its not yet the 30th! :)
TITLE: Baby Steps
CHARACTERS: Arashi members, NewS members, Horikita Maki, Inoue Mao, Oguri Shun, Ikuta Toma, and a whole horde of other Johnny's and female Japanese actresses
PAIRING: Yamashita Tomohisa/Horikita Maki; Matsumoto Jun/Inoue Mao; others
RATINGS: PG
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
Prologue / Chapter1/ Chapter2/ Chapter3/ Chapter4/ Chapter5/ Chapter6/ Chapter7
Chapter 8:
“Oh-chan, try not to get too burnt again ne…” Matsujun said as he stepped out of the van that served as their shuttle for the day.
Only Ohno was left amongst the others since Sho and Aiba still had some shooting for News Zero and Tensai Shimura Doubutsen, respectively and Nino had already been dropped off to his place which was closest to their shooting location for the day.
“Yes!” Ohno cheered. “See you tomorrow!”
Matsujun simply shook his head, smiling as he closed the door. He stood there for a while, massaging his neck, as he watched the van speed off. Chances are that Ohno would probably get sun burnt again the next time he goes fishing; sun blocks just don’t seem to work on him anymore.
He was about to go in when he noticed a familiar black car parked across the street from his building.
With a sigh, he strolled towards it and knocked on the driver’s window side, seeing that the owner had his eyes closed.
“What are you doing here?” he asked when Yamapi rolled down the window for him.
“What? I can’t rest on my own car?” Yamapi replied cheekily.
Matsujun snorted, turning around to get to his apartment. Hearing the car door open and close again, he knew that Yamapi followed suit.
“I did what you said…” Yamapi started when he caught up to him. “I talked to the others already.”
When Matsujun didn’t even react, Yamapi continued “Are you not going to ask how the others reacted?”
“How else would they have reacted?” Matsujun shrugged as they entered the building. “They accepted it of course… That’s what I would have done… That’s what my group mates would have done for me…”
“Well, I wasn’t expecting it…” Yamapi admitted. “We haven’t survived as long as you guys had…”
Matsujun snorted as the elevator door closed. “You guys had 2 drinking scandals, 3 solo concerts, a sub-unit that can practically stand on its own, a hiatus, one member who left just when you were starting, two because of scandal, and one member who’s almost front man of another group, yet you still survived. I’d say you’ve been through a lot.”
Yamapi didn’t know how to respond to that, so he didn’t, which is a good thing since Matsujun was not yet finished.
“Besides, admit it that a few years back, aside from Ryo, you didn’t even see the others as equals. It was like Yamashita Tomohisa, Nishikido Ryo, and five others. If Ryo hadn’t started establishing himself already, it would probably have been Yamashita Tomohisa and six others. Now here you are, telling them your decisions. I think the guys really appreciate that,” he added. “And it’s not as if they could do anything about what happened between you and Maki-chan… What else would they have done but to accept?”
“So, they had no choice?” Yamapi asked as they stepped out of the elevator on Matsujun’s floor.
“Of course they have…” said Matsujun, shaking his head. “Look at it this way… When Jin told you he wanted to go back to America, you accepted right? Not because you had no choice but because he’s your friend. And you wanted to show him support. The NewS members are your friends. Accepting what happened is how they support you.”
Yamapi shrugged but understood what he meant. “Then you and Toma must not be supporting me since you guys haven’t accepted it yet…” he chided.
“Baka!” Matsujun snorted as he opened his unit. “We’ve accepted it. We just haven’t accepted what you’ve so far done with it.”
Yamapi was about to respond when he and Matsujun entered his unit and was startled with what they saw there.
“Told you he was coming here…” Ryo cheered, extending an open hand to Toma who pouted and reached for his wallet.
The two were occupying his sofa, each holding a game console. A few steps away from them, leaning on the glass partition to the balcony stood the looming figure of Oguri Shun, looking at Yamapi as if he was predator and Yamapi was prey.
“How the heck did you guys enter this time?!” Matsujun exclaimed while Yamapi said “What are you guys doing here?”
“Borrowed Mao-chan’s key…” came Shun’s response. He was smiling as he said this but his eyes didn’t change its tone or direction.
“Well, I had two guys who wanted to see Pi…” Toma said, bouncing up from his seat. “And I just lost 50,000 yen since Ryo bet he’d come here… I was so sure Tackey would get him to drink…”
“Two?” Yamapi asked since Ryo, having just seen him earlier, doesn’t count and he could only see Shun there.
“Yep, two…” came Kame’s voice from the kitchen. “Ne, I never knew Mao-chan still had your house key…” he grinned at Matsujun.
