FIC FOR YUUMEI_NATA
For: yuumei_nata
From: beltenebra
Title: Echos of Another Life
Pairings/Characters: Junno/Kame, brief mentions of Koki, Ueda, and Nakamaru
Rating: R
Warnings: AU, Brief mentions of non-central (non- KAT-TUN) character death
Notes: I really enjoyed writing something quiet and meandering. yuumei_nata, I hope this is the kind of story you will enjoy! Huge thanks to my beta for swift work and tons of encouragement. ♥
Summary: Our neighbors might be closer than we think. A story about two lives - and one wall.
Junno loved the apartment the first time he saw it. The building was tucked away on a little side street away from the bustle of the main roads near the station, only a few stops away from the hospital too. It was small, but most Tokyo apartments were. The walls were an unusually whimsical pale yellow that lit up with the morning sun making the small space seem cozy instead of confining. The wood floors were smooth under his slippered feet. He could already see his bed there, shelves in that corner, a kotatsu next to them. He turned to the real estate agent with a broad smile. "I'll take it."
The moving company had just finished depositing his boxes and packed up their supplies. He flopped down on the bed; the sheets were still packed but his futon was comfortable against his back. He stretched out and contemplated his new ceiling in the late afternoon light. Maybe in a few minutes he could summon enough energy to start unpacking.
Two minutes of blissful silence had gone by when he heard the distinctive click of a key in a lock. He lifted his head enough to confirm that his door was still securely bolted. The sounds of a door swinging open and the thunk of shoes hitting the entryway floor were unmistakable. When he had first seen the place it was mid-morning, the building had been quiet; everyone must have been out. Now it was late afternoon and he could clearly hear his neighbor's footsteps. He'd thought he had checked everything - the seal on the windows, the water pressure, the ambient light - but super-thin, privacy-destroying walls had never occurred to him. He sighed gustily and wondered if neighbor-san could hear it. He hoped whoever it was wasn't prone to snoring or rap music.
A moment later a soft melody drifted through the wall. Neighbor-san was humming. It was a fluid, happy sound. Junno vaguely recognized a pop song that had been getting a lot of radio play, at least he thought so; it seemed to be playing every other time he walked past the nurses' station. Well if was going to be musically accosted in his new home at least the person had a pleasant voice.
~~~
Kame had hated the place at first but it wasn't the apartment's fault. It was a pretty little place, the space was well-arranged and he found the pale blue walls soothing. It was what it represented - the small apartment was the perfect space for one person's worth of clothes, books, dishes - an ever-present reminder that he had failed. He had always been the type of person who believed that with enough effort, the right amount of hard work and dedication, anything was possible. But effort hadn't kept her from leaving. It wasn't like one of his recipes, he couldn't just adjust the amount of flour or add some gelatin - no amount of tweaking was going to make them perfect. She was never one to sugarcoat things, he thought with a wry smile. The day she walked out for good she told him plainly that there were some things that would never work.
He couldn't even be mad. It was nothing like a drama, no palpable shift from perfect to explosively bad. There were no passionate arguments, no shouting matches. Just a slow slide from warm and comfortable to distant and awkward. Near the end even he had to admit that they felt closer to strangers than they had on their first few dates. It wasn't her fault, and he might be ready to accept that it wasn't his either.
It was still early spring when he acquired a new neighbor. Kame kept pastry shop hours - up at the crack of dawn to create the day's desserts and on his way home in the afternoon when the chefs let the shop assistants take over. He liked being able to walk home while it was still light; it beat salarymen's hours by a mile and the trains he took were too early for even the most keen office worker.
He had just finished grinding beans for his habitual after-work coffee when he heard the sound of things being shifted around next door. He put the coffee on to boil and stayed standing at the counter, listening intently to the noises from the other side of the wall. Sounded like someone had finally moved into the open apartment. Kame wondered what kind of person it was. From the low muttering about the best possible placement of the kotatsu it sounded like a guy. There was no answering murmur and the apartments here were small enough to make even the closest couple balk at sharing so he assumed the guy was talking to himself.
Unlikely as it was, he hoped that they had relatively compatible schedules; his four am alarm was obnoxious enough for him and he set it on purpose.
~~~
Junno had settled into his new place and new schedule nicely. His current rotation had him on a six am to six am, one day on, one day off schedule. That first morning he blearily slapped at his alarm to discover that it was still a half an hour shy of 4:30 and blinked up at the dark ceiling in confusion until he heard his neighbor's feet hit the floor with a hiss. Junno snuggled deeper into his blankets, it was still close enough to winter to be pretty chilly in the morning. He kind of enjoyed the light doze accompanied by the soothing sound of the shower next door. By the time his own alarm went off he was mentally ready to be up and about. He was out of his own shower but still mid-breakfast when neighbor-san headed out at 5:15. He hoped that whatever job the man was headed out to he enjoyed it enough to make having to be functional at 5:15 am worthwhile.
