[fic] Aesthetics and Identity :: Nocturne
Jun. 5th, 2006 07:34 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
kiyala.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
shannys_cornerTitle: Aesthetics and Identity :: Nocturne
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kiyala
Word Count: 3207
Rating: PG-13/R
Summary: Slightly AU-ish story where Ichigo and Uryuu become famous singing stars XD
Warnings: as I said, AU-ness… doesn’t sit very well on the Bleach timeline ^^;
Status: Incomplete (5/7)
Disclaimer: Kubo Tite owns Bleach
x-posted to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
ishi_ichi
Chapter 1 :: Prelude
Chapter 2 :: Minuet
Chapter 3 :: Bolero
Chapter 4 :: Serenade
“Did you hear about it?” Ichigo demanded as he stormed into Mizuko’s office, “For crying out loud, I can’t believe this!”
“Settle down,” she replied, standing up and looking Ichigo in the eyes, “I warned you before the tour… you’re popular, you’re both boys, people talk.”
“Yeah… well, they didn’t need to talk about things like that,” Ichigo growled, looking away.
“Is there any way to well, fix it?” Uryuu asked, leaning against the wall, “I mean… to show that we aren’t really…”
With a sigh, Mizuko looked at her clipboard, “Well, there’s not much we can do, but well… how do you boys feel about releasing individual singles?”
Ichigo raised an eyebrow, “And this is supposed to fix all of it… how?”
“Trust me,” she said with a nod, “It’ll work.”
“Fine,” Uryuu said with a shrug, “I’ll do it. Ichigo?”
“Yeah,” the redhead nodded, “We might as well.”
“You should get busy, then… I’d suggest having one main track and a couple of other songs.”
“I’m going to get writing, then,” Ichigo muttered, straightening and turning to the door, “Uryuu, I’ll see you around then.”
“Yeah… um, I’ll just come with you,” he said with a nod as he followed the redhead out of the room.
They walked in silence, avoiding other people and dodging glances. As they walked down Ichigo’s street, Uryuu cleared his throat.
“You’re pissed.”
Ichigo grinned and looked over his shoulder, “Not at you. I’m sorry… it’s just…”
Uryuu gave him a small smile, “I know. Don’t worry, I’m feeling the exact same thing. I just don’t show it like you do.”
“You’ve always been too quiet for your own good,” the redhead said.
“And you’ve always been too loud.”
“So, do you really think this is going to work?” Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow, “I mean, I really don’t see—”
“Well, Mizuko said we should do it… and I can’t really think of anything better to do,” Uryuu replied, frowning in thought, “As you said before, we might as well. Besides, even if it doesn’t work, at least we get to write more songs.”
“Seperately, though,” Ichigo pointed out, “We can’t collaborate for these ones, it’s going to be different to what we’re used to.”
The other boy grinned, “Well… it gives us room to experiment, if nothing else.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” the redhead nodded, “This is going to be rather fun. Good luck with your songs, Uryuu.”
“You too.”
o O o
“Ichi-nii!” Yuzu called, knocking on the door of her brother’s room, “You’ve been in there all day! Come out and eat something before you faint!”
“Yeah, just hang on a moment!” came the reply and after a few moments of shuffling around, the door opened to reveal his room with papers all over the place, some in a stack by the foot of his bed but the majority of them crumpled and scattered about.
“What have you been doing?” she asked, eyes widening at the mess.
Ichigo scratched his head, “Ah, just trying to write another song… don’t worry, I’ll clean it up myself.”
“Do you want anything to eat? Uryuu-nii-chan is having some of the miso I made.”
“Yeah…” Ichigo muttered, walking downstairs into the kitchen and rummaging through the cupbaord.
“So, how are you going?” he asked over his shoulder as Uryuu quietly ate at the table.
“I’m progressing well. I have the music planned out, I need to work on the lyrics though, you’re stronger than me there.”
“Heh,” Ichigo pulled out a chocolate bar and made to return back to his room, “At least you’ve got your music finished. That’s the hard part for me. Lyrics weren’t too bad.”
“I’m looking forward to hearing your song,” Uryuu said, looking up.
Ichigo stopped walking and turned around with a small smile, “Yeah. I want to hear yours too.”
