Summary: Yuki dies, and Hiro comforts Shuichi.

A/N: This fic takes place before Ayaka comes into the picture

Key: Thoughts...

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravitation, or Rob Thomas' song "When the heartache ends".

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"When the heartache ends"

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It was impossible for Nakano Hiroshi to ignore the facts.

His best friend Shindou Shuichi had quickly become hopelessly enamored with a romance novelist all the ladies swooned over- Eiri Yuki.

Over the months of his friend's relationship, he was grateful for the excessive smiles the pink-haired teen wore. He hated the selfish blonde though, for the tears he delivered, and the blood and bruises Shuichi endured simply for the honor of his boyfriend.

No matter what caused Hiroshi to detest Yuki, the ecstatic singer was love struck, and far be it from him to step between them.

Presently his body shook with his sobbing friend in his arms. One hour ago, when a teary-eyed Shuichi showed up at his doorstep, Hiroshi was ready to hop in his car and break down the cocky bastard's door, then bust his face and some bones.

That was not the cause though, he found. He wasn't a heartless person, but had to hold back a chuckle when Shuichi was able to speak only three words before bursting into heartbreaking sobs: "Yuki's... dead".

He offered Shuichi his bed for the night, giving him space when he needed to be alone. The next day, the cause of death was revealed to him through their CEO, Yuki's brother-in-law, Seguchi Tohma. The typically calm man was struggling with the loss as much, if not more than Shuichi, especially when he announced that he would be taking a hiatus effective immediately.

Suguru probably thinks this is a good opportunity for the singer to write some heartfelt ballads, "expanding our audience and increasing our revenue"...

At that thought, he had to remind himself that yes the young teen was very much interested in their band's success, but he wasn't a sociopath.

Considering the manner in which the wealthy author perished, it was unsurprising so many people around him were affected. Yuki fell out of a twentieth-story window, and the investigators had not yet determined if it was suicide, murder, or an accident. Tohma assured himself, his wife, and Shuichi that he would utilize every resource, no matter the expense, to find the truth.

No matter how it happened, Hiro was just glad his pal wasn't in the apartment when it did.

Watching Shuichi sitting on the floor with his back against the bed (he refused to lay on a bed "ever again"), Hiroshi walked to him, holding out a bowl of Udon noodles seasoned with Shichimi.

He would never betray Shuichi for any reason, not for money, power, not even for love.

As his broken friend slowly ate for the first time since yesterday afternoon he rubbed his back. After several minutes, Shuichi put the bowl on the floor, less than half its contents gone.

*I'll still be here when the heartache ends Shu, I'm not going anywhere...

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The end

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:( Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated