic". Satisfied, Erin glanced up at the clear sky, smiling at the stars. Perfect. Just the way she wanted them to be. "Okay, open them!"

--

Yukito Maki

Erin jumped up from the little bench. "We can finish these on the way, Yukito. I want to do that thing I didn't tell you about! C'mon!" She took one free hand to grab onto one of his and tugged. He frowned playfully, pouting his lips and looking down at his snow cone. "Come oooon, Yukito!" She tugged again, laughing at his stubbornness.

"You want me to eat a snowcone and drive?" Surely she knew he was a stiff when it came to driving under any compromising situations? Would that make any difference to her?

"Yes!" she responded immediately, with another pull.

He sighed, then finally stood up. "I guess all the chocolate's gone anyways. Besides, I'm just brimming over with excitement for this new, undiscovered thing you won't tell me about."

"Hey! It's good, I swear!" Erin said with eagerness, hopping into the car. He glanced over to make sure she was buckled, strapped himself in, and started the car. "Okay, go back to the apartments." He turned and sent her a questioning look. "Just do it," she ordered with a laugh. "I swear it'll be worth it, okay? Just go with it!"

Yukito shrugged, "I can jive with that," was all he mumbled as they followed the familiar pathway home. Once there, he lazily followed Erin to the grassy area near their apartments.

"Okay, now you have to stay here and wait. I have to go get some things. Keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them!" His eyebrows arched and he looked skeptical, but then he closed his eyes, feeling like an idiot standing there utterly alone while Erin ran off. He didn't know if Erin would go sofar as to pull a prank on him now. It would be too easy, knowing he wouldn't open his eyes until she was back.

How weird would it look to pass a random guy standing on some grass, just standing there with his eyes closed? Lovely.

He heard someone coming closer, and Erin's voice, "Don't open 'em yet!" Yukito sighed, his hands stuck in his pockets as he waited. This was taking a long time, and he was finding it increasingly difficult to be patient. He found it sort of amusing, really...he was really getting curious now.

Then he smelled it. He smiled to himself and didn't speak. He didn't move until Erin told him to. "Okay, open them!"

His eyes flickered open, and he blinked hard, staring at the picnic laid out just-so on the grass. His jaw dropped in disbelief, and his eyes sparkled fiercely. She hadn't just remembered, she took the time aside to make this especially for him. Just to make him happy.

"God, Erin...wow..." Yukito laughed openly before sitting down on the blanket to inspect the curry rice more closely. "That smells awesome." He looked up at her, sillhouetted against the dim light the stars gave off, and smirked. "Thank you." He pulled her close into his arms and kissed the top of her head, lingering as he held her. "Thank you."

--

Erin Spenser

"Okay, open them!" Erin chirped, standing proudly next to her picnic. She liked that it was under the stars, as cheesy as that sounded. And even more, she liked the expression on Yukito's face. It always felt like a huge achievement when she could get such a good reaction from him.

"God, Erin...wow..." Yukito laughed out loud, making Erin's smile broaden. That sound from him trumped any other way he might have responded. She found herself laughing some, too, though for once not as enthusiastically. She felt a little demure, what with not really knowing what curry was before googling a few recipes... "That smells awesome."

He looked up at her, while Erin still smiled coyly, the worry that her creation wouldn't be as good as Yukito expected now creeping forward in her mind. "Thank you." He pulled her close into his arms and kissed the top of her head, lingering as he held her. "Thank you."

Laughing again, Erin gave a little disclaimer: "Wait until you taste it before you get too excited, kareshi... I don't even know if it's the right kind of curry you were talking about." She kissed his lips briefly before taking his hands in hers and sitting down on the blanket. "You have to try it first and tell me how close I am to the real thing."

--

Yukito Maki

"God, Erin...wow..." Yukito laughed out loud. A soft giggle escaped Erin, and he turned to meet her smile. "That smells awesome." And he meant it. Words came softly, he pulled her clsoe and kiss her on top of her head, lingering for sincerity's sake. "Thank you... Thank you."

Erin gave a cute little laugh again, "Wait until you taste it before you get too excited, kareshi... I don't even know if it's the right kind of curry you were talking about." She kissed his lips briefly before taking his hands in hers and sitting down on the blanket. He followed, feeling like that gymnast that grew increasingly more talented every day within his chest was now winning an Olympic gold metal "You have to try it first and tell me how close I am to the real thing."

He tilted his head her way, "But I can smell it already, Erin. That smell does not lie." He didn't argue against trying it immediately, though. He leaned down to give himself a thick helping of curry next to a pile of rice, having a difficult time taking a bite with a huge grin on his face. After managing it, he let out a sort of happy sighing sound and threw his arms around Erin.

Yukito took a second to hold her, then whispered, "God, I love you." He positioned himself sitting on his heels next to her, half-leaning against her for the physical contact but not too much to hinder his meal. As he ate he found himself staring up at the sky.

"Pretty, isn't it?" he mumbled aloud, leaning back to pla

--

Erin Spenser

Yukito followed her as Erin moved down to sit by the quickly-arranged picnic. She couldn't stop the full-blown smile on her face at how happy he seemed just because she dug up a recipe and made food for him... it wasn't like it was the first time or anything, just that it was the first one that had some sort of home connection, the first time she'd earned such an enthusiastic reaction-- at least, enthusiastic for him. She was actually kind of proud of herself for the accomplishment. Even if Erin couldn't be sure if it was what he expected... she had no idea what it was supposed to taste like, only that when she'd tried her own recipe that she'd liked it, so at least it tasted fine to her. "You have to try it first," she told him. "And tell me how close I am to the real thing."

He tilted his head her way. "But I can smell it already, Erin. That smell does not lie."

"Whatever," Erin responded with a laugh, for lack of anything else. He was already getting his own portion of her attempt at some of his home-style cooking. His eagerness surprising her, she was slower to join in, but had just taken her own first bite when out of nowhere Yukito's arms were around her, making her squeak a little in surprised delight that faded into a giggle. "God, I love you."

Still laughing to herself, delighted over his reaction, Erin tilted her head back and kissed his cheek. "Wow... I should've made this for you a long time ago..."

Yukito busied himself with her creation... It made Erin's smile ceaseless, his response making her sure that somehow she'd pulled off a decent cooking job. Maybe even better than decent-- it tasted pretty fine to her, and Yukito was sort of her ultimate judge in this case, so if he approved, then sweet deal. Even though now she wasn't as interested in the food as he was, apparently.

She enjoyed watching how content he was now, next to her, not moving too far away, even as he leaned back, the palms of his hands supporting his weight as he tilted his face upwards at the tiny pinpricks of light blinking at them.

[/b]"Pretty, isn't it?"[/b]

Erin set her dish far enough from her that she wouldn't kick it over or something, then leaned all the way back, her hands baled up under her head for support. She smiled with contentment up at the sky, the image getting a song stuck in her head. "Yeah.... I have that Incubus song in my head now... 'it's a back-l;it canopy with holes punched in it,'" she half-sang, then turned over to look at him. "I'm glad you liked it..." Erin shifted position, leaning over without warning to lay down so that her head was on his chest, her eyes facing up to the sky. Then a thought occurred to her, and hastily Erin turned to him and, sitting up a little, asked, "Is that okay?" I don't want to do anything you don't want again...

--

CON'T TO A THIRD POST ZOMG

[GGJ5]

Yukito Maki

He got a little weird around her. That was okay with him,e ven if he
didn't understand it – or expect it – himself. Yukito leapt over and
tackled her in a hug, sending her into a delighted squeal that he
loved to hear. "God, I love you." It was a constant surprise from her
that she would do these things, be this good. Not perfect, but good.
He was sure that perfect would've just made him angry and bitter. But
she was good. Very, very good.

Still laughing to herself, delighted over his reaction, Erin tilted
her head back and kissed his cheek. He smiled over at her, feeling
like a total dork but unable to help it anyways. "Wow... I
should've made this for you a long time ago..." He gave a nod,
then wordlessly turned to dig into the meal she'd made for him. Each
bite was just spicy enough, and he ate perhaps a little too quickly to
enjoy every taste and angle of it. But he wasn't about to get creepy
about curry. Even if it was his first love. After he'd finished his
first bowl, leaving it empty beside him as he sat back to enjoy the
stars, and leaned back to lean on his palms, staring upward with a
contented sigh. “Pretty, isn't it?"

He felt – rather than saw – her move beside him. She laid down with
her hands behind her head and smiled as he looked down at her.
"Yeah.... I have that Incubus song in my head now... 'it's a
back-lit canopy with holes punched in it,'" she half-sang, then
turned over to meet his eyes. "I'm glad you liked it..." His
smile broadened. He wasn't sure what to say in response to that, but
he could feel the proper reply somewhere behind his hesitation. Erin
moved suddenly, surprising him, her head against his chest. The weight
there made a rock sink to the pit of his stomache, and his smile faded
quickly away. But a moment later she caught it, sitting up to look at
him uncertainly. He hated that there was a flicker of fear and concern
in her eyes because she wanted to lay against him. Even if they
both wanted it, it wasn't allowed. He hated that. He hated it.
The horrible part was, even if he could have numbed himself to every
instant she moved a little too close, each time his heart jolted in
the chilling, sick way, he wouldn't do it. Because then there would be
no good sensations, no addicting ninja-acrobat in his stomach. He had
to take both, and she had to know about them.

"Is that okay?" She asked. He tried to offer her a small smile,
his eyes tense. Yukito reached his hand around her head, entangling in
her hair as he gently pulled her head back against his chest and
simultaneously falling backwards to lay down on their blanket, though
he placed her a little higher and closer to his shoulder than her
initial choice.

“Just a little slower,” he cautioned gently, feeling awful for having
to ask her to do that, and sure she would take it as a reprimand or
something stupid like that. Able to smell her hair nearer to him, he
let out a sigh, running his fingers through her hair as he held her
close. He spent a long moment staring up at the sky, trying for the
hundredth time to think a better way to get through this barrier, this
thing slowly eating its way through what they had. Yukito closed his
eyes and sighed again, and decided to just let his mind wander
aimlessly. The things they'd done that day, together, replayed through
his mind, and he realized something she'd said earlier.

“Do you think about it?” he found himself mumbling aloud before he
could think it all the way through, “Where we'll be in ten years?” He
turned to meet her eyes, happy to see the wide, thickly eyelash-framed
brown ones there. “You said something today about our anniversaries
in the future, and I was wondering. Where do you wanna be? Seriously,
now...”

He paused a long moment, then smirked as he watched her face and every
detail of it, trying to ensure that he could put it all to memory. “Do
you want to get married? Someday soon, I mean...Not
like...today, but...” He shrugged his shoulders a little,
feeling ridiculous. “I dunno...” I've been thinking about it. A
lot, especially lately. Sitting alone in that hotel room, thinking
about getting an empty apartment. It doesn't matter what you hang up
on the walls and what noise you made scream out of your speakers,
there was always a hollow space in the apartment he had never really
cared for. It reminded him too much of his old home, and everything
that came with it. He liked it when Erin came over, because she
brought a certain atmosphere that filled the empty spots and made the
dark corners likable.

“I know it's probably stupid to think about it so early on like this,
but...you know all that we've been through this last year, and...”
Another shrug turned his apology into a physical form. It was like a
'I'm sorry if this doesn't come out right' before he'd even spoken. He
had to turn and meet her eyes again. He had to be staring into her
face to gauge the reaction. “I know I shouldn't ask you this, but when
I get an apartment, I want to ask you to move in with me.” A pause.
'I can't imagine trying to fill another year...not without you'
was the unspoken phrase of the moment.

--

Erin Spenser

She knew it was a thoughtless thing even as she did it, and when it hit her fully, Erin sat back up some. "Is that okay?"

It didn't look like it was okay, but she wasn't a very good judge of estimating what things looked like, so she waited on edge for his answer. She didn't realize she had been holding her breath until his hand pulled her back down, relief washing over her as he held her to him. Erin didn't miss how he shifted her position, though. She was willing to compromise. Still thoroughly relieved, a smile slowly edge the corners of her mouth.

"Just a little slower."

"Okay," she agreed softly, happy to give what he was willing to accept. Baby steps, right? At least I'm the one who gets to be with you at all... Who else gets to do this with you? Who else would you let lay beside you? Who else would you let hold you? She doubted it would be a very long list. She hoped she would be the only one on it. Erin easily relaxed into her position, held next to him.

"Do you think about it?"

"About what?" she responded immediately, shifting a little to catch better sight of him. It was uncomfortable, and she reverted back to lying against him, eyes upward at the inky sky.

"Where we'll be in ten years?"

This time she turned more completely, on her side now, looking at him curiously. To be honest, she didn't really think ahead... not in detail anyway. She'd imagined a few times the stereotypical daydreams that she wouldn't be willing to share with anyone else-- they were too cliche, and it was sad because she was sincere about them- and Erin had written out her name next to his, mulling over how it sounded together. (The results were positive.) Was that what he meant? Erin wasn't sure if he wanted to share that.

Yukito seemed to take her pause as a need to explain further. She took it. "You said something today about our anniversaries in the future, and I was wondering. Where do you wanna be? Seriously, now..."

She couldn't help it, she started to laugh. He was asking for it, telling her to be serious, when she was remembering about the scribbling "Erin Maki" on her notebook ... the one Cassie had helped to deface. She was pretty sure either she or Yukito would die a little if he saw that. "I can't tell you that, Yukito," she answered him demurely, shifting her gaze away a little.

"Do you want to get married?"

Immediately her eyes snapped back to him. "Huh?" She couldn't tell what he was asking-- if it was a general question of "could you see yourself married one day" or if it was about them in the future or if... He's not actually asking asking, is he??

"Someday soon, I mean.. Not like... today, but..."

For some reason, a wave of relief swept through her and Erin felt her muscles relax-- when had they tensed? In fact, now she was smiling at him. Because he'd been thinking of them. Together. For real. It wasn't just in her head. And he'd been the first to say anything... and that meant a lot. "I dunno..."

"I think that's a good idea," she replied softly, airily, watching his face, blatantly enamored. In the back of her mind, Erin thought, You do know that married people do more than just lay next to each other or kiss, right? She wondered if Yukito would ever be able to get to that point... even her head on his chest had caused him discomfort.But he's thought about it... about us, seriously. Really. Us!

“I know it's probably stupid to think about it so early on like this, but...you know all that we've been through this last year, and...”
For the second time in minutes, he shrugged. It was a gesture whose meaning Erin could never be certain. Especially in him. What was he trying to get out here? "Yeah?" she prompted him. “I know I shouldn't ask you this, but when I get an apartment, I want to ask you to move in with me.”

For a second, Erin wondered if her ears had gone screwy and she just hadn't heard him right. "Move in? With you?" She watched his face to see if he was serious, then deciding that he had to be, she hugged herself to him, her cheek tight next to his before she turned to give him an enthusiastic kiss. A short burst of laughter later, she was back to hugging him, her face against his. "Almost like we're married," she muttered with a giggle. Erin was pretty sure that it was nearly impossible to accomplish moving in with him... she'd have a thousand loops to jump through to get there. But just the idea... She'd find a way to make it happen. It was a promise now.

--

Yukito Maki

He felt the her curiosity each time she glanced up at him, insatiable, undeniable. He tried to explain further. "You said something today about our anniversaries in the future, and I was wondering. Where do you wanna be? Seriously, now..."

She let out a laugh, like it was the silliest question that she hadn't expected him to ask. "I can't tell you that, Yukito," her tone was playful.


"Do you want to get married?"

Immediately her eyes snapped back to him, stunned momentarily by the abruptness."Huh?"

Yukito tried to quickly recover from the ambiguity of his question, the awkward feeling beginning to rise to his cheeks in the form of heat. "Someday soon, I mean.. Not like... today, but..." He saw the relief wash over her expression, turning it into a smile. The question had made his pulse race faster than if he had just finished a sprint across town. That was a stupid thing to say. I totally freaked her out. "I dunno..."

"I think that's a good idea," she replied softly. He turned to meet her eyes. Was she being serious here? He couldn't name whatever that expression was in her eyes, but it wasn't angry or scared. A slight chance of pity on his woeful lack of tack when it came to stuff like this, maybe. But it looked more amused to him.

"Really?" he wondered aloud. His eyes flickered away from her face, but the sincerity in her voice urged him on. “I know it's probably stupid to think about it so early on like this, but...you know all that we've been through this last year, and...” The sentence trailed off with a shrug.

"Yeah?" she prompted him.

“I know I shouldn't ask you this, but when I get an apartment, I want to ask you to move in with me," he said. He turned to watch for her reaction again. She was watching him back.

"Move in? With you?" If there were signs of 'that'd be great!' or 'how do I get out of this?' in her voice, he didn't hear it. He just caught on to the obvious surprise and the way she was momentarily thrown by the implications. Yukito gave a nod, watching her.

"I mean, I'm not saying you have to make a decision right this minute, but I thought it'd be something to think ab--" Erin hugged herself to him suddenly, the hot-cold reaction stunned with her cheek pressed next to his. Another kiss that lingered on his lips even when she wasn't there anymore. Is that 'yes', or a 'just shutup Yukito'? He started to smile, and Erin pulled back, laughing before she pulled him back into a hug.

"Almost like we're married," she muttered with a giggle. Yukito smiled, because it was so strange to hear her say that. Married. He'd wondered if he was an idiot for thinking about it, when Erin never talked about things like that. At least, not to him. (And if not to him, then to who?) Now that she'd reacted to it, heard him say it and murmured it aloud herself, it didn't seem so ridiculous. Even if it was unreal.

