[Multi-Part] A Comic Life (JunDa) - Part 2 -
Title: A Comic Life
Pairing: JunDa
Rating: ….ummmm….. 14-A to be safe?
Genre: Romance, comedy (I hope)
Warning: sexual innuendos
Summary: Taguchi Junnosuke, renowned mangaka, has some… problems. But just as those are getting swept up, he finds himself facing some far more troublesome ones.
A/N: Written for tatsuya_bocchan and I’m SO SO SO SO sorry this took so long! D: D: *bows*
Part 2
The next time Junnosuke comes into work, a third of his manuscript finished and huge bags under his eyes but with a tidy appearance, clean-washed clothes and a more healthy colour to his skin than his usual fast-food fed one, Ikawa openly gapes at him. “T-Taguchi-san?”
Tatsuya walks in behind him, looking as docile and complacent as always. Ikawa immediately likens the man to some kind of cat- who’s clearly just licked every drop of well-snatched cream from his claws. “Good morning, Ikawa-san. The first part of the manuscript for revising, as promised,” he smiles angelically.
Junnosuke, at his side, shudders, though he seems to gravitate instinctively closer to Tatsuya. Now, everyone knows that it takes inspiration of epiphanic proportions for Junnosuke to get a single chapter done on time. For him to have the first section of his manuscript is like some paranormal occurrence at the workplace. Frankly, “motivation” and “work ethic” were terms that never made it into his vocabulary. Seeing Tatsuya standing satisfied next to him as he hands over the documents, Ikawa seems to think that Tatsuya is giving Junnosuke some Spartan vocabulary training.
“Well done, Ueda-san, Taguchi-san. I’ll request a slight extension on the next part so you can have a bit of reprieve. Thank you for your hard work,” Ikawa smiles sincerely for once and waves goodbye as Tatsuya leads a stunned-looking Junnosuke from the office.
“Oi, where do you think you’re going? You’re not driving in a state like that. Get in the passenger side,” Tatsuya steers Junnosuke away to the passenger door. “Now, where do you want to go? Maybe we should go home so you can rest, you need sleep.”
“Gee, I wonder why…” Junnosuke mumbles.
Tatsuya kindly pretends not to hear it. He repeats his question.
“Tiger-Lilies,” Junnosuke answers. “I want to make sure Kei-chan’s still free for tomorrow.”
Tatsuya gulps, feeling a little uneasy about going to the place he got fired from, but nods and starts the car. “Okay, the café it is.”
The moment the pair step through the doors, they hear the smash of a mug on the tile floor. Tegoshi, working till as always, visibly resists the urge to laugh his face off while he rings in some parting customers.
“Hey, Princess! I was starting to miss that noise-and you of course,” Nishikido-kun calls, smirking from his usual spot.
Tatsuya glares at him. Junnosuke catches sight of Akanishi-kun, looking a little down. “Hey, what’s wrong with Akanishi-kun?” he asks, coming over. He himself feels better already, coming here.
“That little turtle of yours is proving troublesome,” Nishikido-kun snickers. “But don’t worry Jin, you’ll get him.”
Akanishi-kun sighs.
Tatsuya cackles briefly. “You sure about that? Kame-chan’s been totally paranoid that you’ll pop up out of a wall every time he rounds a corner. He almost hit me yesterday.”
The other three gape at him. “You know Kame-kun?” Junnosuke asks, bewildered.
Tatsuya raises an eyebrow. “How do you think I knew so soon that the position was open?”
The others just shake their heads. “Whatever… will you drop a few good words into Kame-chan’s ear for me? Jin’s never been so depressed, not even when-”
“They don’t have to know about that!” Akanishi-kun hisses.
Tatsuya snickers. “You’ll have to earn that one’s trust yourself. But I won’t say anything bad, either.”
“Junno! Haven’t seen you in a while, don’t tell me you’ve been wor..king…Ueda-san?” Keiichiro’s face doesn’t fall, not really, but the smile drops into shock.
