Hanamichi was alone lounging in the changing room, taking a drink from the canned soft drink in his hand as he waited for his friends to arrive. The soda was quickly losing its chill because of the warmth from his big hands which were clasping the can and when he tasted his next sip of carbonated water he grimaced as the tangy sweet taste hit his tongue stronger than the weakening bubbles from the drink.

Not more than a few minutes later, the two other members from their casual band arrived and together they discussed on the songs to be sung as the guitarists fine tuned their instruments while the lone drummer tapped the table idly with his drumsticks. It was not long until the show was to start.

When it was time the trio went out on stage. As Hanamichi took his usual seat beside the pony-tailed guitarist, he automatically sought out the near invisible form of Rukawa at the back part of the room. The place was full again that night, most of the regulars still single and free to spend their weeknights out drinking with friends or by themselves and to just hang loose after a long day of work to relax in a less loud but calm place as that café.
The redhead couldn't see the fox-eyed boy's features in the dimness of the café's mellow lighting but he could recognise Rukawa's tall and lanky silhoutte form anywhere, even with the boy sitting down as he was doing at that moment. Probably just finishing his regular order.

Hanamichi wondered what a person like Rukawa would choose to drink in a place like this. The fox-eyed boy certainly couldn't order liquor and with the weather getting chilly this past month it was less likely that he was having something cold. Maybe coffee... or chocolate?
The redhead shook his head, amused at himself that he would bother trying to guess what his number one enemy's regular drink was. Rukawa has been coming in here with the regulars but only on the nights he was playing, a fact he has learnt from the waitresses who were smitten with the handsome, silent teenager. Hanamichi didn't mind it at all that the fox-eyed boy came to hear him play because it meant that Rukawa Kaede was silently admitting that he, Sakuragi Hanamichi, was better in something other than basketball and good looks.

A poke on the arm brought him out of his thoughts. After being given the signal to start, Hanamichi began to play. Their music started easy before they began to play the faster songs. As always Hanamichi let his fingers fly across the strings in a seemingly like caress but the callouses on his fingers tell otherwise. The tune he made syncronised perfectly with his partner, a result of long hours of practice the day before every show. It was hard work but seeing the patrons shifting their bodies and tapping their fingers to the beat in a clear show of enjoyment, they made it all worthwhile. Besides, he enjoyed playing the guitar and being paid to do it... well, what could be better than that?

After the seventh song, the three took a breather before they began on their last song for the night. Although the song has hit Asian airways for weeks, it was new in terms of being played by them on stage and Hanamichi having the deepest voice among the team was chosen to sing with the other guitarist who was able to sing in a lighter tone. At first the redhead was reluctant to sing the duet, grudgingly admitting to himself that he has no singing voice whatsoever but after being persuaded - of course, with a few hints of praises and a challange - and coached on the song he finally agreed. After he and his pony-tailed friend finished practicing on it, Hanamichi realised that his singing was fair, if not great, enough to be brought on stage. He just hoped the audience agreed with him in this one. His two friends continuously tried to convince him that it would be fine, though the redhead was suspicious that all those sweet talks were just to make him do what they want. He was easy that way.

Well, now it was time to find out. After fully prepping himself for their final song, Hanamichi bent forward to the microphone in front of him and announced, "Minna-san. Now we are going to sing our last one for tonight and it's called "Could I Have This Kiss Forever"."

The slight murmur of conversation in the room was hushed as Hanamichi took a deep breath and began to play, followed by the other guitarist.

When Hanamichi sang the first note, nearly everyone was surprised because the redheaded player has never sung a song before. Usually it was the other guitarist who sang the solo and the other two members of the small band were strictly background vocalist. The redhead didn't have the smooth tenor quality as the usual singer but the gravelly deep voice which carried across the room clearly fit perfectly with the song he was singing,

Rukawa found himself leaning towards the table as if it could help him hear the music better. Although the redhead has not what one would call a beautiful voice, Rukawa was amazed to feel the beginnings of goosebumps on his skin by the rough but sensual voice of Hanamichi's.
The PF player's voice was usually so loud and annoying and it has constantly grated his nerves whenever Hanamichi begins his usual "I will beat you, fox" tirade - so how was it possible that the redhead was now able to sing a song which managed to envoke such odd feelings in him? And shouldn't he be surprised that the do'aho was able to coax his Japanese tongue to word the foreign language from the lyrics as if it was a first language to him? Hell, you bet he should!