"Yeah...kinda...." he let out a sigh, his hand moving up to play in her hair. After a few moments his smile faded. There were other things involved in marriage, a lot of things that they hadn't touched upon. That he wasn't sure if he could handle Erin touching upon. "Do you think it's a good idea? There's a lot..." He trailed off, staring up at the stars. Then he smiled, mumbling under his breath, "Look at the stars... look how they shine for you...and everything you do. Yeah, they were all yellow.." He turned to smile at her. "I can keep trying. I know it isn't easy for you. With the whole touching thing." Yukito let out a sigh, as if to release all the tension and worry from the marriage talk he was about ready to let go of for now. He wanted to think on it. The whole thing. And Erin could be too distracting when she wanted to be.

--

Erin Spenser

"I think that's a good idea," she replied gently, despite her reservations. The feeling that Yukito might not ever make it to that point...

"Really?"

"Yeah... you love me, and I love you, so that's how it works...." If you think we can... if I don't make you push away first...


“I know it's probably stupid to think about it so early on like this, but...you know all that we've been through this last year, and...”

"Yeah?"

“I know I shouldn't ask you this, but when I get an apartment, I want to ask you to move in with me," he said.

"Move in? With you?" Yukito just nodded as Erin thought of the implications.

"I mean, I'm not saying you have to make a decision right this minute, but I thought it'd be something to think ab--" Cutting him off mid-sentence, Erin broke in with a tight hug, kissing him before he could speak again. She pulled back from him and laughed before going in for another hug. "Almost like we're married," she muttered with a giggle, her face nuzzled between his shoulder and head. This is okay. He's let me do this before, so it's okay...

"Yeah...kinda...." He let out a sigh, his hand moving up to play in her hair. His words made her giddy, and his hand in her hair made her heart jump. God, I love you. "Do you think it's a good idea? There's a lot..."

"Hm? Yeah," Erin replied, shifting so that she could see the stars again, assuming he was talking about her living with him. She turned her head to glance at him, catching his profile in the night and smiling.

"Look at the stars... look how they shine for you...and everything you do. Yeah, they were all yellow.." Erin smiled, enjoying the inside references in the song. He turned to smile at her. "I can keep trying. I know it isn't easy for you. With the whole touching thing." They both sighed then, Erin's gaze flitting away for the moment. It made her feel guilty, to be that way. To be the one that had to stop, who was the one that made the other uncomfortable, who would probably keep being the one that pushed too far, even if she didn't mean to. Erin wanted to make a joke, to say that maybe she should have been born with a Y chromosome instead of two Xs, but she didn't appreciate that humor and she doubted Yukito would. It was sad of her, really...

"It's totally okay," she said, more out of effort to make herself cooperate more than anything else. Erin smiled at him, trying for reassurance. "I mean, it's not like we never make contact," she added, with a more genuine smile now. Erin shifted position, sitting up now with her legs crossed and hands folded on her ankles. She inhaled the night air deeply, glancing up at the little gems blinking at her from above. The cooling air breezed over her skin, and she could feel the goosebumps coming. "Have you ever seen a shooting star, Yukito?"

--

Yukito Maki

She'd cut him off mid-sentence with a winding embrace, kissing him before laughing and moving to repeat the gesture. He moved to wrap his arms around her, too. "Almost like we're married," she muttered with a giggle, her face nuzzled between his shoulder and head. He couldn't hold back the quiet smile, relieved to hear her reaction.

"Yeah...kinda...." He let out a sigh, his hand moving up to play in her hair. "Do you think it's a good idea? There's a lot..." Yukito trailed off, letting the implications hover around them slowly, but with none of the weight and intensity that he feared.

"Hm? Yeah," Erin replied, shifting and looking his way with a smile. He sighed, then started to half-mutter the lyrics to Yellow for her under his breath. Yukito turned to meet her gaze.

"I can keep trying. I know it isn't easy for you. With the whole touching thing." They both sighed then, looking up towards the sky as if the stars were going to offer them an easier solution. Even if it was rarely spoken of, it was indirectly intertwined in every conversation they had now. Yukito felt guilty whenever he started to believe that it had been so much simpler and manageable when she hadn't known.

"It's totally okay," she said, trying to send him a reassuring smile. "I mean, it's not like we never make contact,"

But it wasn't the same, and they both knew it. Once again there was a barrier, a no-touch zone, and once again it stemmed from Yukito's part of the relationship. He wanted her to understand, to really understand, just how far they'd been able to come, so that maybe she could seriously feel hope for them. He wasn't stupid - he knew someday she'd want more. He honestly wanted more, and always had. But in order to tell her the lengths he'd gone, he would have had to remind her of the people in his past. A series of faces he kept hidden his own memory, that would only cause Erin misgivings, pity and pain, were still held secret in the same box she wasn't allowed to touch. I wonder, if I told you all that Natalie did for me, if you would feel angry with her or thank her? Erin shifted position, sitting up now with her legs crossed and hands folded on her ankles. She inhaled the night air deeply, perhaps not noticing the way he was watching her so closely, silhouetted against the stars. "Have you ever seen a shooting star, Yukito?"

"Not that I remember," he said quietly, his eyes still trained on her shadowy outline."It's difficult when the moon is so distracting..." His focus turned over toward the moon itself, glowing brightly against the sky, a thin halo of mist-like light surrounding it. "I really like the moon." He sat up and moved closer to her, moving slowly as he wrapped his arms around her, surrounding her almost completely to shield her from the light chill the breeze was making. He leaned over towards her instead of having her lean back toward him, his face leaning over her shoulder as he touched her cheek to his, staring up at the sky.

--

Erin Spenser

"I mean, it's not like we never make contact." It wasn't what he meant, but she was trying to make him feel better about it. She was trying to make herself feel better about it, to care less about what she wanted and to care more about what he needed. And if you asked her, she would tell you it was working. While Erin wanted him to feel open with her, comfortable, personal, she knew it couldn't happen unless it was entirely on his terms. And if that meant not laying her head across him, or not kissing him beyond his lips, she would do that. As long as he knew she meant it when she said how much she loved him. Erin refused to be the reason he pushed away.

Erin shifted position, sitting up now with her legs crossed and hands folded on her ankles. She inhaled the night air deeply, gazing for a moment at the little blinking lights that shone so far away. "Have you ever seen a shooting star, Yukito?"

"Not that I remember," he said quietly. "It's difficult when the moon is so distracting..."

"Aw... that's sad," she responded automatically, eyes trained hoping to observe one-- even if it was too bright with the moon and the street lights, and more often than not it wasn't a night for a shooting star anyway. ...Nope, nothing. But it was still beautiful. "I like it when I catch meteor showers on a clear night. They're sooo amazing."

"I really like the moon." Erin turned to look at him, to respond as she smiled his way, but she was delayed by his moving over to be closer to her again. "Me, too."

Yukito wrapped his arms around her, surrounding her almost completely, his arms blocking a lot of the chilly air that had made faint goosebumps on her skin. He leaned over towards her, his face leaning over her shoulder as he touched her cheek to his, Erin feeling as though there couldn't be anything better than that moment. She felt so-- incredibly-- happy. Gently, Erin turned her face to kiss him. There was no words that could describe better than that how loved and happy she felt at that moment. Would you keep me forever? Really? Or just like this for a few more minutes... I'd be okay with that for a while...

--

Yukito Maki

"Aw... that's sad," she commented when he couldn't remember seeing a shooting star. "I like it when I catch meteor showers on a clear night. They're sooo amazing."

"I really like the moon," he said. She turned to offer him a smile and a note of agreement before he moved close to her, always a little closer than the last time. He had to keep trying, keep pushing himself into feeling okay with that. Both of them needed that, and for a lot of different reasons. He couldn't be airheaded enough to expect her to be alright with just sitting close forever, and he wanted to be ready for that day. Yukito surrounded her on all sides, pulling her into his hold as he leaded his head over her shoulder and touched cheeks with her. His eyes raised up to the sky, but his arms could still feel her warmth against him, and it felt like she was happy to be there, next to him. It was hard to say when things started to feel better close to her, when it started being okay. It was like a pain that came on fast, then ebbed away without letting you realize it. But he had gotten to the point where it was uncomfortable. That was all. He could hold her close, with the fabric in between, and it was just uncomfortable, foreign. He could deal with that. It was a small price to pay to have her there, and know she wanted to be. His mind wandered back to their night at the pool. He hated how he had pulled away. Her reaction was enough to be equal to reaching into his gut and pulling out vital organs, in his mind. Okay, so perhaps that was a bit of an exaggeration. Perhaps. The point was, he didn't want a repeat.

The smell of their curry-meal wafted through the air, mingling with the visually pleasing night sky. Yukito smiled softly, rocking Erin back and forth a little, getting closer and more comfortable. "I like our anniversaries," he stated as-a-matter-of-factly. "Too bad it's so close to ending..."

--

Erin Spenser

Completely relaxed and content inside his arms, Erin felt Yukito rocking them just a little. It made her smile more. Okay, let's stay just like this... yes. I love it.

"I like our anniversaries," Yukito voiced. The plural didn't pass by Erin, and she turned to look at him, eyes bright and gleeful. "Too bad it's so close to ending..."

Her face fell a little automatically, despite already knowing his words were true. "It went so fast," she observed forlornly. Then her lips coiled in a smile again as she echoed his words. "We can do it again next year, though... Maybe it'll be on a weekend, too..." And then we can have another anniversary, and another, and another... 'Do you want to get married?' God, I love you so much....!

But he was right, it was ending. She couldn't stay with him indefinitely. Not even for the night-- she'd pushed her luck there twice already. Three was fatal or something. Deliberately, Erin pulled away from Yukito's comfortable hold and started to put away their little picnic. It didn't take her long at all; she didn't take the time to pause or ask for Yukito's help. She didn't need it anyway. Standing to her feet, Erin turned again to Yukito with a delighted smile. She only halted for a second before wrapping him in an elated hug, lifting her head up to meet his eyes and lightly, she kissed his lips. "Daisuki kareshi!" It was an exclamation, but a quietly announced one, a whispered excitement, punctuated with another tiny kiss. Tiny, because Erin still worried that she would make him feel like that again. And I don't want that... I want you to feel loved, not scared or upset... only loved. It's all you deserve. Do I make you feel loved?

--

Yukito Maki

"I like our anniversaries. Too bad it's so close to ending..." The
words were a gentle reminder, and Erin caught onto it like it was
nothing. He hated the feeling of pushing her away so that she could go
home, even if they both knew she was always pushing it, spending a
little more time with him. "It went so fast," she observed
forlornly. But she still smiled up at him and added, "We can do it
again next year, though... Maybe it'll be on a weekend, too..."

He smiled back, but didn't feel it was the right time to voice his
hopes for their next anniversary. She moved away and began packing up
the picnic, and he tried to help, but felt pretty useless since she
seemed like she knew what she was doing anyway. She stood to her feet
and he was soon standing next to her, watching her face. Erin had this
delighted smile on her face that glowed despite the now full-on
darkness that surrounded them on all sides, making him feel like they
were isolated. After a moment she leapt forward and wrapped him in a
hug, and his hands automatically went to catch her sides, keeping her
close with a chuckle. When she kissed him, he wondered why she would
pull away so quickly, leaving him feeling like the kiss had just
started when she ended it.

"Daisuki kareshi!" She half-whispered, kissing him
again, as if just to tease him. He laughed into this second meeting,
pulling back to touch their noses together.

"Daisuki, sunshine," he told her. "I'll see you tomorrow,
okay?" He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head, lingering and
catching the scent of her hair. "Oyasumi," he whispered to her.

--

Erin Spenser

"Daisuki kareshi!" she half-whispered, kissing him
again, not as short as the one before. She absolutely loved how she could feel him smiling because she kissed him.

"Daisuki, sunshine," Yukito responded, his nose touching hers and making her smile brighten. "I'll see you tomorrow,
okay?"

"Okay," Erin conceded, mostly because she knew it was true, and it would only happen if she got home before the whole curfew thing kicked in. He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head easily. I loooove that...!! "Oyasumi," he whispered to her.

"Oyasumi," she echoed, though probably not nearly as fluidly as he did. But she was working on it, and she liked that it was kind of their thing. Not many other people could say they bonded in Japanese.... With a quick hug, before she got herself stuck there determined not to leave, Erin turned and headed up the stairs to her door. She halted, leaned over the balcony, and waved. "Daisukiii!!" she called, falling once more into extreme girlishness and blowing him a kiss before disappearing, elated, into her house. Best. date. ever.

Okay, Erin's finally done here! haha....

--

Yukito Maki

"Daisuki kareshi!" she half-whispered, kissing him again,making him smile. It wasn't as if they had nothing at all to talk about and filled the silence with kisses. It was more like they had more to say in a kiss than they could correctly convey in words. And Yukito was glad he seemed at least a little fluent in this language.

]"Daisuki, sunshine," Yukito responded, his nose touching hers and making her smile brighten. ]"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," Erin conceded, and the way she was so reluctant about it was really, really cute. He kissed the top of her head, catching her scent as he pulled away. "Oyasumi," he whispered to her.

"Oyasumi," she echoed it practically like a prayer, or a solemn promise despite the smile still lingering on their faces in the dark. Their eyes met for a long instant, then she wrapped him in a hug that he returned wordlessly. Yeah, there weren't many things he saw in his future. But he hoped to see more moments with Erin, like this. He didn't move from their picnic spot, watching her go up the familiar steps until she reached her door. He planned on watching her until she truly vanished. Unexpectedly, she leaned over the balcony and wave frantically in one final goodbye, calling down, "Daisukiii!!" to him. He smirked crookedly. Whether she could see it or not, he couldn't resist. But since he figured she couldn't see him that well, he gave a wave and shouted back, "Daisuki! Now go to bed, you goose!"

She blew him a goodnight kiss and disappeared, leaving him grinning like a fool in the courtyard area by himself. It took him awhile before he moved, and even then it was mostly because he was starting to actually shiver. With a sigh he shoved his hands into his pockets and started for the car, half-wishing they could have gone home to the same apartment. Just so he could see her a little longer before falling asleep. His subconscious had already given him so many images of them together like that, filling a small apartment with their random pieces of crap and irritating each other with personal habits. He imagined them laughing at shuffle choices over the noise of the speakers, taking turns shoving the clutter into random hidey holes, and avoiding as many responsibilities as possible. And he could see in his mind's eye, her waltzing in the front door loudly celebrating what would normally have been a rather dull return home. Because she was coming home with him. Because in his mind, in his imagination, she could've been ridiculously happy just to be with him, even in a crummy apartment.

Maybe it's not so far off.... he thought to himself. He smiled as he recalled her reaction to the idea. He had unofficially asked her tonight, and he had only stumbled over the words a little. And she hadn't been afraid of the idea of them living together. In his mind, that was more than he could have ever hoped for at this point. Far more.

Yukito is done here! <3

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

When they kissed, her hands had automatically gone into his hair, and he silently cursed the stupid wig. Next year, he promised, he'd dress as something that wouldn't effect his own locks. He felt a serious let-down when he couldn't feel her fingers pulling on his actual hair. Her arms wrapped around him, her voice muffled as she buried her head in his chest, "I love you." She lifted her eyes to meet his again, giving him a quick kiss. "I love you, too."

"I don't want to go yet.... can't I just stay with you?" she joked. He was pretty sure she would always say that, every time they got near saying goodbye. He just smiled at her knowingly. "All right, fine...." Erin turned, one hand in Yukito's and one hand on the door knob.

"You're back!" her mother greeted. "Jake, they're back now," The alarm sent Mr. Spenser's head popping into view.

"Didn't you say eleven?" What a greeting. Yukito's expression went automatically guilty. Erin was anything but apologetic, though, taking more pictures. "It's eleven in Utah, maybe..."

"Sorry, it took longer than I thought for us to make it back to the car." He wasn't going to mention how often Erin had pulled him aside to a different stand, determined to buy as much merchandise as possible.

"Just call next time... both of you," her father added with a sigh. He didn't look too upset - but then again, Yukito didn't understand this guy's way of expressing himself. He turned to Erin, as if seeing his daughter's outfit for the first time. "Wow. I think you have all the creativity genes concentrated inside of you..." He chuckled, lifting a little strand of Erin's hair that, having been outside all day, had caught a bit of dead grass. "Did you know that was there?"

"No!" she freaked out over the small blade of grass, swiping at it frantically and sending him a glare, but a smile was on her lips. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Uh...." There were a lot of possible answers to that, but it was hard to think of any with her parents so obviously listening. "I didn't... know it was there?" He offered helplessly, shrugging.

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

"Did you know that was there?"

"No!" she squealed, brushing it away until she was sure it was out and twirled to fake-glare at Yukito. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Uh...." Yukito shrugged helplessly. "I didn't... know it was there?"

"I bet you did too know!" she objected immediately, giving him a little shove on his arm. The concert-packed day had gotten her completely wound up and she didn't feel sleep coming any time soon. "Is there any more? Tell the truth!" She pulled for a random segment of hair and examined it, then satisfied of its grasslessness, let it fall back.

"Erin, you took the camera?"

Erin looked up at her mother's words, a brief passing of guilt on her face-- it still dangled from her wrist.

"You could have asked, at least." She looked disappointed to Erin, like she'd taken a prized possession or something when really she doubted the camera had cost more than a hundred dollars.

Erin's momentary expression of guilt vanished and her brow creased. "If I had my own I wouldn't've had to use this one. And it's my birthday!" she tried, adding a smile.

"Is it really?" asked her dad, a small knowing smile on his face. "Are you sure about that?"