“Oh, hello Koyama-kun,” Tatsuya greets him pleasantly. “Where does Taguchi-san usually sit? You said you were a regular, right?” he turns to Junnosuke, raising his eyebrows questioningly.
This guy’s mood swings… “Umm… over here,” he leads him over to his usual table, leaving Nishikido-kun and Akanishi-kun to discuss their next attempt at flattery.
“S-so, you haven’t been by in a while, Ueda-san,” Koyama remarks, trying to sound casual as the pair make themselves comfortable.
“Just Ueda’s fine, and I’ve been busy since, well,” he waves his hand dismissively. “I think I’ll have my usual chilled oolong but I’ll go for that chocolate-raspberry mousse thing Shige-kun was always dropping in front of my office.”
“No milk crepe?”
“I think I’ll try something new today,” he smiles at Keiichiro and it’s probably the first honest one the waiter’s ever seen on Tatsuya’s lips.
Suddenly, Keiichiro understands why so many customers were head-over-heels for the guy. “Sure, right away. Your usual, Junno?”
Junnosuke blinks at Tatsuya for a second before saying, “Well, if he’s snatching my usual, I’ll try the milk crepe.”
Keiichiro laughs. “Sure. They’ll be up in a few,” and with that he leaves for the kitchens.
Tatsuya steals a glance into the kitchen when the door opens and sees Masuda, one of the cooks, patting Shige’s back and cooing comforting words to the shell-shocked waiter until Keiichiro can take over. Tatsuya laughs under his breath and Junnosuke looks up sharply at the older man upon hearing the sadistic sound.
“U-Ueda?”
Tatsuya clears his throat discreetly. “Hmm?” the look on his face is pure innocent satisfaction. “Yes, Taguchi-san?”
“Err- firstly, just ‘Junno’ is fine. ‘Taguchi-san’ is too formal but-um… just what did you do to Shige, while you worked here?”
The playful smile is the human equivalent of a cat’s upon catching a mouse right between its paws. “I just yelled at him, that’s all. He doesn’t handle yelling very well. Or teasing, for that matter…” he murmurs the afterthought.
“…Right…”
“The hydrangeas are nice, this time of year, aren’t they?” Tatsuya gently prods one of the purple-pink flowers at the end of their table, admiring the colour against the grey backdrop of the rainy city outside the window.
“Y-Yeah. The fake lilies they used to have were pretty, but the hydrangeas are much nicer, no matter what the name of this place is,” Junnosuke struggles to follow Tatsuya’s line of thought, sometimes.
“You really think so? Well, it’s a good thing I started ordering them in. I’m glad they didn’t go back after I left,” he seems to be admiring the dark glossy leaves when Keiichiro returns with their orders.
“Sorry about the wait, here you are,” he sets everything down in their proper places. “Oh and Ueda, I was going to mention it earlier; Johnny-san is looking over our name suggestions and seems to be seriously considering a few of them. He figures he’s had this place long enough that it would be worth changing the name.”
“Oh, really?”
“You presented the owner with some name suggestions?” this is the first Junnosuke’s heard of such news.
“Well, he mentioned he was thinking about it and I had a few spare minutes one day and jotted some down.”
“Huh…”
Keiichiro excuses himself to serve some other customers and Junnosuke sits for a moment, wondering what other things he doesn’t know about Tatsuya.
“Are you going to eat, or do I have to shove it in your face?” Tatsuya has that playful smile on his lips again that lately always succeeds in making Junnosuke’s breath come a little short.
“Alright, alright,” Junnosuke brings a forkful of the dessert to his lips, feigning exasperation. “Woah! This is really good…” his face changes to slight surprise.
Tatsuya rolls his eyes. “Of course it is, it’s my favourite,” he says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Yours is pretty good too, though,” he adds.