Returning to his room, Ichigo closed the door and picked up his guitar again, glancing at the sheet of lyrics he had on his bed and found the pencil he had dropped on the floor and began scribbling.
o O o
“I’m… surprised, to say the very least,” Mizuko said, looking at them, “Your individual songs are extremely different to the ones you write together. Especially yours, Ichigo.”
With a sheepish grin, the redhead shrugged, “Yeah, I just wanted to try out something that was a bit more rock.”
“Well it was a great idea, congratulations,” she praised with a nod, “And your voice, Uryuu. When it is the sole focus of the song… I’d even go so far as calling it breath-taking.”
With an embarrassed smile, Uryuu nodded without saying anything and Ichigo raised an eyebrow, “So is this going to make that gay rumour subside or anything?”
“Give it some time,” Mizuko nodded, “But for now, great news – I’ve received mail saying you’ve been nominated to receive the ‘best new talent’ award at the music ceremony next month.”
The two boys looked at each other in shock.
“Us? Award?”
“Of course. I personally believe that none of the other nominees have a chance, none of them have had the sales and instant success that you two have. It’s rare for anyone to be as popular as you’ve become and to make it even more amazing, you’re new to the industry.”
Ichigo grinned, “That’s… damn. Wow.”
Uryuu nodded numbly, not quite able to contribute much.
“So you’ll be flying to Tokyo at the start of next month. I can’t make it with you two this time, so make sure you behave yourselves. And try not to do anything that would feed this rumour—”
“You think we’d want to?” Ichigo growled and Uryuu gave him a warning glare.
“Yes. We’ll be fine, thank you.”
The month passed by quickly and before they knew it, they were in a limo on the way back to their hotel, award in their hands.
Ichigo looked at the award and grinned, “Mizuko was right… we did win. Shit, this is awesome.”
“You’d better ring home,” Uryuu advised, “I’m sure your family would love to yell excitedly at you for a while.”
With a laugh, the redhead nodded, “Got it.”
“I can’t believe this all started with me looking at your lyrics book…”
“Yeah,” Ichigo mused, “None of this would have happened if you weren’t so nosy. Not exactly a bad thing though, is it?”
“I am not nosy.”
Grinning, Ichigo closed his eyes and relaxed back into his seat, “Of course not.”
o O o
“Oi… my ear feels like it’s going to fall off,” Ichigo muttered as he wobbled towards his bed, “I’m going to sleep… we’ve got an interview tomorrow afternoon before returning home, don’t we?”
“Yep,” Uryuu nodded, sitting in his bed with a book, “So you can sleep in a bit.”
With a thud, he collapsed onto his bed, “Ah, I plan to. Good night.”
“Good night.”
He wasn’t sure how long it had been since he had fallen asleep, but the lights were off, he had managed to crawl under the covers of his bed and Uryuu was also sleeping in his own bed. He frowned and sat up, suddenly feeling all too awake. He had been extremely tired when he had gone to bed, hadn’t he? It didn’t make sense, but he shrugged it off. Stretching and scratching his head, he looked around the dark room and noticed Uryuu shifting in his sleep.
“Mm… Ichigo…”
The redhead raised an eyebrow but remained silent. With a gasp, Uryuu suddenly opened his eyes and upon noticing Ichigo was also up, jumped slightly in shock.
“Can’t sleep?” Ichigo asked with a grin, trying to ignore Uryuu’s sleep-talking.
“Yeah…” the other boy replied and also sat up.
“You having a nightmare?” he asked, tilting his head slightly, “You were turning in your sleep, and you were mumbling… things.”
“Uh… well, not really a nightmare, but it wasn’t the pleasantest of dreams either.”
“Was it about me?” the question came out before he could even think to stop it.
Uryuu was taken aback, but after a short silence, he nodded, “Yeah.”
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Ichigo asked, feeling extremely stupid but trying to cover for his question.
The dark-haired boy closed his eyes and shivered, “No.”
Standing up, Ichigo slowly made his way over to the other bed, “Uryuu…”
“Ichigo?”
“I’m scared of hurting you.”
The other boy looked confused, “…Ichigo…?”
With a sad smile, he bent down and pressed their lips together. He had expected Uryuu to jerk away, but instead, felt a hand wrapping around his shoulders and pulling him down. Pulling apart for a moment to breathe, they kissed again and their tongues touched, inviting mouths to open and be explored.
“Uryuu…” Ichigo moaned into the other boy’s mouth and two hands tightly gripped onto his shoulders.