----------
“I can’t believe Maki-chan is pregnant…” Kame exclaimed after Yamapi had finished telling him his side of the story.
The two youngest men were in Matsujun’s kitchen where Kame was preparing for their dinner (Matsujun was okay with Kame in his kitchen as long as he makes sure Yamapi does not touch things), Yamapi joined him since he was not yet sure on how he should interact with Shun who continued eyeing him from the moment he entered the room.
“And I can’t believe you’re the father!” he added.
“I’m a guy you know! I’m perfectly able of fathering a child!” Yamapi said, wincing as Kame whacked his hand when he tried to meddle with what Kame was doing. “Why do you sound so surprised?”
“You never said you were interested in Maki-chan…” he said. “Although Toma had always maintained that you and Maki-chan would be good together.”
“I thought he ended thinking that way after HanaKimi?” he asked. Toma had always said he and Maki looked good together since Nobuta but after working personally with her, he told him jokingly that he didn’t want to trouble someone as sweet as Maki with someone as careless as him. That had earned Toma a whack in the head.
“Don’t know…” Kame shrugged. “But he’d always said you two would be great together…”
“Yeah right…” Yamapi snorted, remembering the day Toma found out. “His punches said otherwise…”
Kame simply shook his head and laughed. “Go call the others, we’re about to eat…”
“Why me?” Yamapi whined, still unprepared to face Shun.
“Because Jun would throttle me if I leave you alone in his kitchen…” said Kame pointedly. “And he’d kill you before that.”
Yamapi sighed. “What is it with that guy and his kitchen?!” he murmured.
Kame laughed. “In your case, he just doesn’t want his apartment get burned to the ground.”
----------
“Kame said we’re about to eat…” Yamapi announced as soon as he entered Matsujun’s living room. Toma and Ryo were still busy playing while Matsujun and Shun were talking by the balcony.
Seeing the others react to his announcement, Yamapi was about to retreat to the kitchen when Shun called his name.
Yamapi almost could not swallow when he noticed Matsujun pushing both Ryo and Toma to the kitchen and seeing that Shun was looking at him quite seriously.
He wasn’t really afraid of Oguri Shun, same way that he is not afraid of Meisa. He just finds them both a bit too intimidating, especially in his current situation.
Shun did not speak immediately when they were already alone, nor did Yamapi dare to start the conversation himself especially since Shun was observing him carefully.
After a few moments, he heard Shun chuckle.
“I’m not going to hit you since I heard both Toma and Jun did quite a good job on my behalf… I’m not going to say anything about what you have or have not yet done... But I am going to watch you, you and everything you’re going to do about Maki-chan and this situation. And I’m going to make sure you’ll know if I don’t like how things are going on…” he said in a smooth, low voice before he walked past him to the kitchen.
Yamapi did not even realize he froze until Toma’s head popped from the kitchen and said “Oi Papa Pi! Are you going to eat or not?”
Yamapi shook his head and took a couple of deep breaths before he made his way back to the kitchen. Seriously, he’s had enough of people-talking-to-him-and-leaving-before-he-could-even-respond thing to last a whole drama series.
----------
The dinner was surprisingly an upbeat one, with everyone catching up on what the others had been doing. Matsujun, Ryo, and Toma talked about their dramas (and concerts in Matsujun’s case), Shun talked about his film and the next one he was planning on working on, and Kame talked about their tour. Yamapi spent the time listening in on the conversation and not joining much, not really wanting to attract attention.
But since the others had invaded Matsujun’s place once again because of him, it was too much to ask that the conversation would end without it going to his direction.
“Ne, how was your meeting with Maki-chan?” Kame asked out of the blue after Toma shared how it had been while shooting that PV with Tokio.
“They met already?” asked Shun.
Yamapi turned to Ryo accusingly, having not shared that information yet to the others.
“What?!” said Ryo. “I didn’t tell them!”
“Did you really think it wouldn’t come out?” Kame laughed.
“Everyone knows…” said Matsujun. “In the Jimusho at least… Sho-kun told me this morning that he’d want to have dinner with you and Maki-chan one of these days… And I didn’t even tell him anything…”
Yamapi groaned. He was not worried that the others would let it slip, privacy with regards to such issues would always be one of the Johnny idol’s mutual rules, but with the rest of the Jimusho finding out, he’d have to live with a whole lot more of ribbing (the younger ones wouldn’t dare talk but it’s practically a guarantee that the ones near his age and up would have a lot to say).
“So, what happened?” asked Shun.
Yamapi almost choked on his food when he saw everyone’s eyes were on him.
