Drabble Batch 14 - "Playing Both Sides" drabbles
2,250 words of backstory for "Playing Both Sides." XD This is leftovers from what I had before I had to overhaul the entire thing and make it into what you saw as the final product. So here, have at. Warnings, surprise KoyaShige. XD Weren't expecting that, were you? lol.
Yoko, Yasu, Yoko/Shige PG-13
They usually just go for white collar crimes. It's easier, in a way, more mental and less physical - less chance of physically being caught red-handed. But Yoko is a physical guy. He likes the challenge of lifting a priceless piece of art, or they say it's priceless, but someone is certainly willing to pay. He's always glad to do these little money-maker missions. The white collar jobs are pretty much all 'charitable' acts, the money they swindle going through random accounts all over Japan before being dropped into Swiss bank accounts and then being distributed to various orphanages, old folks' homes, poorhouses. They all have real jobs, but what they do off the clock takes money and time. So occasionally they pick up the odd trick. Yasu never complains about having to reign Yoko in sometimes, when he gets to be a bit like the kid in the candy store as they plan the heist and check out all the cool accompanying gear. He never complains when he has to make up for Yoko's lack of… dexterity by over-exerting himself. Because Yasu's a physical guy too. And being cramped up in a suit and small office going over insurance claims forty-five hours a week can really make a guy crave a great. big. stretch.
And stretching is precisely what it looks like he's doing right now, Yoko observes, turning his head and raising his eyebrow at the ridiculous and humanly-impossible position Yasu was in right now. Yoko was there for heavy lifting. Yasu had all the finesse. It was kind of amazing watching him, Yoko decided with a grin that Yasu matched as he grasped the frame in one hand and did this deft thing with his other that Yoko knew was supposed to do something about matching pressure so the alarm didn't go off. He didn't really know. Or care. It had looked pretty cool in the case, though. When Yasu gracefully made it back to where Yoko was, the hard part was over, but only the sheen of sweat over Yasu's smiling face belied the difficulty involved in the process. Yoko kind of envied him that. They made it out five minutes under time and high-fived each other as they drove off into the night.
---
Yoko went straight to Shige's. Something about the adrenaline rush made him horny as hell, and Shige never asked questions. Not even when it was, he checked the time, three a.m., luckily. Shige just groggily answered the door and shambled back toward his room, shedding his pajamas as he went, Yoko happily following. Yoko couldn't help thinking that naked, sprawled-out, half-asleep-with-bed-head Shige had a whole lot more visual appeal than anything the museum had to offer. Plus, he thought, grinning into Shige's belly as he worked him up, roughly palming his cock, Shige came with aural effects, too. Shige moaned Yoko's name, low and gravelly, and Yoko chuckled. Really good ones.
One-sided Shige/Koyama G
Watching Koyama sleep never failed to stir up old feelings Shige had long ago suppressed. Especially now that he was laid out like this, supported by the machinery surrounding him, making sure he didn't move in his sleep. Or ever, really. Doing a little reading or writing was all right now, as long as he moved only his arms and didn't twist. He looked incredibly vulnerable and delicate - thin wrists sticking out from too-short pajama sleeves, cheekbones sharp even in the dim lights. He'd lost weight, a feat Shige wouldn't have believed possible before the accident, he was already so thin. Even Koyama's rolling snore made him smile affectionately as he brushed his partner's hair out of his face.
He hadn't meant to wake him, he thought belatedly as Koyama's snoring stopped and his eyes fluttered open.
"Shige," he breathed quietly, and then yawned. Koyama wiggled his fingers and Shige took his hand between both of his own, gently rubbing his icy fingers.
"Do you need another blanket?"
Koyama smiled sleepily. "Yeah." His eyes followed Shige across the room. "How's work?"
"It's good," Shige replied, returning with a blanket and carefully smoothing it over Koyama. "I was assigned a new partner today," he said quietly, avoiding Koyama's eyes. "Temporary."
"That's good. Shige works too hard even when I'm there." He didn't sound upset, but Shige still felt guilty. "Do you like them?"
"He's okay. Quiet but attentive. Pretty much your opposite," he said slyly, finally looking at him.
"Hey. Don't mock me when I can't hit you. And I'm attentive."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Bring him by sometime. I'd like to meet him."
Shige nodded and pulled a chair up, taking Koyama's hand again. "What do you want me to bring you to eat next time I come," he asked. "You're getting skeletal."
A lazy smile. "You'll still love me."
Sad but true, Shige thought. Sometimes he thought Koyama knew how much Shige loved him. Koyama loved him too, he knew, just… not the way he wanted. Well, water under the bridge. Koyama probably knew a lot more than just that but they'd struck a decent balance and Shige wasn't going to disrupt it for something he knew could never happen.
