HAVEN Side Stories

Missing
An Arashi/Ian fiction for the loverly Grisom's contest

'Step off the train,
walking down your street again.'

Arashi sat in at the bar of the club, a scowl plastered on his face as he toyed with his drink. It had been over a year now, a year; he should just fucking get over it. Brookes was gone, and he was never going to come back. Arashi let out a small snarl and took a long slug of his drink--he was no stranger to hurt, why should this be any different?

'Pass your door,
but you don't live there anymore.'

"So, what's got that unpleasant look on your face, kid?" a dry voice asked from the other side of the bar and Arashi looked up, green eyes flashing with deep-set annoyance.
"Why do you fucking care?" he demanded of the wiry bartender, sneering as he took another drag of his dink. Fucking bartenders and their incessant need to fucking talk. This is why he normally didn't go to clubs; stupid feelings. Why did he always follow them?

'It's years since you've been there,
now you've disappeared somewhere
like outer space.
You've found some better place.'

"I just wanted to see why a charming fellow such as you was looking so down in a place like S'n'C. Life, love, loss--maybe all three. That's usually what gets most people down," the bartender said with a shrug, green eyes closing in utter calmness as she continued to clean out a glass mug. Arashi jerked slightly, hunching closer to the bar. Lucky wench--she got closer than he wanted to his problem. Stupid bartenders and their damnable ability to know things.
"Cause everyone's problems are alike, right? Ever person that comes in here looking the slightest bit depressed always has the same old problems, right?!" he hissed, much like a cat; if he'd had his ears, they'd be flat against his head in annoyance.
The girl opened an eye, slightly shocked.

'And I miss you-oh!-
like the deserts miss the rain.
And I miss you, yeah,
like the deserts miss the rain.'

"Goodness, no!" she exclaimed, flapping a hand in disagreement. "Christ, to say something like that I'd have to be a pretty big idiot, mm? It's just that when you boil everything down to the barest of basics, there are common threads." She frowned slightly, seeing that Arashi was not inclined to listen to her. Smiling suddenly, she plucked a shoulder-length red hair from her head, holding it before Arashi triumphantly.
He blinked.

'Could you be dead?
You always were two steps ahead'

"What? You want me to admire your hair or something? Peh, you're as stupid as--" he cut himself off abruptly, snarling as he turned away. He almost said that idiot's name! Damn bartenders. She shook her head.
"No, though it wouldn't kill you to say something nice. What I'm trying to get at here is fate. Ever here of that old wives tale? Two people who are fated to be together, for any reason, they're tied together with a red string of fate!" Darting forward suddenly, she tied the hair around Arashi's pinky. "See? Just like that. And do you know what else they say?"

'of everyone,
we'd walk behind while you would run!'

He shook his head, too surprised by the her crazy antics to form a logical response.
"They say that if you try really hard, you can find your life mate just by seeing the thread that ties the two of you, pinky to pinky!" Arashi stared at the girl, blinking a few moments before looking down at his hand. A scowl crossed his face as he clenched his fist tight.
"Lies. Just a stupid tale. Why would anyone believe something as dumb as that?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. The bartender smiled softly, putting the glass away and taking up another.
"Because it makes people's lives easier, thinking that there is someone out there meant for them. That no matter what comes between them, be it anger, distance, or even death, they have someone special, just for them." Arashi sat there silently, staring at the hand in his lap.

'I look up at your house,
and I can almost hear you shout
down to me,
where I always used to be'

"It happened over a year ago," he started quietly, not looking up at the solemnly listening girl. "We'd had a fight. A stupid one, over something really dumb--"
--like whether or not it would be a good idea to move--
"--but some really...bad...things were said." He ran a shaking hand through his black hair, fingers tangling slightly in the shaggy strands. "God knows I'd take it back if I could, but I was too angry to care then. I told him I never wanted to see him again." He looked up then, quickly gauging the girl's reaction. She nodded at him, encouraging him to continue.
"I went to bed that night in our bed after locking him out. When I woke up the next morning, I expected he'd be sitting outside the door like he usually did after one of our fights, sleeping while he waited for me to calm down."
The bartender spoke softly.
"But he wasn't there, was he?"
Arashi screwed his eyes shut tightly.
"No. No he wasn't."