"What? Yeah, I'm sure! Why? What time is it? Is it really after midnight? Can't it still count?" Her flood of questions was sprinkled throughout with laughs as she quickly lifted the camera to her eyes and snapped a candid picture of her parents, the bright flash like a tiny lightning bolt lighting up the darkened living room, ignoring the surprised exclamations at the burst of light from both her parents. They were laughing, anyway.

"It still counts," conceded Mandi, with a nod. "And since you weren't here to get it earlier, there's something for you on your bed."

Erin's eyes brightened at her mother's words and she immediately disappeared into her room. In the time that she was gone, her parents had strung up strings of lights around the room and on her bed sat two little packages. Immediately she opened them, finding a tiny digital keychain that could show whatever pictures she decided to put onto it. The other was a collection of sticker-type picture frames that she could move around and use over and over again that she actually thought was a really, really cute idea. Nothing for music, though.

In the living room, both her parents waited for Erin's reaction. "The music fest was good, then, I take it?" Jacob asked Yukito.

"We already know how Erin liked it..." observed Mandi with a quiet smile. "What's all that she brought home?" she asked, referring to the collection of band merchandise.

Erin came back in the room, first hugging her dad and then her mom, one hand already clutching the little keychain the entire while. "Thank you!" She turned around and showed Yukito. "Look, I can put all the pictures from today on here! Well, maybe not all of them..." She couldn't help but laugh some. In every single way, this year totally obliterated last year.

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki

There was a light-hearted banter that bounce back and forth among the walls in the room that all seemed to hover around Erin and her infectious smile. Even after the gentle reprimand from her mother about borrowing the camera without permission, she couldn't keep a smile off her face. Yukito wanted to chuckle aloud, recalling the way she had come so close to losing it before they'd even left the parking lot. "If I had my own I wouldn't've had to use this one. And it's my birthday!"

"Is it really?" asked her dad, a small knowing smile on his face. "Are you sure about that?"

"What? Yeah, I'm sure! Why? What time is it? Is it really after midnight? Can't it still count?" She laughed, paused, then raised her camera to snap a sneaky shot of her parents' faces. They were laughing when she lowered the camera, successfully winning her parents over.

"It still counts," conceded Mandi, with a nod. "And since you weren't here to get it earlier, there's something for you on your bed." Yukito only had a moment to enjoy the sparkle in Erin's eyes before she vanished into her bedroom, leaving Yukito behind with her parents. After a moment standing with his hands in the pockets of his jacket, he realized his lips still clung stubbornly to the smile Erin's exclamations had brought about. The smile began to fade as Mr. Spenser drew him out of his reverie of the evening.

"The music fest was good, then, I take it?"

Yukito gave a nod, "It was fantastic. I think Erin really enjoyed it." Especially from the way she screamed her head off and kept tugging me around. Mr. Spenser, do you know how good it feels to have her pulling you around like that? Like a three-year-old with a special treasure anywhere she goes. I don't think I've ever had that.

"We already know how Erin liked it..." observed Mandi with a quiet smile. "What's all that she brought home?" she asked, referring to the collection of band merchandise. Yukito's crooked smirk flashed to life as he lifted the handle of the bag to peer inside, as though he would have forgotten. He certainly wasn't going to forget the amount of money they'd used.

"Pretty much one of everything... CDs, shirts, sparkling objects... I think she grabbed at least four things from every band we saw tonight."

Erin came back in the room, first hugging her dad and then her mom, something in her hand he couldn't quite see. "Thank you!" She turned around and held up a small keychain-type thing for him to see. He reached one hand out to catch hold of it, tilting it to see better. "Look, I can put all the pictures from today on here! Well, maybe not all of them..." She bubbled over with laughter as though she would implode otherwise. Yukito smile broadened.

"I'm sure you'll fit in everything you can." He moved in as if to kiss her, but stopped himself. Yukito's hand released the gift, his attention averted now. He held out her bags to her, reluctantly doing the job he always gave himself - to be the one to pull away and let her go, knowing he couldn't always keep her to himself alone. He lowered his voice to tell her, "I'd better go. I already stole you from your parents for you birthday, which I think entitles me to some sort of reprimand or something. Enjoy your birthday aftermath, okay?" After a moment, he leaned forward and gently pressed his lips briefly against her still-pale forehead, smiling when he drew back, meeting her eyes in a promise to see her soon. His eyes flickered over to her parents, and instinctively he started to bow, but turned it into more of a nod at the last moment, feeling that strange level of awkwardness around her parents. Warm, caring parents that always had one eye on their daughter when he was in the room. "Thanks for letting me steal her for today." Really. It means a lot. I'll never quite make up for last year's birthday celebration for Erin, but I think this helps. Even a little.

"Oyasumi," he mumbled to Erin softly, leaving the bags and his girlfriend and making his way to the door, waving behind him. The car was eerily silent on the short drive home. He had to play music to fill the silence Erin would have easily filled. Yukito glanced over at the empty passenger seat, and felt a strange sort of tug for something he couldn't explain. I'll see her tomorrow, and I know that. What else could I expect?

Yukito is done here.

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

"Look, I can put all the pictures from today on here! Well, maybe not all of them..." Her observation was punctuated with laughter.

"I'm sure you'll fit in everything you can," Yukito responded with a smile. She missed his brief moment of a half-thought kiss entirely. Erin happily received the bag of stuff she'd collected throughout the day, despite knowing it was a sign that everything had come to an end for the day and he would have to leave.

"I'd better go. I already stole you from your parents for you birthday, which I think entitles me to some sort of reprimand or something. Enjoy your birthday aftermath, okay?"

She signed, really unable to protest-- it would be fruitless. "Fine." But still, she was smiling. Really, it was kind of okay, because the day was awesome enough to tide over into the morning, so to speak.

Then Yukito leaned forward and gave the briefest of kisses against her forehead. God, how she loved seeing the smile on his face. She was seeing it more and more now... especially compared to how rarely she saw it when she had first met Yukito. He almost never smiled then...

Yukito was looking towards her parents, giving them something of a half-bow, half-nod deal as if he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. "Thanks for letting me steal her for today."

"Stealing? I thought she was on loan..." Jokingly, Erin's dad glanced to his wife. "Didn't we agree it was ten an hour, with 15 percent interest?"

"No, we wave that on holidays," came the response, and Erin rolled her eyes at the bad banking jokes. "Come on..."

"Oyasumi," he mumbled to Erin, and she looked up at him with her own daydream smile. "Oyasumi." He waved goodbye and disappeared to the other side of her front door, Erin standing meanwhile with the heavy merch bag clutched before her in two hands.

"We missed you a lot today..." started her dad, making Erin start with her own, Oh, don't try that expression before he tacked on, "But I'm really glad you had a good birthday, Erin." This time, she knew he was adding silently. Erin had never thought of it really before, but maybe-- no, almost definitely--, part of her parents' disfavor of Yukito came from knowing how she let herself b hurt last time around. But they were both so much better now... and that was the past, so let it lie.

Everything was perfect, even for just today.

"Good night."

A very good night! Erin's heart agreed.

Teh ends.

[Elda Forever]

What It Wasn't

OOC: Yeah, lame title. Shut up. I'm at a loss... BIC:

Amane Ourmura

This was such a bad idea. It was against all the rules she had set against her friends, and she still couldn't keep herself away. 'Do not look for him. Do not follow him. Keep a respectful distance. Chance meetings, waiting in case he comes. Those should be fine. But no following.' No matter how many excuses she could have come up with to pardon away this with the people who knew, and probably would come to know, she couldn't make up for it. This was following. There was no other word for sitting on the curb outside her apartment building, and seeing Yukito pull up in that familiar Volvo. She'd sat very quietly when he had gone up to the house, and she had debated with herself whether or not to go up. But was he there to see Erin again? To see his mother? She wasn't there - Amane had said goodbye to her earlier that afternoon. Surely he'd come back down in a few minutes once he realized that.

Amane had been surprised to see him reappear moments later, though. Because he was carrying things. Lots of things, like blankets and clothes, with his laptop folded up under one thin arm. Amane watched him openly as he placed it all in the car, not noticing her there. She had been getting bolder, especially once she realized he wouldn't see her unless she drew attention to herself. He never saw her, but that was okay for now. She curled up a little tighter on the curb and started to text rapidly into her phone. 'move is official. hes rly goin :c' For the thousandth time, she'd been relieved to have the option to send one text to multiple people, and in moments her phone began to vibrate violently in responses that included a lot of exclamations she should have anticipated.

Then she'd made a really stupid decision. It's Thanksgiving Day. Who is he spending it with?

She got up and raced up to the apartment she shared with her parents. They'd already had an early Thanksgiving dinner, which left a lot of leftovers that would probably feed a small army. Her parents were lounging in the living room, and they spoke to her briefly as she flew through the room. She brushed them off and ran into the kitchen, searching frantically through the small kitchen for a dish deep enough to hold what she needed. Something with a lid. Her mother wouldn't care if one went missing, right? She'd explain it was for a friend, and as long as she eventually got it back (Which was a good excuse to see him again! Bonus!) it would all work out. Amane frantically threw together a little of everything into the dish, including extras of certain pieces she thought Yukito would enjoy. Not so much turkey, but a little more mashed potatoes... he could use the extra weight. And didn't some people say potatoes helped with that more than other stuff? Something about it being a starch...

"Amane? What are you doing?"

"Gotta go, dad!" she called to him over her shoulder, slamming down on the plastic clasps that sealed the container. "I'll be back in a little bit!"

"Do you need a ride?"

Amane peeked out the front door just in time to see Yukito heading out of his mother's apartment again with another load of stuff. She smiled, waited until he'd vanished, then called back, "No, I'm fine!" Her dad muttered something sarcastically about needing exercise to work off the enormous meal.

It was easy enough to follow the car. He drove like an old lady. If she'd been trying, she could have outrun the Volvo easily. Why does he have such a fancy car then? It was another mystery. Amane vaguely wondered if it had to do with Natalie.

Natalie. She was an even bigger mystery than Yukito was. Unfortunately, Amane would never have a chance to learn about Natalie, except from Yukito himself. All she knew was what newspapers and the internet told her. The internet was a weird thing. It only gave you half-truths, most of the time. But it was creepy how much you could learn by using Google the right way. It was all about keywords.

Amane halted suddenly, her fingers tightening on the container of food. The Volvo had stopped at an unexplored apartment complex. He got an apartment? So he's never moving back in with his mother? One of the best parts of Amane's life, she had decided a long time ago, was how close Yukito lived. She could keep an eye out for him without having to go too far out of her way. She could even sit on her balcony and peer up at his window, wondering if he was in there. It was like he was with her all the time, without even knowing it.

Now he was really, really leaving. And she couldn't stop herself from feeling as if he was, in a way, finally abandoning her, too. Amane waited, frozen in place, as he unloaded the things from his car, barely breathing. Did he know how special he was? She was sure he didn't. Did he know how much she wanted to reach out to him, to make him see what she did? It was like there was a tall, ominous wall separating them.

And that wall was built by none other than Erin Spenser. Personal bodyguard. It was like she was constantly hanging on him. The look on his face she'd once been happy to see, even if he was holding the hand of another girl, that happy feeling had turned into a cold bitterness that she carefully hid from herself.

Amane remembered when she had spoken with him, months ago, and when he'd smiled at her. Kagayaki had helped her gain the courage to make Yukito remember her, to know her. And now she had to do that for herself. What had Kagayaki said to her? Something about being braver than they thought? Was that it? Something like that. Amane took a deep breath, and started walking towards him, trying to give enough strength to her quivering legs to keep her steady and look casual. "Yukito!"

His head whipped up at the sound of his name, and his eyes immediately found her. Amane felt her heart skip several beats, the rapid thudding against her chest making the container she held in her hands shake. Or was that just because her hands were quivering with nervousness? Amane smiled as best as she could manage, sending him a little wave. "Remember me?"

He stared at her for a second, as though uncertain. "Amane, right?" She couldn't find the strength to answer, she felt so excited about this chance. The smile that grew on her face was confirmation enough, luckily, and he gave an affirmative nod, as though pleased himself that he could remember her. Amane gripped the container more tightly in her hands, hugging it to herself and pushing herself into speaking. Before anything else, I need to be more comfortable around him. Even if the expressions he makes, the way his hair sometimes falls into his eyes.... even if those make it hard to breathe. I have to let him know! Somehow! I have to tell him everything....

Well, not everything...

"Do you need any help?" she asked innocently. Amane indicated her head towards the remaining stacks of CDs in his car, and the leather jacket he'd discarded there. She smiled a little at the teetering piles he'd made. Hadn't he ever heard of using boxes?

"Uh... I suppose." he shrugged. She wanted to lay a hand on that shoulder, to feel it rise as he shrugged over and over when he spoke to anyone. Amane had to try very hard not to stare at that shoulder that rose more often than the other, like a dominant writing hand.

Amane smiled and set her container down on the curb, holding her hands out as he piled things in her hands. She felt a shiver run through her when his hand accidentally brushed hers, then instantly chastised herself. You aren't even allowed to be here! You broke one of your own rules! With a lightheaded feeling that left her feeling dizzy and disoriented, as if she was really dreaming herself here, she followed him into his new apartment.

It was everything she expected.

It was messy. She grinned at the numerous piles he'd made in random places. Dishes were already piling up on the counter, and the scanty piles of clothes were positioned in odd corners, as if to make the room feel like it had any furniture in it whatsoever.

Because there was no furniture, it felt eerily empty. She turned to Yukito, who had wordlessly left her in the entry as he headed around a corner. He didn't try to explain away the mess to her, didn't indicate a place to put his things. Just... walked off. Amane couldn't resist rolling her eyes as she gently knelt to place the stack of music next to a teetering pile of its brothers, set in the middle of the living room floor. Amane looked around the room slowly, automatically beginning to memorize the layout of the small apartment. She turned around, not realizing Yukito had silently reentered the room before she caught sight of him in her peripheral vision. It made her jump, but she offered him a little smile, just the same.

"Nice place," she commented shyly. He shrugged. Second time.

"I really need to get more furniture, but it'll just have to wait." What a simple reply. His eyes seemed to glaze over as he glanced carelessly around the room. He probably wasn't really seeing it, either. He was somewhere else. After a few long moments, he turned to look at her, and she ignored the moment of panic as he looked at her curiously. She could almost hear his thoughts. Why are you here? You didn't just randomly walk by, did you?

To catch herself with a good excuse, she exclaimed, "Oh! I almost forgot!" Amane raced out to the car and picked up the container from the curb, bringing it back and offering it to him with both hands, "Your mother wanted me to bring this to you." She tried to smile innocently. Yukito stared blankly at her for a long time. Long enough for a million concerns flashed through her mind. I messed it all up. I messed it all up...

After what felt like a hundred years of mental torture with all the what ifs, he took the dinner. "Thanks..." She could still hear the uncertainty in his voice. He held the container tentatively, reminding her of a stray cat who wasn't used to receiving scraps, more used to receiving blows and shouted threats. Her expression couldn't hide the sudden wash of pity in her eyes, which made him look at her all the more strangely. Amane tore her gaze from his face, turning to stare at his leather jacket. Another sudden noise erupted from somewhere in the room, making her jump. Yukito looked down at the cell phone in his hand. And Amane knew it was Erin. She was always texting him. Who else did? Did Erin knew she texted him the most?

"Are you....?" she began, but once he glanced up at her solemnly, she felt her words catch in her throat. A deep breath cleared the way for her to go on, "Are you spending Thanksgiving alone?"

He slipped the phone in his pocket and shrugged. Three. "I don't really celebrate Thanksgiving. So I guess it doesn't really matter."

'"Not like I have family to spend it with anyways", that's what he's thinking. Poor Yukito!'

"But it's a big deal!" she found herself saying, albeit quietly, "You shouldn't be alone on a national holiday! It's...like..illegal..." That earned her a smile. A real one, that played at the corners of his girly-thick lips as she watched, enthralled and delighted that she accomplished such a thing. She was so giddy off her success that she ended up blurting out the next words without thinking, "I'll stay with you, if you want!"

He arched an eyebrow at her. She only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that amusement was written all over his expression. More dominantly than the inevitable confusion and suspicion. "I mean, I won't turn down another Thanksgiving dinner. It's been just long enough I have room for more." She offered a playful smile, patting her stomach as if she'd been working on digestion. She was really full, but she could force some more down for him.

Yukito's smile was a little forced, as if he had no idea what to make of her. She didn't blame him. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine. I've got plans, anyways." She knew he didn't. But she smiled anyways.

"Alright, then..." A long, awkward pause, "I'll just...go now." She wiggled her fingers in a goodbye towards him, and he offered a cautious little wave back. Amane was smiling like an idiot the whole way home. Her feet had already memorized how to get home. I totally just broke a million rules this time. I'm such an idiot.

But at least he has something to eat. At least he knows that, because I came by, he didn't have to spend Thanksgiving alone...

Her phone vibrated again, and she pulled out her phone with a smile still plastered pretty permanently on her lips. 'where r u???'

Amane debated whether or not to tell her friends where he was living right now. The rules were, factual information had to be shared. No matter what. But she had already broken a million rules already today, hadn't she? By interfering, by following him, by entering his apartment?

But she felt pretty guilty because of it. And her mistakes shouldn't hurt the others. She punched back in a response, 'jes fond out were he lives... will update site l8r.'

The response came split-seconds later, shocking even her. They must have lightning fingers...

