Title: The last Dance
Chapter: 2/?
Author: akita_ino
Rating: overall NC17
Warnings: AU, angst, deathfic, sex
Characters: Gazette boys (pairing soon to be revealed)
Disclaimers: this is a work of fiction, I claim nothing to be true (I hope it’s not true), I make no profit with this and don’t intend to (if you want to give me something out of charity, I take it :) me prefers cookies~)

Summary: Do you know what it feels like? For weeks Uruha hears the same sentence in his dreams and he doesn’t know what it means. Is there a meaning behind it or is he just stressed? He has problems with his job, there’s no money to pay the month’s rent and no solution in sight. Until his friend offers him something…

Notes: sorry for the bad English, I don’t have a beta and wasn’t able to find one. If someone offers, I’ll take it :) This fic was inspired by a play I saw and I hope I can capture some of the feelings I had while watching and thinking of this story.
This didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. I think my bad English is at fault, but, well, I try. Without trying I can’t get better xD so forgive me my bad style and enjoy!





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After two days Uruha found a letter in his mail box. One without the sender written on it and obviously not sent trough normal mail. But Uruha was certain nobody would send him a bomb in a letter, he had no real enemies, just sometimes people he didn’t get along with very well, but that was no reason to kill him. So he opened the letter and found a paper saying he had a job to do. Signed with Matsumoto incorporated – Takanori Matsumoto.
Here was his job, finally something to look forward to. It surprised him how fast Kai had managed to arrange everything, just two days had passed. But that was always reliable Kai, if he set his mind on something he would accomplish it, no matter what. Uruha sometimes wished he had Kai’s determination, it probably would have made a big difference compared to his current life and situation. He would have made different decisions. At least he thought so, because Kai was still very successful in what he did, he didn’t need to worry about money or reputation, he was well known and respected for his work. Uruha had lost that status already.

But at least he could rely on his friend. He would do this job as good as possible, he would show this Takanori that hiring him was the best idea of his whole life. And with this he would become successful again; he would find other business partners and aim for the top. He wasn’t even 30 yet, there still were enough chances for him if he played his cards right this time. He would not get another chance, he knew this was the last opportunity.
So he made everything ready for the big day, he would meet the others at 3pm in the new Jefferson Building, 34th floor. He was supposed to bring his own equipment, the cameras and lights, the computer and the concept pictures for the new series. The pictures were for a fashion magazine, the topic was thunder and storm. Quite a nice theme, Uruha liked it. He didn’t know who he would take pictures of, so he was pretty curious about the model. He admired their work, it was so different from his own, but every model could show their personality through their body, the face and especially the looks. Before Uruha had started working as a photographer, he had been unaware of the possibilities models had to show their true self in pictures. In his imagination it had always been the photographer who could be seen through the pictures, showing a part of his true self and his artistic talent.
Now he knew better and every new model he met showed him how different people could be, even though they had the same career and the same job, every model was a fascinating individual.

He packed everything in his car at 1. The streets where packed, as always, but he reached his destination in time. He took everything with him into the elevator and waited for it to reach the right floor. His breath was coming faster, he wasn’t used to carrying his stuff around anymore, most of the time the equipment had been provided, but it was a nice change to use his own stuff again. It had been expensive after all. The building seemed quiet. The different floors were designed to hold many offices by different firms, but because the building was so new, it seemed that not many people worked here already. It was a nice feeling, quiet and calming. The city was always so loud and Uruha needed the change once in a while. He had even thought about renting a little house in the countryside, to have a place to flee to when the noise of the city threat to consume him.

When he reached his floor, everything was deadly silent. Uruha was a bit confused, usually a lot of people were running around on a photo shoot. The models, chattering about this and that, make up artist, director, assistants for light and setting, wardrobe, catering? Where were all this people? It was already 2.45, there had to be someone here. Uruha could see a light at the end of the hallway, the door to a room was open and there was light, but he couldn’t see or hear if someone was inside. Slowly he made his way over to the other end of the hall and peeked inside. The light was already set, the background done, there even was a table with make up and a mirror. But where was everyone?

Suddenly there was a sound, footsteps, coming from deep inside of the room. There was someone, but Uruha didn’t dare to raise his voice and ask who it was. He stayed at the open door, trying to hide and watched breathlessly.
And then he could see the other person. He did not know who was waiting for him, so it was a surprise to see a guy walking up in front of the table with the mirror. Even more a surprise was the fact that this man seemed to be doing his own make up. He looked finished, his hair was done, he was wearing clothes that screamed catwalk. So his model was male, okay, it wasn’t often that he had to take pictures of male models, he had more focused on female models in his career. But it was a nice change. Uruha was pretty sure he was also able to make male models look their best in his pictures.

This one seemed to be a bit special though. The hair was done pretty wild, standing up in every direction, held together by tons of spray and gel, the light was reflected by it, making it sparkle in every shades of color possible. It was a fantastic sight; it made Uruha feel a little out of place with his more than ordinary clothes, more than ordinary hair style, more than ordinary personality. This guy seemed to be special, not just in appearance. Uruha could feel his aura, pride and confidence rolling off of him in waves. Each hit Uruha stronger than the previous.
It had been years since he had felt so nervous before a job. He decided to watch the other a little bit longer before he showed himself. He couldn’t deny that he felt drawn to him, also physically. Usually Uruha fell for American girls, he liked their blond hair, their light eyes and their unique sense of humor. They were independent, confident in what they were doing and also very successful in their jobs.

Sometimes he tried to deny it, but he needed a strong partner, someone who was able to handle pressure and failures and could still stand proud and strong in every situation. Of course he had also met Asian and African girls and tried to make their relationship work, but especially the Asian girls were not to his liking. But he had never been together with an Asian man. And he couldn’t deny that he was interested in this one.
He stood just there, watching this man and his unusual appearance, which appealed to him, very much. His hair seemed neither light nor dark, it depended on the light falling from a certain angle, sometimes it looked brown, sometimes blond, sometimes he was even sure to see some black streaks. For more than a minute the other completed his make up, not showing Uruha his face, only back and a little view of his side. But of course it was the face Uruha grew more and more impatient to see.

Deciding he had hid himself long enough from the other, he stepped forward, smiling and friendly. “Hello. Sorry for taking a little. I’m Uruha Takashima.”, he said friendly, taking some steps closer to the mysterious man in front of him.
Said man turned around, to look at him. Uruha watch him fascinated, for some seconds he even stopped breathing. He was breathtakingly beautiful, manly but with a touch of femininity Uruha had never seen in any man before. It added to his beauty. Coal rimmed eyes looked at him with a touch of curiosity, but at the same time Uruha felt as if the other man recognized him, as if he had met him before. But Uruha couldn’t remember anything, he had never met this man before.
“No, I am sorry, I was a little early and decided to prepare everything already so we could start right away.”, the other said, smiling just a tiny bit.

Uruha felt uneasy. He held his gaze, but found himself playing with the strap of his bag. Never had he seen someone with darker eyes, they seemed so dark, so very black and deep that Uruha felt shivers running down his spine. The other just smiled at him, perfect teeth showing between his lips. It amazed Uruha how good the other’s English was, no hint of accent audible. Was he also American?
“Sorry if I’m being rude, but your English is perfect. I was expecting someone with, well, a little accent when speaking English.”, he admitted.
The other laughed. “No, I’m not American. I’m full Japanese, but I decided early it could only help me if I tried my best at English. I also speak French and Spanish.”, he said with his deep and vibrating voice, so different from Uruha’s own.
He was sure the amazement was visible in his eyes. Uruha didn’t even speak Korean or Japanese, despite his parent’s origin. And now in front of this other man he felt embarrassed.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to make you feel embarrassed.”, he said quickly, as if sensing Uruha’s distress. “You are also Japanese right? I like your eyes.”
He blushed. Who wouldn’t if such a gorgeous man made you a compliment? “Thank you. I was born here, so I don’t understand any Japanese, sorry.”, he laughed to cover his insecurity.
“残念だ.”, the other answered smiling.
Of course Uruha understood nothing, but he liked the sound of it, this other language had a smooth sound to it, a flow Uruha liked and it suited the other even better than his already perfect English had. But he tried to focus again, he couldn’t keep standing here, admiring the other for his looks or voice, they had a job to do and it was surely past 3 already, so where were the others?
“Sorry, but shouldn’t the other people be around already? Don’t we have to start shooting?”, he asked.

