Author's Notes: Holy shit!  Third Chapter!  *does lil victory dance*  In all seriousness, I had never actually expected to get this far.  Sure, I wanted to, but being realistic and callous towards my own work (and social life) led me to believe that it could never be done.  Needless to say, Capricorn is very, very happy.  Now, whether or not I'll get beyond this point (considering how long it took me to get here) is still up in the air...o.O;;  Read and review, minna-san...onegai?  ^_^***

Oh, and, uh...by the way: "-...-" = Talking in English.  Remember, I don't know French to a 'T' and I don't know the BEGINNING of how to speak Japanese.  The phrases in here are simply that - Random Fandom Japanese (TM).

"...Me revoici

Cherchant ton visage

Et je realize

Que je devrais en chercher une autre

C'Etait toi..."

 - Billy Joel, "C'Etait Toi"

[Masa's POV]

They stand intertwined for long minutes in the middle of the crowded airport and, incidentally, block traffic to and from the terminal.  They practically glow in the dim fluorescent lighting.  I smile.

Of course, all good things must come to an end.  They eventually pull apart until only their hands grasp the other's own.  From my position, I can see her face light up with a brilliant smile as she stares into his dark eyes, hidden by the tinted glasses.  She's so pretty when she smiles...I remember that from last time I saw her.  Two years ago?  Time flies fast...

"Ao sora..."

I watch his shoulders shake slightly - a common response when he tried not to laugh out loud.  He slips his fingers out of her hand and cradles her chin between them, tilting her radiant face up to his.  "Il fait beau..." I hear him whisper and with that, they meet in a soul-searing kiss. 

As I watch, I feel my cheeks burn.  It can't possibly be proper to watch such a beautiful passion unfold.  It looks so right, so good, so blissfully divine...I sigh as the thought crosses my mind that I long to feel that passion...

I watch them pull apart again, after a time.  He offers her his arm and she takes it with a laugh.  With their backs to us, they walk toward baggage claim, their step light and their voices blending in with those around me, disappearing after only a few words.

I smile again.  It was cute.  It was right.  She was perfect for him - intelligent, talented, beautiful, cultured, refined...

...Now...why do I feel so...sad...?

*****

[Ren's POV]

All I can recollect about the trip from the airport to the hotel is being squished in Gaku's 'girlfriend's' friend's car.  Squished and confused and utterly repulsed by said owner of the vehicle.  Her name, from what I can gather, is Adrienne and she "works with" Laurette.  My initial perception of her was that she was one of Laurette's underlings like we, realistically speaking, are Gaku's.  That and the fact that she was unbelievably hot and I wouldn't mind spending a night with her.  However, much to my raging hormones' dismay, my opinion of her drastically changed almost as soon as my first was formulated.

When we got to the terminal, Laurette and she were waiting and, after a rather long make-out session between the two hopeless romantics, formal introductions were made as we waited for our luggage.  As we exchanged names, I could feel her eyes on me, sizing me up, judging me, making me squirm.  Now, I normally wouldn't mind a model staring at me, but something about her unnerved me. 

Apparently, I wasn't the only one to feel it.  I saw Chacha catch her staring rather provocatively at You, who stood as stoic and aloof as he always does.  In a very evident act of defiance, Chacha snatched up You's hand and pressed himself closer to his lover, adding a smirk of victory for flavor.  It was almost comical watching a man with long, sandy-blond hair sneer up at a woman who most likely stood a whole head taller than him without her expensive, stiletto heals.  She turned in a huff and started away, heals clacking, following the retreating forms of Gaku and Laurette. 

Grabbing our bags, which just so happened to be passing us on the conveyor belt, we followed after them.  After a bit of running, and shoving of miscellaneous bodies, we caught up with the trio at the entrance.  They were discussing something, but me, with my limited and poor English skills - which are worsened when the speaker has an accent - understood near to nothing.  Gaku turned to explain to us what was up.  He laughed, for I had to have sported a rather humorous face in my confusion, as he repeated the earlier conversation.

"Laurette and I are taking her car.  Give us your luggage and we'll take that as well.  You five are going with Adrienne in her SUV.  Okay?"

The rest of us exchanged wary glances and it was obvious that quite a few of us weren't happy with the arrangement, but Jet lag was setting in and we wanted to get to the hotel as soon as we could.  Toshi, quiet until now, spoke up.  "So we're stuck with the blonde bombshell, ne?"

Chacha muttered, "Yeah...an A-bomb..."

Masa snickered.  Gackt rolled his eyes.  I nodded.  "I wanna go to sleep, minna-san.  Would you happen to know how long it will take us to get there?" I asked.

"About half an hour.  I swear you won't have to suffer longer than that...unless, of course, we get stuck in traffic..." Gaku replied.  A groan went up among the rest of us.  Damn, he knew /just/ how to crack the whip to make you want to scream in frustration and fear of impending agony rather than have you writhe in pain. 

I piped up again, and sighed, "Alright, alright.  That's it.  We'll go.  Demo, just so you know - if it goes past half an hour, I'm leaping out of the truck and walking."

Gackt smiled and nodded, translating all but the possibly offensive parts of our conversation for the two women who stood waiting.  Laurette smiled motioned for us to follow her with a quick, "-Come on...-"  We followed like sheep through the airport...through the parking lot...to Adrienne's SUV...into Adrienne's SUV... 

Thankfully I had snatched my Walkman out of my backpack before Gaku tossed it in Laurette's car so I could drift into my own little world of oblivion.  I kept one eye open however to watch over Masa, who sat in the front passenger seat, and the music turned down to listen in for anything remotely interesting.

