"Okay, that's all for today," Takuro clapped his hands together, signing the end of the practice that day. "Good work, minna. I'm sure the single will be a big hit!"

Jiro chuckled, resting his bass to the stand. "You always say that, Takkun"

Takuro shrugged, grinning a little. "Ah, just have to keep the optimism alive, don't we?"

Teru grabbed his coat. "Come, come, Jiro-chan, or else the shops would be close already"

"Yeah, wait a minute, why don't you? We still have a long time to go to do that"

Hisashi frowned from where he sat. "You guys are going out somewhere?"

Jiro nodded. "Yup yup. Tekko wants me to help him finding a birthday present for his son"

"Yea," Teru chimmed in. "He'll have his birthday soon and I have no idea what to give to him. I want something special... different. And Jiro-chan here has agreed to help me right, Jiro?"

"That's just because I lost the bet, or else, I would spend tonight with Hisashi" Jiro pouted.

"What bet?" Hisashi asked curiously.

Jiro blushed. "Uh... I lost in drinking game..."

Takuro laughed. "When will you ever learn, Jiro? You could never win in a drinking game!"

"Yea, yea, laugh at me, will ya?" Jiro pouted evenmore, that Hisashi almost couldn't fight the urge to kiss that pout. "Tekko somehow got me into it"

"C'mon, Jiro-chaaaaannn~!" Teru whinned.

"Okay, okay!" Jiro said, grabbing his own thick coat and wore it, looking very much like a fluffy doll that Hisashi wanted so very much to glomp and hug tightly.

"Ah!" Hisashi said, making Jiro stopped and turned to him, staring him in a silent inquiry. "Ah... you..." he blushed a little, noticing that everyone's staring at him. "You'll come to my place tonight right?"

Jiro beamed. "Waaaaiii, Hisa-chan misses me!!" he exclaimed, bouncing happily to Hisashi.

"It's not... It's not that..." Hisashi stammered, but soon was silenced by Jiro's kiss. Deep, sweet, lingering.

"Jiro!" he warned after the kiss broke.

Jiro just giggled a little. "Dun worry, I'll come back to your place tonight, Hisa-chan! And then we'd do fun things together ne?" he winked and grinned cheekily to his lover.

"Jiro~..." Hisashi hissed in embarassment.

"JIRO, COME *ON* !!!" Teru whinned from the door. "The shop will be closed soon!"

"Coming!!" Jiro ran to the door but stopped there for a moment and threw Hisashi an adorable kissy face before exiting.

Hisashi blushed again. "JIRO~!!" he yelled. But Jiro didn't hear him, running off to the parking lot to where Teru was stomping around, waiting for him.

Hisashi shook his head. He noticed Takuro was staring at him and felt uneasy. He tried to ignore it by putting up his things together and preparing to go home.

"Hisashi"

Damn, he should've known that he couldn't escape Takuro. He turned around reluctantly. "Nani?"

Takuro stared at him, his dark eyes probbing. "You still haven't got yourself to get use with it?"

Hisashi tried to look nonchalant. "Get use with what?" he murmured, putting the newest magazine issue to his bag.

"You know what" Takuro stated calmly. "Why are you always avoiding the issue anyway?"

Hisashi sighed. "Do we have to go through this again?"

Takuro nodded. "I don't get it why you still want to hide your relationship with Jiro to other people," he said. "Even around us, you don't seem to let your relationship acknowledged"

"I've said it thousand times, Takkun. I don't feel like it"

Takuro had Hisashi under his intent scrutinizing. "Come, sit here" he said, patting the empty space on the sofa behind him. "We need to talk, really"

Hisashi groaned. Takuro had switched into an older brother mode again. "Takkun, we have dicuss it many times-"

"And we will discuss it again," Takuro said pointedly.

After a moment or two, Hisashi finally relented. Annoyed that he never ever could escape from Takuro, he sat down with a huff. "I... don't really know... I'm not really sure..."

Takuro frowned. "About?"

"About all of this! About Jiro!" Hisashi said exasperatedly.

"You are not sure about whether or not you love him, or why you are not comfortable in expressing your affection for him in public?" Takuro asked, his eyes narrowing.

Hisashi glared at the band leader. "I'm sure that I love Jiro. I just... about showing affection in front of public, I just... I don't know!" Hisashi sighed exasperatedly. "I have asked myself this question over and over again and still I don't know. There is no particular reason... it's just... I just don't like showing affection in front of people..."

"But there must be reason for ..."