The other looked at him, puzzled. “There are no others.”, he finally said, the little smile on his lips again. “I see, you got no real information about this before, right?”, again he laughed, but not mocking, only a little playful.
He was also very polite, Uruha decided. He must be a clever, well educated man, surely one like Kai was, a rich family and respected heritage. To answer him, he just shook his head. He really hadn’t received any information. Just the place and time and what he had to bring. Nothing about his team or money. But he was dealing with Matsumoto after all. Such famous persons didn’t talk about details, they wanted something done, so they instructed someone else to do it, it should be their responsibility. Uruha had thought the same. He would come here and somebody else would give him the details. But they couldn’t be supposed to be doing everything just by themselves, right? It sounded a bit ridiculous, but nobody else was inside and everything was prepared already, make up, clothes, hair, setting, light, so it really seemed to be true.

“Is really nobody else coming?”, he asked a little nervous.
The other shook his head. “No, it will just be the two of us. I did most of the work already. As you can see, I’m capable of doing my own make up and hair.”, he didn’t sound proud, he was just stating a fact.
And Uruha had to admit, he had done a pretty nice job with it. He was sure even without make up he looked good, but with he looked stunning. As the other laughed suddenly and mouthed a smirking ‘thank you’, he realized he had mused out loud. Instantly he blushed and cleared his throat.
“Thank you for the compliment. Do I really make you that nervous? You look flushed.”, he stated, looking Uruha directly into his eyes, probing, searching, but only curious about the truth. He didn’t seem to be making fun of Uruha’s sudden tension.
“No, it’s just…”, he started, but wasn’t sure how to explain it without sounding too much like a school girl. “I’m just very impressed by your impression. Usually I just do shoots for normal fashion magazines, you know, girls in high heels and short skirts, swinging design leather bags and wearing enormous glasses. I wasn’t really prepared for… this.”

And that was the truth. The other also seemed to believe him. He nodded and then turned around to go to the wall, where the lightning was set upon. It was a dark wall, with lots of scribbling done to it. The light was also dark and scattered. It was the right atmosphere for the dark clothes and make up, it gave him a mysterious aura, he seemed to be glowing from within in the dark environment.
“Should we start?”, the other suggested and took his place before the wall. He stood there, waiting for Uruha to say or do something.
Uruha was sure he knew how to pose, how to show the right expression with his eyes, smile, body, but he looked like he was waiting for something from the other, like he should decide the feeling of the pictures and everything. And Uruha knew what to make out of this photos. The scenery seemed incredibly familiar, like he had seen the whole scene with himself and the other somewhere already. But he wasn’t sure where or if. Maybe from a movie.

He took his camera and took his place before the wall, looking at it some seconds through his camera. He decided to use another lens, one that would filter out the red of the light, to make everything bluer afterwards. It would also make him appear more unreal, dreamlike. That would be a wonderful setting for the pictures.
“Let’s imagine, you are in someone else’s dream, you are the storm in his dreams, you haunt him, you keep him awake even though he is sleeping, you consume his whole being, make him unable to be himself again, you show him everything dark about himself, you bring death and sorrow to him, but you make him believe you are resurrection, your are the god he has been waiting for in his life.”, he said loud, giving the right directions for the other.
He couldn’t really stop himself anymore, he suddenly knew what he wanted to make out of this, what he wanted to see, needed to see and feel. It was crystal clear, in his mind he already had the exact image of everything. He rather felt it than saw it, there was just one way to do this and he would make his model do it.

Strangely the other just smiled at his directions, turned around once, breathed deeply, showing Uruha his back. When he turned around again, the air froze between them. His face was a perfect mask, betraying no emotion and missing it’s former humanity. He became the image in Uruha’s mind, the dark knight, beautiful, deadly, the lord himself who came down to take the sinner with him, showing him kindness to lure him into doom. Uruha felt intoxicated, the tension between them was thick, cold, his camera clicked and clicked, he couldn’t stop himself, every motion was captured, every angle, every turn of his head, his hands, his body. He was lost in his pictures, taking more than one every second while the image in his head grew stronger, clearer and without even voicing his wishes, his model followed his thoughts perfectly, every turn Uruha made him do in his mind, he took perfectly before him. It felt like mere seconds, and then his film was already full. Hastily he changed it and took even more pictures. He could sense something coming from the other, a cold chill and even though he was the one behind the camera, he felt observed, he couldn’t shake off that feeling.