“Ah… I… Anoh… I p-proposed already…” he stuttered, staring at his food. When he looked up though, everyone’s expression went from curiosity to disbelief.
“You proposed?!” exclaimed Toma, Kame looked shocked while Ryo was trying hard not to laugh, Shun looked simply taken aback.
“I knew we forgot something the other night…” Matsujun sighed.
----------
“What were you guys expecting me to do?” whined Yamapi. He and Toma had just finished cleaning up, the others had employed age seniority which meant he and Toma (Kame having done the cooking already was already excluded and the others didn’t count him poking around as helping) had no choice.
“I particularly remember saying that I am going to marry her…” Yamapi continued. “For that to happen, the most logical thing to do is propose, right?!”
“Well… Yes…”
“Then what are you all complaining about?!” Yamapi pouted as they stepped into the living room.
“Because you took a leap when you were just supposed to take a step…” Jun said, everyone in the living room evidently tuned in to their conversation.
“What Jun meant was that you did not do some things you should have done first before proposing to Maki-chan…” Kame elaborated.
“I did!” Yamapi said. “I talked to Nanba-kun, I met the bosses, Johnny-san was already informed, and I talked to NewS… I did everything I should have done!”
“Did you talk to Horikii?” asked Toma.
“Of course I did!” Yamapi cried indignantly. “I’m not that slow you know…”
Everyone looked pleasantly surprised, proud even, until Matsujun asked “Was that before or after you proposed?”
Yamapi needn’t say anything by the way his face fell. The way everyone groaned made him realize that there might have been something wrong with how he handled things with Maki.
“How did you propose anyway?” asked Ryo eventually.
“I just did…” Yamapi answered defiantly. The way everyone smirked told him that they’ve made their own conclusions, none of them too good, from his response but he’d be damned if any of these guys find out how he actually blurted his proposal.
“What did Horikii say then?” asked Shun.
“She said she’d give me the chance I wanted to prove myself to her…” Yamapi admitted, remembering Maki’s words.
“And..?”
“And then she left… And the next thing I knew, I was face to face with her best friend!”
“Mei-chan?” grinned Matsujun. “What did she say?”
“A female version of what you all told me…” sighed Yamapi. “That girl has some serious issues against Johnnys… Or she just plain hates me!”
It was Kame’s turn to grin. “She has serious issues all right, but it’s not you she hates… You can blame Jin for that when he comes back…”
“Jin is coming back?” asked Toma. “When?”
“Before the month is over…” said Kame. “He’s going to have a small break before the second leg of his tour so he asked to meet the group when he comes back.”
“Wait, what has Jin done to her for her to hate me that much?” Yamapi asked. “And why didn’t I know about this?!”
“Why are you asking me?!” laughed Kame. “Ask Jin! But I wouldn’t worry that much about it if I were you… ”
“Yeah, especially since you’ve got a lot of other things to worry about…” Shun agreed. “What are you planning to do to prove yourself?”
“I’m not really sure… I just know that I have to do something…” he sighed. Looking hopefully at the others, he asked “How do you prove yourself to the mother of your child?”
“How should we know?!” Jun chortled. “You’re the only one here who’s in that position…”
“I know!” cheered Toma, making everyone turn to him. “Just like high school!”
“You’re not helping you know…” Yamapi pouted.
“Hate to say this but he is right…” Shun nodded, looking at Toma. “You’re not much of a help.”
“Of course I am!” Toma grinned. “Tell me guys, how was it when you liked a girl in high school? You know, before being famous and all that…”
“I pretty much got dumped the first time…” Shun shrugged to which everyone else agreed. “But that doesn’t help either…”
“Before you were dumped though, you did some things, right?” said Toma.
“Ah! I got it!” cried Matsujun, grasping what Toma was pointing out. “The little things… Baby steps!”
“What?!”
“You know, making her notice you, winning her over… The little things guys do to get her attention…” said Matsujun.
“Oh yeah…” the others agreed.
“Show her you’re sincere…” continued Matsujun before turning to him sternly, asking “You are sincere about this, right?”
“Of course I am! But I was pretty much well liked already back then you know…” said Yamapi. “All I had to do was make a move…”
“Oi, oi! Stop being so cocky…” snorted Ryo. “We’re trying to help you here…”
“But you’d still do something right?” laughed Kame. “Like wait for her after her class or ask her out for a date or something…”
“So I should ask Maki-chan for a date?” asked Yamapi.
“No… Not yet baka!” said Ryo. “Get her to like you first… Or at least get past being civil…”
“Yeah…” Toma agreed, grinning. “The last time I saw you two together, you were definitely not on okay terms!”
“What’s you’re schedule tomorrow?” asked Shun.