Yoko, ??: about Shige PG
"Did he give you the paperwork yet?" the voice on the phone asked.
"Nah. He says he needs a few more days for research on this one. 'Tell them to stop being so damn complicated, please,' were his words," Yoko tells him, scratching his ear absently.
The voice laughs. "Well, a few days is fine. You tell him we couldn't do it without him. You know how he loves an ego boost."
"I already did," Yoko replies. "He said, 'It's a lie, of course. You could. I just make it better,' with that smirk of his."
Another laugh and then they both say at the same time, "You have to know the law to flaunt it."
Shige/Yamashita PG
At work with others, Yamashita was charming and polite, courteous and attentive (or so it seemed… if he was faking it, his memory really did work when he needed it), and completely professional. At work with Shige, he was more relaxed (showing his true my-pace colors), quick with a shy smile that showed as few teeth as possible. Outside with Shige, Yamashita was the city's biggest dork and Shige had a feeling that would rise to 'Japan's biggest dork' with time. He harassed Shige when he wasn't busy being quiet and nodding along amiably, made up weird namesquishes for verbs or food (and one embarrassingly drunk moment, them), laughed riotously over dumb things… and still managed to send shivers up Shige's spine every time they touched.
Shige/Yamashita, one-sided Shige/Koyama G
It wasn't the same, having Yamashita as his partner. Where Koyama was warm and friendly and all talk-at-100-miles-per-hour, Yamashita was quiet and reserved. He never took notes and he always looked like he was deep in thought. This assumption, however, was shattered on their third day after they spent an hour questioning some office workers for one of their cases.
"What do you think of what Mayama said?" Shige had asked as they walked to their car, flipping through his notebook contemplatively.
"Hmm?" Yamashita had turned and smiled at him. "I don't know. I was thinking about dinner."
Shige had had to put out his hand out to brace himself against the wall. "You weren't listening?"
"Ah, well. No, I was listening. Mostly." He tilted his head and looked thoughtful. "It'll come back to me when I need it."
At times like those, it was easy to fool himself into thinking Koyama wasn't gone after all. From then on he changed his 'Yamashita adjectives' to my-paced and airheaded.
Also similar was the way Yamashita, who was probably thinking about food or the sky or how amazing hands were ("Yes, Yamashita. Having opposable thumbs is rather useful," Shige told him in exasperation.), would suddenly ask a question so out of the blue and startle Shige with the implications of it.
"How did you know the pair of shoes she was wearing had anything to do with the paint chips?" Shige had asked.
And Yamashita had tried to explain, but none of the points seemed to match up at all, all strangely illogical jumps that led him to an unlikely but accurate conclusion. After looking at Shige's incredibly confused face, Yamashita had trailed off and said simply, "I just had a feeling."
That Shige could understand. Koyama said it all the time.
Also, the man had no concept of personal space.
"Would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?" a shy receptionist from the second floor had asked Yamashita during their second month together.
"Ahhh. I'd love to but…" his eyes had drifted toward Shige. "But Kato already invited me out and we have a lot of things to catch up on." He had flashed her a smile and Shige had practically been able to see her internal swoon.
At dinner, Yamashita had sat too close and closer with every beer as they talked about everything from work to baseball. Shige could feel his face getting warm as Yamashita leaned against him and giggled in the most adorable way ever with his strange little smile and eyes practically shut in his mirth as he went on about an incident involving his friend Jin and some firecrackers. Yamashita never smiled at work and he felt sort of… special to be able to see this side of him. Then mentally smacked himself because they were partners. It wasn't that abnormal.
And so, the last disturbingly similarity between Koyama and Yamashita was the way looking at Yamashita's profile made his breath hitch in his chest, or how his ridiculous laugh made Shige smile stupidly, or how even the slightest touch from him made Shige shiver. He told himself this was just because Yamashita reminded him strangely of Koyama even though the two men were completely and utterly different except on the one very important point where they were painfully oblivious to the way Shige felt about them. Yamashita probably shared Koyama's unfortunate predisposition for being utterly straight, too, just because the world hated him. It thought it would be funny to force him to fall for his male partners. Granted, he'd only had two partners, but so far he was 2 and 0.
After three months, Shige still hadn't introduced Koyama and Yamashita. Koyama continued to drop hints when he wasn't outright telling Shige to bring him by but Shige just wasn't ready yet. For some reason it felt like parading the other woman in front of the wife. The thought made him all jangly and nervous inside.