'kk!!!!1'

Amane closed the text message, and found a picture of Yukito from his band days staring back at her, eyes wide and slightly menacing. She snapped the phone shut and slipped it into her pocket with a sigh. The girls were gonna be ticked about this one. But they'd get over it. She was the one that started all of this, anyways. From that first day at school when Yukito and that blond kid had first spoke to her. When she'd realized how special he was, silent and sullen, trying not to draw attention to himself. One day he'd come to terms with the fact that he could never fade into the background.

To be honest with herself, Amane would have to admit she was furious with Erin right now. How could she leave him alone like that! She was practically begging someone else to come and comfort him! Her steps became more determined, more confident. Erin was making mistakes. She was leaving him, slowly. And she was letting a wide, open space between her and Yukito. A space Amane wanted to fill, had wanted to fill since sometime last September. And she'd someday, she'd get a chance. She just couldn't screw it up now.

Amane is done here! D:

[Elda Forever]

What was this? ~ Set sometime soon after the POTO began.

~~~~~

Yukito Maki

He paced his bedroom frantically, like a tiger caught in a cage he kept trying to escape from. The music player one his computer was paused, and he continually stopped pacing to glare at it. Yukito just didn't get it. He leaned over and hit play on the computer again, and Music of the Night blared over his speakers again. "I just don't freaking get it." He swore a few choice words under his breath, listening intently to the accumulation of notes that ascended to a long-note finale. He'd watched the films, as ridiculous as he found them. He'd been listening to the soundtrack practically non-stop. At least, when no one else was around. He paused the music again, and stood in the center of the room, facing an invisible Christine. Who also happened to be his bubbly girlfriend. "Nighttime, sharpens...heightens each sensation..." No, that sounds too much like a rock-voice than a musical-voice. He figured Shelby would hate that type of sound in it. But in all seriousness, she should've expected it. He sang metal. Not classical. It was pretty stupid to ask him to play the title role. Utter stupidity. All because she was feeling too emo to make more weird musical friends and was desperate to find someone who could carry a tune.

He tried again, but felt himself too stiff, too dark a voice. Wasn't the old guy in the musical singing in a super-high, almost girly type of voice? He just couldn't do that, and it irritated every bone in his body beyond belief. What am I supposed to be conveying here? This old pervert I'm playing has no clue how to let the girl he likes know it. What the freak? Why did I even get this role? He'd been at it for hours today. Erin had some stupid family thing to do, and Shelby had had no qualms about criticizing most everything he did as far as practice went. Maybe it was just him, but he felt like she was picking on him more than the others. Significantly. Sure, he had been against the whole thing since the beginning, but now that he was trying - honestly trying - things just became more frustrating on his end. And his trying was showing in how he was approaching it. Okay, so it was probably because he had the title role, and he was supposed to be the real clincher on it, and he was sure Shelby seriously needed this grade. But he couldn't help but feel she was going overboard with the critique. It was grating on his nerves, even when she wasn't there. He could still hear her croaky voice screeching at him to do it again, and better this time.

Yukito growled, took a deep breath, and tried again. He made it all the way through the song with - in his opinion - a million errors. He faded off too quickly on the ending note, and swore aloud to himself, breaking character. He just kept picturing an old guy! How was he supposed to know how this guy was feeling? I wish Erin wasn't so convincing. He wanted to get some help with this. But there weren't many options. Shelby was out of the question. He didn't learn much from her, just sending back snarky, reprimanding remarks. Aidousan didn't know anymore than Yukito did. To ask Erin for help was somehow degrading. He let out a sigh. There was nothing else he could do. He had to go to someone who knew what they were doing somewhat, someone who knew what this musical was about, on the emotional, acting level.

He picked up the phone. And he called Cassie.

"Yo, Cassie.." he started, trying to sound more upbeat and determined than he actually felt. "Eh...I was just wondering if you were busy today. I kinda..." he paused, and frowned. "I kinda need your help with this silly musical thing. I'm... To be honest, I'm totally lost."


~~~~~


Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

You would have to be blind not to notice how ticked the others were getting at Shelby and her directing. Even Cassie had to count herself among that number. Shelby's problem wasn't her ideas, but how she expressed them. She had a great vision of how she wanted the show to be, but she was horrible at telling them exactly what to do, as if she didn't quite get it and was offended when they couldn't read her mind and do exactly what she wanted. Plus, she was pushy and bossy. And the others noticed. It was impossible not to. But what they didn't understand was that after rehearsals, they got to go home and escape Shelby and her ideas. Cassie didn't.

Rehearsal was never over when you lived with the director.

"Ugh, Shelby, this hurts my feet!" She complained after the fifth round of her one-on-one rehearsal with Shelby. They were working on the Angel of Music scene, in full costume. Which Cassie wouldn't have minded, if Shelby hadn't insisted on Cassie walking like a duck the entire time.

"Cassie, we've been over this a billion times!" Shelby cried, exasperated. "You know this movie backwards and forwards. As a ballerina, Meg walks with her feet turned outward, in an eternal first position. You know that! You took ballet, remember?"[/b]

"I quit after a week. You were the one who insisted on continuing. Besides, the Meg we saw on Broadway didn't walk like this. It's annoying, and it hurts!"

"Yes she did. You just weren't paying attention. Again, and from the top please...and walk like Meg!"[/b][/i]

I'd like to. I'd like to walk like Meg right out of this door, and never have to do this again.

Cassie sighed heavily as the music started again. "Where in the world have you been hiding? Really you were--"

"And NOT JAZZY!"

"Shelby, that's just how my voice is!"

"Then you have to fix it."

Childishly, Cassie stomped her foot. "I'm taking a break. This is ridiculous. I'm tired, and I'm sick of you telling me what to do."

Shelby gave a shrug, gesturing Cassie away with her hand before going back to her laptop, pulling up the clips of what they had shot the day before. 'Watching the dailies', she called it. Whatever. Cassie marched out of the parlor, heading for the stairs so she could go up and change when her cell phone rang.

She answered it, seeing Yukito's name on the caller ID. "Hello?"

Yo, Cassie..Eh...I was just wondering if you were busy today. I kinda..." There was a pause "I kinda need your help with this silly musical thing. I'm... To be honest, I'm totally lost."

Cassie nodded, even though he couldn't see her through the phone. "Sure, no problem. Uh...it's probably best if I come over there, though, unless you want to face Director-zilla again. She's awful. It never stops. I've been working on Angel of Music with her since lunch, and I don't think we've gotten past the first three lines yet." Cassie paused for a minute, then sighed. "Actually, it would be better if you came here, since we've got all the props and stuff...and a piano. So I guess just come over whenever? See ya."

Shelby was gone when she came back to the parlor, a note in her sister's writing scrawled hastily on a Post-It. Went to theatre to meet owner for costume/makeup help. Later. Whatever.

She looked up when she heard the sound of a car in the driveway, and got up to answer the door herself. It was then that she realized she was still in her Meg costume, ballet slippers and all. Her face reddened. "Um...hey. Come on in. Don't mind the costume...like I said, Shelby's been working with me all day. My life is one long rehearsal.


~~~~~


Yukito Maki

Cassie's voice on the phone sounded exasperated and tired. "Hello?" He was sure he'd caught her at a bad time, but continued anyway. It wasn't like he could tell her to forget he'd called without explaining himself.

"Yo, Cassie...Eh...I was just wondering if you were busy today. I kinda..." A pause. I kinda suck at this. "I kinda need your help with this silly musical thing. I'm.. to be honest, I'm totally lost."

There was a little wait on his end, then Cassie said, "Sure, no problem. Uh..it's probably best if I come over there, though, unless you want to face Director-zilla again." Yukito let out a little hiss. No, he wasn't really looking forward to that. "She's awful. It never stops. I've been working on Angel of Music with her since lunch, and I don't think we've gotten past the first three lines yet." Yukito had to feel some severe sympathy there. He was becoming notorious for bailing out on rehearsals as soon as he was allowed away. He was sure one of these times he was really gonna tick off on Shelby. And he'd basically promised Erin he was going to play nice.

"Sorry about that. Really." Then he considered. "Would you need me to give you a ride, then?"

Cassie let out a little sigh, "Actually, it would be better if you came here, since we've got all the props and stuff...and a piano. So I guess just come over whenever?"

He nodded slowly, leaning over to grab his keys, "Ok, I'll head over now if that's alright. Maybe we can lock Shelby in the cellar and save us both a few hours of relative peace."

"See ya."
Yukito hung up, sent a quick glare to his computer screen, then closed it so the unfinished album couldn't sit there staring at him cruelly. It took more time than normal for Yukito to reach Cassie's house, since most people were messing around in their yards or enjoying summer-time activities in the park or by the pool. He played the album from the beginning again, only getting a few songs in when he arrived. Cassie answered the door wearing a ballet outfit and slippers. Yukito looked her up and down, arching an eyebrow. Her face went crimson. "Um...hey. Come on in. don't mind the costume... like I said, Shelby's been working on me all day. My life is one long rehearsal."

"It's fine," he said flippantly, stepping inside, "I wonder how long it would take our lovely director to get to Bermuda if we ship her off today?" His tone only had a hint of bitterness to it. He was joking more than anything. Automatically, he peered from left to right when he entered the house, as if checking for the person in question. Then he turned to Cassie, "I'm sorry to bother you with more rehearsing, but I seriously just need a little bit of time. I'm hoping you can make it click with me...or something." He shrugged. "I dunno..."

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

"Yo, Cassie...Eh...I was just wondering if you were busy today. I kinda...I kinda need your help with this silly musical thing. I'm.. to be honest, I'm totally lost."

In all honesty, the last thing Cassie wanted to do right now was help Yukito out. She was so sick of Phantom of the Opera that at this point, she was pretty sure she would wring the neck of anyone who mentioned it in her presence. Still, it wasn't as if she could really say no...not after everything Yukito had done for her.

An hour. Just an hour, if that's all it takes. And then you can be done--screw Shelby and whatever more torture plans she has for me today. Maybe she'll want to run the portcullis scene in Final Lair with me standing in as Raoul, or whatever, and she'll actually kill me. Or I'll finally just snap and kill her. Ugh! Okay. Focus. Yukito needs an answer...would it really kill me to help him out? I know he's stressed. It won't be that bad. Okay, I'll do it.

"Sure, no problem," she said after a minute. "Uh..it's probably best if I come over there, though, unless you want to face Director-zilla again." Yukito made a disapproving noise, and Cassie went on. "She's awful. It never stops. I've been working on Angel of Music with her since lunch, and I don't think we've gotten past the first three lines yet." She punctuated her words with a frustrated sigh.

"Sorry about that. Really. Would you need me to give you a ride, then?"

Cassie shook her head, realizing that however much she and Yukito wanted to avoid Shelby and her bipolar directing skills, it would be really best for all involved if they just rehearsed at their house. "Actually, it would be better if you came here, since we've got all the props and stuff...and a piano. So I guess just come over whenever?"

They agreed, and Cassie hung up the phone with another sigh. Her mood brightened considerably when she saw that Shelby had gone out, but she was still not in the best of moods to be receiving company. She took a couple of deep breaths as she heard Yukito knock on the door. "Um...hey. Come on in. don't mind the costume... like I said, Shelby's been working on me all day. My life is one long rehearsal."

"It's fine. I wonder how long it would take our lovely director to get to Bermuda if we ship her off today?" Yukito asked, stepping inside and glancing around. Shivers rose up and down Cassie's spine. She didn't have to ask who he was looking for. She already knew.

She attempted to laugh at his comment, but her heart wasn't in it. "No, we're safe for now, she just went out. Maybe if we're lucky she won't come back."


"I'm sorry to bother you with more rehearsing, but I seriously just need a little bit of time. I'm hoping you can make it click with me...or something. I dunno..."

Cassie frowned. "I can try...is it like, a song that you're having trouble with, or the character, or..." She led him into the parlor and sat down at the piano, trying to walk 'like Meg', as Shelby had instructed her to. "You can sit down...but yeah. It would help if I knew what you were really struggling with here."


~~~~~


Yukito Maki

He had never understood ballet outfits. Okay, so the leotard was so they could move about and not be considered naked. What about the tutu shirt thing? Was that supposed to help them keep balance or something? It was just distracting, in his mind. He tried to ignore the heat threatening to rise to his face, choosing to ignore her costume completely. "It's fine. I wonder how long it would take our lovely director to get to Bermuda if we ship her off today?" Yukito asked, stepping inside and glancing around.

At least a little laugh escaped Cassie. "No, we're safe for now, she just went out. Maybe if we're lucky she won't come back."

Yukito turned to face her, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. He didn't wear shorts. Not even in the summer. Something about self-awareness or something like that. I hate therapists. He knew Cassie was probably as sick of this play as he was. "I'm sorry to bother you with more rehearsing, but I seriously just need a little bit of time. I'm hoping you can make it click with me...or something. I dunno..."

Cassie frowned. "I can try...is it like, a song that you're having trouble with, or the character, or..." She led him into the parlor and sat down at the piano. Something was odd about her gait, and he glanced down to see her feet were facing outward.

"Ouch," was his only comment, pointing to her feet as she sat down at the piano.

"You can sit down...but yeah. It would help if I knew what you were really struggling with here."

He glanced up at her, looking a little embarrassed. "It's kind of all of it. But mostly his character. I just don't get him. From the first scene to the last.. Yeah, he loves Christine, I get it." He shrugged, "But it seems like there's more to it, and I can't put my finger on it. What am I supposed to be focusing on the whole time? Aren't actors supposed to feel like their character? Because I really feel like I'm a five-year-old trying to act out a ninety-year-old here." He growled an addition, "And he is an old geezer...And people say I rob the cradle..."


~~~~~


Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

"Don't mind the costume..." Cassie said when she opened the door, feeling like she had to give him some explanation for looking like a sugar-plum fairy. Even if the Angel of Music ballet outfit was her favorite among her costumes--but the Final Lair getup was the most comfortable--she still felt self-conscious as she gazed at Yukito in his regular clothes. Lucky...I don't get to rehearse without my costume. Ever. "Like I said, Shelby's been working on me all day. My life is one long rehearsal."

Yukito brushed away her apology, adding that perhaps they could arrange for Shelby to take a not-so-temporary vacation. Cassie let out a feeble attempt at a laugh. "No, we're safe for now, she just went out," she assured him. "Maybe if we're lucky she won't come back."


"I'm sorry to bother you with more rehearsing, but I seriously just need a little bit of time. I'm hoping you can make it click with me...or something. I dunno..."

Cassie assured him that it was fine, even though she was privately wondering just why he thought she would be able to help her. I mean, it's not as if I'm breaking any ground with my character here...It seriously makes me wish she wasn't changing the stupid ending. I don't even like Erik and Christine as a pairing--he's got an amazing voice and all that, but he's scary. Raoul actually loves her, doesn't he? Why did she have to change it? Now I have to dig up some motivation as to why Meg falls for Raoul when the show was perfect the way it was, and I don't think I can legitimately do that even if Kagayaki is Raoul, and...I just hate this whole thing. I can't believe I ever thought this would be fun.

She led him into the parlor, trying her best to follow Shelby's direction as to how she should walk. Even if it made her legs ache, the pain was better than Shelby yelling at her again. She had to get used to it somehow...

"Ouch," Yukito commented. Cassie grimaced at him as she sat down. "Shelby's idea. She told me to walk 'like Meg'--meaning, like a ballerina with my feet always in first position. It kills, but oh well...I can handle it. I hope. It'll be okay. You can sit down...but yeah. It would help if I knew what you were really struggling with here."

"It's kind of all of it. But mostly his character. I just don't get him. From the first scene to the last.. Yeah, he loves Christine, I get it. But it seems like there's more to it, and I can't put my finger on it. What am I supposed to be focusing on the whole time? Aren't actors supposed to feel like their character? Because I really feel like I'm a five-year-old trying to act out a ninety-year-old here.And he is an old geezer...And people say I rob the cradle..."

Cassie snorted with amusement at that. "Yeah, I get what you mean. But with Erik, it goes way beyond love...it's like an obsession. That's why you give her that ultimatum in the final scene, because you love her so much that you physically can't bear the thought of her ever leaving you. But that love is also what prompts you to let her go with Raoul, you know? Because you realize that it's what's best for her. Even though she stays with you in this version...which I'm not thrilled about, by the way. I like the original ending better." She shook her head. "But anyway...also, I don't know if Shelby ever told you this, but I think in the book, he fell in love with Christine before he ever saw her. It was her voice that he loved at first, without needing anything else. He loved her just from hearing her sing.

"I dunno if that helps...at all...but do you want to maybe give it a shot? Work on the Final Lair scene a bit until whatever's missing for you clicks, you know?"


~~~~~


Yukito Maki

"Ouch," came his eloquent comment as he saw Cassie's odd foot position. She grimaced at him as she sat down. "Shelby's idea. She told me to walk 'like Meg'--meaning, like a ballerina with my feet always in first position. It kills, but oh well...I can handle it. I hope. It'll be okay. You can sit down..."

He frowned at that. Yukito knew he'd been hard on the band when they were together. He was the one with motivation, self-discipline, and with the hardest critique. Even if he was the youngest. But he'd been dealing with a bunch of lazy teenage males around his own age. Shelby seemed to get harder on them the more faithfully they tried. "Don't do it now. She's not here anyways," he said gently, adding as an afterthought, "It hurts my feet just looking at you." When she asked him to tell her what they were 'really struggling with', Yukito had to shrug. "It's kind of all of it. But mostly his character. I just don't get him. From the first scene to the last... Yeah, he loves Christine, I get it. But it seems like there's more to it, and I can't put my finger on it. What am I supposed to be focusing on the whole time? Aren't actors supposed to feel like their character? Because I really feel like I"m a five-year-old trying to act out a ninety-year-old here..." He growled an addition, "And he is an old geezer... And people say I rob the cradle...."

