One Shot: Silent Love
Title: Silent Love
Author: biggy_chan
Pairing: Akame
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance
Summary: Kamenashi Kazuya is mute since an accident in his childhood. He now works in an amusement park as Mickey Mouse and always dreamt of falling in love with someone. One day he finds a picture and when he meets the artist of the picture he falls in love with him.
Word count: ~7000
Authors note: The story is based on one of the stories in Sad Movie. After I watched the movie I immediately wanted to write Akame. This was written months ago and now I decided to post it as an early birthday present for Kame ♥
Silent Love
When I was a child my parents used to tell me a fairytale every evening before going to bed. All those stories had a happy ending and I believed too that I would have a happy ending one day. Even with my inability to speak.
~♥~
My fairytale started with a picture I found on the ground when I was walking around in the amusement park. After all it was my job to move around the park with that huge Mickey Mouse head, those big hands and shoes that made me sweat like mad under the bright sun. The picture I found was, to put it nice, terrible. All I could make out was a head and maybe those two strokes near the eyes area were supposed to be eyes but they looked more like too-low eyebrows to me. I never saw a picture worse than that one before.
But still I decided to keep it because somehow it felt so familiar and it made my heart feel all warm like it didn't feel for a very long time. Maybe it was because it could have been me who drew it.
~♥~
The next day when I was on my way to the carousel where I was supposed to work for the day, of course dressed up as Mickey Mouse, I saw a young man with an easel and a little case walking in front of me. His hair was chocolate brown and curled up at the ends and he wore a red shirt which was rolled up on the sleeves. His pants looked like they've been through quite a lot but they just fit him perfectly, especially around his butt. I couldn't see his face yet but what I've already seen of him was enough to make me follow him.
I tried to be as invisible as possible but I guess that was quite useless because of my outfit. But still he didn't notice though he stopped a few times to look for the right direction, I supposed, and I was sure he must have noticed me because how could you not notice a huge Mickey Mouse following you, especially taking even more attention from people by hiding behind a tiny tree.
Well, he seemed like one of those people who didn't.
Just when he was about to keep walking, his case suddenly burst open and all his pencils, pictures and all the stuff he had in it fell out. And that was the first time I saw his face.
When he turned around to look at the mess he created I saw those plump, delicious lips and those brown beautiful eyes looking panicked at his stuff, those brown locks which hung into his face and tempted me to brush them behind his ear. I couldn't resist and jumped out of my hiding place to help him collect all his things. He suddenly let out a high-pitched scream and fell with his butt on the ground when he saw me but before I could start crying because of his shocked expression I remembered that I was Mickey Mouse.
So I offered him a hand which he took rather hesitantly, murmuring his thanks to Mickey Mouse. I couldn't help but grin widely inside my costume because of his confused expression but helped him gather his things quickly.
That was when I held one of the pictures which fell on the ground in my hands. It was as terrible as the one I found the day before and I realized that he must have been the painter of the picture. It was unmistakable because they both looked equally bad. I took out the picture I found the day before out of one of my huge pockets of my Mickey Mouse trousers and held it out for him. He looked at it surprised but soon recognized his own painting and laughed weakly.
“I guess that person didn't like it,” he said and scratched his head.
Of course not. You couldn't even tell if it was a boy of girl. He looked disappointed at the picture and suddenly I felt really sorry for him. Even if that person didn't like it, to me it had something that made me really happy so I patted his back to comfort him a little bit and made my way to the carousel, after all I still had work, no matter how I wished to stay with that man a little longer.
“Thank you, Mickey Mouse,” said man suddenly shouted. I didn't turn around but I was literally jumping like a rabbit on my way.
~♥~
I couldn't forget about the mysterious painter from the day before so I decided to look for him in the amusement park, maybe he would be at the place we met again. But unfortunately I didn't find him and I still had work so I couldn't walk around the whole park either. Disappointed I made my way to the big castle where I always went to during my breaks because people rarely came there because of the lack of attractions in that area.
I walked around the place a little bit, trying to find a nice place to rest when I noticed an easel standing next to a chair but there was no painter. I walked closer to see if it was that man's easel and a big grin appeared on my face when I recognized the ugly painting from the day before. I looked around the place to see if he was somewhere near but he was nowhere to find.
Disappointed and frustrated I walked away but not before I gave the easel a kick. Stupid guy. I was looking for him the whole day under the hot sun, sweating like mad and neglecting my job and he wasn't even there where he was supposed to be; right next to his belonging. What was he doing anyway? At a place where weren't many people around? He must be stupid.
I turned around to give the easel another kick and this time it broke down. I quickly turned around to run away but then a voice was shouting after me.
“Hey you! You can't just leave this mess and run away! Stop!”
I turned around while running and saw that the man from the day before was chasing me but I just grinned and continued running. Eventually he stopped and tried to pout but luckily I was too far away to fall for it. Not that I would have fallen for it.
~♥~
I didn't really know what it was that made me look for that man every day but I didn't really mind the searching when I could see that man's face even if it was for just a second.
My colleagues, The 7 Dwarfs that were actually only 6, already noticed my weird behavior and questioned me about the guy.
“Are you after someone in the park,” Pi, my annoying neighbor who got me that job, asked me excitedly. I only shook my head and glared at him dangerously to shut him up but obviously the others didn't feel like letting the topic go.
“Could he be the one who drew that ugly picture you were looking lovingly at the other day,” Ueda, my best friend whom I wanted to kill that moment for bringing that up, stated rather than asked me with a mischievous grin on his face.
“Eh?! Kame is in love with a painter,” Koki shouted and the next moment he was almost rolling on the floor laughing. “I never would have imagined Kame with a painter! Your painting is so horrible. But I guess opposites attracts!”
I only buried my face into my hands, trying not to kill all of them in that moment. But then I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder and when I looked up I saw Ryo smiling at me.
“Don't mind them. You know they are always like this,” Ryo comforted me and I almost hugged him for being so understanding if it wasn't for his next sentence. “But I would really like to see how this turns out. He must be stupid if he actually likes you. Seriously look at yourself, you are in a Mickey Mouse costume.”
Thanks Ryo. That really motivated me.
I ignored them for the rest of the day and eventually they all came to me after work and apologized. I couldn't be angry at them anyway so I forgave them but of course they couldn't stop teasing me.
“So when are we going to meet your mysterious painter?”
I again glared at them dangerously and made a x-sign with my arms but they just ignored me and made up plans by themselves.
“It won't be too difficult to find a painter who draws ugly pics, is it? So everyone, keep your eyes open! If you see him bring him here!”
I was ignoring them until the point where they decided to kidnap my mysterious painter. I immediately got in between them and tried to tell Ueda that they couldn't do it.
“Why not,” Ueda just asked me stupidly but I knew that he knew exactly what I meant but was only playing the dumb one.
“You won't do it and that's my last word,” I told him with my signs. The others looked expectant at Ueda waiting for him to translate what I just told him.
“He won't let us kidnap that guy,” Ueda finally told them almost pouting but it had no effect on me. It stopped long ago, luckily. Of course the others tried to convince me again but I just left them behind and went home.
