"Shit."

I heard him curse softly. 'Shit' was definitely the correct word.

I dropped my things and went over to the door to test it out. Maybe Hisashi didn't pull it hard enough. Yeah, that could be it! He's just trying to mess with my head. I walked to the door and gave it a hard tug. Nothing. I tried it again. Still, it wouldn't open. I threw my hands up in defeat. Damn it! And I wanted to go home, too. Life sucks...

"There must still be some sort of backdoor that hasn't been locked. I'm going to go find it!" I ran around the studio, testing every door that led to the outside. No such luck -- they were all locked. //Damn janitors...// I spun around in a full circle and noticed that Hisashi wasn't anywhere to be seen. I quickly walked back to where I left him and sure enough, he was still there, sitting on a sofa near the wall, quietly smoking another cigarette. By now, a halo of smoke was forming over his head. I dragged my tired self over to where he reclined. I wonder if he thinks I'm overreacting...Well, I've never been locked in anywhere before! This is so screwed up.

Putting both hands on my hips, I frowned down at him. I can't believe that he was so calm when we could be locked in this place all night!

How could I totally lose track of time and get locked in? I stood there and continued to berate myself. Well, maybe it was both our faults. I looked at Hisashi and the thought of all the teasing I'd receive tomorrow, especially from Takuro, couldn't possibly be helped. He was definitely gonna rub it in my face. OK, I'll just have to hope that he gets really stoned tonight so he wouldn't come to practice tomorrow. Feh, fat chance Jiro. Man, now back to the matter at hand.

"Hisashi, do you have your mobile with you?"

He looks up at me with only his eyes and flicked the ashes off his cigarette into the ash tray on the table. Hisashi reaches into his coat pocket for the phone. Pulling it out, he presses a few buttons. Good, now we were finally gonna get out of this mess!

"Uh, Jiro?"

"Yeah? Come on, Hisashi, call someone."

"That'd be a little hard to do..."

"Ano...why would that be hard?"

"Because it says the battery's drained."

I swore and took the phone from Hisashi's hands. //Work, dammit!// I couldn't even get the buttons to light up. How pathetic.

"It's no use, Jiro," he told me, taking the phone back and putting it in his pocket.

My eyes almost bugged out. Weren't we even going to try anything else? It just doesn't seem right to give up that easily so I tried to reason with him.

"We could, we could find another phone! In the studio somewhere and-- and..." I mind became jumbled and I ran out of ideas. "Jiro," he smiled, obviously trying to make me feel better, "let's not make a big deal over this please. It's just one night here."

I thought about it and what Hisashi said made sense but god, was I frustrated!

My thoughts were interrupted when he stood and began picking up the things that I had dropped. He came towards me and placed the burden into my arms. "Come on, we need to find a place to sleep." Hisashi started down the hall, his soft footsteps echoing behind him.

I stood there, watching him go then followed slowly. //He's so calm about everything...Maybe he wants to be locked in...but with me?// I slap my forehead, the noise echoing throughout the studio halls and I earn a strange look from Hisashi. How many times have I been embarrassed in front of him now? Damn, I lost count.

He waits for me down the hall and I finally catch up to him. He opens the door to the dressing room and steps inside. "We'll stay in here. I think it's the best place to sleep," Hisashi motioned for me to come in with him. I comply and immediately threw my stuff into the corner. What was the use? We were stuck here.

"I hate to admit it, but Takuro was right about his 'lock down' thing. Stupid janitors! Couldn't they have been a little late on locking up tonight?" I
looked around the room, seeing that Hisashi was already settling himself onto the couch. "Jiro, they're just doing their job."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

I take some time to myself and stood there pouting. I know it wasn't going to help with anything but it was the only thing I could think of doing. A yawn hit me and I stretched myself a bit. //Ow!// That was how my body told me that it needed to rest. My shoulders and back were hurting from playing all night and from moving equipment. I groan and scan the room for something to sleep on. Then I realize that Hisashi occupied the couch or, in other words, the only remotely comfortable place to sleep. //Great. Where am I going to sleep?//

Hisashi looks up expectantly at me while taking off his shoes and coat.

