Shuichi Shindou was the lead singer and lyricist of a group called Bad Luck, which he formed with his best friend, Hiroshi Nakano.  The two of them were lucky enough to get their band signed by a major record label, and although they were thrilled, Shuichi found it hard to finish writing his songs.  Hiro suggested that he get a girlfriend to help get him inspired, and Shuichi agreed that it wasn't such a bad idea.  When he was in the park one night, a gust of wind blew the lyrics he was working on right into the hands of Eiri Yuki, a famous romance novelist.  He read over the song and told Shuichi that he had no talent and that they were some of the worst lyrics he had ever read.  Shuichi, unaware of who the cold stranger was, crumpled to the ground in shock of the rude comments.  He told Hiro about what happened the next day, and although Hiro told him not to worry about what the stranger said, Shuichi was determined to prove the man wrong.

Another chance meeting (where Shuichi threw himself in front of Yuki's moving car) gave him the opportunity to confront the man and ask why he was so mean that night.  Since it was raining, Yuki brought Shuichi to his home to dry off but was not any nicer than he was at their first meeting.  He now had another reason to dislike Shuichi - that he had nearly made him wreck his car.  Shuichi left without any answers and confided all his feelings and frustrations to Hiro.  Hiro told Shuichi that he must have a crush on the man because he kept mentioning him, and they both found out that he was none other than Eiri Yuki, a best selling romance author. Hiro deduced that the reason he critiqued Shuichi's lyrics so harshly was because he was a writer himself.  Although Shuichi quickly denied having any feelings for Yuki, he knew deep down that there was some truth to Hiro's suspicions.

When Bad Luck booked a gig as the opening act for the band Ask, Shuichi returned to Yuki's home and offered him the challenge to attend their performance to see what he thought.  Yuki was annoyed that Shuichi would not stop bothering him, but found himself drawn to the outspoken young man.  They shared their first kiss that day, and when Yuki showed up unexpectedly at the concert, Shuichi was so surprised that he froze on stage.  Luckily, his favorite singer and idol, Ryuichi Sakuma of the former band Nittle Grasper, was at the performance and bailed him out of the awkward situation by singing with him on stage.

Shuichi and Yuki became closer over time and one day Shuichi decided that he was moving in with Yuki.  Yuki disagreed but finally compromised and said that Shuichi could stay for a week, although he ended up not leaving.  They had many rough times to get through, but somehow they always made it through together.  Whenever there was a problem with Bad Luck, Yuki would help Shuichi get through it while Shuichi tried to help Yuki with his family problems.  When a young woman that turned out to be Yuki's fiancee showed up unexpectedly, it nearly proved to be the end for the couple until she realized that Yuki's happiness meant more to her than her own.  She decided it would be best for Yuki if she ended their arranged engagement.  Another time that could have ended everything was when Shuichi was attacked by the lead singer of the group Ask.  He was blackmailed into quitting Bad Luck with the threat of Yuki getting hurt hanging over his head.  Yuki got even with the attackers and his brother-in-law (who also happened to be the president of N-G, the record company), made sure that Ask was finished.

The attack on Shuichi brought up painful memories for Yuki of a traumatic incident in his own past in which something similar happened to him.  He began to experience flashbacks and the stress and anxiety weighed heavily on his mind, in addition to the guilt he felt at what happened to his lover.  Shuichi asked Yuki to let him into his mysterious past but all Yuki would tell him was that he once killed a person, thinking that Shuichi could never love him after learning that fact.  However, Shuichi told him that of course he still loved him and that the past was the past.  As Bad Luck's popularity began to rise and their debut album went for sale, Yuki promised Shuichi that he would take him out on a date to an amusement park if their album sold one million copies.  When the press got wind of the relationship between the famous Eiri Yuki and up-and-coming rock star Shuichi Shindou, the normally cold and distant Yuki openly and proudly admitted to the media that he and Shuichi were indeed lovers.

The day that Bad Luck's album sold one million copies, Yuki was brought to the hospital after coughing up blood and collapsing.  Shuichi, devastated, rushed to be by his side and overheard a conversation between Yuki's older sister and brother-in-law which plainly said that Shuichi was the cause of Yuki's stress.  And while that was only partly true, Shuichi felt terrible and did not want to cause him any further problems.  When he visited Yuki that night, Yuki assured him that he would not have kept Shuichi close to him if it was causing him any harm and that they still had their date to go on.