Checking his phone for his schedule, Yamapi answered. “I’ve got shooting ‘til 5:00 in the afternoon and then a photo shoot at 8… Why?”
“If it matches Maki-chan’s schedule, you can pick her up…” he suggested. “Take her for a snack or something…”
“I can do that…” Yamapi said, putting his cellphone down on the center table.
“Do you know Maki-chan’s schedule?” asked Kame.
“No… But I can ask Nanba-kun to get her schedule from her manager…”
“I’ve got a better idea!” said Matsujun. “Why don’t you go ask her yourself?”
“What?! Now?!” Yamapi cried.
“That’s not a bad idea…” said Ryo. “At least she’ll see that you’re making an effort…”
“Yeah…” Toma agreed. “Go to her apartment now and ask her…”
----------
“That didn’t take long…” Ryo grinned. 10 minutes after Matsujun first popped up the idea that Yamapi should go to Maki’s place, Yamapi was already gone and on his way. “I guess he didn’t need much convincing after all…”
“Yeah…” Kame agreed. “He seems very eager to prove himself…”
“You think this is a good idea though?” asked Shun. “What if he’s really just feeling responsible for Horikii and nothing else? This could make things a whole lot worse you know…”
“Oh, no…” smiled Toma. “He’s feeling more than just responsible. He’s just not aware of it.”
“Ironic though, really…” Matsujun laughed. “That even Keiko-san noticed what Yamapi still does not know about himself…”
“Eh, you talked to Keiko-san?” asked Kame.
“I sort of invited her to eat with us after the shoot for Himitsu…” Matsujun said. “I was really interested with what she told me…”
“Why, what did she say?” asked Ryo.
Before Matsujun could respond though, Shun piped up.
“Eh… Wait… That is Yamapi’s phone, right?” he asked, pointing at the item on the center table.
“Oh yeah…” said Kame. “Not a big deal… Ryo can give it to him tomorrow…”
“No need…” Toma grinned. “Yamapi would most probably be back in an hour…”
“Mei-chan huh?” smiled Matsujun. “How did you know?”
“It’s nothing really…” Toma smiled, putting down his own phone before grabbing one of the game consoles on the table and looking at Kame with daring eyes. “I’m just very well connected…”
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Yamapi took a couple of very deep breaths before he pressed the buzzer for Maki’s apartment number.
In hindsight, he wasn’t really sure why he suddenly was extremely motivated to see Maki after that talk with the guys. He supposed he was just happy he has an idea on how to start things off.
The moment he pressed the buzzer though, he suddenly felt nervous.
After all, though Maki was civil with him earlier, that was over half a day ago already. How is she going to respond to him, and how is he supposed to act?
----------
“Why don’t we have a midnight snack?!” Erika suddenly asked, jumping from her seat. “Mei-chan, why don’t you help me prepare some?”
Apparently, Maki (and Meisa) was too caught up with what happened during the day that she couldn’t get to sleep which is why they ended up browsing through Maki’s movie collections for a movie that could help her settle down. They were just starting on the movie when she received the first message from Toma.
“Huh? It’s not even midnight yet…” said Meisa, frowning.
“Then let’s make it a mid-midnight snack!” Erika cheered, pulling on Meisa’s hand for emphasis. “Come on, I suddenly feel hungry!”
When Meisa (reluctantly) stood up, Maki made to stand too. “I guess I should help also…” she said.
“Oh no…” Erika smiled, shaking her head. “You stay here and relax… We’d be right back!” And before either female could react, she had already pulled Meisa into the kitchen.
“You’re acting weird you know…” Meisa started conversationally with an eyebrow raised. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing…” Erika smiled as she took out a pitcher of water from the fridge. “What should be going on?”
Before Meisa could reply, the doorbell suddenly rang, making Erika smile turn a little bit impish.
“Who’s at the door?” Meisa asked.
“How should I know?”
----------
‘Who could be calling at this time of the night?’ Maki asked herself as she made her way to the door. Both Keiko and Mao had already said they wouldn’t be coming over for the night since they had a late night/early morning shooting.
Yet considering the fact that she was expecting no one, it still came as a shock when she opened her door and saw Yamashita Tomohisa standing there with a basket of fruits in hand.