Hanamichi looked up from his fingers which were busy strumming the strings of his guitar and upon instinct sought out Rukawa. With the raven-haired boy leaning against the table, the angle of the lighting on the ceiling hit his face and the redhead was not prepared to see the surprised but intruiged look on the boy's face.

And then it was the other guitarist's turn to sing and the lighter tenor balanced perfectly with Hanamichi's deeper voice,

While the drummer acted his part in the percussion, the two guitarists sang together,

One would think of their dream partner or better yet their soul-mate when they hear this song. Hanamichi would've immedietly thought of Haruko but he was helplessly riveted by the blue gaze of one fox-eyed boy.

Even as Hanamichi's hands continued to play the guitar without missing a note, the redhead's eyes kept locking onto Rukawa's everytime the redhead got his nerve to confront the intense look of Rukawa's eyes. Hanamichi felt his heart starting to beat fast and he knew it wasn't because of performing on stage. Oh no, he was already immune to that. What he was not yet immune to was the attention he was receiving from his supposed-to-be nemesis. Usually Rukawa would sit back and quietly enjoy the music and his drink with a lazy attitude but now Hanamichi could see naked emotion on the boy's face and especially in those eyes. Although Rukawa's eyes were nearly shadowed by the thick lashes combined with the dim lighting overhead, Hanamichi could still see a hint of glittering in those deep sapphire pools.

Rukawa laced his fingers together as he watched the magic of Hanamichi's strong fingers create the most wonderful music and together with his husky voice, the fox-eyed boy was captivated. He was not aware however that the redhead was doing the same, admiring his slender fingers stapling just below his chin as his elbows leaned at the top of the table.

When Hanamichi saw Rukawa lick his dry lips from afar, the redhead unconsiously stared at the raven-haired boy's now wet mouth. Fortunately Hanamichi was still in a good state of mind to be able to sing the chorus,

Rukawa brought his hand to rub at the back of his neck where he felt the hairs in that area start to rise. His heart was beating rapidly and ... and ... is this the feeling what people would call 'butterflies in your stomach'?

Hanamichi saw Rukawa's palm lift to rub at the pale neck and he gulped when his senses were aroused by the sight of those fingers caressing the slender column. He could imagine running his own fingers across that soft skin and had to bite down those responses as he had to sing,

The redhead's voice went higher a notch as the voice grew with passion and Rukawa suddenly found it difficult to breath. He felt that he ought to do something ... wanted to ... no, needed to. Something to ease this itch or he'll explode! But what?!

Hanamichi put all his soul into the last chorus and he could feel a sort of shocking sensation when he and Rukawa looked at each other again this time longer, both unwilling to break the non-physical connection. He didn't realise it but in actuality, he was singing directly to the raven-haired boy,

Rukawa clutched the edge of the table tightly, trying to calm himself from the sudden realisation. Yes, that was it! He wanted ... no needed some sort of contact with the redhead. Any sort of contact would do! God, he has never felt this desperate for a touch ever! He panicked at first but as Hanamichi continued to sing the last set of verses, the fox-eyed boy could feel the burning need for a taste of the teenage boy who was sitting on the stage, pulling the strings of his soul unknowingly with the song,

Their song finally ended but Hanamichi could still make out the quick tempo of his pulse drumming in his ears. Their audience gave an approving applause for the closing part of the performance and, not quite-so-slowly, the redhead left the stage again ignoring the confused looks of his music partners to catch up to Rukawa before he left. He knew that it was foolish to hope for something both would and should be appalled to think of but with the adrenaline pumping in his veins and that still present tingly feeling in his body he felt reckless tonight. Rushing to pack his guitar before heading out of the building he bumped into somebody about to enter the backstage door. Wincing, he looked up and was surprised to see that it was none other than Rukawa himself.

