🖤8🖤

I woke up to Yuu poking my cheek. "Mika, your phones been ringing for the past half hour," he informed me.

I rolled over, groaning at the infernal racket that my phone was making. I picked it up off the nightstand and, without checking the caller ID, answered it. "What?" I asked in annoyance, getting a snort from Yuu.

"Well, someones grumpy this morning," Shinoa's voice said through the phone.

"Sorry, I wasn't aware that I should be cheerful after being awoken by the shrill rings of my cell phone at," I glanced at the alarm clock that sat atop the bedside table, "seven thirty in the morning. Why on earth are you calling me so early?"

"And why is the author writing this in the form of a Victorian era novel?" Shinoa inquired.

"Shinoa!"

"What? It's not as if I'm lying is it?"

"I cannot help it. I spent the day watching Jane Austen movies."

"You're terrible."

"I'm aware. Can we proceed with the story now? Or do you plan to ruin it further?"

"Your sarcasm is not necessary, Mika. I called to inquire whether or not you were still planning on coming over today," Shinoa informed me, "and if so, if I shall have to come and fetch you." (Okay, I'll stop now. Or at least I'll try.)

I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked over at Yuu. "Still wanna go over to Shinoa's?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. After the incident yesterday, I wasn't sure is he would still be up to it.

"Yeah, I'm up for going over there for a few hours," he said, sitting up. He groaned, bringing a hand to his head, right above his left eyebrow, which was currently covered with a thick bandage. "I'm fine Mika, don't worry," he said upon seeing the concerned expression on my face.

I told Shinoa that we were still planning on going over there and she said she'd be over to get us at ten. I then proceeded to hang up the phone.

Yuu and I got up and went out to the living room, where we found Yuu's mom, sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee, flipping through channels on the TV. Upon seeing us, she turned and smiled, "Well, good morning boys. How's your head feeling Yuichiro?" she asked as she stood from the couch and headed towards us. Stopping in front of Yuu, she pulled back the bandage on his head just enough to look at the stitches and swollen wound beneath. "It looks like the swelling has gone down a bit, which is good. It should stay down as long as you ice it every couple of hours."

"Mom, I know. I've already heard this once from the doctor, at least three times from Mika, and now twice from you. I remember," he said, giving her a small smile as he turned to go into the kitchen. I gave her a small, sympathetic smile before following after him.

"Remember to eat something before taking your medicine," You'd mother called to him from the living room, obviously hearing as he picked up the bottle off of the counter. He sighed, setting it back town before trudging over to the refrigerator and looking through it for something to eat.

***

I sat, curled against Mika's side on one of the couches in Shinoa's living room. Life was normal. We were finally back home; Mika was drawing again, I would spend most of my time watching him draw or reading a book, we were both happy. Well, mostly, I still felt like there was something missing. I voiced this to Mika a couple months ago and he told me that I probably just needed more time to adjust to being home, but even after months had passed and I couldn't imagine my life if I wasn't here with him, I still felt hallow, like a piece of who I was had been ripped away from me. I had figured out what it was by this time, but I hadn't brought it up to Mika again yet, because I didn't want to worry him. However, the others had started to notice that something was off recently.

"Yuu-San?" Yoichi asked suddenly, interrupting the conversation. I turned my head to look at him, raising my eyebrow, causing me to flinch at the pain the action sent through my head. "You've been unusually quiet these last couple of weeks, are you alright?" The others had gone quiet, looking at me for an answer.

"Ah, well I've just been thinking a lot recently. I've been feeling as if something was missing for a while now, and I finally realized what it was," I stated absentmindedly.

"You did? Why didn't you tell me. I could have helped you," Mika stared, frowning slightly.

"Never really found the right time I guess. It's not like this is just something that typically comes up in normal conversation. Anyways, I realized that I miss being a singer. I miss the rush I would get while being up on stage, challenging myself to do what I didn't think I ever could do. I miss the feeling of looking out into a crowd and realizing that I had thousands of fans, who supported me," I said, looking down at my hand, which was holding Mika's in my lap as I played with his fingers.

"But I thought you hated being a singer and performing in front of people," Mitsuba looked confused.

"So did I, until I realized I just hated being a singer in the situation we were forced into. And I definitely don't hate performing in front of people. It scares the shit out of me, but I don't hate it," I explained.