"Are you gonna come over here anytime soon or are you going to just stand there all night?"

I blink. //He -- he wants me to come over...to him?// I gulp but my feet seem to have a mind of their own. So, I walk over and sit down beside him, all the while fidgeting with the hem of my t-shirt. What does he want with me?

"Aren't you going to take off those sneakers?" He pointed to my scuffed up Reeboks.

"Um, why?"

"To get ready for bed," Hisashi said simply.

"Uh...yeah," I carefully untied the lace of each shoe and slipped them off. Setting them aside, I went back to fidgeting.

"I'll be right back."

Hisashi got up and walked to a nearby closet. He came back with a big blue blanket and tossed it to me. I blinked and caught it.

"We're sharing that," he declared, sitting back down next to me.

//We? I have to share with him?//

"Um, that's okay, I really don't nee --" My words were cut short as he pulled the blanket out of my grasp.

"Are you crazy? It's freezing! You're going to catch a cold without it. Here," he spreads the soft blue fabric over the two of us.

"But Hisashi, there's not exactly a lot of room on this couch..." I trailed off, uncertain of what to say.

"Then we'll just have to sleep closer together."

I panicked and jumped off the couch, taking the rest of the blanket along with me. Sleep closer? No, Jiro, that's not what he meant...right?
"No! I mean, it's ok, really! I'll just get the two chairs over there and sleep on them so, uh...you'll be comfortable! Yeah, that's right -- so you'll be comfortable. Eheheh...." I handed the blanket back to him. //Nice save, Jiro boy!//

He looks at me strangely before uncertainly taking it back. "Suit yourself, then."

I gave a nervous laugh before going to get the two chairs from across the room. I pulled them together and tried to form some sort of a pseudo-bed. Hisashi merely sits up and watches me as I try to climb onto the thing. Dang, I must look pretty stupid right now. And after much trial and error on my part, I manage to get myself onto the two chairs. I sighed and laid back, trying to find a comfortable position to lay in.

"All settled?" I can hear the amusement in his voice. I guess I do look stupid.

"Yeah, oyasumi," I said in annoyance and closed my eyes. Maybe I can will myself to forget about all this in the morning.

I can hear him snickering, "Oyasumi nasai, Jiro."

At least, I hope I can.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elsewhere...

"Hahahaha!"

I laugh as Takuro passed out on the counter of the bar. He'd had three beers and five shots in the last thirty minutes. He's not the one to really hold his liquor, yet he insists on drinking so much tonight. On the other hand, though, I've only had two and I can drink until the sun comes up. Well, guess I'm the designated driver for tonight. Hey, I don't mind. It's rare that Takuro ever does anything like this so it's nice to see him have some fun. I smiled and ruffled his hair as he busily snored away on the counter, a look of happiness on his face. Too bad the others couldn't come along. I sighed.

//They're probably home by now -- nice and warm in their own beds...//

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the studio...

//Brrr!! I'm so cold. Ugh, and I think my back is getting worse sleeping on this thing.//

I shift around. //This...*rustle, rustle*... is...*grunt*... so...*ooph*...LAME!!//

"Aiiieeee!!"

I landed with a loud thud and found myself sprawled out on the floor. Apparently, I fell out of the two hell chairs I was lying on. //Damn, damn,
damn...//

"Jiro?" I hear Hisashi yawn out my name. Crap, I woke him up. //Good going, Jiro.//

"What are you doing down there?" He rubs his eyes and blinks sleepily down at me. I look at his messy hair and start to laugh. It was stuck up in numerous places. Hisashi looked at me as if I'd grown another head. Maybe I should tell him that I was laughing at his hair...

"What's the matter? Why are you laughing?"

"Um, it's nothing," I grin. Ok, maybe not.

He shruggs and begins to untangle himself from the blanket. "I should be the one laughing. You fell outta that thing, didn't you?" He gestures to the two chairs next to me. Yes, the hell chairs did this to me.

