Title: A Silent Assumption
Author: Capella Morningside
Theme #21 – Fling
Pairing: Tohma Seguchi/Sakano
Genre: Drama/Angst
Rating: PG-13
Words: 1200+
Warnings: Mentions of sexual behavior.
Disclaimer: Don't own it, don't make money from it.
Summary: Who knew such complexities and heartbreak could stem from mere silence?

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Everyone has these kinds of days, he thought. The sort where it seems everyone has some secret grudge against you, and you even become suspicious of the nicest of them because your mind is too busy prying into them for deeply hidden maliciousness. But it wasn't true, and he knew it. Guilt complexes were something he'd always struggled with and his conscience reminded him every chance it got that he'd screwed up, possibly very badly, and he couldn't help but wonder who else was aware of the situation.

Thankfully, even those that had the keenest senses for trouble had seemed all too busy to notice the quiet drama that he had carefully swept under the rug. Things had started to return to a normal pace, and the president had let his guard down. But it was too soon.

One night, his scandal would be called on the carpet... by a stuffed pink rabbit.

It was the usual routine. The blonde keyboardist had stayed in late, rejecting the idea of returning home just yet, staring at the surface of his desk and finding solace in the growing darkness and the race of his own thoughts. A few small sounds, the door opened beyond his notice, and when he looked up, two black, beady eyes were gazing at him from across the desk, big pink ears resting on the furniture.

Tohma smiled. Surely this distraction would lift his spirits. "Ah, Kumagoro. What are you doing up here?"

"Nyah!" came the gratingly irritating response. "Kumagoro doesn't want to talk to Tohma. He only came to look at the pretty sunset in the big window."

A perplexed look overcame the deceptively soft features, and Seguchi leaned forward on his elbows to get closer to the indignant bunny. "What's the matter? Have I done something wrong?"

Kumagoro gave a full-bodied negative gesture. "Kumagoro doesn't talk to meanies that make people sad."

"And what did I do that made Kumagoro sad?" He was still highly confused, but decided to still play along, if it at least made for a diversion.

"Tohma knows what he did. He made Kumagoro's friend cry."

Defeated, the man sat back in his chair, daintily removing his solid black hat and letting it come to a rest in his lap, pondering the riddle presented to him by the angered Ryuichi. Friend... Shindou was a possible, safe response to this puzzle. He and the bubblegum-headed ball of energy had taken up the ropes for their power-based tug-of-war quite frequently over the last couple of weeks or so, and this, as always, involved the entire spectrum of emotions on Shindou's part. But perhaps simply asking would be the key to the whole question.

"Who was crying, Kumagoro?"

A perturbed response. "Mean, mean Tohma knows what he did!"

The accused hung his head in annoyance, his patience running thinner than it truly ever had with Ryuichi. "Kumagoro..."

Little cloth paws went to cover the huge ears. "Kumagoro doesn't like you right now no da." The hidden puppeteer began to sing, trying to mask out anything the keyboardist would say. "Tooku de me o hikarasete mezameru monotachi matte iru..."

Tohma pinched the bridge of his nose. Considering how upset his bandmate had been made, he let himself assume the worst: somehow, Ryuichi had found out about something he very well shouldn't have, and was taking it upon himself to patch the situation. As for how he knew, the blonde hadn't a clue. Sakuma had an enigmatic way of knowing exactly what was bothering those he cared about and waiting around until an opportune time presented itself to try and solve it. Needless to say, Seguchi was pretty certain of the problem now. Who knew such complexities and heartbreak could stem from mere silence?

The N-G president watched the ceiling fan spin high above him, giving him a soft breeze to cool off in as well as something to just stare at while he tried to make sense of what has just happened. His hand moved in a repetitive motion, dragging through the tangled, damp hair of Sakano who lay beside him, arms tightly around his employer's body. Both were almost in a state of shock; everything had happened so quickly, and once the mild kisses had become a gateway for much more neither of them had possessed any power to stop it. Yet, that was not to say that either had a single regret, not even the overly cautious, hesitant Sakano who up until about a half hour prior, had been a virgin.

The silence in the producer's apartment broke. A quivering statement, but the words spoken were as sharp and strong as a fine blade. "I... I-I... I love you."

A resulting cringe told Seguchi how frightened his companion was of his own words, but it was nothing in comparison... his own heart seemed to fall into his stomach. His hand ceased its movements, and he parted his lips as if to speak, but the endeavor was only met with failure. Sakano watched this carefully, the patient man staring apprehensively into aquamarine eyes for any kind of response. One minute ticked by, then two... and eventually the younger man turned away dejectedly, rolling over and breaking all physical contact with the other. The afterglow they had shared all at once vanished, all warmth left in the room fading as well to leave them in frigid silence.

Since then, things had taken a considerable turn in the still relatively new relationship. The steadily growing romance and affection suddenly had turned sour when things began to happen too quickly, when they began taking steps they weren't prepared to take yet. The silence that had killed the tender moments after their passionate night had sealed the deal, so to speak... outside of professionally, the two hadn't spoken or seen each other since.

Kumagoro was still singing and covering his ears, but Tohma leaned forward and closer, ready to bargain. "Alright, Kumagoro. I'll make a deal."

The rabbit's paws relaxed and the song stopped, the two black beads of the animal's eyes nearly looking expectant.

"I promise I'll say I'm sorry, and make it all better... if you promise to tell me who told you about it."

Skepticism from the other. "Tohma promises?"

"Of course." He put on his signature smile.

"Um..." came a long-drawn out response, this single syllable lasting for at least half a minute before, with a little nod, Kumagoro complied. "Okay. K-san told me."

Oh great.

"K-san is so-o-o nice, no da! He was trying to make Sakano-san feel all better, and Kumagoro tried to help, too. But they went to dinner, and K-san said Kumagoro should talk to Tohma about being nice."

"Well," Seguchi mused. "thank you, Kumagoro. I'll hold up my end of the bargain and say I'm sorry, okay?"

Ryuichi's free hand finally appeared, clutching the side of the desk, and the hyperactive singer peeked over the edge much like his stuffed companion had at the beginning of their conversation. "They went to the La Belle Epoque, if you want to catch up."

"La Belle Epoque?" Tohma arched a brow at the name of the high-end restaurant.

"I know!" the singer said with excitement in his voice. "That place is so yummy no da. Isn't that nice of him?"

Nice indeed, the president thought to himself. "I will see you tomorrow, Sakuma-san. I have things to attend to before I go home."

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A few notes for my audience: thank you greatly for the encouragement, and I apologize for being lazy and not putting my updates here!