~♥~
I hoped that they would leave the topic by the next day but of course there was no way that they would have done that. They even went so far too follow me the whole day just to meet that man. I couldn't really stop them either so I gave up looking for the mysterious painter that day and actually did my work.
“That's boring,” Koki complained after hours of following me. We decided to go to the castle to have a break from work there and everyone took off their heads to breathe in some fresh air. The heat under it could seriously kill someone.
“I already told you not to follow me,” I told Ueda with my hands and he translated them for the others. It was always like this because the others didn't understand sign language. But it never really bothered me so I always left it to Ueda to translate what I said.
“Someone is coming,” Taguchi suddenly whispered and everyone quickly put on their heads again. Actually we weren't even allowed to take off our heads during work - they didn't want to crash the poor kids fantasies and reveal that Mickey Mouse was just a human being like they were - but when we felt safe we did it anyway just to take some fresh air for a minute.
“Ano …” Everyone turned their heads in unison into the direction the voice was coming from and after I made sure that my head was on the right place I turned around as well and my eyes widened when I saw who was standing there.
“Hi,” the mysterious painter greeted me and I couldn't help but falling for that guy that instant the way he stood there obviously feeling uncomfortable just melted my heart. I put my hand up to greet him back and he looked a little happier that I recognized him.
“Well, I have a request for you,” he finally said what he wanted but I only looked at him confused, not that he could see me anyway. “Can I paint you?”
I felt like my heart was stopping to beat for a minute or two after I heard his words. That moment I didn't understand why he wanted to paint me but I felt incredible happy that he was looking for me, that he was the one approaching me. I immediately got up from my seat and walked over to him; and took him into my huge arms. I felt so happy I didn't care about anything and my arms flew from themselves over the painter's neck.
“So I take it as a yes?” he asked me full of hope and I nodded with my huge head, accidentally hitting his with mine. But he just laughed it off and took my hand into his and made me follow him to his place where his things were placed.
I didn't notice the others following us but I didn't really care that moment and just let me lead by the painter; damn Mickey Mouse glove.
“Oh by the way, my name is Jin,” he told me while smiling the sweetest smile I've ever seen and suddenly I had the urge to pinch his cheeks but I controlled myself. “What's your name?”
I tried to show him with sign language but as expected he just looked at me questioning so I didn't bother to try again. I guessed he somehow understood that I couldn't tell him and just left it. “I guess it's because you aren't allowed to talk during work ne?”
I nodded but I couldn't hide my disappointment. What would he think or say when he knew that I was mute? Why did I even care, it wasn't that he cared about me, did he?
He motioned me to sit down on that chair he prepared for his costumers and I did what he told me, still overjoyed over the fact that I could spend some time with Jin though he was only painting me; with the Dwarfs behind his back. I put on my sweetest smile I had but the way he looked at me ... could there have been a hint of disappointment in his eyes? Slowly my smile faded away.
Did he change his mind and didn't want to paint me anymore? Was it because I didn't tell him my name? But even if I wanted to there was no way I could. I couldn't tell him.
“Excuse me but … would you mind taking of that head of yours,” he suddenly asked rather hesitantly.
My head? Oh. He meant the Mickey Mouse head. Was that why he looked so disappointed at me? God, that guy was too cute for his own sake.
But there was no way I could take off my head! First of all what would he say if he knew I was a guy? Maybe he thinks I'm a girl? Otherwise there would be no way he would want to paint me! But I was Mickey Mouse and Mickey Mouse was a guy, I thought, so it was obvious that I was a guy as well.
But still there was no way that I would let him see my face. I must have looked like a mess. I always tied my hair up like a palm for work and I sweated like mad under this head and there was just no way I would let him paint me like that.
I shook my head rather violently to let him know I didn't want to take off my head. If he wanted to paint me he would have to do it with that huge head and everything else.
But when he pouted with that cute face of his I really considered for a moment to just take off that stupid head but luckily I came to my senses again before I could do so.
“And when I ask pretty please?” I still shook my head but this time less confident. I was sure he knew exactly how to use that kicked-puppy look of his on other people to convince them but somehow I hoped he didn't use that so often on other people but only me. But who was I to request something like that.
“Or are you perhaps … ugly?” I always fell from the chair when I heard his words. Ugly? I would show him how ugly I was if it wasn't for Ryo suddenly starting to kick Jin. And of course the others didn't miss that opportunity to do so as well. For a moment there I felt slightly sorry for Jin but it was his own fault in the first place and I was slightly glad the others were there otherwise I really would have given in to Jin.
“Okay, okay! I'll paint you with that Mickey Mouse head,” Jin admitted defeat and started to paint rather unwillingly. I could literally see the others victorious smirks under their heads when they gave me a thumb-up but I ignored them and concentrated on my task to sit still and smile; though I didn't really have to smile but it felt weird not doing so.
After several minutes or maybe it was an hour, Jin gave me a genius smile what I interpreted as he was finished. I quickly made my way over to him, eagerly wanting to see my portrait but I could already tell by the way the others tried to hide their laughter that it wasn't a masterpiece like Leonardo Da Vinci, not that I couldn't already guess it before.
“Well, maybe it's not the best picture I've drawn but still it turned out pretty good … I think.” Jin looked at me with those innocent brown eyes and scratched his head shyly while showing me the picture.
It was … nice. It wasn't that bad. But the way he looked at me insecurely with those big orbs made me forget about the picture for a moment and I hugged him tightly in my arms. I could tell he was quite surprised about my sudden attack but soon he replied my hug, though it might have been for other reasons than mine. He must have thought I actually liked that picture.
Well I did like it but only because he was the one who drew it.
“I'm glad you like it! Here,” he handed me the pic with a wide grin, “It's yours.”
I bowed slightly to thank him when that moment I saw the others trying to tell me we had to go back to work. I didn't want to leave Jin yet but there was no choice for me so I waved him goodbye and walked to the others who were already waiting for me.
I had Jin's picture with me the whole day and every free minute I would take it out and have a look at those messy strokes which didn't really make sense but still, only the thought of Jin drawing that for me made me happy enough to beam with joy the whole day.
“Seriously, is that guy making money with his pictures,” Koki asked when we were in the changing room of the amusement park. It was a tiring day and everyone was glad it was over but still as usually we would sit in the changing room for half an hour drinking soft drinks and chatting before we would make our way home.
“They should give him money for not painting,” Ryo made fun of Jin and I knew it was only to tease me. I shot him a death glare to shut him up but he only smirked at me and continued making Jin bad.
“Hello? Is someone here?” Upon hearing a voice at the window everyone quickly put back on their heads and turned into the direction of the window just to see Jin waving at me after he discovered me in the corner of the room.
What was he doing here? The amusement park was closing soon so he should have been outside already. The others though weren't really happy to see him, one reason being that Jin almost their true identity, not that Jin knew them, and the other reason being that they didn't like it that Jin was so obviously running after me but they just told me that later on.
I almost wanted to wave back when the others started to throw their empty cans into Jin's direction to make him go away.
“Oi! Why are you attacking me,” Jin asked but got only Ryo's can against his head as an answer. Jin only pouted and left the window obviously feeling offended but that moment I knew better than going against my colleagues. The next day I would definitely make sure to apologize to Jin.