“Good evening Maki-chan…”
it's not yet the 30th! (i'm pretty adamant about that... lol!) anyway, it's obvious that i wouldn't finish this before August ends (real life is not inspiring me) but i'm definitely going to finish this before the end of September...
and to appease myself, this is not my Matsumoto Jun birthday post! :D i'm posting a little side story to this before his birthday ends so please look forward to that... :)
as always, comments and critics are really appreciated! :)
CHARACTERS: Arashi members, NewS members, Horikita Maki, Inoue Mao, Oguri Shun, Ikuta Toma, and a whole horde of other Johnny's and female Japanese actresses
PAIRING: Yamashita Tomohisa/Horikita Maki; Matsumoto Jun/Inoue Mao; others
RATINGS: PG
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
Prologue / Chapter1/ Chapter2/ Chapter3/ Chapter4/ Chapter5/ Chapter6/ Chapter7
Chapter 8:
“Oh-chan, try not to get too burnt again ne…” Matsujun said as he stepped out of the van that served as their shuttle for the day.
Only Ohno was left amongst the others since Sho and Aiba still had some shooting for News Zero and Tensai Shimura Doubutsen, respectively and Nino had already been dropped off to his place which was closest to their shooting location for the day.
“Yes!” Ohno cheered. “See you tomorrow!”
Matsujun simply shook his head, smiling as he closed the door. He stood there for a while, massaging his neck, as he watched the van speed off. Chances are that Ohno would probably get sun burnt again the next time he goes fishing; sun blocks just don’t seem to work on him anymore.
He was about to go in when he noticed a familiar black car parked across the street from his building.
With a sigh, he strolled towards it and knocked on the driver’s window side, seeing that the owner had his eyes closed.
“What are you doing here?” he asked when Yamapi rolled down the window for him.
“What? I can’t rest on my own car?” Yamapi replied cheekily.
Matsujun snorted, turning around to get to his apartment. Hearing the car door open and close again, he knew that Yamapi followed suit.
“I did what you said…” Yamapi started when he caught up to him. “I talked to the others already.”
When Matsujun didn’t even react, Yamapi continued “Are you not going to ask how the others reacted?”
“How else would they have reacted?” Matsujun shrugged as they entered the building. “They accepted it of course… That’s what I would have done… That’s what my group mates would have done for me…”
“Well, I wasn’t expecting it…” Yamapi admitted. “We haven’t survived as long as you guys had…”
Matsujun snorted as the elevator door closed. “You guys had 2 drinking scandals, 3 solo concerts, a sub-unit that can practically stand on its own, a hiatus, one member who left just when you were starting, two because of scandal, and one member who’s almost front man of another group, yet you still survived. I’d say you’ve been through a lot.”
Yamapi didn’t know how to respond to that, so he didn’t, which is a good thing since Matsujun was not yet finished.
“Besides, admit it that a few years back, aside from Ryo, you didn’t even see the others as equals. It was like Yamashita Tomohisa, Nishikido Ryo, and five others. If Ryo hadn’t started establishing himself already, it would probably have been Yamashita Tomohisa and six others. Now here you are, telling them your decisions. I think the guys really appreciate that,” he added. “And it’s not as if they could do anything about what happened between you and Maki-chan… What else would they have done but to accept?”
“So, they had no choice?” Yamapi asked as they stepped out of the elevator on Matsujun’s floor.
“Of course they have…” said Matsujun, shaking his head. “Look at it this way… When Jin told you he wanted to go back to America, you accepted right? Not because you had no choice but because he’s your friend. And you wanted to show him support. The NewS members are your friends. Accepting what happened is how they support you.”
Yamapi shrugged but understood what he meant. “Then you and Toma must not be supporting me since you guys haven’t accepted it yet…” he chided.
“Baka!” Matsujun snorted as he opened his unit. “We’ve accepted it. We just haven’t accepted what you’ve so far done with it.”
Yamapi was about to respond when he and Matsujun entered his unit and was startled with what they saw there.
“Told you he was coming here…” Ryo cheered, extending an open hand to Toma who pouted and reached for his wallet.
The two were occupying his sofa, each holding a game console. A few steps away from them, leaning on the glass partition to the balcony stood the looming figure of Oguri Shun, looking at Yamapi as if he was predator and Yamapi was prey.
“How the heck did you guys enter this time?!” Matsujun exclaimed while Yamapi said “What are you guys doing here?”
“Borrowed Mao-chan’s key…” came Shun’s response. He was smiling as he said this but his eyes didn’t change its tone or direction.
“Well, I had two guys who wanted to see Pi…” Toma said, bouncing up from his seat. “And I just lost 50,000 yen since Ryo bet he’d come here… I was so sure Tackey would get him to drink…”
“Two?” Yamapi asked since Ryo, having just seen him earlier, doesn’t count and he could only see Shun there.
“Yep, two…” came Kame’s voice from the kitchen. “Ne, I never knew Mao-chan still had your house key…” he grinned at Matsujun.