"You're going to see Koyama after?" Yamashita asked around a mouthful of noodles, his cheeks sort of puffed out and lips kind of puckered and Shige blinked furiously at the cute so intense he wanted to squish his cheeks.
Then he wrinkled his nose at himself. What was he? A high school girl? "Yes. And I'm going to make him eat all of the fried rice," he said vehemently. Koyama really was looking pretty scarce these days.
Yamashita laughed, scrunching up his nose and half-covering his mouth. Shige could feel his lips twisting up into a weird grimace-smile hybrid as he tried to control himself. Shifting the topic to something other than Koyama was simple enough since Shige usually did most of the talking. Talking to Yamashita was easy - he was so quiet but it still felt like he was listening, nodding and laughing in all the right places. Though Shige knew that was often not the case. Well, that was charisma for you, he guessed.
"Well," Shige said, gesturing with the takeout bag, "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yes," Yamashita replied with a smile.
He was somewhat surprised when Yamashita ended up beside him on the train. It was awkward trying to ignore him because, well, he'd already said his farewell. So he did this weird sort of head bob half-acknowledgement as he got off at his stop. Yamashita had bobbed right back, still smiling.
It was a bit eerie when Yamashita followed him out.
"Ummm."
Yamashita cocked his head cutely and grinned. "We're brining Koyama dinner first, right? I hope he doesn't mind eating in front of strangers." He started walking ahead, looking over his shoulder questioningly. "The hospital is this way, right?"
The jangling nervousness started up and made his left eye twitch as he followed helplessly.
Koyama's sleepy, adoring smile when Shige walked in stopped him in his tracks so that Yamashita bumped into him.
"'scuse me," Yamashita said quietly as Shige stepped in.
"Koyama, this is Yamashita. Yamashita, Koyama," he said tersely and walked to Koyama's side to put the bag on the table next to the bed. He ignored them both in favor of taking his jacket off and draping it over a chair as he dragged it to the bedside. He didn't have to be polite. Yamashita had invited himself.
"We brought you fried rice," Yamashita said happily. "Kato says you have to eat it all."
"Oi. I brought him fried rice. You just followed me here."
Koyama laughed and nodded. "I'll do my best. I'm glad to finally meet you. I hope you'll take care of Shige in my place. I hope he's not been too helpless without me."
That began a rapid-fire discussion between the two cataloguing all of Shige's shortcomings interspersed with laughter and commiserating smiles until Shige growled and shoved a spoonful of rice into Koyama's mouth.
Yoko, Yasu, Yoko/Shige PG-13
They usually just go for white collar crimes. It's easier, in a way, more mental and less physical - less chance of physically being caught red-handed. But Yoko is a physical guy. He likes the challenge of lifting a priceless piece of art, or they say it's priceless, but someone is certainly willing to pay. He's always glad to do these little money-maker missions. The white collar jobs are pretty much all 'charitable' acts, the money they swindle going through random accounts all over Japan before being dropped into Swiss bank accounts and then being distributed to various orphanages, old folks' homes, poorhouses. They all have real jobs, but what they do off the clock takes money and time. So occasionally they pick up the odd trick. Yasu never complains about having to reign Yoko in sometimes, when he gets to be a bit like the kid in the candy store as they plan the heist and check out all the cool accompanying gear. He never complains when he has to make up for Yoko's lack of… dexterity by over-exerting himself. Because Yasu's a physical guy too. And being cramped up in a suit and small office going over insurance claims forty-five hours a week can really make a guy crave a great. big. stretch.
And stretching is precisely what it looks like he's doing right now, Yoko observes, turning his head and raising his eyebrow at the ridiculous and humanly-impossible position Yasu was in right now. Yoko was there for heavy lifting. Yasu had all the finesse. It was kind of amazing watching him, Yoko decided with a grin that Yasu matched as he grasped the frame in one hand and did this deft thing with his other that Yoko knew was supposed to do something about matching pressure so the alarm didn't go off. He didn't really know. Or care. It had looked pretty cool in the case, though. When Yasu gracefully made it back to where Yoko was, the hard part was over, but only the sheen of sweat over Yasu's smiling face belied the difficulty involved in the process. Yoko kind of envied him that. They made it out five minutes under time and high-fived each other as they drove off into the night.
---
Yoko went straight to Shige's. Something about the adrenaline rush made him horny as hell, and Shige never asked questions. Not even when it was, he checked the time, three a.m., luckily. Shige just groggily answered the door and shambled back toward his room, shedding his pajamas as he went, Yoko happily following. Yoko couldn't help thinking that naked, sprawled-out, half-asleep-with-bed-head Shige had a whole lot more visual appeal than anything the museum had to offer. Plus, he thought, grinning into Shige's belly as he worked him up, roughly palming his cock, Shige came with aural effects, too. Shige moaned Yoko's name, low and gravelly, and Yoko chuckled. Really good ones.