Junnosuke just laughs and tries not to stare too hard at Tatsuya’s lips as he eats.
Keiichiro grins at his friend from over his tray of drinks as he exits the kitchen. “I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into, Junno.”
Somewhere in his unconsciousness, he hears the alarm going off. But he doesn’t want this dream to end, not until he’s finally tasted-
“TAGUCHI GET UP NOW OR I’M WAXING YOUR DICK!! UP!!”
Junnosuke groans and launches himself to his feet before Tatsuya can make good on his promise. He rubs his eyes and, upon opening them, is immediately glad he did get up, seeing as it appears that Tatsuya was about to begin the waxing, judging from the materials in his hands.
Once Junnosuke's instincts fade to the background, to be replaced by his more conscious brain, Junnosuke's eyes go wide. “You weren't actually going to...?!”
Tatsuya smirks. “Threats aren't threatening if you don't ever fulfil them,” he says by way of explanation.
Junnosuke, for his part, starts to feel a little faint. “Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into..?” he mutters.
Tatsuya's smirk turns positively sadistic. He walks up close to Junnosuke and trails a finger down his cheek, scratching lightly. “Far more than you can handle,” he murmurs into Junnosuke's ear, making the artist shiver in fright and... Excitement?
Junnosuke's breath comes short and his heart beats almost desperately against his ribs. Then Tatsuya backs away and Junnosuke gulps.
Tatsuya's eyes narrow in amusement. “Better get ready or you'll be late for your meeting.”
“Oh, shit!” Junnosuke immediately jumps into action and strips off his shirt, already grabbing a suit from his closet.
Tatsuya turns to leave, but not without a lingering, borderline appraising look at the slim back and lean muscles before him. He collects himself and calls in a sing-song chime, “Don’t be late or you won’t be seeing your precious Kei-chan this evening.”
Junnosuke’s reply is muffled by the shirts in front of his face and he hunts for his suit.
“So… no Ueda today?” Keiichiro seats himself across from Junnosuke.
Junnosuke shakes his head. “No, finally. He’s been following me like he’s some kind of shadow ever since they hired him.”
Keiichiro laughs. “Isn’t that his job?”
A sigh. “I guess.”
Keiichiro raises an eyebrow. He’s just opening his mouth to ask what that tone was all about when Yuichi shows up.
“Hey guys! It’s been a while. I heard you’re releasing another volume soon, Junno.”
Junnosuke looks up. “Ah, yeah. I forgot you guys read my series. Sorry it took so long.”
Yuichi just smacks him on the head. “Baka! We’re used to releases taking forever. This one was a little quicker, though. Got rid of another manager did you?”
Keiichiro laughs. “Maru, you know this guy way too well.”
“Woah, I was right?”
Junnosuke sort of smiles. “Yeah, Kame-kun couldn’t take the pace.”
“I heard from Massu you haven’t been around the café as often though, I heard you’re actually working! Keii, what’s going on? Did they get a replacement that fast?”
Keiichiro smirks as Junnosuke shifts a little uncomfortably. “Yeah, within days, actually. Our little procrastinator friend here is learning the art of getting his work done on time.”
Junnosuke is significantly paler than he was just moments ago, and yet it seems there’s a blush fighting to win the colour of his cheeks.
It doesn’t go unnoticed. “Oh really?” Yuichi hums, fascinated. He hasn’t seen Junnosuke this awkward since grade school.
“Yuu, got an order for me yet? Oh, hey guys!” Koki spots them and comes out of the kitchen, suddenly glad it’s slow after all.
Junnosuke takes the opportunity to rattle off his usual order, only more vegetables than usual this time. Koki seems confused.
“Um… really? I didn’t know you ate vegetables…”
“He does now,” Keiichiro chirps spritely.
“What? Wow, dude, you get a girlfriend or something?”
“A dictator.”
Yuichi almost doubles over laughing. “Haha! I knew you were M, but come on! Seriously, what’s going on?”