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“I can’t believe Maki-chan is pregnant…” Kame exclaimed after Yamapi had finished telling him his side of the story.
The two youngest men were in Matsujun’s kitchen where Kame was preparing for their dinner (Matsujun was okay with Kame in his kitchen as long as he makes sure Yamapi does not touch things), Yamapi joined him since he was not yet sure on how he should interact with Shun who continued eyeing him from the moment he entered the room.
“And I can’t believe you’re the father!” he added.
“I’m a guy you know! I’m perfectly able of fathering a child!” Yamapi said, wincing as Kame whacked his hand when he tried to meddle with what Kame was doing. “Why do you sound so surprised?”
“You never said you were interested in Maki-chan…” he said. “Although Toma had always maintained that you and Maki-chan would be good together.”
“I thought he ended thinking that way after HanaKimi?” he asked. Toma had always said he and Maki looked good together since Nobuta but after working personally with her, he told him jokingly that he didn’t want to trouble someone as sweet as Maki with someone as careless as him. That had earned Toma a whack in the head.
“Don’t know…” Kame shrugged. “But he’d always said you two would be great together…”
“Yeah right…” Yamapi snorted, remembering the day Toma found out. “His punches said otherwise…”
Kame simply shook his head and laughed. “Go call the others, we’re about to eat…”
“Why me?” Yamapi whined, still unprepared to face Shun.
“Because Jun would throttle me if I leave you alone in his kitchen…” said Kame pointedly. “And he’d kill you before that.”
Yamapi sighed. “What is it with that guy and his kitchen?!” he murmured.
Kame laughed. “In your case, he just doesn’t want his apartment get burned to the ground.”
----------
“Kame said we’re about to eat…” Yamapi announced as soon as he entered Matsujun’s living room. Toma and Ryo were still busy playing while Matsujun and Shun were talking by the balcony.
Seeing the others react to his announcement, Yamapi was about to retreat to the kitchen when Shun called his name.
Yamapi almost could not swallow when he noticed Matsujun pushing both Ryo and Toma to the kitchen and seeing that Shun was looking at him quite seriously.
He wasn’t really afraid of Oguri Shun, same way that he is not afraid of Meisa. He just finds them both a bit too intimidating, especially in his current situation.
Shun did not speak immediately when they were already alone, nor did Yamapi dare to start the conversation himself especially since Shun was observing him carefully.
After a few moments, he heard Shun chuckle.
“I’m not going to hit you since I heard both Toma and Jun did quite a good job on my behalf… I’m not going to say anything about what you have or have not yet done... But I am going to watch you, you and everything you’re going to do about Maki-chan and this situation. And I’m going to make sure you’ll know if I don’t like how things are going on…” he said in a smooth, low voice before he walked past him to the kitchen.
Yamapi did not even realize he froze until Toma’s head popped from the kitchen and said “Oi Papa Pi! Are you going to eat or not?”
Yamapi shook his head and took a couple of deep breaths before he made his way back to the kitchen. Seriously, he’s had enough of people-talking-to-him-and-leaving-before-he-could-even-respond thing to last a whole drama series.
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The dinner was surprisingly an upbeat one, with everyone catching up on what the others had been doing. Matsujun, Ryo, and Toma talked about their dramas (and concerts in Matsujun’s case), Shun talked about his film and the next one he was planning on working on, and Kame talked about their tour. Yamapi spent the time listening in on the conversation and not joining much, not really wanting to attract attention.
But since the others had invaded Matsujun’s place once again because of him, it was too much to ask that the conversation would end without it going to his direction.
“Ne, how was your meeting with Maki-chan?” Kame asked out of the blue after Toma shared how it had been while shooting that PV with Tokio.
“They met already?” asked Shun.
Yamapi turned to Ryo accusingly, having not shared that information yet to the others.
“What?!” said Ryo. “I didn’t tell them!”
“Did you really think it wouldn’t come out?” Kame laughed.
“Everyone knows…” said Matsujun. “In the Jimusho at least… Sho-kun told me this morning that he’d want to have dinner with you and Maki-chan one of these days… And I didn’t even tell him anything…”
Yamapi groaned. He was not worried that the others would let it slip, privacy with regards to such issues would always be one of the Johnny idol’s mutual rules, but with the rest of the Jimusho finding out, he’d have to live with a whole lot more of ribbing (the younger ones wouldn’t dare talk but it’s practically a guarantee that the ones near his age and up would have a lot to say).
“So, what happened?” asked Shun.
Yamapi almost choked on his food when he saw everyone’s eyes were on him.
“Ah… I… Anoh… I p-proposed already…” he stuttered, staring at his food. When he looked up though, everyone’s expression went from curiosity to disbelief.
