“There’s a pool on the roof,” Gackt noted, a slight lilt betraying his interest.

Todd looked down at his boss with a growing feeling of apprehension. “It closes at midnight.”

“Every night?”

“Every night. Most people don’t adhere to a crazy schedule like you do.”

“It’s not crazy,” Gackt insisted, “just intense.”

“Right.”

The rock star gave his bodyguard a sidelong glance but didn’t say any more as the elevator doors opened onto the floor NC had seen fit to give him, the band, and the rest of staff in an unprecedented display of generosity. Pausing by the door to the suite he shared with You, Gackt kept his eyes straight ahead as he murmured, “I want that pool,” before swiping the keycard and walking inside.

Todd paused for a moment alone in the hallway before shaking his head and continuing his way to his own room only a couple of doors down. He found two of the other bodyguards lounging and watching television. “He’s got that Alexander look again.”

The older of the two bodyguards, who sat on the bed, sighed and shook his head. The greenhorn of the three looked up at his seniors from his place on the floor. “What? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Alexander the Great,” the man on the bed clarified.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No,” Todd answered, hanging his jacket in the closet, “not necessarily ‘bad.’ Just…usually expensive, difficult, or calls for more man-power than we have on staff.”

“But it also means that there’s no convincing him otherwise,” the other added, rubbing his eyes. “What Alexander wants, he gets.”

*****

They were scheduled to be in LA for about four days. Recording, a photoshoot, and meetings with the other members of S.K.I.N. was starting to wear on the vocalist. Todd and the others could tell. He’d be as stoic and confident as ever on the surface but as soon as the elevator doors closed each night, Gackt would step back, close his eyes, and lean heavily against one of the polished walls.

Each night he asked, “Is the pool open?”

“Yes, but it closes at midnight,” would be the consistent response. The only reaction would be a disappointed dip at the corners of the vocalist’s mouth. Subtle and restrained.

It was really starting to piss Todd off. He had jumped at the offer to work closer with Gackt because his boss was anything but subtle and restrained amongst friends. In front of the camera was one thing – alone with compatriots and partners-in-crime was something totally different.

So while Gackt was doing business their final day in LA, Todd traded shifts with one of the other members of their security team to go do some finagling back at the hotel. He didn’t say anything to his employer when the returned to the hotel or when they entered the elevator, but when they paused at Gackt’s door, the musician said, not in the least bit hopeful, “I’m assuming the pool still closes at midnight.”

“Yes,” Todd responded. But then, pulling a key card from his pocket he held it out to Gackt and added, “But it’s open until four in the morning.”

The rockstar smiled and took the card. His bodyguard turned to head down the hallway. “Thank you, Todd.”

The man turned and nodded. Sliding his own key card to open the door to his room, he said, “Enjoy. And try to relax while you’re up there, alright?”

*****

You followed Gackt into the elevator and glanced oddly at the other man. “Where are we going?”

“To the roof.”

“The roof? Why the roof? What’s up there?” You had been pulled from his bed by what appeared to be an overly-excited vocalist and lover telling him to get out of bed and get dressed. In the clearing fog of sleep, he had forgotten to ask such questions before following Gackt out of the room.

“You’ll see.” You gave him a suspicious look. “Trust me, you’ll like it.”

“Well I would expect so, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what would be up there other than a view of LA,” the violinist said, pushing his glasses higher on his nose.

“You’ll see,” Gackt assured again. In a few moments, the elevator dinged and the doors slid open to reveal a small hallway leading to a glass door. Something behind it glowed a soft blue but You’s view was obscured as Gackt took out a key card and swiped it through the sensor. The locks clicked and the vocalist opened the door out to the roof.

You blinked out at the hotel’s rooftop. He stood stiffly in the doorway, surprised by the sight of an elaborate yet elegant garden and pool. The water glowed a pleasant azure blue and what little light reflected off of the water’s surface reflected back to cast streams of rippling silver over the garden and the two men.

Gackt smiled and wrapped his arms around the taller man. The vocalist nuzzled the crook of his lover's neck and You blurted out, “I didn’t bring a swimsuit.” He heard the shorter man chuckle and felt him pull away.

Turning his back on the taller man, Gackt pulled his shirt up over his head and off of his body, tossing it on one of the lounge chairs. “Who said anything about swimsuits…?” he asked as he started working on his pants. Tossing them and his underwear on top of his shirt he put his hands on his hips and looked down at the still water. “I think the pool needs to be christened, You.”

“I am not doing the nasty in the hotel’s pool.”

Gackt laughed and turned to his lover who stood, fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt, his cheeks turning a light shade of red which had started to spread to his ears. The vocalist took hold of You’s larger hands and pulled the man a couple steps closer to the pool’s edge.

“Believe it or not,” he murmured, brushing his lips lightly against You’s, “sex is the farthest thing from my mind at the moment. I just want you to follow me.” He pulled away, releasing You’s hands and whispered, “Come catch me, You,” before diving below the surface of the water.

You waited with bated breath until the other man surfaced in the middle of the pool, running his fingers through his wet hair. He sighed through his nose and started to strip.

A sudden wave of water hit him in the calves and he jumped almost a meter in the air. “Hey!” he shouted, tossing a few curses in with the exclamation. He looked down to find Gackt laughing, the water circling around him.