~♥~
However when I went to the place where we met the day before during my lunch break I didn't find him there and disappointed I made my way back to the changing room to snatch my lunch. I wandered around the park looking for Jin but I just didn't seem to find him. Maybe he was sick, I thought worried or maybe he had an accident on his way home yesterday! Maybe he was lying in a corner of an ally unconsciously without help!
But before my imagination could go even wilder I discovered a familiar figure on a bench near a hot dog stand. I quickly made my way over to him but not before I checked that no one was following me, with no one I meant my dearest colleagues. This time I wouldn't allow them to disturb my time with Jin!
As unnoticeable as possible I sat down on a bench next to Jin and looked at him from the side waiting for him to notice me. But he seemed so in his thoughts that he didn't notice me as all! He was nipping on the straw of his drink, his eyes looking at something far away from this world and I couldn't help but staring at the adorable pout his lips formed.
But I didn't have much time to waste so I poked him at his waist with my huge hands. It seemed as if I really surprised him with my actions because he let out a yelp and almost fell from the bench. Shocked he looked into my direction and I waved at him as innocently as I could.
“You! You startled me to death! Next time just tell me that you're there and not poke my waist all of a sudden!”
For a moment I thought he was mad at me but the smile he tried to hide from me convinced me of the opposite.
“Is it your lunch break,” Jin asked me and I answered him with a nod and showed him my lunchbox with rice balls. “You know I would really like to see your face.”
I looked into his eyes and saw how serious he was about it but I couldn't let my guard down. I didn't want him to see my face. If he did I wouldn't have an excuse not to answer him. With this Mickey Mouse head I had one. To say the truth I was scared of his reaction if he found out I was mute. It was enough for me just to be able to see him during my breaks.
“Can I see your face? Just once,” he kept pressing but I only shook my head and picked up a rice ball to eat.
“You know, you have to take off your head sooner or later to eat.”
I only smirked under the Mickey Mouse head and lead the rice ball to my mouth to eat.
“Don't tell me you don't have to take it off to eat.”
I nodded with a big grin he couldn't see and enjoyed the sight of his pouting face. This way you weren't going to see my face, my dear Jin.
It seemed like Jin gave up with his attempt to convince me to show him my face so his next action totally took me by surprise. Without warning he suddenly took a good hold on my Mickey Mouse head and tried to pull it off. Luckily I had good reflexes and before he could take it off I held it down with all my might.
“Don't fight against it! It wouldn't harm you at all! Just let me see your face!” If I could I would have screamed No and so I could only fight against him. I was trying to lean back from him so strongly that when suddenly he let go of my head I almost fell from the bench but luckily I could take a hold before I fell. Surprised I looked up at Jin only to meet the sight of my colleagues kicking and hitting Jin while Jin was trying to protect himself with his arms.
“You! Tell them I didn't mean to hurt you or anything! It was just fun,” Jin called for help but I only ignored him and made my way back to work. “Don't leave like this! You can't just leave me behind! Help me!”
When I turned back I saw the others still kicking his butt but I only smirked satisfied. I could just walk away like that as you could see. It was his own fault anyway to start attacking me like this!
~♥~
Back in the changing room after a tiring day of work I met the others who were already finished changing into their street clothes. While I was changing too I felt the others' stares on my back and a shiver ran down my spine. I turned around to them questioning but they said nothing and only exchanged nervous glances with each other which made me only more suspicious but I said nothing and waited for them to tell me what the problem was, if there was one.
“Kame …,” Pi was the first one to find his voice to speak. “You like that guy, don't you?”
I raised an eyebrow and gave him an intense stare. Somehow I had a bad feeling about where this topic was leading to. And my prediction was confirmed when Pi continued. “I'm talking about Jin. You know, we all know that you kind of … like him.”
I felt my cheeks getting hot but I tried not to let it show on my face too much and gave them all a so-what-look.
“What Pi wants to say is that you should tell him,” Ueda took over. “I mean, not tell but at least show him your face. He really wants to see the face behind the Mickey Mouse head.”
My words got stuck in my throat when I wanted to answer. Again I had painfully realized that I couldn't answer them. I wanted so badly to be able to say something, anything, but I just couldn't. When I would show Jin my face, there would be no more hiding behind the Mickey Mouse head. I would have to face Jin face to face and he would find out about me being mute. That was one of the things I was most afraid of.
I was sorry, but I just couldn't show him.
“We know you are afraid Kame,” Ueda told me as if he knew about my inner fight with myself. “But we don't want you to regret it later when he's gone.”
When he's gone?
“He's leaving for America soon,” Ueda added as if he's read my thoughts again.
Jin was leaving? For America? How did they know? Did he tell them? Why didn't he tell me? Why was he leaving?
Realization dawned upon me when the words finally sunk into my head. That was why they wanted me to tell him, to show him my face. They knew exactly I would regret it when he was gone.
“He isn't a bad guy. Go for him,” Pi motivated me but somehow I felt more miserable than motivated by his words. Even if they said so, even if I liked him, there was no way that he liked me. I was a guy! We both were guys! It was just impossible.
I looked into their worried faces and smiled. It wasn't a honest smile, it was only to take some of their worries away. I didn't want to bother them with this.
Thank you. They smiled back at me, patted my shoulder and ruffled through my hair before they said their goodbyes and left. I stayed behind in the changing room alone.
There were a lot of things going through my head in that moment but all of them led one way or the other to Jin. Back then I couldn't understand why I thought so much about him though we only met a few times. I didn't even know his family name or his age or where he lived; I knew nothing about him. Except that his name was Jin; and he drew ugly pictures.
Yet all I could think about was him. And he would soon be leaving. I didn't know what to do at all.
~♥~
Why I was standing behind a tree watching Jin secretly the next day? I didn't know either. The others came to me in the morning suddenly telling that they asked the boss to let me off a little bit earlier that day.
So I was standing there, this time without my costume and was observing Jin. There were still a few minutes left before the amusement park would close and I wanted to approach him then but I still didn't find the courage to walk up to him. Even if I did, he wouldn't know who I was at all. He'd never seen my face before.
Then suddenly he stood up and started tidying up his belongings. It was time to go for him, there were no other people in the park anymore. That was the right time to approach him but my legs refused to move.
I could only watch how he slowly finished packing and then walked away. Damn legs, why couldn't they move? Just …
And then he was out of sight. I cursed myself and came out behind the tree, sitting down at a bench near a water fountain. There I got my chance but I let it slip away. How could I be so stupid? I was sure that next time, if there even was a next time, I wouldn't have the courage to walk up to him anymore. Stupid legs, stupid me …
“Hey.” I heard a voice calling. And when I looked up I was met with Jin's face just standing a few meters way from the bench. “What are you doing here all alone? The park is closing soon you know.”
I could just stare at his face. He didn't know who I was. There was no way he knew. I turned my head away, not able to look any longer into his eyes. But then I felt a body sitting down next to mine on the bench and a hand touching my chin, slowly turning it into the direction to meet Jin's eyes.
“You look even more beautiful than what I imagined.”
My eyes widened what Jin of course saw and a little smile formed on his lips. “It's nice to see your face without that Mickey Mouse head and without that costume. You are beautiful.”
This time I couldn't help but blush at his words and I turned away embarrassed. How did he know that it was me?