Kneeling on the bed over the pale-skinned boy, Ichigo realised he was breathing heavier than normal and placing his hands on bony shoulders, pushed the slender body back down onto the bed before crawling onto him.
“Can you tell me why I want you so badly?” Ichigo whispered against the warm skin of Uryuu’s neck and the other boy shuddered, groaning soflty as his grip on the other boy tightened.
With a small whimper, Uryuu’s fingers slid under the other boy’s shirt and the article of clothing was lifted over his head and dropped on the floor. Shifting slightly, their lips met before Uryuu’s shirt was also removed and they held each other close, paying attention to nothing but the sound of each other’s breath and the feeling of their hearts pounding against each other. With a moment’s hesitation, they began to move against each other, grinding and gasping. Their fingers interlocked for a moment before being buried in each other’s hair, their kisses becoming more desperate and demanding by the second.
“I-Ichigo…” Uryuu gasped, arching slightly as Ichigo’s fingers slid into his pants and stroked gently, “Aah…”
“Fuck.”
Ichigo immediately sat up, panting and shaking. His brown eyes wide and seeking familiarity in the dark room. Uryuu breathed deeply, his sleep undisturbed in the bed opposite from him and the redhead shook his head, gripping his hair tightly with both hands.
“What…the…fuck…” his body was covered with cold sweat and he was unpleasantly aware of his erection through his loose pants.
He glanced over at Uryuu. Still asleep. He eyed the bathroom and in a quick movement, crossed the dark hotel room and locked the bathroom door behind him, leaning against it with a sigh. His hands were already wandering south before he had time to realise what he was doing and his breath hitched as he pulled his pants down.
Ichigo could admit, even whilst stroking himself in the rather desperate manner he was at that moment, that he was scared. He wasn’t supposed to be feeling this way… had the media gotten to him that easily? A part of him shook its head and disagreed. No. He had always felt like this, it was just easier to ignore back then. He groaned quietly, the despair that was stabbing him in the gut outweighing the pleasure but not overwriting the need for release. Stifling his sounds, realising that Uryuu was still asleep and that they were separated only by a door, Ichigo let out a silent sob as he came. He slid to the floor slowly, shaking with relief, shock and shame.
“Shit,” he whispered, gripping his hair with his clean hand and clenching his teeth, “…Uryuu.”
There was a soft knock at the door and he almost jumped, but regained composure and slowly stood, “Yeah?”
“Ichigo?”
The redhead’s body shivered at the sound of Uryuu’s voice and there was a short silence before he thought to reply, “Yeah? Something wrong?”
“Idiot, that’s my line. Are you okay?”
He let out a small laugh, sounding more amused than he really was, “I’m fine. Go back to sleep. I just need a bath.”
“…At 3am?” Uryuu’s voice sounded critical and Ichigo could just imagine him raising a perfect eyebrow… Ichigo shook his head, trying to clear it of those kinds of thoughts.
“Yeah, well it was just an impulse, okay?” he lied, “I probably just got too excited over the award and stuff. Don’t worry, just go back to sleep.”
Not waiting for a reply, Ichigo grabbed one of the towels from the rack. Holding it to his face for a moment before turning the taps on and removing the rest of his clothes, cleaning up the floor before stepping into the shower and leaning against the tiled wall. He let out a small sigh and tried to trace this, well, liking as he decided to think of it, for the other boy back to find out when it started. It didn’t work, and after a while, Ichigo decided it didn’t really matter. All he knew was that he had to keep it a secret. From Uryuu, from the media, from everyone. Nothing was going to work between them, even if Uryuu returned his feelings, which Ichigo was sure the boy did not. Not under the ever-watchful eye of the media. He felt like yelling in frustration and breaking something, but managed to control himself. Only just.
As he walked out of the bathroom later, towelling his hair dry and pacing around the room, he noticed something. He didn’t quite know how to take it and the voice inside his head was telling him that he was being too hopeful, but as he glanced at Uryuu, sleeping in his bed as though he had never woken up, Ichigo realised that Uryuu’s breathing wasn’t deep and it was before when he was asleep. He stopped walking and grinned to himself, running a hand through his nearly-dried hair and shook his head. Uryuu had actually stayed up for him, even if he was pretending to be asleep. Dropping the towel onto the floor and crawling into his own bed, Ichigo smiled again. That must count for something.
o O o
“Okay guys, we’re going to start the interview as soon as that red light there turns on, okay?”