“You proposed?!” exclaimed Toma, Kame looked shocked while Ryo was trying hard not to laugh, Shun looked simply taken aback.
“I knew we forgot something the other night…” Matsujun sighed.
----------
“What were you guys expecting me to do?” whined Yamapi. He and Toma had just finished cleaning up, the others had employed age seniority which meant he and Toma (Kame having done the cooking already was already excluded and the others didn’t count him poking around as helping) had no choice.
“I particularly remember saying that I am going to marry her…” Yamapi continued. “For that to happen, the most logical thing to do is propose, right?!”
“Well… Yes…”
“Then what are you all complaining about?!” Yamapi pouted as they stepped into the living room.
“Because you took a leap when you were just supposed to take a step…” Jun said, everyone in the living room evidently tuned in to their conversation.
“What Jun meant was that you did not do some things you should have done first before proposing to Maki-chan…” Kame elaborated.
“I did!” Yamapi said. “I talked to Nanba-kun, I met the bosses, Johnny-san was already informed, and I talked to NewS… I did everything I should have done!”
“Did you talk to Horikii?” asked Toma.
“Of course I did!” Yamapi cried indignantly. “I’m not that slow you know…”
Everyone looked pleasantly surprised, proud even, until Matsujun asked “Was that before or after you proposed?”
Yamapi needn’t say anything by the way his face fell. The way everyone groaned made him realize that there might have been something wrong with how he handled things with Maki.
“How did you propose anyway?” asked Ryo eventually.
“I just did…” Yamapi answered defiantly. The way everyone smirked told him that they’ve made their own conclusions, none of them too good, from his response but he’d be damned if any of these guys find out how he actually blurted his proposal.
“What did Horikii say then?” asked Shun.
“She said she’d give me the chance I wanted to prove myself to her…” Yamapi admitted, remembering Maki’s words.
“And..?”
“And then she left… And the next thing I knew, I was face to face with her best friend!”
“Mei-chan?” grinned Matsujun. “What did she say?”
“A female version of what you all told me…” sighed Yamapi. “That girl has some serious issues against Johnnys… Or she just plain hates me!”
It was Kame’s turn to grin. “She has serious issues all right, but it’s not you she hates… You can blame Jin for that when he comes back…”
“Jin is coming back?” asked Toma. “When?”
“Before the month is over…” said Kame. “He’s going to have a small break before the second leg of his tour so he asked to meet the group when he comes back.”
“Wait, what has Jin done to her for her to hate me that much?” Yamapi asked. “And why didn’t I know about this?!”
“Why are you asking me?!” laughed Kame. “Ask Jin! But I wouldn’t worry that much about it if I were you… ”
“Yeah, especially since you’ve got a lot of other things to worry about…” Shun agreed. “What are you planning to do to prove yourself?”
“I’m not really sure… I just know that I have to do something…” he sighed. Looking hopefully at the others, he asked “How do you prove yourself to the mother of your child?”
“How should we know?!” Jun chortled. “You’re the only one here who’s in that position…”
“I know!” cheered Toma, making everyone turn to him. “Just like high school!”
“You’re not helping you know…” Yamapi pouted.
“Hate to say this but he is right…” Shun nodded, looking at Toma. “You’re not much of a help.”
“Of course I am!” Toma grinned. “Tell me guys, how was it when you liked a girl in high school? You know, before being famous and all that…”
“I pretty much got dumped the first time…” Shun shrugged to which everyone else agreed. “But that doesn’t help either…”
“Before you were dumped though, you did some things, right?” said Toma.
“Ah! I got it!” cried Matsujun, grasping what Toma was pointing out. “The little things… Baby steps!”
“What?!”
“You know, making her notice you, winning her over… The little things guys do to get her attention…” said Matsujun.
“Oh yeah…” the others agreed.
“Show her you’re sincere…” continued Matsujun before turning to him sternly, asking “You are sincere about this, right?”
“Of course I am! But I was pretty much well liked already back then you know…” said Yamapi. “All I had to do was make a move…”
“Oi, oi! Stop being so cocky…” snorted Ryo. “We’re trying to help you here…”
“But you’d still do something right?” laughed Kame. “Like wait for her after her class or ask her out for a date or something…”
“So I should ask Maki-chan for a date?” asked Yamapi.
“No… Not yet baka!” said Ryo. “Get her to like you first… Or at least get past being civil…”
“Yeah…” Toma agreed, grinning. “The last time I saw you two together, you were definitely not on okay terms!”
“What’s you’re schedule tomorrow?” asked Shun.
