FicWad

Title: Edge
Author/Artist: Silvermagess
Pairing: TatsuhaxTaki fic
Fandom: Gravitation
Theme: #5. "ano sa" ("hey, you know....")
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or this series.

"Hey, earth to Taki. Earth to Taki." Taki blinked at the hand waving in front of his face, then shoved it away and glared at Ma-kun, who looked worried. "Don't look at me like that man. You're the one who's been in a daze lately."

"I have not been in a daze." He got up and stretched, looking around. "Where's Ken?" Their keyboardist tended to disappear quite often, due to his quiet nature and it sometimes became almost impossible to find him.

Giving him a 'you've got to be shitting me look,' Ma-kun sighed. "What do you think he's doing? He's making sure everything's set up before we go on. You told him to, remember?"

"Uh yeah, right." Taki looked around quickly, having a paranoid moment. They were having a concert that night, along with several other bands under the label they had signed with.

"Hey you know, I've been meaning to ask: is something wrong with you?" Ma-kun said it carefully, the way he normally did when he was trying to get Taki to admit to some sort of wrong doing.

Feeling his frustration beginning to mount, Taki decided to play dumb. "Wrong, what do you mean wrong?"

Ma-kun scratched his chin, looking a little nervous. "You seem really paranoid and fidgety lately. More so than normal I mean. Like you're worried that something is going to jump out and eat you."

He'd been that obvious? "Trust me, I'm not. I'm just tired from all the work we've been doing lately. Been sitting on my ass so much, that I forgot how tiring it could be." It was bullshit, but it was the best that Taki could come up with.

Ma-kun looked at him doubtfully, then nodded. "Just take it easy man." He patted him on the back. "I'm going to see how the set up's going."

Taki watched him as he left. He hadn't mentioned Tatsuha to either Ma-kun or Ken, not wanting them to worry. After everything that had happened with NG, Ken and Ma-kun had become over protective of him, jumping at any bit of erratic behavior on his part. He didn't like it, but he wasn't resentful either, because he'd have done the same or worse, kicking them of the band if it had come down to it.

Which was the other reason why he didn't want them to know. Taki knew that he was damn lucky they had forgiven him. But, that forgiveness could only go so far. If they heard about the Tatsuha thing they might just cut and run. It wouldn't matter if he said that it was all the boy's doing. It'd look like he was up to something.

Still, he hadn't heard from the boy in over a week, which he took to be a good sign. Because, he honestly didn't know how to deal with him. Tatsuha's persistence scared him, because the boy honestly didn't know what he was getting into. And those types, the ones who didn't understand the consequences were the most dangerous of all.


In a week, Tatsuha had not gotten much accomplished. It wasn't easy bringing up a subject that would get him smacked by his brother. He'd been trying to go for something subtle that wouldn't get him smacked, but hadn't thought of a good way of bringing it up. Tonight was going to be different though. A televised concert was supposed to play tonight, ASK among the acts. It was a perfect opportunity to bring up the subject without looking suspicious.

That night, it was just him and Eiri, since Shuichi had gone over to his parents and hadn't gotten back yet. Tatsuha had made sure to camp out on the couch, knowing that Eiri would be bored, without his lover and with no novel to work on at the moment. "What are you still doing here?" Eiri was glowering at him right now, holding a pot of what looked to be pasta in an oven mitt covered hand. "Is there another girl claiming you knocked her up? Or some jealous boyfriend?"

"Am I not allowed to spend time with my favorite sibling?" Despite how seriously he said it, Tatsuha was moments away from cracking up, as he had never gotten used to the idea of his brother being domestic. Eiri was not amused though. In fact, he seemed just a little more annoyed than before.

"You know that I can sense your crap from a mile away."

"You kiss Shuichi with that mouth?" Tatsuha was leaning forward, staring at the tv, intent on ignoring his brother. Despite how mature he acted, it drove Eiri bat shit when he got ignored.