Both of them nodded, glancing over at the light the interviewer had referred to.
“Going live in five… four… three… two… one—”
“Welcome back. Today, we have the two boys that literally became singing superstars overnight, Kurosaki Ichigo and Ishida Uryuu. Welcome boys.”
They nodded and Uryuu muttered a, “Pleased to be here.”
“So, how did you two begin?”
Ichigo glanced sideways at the other boy and grinned, “It’s this guy’s fault.”
The dark-haired boy laughed and nodded, “I guess you could say that. He was writing lyrics one morning and I happened to catch him in the act. I managed to persuade him to let me read his work and well, I liked it. So we started singing together and decided to write a song together.”
“So that’s how Aesthetics and Identity was born,” the interviewer said with a nod, “Now, jumping forward a few months, you two have recently released individual singles that have sold almost as well as your collaborated work. What made you decide to do it?”
They both hesitated and glanced at each other, unwilling to bring up the topic of the rumours and the fact that the singles were an attempt to make them subside. Coughing, Uryuu gave a small shrug.
“We just decided it would be nice to experiment with a few new things. It’s a lot less limiting when you’re working on your own.”
“So is that why Zan is so different to the songs you write together?”
Ichigo scratched his head, “Yeah, I guess. I just wanted to see if I could get into the whole… rock… thing. Experimented a bit with the guitar and drums and I like what I got from it.”
“And for you,” the interviewer continued, glancing at Uryuu, “You decided to be based more on vocals?”
Uryuu nodded and the interview progressed, the questions being general ones about their history, their plans for the future and their views on the music industry.
“…And that just about wraps things up,” the interviewer said with a large smile, “But before we go, I’m sure the audience would love to know the answer to this… are the rumours true?”
Uryuu raised an eyebrow but remained otherwise expressionless, “What…?”
“The ones that have been going around that you two are—”
“Whoever came up with that,” Ichigo spoke and the dark-haird boy’s eyes widened as he recognised the barely controlled anger in his friends voice, “Is… rather stupid. We’re friends and we really don’t appreciate having these kinds of rumours going around. It’s irritating and—”
“Ichigo…” Uryuu muttered warningly, kicking him under the table they were sitting at before smiling at the interviewer, “Is that all?”
“Thanks for joining us, boys. We wish you luck in your career!”
Ichigo remained silent and as they were driven to their hotel room, he was still seething.
“Why are you letting this get to you so badly?” Uryuu asked, giving his friend a concerned frown, “If we ignore it, they’ll get bored and stop.”
“Well that’s very easy for you to say isn’t it?” the redhead snapped, “Just close your eyes and all the bad things will disappear. Don’t they realise they’re crossing the line between what’s public and what’s personal? We’re just friends and I don’t want to have our friendship analysed by half of Japan to prove that we’re something we’re not!”
“That’s what the media does…”
“And you’re just okay with that?” Ichigo cried, “You’re fine with everything just going the way it is? For crying out loud, Uryuu, the fansites, and the theories, and the pictures and the questions in the interviews! I didn’t start writing songs for this.”
“Then why did you start?”
“I wanted to express myself! It’s not my fault that you had to look over my shoulder, is it?”
“You’re the one who wanted to write a song together—”
“And it’s Rukia’s fault for entering us into the talent quest!”
“We decided to enter the competition to be signed with a recording company…”
“This isn’t what I wanted!” Ichigo yelled, “I didn’t want to be labelled just because I have fun writing songs with you, I didn’t want to get odd looks everytime we walk down the street together even though we could do it before and no one would care, I didn’t want—”
“Ichigo…” Uryuu murmured softly and the other boy fell silent.
Covering his face with his hands, he shook his head and sighed, “I’m sorry, Uryuu.”
“It’s alright.”
Looking at the floor, Ichigo was silent for a moment before speaking, “I can’t do this.”
“Yes you can. You’re letting them get to you far too easily—”
“No, Uryuu, I can’t do this. I’m sick of this rumour. I don’t want to be known by everyone in the country, I want to go back to being just me.”
“Hey,” Uryuu grinned, “Even when you were just you, people took notice of you anyway.”
“Not this many.”
“Come on. Hang in there. We’re in it together, remember?”