“Can I paint you?”
I looked into his eyes and I saw how serious he was about that request so I only nodded and his smile grew even bigger.
“I'll give my best.”
This time it felt so weird to have Jin's eyes constantly on my face but I tried to look at him, one reason being that I didn't know how often I would be able to see his face any longer so I wanted to remember everything of his face.
It was getting darker and soon the sky was black and the only sources of light came from the moon and the lamp above my head and his. There was only me and him. Him and me.
“You never told me your name,” Jin once asked in between.
I knew that this question would come up sooner or later so I took out my phone and tipped in my name before handing it to him. He looked a little confused at first but I think he soon realized it.
“Kamenashi Kazuya. It's a nice name. I bet Kame is your nickname.” I nodded and he gave me back my phone.
“How long … have you been like that,” he asked hesitantly as if he wasn't sure if he was allowed to touch such a topic. I only smiled to assure him it was alright before tipping in 'since an accident in my childhood'.
“I'm sorry.”
I didn't say or do anything but let him continue drawing the picture. I felt as if he wasn't sorry about what happened to me but about something else I couldn't figure out that moment so I left the topic and we went back to silence.
It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, neither was it a suffocating one, we just enjoyed the others presence as long as possible. But eventually Jin finished the painting and showed it to me.
“I tried my best.”
It was the most beautiful picture I've ever seen. Maybe other people could draw better, maybe because of the lack of light the picture looked different but to me it was more perfect than any other painting I've ever seen. Tears were forming in my eyes as I held the picture tightly to my body. Why did my heart felt like breaking?
“Thank you, for letting me paint you.”
My colleagues who were hiding behind some building saw that Jin handed me the picture so they quickly made their way to the fuse block but on their way it suddenly started raining heavily and they had to run to not get wet. Arriving there they nodded to each other before turning on all the lights of the amusement park.
“This should give it all a romantic feeling! I really hope they know to appreciate our hard work,” Koki said and they all agreed to leave the park to let us alone.
But they didn't know that it was only me in the park. After Jin handed me the picture he left me behind. My tears were rolling down my cheeks and as if heaven knew about it, rain was falling from the sky like tears were falling down my eyes. And to make it all worse the whole park suddenly lightened up in all the colours you could imagine. It was the most beautiful yet also the saddest sight I've ever seen in my life and I would never forget how I sat there on the bench alone; crying.
I should have known better than to come here because it was bound to happen. There was no way one could fall in love with someone in a Mickey Mouse costume.
There was no way one could ever fall in love with someone like me.
~♥~
My colleagues felt bad for me even days and weeks after the incident. Whenever the topic Jin somehow came up their expressions would change from cheerful to apologetic but I would flash them a fake smile and would brush it off as if it wouldn't matter anymore.
But it did. Though weeks had passed with no sign that Jin was still in Japan, it still hurt so badly. He wasn't my first love, but he was the first one who'd treated me so nice apart from my friends though I only realized too late that it was probably because he never knew about me being mute. And when he found out he disappeared.
I couldn't really blame him, he wasn't the first one to put a distance between us after finding out the truth. It wasn't his fault.
My friends tried to cheer me up, tried to take my mind off Jin but why didn't it work? It wasn't so difficult before to forget about a guy who was not interested in me so why was it now?
Because the picture he drew still hung on the wall in my room?
Because he was so kind to me?
Because I still hoped that he would come for me.
If he had given me a clear sign that he didn't like me it would have been easier for me to forget but there wasn't even a sign that he liked me. It was all in my head that he could have been interested in me. I realized that now. I was just a naïve fool.
~♥~
One day I was walking near the water fountain where I met Jin the other night. A lot of children were playing there and when they saw me they immediately ran towards me and asked me to take a picture with them.
I used to smile while the parents would take a picture but I stopped doing that weeks ago. It wasn't like it mattered on the picture.
Soon more and more children came and I was quickly surrounded by a crowd. People came and left but there was a familiar easel just a few meters away. During the time I looked for Jin in the park I never once met another painter. It couldn't be him, could it?
I didn't want to get disappointed when I would realize it wasn't him. But it really looked awful familiar though I couldn't see the painter's face because it was hidden behind the easel. My heart suddenly started to beat incredible fast and it was difficult to breath. It wasn't Jin. It couldn't be Jin.
But then the person behind the easel stood up and my heart stopped beating.
Jin.
He looked up from the painting into my direction, and he smiled. That honest beautiful smile of his was directed to me. My eyes immediately filled up with tears and I had to look away to confirm that he was real when I slowly turned back to him. He was really standing there. He was there.
I saw how he took the painting from the easel and made his way towards me. Everything around us slowly disappeared and all I could see was Jin walking towards me until he stopped a few feet in front of me.
“It's been a while.”
That was all your fault! I've waited every day for you to come, I've waited every minute for you to show up but you didn't. You just disappeared like that without a word and now you dare to show up again as if you were never gone. I-
“I missed you, Kazuya.”
- missed you. Tears were flowing down my cheeks and for once I was happy that no one could see them behind my Mickey Mouse head. Along with the tears my anger slowly disappeared as well until only the happiness of seeing Jin again was left. Stupid idiot.
“This is for you.”
Jin gave me the picture in his hands and I looked at him confused, not understanding first what it was about. But when I looked at the picture I saw the face of a little boy smiling brightly and next to the little boy was my face, or what I thought was my face. My face, with a smile as equally bright as the boy's. I looked up at Jin again, questioning.
“I've been to America to learn about Arts and I've only been there for a few weeks but there is so much more for me to learn,” Jin told me cheerfully.
I felt happy for him but the happiness didn't reach my heart. I didn't want him to leave again but I couldn't stop him. Who was I to make him stop.
“But all the time I was there I remembered you. Your face, your smile. I wanted to see you again, wanted to know how you're doing that's why I came back to Japan. But when I saw you again, I didn't recognize the person I met a few weeks ago in you again.”
I held the picture in my hands tightly as if it could give me some kind of strength.
And then Jin was suddenly leaning towards me and whispered in my ear “I want to see a smile as bright as on the picture, not the gloomy face you put on just a few minutes ago while taking the pictures with the kids.”
It was all your fault! If it weren't for you I would have just continued my life as always, I wouldn't think about you any minute and be sad! It was all because of you.
“Please come with me to America.”
My eyes widened at his proposal and I felt like my soul just left my body to go to heaven. With Jin? To America?
“I know it's sudden and you probably didn't even want to leave but please just think about it, please consider the option. But you don't have to feel pressure because of that! It's alright if you don't -”
I threw my Mickey Mouse head away to shut Jin up with a kiss. That idiot. He was definitely talking too much.
When we parted he looked at me rather puzzled and the smile on my face only grew.
“So … is that a yes?”
I nodded at him brightly and soon a wide smile appeared on his lips as well and he pulled me closer, as much as possible with the costume in between us, and kissed me again.
“I want to forever see that smile of yours.”
***
I hoped you enjoyed reading this ^^
In the movie it didn't have an happy ending but I thought they deserve one!
This is an early birthday present for Kame because I won't have time the next dayss D: Happy early Birthday My Love!