"So you want to start singing again? Are you sure that's the best idea? I mean, I'll support you no matter what you decide to do, but you still get panic attacks whenever you think about the past five years," Mika sounded worried. I knew he didn't want to sing again, hell, he had flat out told me that if he ever saw a microphone again in this lifetime it'd be far too soon, but I could at least try to do it without him.

"I know, and the thought of getting up on a stage again so soon scares the shit out of me, but I at least want to try," I told him.

"You know, now that were talking about this, I don't think any of us have heard you sing without Mika," Shinoa pointed out.

"Yeah. Why don't you sing us something?" Mitsuba suggested, sharing a look with Shinoa.

"Yeah, I mean we have a piano and I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind if you used it," Shinoa said, smiling reassuringly at me.

"Well, there is one song I kinda want to play," I said, smiling. Shinoa smiled and led us all to a room just off the living room that was hidden by a pair of pocket doors that were just barely visible, due to the fact that they matched the wooden paneled walls perfectly. Everyone gathered around the grand piano that sat in the center of the room as I situated myself on the bench in front of it.

***

Yuu pressed down on a few of the keys, probably to test the sound or make sure the piano was tuned correctly. He smiled after a moment and started playing. It took me a moment to realize he was playing Iris by Good Goo Dolls. Although, it sounded a lot more like the Sleeping With Sirens cover. The others didn't look too impressed, especially not Kimizuki. That is, until Yuu started singing. Shinoa's eyes widened, Mitsuba nearly chocked, Kimizuki looked shocked, and Yoichi's teared up. I couldn't blame them either. Yuu had the voice of an angel. His voice never cracked or went too hight and he stayed completely on tune the entire time.

When he was about half way through the song I heard the front door open. "Who do I hear singing?" Shinoa's mother called across the house. Yuu fumbled slightly on the keys and stopped, obviously not expecting that. Mrs. Hiragi was standing in the doorway a moment later, looking surprised. "Oh my. Was that Yuichiro singing?" She asked. Seeing as the rest of them didn't seem to be able to produce coherent thought at the moment, I turned towards her.

"Yes ma'am," I said, nodding.

"Well by all means, don't stop on my account. Please, continue," she said, gesturing towards Yuu, who was blushing. He bit his lip, turning back to the piano. His hands were shaking slightly and I could tell his anxiety was acting up. He closed his eyes, finishing off the song. Yoichi wasn't the only one who was crying by the end. Shinoa was also crying and Kimizuki had tears in his eyes.

Mitsuba was the first to regain her composure. "It has feelings?" she said, staring at Kimizuki, who flipped her off.

I snorted before turning back to Yuu, who was looking down at the keys, face hidden behind his hair and hands shaking where he still had them lightly placed on the keys. I sat beside him on the bench. "Are you okay Yuu-Chan?" I asked and he looked up at me, tears running down his face. I wrapped my arms around him, burying my face against his hair. "That was beautiful Yuu-Chan," I whispered against his hair.

"Why is Yuu-San crying?" Yoichi suddenly asked, and everyone else looked at us as well.

"I'm fine," Yuu said, looking up at them. "I just got a little over emotional." He smiled when he said it, but I could tell it was forced.

We left not long after that, going home so Yuu could rest.

***time skip***

It had been a few months since then and we all sat in the living room at home, talking when Shinoa suddenly jumped up from where she had been lounging against the couch, whereYuu and I were sitting with his mother.

"I know I'm a couple weeks late," she said, taking an envelope out of her jeans pocket, "but here's your birthday present." She was grinning as she handed the envelope to Yuu. He gave her a suspicious look before opening it. Inside was a piece of paper with a list of seemingly random cities written on it.

Yuu looked back up at Shinoa. "What is this?" he sounded confused.

"You, Yuichiro Amane, are going on tour," she stated. Yes that's right. Shinoa was Yuu's self appointed manager.

Yuu's eyes widened and he looked shocked. "Shinoa, I appreciate this, I really do, but I don't think that's the best idea," he said.

"Why not? You've already done quite a few big concerts, it's not like you're too scared," she reminded him.

"Yeah, but we just got back from the last concert two days ago and I haven't gotten to spend that much time with Mika recently, not to mention my mother and rest of these guys. I kind of just want a little time off to hang out, you know, catch up. Besides, that's a long list if cities. How long would we even be gone?" He sounded completely uninterested in the idea, which confused me, because he had been talking about how much fun he had on the last trip ever since they'd gotten back.