"No, there is not always a reason for everything, Takkun," Hisashi cut him. "It's just like... there must be a time when you don't like about something and you can't find an exact reason why you don't like it. You just don't. Don't tell me you never felt like that"

Takuro tilted his head, mulling over Hisashi's words for a moment and the huffed. "Yeah, you're right... "

Hisashi nodded, almost thriumphantly. "Yeah! I often feel like that. There are just some things you just cannot explain why you do so"

Takuro nodded a little, but when he stared back at the other guitarist, he was still frowning, doubtful. "Demo..."

"What?"

"I can understand your reason - well, pretty much so. But how about Jiro? Is he okay with this?"

Hisashi's feature softened at the mention of his lover and shrugged lightly, smiling a little. "He never complains about it, so I guess it's okay"

"For now"

Hisashi frowned. "What do you mean?"

The older man sighed. "Don't tell me you have never think about it or realized it. Do you think he will always be 'okay' with all of this? He is the type who likes to let his emotion freely shown. Do you think he'll always be okay, agreeing with you if he has to keep his emotion hidden in front of public?"

"... No... maybe not..."

"He won't, indeed," Takuro nodded absently. "And what are you gonna do? You just can't possibly play hide and seek with us and with the public. No matter how much you want to hide it... sooner or later, Jiro's body language will give it away"

When Hisashi didn't answer, Takuro patted his hand lightly.

"Why don't you just come clear anyway? Why don't you just let your affection for Jiro showed freely? And don't give me the crap that you're worried over GLAY cause it should be my line and see, I have made my relationship with Teru clear to the public"

"It was surprisingly okay, to finally let our relationship known to the public," Takuro smiled, almost wistfully, as Hisashi lifted his gaze and stared at him. "But even before we announced that fact to public, Teru had made it painfully clear to everyone by holding my hands whenever we are together in public...He's just cute that way..."

Noticing a soft chuckle from his bandmate, Takuro snapped off from his little daydreaming and blushed a little. "Okay, back to the topic..." he cleared his throat. "When are you going to loosen up?"

"I don't know... but I hope it'll be soon"

Takuro smiled. "You don't have to suddenly go all out for it. You know, by just showing small gestures of affections, like you know, small kisses, holding hands or saying some little sappy waffy words, I'm sure Jiro will be so happy"

Hisashi smiled. Times like this, he just couldn't express just how grateful he was for friends like Takuro and Teru. They were like older brothers he never had. "Thanks, really, Taku-nii" Hisashi grinned.

Takuro laughed. "Anytime, ototochan," he said. "Afterall, that's what older brother is for, ne? You know, I really can make a song out of your situation"

Hisashi rolled his eyes and smirked a little. He stood and stretched. "Aaaah, I'm hungry," he said. "Want to crash to the sushi restaurant? I'm in the mood for some sushi"

Takuro smiled and stood too. "Sure thing. Besides, our little lovers won't be back until late at night...Old Taku-nii don't want to be alone tonight"

Hisashi smirked. Sometimes Takuro just so like saying those un-takuro things. He fished his car key from his pocket. "So see you at the restaurant, okay?"

Takuro gave him a thumb up. "Okay"

They waved at the night guard of the building and stepped into the biting night wind. Hisashi tightened his coat around him as they walked together to their cars in comfortable silence.

Hisashi was thinking about what kind of sushi he should buy for Jiro when Takuro suddenly spoke up.

"So I suppose you are the seme and Jiro is the lovable, prescious little uke-chan?"

Hisashi swirled around and gaped, staring at him wide eyed in shock, blushing furiously.

Takuro laughed amusedly seeing Hisashi's expression. "Hahahaha!! I've never thought before that you are so easily scandalized!". He shook his head, still chuckling amusedly. "Maa, Hisashi, you must get yourself got used with those kind of remarks, because Tekko sure has lots of them"

"And you sure has learnt a lot, huh?" Hisashi muttered, still blushing. He hastily jabbed the key to its place and opened the door, annoyed that - like Takuro said - he was so easily "scandalized". He got into the car and was to close the door when Takuro stopped him.

"We're still going to the sushi place?"

Hisashi rolled his eyes. "Yea, I can't let good ol' Takkun lonely, right? Just take it as a thank you for the advice"

The last thing Hisashi heard was Takuro's hearty laugh before he sped away. He shook his head, but really, he was thankful for the advice Takuro had given him.

So maybe from tomorrow he would try to allow himself expressed his affection more freely.

An image of his lover's cute, angelic face popped up in his mind and he smiled affectionately.

Tomorrow, when they walked from the parking lot to the studio, he would hold Jiro's hand.