I nodded with some embarrassment. Oi, he's probably gonna say something like, 'Jiro, I told you so but you never listen to me, do you?' or something similar to that. To my surprise, Hisashi just smiled down and shook his head at me. Hmm, I wasn't expecting that. He gets up off the couch and stoops down, wrapping the blanket around my shoulders and helps me to my feet.

"I told you that there was room on the couch. Come on up here."

I feel my cheeks heating up. Guess I wasn't expecting that, either.

Seeing that I wasn't going to move anytime soon, he takes me by the hand, leading us to the couch and settles down beside me. We sit in silence for a while, just feeling each other's prescence.

"Warmer?"

I jump. "Huh? Uh, yea..." Much warmer.

"Mind sharing some of that?" He tugs at the blanket. Shaking my head, I unwrapped half of it off me and handed it to him. He scoots closer to me and I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. Why does he have to be so close?

"Could I lean my head on you, Jiro?" he asks quietly.

He wants to lean his head on me? Must...calm...down. Steady yourself, Jiro. took a very deep breath and another thought hit me. Well, what the hell? It would look worse if I got all bent out of shape just because he wanted to lean on me. Still, though, this was Hisashi.

I swallowed and squeaked out, "Sure, why not?" Maybe it won't be so bad... I just hope I can control myself. //But from doing what?//

He leans his head on my shoulder, his soft hair gently brushing the nape of my neck. I stifled the urge to purr at the sensation. //Ok, maybe from doing that for instance...// "Ne, Hisashi, you didn't have to let me sleep up here with you. I would've been fine on the chairs," I listened to what I just said and mentally slapped myself. I don't wanna go back to those chairs...

"No, Jiro. Those chairs would have killed you." I laughed, thankful that he also realized that particular fact. I yawned and stretched my arms out in front of me.

//Ow!// I jerked. Dammit! It was my back again!

Hisashi sits up and looks at me worried. "Whoa, are you okay, Jiro? What was that?"

I gave him a strained smile and carefully rubbed my shoulders. "Just my back. I think I worked too hard putting the equipment away tonight and hurt it."

"Oh," Hisashi says and I turn my back to him. "It's no big deal. Happens all the time. Let's just go to sleep now, Hisashi." We both fell quiet but I can hear him moving closer to me by the rustling of his clothes. His hands gently took hold of my shoulders from behind.

"Just relax," he urges while his hands move onto my back.

"Hisashi, what are you doing?" I asked him, finding that my voice had risen a couple of pitches higher.

"I give really good massages, your back is hurting, and I wanted to repay you for covering for me to Takuro. Put them all together and there's your answer." "You don't have to..." I tried to protest but his hands were already working their magic on me. "Shhh..." He tells me to be quiet and I do what he wants. All I can feel now were his wonderful hands dutifully massaging away the soreness.

Oh, I think I'm in Heaven...It all feels so relaxing and Hisashi really is good at this. I don't think I've ever felt this good in such a long time.
//Ohhh...uhn...god...//

"Jiro, are you all right?"

"Huh? What?" I asked, still dazed at the effects of his massaging.

I couldn't feel those skillful hands on my back anymore and I wondered what was the matter. Blinking, I turned my head around to see Hisashi with a rosy tint to his cheeks. He spoke in a very meek voice, "You sounded like you were in pain..."

Oh, damn. Don't tell me I was making those noises out loud. I could have sworn a single sound didn't come out of my mouth!

"...or something else..."

I flushed and he continues, "...am I hurting you?"

"No, no! Not at all. It just felt really nice."

I watch him smile. //What an incredible smile...// "I'm glad you think so." And he begins to massage me again, this time applying slightly more pressure. Turning away from him, I sigh and close my eyes. Damn, he's spoiling me with all this special treatment. His hands move down lower, stopping at my hips and he stops his massaging. He leans in, his small body covering my back and I can feel his warm breath
against my neck. Just his slow, even breathing...in and out, in and out...

I feel him move, whispering softly in my ear, his lips barely grazing my lobes.

"I want you."

And my eyes snapped open.

part 3