Keiichiro answers for him, “No, he really did get a dictator. It’s his new manager.”
“Woah, they found one who can actually keep this guy in line?” Koki can’t believe it.
“Yupp. The café’s been quiet lately without him though…”
“Hang on, it’s that Ueda guy? The one who was always picking on Shige?” Maru seems to be fitting the pieces together.
“Ah, Massu told you about him, did he?”
“Oh course!” Koki looks excited. “He brought Shige here one time and Shige was close to breaking down so we got him drunk and he kept ranting about this demon sent from Hell to torture and humiliate him and- that’s your manager?!”
Junnosuke nods faintly. Koki and Yuichi share a look. Keiichiro recognizes it. As Koki skips off to the kitchen to ‘get their dinner ready,’ Keiichiro leans close to Junnosuke and asks in a stage-whisper, “Ne, Junno. Do you have work tomorrow?”
Junnosuke shakes his head. “No, thank God it’s my day off.”
Keiichiro nods absently, tracking Koki’s movement in the kitchen as Yuichi engages Junnosuke, trying to wheedle spoilers out of him. “That’s good,” Keiichiro murmurs, watching Koki set matching sake cups and beers on a tray. “That’s good.”
“And then! Then, just when I’m starting to like the guy, he goes all, ‘Clean this up now or you’ll be running on zucchini all week!!’ and chucks the box of garbage bags AT MY HEAD!”
Koki snickers as Junnosuke’s eyes go wide, like the box is flying at him all over again. Yuichi smacks him on the head.
“And then?” Yuichi prods.
Junnosuke shrugs lazily, prodding the remains of his okonomiyaki with a chopstick. “I cleaned it up. The guy was serious! Did I tell you about the time he almost waxed my dick?”
Koki’s snickers are uncontrollable now, despite the beatings from Yuichi. Keiichiro looks on, amused. “Tell us about the time he almost waxed your dick.”
“WELL! Sorry… well, just this morning, my alarm went off, right? And… I never get up when my alarm goes off. It’s why I’m always late for meetings. Well, then this voice yells at me to ‘GET UP NOW OR I’M WAXING YOUR DICK!’-”
Yuichi puts a finger to his lips, miming a ‘hush’ and Junnosuke copies him.
“Sorry. Well, anyway, I heard that so I jumped up, right? I was like, on instinct or something! And when I looked, he was actually going to!! He had those freaking Nair strips or whatever and this freaky look on his face like he was really gonna enjoy it, too.”
Koki’s snickers choke off in horror. “Dude, he was really going to?”
“Yeah!! An’ when I asked him, he said something about threats not being threatening if you don’t or something, I dunno…” Junnosuke shakes his head as if to clear it, in vain.
Keiichiro takes pity on him and passes him a glass of water. “Eat up, Junno. You’re almost done your okomoniyaki.”
“Okay…” he mumbles meekly and munches away obediently.
“So, how long, you think, before the real fireworks start?” Yuichi asks Keiichiro as Koki tries to stuff more food into Junnosuke’s mouth.
Keiichiro watches the proximity of Koki’s chopsticks to Junnosuke’s eyes with a mother-sharp gaze. “I’d give it a few days yet. Junnosuke knows what he’s feeling, he’s just too scared to do anything about it. It’ll be up to Ueda, and if I know that guy at all, he’ll give a sign pretty quick if he hasn’t already.”
Yuichi sighs. “From the sounds of things, it’ll be tough to tell when Ueda’s joking and when he’s not.”
Keiichiro nods, resigned. “He might get impatient though if we’re lucky…” then his eyes light up. “Well, surely it can’t hurt to give them a little push though, right?”
Yuichi narrows his eyes at the near-giddy man. “What…?”
Ding dong... Ding dong... Dingdong-dingdong-dingdong-ding-
“Okay, okay!! What the Hell do you want?!” Tatsuya wrenches open the door open and smacks Koki’s hand from the doorbell, half naked and rather very sleepy-looking.