"He likes it apparently. You hungry, leech?" Tatsuha looked up at him, scanning Eiri's face, to see if he had the look of someone who might have just poisoned dinner. After a few minutes, he became content, that despite the acidity in his voice, Eiri didn't look like he'd been contemplating murder.

"Always." He reached out for the pot, which Eiri deftly held away from him.

"Then come in the kitchen. You're not getting food all over my couch."

Tatsuha sat back down, waving him off. "I'll eat later then. Right now I'm watching something."

"I'm not saving any for you." Eiri walked back into the kitchen, but not before throwing a disdainful look over his shoulder at Tatsuha.

"You're going to get fat." Tatsuha yelled at him, laughing. "Then Shuichi will run to me, because he'll want to remember what it's like fuck with a fit Yuki Eiri."

"By the time that happens, you're going to be bald." Eiri called from the kitchen.

"No I won't. The old man's like, well I don't know, he's become more lenient on some of that stuff." More like, he'd finally given up on Eiri and since Tatsuha had always been the favorite anyways, the old man was willing to let him get away with breaking some of the traditions. "You should visit more often. It'd do you good to come home once in a while."

"You aren't here to drag me home, are you?" Eiri's voice now sounded accusing, like he did when talking to Mika.

"No. My whole life doesn't revolve around you." The act that was playing on the tv right now was the standard pop princess idol affair, the girl's hair the color of blue cotton candy. She was cute, if you liked the lolita type. Tatsuha preferred older women, with all their curves, heavy makeup and sexy lingerie.

"Say that when you stop spending weeks at a time here." Tatsuha rolled his eyes, silently mouthing Eiri's' words sarcastically. After about fifteen minutes, Eiri came out with a pack of beers and sat down on the couch, dropping the case between them. "So, what are we watching?" He asked as he opened a can and started to chug it down.

Grabbing his own beer, Tatsuha did the same as Eiri. "A concert. It's a couple of different acts together."

"Well, it's not a Nittle Grasper concert. You don't look like you're about to come." Tatsuha bit his tongue this time, deciding not to say anything. Eiri was right where he wanted him, which was all that mattered.

"No, it's a new group I discovered. They're not part of NG. Or at least not anymore." Tatsuha hadn't been able to find out much about why ASK had been cut from NG, despite how many websites he'd surfed

Eiri looked at him, slightly amused, which was apt to happen when he was drinking. "Is this because of some chick or some guy?"

What was the point in lying when Eiri had hit it right on the head? "You could say that."


Performing was what Taki lived for. The mere thought of getting to be on stage caused his heart to beat faster. There was only one thing he really hated about it: the waiting. As he waited, every negative thought he'd had that day would enter his head, making him more and more irritated. Before Shuichi Shindou, it had just been silly little concerns, the typical worries of a perfectionistic personality. Now though, there was always something looming in his mind.

In particular, someone with dark hair and predatory eyes. "That stupid boy..."

A hand clapped on his shoulder, causing Taki to jolt. "What stupid boy?" Looking back, he saw Ken standing there, sunglasses obscuring his thoughts as usual.

"Nothing." Taki gasped as he placed a hand over his rapidly beating heart. Ken was like a ghost sometimes, remaining quiet until he found the right moment to scare the shit out someone. Granted, he didn't do it on purpose, but it was still annoying.

"You're not talking about Shindou, are you?" Taki wanted to kick himself. After everything that had happened, Ken and Ma-kun had been overly protective or perhaps a better word was restrictive.

"No, I'm not talking about Shindou." Really, it was like that thought he masturbated to the boy's pictures or something, the way his band mates acted.

"What other stupid boys are there?" Okay, Ken was being unusually on the ball today. Normally he backed off sooner than this or waited for Ma-kun to come along and back him up.

"Listen, it's nothing." And now, even though he couldn't see it, he could tell that Ken didn't believe him. Taki wouldn't have believed himself either.