Cassie snorted with amusement at that. "Yeah, I get what you mean. But with Erik, it goes way beyond love...it's like an obsession. That's why you give her that ultimatum in the final scene, because you love her so much that you physically can't bear the thought of her ever leaving you. But that love is also what prompts you to let her go with Raoul, you know? Because you realize that it's what's best for her. Even though she stays with you in this version...which I'm not thrilled about, by the way. I like the original ending better." She shook her head. Yukito looked at her curiously, wanting her to elaborate on that but not distracting her. "But anyway...also, I don't know if Shelby ever told you this, but I think in the book, he fell in love with Christine before he ever saw her. It was her voice that he loved at first, without needing anything else. He loved her just from hearing her sing." Yukito turned to stare at the floor thoughtfully. "I dunno if that helps...at all...but do you want to maybe give it a shot? Work on the Final Lair scene a bit until whatever's missing for you clicks, you know?"

Yukito nodded, slowly, as though his mind was a million miles away. He stood up, then looked over at her. "Kinda like how I heard Erin singing in her apartment before I met her?" he asked, seemingly at random. He shrugged as if to let her know not to bother with his weird comment. "I'm totally a fish out of water with this, but I'm game." He stopped and stood apart from Cassie, his brow furrowing. He couldn't think seeing the piano and the huge rooms here. Yukito crossed his arms on his chest and closed his eyes as if to shut out the possibility of error entirely. He needed to get this right. Or it would bug him forever. He loved her just from hearing her sing.... I can't say I loved Erin the moment I heard her belting in her apartment. But I know I had to meet her then. I somehow had to. He let out a sigh, the happiness of that day bittersweet with all the mistakes in between. Can't physically bear the thought of her ever leaving.... The frown deepened. Like a tv drama's cruel replay of the most embittered scenes, he kept seeing her walking away from him at the Halloween party last year, infuriated and alone. He hadn't been there for her, silently promising but not coming through. He mentally shook himself as he realized his face was starting to twist in that regret, and he opened his eyes. "Okay, I'm ready. Where you want me to start?" The whole thing had taken seconds. But it was what he had right now.


~~~~~


Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

Even though her knees and feet were killing her from forcing them into such an unnatural position, Cassie ignored Yukito's comment. If she didn't practice, it would continue to hurt when they actually filmed it, and she would be focusing on the pain rather than the character. She just had to pull through the pain right now until she was used to it. It was like stretching, almost. A much more painful form of stretching.

"Yeah, I get what you mean," she began after Yukito had sort of explained what he was having trouble with. "But with Erik, it goes way beyond love...it's like an obsession. That's why you give her that ultimatum in the final scene, because you love her so much that you physically can't bear the thought of her ever leaving you. But that love is also what prompts you to let her go with Raoul, you know? Because you realize that it's what's best for her. Even though she stays with you in this version...which I'm not thrilled about, by the way. I like the original ending better. But anyway...also, I don't know if Shelby ever told you this, but I think in the book, he fell in love with Christine before he ever saw her. It was her voice that he loved at first, without needing anything else. He loved her just from hearing her sing."Yukito looked away, seemingly considering what Cassie had told him. I hope this is helping...it's such a complex character, and how can I help if I can't even get my own right?

"I dunno if that helps...at all...but do you want to maybe give it a shot?" she asked lamely. "Work on the Final Lair scene a bit until whatever's missing for you clicks, you know?"

Yukito nodded, standing up and glancing over at her, thought etched onto his face. "Kinda like how I heard Erin singing in her apartment before I met her?" he asked. A little smile crossed Cassie's face at that. "Yeah, like that."

"I'm totally a fish out of water with this, but I'm game."

"Good. Let's do it. But let's try it without the CD. Most of the time I find that messes me up even more, because I compare myself to the Meg on the tape.I'll just play the piano accompaniment for you." She turned around and opened the complex scorebook in front of her, taking it to the very back where the pages and pages of music from the Final Lair scenes waited. When she turned back to Yukito, he was standing in intense concentration, his eyes closed to block out all distractions. She smiled to herself. Cassie did the exact same thing when she tried to get in character...when Shelby gave her the chance, that is.

"Okay, I'm ready," Yukito said finally. "Where you want me to start?"

Cassie turned to study the music. "I think you're pretty good on the beginning of the Down Once More bit...and I'm pretty sure you don't want to be singing to yourself all day. I don't feel like doing that round of "The Phantom of the opera is here..." again, it gets on my nerves...the whole show gets on my nerves these days, pretty much." She glanced at him before going back to the music book. "Uh, let's start at Christine's "Have you gorged yourself at last..." bit." Then you have something to play off of, and we get to work the more emotional stuff in the piece. I can be Christine, if you want...it's not that hard to play and sing at the same time. I'm not as good as Erin, but I can do it...this bit doesn't even go that high." She grinned at him. "Whenever you're ready."

Turning back to the piano, she ran through the four-part round leading up to their starting point, her fingers flying over the now-familiar notes. For some reason, she wasn't as self-conscious about playing the piano in front of her friends as she was for singing. "Have you gorged yourself at last in your lust for blood?" she sang. "Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh?"


~~~~~


Yukito Maki

He hadn't even heard her request for piano over the CD. He'd already lost himself in his heartfelt attempts at getting into this character's head. It took some effort, but he could try to understand some points about the Phantom. But he still like that he'd been picked for the role in the first place. "Okay, I'm ready," he said finally. "Where you want me to start?"

Cassie turned to study the music. "I think you're pretty good on the beginning of the Down Once More bit...and I'm pretty sure you don't want to be singing to yourself all day. I don't feel like doing that round of 'The Phantom of the opera is here...' again, it gets on my nerves...the whole show gets on my nerves these days, pretty much."

"Heh," was his eloquent response. Yukito shifted his weight from foot to foot. At least he didn't have to dance or anything for his role. Or stand with his feet in abnormal positions.

"Uh, let's start at Christine's 'Have you gorged yourself at last...' bit. Then you have something to play off of, and we get to work the more emotional stuff in the piece." Yukito nodded. And tried to imagine a time when he would be pressuring Christine/Erin into more 'gorging' than she liked. He couldn't think of a time. She was always first to move. He just followed her lead, unless he had to be the one who moved first. But isn't what he's saying? 'This fate which condemns me...' and all that? He doesn't want to move first, but things are forcing him to? "I can be Christine, if you want...it's not that hard to play and sing at the same time. I'm not as good as Erin, but I can do it...this bit doesn't even go that high." She grinned at him, a flash of the old Cassie. Not the bugged, irritated, worn-out, new Cassie. He smiled back at her.

"I know you'll do fine."

"Whenever you're ready."

"Fire away," he said with a sigh. The desperacy he needed couldn't be grasped in a single moment, but he had to convince himself it was a goal attainable. In the subconsciously counted beats before Christine's first lines, he took a breath and tried to capture in his head a fate condemned, where he was as afraid as he was desperate. What about the times he didn't want to do something, because it would hurt, but that he knew he had to act or lose everything all over again? The times I get angry about it. He couldn't help think of the first time he'd been told about the plot of the musical. He'd been angry, then. And he'd felt as if he had no choice in the matter, but that he had to act. Even if it was stupid to everyone else.

"Have you gorged yourself at last in your lust for blood?" Cassie sang. Yukito locked his eyes on her face, turned away from him so that he could watch her profile. "Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh?"

How could she accuse him of that? So far as I could see, he hadn't forced her into anything. She'd slept right there in front of him. He could've done what he wanted. His skin crawled. My father would have.

"That fate which denies me," he hissed, "To wallow in blood. Has also denied me..the joys of the flesh..." His face twisted as he tried to make the lyrics true.

Dad, you ruined me. You gave me hatred. You made me unable to do the things I want to today, even years after you ruined me. All because you're messed up. Because I was there, and easy prey. And because I look like you.

"This face, the infection which poisons our love.."


~~~~~


Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

"Uh, let's start at Christine's 'Have you gorged yourself at last...' bit," Cassie began, looking down at the lines and lines of music in front of her. "Then you have something to play off of, and we get to work the more emotional stuff in the piece.I can be Christine, if you want...it's not that hard to play and sing at the same time. I'm not as good as Erin, but I can do it...this bit doesn't even go that high." She shot him a sheepish smile. Shelby never let her sing any of Christine's parts, even when Erin wasn't there to rehearse them, saying that Cassie's voice was too low and jazz-oriented. "You wouldn't be able to pull it off," she would say, the cold-disinterested air that accompanied everything Shelby said now dripping with disdain. "We'll just use the CD." It killed Cassie how Shelby belittled her like that. I can sing that stuff. I've done it before, don't you remember? I can sing it.

She would never admit it to Erin or Yukito, but inside Cassie couldn't help being jealous that Erin had been given the lead role, the ingenue, while Cassie had been stuck with Meg. Meg the ballet rat, Meg the best friend. It was as if Shelby wanted Erin to get all the glory, all the attention...just like it was in real life. Erin was the one you noticed first, not Cassie. Erin, with her big personality and bubbly nature, Erin with her desire to be everywhere at once, Erin with her killer confidence. Not Cassie. Always Erin. Always Erin. Cassie wanted to be the one who caught everyone's attention, just this once. She wanted to be the young star coming out of nowhere, just like Christine was in the show.

But of course, she couldn't tell Erin that.

So she contented herself with Meg, trying to explore the character as best she could with what she had to work with. Which really wasn't much, but she was trying.

"I know you'll do fine."

Cassie gave a little nod, her fingers itching to begin playing. "Whenever you're ready," she told him before launching into the musical introduction. "Have you gorged yourself at last in your lust for blood?" she sang, alternating between looking at Yukito, who looked as murderous as the role called for at this point, and the music on the page. "Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh?"

"That fate which condemns me to wallow in blood. Has also denied me..the joys of the flesh..." Wow. Yukito had always sounded good in the singing parts for his role--Shelby, a purist through and through, kept at him to make his voice sound more classical, but Cassie sort of liked the rock-based, rough edge to his voice. But this...he'd never sounded like this before. He was legitimately frightening. Maybe he's getting into character a bit too much now...

"This face, the infection which poisons our love.." Yukito sang. Cassie flipped the page in the score book as the music slowed down, becoming mournful. This part is always so sad...


~~~~~



Yukito Maki

"Have you gorged yourself at last in your lust for blood?" Cassie sang. Even if she had tried, she couldn't keep her natural tone out of her voice, and it offered a bit of a darker, raw feel to the lyrics as she sang, her fingers slipping across the piano keys without seeming to touch down. "Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh?"

"That fate which condemns me," he hissed, "To wallow in blood. Has also denied me the joys of the flesh..." It wasn't until he was halfway through the stanza that he realized he was singing it totally wrong. Shelby wanted operatic, vibrato, old-guy-sings-like-a-girl type of stuff. But he couldn't focus on that today. He was grateful Shelby wasn't around. There was no way he could feel into the role at this point and hide the rock vocals from every single word. He'd been trained on a way to sing what he felt, and he'd gotten obsessed with it. Acting like the Phantom and singing his style at this point felt like learning to write with the other hand after doing it one way forever. He couldn't focus on that today. Today, Cassie was going to help him understand the Phantom. Style came later. Animosity mattered now. He pushed himself harder into every line like it was everything he had to go on. He didn't realize his hands were clenching at his sides so tightly they started to shake.

"This face, the infection which poisons our love.." Yukito sang. The slight rustle of a page punctuated the line as Cassie continued playing the piano. The vibrations of the piano, still felt beneath his feet and in the stiff muscles of his hands that strained steadily, seemed to float off into the air and vanish gently away. "This face, which earned a mother's fear and loathing." he found himself needed to gasp for the breath, which was strange for him. "A mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing." He furrowed his brow and inhaled deeply before half-bellowing, half-growling the following lines, unable to keep the traces of screamo technique completely clear of the sound. "Pity comes too late! Turn around and face your fate! An eternity of this!" He unclenched and reclenched his right hand, feeling the needle-like pains there now. Yukito's expression crumpled. He had to calm down. I'm sure I'm doing it all wrong. But he was incapable of giving up. He wasn't going to be stopped by something stupid. He lifted his eyes to Cassie and tried to smooth out his voice, to make himself sound alluring, pleading, to be begging her to forgive him for every stupid thing he'd done up until then. "Before your eyes..."


~~~~~


Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

She loved the feel of the ivory keys of the piano beneath her fingers, loved that she was able to produce something beautiful out of them. She'd never gotten into any other music besides piano, and the fact that she had started playing before she could even tie her shoes usually remained a secret among her friends. She wasn't one of those musical types, not like the ones at school--the ones who sang as they walked down the halls, that spent their weekends practicing instead of studying or hanging out with friends. But she probably felt the same way about her piano as they did about their voices and violins.

She just didn't feel comfortable flaunting it.

Yukito started to sing, his voice dripping with hatred and fury. If Cassie had been Christine, she would have been scared out of her wits right now. But she was not Christine. She was Cassie. She was Meg. And Meg didn't get scared of Erik--that's why she disobeyed her mother and went down into the labyrinth beneath the opera house anyway. She wasn't afraid of making the journey down to his lair. Cassie wished she could be that brave. Although she does scream a lot...the famous Meg scream. God, I hope Shelby doesn't make me do that over and over, or she'll have a mime for a Meg. She'll kill my voice...she'll work us to death if she's not careful. Ironic, huh?

"That fate which condemns me to wallow in blood has also denied me the joys of the flesh. This face, the infection, which poisons our love..." The music slowed, but Yukito's voice remained angry. "This face, which earned a mother's fear and loathing." He gasped as he sucked in a breath, although Cassie didn't know whether it was for dramatic effect or just the need to breathe. Has Shelby not taught you how to breathe 'properly' yet? That was my first lesson for this torture chamber of a musical project.

Yukito was shaking, with emotion or concentration, when Cassie looked at him again. Trying to put herself into the role of Christine, she attempted to put a look of genuine fear in her eyes. It wasn't difficult, the way Yukito was acting. "A mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing. Pity comes too late! Turn around and face your fate!" He was singing it strangely, screaming and growling, almost like a more in-tune version of Gerard Butler. Come on, Yukito...Shelby's not gonna like that... She kept her eyes on the music, one hand still playing while the other prepared to turn the page again. "An eternity of this!" he sang, before his tone changed. Once furious and frightening, he now grew contrite, almost begging. "Before your eyes..."

Cassie turned the page. "This haunted face holds no horror for me now," she sang, her voice maybe not quite as strong on the high notes but hitting each one just the same, clear and not straining. "It's in your soul that the true distortion lies." At a brief rest in the music--preparing for the speeded-up portions of the next few measures of the song, Cassie looked at him again, terror and pity in her eyes.


~~~~~


Yukito Maki

"That fate which condemns me to wallow in blood has also denied me the joys of the flesh. This face, the infection, which poisons our love..." The music slowed, but Yukito's voice remained angry. "This face, which earned a mother's fear and loathing." He was so caught up he let out a gasp that appeared to echo in the room, as if to rub in his error. He was too into it now, and he began to withdraw, shaking. "A mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing. Pity comes too late! Turn around and face your fate!" It was too bad old habits died hard. Yukito tried to focus on the emotion, and the more he did, the darker the sound became, until he was practically screaming it. "An eternity of this!" The unwanted tone changed as he focused on Cassie. Calm down. I can do better than this. Pleading, begging for fogiveness... Sorry and mistaken. I am sorry. Sorry you have to put up with me when you're already sick of this musical as much as I am. "Before your eyes..."

Cassie turned the page. "This haunted face holds no horror for me now," she sang, her voice ascending into a high note, thinner perhaps than it could have been but beautiful and heartfelt. Like she wanted to sing those lines more than anything. He looked at her, not expecting her to sound like that. Not expecting her to sing that. "It's in your soul that the true distortion lies." She was turned away from him, facing the piano again. He knew the Phantom would have been irritated by that. He would have wanted her to look at him. As if she heard his thoughts or sensed this idea, Cassie looked up at him, her eyes wide with battling emotions. Christine... she did love the Phantom, didn't she? That was something Yukito could never figure out. From the look on Cassie's face, he could believe that. If it wasn't love, how could you describe that expression? Yukito looked up toward the doorway, empty, and open. A small smile came across his lips, one of irony and bitterness.

