Shiki smiled again. Even if he couldn't decipher Rand's emotions, he could sort of tell he liked seeing The Beatle's record on the walls. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived to another part of the building, which had "Mess Hall" engraved at the top of the entrance.
"This is the cafeteria. Not many studios have these, but it's just a nice place to chill and eat food." He said walking and greeting some fellow musicians. There was only two more places to go before they could head back: The storage roomand the private garden, another interesting extension to the studios.

Rand didn't greet any of the other musicians--he was far too shy to bother. He did pay close attention to Shiki, though...he wanted to absorb every little detail and make sure he didn't miss a thing. After all, if he was going to work with Shiki and his friends, then he would have to make sure that he knew his way around the place.

He couldn't very well get lost...

Shiki exited the mess hall and made a short right. Pretty soon, they would reach the storage room, but it was a good distance away, so he decided to kill time with small talk.
"So, how long have you been playing the piano?" He broke the silence, half looking at Rand. He is cute, isn't he? he thought to himself, then mentally smacking himself. He was being dumb again. He did the exact same thin he had done when he had first met Hayate, being all shy inside and pondering if he should tell him how he felt or not. Maybe once they got to the storage room, he'd just blurt it out in mid-sentence; Shiki was good at that sort of thing.

"I have been playing since I was very small. I self-taught. My mother played piano, from what I've read of her...I don't remember my parents. Frankly, I don't want to...they...were never true parents to myself, Wand, or my twin." The harshness in Rand's voice grew more and more, and he had to pause after his last few words to cool his jets.

He didn't seem to be loosening up. Prim and proper, taciturn and reserved. Forever, and always. He was always like this--emotions hidden from the rest of the world. He was perceptive when it came to most things, but when it came to emotion...that, he was not well-versed in.

Shiki looked at Rand, "What...happened to your parents...If I may ask?" He asked. He heard Rand's edge in his tone, and had wondered if asking his question was the right thing. He didn't want to piss him off on his first day. He usually never thought of whatever he said before he said it, one of his weaknesses that will get the better of him and will be his downfall. People have said he was a good guy to get along with though, so that was a positive thing about him. He also cared about people's feelings, so he decided to add "Sorry, sorry, you don't have to answer that. They were almost near the storage room, so he decided to walk slightly slow to not kill the conversation with his tour-guiding.

Rand sighed, quietly, and idly stared off into space as they walked. His expression was a tad distant.

"My mother died in childbirth with Wand. My father dumped myself, Wand, and my twin off at an orphanage when Wand was barely a newborn--he couldn't stand seeing the resemblance between us and our mother anymore. We never saw him again. My twin was adopted...his adopter didn't want to take us along. He gave him a choice, to come without us, or stay with us...and he left."

Rand trailed off. He did not like talking about it.

Shiki looked at his feet, feeling like crap now that he made Rand tell him about his parents. He looked unhappy and it seemed to kill him with every word. "I-I'm sorry I made you do that..." He commented and slowly put his hand on Rand's shoulder. For some odd reason, he thought Rand hated being touched, so after a few moments, he took his hand off. The storage room had finally came into view, and it was time for Shiki to break the mood, thank god.
"Um, this is the storage room. We'll get you your own locker for your stuff later." He said, taking a key out of his jacket and opening a locked door. Behind the door revealed a large closet with coat hangers on one side and lockers on the other.

"It's quite all right...it isn't a big deal," Rand mumbled, resisting the urge to shrug his shoulder away when he was touched. He didn't like being touched, though he wasn't quite sure why that was. He looked a little more relaxed once Shiki pulled his hand away from his shoulder.

Rand peered around inside the storage room curiously, with inquisitive eyes. "All right...fair enough."

Shiki softly ushered Rand out of the room, locked the door and put the key back in its pockket where it was safe. "I'll show you the garden next." he said, "It's one of the many things other studios don't have." He slowly made a left and opened a pair of glass doors to reveal a large, japanese-style garden. Slow, serene music was playing from a hidden speaker, making te scene a nice, quiet place to sit and relax. This was Shiki's favorite place to go, and when he was feeling a negative emotion, he would come here to clear his mind. His eyes fixed on something that wasn't in the garden before. A small, yet tall-looking stone sat a few feet away from the clear pond. Shiki walked upto it and read the engraved writing, "In memory of Hayate. We all miss you." He managed to resist the urge to break into tears and took a few deep breaths.