“Hi! So you’re Ueda! I think I’ve seen you around the shop before. Here; I don’t know where he put his door key and I don’t want him to like… I dunno, pass out in his hallway or something…”
“Wha…?”
Keiichiro pops up from behind Koki and a more-than-tipsy Junnosuke, looking meek and apologetic. “Sorry Ueda-san, it’s just that he was feeling a little stressed out and got too much into the sake and I don’t know if you’ve ever drunk sake with this guy but… he just can’t handle it, you know?”
Tatsuya closes his eyes, inhales and counts. One… two… three… exhale… He sighs and opens his eyes and meets Koki’s unsuspecting gaze.
Koki’s pretty sure that the piece of his soul that just ran away with its tail between its legs is never coming back.
Tatsuya clears his throat. “Alright, I have a spare set of keys. I’ll make sure he makes it safely to bed.”
Keiichiro exhales the breath he’d been holding. “Thank you so much, Ueda-san. We really owe you one!”
That piercing gaze turns on him. “Free milk crepes the next five times I come in. Be glad I’m so generous.”
Keiichiro swallows. “Yes Ueda-san, of course Ueda-san.”
“Didn’t I say just ‘Ueda’ is fine?” Tatsuya’s smile is completely innocent and friendly now. “Anyways, you guys get going; I’ll take care of Junnosuke-kun.”
They hand Junnosuke over like so much luggage - he seems almost asleep at this point- and turn to leave and Koki murmurs, “That Ueda guy… he seems… nice…?”
“…In a… sadistic kinda way…?”
“Ueda…? Eehhh… Where’d Kei-chan go? Where’s Koki? Yucchi?” Junnosuke struggles against Tatsuya’s hold as the older man is sitting him down so he can fish out the keys to Junnosuke’s apartment.
“They left, Junnosuke-kun,” Tatsuya says bluntly. He gets the door open and helps Junnosuke to his feet. “Now get inside before you pass out.”
“Pass out? Why would I pass out? I’m perfecly….perfectaly… I’m fine!!”
“Sure you are,” Tatsuya rolls his eyes. “Come on inside.”
“U-e-da!”
“Yeah?”
“I’m hot!”
“Uh-huh. Oh, no you don’t,” Tatsuya stops Junnosuke as he tries to strip his shirt off. “Not ‘til we’re at your bedroom, okay?”
“What, I can only strip in my bedroom?”
“That’s right.”
“Why not here?” Junnosuke trips over his feet on the way down the hall after Tatsuya’s helped him inside and out of his jacket and shoes.
“This is the kitchen, Junnosuke. Food goes in the kitchen, not laundry,” Tatsuya says patiently, steering Junnosuke in the right direction.
“Ueda~! You’re so up-tight,” Junnosuke slings an arm over Tatsuya’s shoulders and leans in close. His breath doesn’t reek as badly as it probably should. “You need to loosen up. Else you’ll go crazy! Like Kame-kun,” he says solemnly.
“Kazuya’s not crazy, Junnosuke-kun. Here, sit down.”
Junnosuke sits on his bed and just stares blearily as Tatsuya fetches his sleeping clothes. “U-ed-a~!”
“Yes?”
“Those’ll be too warm! I’m too hot! I don’t wanna wear those!”
“At least wear these, Junnosuke-kun,” Tatsuya hands him some shorts and a summer-weight t-shirt. “You don’t want to catch cold, do you?”
“Will you take care of me if I do?”
Tatsuya blinks. “What?”
“Well? Will you?”
Tatsuya composes himself in the face of Junnosuke’s intense stare. “Of course, it’s my job.”
“’It’s my job,’ ‘It’s my job,’” Junnosuke mimics in a high voice. “Ha! Whatever. What, would you do anything for money?” he asks bitterly, snatching the clothes from Tatsuya.