One-sided Shige/Koyama G
Watching Koyama sleep never failed to stir up old feelings Shige had long ago suppressed. Especially now that he was laid out like this, supported by the machinery surrounding him, making sure he didn't move in his sleep. Or ever, really. Doing a little reading or writing was all right now, as long as he moved only his arms and didn't twist. He looked incredibly vulnerable and delicate - thin wrists sticking out from too-short pajama sleeves, cheekbones sharp even in the dim lights. He'd lost weight, a feat Shige wouldn't have believed possible before the accident, he was already so thin. Even Koyama's rolling snore made him smile affectionately as he brushed his partner's hair out of his face.
He hadn't meant to wake him, he thought belatedly as Koyama's snoring stopped and his eyes fluttered open.
"Shige," he breathed quietly, and then yawned. Koyama wiggled his fingers and Shige took his hand between both of his own, gently rubbing his icy fingers.
"Do you need another blanket?"
Koyama smiled sleepily. "Yeah." His eyes followed Shige across the room. "How's work?"
"It's good," Shige replied, returning with a blanket and carefully smoothing it over Koyama. "I was assigned a new partner today," he said quietly, avoiding Koyama's eyes. "Temporary."
"That's good. Shige works too hard even when I'm there." He didn't sound upset, but Shige still felt guilty. "Do you like them?"
"He's okay. Quiet but attentive. Pretty much your opposite," he said slyly, finally looking at him.
"Hey. Don't mock me when I can't hit you. And I'm attentive."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Bring him by sometime. I'd like to meet him."
Shige nodded and pulled a chair up, taking Koyama's hand again. "What do you want me to bring you to eat next time I come," he asked. "You're getting skeletal."
A lazy smile. "You'll still love me."
Sad but true, Shige thought. Sometimes he thought Koyama knew how much Shige loved him. Koyama loved him too, he knew, just… not the way he wanted. Well, water under the bridge. Koyama probably knew a lot more than just that but they'd struck a decent balance and Shige wasn't going to disrupt it for something he knew could never happen.
Yoko, ??: about Shige PG
"Did he give you the paperwork yet?" the voice on the phone asked.
"Nah. He says he needs a few more days for research on this one. 'Tell them to stop being so damn complicated, please,' were his words," Yoko tells him, scratching his ear absently.
The voice laughs. "Well, a few days is fine. You tell him we couldn't do it without him. You know how he loves an ego boost."
"I already did," Yoko replies. "He said, 'It's a lie, of course. You could. I just make it better,' with that smirk of his."
Another laugh and then they both say at the same time, "You have to know the law to flaunt it."
Shige/Yamashita PG
At work with others, Yamashita was charming and polite, courteous and attentive (or so it seemed… if he was faking it, his memory really did work when he needed it), and completely professional. At work with Shige, he was more relaxed (showing his true my-pace colors), quick with a shy smile that showed as few teeth as possible. Outside with Shige, Yamashita was the city's biggest dork and Shige had a feeling that would rise to 'Japan's biggest dork' with time. He harassed Shige when he wasn't busy being quiet and nodding along amiably, made up weird namesquishes for verbs or food (and one embarrassingly drunk moment, them), laughed riotously over dumb things… and still managed to send shivers up Shige's spine every time they touched.
Shige/Yamashita, one-sided Shige/Koyama G
It wasn't the same, having Yamashita as his partner. Where Koyama was warm and friendly and all talk-at-100-miles-per-hour, Yamashita was quiet and reserved. He never took notes and he always looked like he was deep in thought. This assumption, however, was shattered on their third day after they spent an hour questioning some office workers for one of their cases.
"What do you think of what Mayama said?" Shige had asked as they walked to their car, flipping through his notebook contemplatively.
"Hmm?" Yamashita had turned and smiled at him. "I don't know. I was thinking about dinner."
Shige had had to put out his hand out to brace himself against the wall. "You weren't listening?"
"Ah, well. No, I was listening. Mostly." He tilted his head and looked thoughtful. "It'll come back to me when I need it."
At times like those, it was easy to fool himself into thinking Koyama wasn't gone after all. From then on he changed his 'Yamashita adjectives' to my-paced and airheaded.
Also similar was the way Yamashita, who was probably thinking about food or the sky or how amazing hands were ("Yes, Yamashita. Having opposable thumbs is rather useful," Shige told him in exasperation.), would suddenly ask a question so out of the blue and startle Shige with the implications of it.