"Wait," he sang out darkly, "I think my dear, we have a guest." He imagined Raoul standing in the door, the embodiment of all he hadn't grown up to be. Everything Erin should have had, that he couldn't offer her. The expression on his face appeared to be intensely and maliciously amused, as though he was about to burst out with laughter or leap out to strangle someone. That was what he was going for. "Sir," he voiced the word with anger and sarcasm dripping from each sound. "This is indeed an unparalleled delight. I had rather hoped that you would come." The ending rise gave him leave to make his cry louder, drawing it out as if the word on its own was a singular order. "And now my wish comes true. You have truly made my night!"


~~~~~


Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

She had to keep reminding herself that it was a rehearsal, that after today she would go back to being boring old Meg and the thrill of playing such an important role would be nothing more than a memory. Until this moment, she hadn't really realized just how much she wanted to be in the spotlight. Maybe it was some sort of residual effect from Mike's attack that was just now coming over her...she wanted to hide from the world in real life but wanted to be noticed in Shelby's movie. It was as if her subconscious was trying to make up for how skittish she had been lately. Cassie had no idea. She just knew how amazing it felt to be playing Christine, even if it was only practice. Even if it wasn't real. Everyone deserves their moment like this.

"This haunted face holds no horror for me now," Cassie sang, ecstatic with how her voice sounded. It had even lost some of it's jazzy overtones in favor of the "pure" sound Shelby seemed to want so badly."It's in your soul that the true distortion lies."

As she gazed at him, her fingers still flying over the notes she knew by heart at this point, Yukito glanced towards the door to the parlor. Cassie did too, her eyes widening in horrified recognition when she saw 'Raoul.' A small smile came across his lips, one of irony and bitterness. "Wait," he sang out darkly, "I think my dear, we have a guest. Sir--"[/b]

"Raoul!" Cassie cried, sounding as if her heart was aching with both love and fright. It was something that Erin never did--an element from the movie version that Cassie loved but Shelby would have no part in. "I don't want to be associated with that version," Shelby would say. "I'm making my own. The stage show is better, anyway, and it doesn't do that." But Shelby wasn't here today, and that was a part of the movie that Cassie adored, the emotion in Christine's voice never failing to move her to tears. She could only hope she was doing it justice.

"This is indeed an unparalleled delight. I had rather hoped that you would come. And now my wish comes true. You have truly made my night!"

"Free her!" Cassie sang, her voice sounding far less enthused than it had when she had been singing Christine's part. Now she was Raoul, a part she wouldn't have been interested in even if she could play it. "Do what you like--only free her! Have you no pity?"


~~~~~


Yukito Maki

Yukito was starting to wish Shelby had been recording this part of the performance, that she had been there to capture the slightly dark version of Christine that Cassie could play, too. "This haunted face holds no horror for me now. It's in your soul that the true distortion lies." She looked up at him at just the right time, and as though ashamed, or incapable of meeting her gaze, Yukito raised his own to the door, where an invisible spectre stood, as much a Phantom as the part he tried to play.A small smile came across his lips, one of irony and bitterness.

"Wait," he sang out darkly, "I think my dear, we have a guest. Sir--"

"Raoul!" Cassie cried, the exclamation almost painful but the sound clear with no hesitation. Not expecting her to call out, Yukito snapped his face toward her in surprise, resulting in a half-accusatory, half-wounded expression. It took him a moment to recover, but he did so, able to channel even more frustration and anger in the lines. Maybe too much. He'd always been very good at going overboard with everything, and not in the direct, overwhelming way Erin took, but in a quieter, darker sort of way. It was more like an obsession than anything.

"This is indeed an unparalleled delight. I had rather hoped that you would come. And now my wish comes true. You have truly made my night!"

"Free her!" Cassie sang, and a level of awkwardness descended on Yukito like a wet blanket. He wasn't sure if he should be looking back at Cassie or continue glaring toward the door. "Do what you like--only free her! Have you no pity?"

"Your lover makes a passionate-" he cut himself off, a frown furrowing his eyebrows in irritation. The line wasn't all that hard on its own, but his concentration had broken. That and he still couldn't say 'lover' the way he wanted. Stupid accent. "Hold it. I messed up." He buried his face in his hands, the character dropped cold. It was just Yukito again, and he was ticked at himself. "I'm doing it all wrong, still. I just don't get this guy, and to be honest, you acting like a dude isn't helping much." One corner of his lips started to twitch with amusement. "Can you just...can you step away from the piano? Can we just play the CD or something and you actually," With both palms he indicated two spots in front of him, gesturing for her to stand down on that spot. "Could I ask you to physically act it out for me? You're doing great, seriously, I'm the one messing this up. I...I'm just failing at this." He let out a sigh. Somehow he'd found himself rambling off negativity to her, and he forced himself to stop. Because it was idiotic. Shelby was seriously rubbing off on him. "Can we start from a little before that and take it one go to the end? I really want to make this real." Why, he wasn't sure. It was sort of like he was proving himself. But it was also because he wanted to surprise Shelby at actually being decent at this. No, he wanted to be fantastic at this, so who was he kidding? Challenges shouldn't have been allowed near him. They made him crazy. Yukito offered her a small smile, "Sorry..."


~~~~~


Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

"Raoul!" Cassie cried, her voice raw with emotion. She couldn't believe how easily this was coming to her, how good it felt to play this role. Maybe I ought to start looking into acting more seriously...or something. I mean, I'm probably no good, but it's fun. Really, really fun.

"This is indeed an unparalleled delight. I had rather hoped that you would come. And now my wish comes true. You have truly made my night!"

"Free her!" Cassie sang, taking over the part of Raoul in the absence of anyone else. It was going to be "Do what you like--only free her! Have you no pity?"

"Your lover makes a passionate-" Yukito began before cutting off abruptly. Cassie stopped as well, her fingers poised above the keyboard as she looked at him curiously. Why did you stop? Did I do something wrong? "Hold it. I messed up," Yukito said. He buried his face in his hands, the character dropped cold.

"It's okay..." Cassie said.

"I'm doing it all wrong, still." Cassie opened her mouth to protest, but Yukito cut her off. "I just don't get this guy, and to be honest, you acting like a dude isn't helping much." Cassie rolled her eyes at this. "Well, sorry," she said sarcastically before adding, more sincerely, "I'm doing my best."

"Can you just...can you step away from the piano?" he asked. Cassie nodded, closing the book and standing up. "Can we just play the CD or something and you actually," He gestured for Cassie to stand near him, and she went to the spot he indicated. "Could I ask you to physically act it out for me? You're doing great, seriously, I'm the one messing this up. I...I'm just failing at this. Can we start from a little before that and take it one go to the end? I really want to make this real.Sorry..."

Cassie shook her head. "No, it's okay. Hold on." Reaching for a remote control on a nearby table, she pressed a button in the center. Instantly, music blasted through the room, overwhelming them with the sheer magnitude of sound. "Woah. Sorry about that." She quickly turned the volume down, so it wasn't loud enough to shatter their eardrums any more, and began to press more buttons, skipping through the song until she got to the track she wanted. Shelby had made tons of karaoke tracks for rehearsals when people were missing, something Cassie had never appreciated until now. Settling on the one she wanted--the music to the Final Lair scene, complete with only Raoul on the vocals, she paused it and turned to Yukito. "I'll start, I guess...from my last bit before Raoul comes in?"

She blushed a bit. "Oh, and, um, if we're doing this and acting it out, are we--should we, um, you know..." She looked away and shook herself, trying to get back in character. "Never mind. Doesn't matter now." She closed her eyes for a second, letting the emotion of the scene come flooding back to her. "Okay." She hit play on the remote again.


~~~~~


Yukito Maki

"Hold it. I messed up," Yukito said, burying his face in his hands as he felt Cassie's eyes on him. You idiot. He'd just started feeling for the character, but now it was lost. And all his mistakes were rearing up their ugly heads in his minds, not letting him let go of the fact that his performance had been less than acceptable. There was too much rock in the vocals. There was too much anger and not enough sincerity and gentleness in the lines. He had no freaking clue what to do movement-wise.

"It's okay..." Cassie said. He shook his head, letting out a sigh.

"No, it's not. I'm doing it all wrong, still." He wasn't looking for positive affirmation from Cassie. He was looking for results from himself. He dropped his hands, his posture falling back into its normal state of awful. "I just don't get this guy, and to be honest, you acting like a dude isn't helping much."

Cassie rolled her eyes at this. "Well, sorry," she said sarcastically before adding, "I'm doing my best."

"I know..." he said, more gently now, "I know you are. Can you just...can you step away from the piano?" he asked. Cassie nodded, closing the book and standing up. "Can we just play the CD or something and you actually," He gestured for Cassie to stand near him, and she went to the spot he indicated. He was super relieved she was being so helpful, and not arguing with him every step of the way. That was like a breath of fresh air for a guy who felt he was suffocating. "Could I ask you to physically act it out for me? You're doing great, seriously, I'm the one messing this up. I...I'm just failing at this. Can we start from a little before that and take it in one go to the end? I really want to make this real. Sorry..."

Cassie shook her head. "No, it's okay. Hold on." Reaching for a remote control on a nearby table, she pressed a button in the center. Instantly, music blasted through the room, overwhelming them with the sheer magnitude of sound. Yukito winced, the headache that had been coming on now grated by the too-familiar music he hadn't even liked that much in the first place. Cassie said something, which he believed to be an apology for the loud music, and turned it way down. "I'll start, I guess...from my last bit before Raoul comes in?" He nodded, trying to go back into the mode he'd managed near the beginning of their performance. Yukito was sure he'd never get his head into this.

"Oh, and, um, if we're doing this and acting it out, are we--should we, um, you know..." He glanced up, clueless, and genuinely surprised to see teh blush on her cheeks. Oh. Right. Cassie quickly turned away. "Never mind. Doesn't matter now."

Yukito considered this for a moment. This scene held a lot of emotional stuff for all the characters involved. He'd been fortunate to get someone to play Christine for him. Having Kagayaki act out Raoul wouldn't have helped - this scene was all about the Phantom and Christine. He needed a Christine. And he needed to get this right. If he hadn't already been frustrated with the day's efforts, and if he had thought it out a little more, he probably would have stumbled over a negative reaction to what Cassie asked. As it was, with the heat rising to his face, he gestured dismissively, telling her, "I need to make it real." He didn't think twice about it, just stepping back a little to offer them a bit more acting room. He turned back to see Cassie - though his mind was trying to lie to him and say it was Christine now - closing her eyes. Yukito didn't do the same, letting out a sigh. He could still feel adrenaline from his last delivery of the lines. He would use that as a starting point. Deep breaths were what he needed now, and to make this it.

"Okay." She said at last, opening her eyes. She hit play on the remote again, going into her next lines. This time, the shrill notes sent a chill down his back, combined as they were with the karaoke orchestra that seemed to play around her voice. "This haunted face holds no horror for me now. It's in your soul that the true distortion lies." Yukito tried to ignore the goosebumps from the music and turned to the doorway, now with more hatred than last time.

"Wait! I think, my dear, we have a guest!" He took a bold step toward the doorway, then halted. It was a better tactic to let your enemy come to you. "Sir, this is indeed an unparalleled delight." Yukito had to admit that he liked the dark sarcasm in his tone. Now if only he could channel the untapped power behind the other lines correctly. "I had rather hoped that you would come. And now my wish comes true..." Still glaring at the doorway, he didn't imagine Raoul. Or Aidousan. He saw a different face, watched it crumple in unmasked horror and despair as he reached over and - perhaps a little more roughly than necessary - forced Cassie next to his side, his hand gripping hers as if she was being pulled away even as she simply stood there. He didn't wrap his arm around her - a part of him was in all honesty too afraid to do that, for so many reasons - but he couldn't let her stand too far away. Yukito needed Christine there. Look. He imagined telling his rival. Look at what you can't stop. "You have truly made my night!


Cassandra "Cassie" Wright

She had to ask. "Oh, and, um, if we're doing this and acting it out, are we--should we, um, you know..." Feeling too flustered to finish her sentence, she looked away, trying to get into character while she had the chance. "Never mind," she murmured. "Doesn't matter now."

She closed her eyes, trying to become Christine like she had before. It was easier this time, Cassie realized. After a pause, she heard Yukito say, "I need to make it real."

Opening her eyes, Cassie nodded. She could understand that. She would probably feel the same way if she were in Yukito's position. "Okay," she said, feeling slightly detached from the person she knew to be Yukito. She was no longer Cassie, she was Christine. And he was the Phantom. That was how it was going to be from here on out. When she felt she was ready, she pressed play again and the room once more filled with music as she sang her lines. Raoul, what are you doing here...

"Wait! I think, my dear, we have a guest!Sir, this is indeed an unparalleled delight." Yukito snarled at the imaginary Raoul as the music swelled to a crescendo, his tone mocking and cruel. Cassie could only stare in horror at the empty doorway. "I had rather hoped that you would come. And now my wish comes true..." Without warning, Yukito's hand closed around Cassie's, yanking her closer to him as if he was both trying to protect her and harm her all at once. On instinct, Cassie fought to get away, both Christine's fear and her own of being touched coming into play. "Let me go!" she whispered fiercely, so quiet it could hardly be heard. "You have truly made my night!

"Free her!" came the voice of Raoul on the recording. "Do what you like, only free her! Have you no pity?" Beside Yukito, Cassie still struggled to free herself from his iron grip, her eyes wide with sheer terror. Just let me go!



To be Cont'd

[Elda Forever]

Yukito Maki


"Wait! I think, my dear, we have a guest!
Sir, this is indeed an unparalleled delight."
 Yukito snarled at the imaginary Raoul as the music swelled to a crescendo, his tone mocking and cruel. "I had rather hoped that you would come. And now my wish comes true..." Yukito reached over and pulled Cassie closer, as though someone else were moving his arms, adding strength to them to keep her near him as she struggled to get away.

"Let me go!" she whispered fiercely, so quiet it could hardly be heard. He ignored her, the Yukito side saying she was just acting. The Phantom side saying it didn't matter - he had a purpose to play in holding her captive. So Raoul could see. Just so Raoul could see.


"You have truly made my night!
"Free her!" came the voice of Raoul on the recording. It kind of creeped him out. The Wrights were rich, he knew, but he was always surprised at little things. Like killer speaker systems that made you feel like the singer was right next to you. "Do what you like, only free her! Have you no pity?"

He whirled to glare at Cassie. She looked scared out of her wits. Surprisingly, she was a very good actress. He leaned forward, hissing at her, "Your lover makes a passionate plea.."

Raoul sang out moments later, every syllable starting to grate Yukito to the bone. I love her! Does that mean nothing? I love her! Show some compassion."

Come on, inner Phantom. Show some of that ticked off killer in you and in me.

"The world showed no compassion to me!" Yukito accused at the invisible torturer. The one inside his mind that he couldn't escape from.

"Christine . . . Christine . . . Let me see her." Raoul pleaded through the bars that no one else could see as clearly as Yukito saw them now. With a grim smile he gestured into the room, offering a graceful bow.

"Be my guest, sir..." A beat, and he heard the distant, eerie beat thrumming out like a war drum. This was probably one of his favored melodies, and he stuck as much poison in the lines as he could. "Monsieur, I bid you welcome. Did you think that I would harm her?" The others said 'why would I', but it makes more sense to say 'why would I make her'.... He reminded himself quickly before continuing, "Why would I make her pay for the sins which are yours?!" Not knowing what to do with his hands, having no frustration to physically let out the adrenaline in his blood as the music spiked to a new tempo, Yukito pushed Cassie away repulsively, but not hard enough to send her sprawling to the ground. Clenching his fists so tightly they went snow-white, a far better color for rage than the betrayal of crimson and its insinuations, Yukito mockingly called out to Raoul. He wanted him to know he'd heard them. Everything. That he'd known how far this had gone long before anyone else had. He wanted to let him know who was in power, and to savor that helplessness. "Order your fine horses now! Raise up your hand to the level of your eyes!" Much good that warning did you. Idiot. "Nothing can save you now! Except perhaps," he whirled on Cassie, a mocking gleam in his eyes, maddened by the challenge, "Christine!" The name brought a lot with it. In that word, he said all that he'd been fighting against, all he'd been hiding from. Because Christine was supposed to be the escape. In a way, he'd hoped she could protect him. Instead she'd protected Raoul, the not-so-secret lover. And she'd tried again and again to escape and abandon him.

But he really couldn't blame her. He really couldn't stop loving her. That was the problem, wasn't it? There was no stopping the rush of emotion with every word and movement. Love just didn't work that way. It was cruel and powerful, and practiced this control often. He couldn't blame her for wanting to run away. He'd wanted to do the same from her a thousand times, he was sure. Alone was so much safer. But you couldn't stop loving. And the continuous loving was what broke him down, bringing him to a level of desperacy and hatred and hurt. For that reason, Christine was spoken as a prayer and a curse, a doom and a survival. A plea and a grudge. Christine...

Shakespeare didn't know what he was talking about when he asked what's in a name...


Cassandra "Cassie" Wright
"Your lover makes a passionate plea.."  Yukito hissed at her, his every word ridiculing her and her betrayal, everything she had done. His grip on her hand remained unbreakable, no matter how Cassie tried to free herself. Her only thought was escaping, not just from his hold upon her but from him altogether, running away and never coming back. But she couldn't. His hold on her was too strong...and in more ways than one.

I want to love him. I think that's what Christine's problem was, maybe...she almost wanted to give him what she wanted, but she knew she couldn't. It was too dangerous...it's all too dangerous.

"Please, Raoul, it's useless!" she pleaded desperately to Raoul, trying to warn him, to spare him from whatever fate was in store for her. Even if she had to leave him, even if she didn't even love him anymore in Shelby's version, she owed him that much. She owed him the chance to save his own life, if hers was already lost.

"I love her! Does that mean nothing? I love her!" Yes. It does mean nothing. To him, it does. It's true what he says, either way I choose, he has to win. That's how it is, that's the game he plays. We're just flies trapped in his web with no escape. It means nothing! "Show some compassion."

"The world showed no compassion to me!" Cassie winced. He was right. The world hadn't, and neither had she. She couldn't, not then. Not now.

"Christine . . . Christine . . . Let me see her." Raoul's tone had the same desperation Cassie's did. It was as if he was realizing that it was no use at the same time she was.

"Be my guest, sir...Monsieur, I bid you welcome. Did you think that I would harm her? Why would I make her pay for the sins which are yours?!" Before Cassie could react, she found herself being shoved away from him, rough enough to make her stumble over her ballet slippers from her Meg costume, which she barely noticed now. She wasn't Meg. Her thoughts were far from Meg at this point. She was Christine, and she was watching her fate unfold before her eyes. Whether she could ever leave this horrible place again depended on him now. As twisted as it was, truly twisted every way, the outcome of Cassie's entire life lay in the Phantom's deranged hands.