As Junnosuke strips off his shirt, Tatsuya glances away, licking his lips nervously, fighting the rising anger brought about by Junnosuke’s words. “No, I would not do anything for money,” he says calmly. “But taking care of you happens to be my job, remember?” he reminds Junnosuke, who’s just doing away with his pants. Tatsuya wonders fleetingly why he hasn’t put his shirt on yet. Maybe he’s just going to sleep shirtless? Oh right, that’s normal, isn’t it? Idiot…
“It’s always about your job…” Junnosuke mumbles.
“What was that?” Tatsuya steps closer, still fighting off the urge to punch this guy’s lights out. Keep cool… you can’t get yourself fired because of your temper again…
Junnosuke, meanwhile, scowls. Finished changing, he runs his hands through his hair and then musses it all up roughly. “Your job! It’s always, ‘I have to do this,’ and, ‘I’m paid to do that,’” he growls. “Do you ever think for a second what it’s like, feeling like your-your prison guard, or something?”
“I don’t recall ever complaining!” Tatsuya snaps. He looks away and calms himself down again before continuing, “I could have done a lot worse than getting this job. Even if I feel like a babysitter sometimes, it’s straightforward, it’s kinda fun sometimes, it keeps me learning, and, I’ll admit, it pays well.”
Junnosuke just sits, refusing to look at him.
Tatsuya sighs lightly. “Come on: better wash up a bit so you don’t feel like shit tomorrow.”
Junnosuke sighs and stands, staggers a little, but when Tatsuya rushes to catch him to help steady him, Junnosuke just shrugs Tatsuya off roughly and makes his way carefully to the washroom.
When he’s gone, Tatsuya balls up his fist and punches the pillows. Just once. Then he closes his eyes and calms himself down again. You can’t hit this one. You promised yourself you wouldn’t hit this one. You promised Kazuya this would be the time you’d change… and with that thought in mind, Tatsuya fetches the big bottle of water from the fridge and a cup, contemplating whether medicine would even be effective now, or if he should wait until morning. He’s just on his way back to Junnosuke’s room when arms wrap around his shoulders from behind and a nose nuzzles into the crook of his neck. He suppresses a shiver and tries not to lean back against the supple warmth.
“Mmmm… Ueda, you always smell so good…” Junnosuke murmurs, slides one arm up from his chest to trace Tatsuya’s jaw and then to weave slender fingers into his hair. “So soft…”
Tatsuya worms his way out of Junnosuke’s grip and Junnosuke staggers, catching himself against the wall. Tatsuya doesn’t even dare look at the near-naked man, looking pointedly toward the bedroom instead. “Junnosuke-kun, you should really get to bed. I can let you sleep in, but you still have a meeting in the evening tomorrow.”
The glazed look in the artist’s eyes dissipates and leaves dark empty pools. Junnosuke drags his fingers through his hair again and shoves past Tatsuya into his bedroom and drops himself on the edge of his bed again. “A meeting, huh? …And before that, what if I wake up sick? Is Mommy going to be there to pat my back as I-”
“Taguchi! Just get the fuck to bed already!” Tatsuya snaps, raising his voice.
Junnosuke just scoffs, unperturbed. “There’s the nanny-san I’m used to. See ya tomorrow,” he burrows under his sheets, stretched out and one arm behind his head.
“You arm will go numb if you sleep like that,” Tatsuya says evenly.
“Shut up,” Junnosuke intones.
Tatsuya raises one eyebrow, imagining how it would look for a bruise to swell over his left cheek, just there. And yet, he can’t hate the guy. Not to mention he is drunk, after all. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he mutters, purposefully setting the water jug and cup on the opposite side of the bed from Junnosuke, on the far end of the small table. He glances back once on his way out, wrinkling his nose with a bitter smirk at the pale form peeking from the sheets. You would be a jackass. They always are, aren’t they?
On to | Part 3 |