Perhaps it was Fate's doing that there wasn't much worth listening to.  Her heavily accented, English gibber-jabber went in one ear and out the other.  Masa's common answer to it all was any one of the typical American responses - "-Uh-huh...-"  "-I see...-"  "-Uh...-"  "-Really?-"  "-Ah...-"  "-Um...-"  "-Oh...?-" - and so on and so forth.  Just as I was drifting off to sleep, however, something caught my interest.

"-How long have they been together, anyway?-"

"-Who?  Gaku and Laurette?-"

"-Yes.  How long?-"

"-I don't know...Awhile I would think - as long as I've known him, but that's only about three or four years.  I know they met when he was filming 'Verte Aile.'-"

"-Ah yes, with Judith...-"

Through squinted eyes, I saw Masa nod.  "-Yeah.  I think they met through her, but I could be wrong.-"

"-No, I remember Judith.  I think you're right.  Anyway, what I wanted to say was that it's really not a monogamous relationship, is it?-"

Masa's lips parted to reply but quickly shut them.  Both he and I and every JOB Family member knew that 'monogamous' was not in Gaku's vocabulary.  He had definitely gotten better at that after seeing her during the MARS tour, but still... Finally, he muttered, "-No...I guess not...-"

"-I didn't think so...-"

Something in her tone made me very defensive in my somewhat conscious state on my friend's behalf.  He may not be perfect, but Gaku tries damn hard to be.  Anyone who's met him knows that.  I've heard him say that he /loves/ this Laurette chick.  He /never/ says that to /anyone/.  I started envisioning ways to kill this 'Adrienne' person...slow...painful...maybe with a knife...

"-What do you mean by that?-"  Apparently, Masa felt the same way.

"-Nothing really...just reinforcing my suspicions.  I wouldn't worry much though: it's mutual.-"

Nani?

"-What?-"

Adrienne sighed as if she was becoming fed up with trying to teach a kindergartener Calculus.  "-I mean, she feels the same way - that it doesn't really mean anything, unlike if they were married or something like that.-"

Wait a minute...

"-Hold on...You're saying that Gaku's nothing but a back-up in case Laurette has a bad break, or something?-"

"-Pretty much.  Isn't she his?-"

"-Absolutely not.  He may not be living in celibacy, and I'd be surprised if she was.  You're lonely, so you get with other people.  That's what happens when you live halfway around the world.  But I know for a fact that those other people mean /nothing/ to Gaku, they never will.  She's the only thing that matters to him.  He'd do anything for her.-"

"-Can Laurette say the same though?-"

Well...

"-I don't know.  I've only met her in person a few times and those were short encounters to say the least.  I have talked to her a lot recently though, and I have to say that I think she's a good person, an honest person.  But, like I said, I don't know her well enough to pass complete judgment.  I can only guess that I'm right and trust in Gaku and his knowledge of passions.-"

Yay Masa!

"-I see...-"  The two lapsed into silence.  Neither spoke until we broke to a halt in front of the hotel. 

*****

He lay atop the burgundy comforter in his hotel room, utterly exhausted.  Flying for fourteen hours, give or take a few, watching the happy reunion...defending You from the ravenous beast who had left in a huff about half an hour ago...Laurette must have said something blunt to make Adrienne turn that shade of red.  The victory, though not his triumph, brought a smile to his thin lips.  Suppressing a yawn, he languidly stretched his hands up, toying with the gold strands that pooled around his head.

"Oi...itooshii...don't sleep now - you'll be awake at three."

Chacha blinked open an eye and regarded his koibito who had just entered the room.  "Aw well...at least I'll be in sync with you..."  He sat up before continuing, suggestive, "...And if that's the case..."

"Don't start..."  You climbed in next to him, his long legs stretching out to the edge of the bed, his back pressed against the headboard.

With a sigh, Chacha rolled over into the other's lap, wrapping his arms around You's waist and nuzzling his belly.  His lover entwined his hands in his hair and absent-mindedly ran his fingers through the dyed tresses.

You was distracted.  Something was wrong.  With a groan, Chacha sat up and straddled the taller man.  He planted a kiss on his soft lips and pressing their foreheads together, he ran his hands along his face.  "What are you thinking about koibito?"

The other hummed quietly, basking in the aftertaste of the kiss before he murmured, "Masa."

"What about him?"

"I'm worried - he hasn't been acting normal."

"How so?"

"Surely you've noticed."

"Hai...I've noticed...something..."

"He seems distracted...worried..."  You shook his head, frustrated.  "Adjectives fail me."

"Maybe he's just a little skittish.  You told me he was like that when you first brought him to Japan."

"Hai, but this is different.  There's something about him that suggests that he's unnerved about something."

"Adrienne, maybe?"  The name left a bitter aftertaste in Chacha's mouth.

Silence answered him.  "Maybe..." You at last relented.  "But...I think..." he paused to interject, "Don't laugh."  Chacha shook his head and pursed his lips.  "I think it was Laurette."

"Laurette?" This new revelation took him aback.  "How do you figure?"

"Well, Masa started acting strange when we got off the plane.  And who was waiting for us?"

"I understand that, but why would Masa act so odd around Laurette?"

"Maybe he's feeling invaded."

"The only reason I can think of for him to feel that way would be - " Chacha stopped short.  You arched an eyebrow.  "...No...Masa?"  Disbelief engulfed his words.

You nodded.

Chacha sighed, an unexpected sorrow swept over him.  "Oh, no..."

You wrapped his long arms around his lover, burying his sad eyes in the crook of the other's neck.