Rand only gave the garden a brief glance-over. He wasn't fond of Japanese-style gardens. They reminded him of what little he remembered about his home...his father's home. He had had such a garden in the backyard.

He did notice the statue...more of a monument, by the looks of it. And, of course, he did not miss the look on Shiki's face. He was aware that the keyboardist had died, but since he knew little of the band...he didn't know how much Shiki had cared for him, if even at all. Judging by the way he reacted...

There was a little more to their relationship than just friendship.

"It's nice," Rand commented, quietly, as he glanced around again. His words were meant to break the awkward sort of silence.

Shiki shifted his eyes towards Rand, who had been standing next to him. He tried not to hug him, since Rand didn't seem like the type of person who would like a hug anyway. He moved his eyes back to the engraved stone and kept his head down.
"Yeah it is..." He said, reffering to the garden. He had continued to breathe harder to stop the urge for tears. He sat down on his knees and sighed. "Sorry you had to see me like this. Hayate's death seems to be hitting me hard in the chest. Even if he does want me to be happy..."

"It's understandable...the death of someone you are close to is never easy to recover from," Rand murmured, still standing. His arms were folded behind his back, and he was standing perfectly straight. He didn't seem to be the type of person who let loose often...

"Those who have passed do want those who remain to be happy...it's only natural..." he agreed, lowering his eyes. He wouldn't know, since he had never had anyone important--other than his mother, whom he couldn't even remember--die on him.

Shiki looked up at Rand again. It looked as if Rand was Shiki's older brother and he needed to tolerate Shiki's sadness. He seemed sort of strict, with his hands behind his back and pin-straight back. He seemed he needed a hug but Shiki was araid he would push him away and walk back to his brother to take his leave, never to come again. For some odd reason, he heard a sligh hint of Hayate's voice in Rand's. He stood up slowly and finally burst into small tears. it seemed almost unnoticable, unless you saw Shiki's pink-red face. As if he had no control of his body, Shiki leaned in quickly and locked Rand's lips with his. In a way, he had kissed Rand uncontrollably.

((Yes, not the best way to kiss a stranger, but ah well [x ))

Rand paid Shiki no mind when he stood up, thinking he was preparing to lead the two of them back to the studio to pick up Wand. He was not expecting the man's next move.

He froze. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. A chill went down his spine--it was unclear whether this was a good or bad sign. He was sorely tempted to shove Shiki away...to grab his brother, and leave. A stranger was kissing him. Even worse, a male stranger. Rand had never really spoken or discussed his sexuality with anyone...even with himself. He wasn't sure of his own preferences...

He settled for staying perfectly still.

After he had finally come back to reality, Shiki quickly opened his eyes and pulled away as fast as he could. Now he felt the most awkward man alive. He had just kissed a complete stranger absent mindedly, all because he missed Hayate. Why did he have to be such an idiot? He mentaly swore and shot himself many times before he though of something to cover up what he did. His hand latched to his mouth to prevent anything else from escaping that Shiki didn't want coming out.
"I'm so so sorry." He muffled, "I...had no control...I'm so sorry...oh fuck..." he slowly took his hand away from his mouth and down at his side again. He let out a large sigh, and it seemed like all his panic and confusion had blown away.
"We should...head back..." He said slowly walking towards the door inside the studios, trying to mentallymake Rand forget what had happened.

Rand watched him, still frozen in place for a few more minutes. When he finally regained his ability to move, he said nothing...he only followed Shiki, at a considerable distance.

The silence was perhaps more unnerving than any sort of retort he could have given. His feelings were hidden...his reaction, shoved back and resisted. It created an air of uncertainty around them both...

As the two males made their way to their recording studio, Shiki seemed to be at a normal, calm state, as if nothing had happened and whatever had happened in the garden was just a mere dream. Though inside, the silence was slowly killing Shiki, to the point where he wanted Rand to say or remark something. Then again, another, more intellectual part of him was glad neither of them uttered a word; he didn't think either wanted to answer questions they did not have answers to.

They had finally reached the recording room after what seemed like centuries. He opened the door for Rand and got inside himself. The other band members welcomed them back warmly and Shiki glanced at a figure sitting down and doing his homework. He walked up to Wand and crouched down. He said, "Hey, Squeak. How's work." He let out a small chuckle and smile as he got back to his feet and packed his things. He checked his watch and it had shown a few minutes until noon. They would be eating lunch soon in the mess hall. He wondered if Rand would discuss what had happened during the tour and if they were to return...