Comments are always loved ♥ Thanks a lot for reading! :D
Author: biggy_chan
Pairing: Akame
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance
Summary: Kamenashi Kazuya is mute since an accident in his childhood. He now works in an amusement park as Mickey Mouse and always dreamt of falling in love with someone. One day he finds a picture and when he meets the artist of the picture he falls in love with him.
Word count: ~7000
Authors note: The story is based on one of the stories in Sad Movie. After I watched the movie I immediately wanted to write Akame. This was written months ago and now I decided to post it as an early birthday present for Kame ♥
Silent Love
When I was a child my parents used to tell me a fairytale every evening before going to bed. All those stories had a happy ending and I believed too that I would have a happy ending one day. Even with my inability to speak.
~♥~
My fairytale started with a picture I found on the ground when I was walking around in the amusement park. After all it was my job to move around the park with that huge Mickey Mouse head, those big hands and shoes that made me sweat like mad under the bright sun. The picture I found was, to put it nice, terrible. All I could make out was a head and maybe those two strokes near the eyes area were supposed to be eyes but they looked more like too-low eyebrows to me. I never saw a picture worse than that one before.
But still I decided to keep it because somehow it felt so familiar and it made my heart feel all warm like it didn't feel for a very long time. Maybe it was because it could have been me who drew it.
~♥~
The next day when I was on my way to the carousel where I was supposed to work for the day, of course dressed up as Mickey Mouse, I saw a young man with an easel and a little case walking in front of me. His hair was chocolate brown and curled up at the ends and he wore a red shirt which was rolled up on the sleeves. His pants looked like they've been through quite a lot but they just fit him perfectly, especially around his butt. I couldn't see his face yet but what I've already seen of him was enough to make me follow him.
I tried to be as invisible as possible but I guess that was quite useless because of my outfit. But still he didn't notice though he stopped a few times to look for the right direction, I supposed, and I was sure he must have noticed me because how could you not notice a huge Mickey Mouse following you, especially taking even more attention from people by hiding behind a tiny tree.
Well, he seemed like one of those people who didn't.
Just when he was about to keep walking, his case suddenly burst open and all his pencils, pictures and all the stuff he had in it fell out. And that was the first time I saw his face.
When he turned around to look at the mess he created I saw those plump, delicious lips and those brown beautiful eyes looking panicked at his stuff, those brown locks which hung into his face and tempted me to brush them behind his ear. I couldn't resist and jumped out of my hiding place to help him collect all his things. He suddenly let out a high-pitched scream and fell with his butt on the ground when he saw me but before I could start crying because of his shocked expression I remembered that I was Mickey Mouse.
So I offered him a hand which he took rather hesitantly, murmuring his thanks to Mickey Mouse. I couldn't help but grin widely inside my costume because of his confused expression but helped him gather his things quickly.
That was when I held one of the pictures which fell on the ground in my hands. It was as terrible as the one I found the day before and I realized that he must have been the painter of the picture. It was unmistakable because they both looked equally bad. I took out the picture I found the day before out of one of my huge pockets of my Mickey Mouse trousers and held it out for him. He looked at it surprised but soon recognized his own painting and laughed weakly.
“I guess that person didn't like it,” he said and scratched his head.
Of course not. You couldn't even tell if it was a boy of girl. He looked disappointed at the picture and suddenly I felt really sorry for him. Even if that person didn't like it, to me it had something that made me really happy so I patted his back to comfort him a little bit and made my way to the carousel, after all I still had work, no matter how I wished to stay with that man a little longer.
“Thank you, Mickey Mouse,” said man suddenly shouted. I didn't turn around but I was literally jumping like a rabbit on my way.
~♥~
I couldn't forget about the mysterious painter from the day before so I decided to look for him in the amusement park, maybe he would be at the place we met again. But unfortunately I didn't find him and I still had work so I couldn't walk around the whole park either. Disappointed I made my way to the big castle where I always went to during my breaks because people rarely came there because of the lack of attractions in that area.
I walked around the place a little bit, trying to find a nice place to rest when I noticed an easel standing next to a chair but there was no painter. I walked closer to see if it was that man's easel and a big grin appeared on my face when I recognized the ugly painting from the day before. I looked around the place to see if he was somewhere near but he was nowhere to find.
Disappointed and frustrated I walked away but not before I gave the easel a kick. Stupid guy. I was looking for him the whole day under the hot sun, sweating like mad and neglecting my job and he wasn't even there where he was supposed to be; right next to his belonging. What was he doing anyway? At a place where weren't many people around? He must be stupid.
I turned around to give the easel another kick and this time it broke down. I quickly turned around to run away but then a voice was shouting after me.
“Hey you! You can't just leave this mess and run away! Stop!”
I turned around while running and saw that the man from the day before was chasing me but I just grinned and continued running. Eventually he stopped and tried to pout but luckily I was too far away to fall for it. Not that I would have fallen for it.
~♥~
I didn't really know what it was that made me look for that man every day but I didn't really mind the searching when I could see that man's face even if it was for just a second.
My colleagues, The 7 Dwarfs that were actually only 6, already noticed my weird behavior and questioned me about the guy.
“Are you after someone in the park,” Pi, my annoying neighbor who got me that job, asked me excitedly. I only shook my head and glared at him dangerously to shut him up but obviously the others didn't feel like letting the topic go.
“Could he be the one who drew that ugly picture you were looking lovingly at the other day,” Ueda, my best friend whom I wanted to kill that moment for bringing that up, stated rather than asked me with a mischievous grin on his face.
“Eh?! Kame is in love with a painter,” Koki shouted and the next moment he was almost rolling on the floor laughing. “I never would have imagined Kame with a painter! Your painting is so horrible. But I guess opposites attracts!”
I only buried my face into my hands, trying not to kill all of them in that moment. But then I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder and when I looked up I saw Ryo smiling at me.
“Don't mind them. You know they are always like this,” Ryo comforted me and I almost hugged him for being so understanding if it wasn't for his next sentence. “But I would really like to see how this turns out. He must be stupid if he actually likes you. Seriously look at yourself, you are in a Mickey Mouse costume.”
Thanks Ryo. That really motivated me.
I ignored them for the rest of the day and eventually they all came to me after work and apologized. I couldn't be angry at them anyway so I forgave them but of course they couldn't stop teasing me.
“So when are we going to meet your mysterious painter?”
I again glared at them dangerously and made a x-sign with my arms but they just ignored me and made up plans by themselves.
“It won't be too difficult to find a painter who draws ugly pics, is it? So everyone, keep your eyes open! If you see him bring him here!”
I was ignoring them until the point where they decided to kidnap my mysterious painter. I immediately got in between them and tried to tell Ueda that they couldn't do it.
“Why not,” Ueda just asked me stupidly but I knew that he knew exactly what I meant but was only playing the dumb one.
“You won't do it and that's my last word,” I told him with my signs. The others looked expectant at Ueda waiting for him to translate what I just told him.
“He won't let us kidnap that guy,” Ueda finally told them almost pouting but it had no effect on me. It stopped long ago, luckily. Of course the others tried to convince me again but I just left them behind and went home.
~♥~
I hoped that they would leave the topic by the next day but of course there was no way that they would have done that. They even went so far too follow me the whole day just to meet that man. I couldn't really stop them either so I gave up looking for the mysterious painter that day and actually did my work.