There was a silence and the redhead nodded, “Yeah. Fine.”
To Be Continued…
Author:
kiyalaWord Count: 3207
Rating: PG-13/R
Summary: Slightly AU-ish story where Ichigo and Uryuu become famous singing stars XD
Warnings: as I said, AU-ness… doesn’t sit very well on the Bleach timeline ^^;
Status: Incomplete (5/7)
Disclaimer: Kubo Tite owns Bleach
x-posted to
ishi_ichiChapter 1 :: Prelude
Chapter 2 :: Minuet
Chapter 3 :: Bolero
Chapter 4 :: Serenade
“Did you hear about it?” Ichigo demanded as he stormed into Mizuko’s office, “For crying out loud, I can’t believe this!”
“Settle down,” she replied, standing up and looking Ichigo in the eyes, “I warned you before the tour… you’re popular, you’re both boys, people talk.”
“Yeah… well, they didn’t need to talk about things like that,” Ichigo growled, looking away.
“Is there any way to well, fix it?” Uryuu asked, leaning against the wall, “I mean… to show that we aren’t really…”
With a sigh, Mizuko looked at her clipboard, “Well, there’s not much we can do, but well… how do you boys feel about releasing individual singles?”
Ichigo raised an eyebrow, “And this is supposed to fix all of it… how?”
“Trust me,” she said with a nod, “It’ll work.”
“Fine,” Uryuu said with a shrug, “I’ll do it. Ichigo?”
“Yeah,” the redhead nodded, “We might as well.”
“You should get busy, then… I’d suggest having one main track and a couple of other songs.”
“I’m going to get writing, then,” Ichigo muttered, straightening and turning to the door, “Uryuu, I’ll see you around then.”
“Yeah… um, I’ll just come with you,” he said with a nod as he followed the redhead out of the room.
They walked in silence, avoiding other people and dodging glances. As they walked down Ichigo’s street, Uryuu cleared his throat.
“You’re pissed.”
Ichigo grinned and looked over his shoulder, “Not at you. I’m sorry… it’s just…”
Uryuu gave him a small smile, “I know. Don’t worry, I’m feeling the exact same thing. I just don’t show it like you do.”
“You’ve always been too quiet for your own good,” the redhead said.
“And you’ve always been too loud.”
“So, do you really think this is going to work?” Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow, “I mean, I really don’t see—”
“Well, Mizuko said we should do it… and I can’t really think of anything better to do,” Uryuu replied, frowning in thought, “As you said before, we might as well. Besides, even if it doesn’t work, at least we get to write more songs.”
“Seperately, though,” Ichigo pointed out, “We can’t collaborate for these ones, it’s going to be different to what we’re used to.”
The other boy grinned, “Well… it gives us room to experiment, if nothing else.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” the redhead nodded, “This is going to be rather fun. Good luck with your songs, Uryuu.”
“You too.”
“Ichi-nii!” Yuzu called, knocking on the door of her brother’s room, “You’ve been in there all day! Come out and eat something before you faint!”
“Yeah, just hang on a moment!” came the reply and after a few moments of shuffling around, the door opened to reveal his room with papers all over the place, some in a stack by the foot of his bed but the majority of them crumpled and scattered about.
“What have you been doing?” she asked, eyes widening at the mess.
Ichigo scratched his head, “Ah, just trying to write another song… don’t worry, I’ll clean it up myself.”
“Do you want anything to eat? Uryuu-nii-chan is having some of the miso I made.”
“Yeah…” Ichigo muttered, walking downstairs into the kitchen and rummaging through the cupbaord.
“So, how are you going?” he asked over his shoulder as Uryuu quietly ate at the table.
“I’m progressing well. I have the music planned out, I need to work on the lyrics though, you’re stronger than me there.”
“Heh,” Ichigo pulled out a chocolate bar and made to return back to his room, “At least you’ve got your music finished. That’s the hard part for me. Lyrics weren’t too bad.”
“I’m looking forward to hearing your song,” Uryuu said, looking up.
Ichigo stopped walking and turned around with a small smile, “Yeah. I want to hear yours too.”
Returning to his room, Ichigo closed the door and picked up his guitar again, glancing at the sheet of lyrics he had on his bed and found the pencil he had dropped on the floor and began scribbling.
