Author's Notes: Fourth Chapter. Whooo! The plot begins to unfold!
Note: ~*~ = Flashback
"...Me revoici
Cherchant ton visage
Et je realize
Que je devrais en chercher une autre
C'Etait toi..."
- Billy Joel,
"C'Etait Toi"
Gackt lay in bed, face buried
deep in a pillow. Today had been
good. Utterly
exhausting, but good. Very, very
good...
Laurette and he had gone out to brunch, then
gone window shopping, then to the park and walked through the green, then they
went to a café and talked over coffee before they drove to a secluded beach
[1]. It was amazing to him that he was
able to find his way back to the hotel without getting lost, what with the daze
he had been in since...
~*~
"How long will you be
here?"
"How long do you WANT me
to be here?"
"Longer than two weeks
but I should be thankful that I get that much.
The last time you visited me you only stayed a few days..."
"I know...I'm sorry
about that..."
"It's alright. You're here now, so I forgive you..."
Gackt stopped walking and
pulled her into his arms. Pressing a
quick kiss to her temple, he closed his eyes, muttering, "I'm glad,"
before lowering his forehead to the crook of her neck. He breathed her in -- flowers, sea-spray, and
something else, something he had come to identify as simply _her_.
Laurette wrapped a slender arm around his waist as the other
came up to rest upon his shoulder, pillowing her chin. She breathed against him, relishing the
chance to be so close, so intimate without the worry of others caring. On this solitary strip of sand they were
together and, in their dream-world, always would be.
The couple stood for a moment
longer until he reluctantly pulled away to gaze into her eyes. As cliched as it
was, Gackt could lose himself in those dark pools with her spirit, loving and
willing, opened to him. Laurette smiled up at him as the sun glistened off of her
hair, blowing about her pale shoulders.
She reached up to trace her fingertips along his jaw, her eyes searching
his.
In a single, sarcred moment their lips met in a forbidden, stolen kiss.
~*~
The ringing of the phone
shook him from his sweet reverie.
Groaning, he rolled over and lifted the receiver. "Mosh--ano...hello?"
"Gaku?"
He smiled. "Long time no see, ne?"
"I didn't wake you, did
I?"
She seemed concerned. He turned to glance at the clock on the table
and looked at the glowing digits. His
vision was blurred - he had forgotten he had taken out his contacts before
showering. "No, no...you didn't. I was
just a bit out of it, that's all."
"Ah..." She was silent for a time before she asked,
"Do you want to come over tonight?"
"Are you sure? You're not sick of me yet?"
"I could never be sick
of you!" she laughed. "Come
over - we'll have dessert."
"Ano...but..."
"Trust me - I'll make
something even YOU can enjoy."
The conversation ended soon
afterward, each saying their 'goodbyes' as Gackt stood and headed towards the
door to grab his shoes and jacket.
Turning the knob and opening the door, he almost ran into Masa who stood outside, hand outstretched with the
keycard.
The dark-eyed youth blinked
up at him for a moment, confused. "You're
going out again?"
"Aa...over
to her place..." he stated, moving passed the other.
"But...you just got back
a little while ago."
"I know. But you won't miss me, ne? Chacha and You are
still here, as are Toshi and Ren. Get together and go out or
something." He started down the
hall, turning back only to walk backwards and call to the other, "Don't
expect me back until late!"
Masa stood in the doorway, watching as Gackt boarded the
elevator and disappeared. Clenching his
teeth, his vision blurred and he slammed the door shut.
*****
"So why did you agree to
come all the way over here?"
"I...don't really think
I did agreed completely..." Gackt answered.
The couple was lounging on
the bed in Laurette's room, bay windows opened to the
fullest, gossamer drapes floating on the cool breeze. A bowl of crème and a platter of ribe strawberries sat between them. Munching on a fruit, the woman replied,
"Hmm? How
so?"
The other plastered a feral
smile on his face, "I think they drugged me," before popping another
strawberry into his mouth.
He was met with laughter as
she replied, "Yes, I can see them doing that...You don't like to take paid
vacations much do you?"
Gackt shook his head. "Iie...waste
of time..."
"A
waste of time, huh?" Dipping another strawberry in crème and
raising it to her lips, she continued, "So you'd rather waste away in
front of your keyboard surrounded by mounds of music sheets?"
"If it comes down to
that..."
Laughing and shaking her
head, Laurette sighed, "Gaku, you're
crazy."
"That I already
knew..." His smile softened.
Quieter, he added, "Though...I'm glad they went through all the
trouble..."
"...Really?" He
nodded. Silence filled the room for a
few minutes, before she shifted the flow of conversation. "So what do you plan on doing here the
rest of the week?"
Rolling over onto his back,
Gackt stared up at the ceiling and shrugged awkwardly. "I wanted to see you..." He glanced
at her. "...and I've done that...I haven't seen any of the chateaux
yet...or
Laurette groaned dramatically and fell back against the
feather pillows. "Oi...not
He shifted to look at her and
inquired, "And why not?"