Six months later Junno had compiled a small mental list of the things he knew about neighbor-san.
1. He had a really nice voice. He seemed to be in the habit of humming or singing softly to himself as he went about whatever he did on the other side of the wall. Junno was fuzzy on the details but he knew they included coffee.
2. He could cook. Well, Junno assumed he could cook. The smells that drifted in through the open window and accompanied the chopping and sizzling and stirring sounds were always great. He wondered if neighbor-san could hear his deep breaths in and muttered compliments about the aroma. It wouldn't make much sense if things that smelled so delicious tasted awful.
3. His days off were Sunday and Monday. Probably. He couldn't be a hundred percent sure because his own off days weren't regular but when he was off on those days it seemed that neighbor-san was too. The first Sunday he had off he had woken up right around when his alarm should be trilling at him. He heard neighbor-san get up and shuffle off to the bathroom but after a few minutes he came back and resettled the blankets, bed frame creaking slightly as he laid back down. Junno realized that their beds must be up against the same wall. He turned to face the wall and wondered sleepily if neighbor-san loved the feeling of waking up and realizing you got to go back to sleep as much as he did.
4. He was probably close to Junno's age. Sometimes neighbor-san had phone conversations with someone Junno assumed was his mother. They were full of quiet sighs and insistences that of course he was eating well and work was fine and he really didn't need to be set up on any dates right now as he was quite busy, thank you. From what Junno could surmise, neighbor-san never brought anyone home so if he was dating he was doing it all outside but he kind of got the feeling that neighbor-san was married to his job. Junno could certainly relate.
5. He did, however, sometimes have friends over. Junno had been heading out to the combini one evening when two guys rolled up to neighbor-san's apartment. They seemed to be mid-to-late twenties, both with dark hair though one wore it long and ponytailed and the other short and spiky. They kind of looked like they had stepped out a denim advertisement - handsome faces and cool, casual style. Spiky hair-san had a guitar slung over his back he noticed before Ponytail-san flicked his eyes sideways to give him a raised eyebrow. He had been caught staring. He turned his eyes to his bag, digging for his keys.
"Kame, come on!" Spiky-hair had apparently deemed the moment after his initial knock to be a moment too long.
"Just come in, it's open." The slightly husky voice was very familiar though he didn't usually hear it at a normal volume.
The guys stepped into the entryway just as Junno successfully freed his keys. Kame, they had said. The 'Kamenashi' mailbox must belong to him. The door closed before he could surreptitiously lean over to try to catch a glimpse inside. He did however linger just long enough to hear a faint, "Smells good, Kazuya!" from Ponytail.
"Kamenashi Kazuya," Junno repeated very softly to himself in the dim hallway lighting. It was a nice name.
~~~
Junno had officially been a doctor for about three years now. Between medical school and working with patients he had faced death plenty of times. Today felt different though. Today was the first time he had ever tangibly felt someone’s life slip through his gloved fingers. Today was the first time a patient died on his table.
Intellectually the facts were clear. It was emergency surgery, a collapsed lung and internal lacerations, but they had things under control. They had stabilized the lung and stemmed the bleeding from the liver. He had been in that place of calm clarity when he knew just what needed to be done -- he could see all of the steps unfolding before him. He knew that they were going to save this woman. Then all hell broke loose.
They patched the liver but the bleeding didn’t stop - it was the intestines but they couldn’t find the source. The nurses could barely suction the blood away fast enough to look -- her bp plummeted, the kidneys shut down, they couldn’t get enough fluids into her. All attempts at resuscitation failed. He had been so sure.
The attending surgeon assured him that there was nothing he could have done differently. There was no blame assigned just bad luck. Junno nodded mutely, accepted the black coffee the attending pressed into his hand. It was best to stay awake -- every time he closed his eyes he could see that flat green line, heard the digital drone of a life lost.
But he was a professional; he clamped down on his emotions and held it together for the next six hours of his shift. It wasn’t until the door had been firmly locked behind him, the early morning sun throwing faint stripes of light across the floor, that he felt the tightness in his chest, the stinging in his eyes, turmoil in his mind pushing outward. He sank down in the pool of shadow in front of his bed, knees tucked up to his chin like a child. He tried to take a deep, calming breath and it came out as a sob.