The two stared at each other, each tongue tied and bodies tense. Sparks flew between them but they were not the usual sparks of hostility. Rather they were sparks of raw need - a need which was crystal clear in the blue fox-eyes of Rukawa's and was mirrored in the brown ones of Hanamichi's. The tension was suddenly broken when the two bodies snapped into motion. Yes, tension was broken but was replaced quickly by the intense passion of two teenage boys who have suddenly found out their source of desire. It was difficult to know who made the first move but both were then clutching at each other tightly, not doing anything else as they breathed in each other's scent and revelled on the warmth of each other's body. Hanamichi touched his lips on Rukawa's neck and he nearly whimpered when the fox-eyed boy did the same to him, feeling the warmth and wetness of the other boy's breath on his skin.

Rukawa's hands were busy, feeling the redhead's body through the thick clothes with fervour that matched his passion in court. Hanamichi was shocked and partially excited that the fox-eyed boy was touching him like a desert-stranded man being offered water while at the same time marvelling the soft texture of Rukawa's ebony coloured hair which felt like silk on his fingers.

Even limiting and satisfying themselves with touching and breathing upon one another, both boys were already groaning by their desperate act. Suddenly, the backstage door opened and thumped Hanamichi from behind to push forward against Rukawa. To prevent themselves from falling onto the wet and dirty ground, Rukawa allowed Hanamichi and himself to be pushed towards the opposite wall, allowing his back to hit the brick barrier with the redhead nearly draped over him.

Before Rukawa could do more than wince because of the hard impact of his body with two hard solid forms (though one of it was a welcome one), a teasing voice said, "So this is why you've always jumped off of stage in a hurry lately. One word of advice Hanamichi, go find someplace less public."

Hanamichi hurriedly extracted himself from Rukawa's embrace and blushed while his two friends from the café regarded the two teenagers in amusement and with a small amount of surprise.

"Uh...." the redhead began, trying to control his ragged breath, "...gomen..."

The drummer waved his hand carelessly and cut in, "No biggie. Just remember about the someplace private thing, ne?"

"Hai," Hanamichi nodded in embarassment before he accepted the guitar case that fell down in his haste to touch Rukawa, from the pony-tailed guitarist's hands, "Doumo."

"That's ok. Oyasumi nasai, Hanamichi," said the young man.

"Oyasumi nasai," parroted the drummer, nodding to Rukawa as well.

Rukawa nodded back and Hanamichi replied with his own, "Oyasumi nasai. See you guys next week."

"Hai."


When he and Rukawa were left alone, Hanamichi took a deep breath before turning around to face the fox-eyed boy in anxiety. Rukawa has lost most of the flaming emotion in his eyes but a glimmer of it was still present. With shaking hands the redhead ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, "Wow, that was crazy."

"Crazy?" Rukawa arched an eyebrow.

The redhead gave Rukawa a look, "Yeah! Don't tell me touching a guy like you did to me in a dark alley is what you normally do."

The fox-eyed boy stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at the flushed face of Hanamichi's, "Iie. It isn't."

Hanamichi shuffled his foot on the grimy ground under his feet and mumbled, "Umm... can I walk you home?"

"Sure," Rukawa shrugged, watching the redhead's face lift to show a look of shy delightedness. He nearly smiled himself.

Together the two walked side by side, enjoying companionable silence and along the way Hanamichi began to whistle the tune he has just played that night. Hoping for detachment in his voice, Rukawa hesitatingly asked the redhead to sing it instead and Hanamichi complied but not before he wrapped his arms around the fox-eyed boy from behind to sing the words in Rukawa's ear. Rukawa was startled at first, to say the least, at the redhead's actions but after a few seconds he allowed himself to relax in the boy's embrace with a quiet sigh and listened to Hanamichi singing the song again. This time the raven-haired boy knew that it was exclusively for him,

They weren't sure what would happen next with this new turn in their relationship, new and risky as it was. But at that moment both were feeling pure bliss and contentment.

Needless to say, they didn't reach Rukawa's house for quite a while.

~the end~

The song taken for this fic is from Enrique Iglesias duet with Whitney Houston "Could I Have This Kiss Forever".