“That's boring,” Koki complained after hours of following me. We decided to go to the castle to have a break from work there and everyone took off their heads to breathe in some fresh air. The heat under it could seriously kill someone.
“I already told you not to follow me,” I told Ueda with my hands and he translated them for the others. It was always like this because the others didn't understand sign language. But it never really bothered me so I always left it to Ueda to translate what I said.
“Someone is coming,” Taguchi suddenly whispered and everyone quickly put on their heads again. Actually we weren't even allowed to take off our heads during work - they didn't want to crash the poor kids fantasies and reveal that Mickey Mouse was just a human being like they were - but when we felt safe we did it anyway just to take some fresh air for a minute.
“Ano …” Everyone turned their heads in unison into the direction the voice was coming from and after I made sure that my head was on the right place I turned around as well and my eyes widened when I saw who was standing there.
“Hi,” the mysterious painter greeted me and I couldn't help but falling for that guy that instant the way he stood there obviously feeling uncomfortable just melted my heart. I put my hand up to greet him back and he looked a little happier that I recognized him.
“Well, I have a request for you,” he finally said what he wanted but I only looked at him confused, not that he could see me anyway. “Can I paint you?”
I felt like my heart was stopping to beat for a minute or two after I heard his words. That moment I didn't understand why he wanted to paint me but I felt incredible happy that he was looking for me, that he was the one approaching me. I immediately got up from my seat and walked over to him; and took him into my huge arms. I felt so happy I didn't care about anything and my arms flew from themselves over the painter's neck.
“So I take it as a yes?” he asked me full of hope and I nodded with my huge head, accidentally hitting his with mine. But he just laughed it off and took my hand into his and made me follow him to his place where his things were placed.
I didn't notice the others following us but I didn't really care that moment and just let me lead by the painter; damn Mickey Mouse glove.
“Oh by the way, my name is Jin,” he told me while smiling the sweetest smile I've ever seen and suddenly I had the urge to pinch his cheeks but I controlled myself. “What's your name?”
I tried to show him with sign language but as expected he just looked at me questioning so I didn't bother to try again. I guessed he somehow understood that I couldn't tell him and just left it. “I guess it's because you aren't allowed to talk during work ne?”
I nodded but I couldn't hide my disappointment. What would he think or say when he knew that I was mute? Why did I even care, it wasn't that he cared about me, did he?
He motioned me to sit down on that chair he prepared for his costumers and I did what he told me, still overjoyed over the fact that I could spend some time with Jin though he was only painting me; with the Dwarfs behind his back. I put on my sweetest smile I had but the way he looked at me ... could there have been a hint of disappointment in his eyes? Slowly my smile faded away.
Did he change his mind and didn't want to paint me anymore? Was it because I didn't tell him my name? But even if I wanted to there was no way I could. I couldn't tell him.
“Excuse me but … would you mind taking of that head of yours,” he suddenly asked rather hesitantly.
My head? Oh. He meant the Mickey Mouse head. Was that why he looked so disappointed at me? God, that guy was too cute for his own sake.
But there was no way I could take off my head! First of all what would he say if he knew I was a guy? Maybe he thinks I'm a girl? Otherwise there would be no way he would want to paint me! But I was Mickey Mouse and Mickey Mouse was a guy, I thought, so it was obvious that I was a guy as well.
But still there was no way that I would let him see my face. I must have looked like a mess. I always tied my hair up like a palm for work and I sweated like mad under this head and there was just no way I would let him paint me like that.
I shook my head rather violently to let him know I didn't want to take off my head. If he wanted to paint me he would have to do it with that huge head and everything else.
But when he pouted with that cute face of his I really considered for a moment to just take off that stupid head but luckily I came to my senses again before I could do so.
“And when I ask pretty please?” I still shook my head but this time less confident. I was sure he knew exactly how to use that kicked-puppy look of his on other people to convince them but somehow I hoped he didn't use that so often on other people but only me. But who was I to request something like that.
“Or are you perhaps … ugly?” I always fell from the chair when I heard his words. Ugly? I would show him how ugly I was if it wasn't for Ryo suddenly starting to kick Jin. And of course the others didn't miss that opportunity to do so as well. For a moment there I felt slightly sorry for Jin but it was his own fault in the first place and I was slightly glad the others were there otherwise I really would have given in to Jin.
“Okay, okay! I'll paint you with that Mickey Mouse head,” Jin admitted defeat and started to paint rather unwillingly. I could literally see the others victorious smirks under their heads when they gave me a thumb-up but I ignored them and concentrated on my task to sit still and smile; though I didn't really have to smile but it felt weird not doing so.
After several minutes or maybe it was an hour, Jin gave me a genius smile what I interpreted as he was finished. I quickly made my way over to him, eagerly wanting to see my portrait but I could already tell by the way the others tried to hide their laughter that it wasn't a masterpiece like Leonardo Da Vinci, not that I couldn't already guess it before.
“Well, maybe it's not the best picture I've drawn but still it turned out pretty good … I think.” Jin looked at me with those innocent brown eyes and scratched his head shyly while showing me the picture.
It was … nice. It wasn't that bad. But the way he looked at me insecurely with those big orbs made me forget about the picture for a moment and I hugged him tightly in my arms. I could tell he was quite surprised about my sudden attack but soon he replied my hug, though it might have been for other reasons than mine. He must have thought I actually liked that picture.
Well I did like it but only because he was the one who drew it.
“I'm glad you like it! Here,” he handed me the pic with a wide grin, “It's yours.”
I bowed slightly to thank him when that moment I saw the others trying to tell me we had to go back to work. I didn't want to leave Jin yet but there was no choice for me so I waved him goodbye and walked to the others who were already waiting for me.
I had Jin's picture with me the whole day and every free minute I would take it out and have a look at those messy strokes which didn't really make sense but still, only the thought of Jin drawing that for me made me happy enough to beam with joy the whole day.
“Seriously, is that guy making money with his pictures,” Koki asked when we were in the changing room of the amusement park. It was a tiring day and everyone was glad it was over but still as usually we would sit in the changing room for half an hour drinking soft drinks and chatting before we would make our way home.
“They should give him money for not painting,” Ryo made fun of Jin and I knew it was only to tease me. I shot him a death glare to shut him up but he only smirked at me and continued making Jin bad.
“Hello? Is someone here?” Upon hearing a voice at the window everyone quickly put back on their heads and turned into the direction of the window just to see Jin waving at me after he discovered me in the corner of the room.
What was he doing here? The amusement park was closing soon so he should have been outside already. The others though weren't really happy to see him, one reason being that Jin almost their true identity, not that Jin knew them, and the other reason being that they didn't like it that Jin was so obviously running after me but they just told me that later on.
I almost wanted to wave back when the others started to throw their empty cans into Jin's direction to make him go away.
“Oi! Why are you attacking me,” Jin asked but got only Ryo's can against his head as an answer. Jin only pouted and left the window obviously feeling offended but that moment I knew better than going against my colleagues. The next day I would definitely make sure to apologize to Jin.