“I’m… surprised, to say the very least,” Mizuko said, looking at them, “Your individual songs are extremely different to the ones you write together. Especially yours, Ichigo.”
With a sheepish grin, the redhead shrugged, “Yeah, I just wanted to try out something that was a bit more rock.”
“Well it was a great idea, congratulations,” she praised with a nod, “And your voice, Uryuu. When it is the sole focus of the song… I’d even go so far as calling it breath-taking.”
With an embarrassed smile, Uryuu nodded without saying anything and Ichigo raised an eyebrow, “So is this going to make that gay rumour subside or anything?”
“Give it some time,” Mizuko nodded, “But for now, great news – I’ve received mail saying you’ve been nominated to receive the ‘best new talent’ award at the music ceremony next month.”
The two boys looked at each other in shock.
“Us? Award?”
“Of course. I personally believe that none of the other nominees have a chance, none of them have had the sales and instant success that you two have. It’s rare for anyone to be as popular as you’ve become and to make it even more amazing, you’re new to the industry.”
Ichigo grinned, “That’s… damn. Wow.”
Uryuu nodded numbly, not quite able to contribute much.
“So you’ll be flying to Tokyo at the start of next month. I can’t make it with you two this time, so make sure you behave yourselves. And try not to do anything that would feed this rumour—”
“You think we’d want to?” Ichigo growled and Uryuu gave him a warning glare.
“Yes. We’ll be fine, thank you.”
The month passed by quickly and before they knew it, they were in a limo on the way back to their hotel, award in their hands.
Ichigo looked at the award and grinned, “Mizuko was right… we did win. Shit, this is awesome.”
“You’d better ring home,” Uryuu advised, “I’m sure your family would love to yell excitedly at you for a while.”
With a laugh, the redhead nodded, “Got it.”
“I can’t believe this all started with me looking at your lyrics book…”
“Yeah,” Ichigo mused, “None of this would have happened if you weren’t so nosy. Not exactly a bad thing though, is it?”
“I am not nosy.”
Grinning, Ichigo closed his eyes and relaxed back into his seat, “Of course not.”
“Oi… my ear feels like it’s going to fall off,” Ichigo muttered as he wobbled towards his bed, “I’m going to sleep… we’ve got an interview tomorrow afternoon before returning home, don’t we?”
“Yep,” Uryuu nodded, sitting in his bed with a book, “So you can sleep in a bit.”
With a thud, he collapsed onto his bed, “Ah, I plan to. Good night.”
“Good night.”
He wasn’t sure how long it had been since he had fallen asleep, but the lights were off, he had managed to crawl under the covers of his bed and Uryuu was also sleeping in his own bed. He frowned and sat up, suddenly feeling all too awake. He had been extremely tired when he had gone to bed, hadn’t he? It didn’t make sense, but he shrugged it off. Stretching and scratching his head, he looked around the dark room and noticed Uryuu shifting in his sleep.
“Mm… Ichigo…”
The redhead raised an eyebrow but remained silent. With a gasp, Uryuu suddenly opened his eyes and upon noticing Ichigo was also up, jumped slightly in shock.
“Can’t sleep?” Ichigo asked with a grin, trying to ignore Uryuu’s sleep-talking.
“Yeah…” the other boy replied and also sat up.
“You having a nightmare?” he asked, tilting his head slightly, “You were turning in your sleep, and you were mumbling… things.”
“Uh… well, not really a nightmare, but it wasn’t the pleasantest of dreams either.”
“Was it about me?” the question came out before he could even think to stop it.
Uryuu was taken aback, but after a short silence, he nodded, “Yeah.”
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Ichigo asked, feeling extremely stupid but trying to cover for his question.
The dark-haired boy closed his eyes and shivered, “No.”
Standing up, Ichigo slowly made his way over to the other bed, “Uryuu…”
“Ichigo?”
“I’m scared of hurting you.”
The other boy looked confused, “…Ichigo…?”
With a sad smile, he bent down and pressed their lips together. He had expected Uryuu to jerk away, but instead, felt a hand wrapping around his shoulders and pulling him down. Pulling apart for a moment to breathe, they kissed again and their tongues touched, inviting mouths to open and be explored.
“Uryuu…” Ichigo moaned into the other boy’s mouth and two hands tightly gripped onto his shoulders.