On their date, Yuki finally revealed to Shuichi the incident that had occurred when he was 16. Yuki was bullied throughout his childhood and moved to New York with his brother-in-law, Tohma, when the opportunity presented itself. While there, Yuki finally found some happiness, and idolized his tutor Yuki Kitazawa. One day, Kitazawa betrayed the young man's trust and tried to sell him over to some thugs in exchange for a few dollars. Yuki got a hold of a gun and killed Yuki Kitazawa, and in that instant his entire life was changed forever. Tohma, extremely distraught himself, brought the broken boy back to Japan to live with his family again. Yuki stopped being the nice boy that he was growing up and seemed to take out his anger and hurt on everyone close to him. After awhile of acting out, he decided that he was going to become a novelist and took Yuki Kitazawa's name for his pen name - Eiri Yuki.

In the anime, Yuki secretly left for New York on his own and found himself extremely depressed at the painful memories that he held for him. Shuichi, heartbroken at Yuki's sudden abandonment, threw himself into his music. At the end of the anime, Shuichi followed his lover to New York and declared that no matter where Yuki went that he was going to follow him and find him because he loved him. Apparently that was what Yuki really needed to hear, and he returned home shortly after.

The manga went much further with their story and really got to the core of the problems in their relationship. Yuki constantly battled the overpowering guilt at taking the life of his tutor, his mental health issues, and how to find a compromise between what Shuichi needed and deserved and what he could give. And Shuichi struggled with the pressures of his musical career, living his life in the spotlight, and how to give Yuki the support that he needed while not always getting back what he wanted. Throughout all their struggles, you could really see them growing closer and finding a mutual understanding. Their relationship was not an easy one, but they both seemed committed to making it work and underneath it all they really loved each other and wanted to be together.

The manga seemed like a much more complete story than the anime, and in the end of the manga Yuki and Shuichi appeared to be headed for happier times. They had finally reached an understanding and were going to New York so that they could visit Yuki Kitazawa's grave together. The final images of the original manga showed them wearing matching rings, Shuichi telling Yuki that he loved him, and Yuki smiling sweetly back at him. Gravitation EX was the sequel to the original series and picked up right after they arrived in New York, and didn't waste any time heaping more drama into their lives. As soon as they get off the plane, they are met by Yuki Kitzawa's sister, Yoshiki, who introduces them to Kitazawa's son, Riku. They are asked to take care of Riku for a little while while Yoshiki has surgery, and they reluctantly take the young boy back to Japan with them.

The series is still ongoing, but caring for Riku, even temporarily, may be what Yuki needs to finally make peace with what had happened with Kitazawa.  And putting and leaving his former tutor in the past is exactly what Yuki needs in order to move forward in his life.  Only time will tell how this storyline, and Yuki and Shuichi's relationship, will end up, but I am sure that these two are stuck with each other for the long run. Shuichi has an intense undying love for Yuki, and Shuichi is exactly what Yuki needs.

In the anime, after Shuichi tells Hiro about Yuki, he expresses some doubt because they are both men.  Hiro gives his best buddy a little friendly advice which cheers him up.

Hiro: "I'm happy that everything went so well for you."

Shuichi: "Thanks, but... but we're both guys..."

Hiro: "You moron.  If you love someone, then what difference does it make if they're a guy or a girl?  Just be happy."

Shuichi: "You might be right.  You know, you are right!  And it feels great to be this happy!  I want to share this happiness with the rest of the world!!"

~~~

In the middle of a song during a concert, Shuichi spots Yuki standing next to his fiancee.  He starts thinking about he and Ayaka have the same feelings for Yuki, and suddenly yells out "YUKI IS ALL MIIIIIINE!!" in the middle of the song.  Afterwards, he goes home and apologizes to Yuki.

Shuichi (apologetically): "Um, well, I know what I said at the concert today...  That wasn't a lie or anything, I mean, it's just how I feel."

Yuki:  "Shut up."

Shuichi: "So it did make you mad...  Of course you'd get mad..."

Yuki: "Just shut up."

Shuichi: "Huh?  You're okay with me like this?"

Yuki: "I belong to you, right?"

Shuichi: "Like I said, that was..."

Yuki: "I don't mind.  I'll belong to you."

Shuichi: "What?"

Yuki: "I'm saying that I'll be your lover."

Shuichi: "You're my lover..."