~♥~
However when I went to the place where we met the day before during my lunch break I didn't find him there and disappointed I made my way back to the changing room to snatch my lunch. I wandered around the park looking for Jin but I just didn't seem to find him. Maybe he was sick, I thought worried or maybe he had an accident on his way home yesterday! Maybe he was lying in a corner of an ally unconsciously without help!
But before my imagination could go even wilder I discovered a familiar figure on a bench near a hot dog stand. I quickly made my way over to him but not before I checked that no one was following me, with no one I meant my dearest colleagues. This time I wouldn't allow them to disturb my time with Jin!
As unnoticeable as possible I sat down on a bench next to Jin and looked at him from the side waiting for him to notice me. But he seemed so in his thoughts that he didn't notice me as all! He was nipping on the straw of his drink, his eyes looking at something far away from this world and I couldn't help but staring at the adorable pout his lips formed.
But I didn't have much time to waste so I poked him at his waist with my huge hands. It seemed as if I really surprised him with my actions because he let out a yelp and almost fell from the bench. Shocked he looked into my direction and I waved at him as innocently as I could.
“You! You startled me to death! Next time just tell me that you're there and not poke my waist all of a sudden!”
For a moment I thought he was mad at me but the smile he tried to hide from me convinced me of the opposite.
“Is it your lunch break,” Jin asked me and I answered him with a nod and showed him my lunchbox with rice balls. “You know I would really like to see your face.”
I looked into his eyes and saw how serious he was about it but I couldn't let my guard down. I didn't want him to see my face. If he did I wouldn't have an excuse not to answer him. With this Mickey Mouse head I had one. To say the truth I was scared of his reaction if he found out I was mute. It was enough for me just to be able to see him during my breaks.
“Can I see your face? Just once,” he kept pressing but I only shook my head and picked up a rice ball to eat.
“You know, you have to take off your head sooner or later to eat.”
I only smirked under the Mickey Mouse head and lead the rice ball to my mouth to eat.
“Don't tell me you don't have to take it off to eat.”
I nodded with a big grin he couldn't see and enjoyed the sight of his pouting face. This way you weren't going to see my face, my dear Jin.
It seemed like Jin gave up with his attempt to convince me to show him my face so his next action totally took me by surprise. Without warning he suddenly took a good hold on my Mickey Mouse head and tried to pull it off. Luckily I had good reflexes and before he could take it off I held it down with all my might.
“Don't fight against it! It wouldn't harm you at all! Just let me see your face!” If I could I would have screamed No and so I could only fight against him. I was trying to lean back from him so strongly that when suddenly he let go of my head I almost fell from the bench but luckily I could take a hold before I fell. Surprised I looked up at Jin only to meet the sight of my colleagues kicking and hitting Jin while Jin was trying to protect himself with his arms.
“You! Tell them I didn't mean to hurt you or anything! It was just fun,” Jin called for help but I only ignored him and made my way back to work. “Don't leave like this! You can't just leave me behind! Help me!”
When I turned back I saw the others still kicking his butt but I only smirked satisfied. I could just walk away like that as you could see. It was his own fault anyway to start attacking me like this!
~♥~
Back in the changing room after a tiring day of work I met the others who were already finished changing into their street clothes. While I was changing too I felt the others' stares on my back and a shiver ran down my spine. I turned around to them questioning but they said nothing and only exchanged nervous glances with each other which made me only more suspicious but I said nothing and waited for them to tell me what the problem was, if there was one.
“Kame …,” Pi was the first one to find his voice to speak. “You like that guy, don't you?”
I raised an eyebrow and gave him an intense stare. Somehow I had a bad feeling about where this topic was leading to. And my prediction was confirmed when Pi continued. “I'm talking about Jin. You know, we all know that you kind of … like him.”
I felt my cheeks getting hot but I tried not to let it show on my face too much and gave them all a so-what-look.
“What Pi wants to say is that you should tell him,” Ueda took over. “I mean, not tell but at least show him your face. He really wants to see the face behind the Mickey Mouse head.”
My words got stuck in my throat when I wanted to answer. Again I had painfully realized that I couldn't answer them. I wanted so badly to be able to say something, anything, but I just couldn't. When I would show Jin my face, there would be no more hiding behind the Mickey Mouse head. I would have to face Jin face to face and he would find out about me being mute. That was one of the things I was most afraid of.
I was sorry, but I just couldn't show him.
“We know you are afraid Kame,” Ueda told me as if he knew about my inner fight with myself. “But we don't want you to regret it later when he's gone.”
When he's gone?
“He's leaving for America soon,” Ueda added as if he's read my thoughts again.
Jin was leaving? For America? How did they know? Did he tell them? Why didn't he tell me? Why was he leaving?
Realization dawned upon me when the words finally sunk into my head. That was why they wanted me to tell him, to show him my face. They knew exactly I would regret it when he was gone.
“He isn't a bad guy. Go for him,” Pi motivated me but somehow I felt more miserable than motivated by his words. Even if they said so, even if I liked him, there was no way that he liked me. I was a guy! We both were guys! It was just impossible.
I looked into their worried faces and smiled. It wasn't a honest smile, it was only to take some of their worries away. I didn't want to bother them with this.
Thank you. They smiled back at me, patted my shoulder and ruffled through my hair before they said their goodbyes and left. I stayed behind in the changing room alone.
There were a lot of things going through my head in that moment but all of them led one way or the other to Jin. Back then I couldn't understand why I thought so much about him though we only met a few times. I didn't even know his family name or his age or where he lived; I knew nothing about him. Except that his name was Jin; and he drew ugly pictures.
Yet all I could think about was him. And he would soon be leaving. I didn't know what to do at all.
~♥~
Why I was standing behind a tree watching Jin secretly the next day? I didn't know either. The others came to me in the morning suddenly telling that they asked the boss to let me off a little bit earlier that day.
So I was standing there, this time without my costume and was observing Jin. There were still a few minutes left before the amusement park would close and I wanted to approach him then but I still didn't find the courage to walk up to him. Even if I did, he wouldn't know who I was at all. He'd never seen my face before.
Then suddenly he stood up and started tidying up his belongings. It was time to go for him, there were no other people in the park anymore. That was the right time to approach him but my legs refused to move.
I could only watch how he slowly finished packing and then walked away. Damn legs, why couldn't they move? Just …
And then he was out of sight. I cursed myself and came out behind the tree, sitting down at a bench near a water fountain. There I got my chance but I let it slip away. How could I be so stupid? I was sure that next time, if there even was a next time, I wouldn't have the courage to walk up to him anymore. Stupid legs, stupid me …
“Hey.” I heard a voice calling. And when I looked up I was met with Jin's face just standing a few meters way from the bench. “What are you doing here all alone? The park is closing soon you know.”
I could just stare at his face. He didn't know who I was. There was no way he knew. I turned my head away, not able to look any longer into his eyes. But then I felt a body sitting down next to mine on the bench and a hand touching my chin, slowly turning it into the direction to meet Jin's eyes.
“You look even more beautiful than what I imagined.”
My eyes widened what Jin of course saw and a little smile formed on his lips. “It's nice to see your face without that Mickey Mouse head and without that costume. You are beautiful.”
This time I couldn't help but blush at his words and I turned away embarrassed. How did he know that it was me?