"Yeah, see that kind of the thing. It's a year long tour," Shinoa told him, "but this is the only chance you'll get to do something like this for a while."

"A year? Absolutely not. That's out of the question. I will not abandon my life here far a year," he said. His hand had lightened around mine, like he was scared that if he let go we'd be torn apart. I frowned. I was starting to feel like I was holding him back, like the reason he didn't want to go was because he didn't want to leave me.

"Yuu-Chan, why don't you-"

"I said no!" he got up and ran out the door, looking upset. I got up after a moment of sitting there in shock and went after him.

***

I stood on the roof looking out over the city. I didn't know what to do. I was thrilled that Shinoa had arranged this for me and I wanted to go, but I wouldn't be able to handle an entire year away from Mika. I heard footsteps behind me, but didn't bother to turn around, I already knew who it was.

"Is it because of me?" Mika asked from behind me and I turned around to look at him.

"Is what because of you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"The reason you won't go on tour. Is it really just because you want some time off, or is it because of me?" he looked upset, conflicted, and almost broken. It worried me, I hadn't seen that look of his face in months. I wanted to scream, to cry, to tell him I loved him and would never leave him, but instead I just dropped my head to stare at my feet.

"I don't know what to do," I told him, looking up when he got closer. "I want to go, but I don't want to leave you. I remember what it felt like when you were gone. I felt like I was being ripped in half. One half of me was here and the other half was with you, and I know you felt it too. I won't do that to you. I can't. I can't hurt you like that. I would never forgive myself." "I want you to do whatever will make you happy, Yuu-Chan. And that's singing, not stating here. I know you're happy with me, but not as happy as you could be. Not as happy as I wish you were," he told me, a look of pain in his eyes. He was trying to hide how upset he was, but I could still see it.

"What are you trying to say Mika?" I asked, grabbing his hand and leaving our fingers together.

"I don't want to hold you back. I don't want to be what keeps you from living your dream," he said, giving my hand a gentle squeeze, before dropping it and stepping back. "And I know you won't do that if I'm in the way, if I'm what's making you want to stay."

"You can't mean what I think you mean, Mika. You can't," I was shaking by this point and tears were gathering in my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Yuu-Chan," he said, slowly backing away, "it's better this way."

"You can't do this to me. To us. You can't," I pleaded with him, finally letting the tears spill.

"It's the only way," He said. I started forward, to reason with him to make him understand, but he had disappeared back inside before I had a chance to go after him.

***

I sat on the couch, waiting for Shinoa to pick me up. We were leaving today. I had decided after Mika had ended things that I couldn't stay here anymore. That I needed some time away to get over him, or make him understand that what he did wasn't right. Most likely the later, seeing as the other option was next to impossible. Either way, I had to get away for a while. Seeing Mika every day, but not being able to be with him was killing me. I couldn't handle it.

I was cut out of my thoughts when the door opened. I looked up to find Mika looking at me. "I know you probably hate me, but I wanted to say goodbye anyway," he said, a sad look in his eyes.

That's when I snapped. I shot up from the couch and went over to him, grabbing his arms. "How could you even think that?" I asked. I knew I sounded furious and it wasn't helping my case any, but I couldn't help it. The fact that he could even consider me hating him pissed me off. "I could never hate you. Why can't you understand that? And I know that you think breaking things off with me is what's best for me, but you couldn't be more wrong," I told him. A moment later, I heard Shinoa's car horn outside and hurried out the door.

I threw myself into the passenger seat of Shinoa's car after throwing my bags into the backseat. Shinoa gave me a look before pulling out onto the road.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Shinoa asked, "I don't know what's going on with you and Mika right now, but is it really a good idea for you to-"

"Please don't ask. I don't want to talk about it right now. I might tell you later on, but not now. Right now I just want to get out of here," I told her.

The ride to the airport was quiet and somewhat awkward. I had a feeling it would be like this for the next few weeks at least. But right now I just wanted to concentrate on my music career and forget about everything else.

The End

************************************Well, the beginning of that was kind of stupid.Calm down. Don't kill me yet. There will be a sequel. The sequel will cover what happens durring and after Yuu-Chan's tour. There will be a small time skip, but it won't be more then two or three months. The sequel will be coming out soon. I promise. Until then, I will be working on my other Mikayuu fics. See you over there.~Panda