She almost let out a cry when Yukito made his attack, thereby putting Raoul's life in the balance as well. Who does that? At what point does a life reach that level of utter desperation, and what is a person to do against it? What can I do? What can I do? Oh, Raoul!

"Order your fine horses now! Raise up your hand to the level of your eyes! Nothing can save you now! Except perhaps," he whirled on Cassie, a mocking gleam in his eyes, maddened by the challenge, "Christine!" Cassie stared at him, pure horror etched on her face. How could he do such a thing? What had she done to get herself in this situation, and how to fix it? How could he think this would make her love him?

"The tears I might have shed for your dark fate..." she began once he had finished singing. Her words were slower, more deliberate, but slowly growing faster. "...Grow cold, and turn to tears of hate!" But was that the truth? Could she hate him? Cassie didn't know.

"Christine, forgive me, please, forgive me!" Raoul begged, helpless against his opponent. "I did it all for you and all for nothing!"

"Farewell, my fallen idol and false friend, one by one I've watched illusions shattered!" And it's true. We had dreams, we had plans. I had plans. And you've shattered them all, right here. Broken them into a million pieces that can never be put back together again, no matter how hard I try.



Yukito Maki

"Order your fine horses now! Raise up your hand to the level of your eyes! Nothing can save you now! Except perhaps," he whirled on Cassie, a mocking gleam in his eyes, maddened by the challenge, "Christine!" Cassie stared at him, pure horror etched on her face. Warring in the curves of her face lie betrayal and indignation, and he knew he'd been the one to put it there. All of this was his doing, and he couldn't truly blame her for any of it. But he did. Or felt as if he should. If only she'd seen earlier, if she'd understood.... He knew there was so much in the world he didn't understand, didn't get, and he hated that feeling of being left in the dark all his life. He'd been hoping she could help him learn. There was only so much you could hear about, read about, and not experience. He'd missed out on a lot. But that, at least, hadn't been all his doing. There were reasons... good reasons...

He faced her, the walls starting to build themselves again as he saw the look in her eyes. Were they swimming with tears, or was it just the light catching her eyes? He couldn't be sure. It felt like he'd fallen into a pool with this musical. They had to make it real, he'd said. The realization that it was becoming just that was one that clutched as coldly as his chest as the knowing that she was turning as dark as him. Her face said it all. The bitterness ate away inside until you were rotten, and he knew that. Had he really been the one to start that, in her? Was this really what his handiwork did? It seemed like so many things he'd taken hold of had turned out beautiful, and moving. Indescribable. But her....he was sure at that moment he'd ruined her.

Then I can take her with me, so it can't spread.

"The tears I might have shed for your dark fate..." There wasn't weakness or lack of conviction in her voice anymore. Her words developed into knives, an exit for the hatred now in her blood. "...Grow cold, and turn to tears of hate!"

"Christine, forgive me, please, forgive me!" Raoul begged, wording his own thoughts exactly. But she wouldn't forgive him, not if he begged her until he died. There wasn't forgiving him. If a physical being had rested then at the end of his fingertips, he felt sure he would have caused him pain for saying those words so perfectly, so desperately, so honestly. He hated that despite how sincere he could be, it didn't change a thing in the end. All honesty seemed to earn was pain. "I did it all for you and all for nothing!"

"Farewell, my fallen idol and false friend, one by one I've watched illusions shattered!"

"Too late for turning back, Too late for prayers and useless pity!" he told her. He didn't want pity. Pity was what you gave to those you never could help, and he was sure she could help. She could have! Didn't she understand? They'd gone through a lot of the same things...betrayed and abandoned by those they trusted most. Hurt, in ways that went so much deeper than a touch could do. It had made them seem weak and tentative. The difference was, she had continued to be stronger than he ever would be. Where she stood quietly, waiting patiently for the world to heal her, the sun to heal her, he had retreated, fallen back and fallen into himself. They were so much the same, but she had turned out so differently than him. He wanted a part of that. But he didn't want her to pity. You could pity the dead, as well as the living. Pity was useless, and meaningless to him now. Pity was nothing like love. "Past all hope of cries of help. No point in fighting..." Raoul's voice and his mingled, sounding too alike, and his own went automatically darker, more desperate. "For either way you choose, You cannot win!"

"So do you end your days with me or do you send him to his grave?" He was testing her, trying to push her into saying something, anything, that would make him feel whole again. Since the moment they'd started this, this song, this stepless dance, since before he could remember, he'd felt hollow in the pit of his stomach. Raoul's words were deflected by his own fury, and were practically meaningless to him now. He could almost block him out entirely.

"Why make her lie to you to save me?" Because she might... for you. This wasn't how he planned it to be, but it was how it went, nonetheless. There wasn't backing off, no more hesitation and wondering. He had to try, he had to to and be and force. Or he'd never hold on to anything. He would end up drifting meaninglessly again, the one no one wanted. The one no one really loved. Only pitied.

"Past the point of no return... The final threshold . . . His life is now the prize which you must earn. You've passed the point of no return."


Cassandra "Cassie" Wright
Why. Why had she done it? Why had she felt compelled to take off the mask and start this? Cassie knew better than that. Life was always better with masks--masked feelings, masked secrets. Masks to cover the things you wished you had said but couldn't and masks to hide the pain of what you had said. Masks to protect you from the future and masks to shield you from what lay ahead. Masks, masks, masks. Life was one big masked ball. That was how it should be.

Because taking off the mask was even harder than putting the mask on in the first place.

Tears bit at the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Crying would mean he had won even more than what he was asking for. He might win her, but he would never win the satisfaction of seeing the impact of his actions on her. Seeing her cry was a victory she would not--could not--allow him.

"Nothing can save you now! Except perhaps, Christine!" But that wasn't true. How could she save him? In this whole ordeal, she had been powerless...powerless to the hatred around her, powerless to stop the very thing that threatened their lives. She couldn't save him. She wasn't strong enough for that. But somehow, she would have to try.

"The tears I might have shed for your dark fate..." There wasn't weakness or lack of conviction in her voice anymore. Her words developed into knives, an exit for the hatred now in her blood. "...Grow cold, and turn to tears of hate!" But it wasn't true. She couldn't hate him, not anymore. Not even after what she had seen, what she knew he had done and planned to do. She hated herself for not being able to despise him as he deserved. But she couldn't hate him, no matter how hard she tried.

"Christine, forgive me, please, forgive me!" Came Raoul's desperate voice, bursting with love. Cassie looked at him in despair. "I did it all for you and all for nothing!"

"Farewell, my fallen idol and false friend, one by one I've watched illusions shattered!" Shattered. Broken. Destroyed. Fractured. That's what I am now. That's what you've made me. There's no fixing this. There can't be.

The trio began now, with Yukito's words of "Too late for turning back, Too late for prayers and useless pity!" filling the room. Raoul's voice joined him, getting lost in the pure power that was Yukito's. "Say you love him and my life is over..." More tears filled her eyes. Didn't he understand? It was more than just his life that would be over if she said those words...those horrible, horrible words. The words that had started all this terror, all of those months ago.

Those three words had been the beginning of the end.

"Past all hope of cries of help. No point in fighting..."

"Either way you choose, he has to win!"
 
"For either way you choose, You cannot win!" They were right. Cassie was helpless, trapped once again, never to be free. Just like always.

"So do you end your days with me or do you send him to his grave?" Cassie winced, looking from both him to Raoul and back again. How could she possibly make such a choice? How could they think her capable of that? "Why make her lie to you to save me?" Cassie looked away, unable to face Raoul. Because I don't even know if it would be a lie or not.

"Past the point of no return..."

"Angel of Music," she sang, her voice mixing in with the other two. "Why this torment?"

"The final threshold . . . "

"When will you see reason?!" She had past the point of begging now, into a realm of desperation she didn't even knew existed. "His life is now the prize which you must earn.

"I fought so hard to free you..."

"Angel of music...."

"You've passed the point of no return."

"You decieved me! I gave my mind...blindly." This was it. There was no going back now. She had to choose.


Yukito Maki

 "Why make her lie to you to save me?"
"Past the point of no return..."
"Angel of Music," she sang her way into their clash melody, contrasting and complimenting the other. The words of each mingled until they didn't matter as much any more. But each word was heart-felt, just the same. Hers seemed to stem from a deeper place, and he found himself still stupidly expecting something different from her besides hate and pity. It got to a point where he started to lose track of what he was singing himself, hearing her words more prominently. As though to fight against an unseen enemy, his notes dug darker downward, spiraling past a place where he could step out while simultaneously remaining in control of every pitch. "Why this torment?"

"The final threshold . . . " This is still Cassie, right? his mind asked suddenly, unexpectedly. No, he told himself, This is Christine now. It has to be real.

"When will you see reason?!" Her voice trilled and swooped, the longing and desperation in her tone giving her more power in each word.


"His life is now the prize which you must earn."
"I fought so hard to free you..." That doesn't matter now. It shouldn't to you, Christine. Now you'd have to save him. Would you save me, too? I've saved you a million times. You thought you couldn't go on, and I helped hold you together, and make you stronger for it. He's right. He fought hard. Trying. Trying to free you. And he couldn't. He didn't.

"Angel of music...." He turned from the imaginary form of Raoul to look at her, his face drawn in malice, but his will already crumbling at the expression on her face, and the plead in her words as she called out for him by the name she'd known him as for too long.

"You've passed the point of no return." His final word faded out, as though trying to soften the blow of his command, and it did no such work.

"You deceived me! I gave my mind...blindly." The accusation stung painfully, causing his anger to flare up again. Sending her a dark look, he stepped forward, wondering himself for a moment what he was planning on doing to her. If she said no, he would kill Raoul, his rival, her link to the world without him in it. What then? Would he still keep her? Would he let her go to mourn a lover he'd taken from her out of jealousy and hatred? If he kept her, she would be forever lost to him, even if he could hold her again, like he had once been able to.... And a small part of his mind asked him... what if she said yes? If she agreed?

'You deceived me.' Setting his jaw, his posture instinctively drawing upward in a threatening stance and taking another step toward her, he snarled at her. "You try my patience, Make your choice!"

"Pitiful creature of darkness," he stiffened. No more pity. I don't want your pity. "What kind of life have you known?"

You'll never known. I won't tell anybody. I promised myself I never would. You have no idea of the things I've seen, the people who have changed me, torn me, bruised me, and ruined me. People are what did this to me. I'll never be the same. Your 'pitiful' angel does not just have broken wings... he has a broken soul. He can't even find the strength to keep you near. In that moment, he longed to tell her. To tell his story, from beginning to end. Every memory that swarmed around him, every detail he allowed to sit and fester in the dark recesses of his mind. There was nothing better to think about, no better memories to take their place. It only got darker from his days of feeling alone. Except for that brief, happy period, when everything had been simple with her, and they had been together in a room with a single special mirror and only the music, that he could have felt happy.

"God give me courage to show you, you are not alone..." For a long, stupid second he didn't realize what she could mean by that. His mind was childish and unaware when it came to what went on in her mind at moments like these. Sometimes, he was so vulnerable and stupid. It wasn't as though he was oblivious to how close she was to him - he was always aware of her, and of him. The close proximity always made a part of him anxious, afraid, paranoid. It made him weary to think about it, of all the times he could have simply reached out to touch her and hadn't. Anything. Her hair, her face, her hand... But he was too afraid. He was too afraid of himself, and of her. Yes... he was very afraid of her. He always had been. Afraid of her and afraid for her. What a sorry battle went on in his own mind! Then, that close proximity was broken again, of not his choice, but hers. He felt the touch of her skin sending goosebumps of a silent scream through his body even as her lips met his.

She kissed me!

And I let her!

The kiss was long and he was too surprised by how warm she felt and that they'd gone through with it to pull away. He'd said to make it real. He'd said to go all the way. And he had gone through with it. Every threat in his mind, every reprimand. He wanted to retreat, to run, and to stay, and hold very still. He didn't know what he wanted.

He wasn't pitiable. He was pathetic.

Yukito pulled away, his eyes wide when he found his hands were on her shoulders, but they weren't pushing her away. The music kept playing, not as if it was ignoring the moment, but dwelling on it, a distant thrum of a blood-thirsty chorus beginning to rise as though from the ground beneath and below them. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say. What had just happened here? They'd kissed - he couldn't lie to himself and say it had been just her, since he had responded, not pulled away. Breathlessly, he whispered one word, the word that pulled him back to reality again with a fatal crash.

"Cassie..."

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright
She was going to die.

There was no other way to describe the situation: She was going to die. Even if he didn't kill her, even if somehow Raoul escaped. He would keep her there forever, imprisoned among the pain and memories, and she would die. Emotionally. Mentally. She would never again be the carefree girl who laughed so easily and gave her heart to others without thinking. That girl would be dead, gone forever, never to return.

And all because of him.

"Past the point of no return..." Never had words resounded within her as being so true. Together, they had reached a breaking point, and there was no going back from that. From here on out, they could only move forward...but was that possible? Could they really get past all the fear, the hatred, the betrayal. No. It would always be there, a cloud forever hanging over both of them. She knew that. And yet...

"Angel of Music," she sang her way into their clash melody, contrasting and complimenting the other. She was begging him to show mercy, even though his words had been right. The world had given him no mercy, so who was she to demand it from him? She couldn't expect that of him, just as he should not have expected her to make such a choice. But he had--he had offered her the ultimatum, the choice no one should have to make, but one that was necessary. And so she fought for it--fought for an escape, fought for Raoul's life, fought both against him and against herself. It was all she had the strength to do. "Why this torment? When will you see reason?!"

"I fought so hard to free you..." I know. I know, Raoul. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry this had to happen, I'm sorry I put you in danger. You fought for me, I know. But it's time for me to fight for myself now. I have to fight for both our sakes.

"Angel of music...." There it was. That name again. The name that had started all this. That name, and that hope, and that fleeting belief in him had begun this downward spiral of the pair of them. She had asked for an Angel. She had gotten something entirely different.


"You've passed the point of no return."

"You deceived me!" And you did. All of them did. That's what our lives became, deception. But the worst was that I deceived myself By trusting you and by not trusting you. By saying one thing and doing another. For not being willing to see what was right before my eyes. "I gave my mind...blindly."

"You try my patience, Make your choice!" came the brutal reply. But he didn't know. He didn't know that her choice had been made from the moment he'd given her the ultimatum, from the moment he'd taken her. From the beginning of the whole affair, her mind had been made up.

I'm sorry.


"Pitiful creature of darkness," she sang, her voice trembling with emotion that threatened to spill over at any moment. "What kind of life have you known?" Slowly, she took a tentative step towards him, and then another. "God give me courage to show you, you are not alone..." Slowly at first, she leaned into him, one shaky hand going up to gently touch his cheek. And then, with more conviction this time as she realized what she was about to do, she kissed him.

It seemed like forever that they stood there, oblivious to the world while the music swirled and flourished around them. It dwelled on her that this was the first time she had kissed anyone since That Day, and for some reason, that fact didn't make her want to pull away. In fact, it only made her put more into the kiss as a single tear ran down her cheek. There. This is my choice.

It was him who was the one to pull away, his hands gripping her shoulders. Quickly, she shrugged out of his grasp, taking a step back. The reality of the situation hit her just then. Oh God...

"Cassie..." That one word brought it all back to her.

Yukito sounded just as short of breath as Cassie felt, another tear slipping down her cheek as she gazed at him in horror. What was there to say after this? They had just acted out Erik and Christine's turning point, the point of no return. This was theirs.

"...Yukito..."

Yukito Maki

"You try my patience, Make your choice!" he growled at her fiercely.

"Pitiful creature of darkness," He stiffened at the sound of her voice, at her words. At what she called him. What she thought of him. Like a wounded animal who hears a predator in the shadows of the woods, he stiffened, preparing for an attack. "What kind of life have you known?" Slowly, she took a tentative step towards him, and then another. Despite the fear and confusion rising in him, he remained rooted to the spot, watching her advance as a child does when confronted with something unknown. Run or embrace? Scream or hold very, very still? "God give me courage to show you, you are not alone..." Slowly at first, she leaned into him, one shaky hand going up to gently touch his cheek. He involuntarily shivered, goosebumps running wild on his skin. Their faces were warm from the heat of their emotion, but her fingertips were icy. Why are you touching me? There was no time to consider it before her lips touched against his, in a moment fully expected but still catching him by surprise. It had been in the plan, in the back of his mind. But now it rushed at him with a force unknown and unrealized until that point, and neither knew how to react. He felt his hands go to her shoulders but had no strength in any limbs to push her away. The kiss was ground-shattering emotionally, but the reality of the situation took a lot longer to sink in than would have made any sense. He was the first one to do anything that resembled pulling away, and his wide eyes caught hers as a tear traced a path down her cheek. When their eyes met, she shrugged out of his grasp, stepping backward. He could tell by the look on her face that she had just started to understand it herself.

It was him who spoke first, as the music swelled into the next phase of the story. He heard the melody line played where he should have been telling Christine and Raoul to go, to leave him. To never return, to never speak of this dreadful entangled web of a story again. But all he could say was a single word to ground them again on the correct planet, the correct reality.

"Cassie..."

She stared at him. Gone was the feeling that he was actually the Phantom, and she actually Christine. Something about the way he'd said to make it real had put them into a depth they hadn't anticipated. But now...now they were just Yukito and Cassie. Just them. They were left to fix the unfixable that had just been done.