He became one with the other, he felt his emotions, the darkness that had grown stronger in his expression and movements. It felt like a total different person in front of him, watching, mocking him with venomous smiles and dark eyes. Uruha wasn’t in charge anymore, he felt played with, toyed, made everything the way someone else wanted it to be. Automatically he pressed his camera, every click grew more distant, until there was no sound anymore, anywhere. Still, the image in his mind grew stronger, more defined, before his eyes reality and image became one. The slim hands, the slender hips, the man before him was perfect, breathtakingly beautiful and suddenly disturbingly familiar to Uruha.

Before he could really grasp it, it was over. The other turned around again, took some deep breathes and left his place. He took some steps towards Uruha, who lowered his camera and looked at him puzzled.
“We can’t be finished yet! It was perfect, we need more!”, Uruha insisted desperately. He turned to him, grabbed his shoulder. “What is wrong? We had the perfect connection! How often does that happen? You did exactly what I wanted!” He searched his eyes, trying to convince him to do another round.
But the other just smiled, brushed of his hand softly. “I am finished.”, he said calmly, turning around and taking off his rings. “You might not want to hear it and I’m sorry if I anger you with my words, but I have a lot more experience than you do. So I can make every photographer have that connection with me.”, he said unaffected, suddenly much more unfriendly and colder than before. “I think it was the other way around. You did, what I wanted and that was perfect.”, he turned around a little and smiled. “We’re done, you can go. I guess they will mail you about the pictures, you probably have to send them by mail. Bye!”, he waved a little, smiled again and then left.

Dumbfounded Uruha watched him leave, the rings left on the table. Everything was still the same, nobody was here to clean up, he was just thrown out of this place by some vain prick. There really was no justice! How could this guy be this way? First he had been nice, admiringly friendly and polite. At least Uruha had thought so. He had been wrong. How mad he was at himself for it. He should have known, seen this coming, in his early years he had been the same, arrogant and greedy, mean to everyone around him. And this guy seemed no different from Uruha’s self some years ago.
Sighing he packed his camera away, put the films into their bags and gathered all of his things. There was nothing left here, waiting was useless, he had experienced enough. But still, it had been a good decision to come here. He had gained a lot, he knew again what this business could make out of you, how it could transform you and make you a horrible person. Uruha would not let himself become like that again.

Once he had done the same, he had been a horrible friend, especially to Kai and now he refused to let this lifestyle consume him again. He had no justification to become arrogant again. He would do everything in his power to stay the person he was now. And hopefully Kai would also appreciate the effort.
He was on the edge of leaving, when he turned around again once more and looked at the table with the rings the other had left. Before he hadn’t noticed a magazine lying there. But now he watched it closely, and realized that the other was on the cover of that magazine. Why would someone take around his own magazines? But mysteriously Uruha felt drawn to the picture, there was something about it, it looked a little like the pictures he had taken today with the other. But why? Well, obviously the idea wasn’t new. Others had also thought of the same setting, the dark atmosphere, the smoky make up and rock-clothes.

It suited him perfectly. It really provoked Uruha’s curiosity, so he grabbed the magazine and opened it. The first page was of the other, standing in front of a building, the wall was dark, the bricks looked old, with little holes everywhere. Maybe from bullets? He turned the page and was suddenly confronted with another person standing beside him in front of the wall. He had the same height, his eyes were equally dark and promising. He was smirking, his longer black hair fell down his shoulders, wavy and smooth. One warm was draped other the other’s shoulder, their bodies pressed close together. Both were looking his direction, the black haired one smiling faintly, promising, sensual, his shirt was open, showing his chest and one pink nipple. The other looked at him faintly, showing no smile or emotion, he was cool, dark, a little annoyed it seemed at somebody else. Possession, property, Uruha could see it in his eyes, directed at the black haired one, showing clearly in the way his arm was held around the black haired’s waist. This were real feelings in the pictures, they weren’t acting. The feeling grew stronger in Uruha, as the seconds ticked by. A lover would hold someone else like that, not just a colleague.