Checking his phone for his schedule, Yamapi answered. “I’ve got shooting ‘til 5:00 in the afternoon and then a photo shoot at 8… Why?”
“If it matches Maki-chan’s schedule, you can pick her up…” he suggested. “Take her for a snack or something…”
“I can do that…” Yamapi said, putting his cellphone down on the center table.
“Do you know Maki-chan’s schedule?” asked Kame.
“No… But I can ask Nanba-kun to get her schedule from her manager…”
“I’ve got a better idea!” said Matsujun. “Why don’t you go ask her yourself?”
“What?! Now?!” Yamapi cried.
“That’s not a bad idea…” said Ryo. “At least she’ll see that you’re making an effort…”
“Yeah…” Toma agreed. “Go to her apartment now and ask her…”
----------
“That didn’t take long…” Ryo grinned. 10 minutes after Matsujun first popped up the idea that Yamapi should go to Maki’s place, Yamapi was already gone and on his way. “I guess he didn’t need much convincing after all…”
“Yeah…” Kame agreed. “He seems very eager to prove himself…”
“You think this is a good idea though?” asked Shun. “What if he’s really just feeling responsible for Horikii and nothing else? This could make things a whole lot worse you know…”
“Oh, no…” smiled Toma. “He’s feeling more than just responsible. He’s just not aware of it.”
“Ironic though, really…” Matsujun laughed. “That even Keiko-san noticed what Yamapi still does not know about himself…”
“Eh, you talked to Keiko-san?” asked Kame.
“I sort of invited her to eat with us after the shoot for Himitsu…” Matsujun said. “I was really interested with what she told me…”
“Why, what did she say?” asked Ryo.
Before Matsujun could respond though, Shun piped up.
“Eh… Wait… That is Yamapi’s phone, right?” he asked, pointing at the item on the center table.
“Oh yeah…” said Kame. “Not a big deal… Ryo can give it to him tomorrow…”
“No need…” Toma grinned. “Yamapi would most probably be back in an hour…”
“Mei-chan huh?” smiled Matsujun. “How did you know?”
“It’s nothing really…” Toma smiled, putting down his own phone before grabbing one of the game consoles on the table and looking at Kame with daring eyes. “I’m just very well connected…”
----------
Yamapi took a couple of very deep breaths before he pressed the buzzer for Maki’s apartment number.
In hindsight, he wasn’t really sure why he suddenly was extremely motivated to see Maki after that talk with the guys. He supposed he was just happy he has an idea on how to start things off.
The moment he pressed the buzzer though, he suddenly felt nervous.
After all, though Maki was civil with him earlier, that was over half a day ago already. How is she going to respond to him, and how is he supposed to act?
----------
“Why don’t we have a midnight snack?!” Erika suddenly asked, jumping from her seat. “Mei-chan, why don’t you help me prepare some?”
Apparently, Maki (and Meisa) was too caught up with what happened during the day that she couldn’t get to sleep which is why they ended up browsing through Maki’s movie collections for a movie that could help her settle down. They were just starting on the movie when she received the first message from Toma.
“Huh? It’s not even midnight yet…” said Meisa, frowning.
“Then let’s make it a mid-midnight snack!” Erika cheered, pulling on Meisa’s hand for emphasis. “Come on, I suddenly feel hungry!”
When Meisa (reluctantly) stood up, Maki made to stand too. “I guess I should help also…” she said.
“Oh no…” Erika smiled, shaking her head. “You stay here and relax… We’d be right back!” And before either female could react, she had already pulled Meisa into the kitchen.
“You’re acting weird you know…” Meisa started conversationally with an eyebrow raised. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing…” Erika smiled as she took out a pitcher of water from the fridge. “What should be going on?”
Before Meisa could reply, the doorbell suddenly rang, making Erika smile turn a little bit impish.
“Who’s at the door?” Meisa asked.
“How should I know?”
----------
‘Who could be calling at this time of the night?’ Maki asked herself as she made her way to the door. Both Keiko and Mao had already said they wouldn’t be coming over for the night since they had a late night/early morning shooting.
Yet considering the fact that she was expecting no one, it still came as a shock when she opened her door and saw Yamashita Tomohisa standing there with a basket of fruits in hand.
“Good evening Maki-chan…”
it's not yet the 30th! (i'm pretty adamant about that... lol!) anyway, it's obvious that i wouldn't finish this before August ends (real life is not inspiring me) but i'm definitely going to finish this before the end of September...
and to appease myself, this is not my Matsumoto Jun birthday post! :D i'm posting a little side story to this before his birthday ends so please look forward to that... :)
as always, comments and critics are really appreciated! :)