The walk back was awkward and a bit overwhelming for Rand. Mind you, he was used to being silent...but he was no good when it came to overly-emotional or awkward situations...and thus, this was where he often faltered. He had the urge to say something...anything. But nothing came to mind, and nothing passed through his lips.

As soon as he was inside the studio, Rand put as much space between himself and Shiki as the room would allow. For now, he had a feeling they should stay away from each other, and gather their thoughts on what had happened.

Wand looked up, startled, and adjusted his too-big glasses. "Oh. It's going okay! Not that I'm fond of essays, but it's going well!"

Shiki made a quick glance at Rand, who had now tried to get as far away from Shiki as physically could, without leaving the room. One half of him was occupied with talking to Wand, the other trying to figure what he had down and what the future may hold for him. What if Rand had taken this like Shiki was some creeper and never wanted to see him or the band ever again? What if he told the world? That wouldn't be the greatest thing on the weekend, when the paparazzis are like wolves searching for food. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad. Maybe Rand would just brush it off, like his personality, which seems to be proving just that. It would seem like Shiki had to face the music in this situation...

"Yeah, essays aren't the greatest thing in the world." He said to Wand and stiffled a small laugh.

Rand stayed put in the far corner of the room, ignoring the awkward aura in the room. It seemed things were going to be a bit strange between himself and Shiki for a while, at least until they talked about what had happened, properly...

He was careful to keep an eye on what he was doing with Wand. Rand was extremely overprotective of his little brother, even when he was around someone he held some trust for.

Wand sighed and nodded, idly. "They suck. I don't really feel like doing this..."

Shiki chuckled again to Wand. "Yeah, I was never good at them. Never really helped me in the future. But I'm sure you'll be someone awesome when you're older, so keep at it." He stood up and shuffled some papers near his small work area to seem like he was busy. He needed something to occupy his hands whilst he was thinking. He wondered what would happen next. He just had that feeling that he would get hurt in the distant future; physically and or mentally. Then again, anything could happen at this point. He would have to live with the quote, "Expect the unexpected." for the time being and face the music in this situation. Anything could be played in these very few hours.

Rand was the one to finally break the silence. He cleared his throat, glancing around slowly. "...What now?" he asked, quietly, as politely as possible. He wasn't sure what there was to do, now...other than decide if he really was cut out for the job.

Wand peeked up, curiously. He knew Rand was struggling to find a well-paying job, so that he could support both of them. His search had been quite fruitless, so far...

Shiki glanced at Rand, who had now broke the silent aura in the room. He was glad no one stared straight at him for a while. Adam and Jake had been working on something, quickly looked at Rand and back at their work. Vikki slowly walked up to him and smiled "We'll be eating soon. It's almost noon anyway. After that your 'mentor' can see what to do with you next." She turned to Shiki and gave him a wink. He wasn't entirely sure what that wink meant. He remembered a long time ago when she first came into the band, that Vikki told Shiki that she had a small crush on him in high school. He really hated to break her heart and say he liked men better. It was hard to do, but he was glad she understood.

Shiki stood up and cleared his throat much like Rand did. "Uh, yeah, after we eat, we can decide if you want to take this job and all that business-like things." He said. He was half-afraid of what was going to happen when that time had come.

"All right..." For now, Rand appeared to be calm and collected. In fact, the only sign that he was miffed and uneasy about what had happened was that he would not look at Shiki. He also kept his distance, not getting within five feet of him. He would be fine after a little more time, as long as nothing of the sort happened so unexpectedly again. "I'm ready to eat whenever you are..."

At the mention of food, Wand's eyes snapped up from his work and he tilted his head to the left slightly, a smile forming on his face. He was hungry...essays seemed to sap the energy right out of him. He noticed that his brother still wasn't a hundred percent comfortable...but he knew Rand well, and he usually didn't let little things bother him.

Shiki nodded and noticed Rand made absolutely no contact towards him. As if on que, everyone finished what they were doing and filed out of the room and to the Mess Hall. Shiki was the last one out, and he held for everyone, even Rand, who still didn't seem to acknowledge his exsistence. He sighed and followed slowly behind the group. They were busy chatting amongst each other and felt bad that Rand and Wand had only them two to talk to one another. He wished they would socialize with the other band members; they would have to anyway if Rand was to join the band, now less of a chance because of what had happened.