He turned the page. Again a picture of the two beauties. This time the black haired one had his back turned to the viewer, his arms around the neck of the other, his body pressing tightly against the other. His head was turned slightly, eyes closed, his lips parted a tiny bit. The other had one arm around his waist, holding him right above his bottom, the fingers playing with the short shirt. He looked over his shoulder right at Uruha. The sexual tension was thick and tangible through the picture, Uruha shuddered for a second. The background had changed a little and looked now even more like the one in the room. But that wasn’t possible.
He thought about putting the magazine down again and leaving finally. But something kept him from doing it. The two appeared to be the perfect couple, passionate and mystical in every picture, with every move they took in the pictures. It was something Uruha had never seen before, especially not in a fashion magazine. They were two men and so close to each other, a little bit too close for such a normal magazine. Was that possible in Japan? In America it would never be allowed. This thought was so interesting, so intriguing for Uruha, who had always tried to be as unsuspicious as possible when dealing with boys he liked.

Exited he turned the page again. This picture was so different than the ones before, but at the same time it had the same atmosphere as the previous ones. He couldn’t stop starring at the third person in the picture, the other two nearly forgotten. He felt a strong connection to this person, even though he couldn’t see his face. His back was turned to the camera, the other stood at his sides, both had their arms around him. The black one was pressed against his side, his lips close to his neck, slightly parted, the tip of his tongue could be seen, ready to dash forward and lick the pale skin. The other one stood at the other side, one hand had grabbed his arm, the other was tangled in his partner’s hair.
The one in the middle seemed to be the possession of the other two, they held him between them. Uruha couldn’t see his face, but imagined it being passionate, satisfied, being loved by the two beauties must be a wonderful feeling.

Wherever the thought came from, Uruha knew this picture, he had seen it somewhere already. He felt being pulled into the picture, into the three men standing there. The black haired one watched him closely, Uruha thought he saw him moving for a second, showing his tongue and licking his lips inviting. The one on the right, his model from some minutes ago, watched him intensely, aggressive and powerful. But, and that surprised Uruha, he wasn’t the one in charge. Even though he held the hair of the man in the middle in his fist, this one seemed to be the one controlling it. Uruha wished he could see his face, but he could only see his back, not even a little of his face, just his hair. Equally black as the one’s on the left. But more strands fell down his back, it was long, soft, like silk. His body was slim, even slimmer than the others, his hips, moving sensually to the right.
The wish to become part pf their private party became stronger and stronger in Uruha, whoever the other two in the picture were. And even though his acquaintance today had seemed everything but friendly and nice, he couldn’t deny being drawn to all three of them physically.

Another page turned, another picture revealed. There was a big picture of the model he had taken pictures off today, his name right under it in big black letters. Reita. What kind of name was that? Surely it couldn’t be his real name. But on the page were nothing but unknown symbols. This was a Japanese magazine, he couldn’t read anything. So what were the names of the other two? He scanned the two pages quickly, but found nothing. It seemed the other two were not as famous, they had just accompanied him.
He wasn’t getting desperate, but he needed a clue, something that showed him who the other two were. He wanted to know. Something in him screamed that he needed to know their names. He turned the page again, the interview was finished now it seemed, but on this page was a small little picture of the two dark haired beauties, the taller one, the one from the middle was again facing the camera with his back, his head slightly turned, his lips were visible, but everything else was covered by his ebony colored hair. His left hand was pressed against the wall, his black nails reflected the light on them, they glittered in blue and grey, right beside the head of the other one, who was leaning against the wall, legs spread, inviting the other to come closer. The one in front of him had his hand on his hip and was drawing closer to his body.

It struck Uruha like a lightning, he knew this picture, there was no doubt about it. Suddenly he remembered the dreams that had left him alone the past two days, the same sight had been in his head several times. The man with his back turned to him, but never really visible, just parts of him and his lips had murmured the same words every time. This was the man from his dreams, it had to be him. There was the same aura about him Uruha had felt while dreaming. It was dark, erotic, mysterious, intoxicating. Lightly he traced the picture with his fingers. But still no name. Who was he? And how could Uruha get closer to him?
No, he didn’t believe in fate and destiny, it was purely by chance that his dreams matched reality like this. He would call Kai again and ask about this Reita, Kai would surely find some information and he also should be able to find out about the other two.

Quickly he stuffed the magazine in his bag and fled the scene.