Before things could get drastic, one of the stage hands peeked inside. "Hey you guys, you're on next. Your guitarist is all set, so you better get out there too." Nodding, Ken and Taki left, Taki sighing in relief. Now if Ken would just forget all about it.


"People actually like this stuff? She's just another ditzy little diva." Apparently, Eiri didn't care much for the blue pop princess. Which amused Tatsuha to no end, because despite his bitching, Eiri hadn't left the couch.

"Considering who you sleep with, I don't think you should be saying anything." The girl had finished up her last song by now and was leaving the stage. The tv cut to commercial at that moment.

Eiri opened up his sixth beer, shrugging. "Trying to be funny?"

"You trying to be mature?" The commercial cut back to the show, just in time for the band he had been waiting for. Eiri's eyes darkened and his mood turned sour when he saw what band was going to be playing.

"This is what you were waiting to watch?" The reaction was better than what Tatsuha could have hoped for. He hadn't expected to get Eiri's poker face to drop like that. Well, most people wouldn't have noticed the difference, because it was so subtle, but there it was.

"Yeah. They're called ASK or something. All the girls at school like them, so I figured I should check them out." Eiri looked tense, but didn't say anything as they watched the concert. In fact, other than his tenseness, Eiri wasn't doing anything interesting. Tatsuha eventually decided to just focus on watching Taki, which was just as worthwhile. This was the first time he'd ever seen the singer in a setting where he wasn't being antagonistic. His performance was exciting and sexy, which was a given, but he was also more relaxed. It was interesting to see Taki when he wasn't being a spazz.

After about forty minutes, Eiri had started throwing back beers faster than usual. He was in one of those moods where he was really pissed, but wanted to hide it for some reason. Tatsuha wanted to probe him, except he had the sense that he might just get clocked. And then, something interesting happened.

The door slammed opened and in walked Shuichi. "Yuki! Did you make supper?" Eiri moved so fast that Tatsuha couldn't see him, but suddenly the channel had been changed and he was getting off the couch, heading towards Shuichi.

"Hey, I was watching that." Tatsuha frowned at Eiri, wondering what was going on.

"Watching what?" Shuichi had bounded into the living room and was staring at the tv, which had been changed to a random news station.

"Nothing." Eiri said as he gave Tatsuha the dirtiest look he had ever received. Before Shuichi could try and ask again, Eiri gave the boy a smooch, which silenced him. "There's leftovers in the fridge. Make sure you heat them up." Eiri started to walk towards their bedroom, clearly saying what he wanted to do with Shuichi after he was done eating.

"I'm not that hungry." Shuichi was hurrying after Eiri, having apparently gotten the signal. They both disappeared into the bedroom, no doubt getting down to business the moment they entered. Tatsuha rolled his eyes, groaning.

"If I ever get like that with anyone, I'm going to put a bullet in my head." He was happy for his brother, but he didn't like some of the ways he'd changed. It was like he'd lost his edge or something. Either way, it wasn't something Tatsuha liked. The same thing had happened to Mika when she fell for Tohma. He flicked the tv back to the station it had been on, sure that Shuichi and Eiri would be gone for hours. At the very least though, he knew a little more about what was going on. It had something to do with Shuichi. What it was though wasn't obvious. He'd have to find Taki and see what a little name dropping did.


The moment they had gone on stage, Taki had lost himself in the feeling of absolute power. Here he could be himself, yet not himself. On stage, he was powerful and millions of people shared in that demonstration. It allowed him to get into touch with a part of himself that he normally liked to hide away.

How could anyone risk this? How could Shindou, Yuki Eiri or Seguchi risk this just for some trivial matter of the heart? As he'd often say to Ma-kun and Ken-chan, should the day come that he, Taki Aizawa, ever get his head muddled over someone, they'd better put him out of his misery and fast. Because he wasn't going to lose his edge.

Of course, as he'd probably end up thinking later on, the very idea had been ludicrous. Not because he was incapable of love, but because Ken and Ma-kun would never have had the guts to actually kill him off.