Kneeling on the bed over the pale-skinned boy, Ichigo realised he was breathing heavier than normal and placing his hands on bony shoulders, pushed the slender body back down onto the bed before crawling onto him.
“Can you tell me why I want you so badly?” Ichigo whispered against the warm skin of Uryuu’s neck and the other boy shuddered, groaning soflty as his grip on the other boy tightened.
With a small whimper, Uryuu’s fingers slid under the other boy’s shirt and the article of clothing was lifted over his head and dropped on the floor. Shifting slightly, their lips met before Uryuu’s shirt was also removed and they held each other close, paying attention to nothing but the sound of each other’s breath and the feeling of their hearts pounding against each other. With a moment’s hesitation, they began to move against each other, grinding and gasping. Their fingers interlocked for a moment before being buried in each other’s hair, their kisses becoming more desperate and demanding by the second.
“I-Ichigo…” Uryuu gasped, arching slightly as Ichigo’s fingers slid into his pants and stroked gently, “Aah…”
“Fuck.”
Ichigo immediately sat up, panting and shaking. His brown eyes wide and seeking familiarity in the dark room. Uryuu breathed deeply, his sleep undisturbed in the bed opposite from him and the redhead shook his head, gripping his hair tightly with both hands.
“What…the…fuck…” his body was covered with cold sweat and he was unpleasantly aware of his erection through his loose pants.
He glanced over at Uryuu. Still asleep. He eyed the bathroom and in a quick movement, crossed the dark hotel room and locked the bathroom door behind him, leaning against it with a sigh. His hands were already wandering south before he had time to realise what he was doing and his breath hitched as he pulled his pants down.
Ichigo could admit, even whilst stroking himself in the rather desperate manner he was at that moment, that he was scared. He wasn’t supposed to be feeling this way… had the media gotten to him that easily? A part of him shook its head and disagreed. No. He had always felt like this, it was just easier to ignore back then. He groaned quietly, the despair that was stabbing him in the gut outweighing the pleasure but not overwriting the need for release. Stifling his sounds, realising that Uryuu was still asleep and that they were separated only by a door, Ichigo let out a silent sob as he came. He slid to the floor slowly, shaking with relief, shock and shame.
“Shit,” he whispered, gripping his hair with his clean hand and clenching his teeth, “…Uryuu.”
There was a soft knock at the door and he almost jumped, but regained composure and slowly stood, “Yeah?”
“Ichigo?”
The redhead’s body shivered at the sound of Uryuu’s voice and there was a short silence before he thought to reply, “Yeah? Something wrong?”
“Idiot, that’s my line. Are you okay?”
He let out a small laugh, sounding more amused than he really was, “I’m fine. Go back to sleep. I just need a bath.”
“…At 3am?” Uryuu’s voice sounded critical and Ichigo could just imagine him raising a perfect eyebrow… Ichigo shook his head, trying to clear it of those kinds of thoughts.
“Yeah, well it was just an impulse, okay?” he lied, “I probably just got too excited over the award and stuff. Don’t worry, just go back to sleep.”
Not waiting for a reply, Ichigo grabbed one of the towels from the rack. Holding it to his face for a moment before turning the taps on and removing the rest of his clothes, cleaning up the floor before stepping into the shower and leaning against the tiled wall. He let out a small sigh and tried to trace this, well, liking as he decided to think of it, for the other boy back to find out when it started. It didn’t work, and after a while, Ichigo decided it didn’t really matter. All he knew was that he had to keep it a secret. From Uryuu, from the media, from everyone. Nothing was going to work between them, even if Uryuu returned his feelings, which Ichigo was sure the boy did not. Not under the ever-watchful eye of the media. He felt like yelling in frustration and breaking something, but managed to control himself. Only just.
As he walked out of the bathroom later, towelling his hair dry and pacing around the room, he noticed something. He didn’t quite know how to take it and the voice inside his head was telling him that he was being too hopeful, but as he glanced at Uryuu, sleeping in his bed as though he had never woken up, Ichigo realised that Uryuu’s breathing wasn’t deep and it was before when he was asleep. He stopped walking and grinned to himself, running a hand through his nearly-dried hair and shook his head. Uryuu had actually stayed up for him, even if he was pretending to be asleep. Dropping the towel onto the floor and crawling into his own bed, Ichigo smiled again. That must count for something.
“Okay guys, we’re going to start the interview as soon as that red light there turns on, okay?”