"Because
it's become such a tourist attraction. The palace itself is just a
bunch of shiny, old walls that to some represent
Smiling, he asked,
"...Why so bitter Laure-san?"
"I don't know
Gaku," she said, sighing.
Evilly, he dared, "I bet
you've never been to
She sat up, defiant. "I have so."
"Oh
really? Prove it."
Her arguement
stopped short and she stared at him.
"And how do you want me to go about that, hm?"
Gackt crawled over to her lap
and curled himself up next to her, head resting on her chest. "...Tell me about it..."
Laurette sighed once again and ran her hands through his touseled hair.
"What do you want to know about it?"
Nuzzling closer, he replied,
"Everything."
*****
Meanwhile, back at the hotel,
the members of Gackt's Job were relaxing in Ren and Toshi's shared hotel room.
"I am so SICK of this
food!" Ren cried suddenly from his postion on
couch, a plush pillow thrown over his face.
Toshi was trying desperately to control his
laughter.
Chacha, fluttering his eyelashes, inquired, voice full of
mock worry, "What is it Ren? You're
not one for soufflé?"
Toshi failed in his battle against the chuckles as did Masa. Ren merely
glared at the blonde man. "Urusai..." In
return, the older man began to laugh with the others. Sitting up abruptly, Ren cried,
"Matte! I've got an idea!" and
leapt up, diving over the bed Masa was sitting
on. The others could hear the redhead
rummaging viciously around in his suitcase.
"I bet he's gonna get out a gun..." remarked You.
"Or a knife..." Toshi added.
"O happy dagger, here is
thy sheath!" cried Chacha dramatically, pantomiming
stabbing himself, and fell over on top of You who sat next to him on the bed.
"Ah!" the younger
man cried, collapsing under his lover's sudden, dead weight.
It was at this moment Ren
returned from his foraging, holding his cell phoen
aloft. "You!" he called from
across the room, tossing it to the other man, who did indeed catch it, despite
being hampered by Fujimura, who was still lying on top of him,
"dead." Noticing the elder's
state, the bassist questioned, "What's wrong with Chacha?"
Waving his worry off, Masa replied, "Oh, he's just dead."
The man broke character and
laughed in spite of himself.
"Quiet," You
ordered. "Dead men don't
giggle," to which Chacha pursed his lips but
quickly puckered them up at his koibito.
You merely arched an eyebrow
as Masa burst into a fit of hysterical laughter,
crying, "Just leave him like that!"
The spoke-of wrinkled up his
nose and blindly grabbed at You, bringing him down to
kiss him hard. Sitting up quickly, he
cried, "I'm alive!" But then
glared at You, chastising, "No thanks to
you..." before grinning sweetly at the others.
Sighing and looking at Ren,
You held up phone and asked, "What do you want me to do with this?"
"Call that restaurant we
love to go to! See if they'll
deliver."
"What restaurant?"
You paused for a moment. "You mean
the one in
"Yeah!" You blinked at
him, stunned. Ren pointed frantically at
the phone. "See if they do
catering!"
Snuggling up to You, Chacha commented, "Get a hold of the operator. See if they'll patch us through."
While the violinist sighed
and started dialing, Masa was smiling like a lunatic,
Ren paced, Chacha bit back laughter, and Toshi observed, "This is priceless."
Before anyone could argue,
they heard You say, "Ah! Moshi moshi?...Hai, ano, you do catering, ne?...Good...before I place the orders, how far exactly are
you willing to cater out to? Eto...
All but Ren, who was turning
red in the face, and You, who was still dumbstruck burst
into gales of laughter.
Ren snatched the phone away
from his friend with a sharp, "Give me that," and looked at it,
fuming. "Kisama!"
Hitting redial over and over again, he cried into the phone, "Pick
up damn you! We're desperate!"
"Looks like we'll be
eating soufflé for the next week Ren..." Masa
observed. The redhead looked as if he
were about to cry.
Shaking his head, Toshi laughed, "Priceless...just priceless..."
Chacha sighed, stood, and walked out of the room and into
the one he and You shared, laughing and mimicking his
lover's stunned tone, "He hung up..."
The mocked stood up after the
band leader had disappeared into the room, glaring. "If you'll excuse me minna-san
- I have to go discipline my boyfriend.&p;quott;
Toshi motioned to bedroom and grinned, "By all
means..."
You promptly ran out out of room and slammed door to the bedroom behind
him. All still outside heard a shriek
and a laugh and then it was silent.
Masa sighed, weary, and leaned back on the couch,
smiling. Life's a bitch, but it has its moments... [2]
[1] The beach - Yeah, ano...I don't even know if there's a lake in Lyons, France
much less a beach near it so...WORK with me, onegai? o.O;
[2] Yeah, that entire
section's probably really REALLY out of character,
but I wanted to stick it in. It's
cute! =^.^=