"How did you know the pair of shoes she was wearing had anything to do with the paint chips?" Shige had asked.
And Yamashita had tried to explain, but none of the points seemed to match up at all, all strangely illogical jumps that led him to an unlikely but accurate conclusion. After looking at Shige's incredibly confused face, Yamashita had trailed off and said simply, "I just had a feeling."
That Shige could understand. Koyama said it all the time.
Also, the man had no concept of personal space.
"Would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?" a shy receptionist from the second floor had asked Yamashita during their second month together.
"Ahhh. I'd love to but…" his eyes had drifted toward Shige. "But Kato already invited me out and we have a lot of things to catch up on." He had flashed her a smile and Shige had practically been able to see her internal swoon.
At dinner, Yamashita had sat too close and closer with every beer as they talked about everything from work to baseball. Shige could feel his face getting warm as Yamashita leaned against him and giggled in the most adorable way ever with his strange little smile and eyes practically shut in his mirth as he went on about an incident involving his friend Jin and some firecrackers. Yamashita never smiled at work and he felt sort of… special to be able to see this side of him. Then mentally smacked himself because they were partners. It wasn't that abnormal.
And so, the last disturbingly similarity between Koyama and Yamashita was the way looking at Yamashita's profile made his breath hitch in his chest, or how his ridiculous laugh made Shige smile stupidly, or how even the slightest touch from him made Shige shiver. He told himself this was just because Yamashita reminded him strangely of Koyama even though the two men were completely and utterly different except on the one very important point where they were painfully oblivious to the way Shige felt about them. Yamashita probably shared Koyama's unfortunate predisposition for being utterly straight, too, just because the world hated him. It thought it would be funny to force him to fall for his male partners. Granted, he'd only had two partners, but so far he was 2 and 0.
After three months, Shige still hadn't introduced Koyama and Yamashita. Koyama continued to drop hints when he wasn't outright telling Shige to bring him by but Shige just wasn't ready yet. For some reason it felt like parading the other woman in front of the wife. The thought made him all jangly and nervous inside.
"You're going to see Koyama after?" Yamashita asked around a mouthful of noodles, his cheeks sort of puffed out and lips kind of puckered and Shige blinked furiously at the cute so intense he wanted to squish his cheeks.
Then he wrinkled his nose at himself. What was he? A high school girl? "Yes. And I'm going to make him eat all of the fried rice," he said vehemently. Koyama really was looking pretty scarce these days.
Yamashita laughed, scrunching up his nose and half-covering his mouth. Shige could feel his lips twisting up into a weird grimace-smile hybrid as he tried to control himself. Shifting the topic to something other than Koyama was simple enough since Shige usually did most of the talking. Talking to Yamashita was easy - he was so quiet but it still felt like he was listening, nodding and laughing in all the right places. Though Shige knew that was often not the case. Well, that was charisma for you, he guessed.
"Well," Shige said, gesturing with the takeout bag, "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yes," Yamashita replied with a smile.
He was somewhat surprised when Yamashita ended up beside him on the train. It was awkward trying to ignore him because, well, he'd already said his farewell. So he did this weird sort of head bob half-acknowledgement as he got off at his stop. Yamashita had bobbed right back, still smiling.
It was a bit eerie when Yamashita followed him out.
"Ummm."
Yamashita cocked his head cutely and grinned. "We're brining Koyama dinner first, right? I hope he doesn't mind eating in front of strangers." He started walking ahead, looking over his shoulder questioningly. "The hospital is this way, right?"
The jangling nervousness started up and made his left eye twitch as he followed helplessly.
Koyama's sleepy, adoring smile when Shige walked in stopped him in his tracks so that Yamashita bumped into him.
"'scuse me," Yamashita said quietly as Shige stepped in.
"Koyama, this is Yamashita. Yamashita, Koyama," he said tersely and walked to Koyama's side to put the bag on the table next to the bed. He ignored them both in favor of taking his jacket off and draping it over a chair as he dragged it to the bedside. He didn't have to be polite. Yamashita had invited himself.
"We brought you fried rice," Yamashita said happily. "Kato says you have to eat it all."
"Oi. I brought him fried rice. You just followed me here."
Koyama laughed and nodded. "I'll do my best. I'm glad to finally meet you. I hope you'll take care of Shige in my place. I hope he's not been too helpless without me."
That began a rapid-fire discussion between the two cataloguing all of Shige's shortcomings interspersed with laughter and commiserating smiles until Shige growled and shoved a spoonful of rice into Koyama's mouth.