Both of them nodded, glancing over at the light the interviewer had referred to.
“Going live in five… four… three… two… one—”
“Welcome back. Today, we have the two boys that literally became singing superstars overnight, Kurosaki Ichigo and Ishida Uryuu. Welcome boys.”
They nodded and Uryuu muttered a, “Pleased to be here.”
“So, how did you two begin?”
Ichigo glanced sideways at the other boy and grinned, “It’s this guy’s fault.”
The dark-haired boy laughed and nodded, “I guess you could say that. He was writing lyrics one morning and I happened to catch him in the act. I managed to persuade him to let me read his work and well, I liked it. So we started singing together and decided to write a song together.”
“So that’s how Aesthetics and Identity was born,” the interviewer said with a nod, “Now, jumping forward a few months, you two have recently released individual singles that have sold almost as well as your collaborated work. What made you decide to do it?”
They both hesitated and glanced at each other, unwilling to bring up the topic of the rumours and the fact that the singles were an attempt to make them subside. Coughing, Uryuu gave a small shrug.
“We just decided it would be nice to experiment with a few new things. It’s a lot less limiting when you’re working on your own.”
“So is that why Zan is so different to the songs you write together?”
Ichigo scratched his head, “Yeah, I guess. I just wanted to see if I could get into the whole… rock… thing. Experimented a bit with the guitar and drums and I like what I got from it.”
“And for you,” the interviewer continued, glancing at Uryuu, “You decided to be based more on vocals?”
Uryuu nodded and the interview progressed, the questions being general ones about their history, their plans for the future and their views on the music industry.
“…And that just about wraps things up,” the interviewer said with a large smile, “But before we go, I’m sure the audience would love to know the answer to this… are the rumours true?”
Uryuu raised an eyebrow but remained otherwise expressionless, “What…?”
“The ones that have been going around that you two are—”
“Whoever came up with that,” Ichigo spoke and the dark-haird boy’s eyes widened as he recognised the barely controlled anger in his friends voice, “Is… rather stupid. We’re friends and we really don’t appreciate having these kinds of rumours going around. It’s irritating and—”
“Ichigo…” Uryuu muttered warningly, kicking him under the table they were sitting at before smiling at the interviewer, “Is that all?”
“Thanks for joining us, boys. We wish you luck in your career!”
Ichigo remained silent and as they were driven to their hotel room, he was still seething.
“Why are you letting this get to you so badly?” Uryuu asked, giving his friend a concerned frown, “If we ignore it, they’ll get bored and stop.”
“Well that’s very easy for you to say isn’t it?” the redhead snapped, “Just close your eyes and all the bad things will disappear. Don’t they realise they’re crossing the line between what’s public and what’s personal? We’re just friends and I don’t want to have our friendship analysed by half of Japan to prove that we’re something we’re not!”
“That’s what the media does…”
“And you’re just okay with that?” Ichigo cried, “You’re fine with everything just going the way it is? For crying out loud, Uryuu, the fansites, and the theories, and the pictures and the questions in the interviews! I didn’t start writing songs for this.”
“Then why did you start?”
“I wanted to express myself! It’s not my fault that you had to look over my shoulder, is it?”
“You’re the one who wanted to write a song together—”
“And it’s Rukia’s fault for entering us into the talent quest!”
“We decided to enter the competition to be signed with a recording company…”
“This isn’t what I wanted!” Ichigo yelled, “I didn’t want to be labelled just because I have fun writing songs with you, I didn’t want to get odd looks everytime we walk down the street together even though we could do it before and no one would care, I didn’t want—”
“Ichigo…” Uryuu murmured softly and the other boy fell silent.
Covering his face with his hands, he shook his head and sighed, “I’m sorry, Uryuu.”
“It’s alright.”
Looking at the floor, Ichigo was silent for a moment before speaking, “I can’t do this.”
“Yes you can. You’re letting them get to you far too easily—”
“No, Uryuu, I can’t do this. I’m sick of this rumour. I don’t want to be known by everyone in the country, I want to go back to being just me.”
“Hey,” Uryuu grinned, “Even when you were just you, people took notice of you anyway.”
“Not this many.”
“Come on. Hang in there. We’re in it together, remember?”
There was a silence and the redhead nodded, “Yeah. Fine.”
To Be Continued…
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}