"...Yukito..." Cassie looked horrified and frightened, and he didn't know what to tell her. Or what to say. He told himself she hadn't wanted it anymore than him, hadn't thought it through, either. But a suspicion beneath his skin reminded him that she'd mentioned it before they'd started the last attempt. That he had even responded to it. What the hell did this all mean to them? What now?

"I'm...sorry..." he looked away from her, further breaking the enchantment that had fallen on their oblivious minds. "I shouldn't have come and made you go through with this.. any of it." He moved to the piano, stepping further away from her, the strangeness in his movement catching him off-guard. No, he was still walking like he was a Phantom, trying to go silently and quickly from what he feared the most - to be stripped of a protective pretense that kept him and all around him at a safe distance. Feeling dizzy, he laid both hands on the smooth black surface on the piano, trying to catch his breath. He didn't look up at her. He wanted to run, like usual. But what if Cassie told? What if she told Erin? Oh my God...Erin...what is she gonna say? She's going to freak. I'm going to lose her again, just like last time. She's never gonna believe this was an accident. A mistake.

Raising one hand to cover his face, feeling more worn-out than he could ever remember, he relinquished a sigh, "Were you as scared as I was? That was...that was incredible...and freaky... I mean..." Yukito slowly looked up at her. "That was freaky for you too, right?"


Cassandra "Cassie" Wright
"What kind of life have you known?" What a question. What sort of horrible things happened to you in your past to make you this way? And was my past the same? How can we overcome that? Is it possible? Or are we to stay this way forever, trapped within our tragedies? "God give me courage to show you, you are not alone!" You can't be. Because if you are, then I am too. Maybe we can at least be alone together. She reached out an ice-cold hand to touch the side of his face, not flinching in the slightest when their skin made contact. Alone. Both of us.

With that, she made her choice.

The choice that would change everything.

She kissed him.

It was a kiss that seemed to go on for years in the endless stretch of time that lay before them, but for some reason she wasn't afraid. Wasn't afraid at all, that is, until he pushed her away, his eyes wide with more shock than she would have thought possible. Oh my God...no. Oh, God, no!

He was touching her shoulders, just like Mike had. A new fear seized her, more familiar and pressing than the fear she had felt during the scene but fear all the same. She pulled herself away from him, taking a step back. She could still feel the weight of his hands, pinning her there, never letting go.

"Cassie..." There. He'd said it. With just that one word, the spell was broken, the illusion of the entire thing shattering into a million pieces. Just like the song. Gone was the desperation and emotion of the music, although it still rang in Cassie's ears. Gone was the lair, and the wedding dress, and Raoul. All of it, vanished with a single word.

"...Yukito..." she whispered as another tear rolled down her cheek.

"I'm...sorry...I shouldn't have come and made you go through with this.. any of it." You're right. You shouldn't have. And I shouldn't have let you. But I also shouldn't have kissed you...and you shouldn't have let me. So who's to blame here, really? Whose fault is it? Yours or mine?

Cassie could only shake her head as she stood there, trembling. She didn't trust herself to speak just yet.

He moved away from her, and Cassie took a step back as well. She wanted to sit down, to collapse like she had the day of the attack, but she couldn't even find the strength in her to do that. Weak as always. Stupid, weak Christine. No! No! I'm not Christine! I'm Cassie! Stupid weak Cassie!!

Yukito covered part of his face with his hand. It reminded Cassie so much of a mask that she almost smiled--would have, if she had been able to. Masks again...I can't escape from them. Ever.

"Were you as scared as I was? That was...that was incredible...and freaky... I mean...That was freaky for you too, right?"

Cassie swallowed, trying to find her voice. "Yeah," she said, still unable to catch her breath. "It was...I...I'm sorry..." She looked away. "I didn't mean...I..."

Yukito Maki

"...Yukito..." she whispered as another tear rolled down her cheek.

"I'm...sorry...I shouldn't have come and made you go through with this.. any of it." Cassie shook her head. He didn't know what she meant by that. He moved away from her, as if that would help the memory fade if he was further from the source of the memory. "Were you as scared as I was? That was...that was incredible...and freaky... I mean..." He looked up at her. "That was freaky for you too, right?"

Cassie swallowed before answering. "Yeah," she said, "It was...I...I'm sorry..." She looked away. Yukito continued to watch her, unsure of what they were supposed to do now.  "I didn't mean...I..."

Yukito nodded now, standing upright with his hands going to his pockets. It was like he had to take actions to separate himself mentally, to distance his mind. "Cassie, this wasn't just us accidentally....this was different. Did..." He sounded crazy, "You did a good job acting that out. Like, a really good job. Did you..." Both his palms held out in front of him, he stared at them as though for the first time realizing they were there. "There was a point, just now, where I could've sworn I wasn't completely myself. Does that make any sense?" Without waiting for her answer he turned completely away, embarrassed enough to make heat bubble beneath his skin. "I should go. I just don't--" He stopped halfway to the door, his mind unable to create a solid decision. "I don't want to ruin this. And I know you're not..." He swallowed hard. "You pushed my hands away." The last statement was supposed to say how he understood the thing with her mother's boyfriend, how it was still affecting her. But they'd kissed. And she hadn't moved away until they'd broken that weird spell. He was one of the only people who knew what it meant to have her push him away like that. He'd seen her face. He knew. But it came out sounding more like an accusation, and he shook his head at that. "Cassie, I care about you a lot. But I love Erin. You know that, right? A big part of this was me trying to do something right for her, because she likes this sort of thing, and she's excited about it... I don't want to mess this up with her. Do you get me?" He let out a low exclamation of frustration, his hands flying to entangle in his hair, "I'm going crazy!"

He took a step toward her, stopping short of arm's length from where she stood. "You...kissed me." He pointed to her, then himself, "You kissed me, and I kissed you back. I practically asked you to. But it wasn't... It wasn't the same as a kiss. Right? And Erin..." His hands went to his face again, and he swore loudly, "Erin's not..."


Cassandra "Cassie" Wright
"Cassie..."

"...Yukito..."

That was all it took to bring everything to a halt, to make her forget that she had ever felt like Christine in the first place. The spell had been broken, and it was over. And she had kissed him. How could she have been so stupid? What was she thinking? How could she have ruined everything just like that?

"I'm...sorry...I shouldn't have come and made you go through with this.. any of it." Why are you apologizing to me? It's just as much my fault as it is yours...or is it? And I was the one to kiss you. I should be apologizing to you...but you kissed me back, and didn't pull away...and... Cassie shook her head, not knowing what else to do. "Were you as scared as I was?" he asked. Cassie didn't respond. Yes. In fact, I was more scared than you were, you know that? I was. I was terrified, the entire time. You scared me, and I scared myself...and I didn't even do anything about it.

"That was...that was incredible...and freaky... I mean..." He looked up at her. "That was freaky for you too, right?"

"Yeah,"she said shakily, her voice still breathless. "It was..." she trailed off, unable to finish. "I...I'm sorry..." Cassie looked away, finding it impossible to look him in the eye. She continued to feel his eyes on her, and she shivered involuntarily, reminded both of Mike and how convincing Yukito's acting had been.  "I didn't mean...I..." I didn't mean to ruin everything forever. You have to believe me on that.

Out of the corner of her eye, Cassie saw Yukito shove his hands into his pockets, like he always did when he was distressed. "Cassie, this wasn't just us accidentally....this was different. Did...You did a good job acting that out. Like, a really good job." He was stalling, or something. He was trying to distract them from what had just happened. "Thanks," Cassie heard herself say, her voice sounding dull and distant to her ears. "You did too. Seriously. Amazing, actually." She waited a second before tacking on what was in her head. "Best I've ever seen you do it."

"Did you...There was a point, just now, where I could've sworn I wasn't completely myself. Does that make any sense?"

Cassie looked over at him, wide-eyed, just in time to see him turn away from her. "Yeah," she whispered in awe. "Yeah, it does. I felt the same way. I wasn't Cassie anymore, not at all. It was like I didn't even know who Cassie was. I was just...Christine." She sounded like a mental patient, but she had already spoken her feelings out loud. There would be no taking them back now.

"I should go. I just don't--I don't want to ruin this. And I know you're not...You pushed my hands away." When their eyes met, there was an unspoken understanding there. "Cassie, I care about you a lot. But I love Erin. You know that, right?"

Cassie gave a pathetic little nod. "And...and I love Kagayaki?" She'd said it wrong, so it came out like a question. Idiot! 

"A big part of this was me trying to do something right for her, because she likes this sort of thing, and she's excited about it... I don't want to mess this up with her. Do you get me?" I'm going crazy!"

"No, you're not..." Cassie said quietly. "If you are then I am too..." He took a step toward her, and Cassie found herself shrinking back away from him, wanting to maintain as much distance between them as possible without physically stepping away. "You...kissed me."

Cassie gave a miserable nod, and Yukito went on. "You kissed me, and I kissed you back. I practically asked you to. But it wasn't... It wasn't the same as a kiss. Right?"

Cassie didn't answer, but her mind did, telling her that it was the same as a kiss. Calling it something else wouldn't change what it was, or the fact that it happened. For once, she didn't want to run away from her problems. They had kissed, really kissed, and now they had to deal with the consequences. Don't we?

"And Erin...Erin's not..."

Cassie shook her head with a loud sigh. "Erin won't find out. I won't tell her, not unless you want me to. I promise. We can...we can forget that all this ever happened. Try to, anyway." Even though that's not what I want, I'll do it if that's what you want to do. If you think it's the best idea, I'll do it. But we have to work this out eventually, and you know it, Yukito. I know you do.

Yukito Maki

"Cassie, this wasn't just us accidentally....this was different. Did..." A pause, with both hands in his pockets. "You did a good job acting that out. Like, a really good job." So good it was eerie.

"Thanks," Cassie said quietly, "You did too. Seriously. Amazing, actually." A beat. "Best I've ever seen you do it."

"It wasn't like usual." It wasn't really me, I think. "Did you...There was a point, just now, where I could've sworn I wasn't completely myself. Does that make any sense?" After a moment he looked away, embarrassed that he'd actually said that out loud. He couldn't excuse away kissing her by claiming he hadn't been himself. But that wasn't really what he was trying to do, was it?

"Yeah," she whispered in agreement, catching him off-guard. "Yeah, it does. I felt the same way. I wasn't Cassie anymore, not at all. It was like I didn't even know who Cassie was. I was just...Christine." 

He nodded, slowly at first, then with more conviction. So it hadn't just been him. It was like they'd just touched on something neither understood. Or maybe the problem was they felt too much before they tried understanding it. "I should go. I just don't--I don't want to ruin this." He valued Cassie's friendship, he was sure of that. She was a fantastic friend, even if she was going through her own problems. She'd held as strong as she could when her whole family collapsed, and her own sister had abandoned her. Yukito admired the way she'd kept going as close to normal as possible, even after the crap with her mother's boyfriend. She'd been attacked, and she was still being so much stronger than Yukito had ever been. He didn't want to abandon her, like the others. Even if he couldn't help any, he wanted her to know he understood how that part of her felt. He didn't want to ruin that understanding. "And I know you're not...You pushed my hands away." He looked up to meet her eyes. I know why you did that. And I'm not hurt by it...but more shocked, than anything, that you didn't push me away sooner. "Cassie, I care about you a lot. But I love Erin. You know that, right?"

Cassie gave a little nod. "And...and I love Kagayaki?" She didn't sound sure, and that sent his heart racing into a panic.

"A big part of this was me trying to do something right for her, because she likes this sort of thing, and she's excited about it... I don't want to mess this up with her. Do you get me?" He let out a cry of frustration, then, "I'm going crazy!"

"No, you're not..." Cassie said quietly. No, I really am. You don't get it. I can't do this to Erin again.. "If you are then I am too..." We both are. You aren't sure. When you said you love Kagayaki, you weren't sure... He took a step toward her, and he noted her reaction to it.

"You...kissed me." The statement almost hurt as he spoke it, incredulity in every syllable. Cassie nodded, looking miserable. He was sure it was since he was so close to her. "You kissed me, and I kissed you back. I practically asked you to. But it wasn't... It wasn't the same as a kiss. Right?" No answer from Cassie. "And Erin...Erin's not..."

Cassie shook her head with a loud sigh. "Erin won't find out. I won't tell her, not unless you want me to. I promise. We can...we can forget that all this ever happened. Try to, anyway."

Yukito looked at his hands, knowing they couldn't just forget about it. "I don't want to be that kind of guy, Cassie. I couldn't do it to her again. I have to tell her, but...I want to be the one to do that." A sigh, then he looked up to meet her eyes. "And Cassie... .I do still worry about you, you know..with that guy still around." He shifted uncomfortably. "Whether this changes things or not between me and Erin, I still want you to be able to call me if you need someone to stand up for you." Hesitating, an arm's length away from her, he wondered. And wondered. Then, before he could pull himself back, he kissed her on the forehead. He knew that touching was a big deal for them both now, which was why the kiss had been so strange. But it was also a step for her. She hadn't pulled back at first....that fact kept replaying in his mind. There was so much hope for Cassie yet. It hadn't been a month yet. A month after his father entered his room, Yukito still hadn't been speaking or coming out of his room, much less embracing anyone to cry or kissing someone he cared about. She's so much stronger than me. He felt the need to reach out to her now, to remind her that it hadn't been a kiss that was wrong. It was who was kissing who, and what it meant to them. "Thanks for your help today." He shrugged for no reason in particular, heading toward the front door. The disc had stopped playing a long time ago, and the silence in the air made it seem thicker than it actually was. 

So much for a break in the drama.

I think Yukito is done here.

Cassandra "Cassie" Wright
She felt wilted, weak, helpless. And alone. That was the worst part of it, Cassie felt. Even though Yukito was right there with her, experiencing most likely the same confusion she was, she still felt alone as always. I screw everything up just by being...I shouldn't have kissed you! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!

"Did you...There was a point, just now, where I could've sworn I wasn't completely myself. Does that make any sense?"
Cassie stared at him. It was as if he had read her mind. "Yeah. "Yeah, it does. I felt the same way. I wasn't Cassie anymore, not at all. It was like I didn't even know who Cassie was. I was just...Christine." It sounded insane, surreal, like something from a dream. Dimly, Cassie wondered if maybe it was just a dream, and she would wake up to find Shelby hovering over her demanding more rehearsal again. But it wasn't, Cassie knew that.

It was too strange even for a dream.

"I should go. I just don't--I don't want to ruin this. And I know you're not...You pushed my hands away. Cassie, I care about you a lot. But I love Erin. You know that, right?"

Cassie nodded. She did. Oh, she did. And that was okay with her...wasn't it? She was so mixed up right now she didn't even know. "And...and I love Kagayaki?" She sounded scared, too uncertain, and she was sure Yukito noticed. She only wished she could be as sure of her love as he seemed to be with his love for Erin. Why is that, anyway? What makes it so different?

"A big part of this was me trying to do something right for her, because she likes this sort of thing, and she's excited about it... I don't want to mess this up with her. Do you get me? I'm going crazy!"

"No, you're not..." Cassie tried to reassure him. "If you are then I am too..." But she honestly wasn't sure. For all Cassie knew, they were going crazy. When he moved closer to her, she leaned away, the irrational fear in her mind controlling her actions yet again. "You...kissed me," Yukito began. His tone wasn't accusatory, but rather as if he was trying to walk himself through everything that had just happened, to prove that it was all real. "You kissed me, and I kissed you back. I practically asked you to. But it wasn't... It wasn't the same as a kiss. Right? And Erin...Erin's not..."

"Erin won't find out," Cassie promised with a shake of her head. "I won't tell her, not unless you want me to. I promise. We can...we can forget that all this ever happened. Try to, anyway." But even as she spoke those words, Cassie knew they were impossible.

"I don't want to be that kind of guy, Cassie. I couldn't do it to her again. I have to tell her, but...I want to be the one to do that.And Cassie... .I do still worry about you, you know..with that guy still around." Cassie gave another useless nod, trying to catch her breath as fear seized her heart at the mention of Mike. "Whether this changes things or not between me and Erin, I still want you to be able to call me if you need someone to stand up for you." He didn't get it. As much as this might change things between him and Erin, the bigger change would be in Cassie and Erin's friendship. She had kissed her best friend's boyfriend. There was no coming back from that, no forgiveness. Just like Christine's, Cassie's fate had now been sealed.

No! Stop that! Stop comparing yourself to Christine! I am not Christine! I never have been and I never will be!

Looking up, she saw that Yukito was still nearby, leaning closer and closer. For one fleeting moment she actually thought he was going to kiss her again, and she hated herself for not knowing what to do if that happened. Was it good or bad? Did she want him to or not? Which was right? To her surprise, however, she felt his lips gently brush against her forehead instead. Just like in the play... 

"Thanks for your help today."

"Yeah," Cassie said quietly, looking over at him and trying to smile. Trying, and failing. "No problem. Um...bye, then, I guess..."

She remained standing there until she was certain that he had driven away. Then, taking the stairs two at a time, she ran up to her room, tearing off the Meg costume and throwing it to the floor, not even caring if she ripped it. Changing into whatever she could find, she left the costume lying in a heap on her bed before running to the entrance to the secret passage in the sitting room on the second floor. She flung the door open and crawled in, making her way to the small chamber off of the main passage. It was the perfect hiding place, one that Cassie has used often as a kid. She wasn't sure what it had originally been used for-- escaped slaves, smuggled goods, hiding Christmas presents--but it perfectly suited her purposes now. She was almost too big for the little room, but she didn't care. There she sat, hugging her knees to her chest, wondering where they had gone wrong, and where they could go from here.

Cassie's done here.