“Hurry up! Get in!” the vocalist shouted between bursts of laughter as he continued to heave water out of the pool and onto his lover.

“You’re going to regret that,” You threatened as he tossed his clothes and glasses on the lounge chair beside Gackt’s and took several steps back. Gackt watched him with confusion before dawning realization painted his face and he turned with a curse and tried to swim away.

To no avail. You’s strides were long, his jumps longer, and his cannon balls something to be feared.

With a laugh, he crashed through the water, grabbing Gackt’s waist and pulling him down with him. Spinning his lover around to face him, he locked their lips together in a kiss. Eyes still tightly shut against the water, Gackt wrapped his arms around You’s neck and kissed him back. When his lungs started to burn, he planted a foot on the pool floor and pushed them towards the surface.

They surfaced, coughing and sputtering against the water, and laughed. Gackt’s arms remained wrapped tightly around You’s neck and shoulders as the other man slid his arms around Gackt’s waist. The bobbed in the water, their foreheads touching, their lips stealing chaste kisses, their eyelids heavy with a kind of contentment that only one lover could bring to another.

Gackt felt the poolside dig lightly against his back and he closed his eyes. Ducking his head, he rested his cheek against You’s shoulder.

“You shouldn’t do that,” You cautioned. “I have bony shoulders – they might bruise your cheek.”

The vocalist smiled. “I like your bony shoulders,” he countered and lifted his legs to wrap around the taller man’s narrow hips. Held safely between the pool and his lover, Gackt let the last vestiges of his walls crumble into the blue water around them.

You slid a hand over Gackt’s back, trickling droplets down his neck and shoulders whenever his hand slipped from the warmth of the water below. “I just thought – the cameras are probably watching us.”

Gackt shrugged. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Todd told the night-watchmen to turn the other way.”

“So this was Todd’s doing, huh?”

“It was my idea,” Gackt bristled half-heartedly, “Todd made it happen.”

“You should thank him.”

“I already did.”

“But do something really nice – give him a vacation.”

“I thought of that.”

“Maybe send champagne. Or get tickets to Disney for his family.”

“Mmmmm…”

You smiled as he felt Gackt relax against his body. He was sure Gackt had something nice planned for his bodyguard, he had no doubts of that. While Gackt was demanding and often eccentric with his requests, it didn’t mean he was above common courtesy.

“Mmm…you’re really tense,” the vocalist observed, poking at the muscles in You’s shoulders for emphasis.

“Am I?”

“Yeah,” Gackt lifted his head, his brow creasing. “Really tense.”

He continued to poke and prod at the other’s shoulders until You flinched under the onslaught with a quiet, and mildly amused, “Ow.” He mimicked the action on Gackt’s shoulders and noticed how the flesh gave under his touch. “How come you’re not tense?”

“Training.”

“Uh-huh…”

“Turn around,” Gackt said, trying to extract himself from You’s embrace.

“How come?”

“I’ll give you a massage.”

You’s eyebrow quirked at that and he smiled. “In that case…” pulling away from the wall, he all but dropped his lover and laughed softly as the other’s head disappeared below the surface with a cry.

Resurfacing and wiping water from his eyes, Gackt approached his lover from behind as You was already leaning against the side of the pool, his head resting on his crossed arms. Straddling the other’s hips from behind, Gackt balanced himself while his fingers worked to release the tension in the violinist’s knotted muscles.

After several blissful minutes, You sighed and closed his eyes, feeling the last few muscles gave way and relaxed under the attention showered on them by Gackt’s talented fingers. Sliding from You’s hips, Gackt reached under You’s arms, and pulled the taller man’s back against his chest, pushing away from the side of the pool. You tilted his head back to rest against Gackt’s broad chest and closed his eyes.

He enjoyed being held by the older man. It made him feel safe and gave him the chance to just be. Of all the other relationships he had been in, none of them had he allowed himself to be held in the way Gackt could hold him. Granted, most of the other partners he had had claimed that men didn’t need that “touchy-feely” bit like women did, and most of the time, even now, he had to agree. Most of the time. There were other times, times like this, that all he wanted was to be held, and that would make everything so much better.

Of the few relationships he had had with other men, You had discovered that only Gackt knew this and knew how to hold him, knew how to make everything better. Maybe it was because Gackt need to be held at times too, he mused. Maybe that was why he understood.

“You’re thinking,” Gackt said. It wasn’t a question.

You smiled and ignored the statement. “I feel weightless.”

“You are weightless.”

“For the time being at least,” You snickered. “There’s that frosted pastry in the freezer at home that I know you’re not going to eat.” Gackt chuckled deep in his chest and You smiled at the rumbling it made against his head. “I like floating though. When you get tired of dragging me around the pool, let me know.”

“I’d drag you around the pool however long you want me to.”

“Speaking of which…How long do we have this?” You asked softly, a free hand gliding over the pool’s surface.

“Till four.”

A snorted drifted up to Gackt from the man in his arms. “Just in time for us to shower, change, and hop in the shuttle to the airport.”

“Yeah, but then you can sleep on the flight home.”

“You won’t sleep though…”

Gackt’s smile faltered a bit. Lifting one of his hands from You’s chest, he ran his fingers through the other man’s dark hair, bending his head to kiss his temple. “I’ll try.”

“Promise?”

“I promise,” he said, his lips brushing against the warm, wet skin.