'And I miss you-
like the deserts miss the rain.
And I miss you-
like the deserts miss the rain!'

"I was still mad. I figured he'd gone away from me, most likely back to his mom's house. I went about doing as I normally did, too pissed off to notice that as the days went by, he never contacted me. Not even once. And by the time I finally noticed--"
"--he was already gone," she finished smoothly. Arashi nodded, frowning sadly.
"Yeah..."

'Back on the train I ask,
"Why did I come again?"'

He left shortly after that, leaving that all-knowing bartender and the cheerful feeling of that club, holding himself tightly as he moved through the coldness of the streets.
"Damnit, Brookes, why did you leave?" he asked the night air, looking up at the stars for an answer, turning away when it just seemed like they were mocking him. "Idiot," he whispered. "You should've known I didn't really mean. I never do." Sighing, feeling the weight of life and depression settle on him again, he turned to go back to his--home.

'Can I confess
I've been hanging 'round your old address?'

Calling the apartment 'home' sounded--fake. No real home felt as empty as the apartment did, filled only with Arashi's sadness and the bittersweet memories of what had been a happier time. Climbing onto the cross-city bus, Arashi paid the fair and sat down in the back of the bus, ignoring the other late-night passengers.
Well, tried to.
"You know, you have a hair tied around your finger."

'Years have proved,
to offer nothing since you moved.
You're long gone,
but I can't move on.'

Arashi scowled, looking away from the window to glare angrily at the two men sitting across from him.
"Why yes," he hissed. "I do." Snarling, he turned back to the window, crossing his arms over his chest. Why, why, did everyone have to talk to him?! The same man who'd spoken to him laughed.
"My, touchy touchy! You're more irritable than Alec when he doesn't have his coffee--oof" Arashi smirked, seeing the blonde man elbow is out-spoken friend in the ribs. He frowned. Just like he would have done if it had been him and Brookes.

'And I miss you-
like the deserts miss the rain.
Oh, and I miss you-
like the deserts miss the rain.'

"What my idiot of a boyfriend means to say is that it almost looks as though you have a touch of fate on you," the other one said quietly, glaring at his boyfriend. "It's a tad...otherworldly." Arashi felt his eye twitch.
"Nothing so fanciful or nice," he ground out, turning enough so he could stare at the two of them coldly. "Just a stupid nosy bartender at a stupid club."
The two men looked at each other and sighed.
"Grisom," they said together, the blonde one with annoyance, the rave-haired one with amusement. Arashi frowned.
"Who?"

'Step off the train,
walking down your street again.'

"Red hair, nosy, bartender," the black-haired one ticked off, looking upwards. He looked back at Arashi with a grin. "Figured you must mean Grisom." Arashi sighed turning back to the window.
"Whatever. If you don't mind, I don't feel like talking," he said, feeling tired all of a sudden. He scrubbed at his face, rubbing his facial markings habitually.
"No problem. Though, just to let you know, it'll get better." Arashi spun around, staring at them wide-eyed.
"What?!" The blonde one shrugged a shoulder slightly.
"Whatever's wrong, it'll get better. And if it doesn't, well, then the pain will lessen and you'll move on. Such is life." Before he could answer, the bus stopped. Glancing around, Arashi recognized his street and stood up abruptly.
"Excuse me, I have to go." The loud one smiled and waved him off.
"Whatev', man. Good luck."
Waving awkwardly behind him, Arashi hurried off the bus, leaving the two happy strangers behind.

'Pass your door,
but you don't live there anymore.'