“Can I paint you?”
I looked into his eyes and I saw how serious he was about that request so I only nodded and his smile grew even bigger.
“I'll give my best.”
This time it felt so weird to have Jin's eyes constantly on my face but I tried to look at him, one reason being that I didn't know how often I would be able to see his face any longer so I wanted to remember everything of his face.
It was getting darker and soon the sky was black and the only sources of light came from the moon and the lamp above my head and his. There was only me and him. Him and me.
“You never told me your name,” Jin once asked in between.
I knew that this question would come up sooner or later so I took out my phone and tipped in my name before handing it to him. He looked a little confused at first but I think he soon realized it.
“Kamenashi Kazuya. It's a nice name. I bet Kame is your nickname.” I nodded and he gave me back my phone.
“How long … have you been like that,” he asked hesitantly as if he wasn't sure if he was allowed to touch such a topic. I only smiled to assure him it was alright before tipping in 'since an accident in my childhood'.
“I'm sorry.”
I didn't say or do anything but let him continue drawing the picture. I felt as if he wasn't sorry about what happened to me but about something else I couldn't figure out that moment so I left the topic and we went back to silence.
It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, neither was it a suffocating one, we just enjoyed the others presence as long as possible. But eventually Jin finished the painting and showed it to me.
“I tried my best.”
It was the most beautiful picture I've ever seen. Maybe other people could draw better, maybe because of the lack of light the picture looked different but to me it was more perfect than any other painting I've ever seen. Tears were forming in my eyes as I held the picture tightly to my body. Why did my heart felt like breaking?
“Thank you, for letting me paint you.”
My colleagues who were hiding behind some building saw that Jin handed me the picture so they quickly made their way to the fuse block but on their way it suddenly started raining heavily and they had to run to not get wet. Arriving there they nodded to each other before turning on all the lights of the amusement park.
“This should give it all a romantic feeling! I really hope they know to appreciate our hard work,” Koki said and they all agreed to leave the park to let us alone.
But they didn't know that it was only me in the park. After Jin handed me the picture he left me behind. My tears were rolling down my cheeks and as if heaven knew about it, rain was falling from the sky like tears were falling down my eyes. And to make it all worse the whole park suddenly lightened up in all the colours you could imagine. It was the most beautiful yet also the saddest sight I've ever seen in my life and I would never forget how I sat there on the bench alone; crying.
I should have known better than to come here because it was bound to happen. There was no way one could fall in love with someone in a Mickey Mouse costume.
There was no way one could ever fall in love with someone like me.
~♥~
My colleagues felt bad for me even days and weeks after the incident. Whenever the topic Jin somehow came up their expressions would change from cheerful to apologetic but I would flash them a fake smile and would brush it off as if it wouldn't matter anymore.
But it did. Though weeks had passed with no sign that Jin was still in Japan, it still hurt so badly. He wasn't my first love, but he was the first one who'd treated me so nice apart from my friends though I only realized too late that it was probably because he never knew about me being mute. And when he found out he disappeared.
I couldn't really blame him, he wasn't the first one to put a distance between us after finding out the truth. It wasn't his fault.
My friends tried to cheer me up, tried to take my mind off Jin but why didn't it work? It wasn't so difficult before to forget about a guy who was not interested in me so why was it now?
Because the picture he drew still hung on the wall in my room?
Because he was so kind to me?
Because I still hoped that he would come for me.
If he had given me a clear sign that he didn't like me it would have been easier for me to forget but there wasn't even a sign that he liked me. It was all in my head that he could have been interested in me. I realized that now. I was just a naïve fool.
~♥~
One day I was walking near the water fountain where I met Jin the other night. A lot of children were playing there and when they saw me they immediately ran towards me and asked me to take a picture with them.
I used to smile while the parents would take a picture but I stopped doing that weeks ago. It wasn't like it mattered on the picture.
Soon more and more children came and I was quickly surrounded by a crowd. People came and left but there was a familiar easel just a few meters away. During the time I looked for Jin in the park I never once met another painter. It couldn't be him, could it?
I didn't want to get disappointed when I would realize it wasn't him. But it really looked awful familiar though I couldn't see the painter's face because it was hidden behind the easel. My heart suddenly started to beat incredible fast and it was difficult to breath. It wasn't Jin. It couldn't be Jin.
But then the person behind the easel stood up and my heart stopped beating.
Jin.
He looked up from the painting into my direction, and he smiled. That honest beautiful smile of his was directed to me. My eyes immediately filled up with tears and I had to look away to confirm that he was real when I slowly turned back to him. He was really standing there. He was there.
I saw how he took the painting from the easel and made his way towards me. Everything around us slowly disappeared and all I could see was Jin walking towards me until he stopped a few feet in front of me.
“It's been a while.”
That was all your fault! I've waited every day for you to come, I've waited every minute for you to show up but you didn't. You just disappeared like that without a word and now you dare to show up again as if you were never gone. I-
“I missed you, Kazuya.”
- missed you. Tears were flowing down my cheeks and for once I was happy that no one could see them behind my Mickey Mouse head. Along with the tears my anger slowly disappeared as well until only the happiness of seeing Jin again was left. Stupid idiot.
“This is for you.”
Jin gave me the picture in his hands and I looked at him confused, not understanding first what it was about. But when I looked at the picture I saw the face of a little boy smiling brightly and next to the little boy was my face, or what I thought was my face. My face, with a smile as equally bright as the boy's. I looked up at Jin again, questioning.
“I've been to America to learn about Arts and I've only been there for a few weeks but there is so much more for me to learn,” Jin told me cheerfully.
I felt happy for him but the happiness didn't reach my heart. I didn't want him to leave again but I couldn't stop him. Who was I to make him stop.
“But all the time I was there I remembered you. Your face, your smile. I wanted to see you again, wanted to know how you're doing that's why I came back to Japan. But when I saw you again, I didn't recognize the person I met a few weeks ago in you again.”
I held the picture in my hands tightly as if it could give me some kind of strength.
And then Jin was suddenly leaning towards me and whispered in my ear “I want to see a smile as bright as on the picture, not the gloomy face you put on just a few minutes ago while taking the pictures with the kids.”
It was all your fault! If it weren't for you I would have just continued my life as always, I wouldn't think about you any minute and be sad! It was all because of you.
“Please come with me to America.”
My eyes widened at his proposal and I felt like my soul just left my body to go to heaven. With Jin? To America?
“I know it's sudden and you probably didn't even want to leave but please just think about it, please consider the option. But you don't have to feel pressure because of that! It's alright if you don't -”
I threw my Mickey Mouse head away to shut Jin up with a kiss. That idiot. He was definitely talking too much.
When we parted he looked at me rather puzzled and the smile on my face only grew.
“So … is that a yes?”
I nodded at him brightly and soon a wide smile appeared on his lips as well and he pulled me closer, as much as possible with the costume in between us, and kissed me again.
“I want to forever see that smile of yours.”
***
I hoped you enjoyed reading this ^^
In the movie it didn't have an happy ending but I thought they deserve one!
This is an early birthday present for Kame because I won't have time the next dayss D: Happy early Birthday My Love!
Comments are always loved ♥ Thanks a lot for reading! :D