Je Ne Regrette Rien

After the show, Tom was finally back to talking. The band had won the award they'd been nominated for and he was holding it proudly at the after party. There was something thrilling about winning.

Tom hated to lose.

The dreadlocked guitarist usually spent every award show after party looking for a hot girl to sleep with, but that night was different. He had noticed something about his twin. For weeks Bill hadn't been his usual perky self. Tom himself seemed perkier than his brother.

Tom spent the part searching for Bill, who was out of sight. Odd, Tom thought, worried.

Georg was close by and Tom asked the bassist if he'd seen Bill at all.

"He might have gone back to the hotel. He seemed pretty down," Georg replied.

Tom sighed and looked down at the award. What good was the award if he couldn't celebrate it with his twin?

"I'm going to head back to the hotel," Tom said half-heartedly to Georg and left.

When he got back to the band's rooms at the hotel, he called Bill's name, desperately wanting to talk to him. But Bill wasn't there.

Tom sat down disappointedly on Bill's bed, feeling slightly regretful for a reason unknown to him. Had he done something to Bill to make him feel the way he'd recently felt? He surely hoped not.

Sometimes his brother would go through these phases, and Tom always thought it was his fault. Was he not spending enough time with his twin? Had he said something, done something, to make him slip into depression? But then soon enough, Bill would go back to his usual self and Tom would forget about how strangely he'd acted.

The guitarist laid down on the bed and examined the little trophy, waiting for his brother to return.

-

Bill took another sip of his champagne and hiccuped quietly.

Kiro smiled. "Don't you think you've had a little too much?"

"You don't know what I've been through lately," Bill rolled his eyes and looked out onto the Paris skyline. It was late. He was in Kiro's hotel room, sitting on the balcony, drinking champagne with him. The bottle was almost empty thanks to the singer.

"Tell me," Kiro said, looking into Bill's incredible brown eyes. There was something so tempting about them..

"Oh know, you wouldn't understand," Bill was mad at himself for drinking so much. When he was drunk, every thought was voiced. He was screwed.

"I might. Give me a chance?" Kiro sat back in his chair and idly sipped at his champagne.

"It's about Tom. Do you have a brother?" alcohol made Bill fidgety. He couldn't sit still.

"No."

"Then you wouldn't understand," Bill laughed nervously, losing all control of actions. This was why he didn't drink. That, and he was usually exciting enough without it.

"Does Tom neglect you?" Kiro asked, trying to figure out Bill's problem. Well, he knew the real problem was that Bill was drunk, but he also wanted to know what made him so down.

"Sometimes.. I don't know.." Bill sunk back into his chair and sighed. "Tom gets so stressed out before awards shows. He doesn't talk, and if I try and talk to him he gets pissed off and just waves me away. He used to be really good at figuring out what was wrong when I was upset in the past, but now it's like he knows nothing and I always have to tell him what's wrong. I like people that can figure that stuff out by themselves."

"But you don't expect Tom to know everything, do you?"

"He's my twin. He should know everything about me."

"But you can't expect him to know everything, even if you are twins," Kiro explained, but it was too much for drunk Bill to comprehend. "I think I should get you back to your hotel.."

"What's the rush? I doubt anyone wants me around anyway."

"Bill, don't say that.."

Bill looked directly at Kiro and goosebumps erupted on the blonde. Bill was quiet for a moment or two, just staring at him.

"I want to stay here."

"Here.. why?" Kiro asked, his heart beating fast.

"Because. I like you," Bill giggled like a little kid.

Kiro blushed. "I.. well.. okay. You can stay."