~~~

After Yuki was threatened by the leader of Ask in his apartment, Yuki sits down on the couch and Shuichi comes over to comfort him.

Shuichi (worried): "Yuki are you okay?  Is everything alright?  Did that dumb jerk say bad things to you?  Did he hurt you?"

Yuki (sadly): "But you're the one who was hurt."

Shuichi (surprised): "Oh...  Well, but I'm okay now and it doesn't-"

Yuki (breaking down): "It's my fault.  Because of me, you...  I put you through the same thing I went through..."

Shuichi: "But what? Yuki?"

Yuki (through tears): "To be honest, I want to be with you... but I didn't want to remember what happened to... if I did I'd be betrayed again.  I've had enough...  I don't ever want that to happen again...  (Shuichi lays his head down on Yuki)  I don't want to go back to that time..."

Shuichi: "Yuki..."

~~~

Shuichi finally finds Yuki in New York after he left without telling him.  This scene in the anime was nice because it laid out Shuichi's feelings and Yuki got to feel like himself again by putting down Shuichi's lyrics.

Shuichi: "I've, I've finally found you Yuki..."

Yuki (shocked): "How, Shuichi?  How did you... How did you find me?"

Shuichi (yelling): "Shut up!  That doesn't matter one bit now!  You disappeared without even letting me know!  See this?  (hands Yuki his lyrics)  That time?  My lyrics that got blown by the wind that time?  I've finally finished writing the song.  Look at it."

Yuki:  "Hmm...  You were always like this.  You never think about the other person, do you?  I used to be like that too.  That's how I pushed Kitazawa into a corner... and how I killed him..."

Shuichi: "Don't be ridiculous...  Don't be ridiculous!!  (he kisses Yuki)  So what if I pressure you into a corner?  Don't you think you're going to get away from me...  You can run or you can die but I'll search for you and I'll find you.  I'm never letting you get away from me.  Why?  Because I love you, Yuki!"

Yuki (as he looks at the lyrics):  "It's a zero.  You've still got zero talent.  (They smile at each other)."

~~~

In book 10 of the manga, Shuichi helps Kitazawa's sibling with a sort of shock therapy for Yuki.  Since Yuki was still hung up on Kitazawa, Yoshiki impersonated her dead brother in order to break things off with him.  When Yuki and Shuichi are walking through the park in the aftermath, Yuki tells Shuichi that it was his big chance, because people who have just been dumped are extremely vulnerable.

Shuichi (grabs Yuki's hand): "Hey big boy!  I'll treat you nice and sweet!  Uh... uh...!!  And I'll do anything you want!!  Me love you long time!!"

Yuki (smiling): "Oh... really?  Then hold my hand for a little while longer."

~~~

In book 11 of the manga, Yuki was angry that Shuichi would not let him help him with his lyrics.  Yuki wanted Shuichi to choose between him and his work, to see which one 'topped his heart's charts'.

Yuki: "What can I do?  How can I make it so that you see only me?"

Shuichi: "Does... does that mean... that you... l-love me?  Am I totally crazy, or is it that... you love me?  Is that why you want me to see only you?"

Yuki: "Yeah."

~~~

In the last volume of the original manga, Shuichi had a fight with Yuki and left him because he felt that Yuki was using him as a replacement for Kitazawa.  Yuki wrote Shuichi lyrics for a song he was having a particularly difficult time writing and Shuichi turned them down, thinking that they were really written for Kitazawa.  Yuki starts crying when Shuichi accuses him of this and then explains himself.

Yuki: "I don't know any other way.  I can't stand it when you're sad.  That's why... I wrote those lyrics.  But they didn't work.  You're still not happy.  Have you ever seen me bawl like this?  You're not a replacement for Kitazawa.  And there's no replacement for you.  Without you... there's nothing.  I don't want to lose everything... not again."

~~~

After Yuki and Shuichi return home, Shuichi feels bad about turning down the lyrics and Yuki tells him that he understood.  They sit on the couch in the apartment together and talk some things out.

Shuichi: "Do you remember what you said before?  That no one can ever replace me?  That you don't want a life full of nothingness?  Well... I'll never go away.  I'll never leave you alone.  After all, I'm not Kitazawa-san.  That means you can go on loving Kitazawa-san... because Kitazawa-san isn't me.  We're two different people... with two different types of love.  Of course, I'd rather that you'd only love me.  But the Yuki that loves Kitazawa-san is still the Yuki that I love so much!"