He walked into the complex, pass the out-of-service elevator to the stairwell. The damn thing had broken down ages ago, and this time they hadn't repaired it. Moving up the stained stairs, Arashi found it oddly fitting that everything seemed to break once Brookes left. Then again, everything had always broke; this time they just seemed to stay that way.
Reaching the eighth floor, he exited the stairs, walking down the hall to the apartment, fighting with the lock for a moment before shoving the door open. For a moment, he stared at the empty apartment, looking at the sloppily discarded possessions and easel standing in the middle of the room, shutting his eyes tightly when he spotted the art kit Ian had gotten for him so long ago.
"A customer ordered it a few weeks ago and decided he didn't want it. Ms Helen gave it to me 'for my artist, to replace that old one he has'. As for why, well, I love you."
"Oh, Ian," Arashi whispered quietly, plaintively. "Why did you have to leave?"
"Because you told me to." Arashi froze.

'It's years since you've been there,
now you've disappeared somewhere
like outer space.
You've found some better place.'

"Ian?" he asked quietly, voice trembling slightly. He hoped he wasn't dreaming, that this wasn't god's way at tormenting him even farther. Two arms embraced him from behind, holding him close.
"Yeah, it's me," Ian replied, just as quiet. He sighed, warm breath blowing across Arashi's head as he nuzzled him. "Christ, Arashi, I missed you so much."
"Then why did you leave?!" Arashi's voice cracked with emotion as he stiffened in Ian's hold, fingers clenching tightly. "Why didn't you just stay with me, like always?!" Ian sighed again.

'And I miss you-
like the deserts miss the rain.
Oh, and I miss you-
like the deserts miss the rain.'

"You sounded like you really meant it this time," he said softly, pain tingeing his voice. "I thought you were finally tired with me and my idiocy, so I left. I traveled a bit, but I could never bare to stay in one place too long. Everything just seemed so...empty without you. So I came back. I decided that no matter what, I was going to convince you that we were better off together." He chuckled slightly, and Arashi felt two hot drops hit his head. "Should've known that you already knew that."
Feeling himself start to cry, Arashi smiled and relaxed against Ian.

'And I miss you, yeah.
Like the deserts miss the rain.
And I miss you-oh!-
I miss you,
like the deserts miss the rain.'

"Idiot," he said affectionately, turning around in Ian's grip to wrap his arms around his boyfriend's neck, smiling brightly. Ian grinned.
"Yep," he said simply, bending down towards Arashi. With a tear-filled smile, the two shared their first kiss in over a year. And if you looked close enough, one could see the red string of fate tying the two together glow brighter than any sun.

'And I miss you,
like the deserts miss the rain.
And I miss you,
like the deserts miss the rain.'
~*~*~
AN: *face plants into the computer desk* I am sooooo dead. I think I can hear my dad moving around. Oh, well, I suffer for my art like any artist. *crooked smile. I hope you all liked this! The idea hit me when I was listening to the song earlier, and I got the mental image of Arashi sitting in a club, horribly depressed cause Brookes left him. Oh, and yeah, there's a call back to my deviation A Day in the Life. Not hard to spot, that one.
DISCLAIMER TIME! I know you all love this! *cheeky grin*
Ian, Arashi, and that-damn-nosy-red-haired-bartender aka Grisom all belong to the esteemed Grisom, whom I love very dearly and I hope I have not offended her with this piece of fiction. ^^; (sorry, no sex this time!)
The two men on the bus--mine. ^^; I bent the rules a tiny smidge and had two original characters. I couldn't help it! I tried to just have Vincent there but then Alec butted his stubborn head in and I couldn't get rid of him. Sorry! *glares at alec and vincent, who smile at her and proceed to make out* Horn balls.
S'n'C--My club. No idea how it's in Japan but hey! Nothing else in this story was canon, so yay! >.@ Cut me a break here!
Missing the song is sung originally by Everything but the Girl, the version I used here is based off the Todd Terry Club Mix, which I got off the cd 100% Dance!, a very good cd filled with 90's dance songs. YAY! *boogies*
Thank you for reading this, I hope it makes sense, and isn't too emo or disjointed. *bows, then waves* HAVE A GOOD DAY!

Sets, OUT!
::end transmission::