He buried his head in his arms trying to be as quiet as possible. It was barely dawn and it was Neighbor-san’s day off. No one deserved to be woken up by a stranger’s hysterics. Not a minute after that thought came the telltale sounds of a body shifting, feet hitting the floor and padding to the bathroom. Neighbor-san settled back in bed and Junno thought he had escaped notice -- he was just about to get up and move to the shower so even he wouldn’t be able to tell if he was still crying.
Neighbor-san’s voice was soft, still rusty with sleep. “It’s ok you know.”
Junno froze, breath caught in his throat.
“Whatever happened... if you need to, it’s ok. Just let it out.”
The quiet words broke his resolve completely. He crumpled in on himself, shoulders shuddering, his voice hoarse with it. But it felt better this time, knowing that someone was there. Neighbor-san curled up in bed, a silent witness - quiet permission to let go.
It felt like ages, but was probably only a few minutes. Junno could feel the sorrow flow out of him like water, leaving a small, more manageable ache behind. He looked up and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror -- it was probably a good thing that Neighbor-san was on the other side of the wall. He was a mess, nose stuffed, face tear-streaked, t-shirt damp and splotchy. He was still debating whether it would be better to shower now or later when he heard it. It was one of Neighbor-san’s favorite songs, the tune was familiar because he caught snatches of it from the other apartment all the time. Usually Neighbor-san was just humming but this time it was accompanied by words.
'Can you hear us? We will make you smile.
When you gather kindnesses little by little, see, a flower of courage will bloom.
We’ll grow a smile that will reach all the way to where you are.'
Now he felt himself able to take those deep breaths and let the morning settle back into quiet. His limbs and eyes felt heavy, he pulled off his shirt and climbed into bed.
“You have a really nice voice,” Junno murmured, assuming that Neighbor-san had already succumbed to unconsciousness.
He barely caught the sleepily mumbled, ‘thank you’ before the weariness dragged him down. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.
~~~~
It was rare that Kame had a day when all of his time was devoted to one project. Usually he had prep lists for a dozen different desserts with a dozen components each all with different prep and waiting times to balance. He was a multi-tasker in the extreme and he loved the challenge. His friends often got on his case about being a perfectionist but it didn't just help him excel at his job, it was essential.
Today was special though - he was working on a wedding cake for a high-profile client who also happened to be a close, personal friend of the owner. They had baked all of the cake components yesterday and today Kame's entire day would be devoted to putting it together and decorating it. Of course there were still many elements that required a lot of concentration - modeling-chocolate flowers, sugar pearls, and royal icing curls abounded. But for once he could focus on one task at a time so while his hands were busy he found his mind wandering a bit.
Lately it seemed his mind had a tendency to wander in the direction of his mysterious neighbor. Every time he opened the front door he was hoping that he might accidentally run into the other man and get a chance to introduce himself. He knew that he didn't really need an excuse and he was being ridiculous. He had told himself dozens of times that he should knock on the door and say hi - but after almost eight months it seemed stupid to welcome him to the building. Possibly he was being a wuss - if he was being honest he couldn't discount that.
All of the little snippets of information he had gathered so far added up to what seemed to be a pretty nice person. Kame ran through the small discoveries in his mind like he was knocking out one of his prep lists.
1. He had thought his neighbor might be in a medical profession - maybe a doctor. His schedule seemed to gravitate towards long shifts on a rotating basis. (He told himself that he had the kind of logical mind that naturally gathered information and processed the most likely possibility for a situation and he wasn't being creepy. It was almost entirely unconscious speculation, really.) A conversation he couldn't help but overhear a few weeks ago had clinched it. His neighbor had a friend over for dinner. Well, Kame assumed they ate something but they were definitely drinking - their conversation was relaxed and jovial and loud.
"Man, work is killing me recently. My last shift was ridiculous - it was almost comical." The other man's voice was mellow, there was no actual rancor in his tone. He must have been making an amusing face because mystery neighbor laughed, a free happy sound that always made Kame smile in response.
"This old woman placed an emergency call about her husband but when we got there she started whacking me with her cane because she was convinced we were burglars."
"You'd have to be pretty shitty burglars to drive a getaway car with flashing lights and sirens."
"Right? So we convince her we're not going to rob her, and take her and the husband to the hospital and it turns out he just had gas. All the way to the hospital. We had to, like, fumigate the cabin after."
"Taco night at the Tanakas?"
"Or something. I also had two different salarymen throw up on my shoes. Not an hour apart, the second one after I cleaned my shoes, of course." The friend sounded resigned. "You definitely made the right choice; doctors have it way better than paramedics."
Kame could practically hear the rueful amusement in his neighbor's reply. "I don't know about that, Maru. Cardiac and transplant and neurosurgeons tend to get most of the glory. It's not all that glamorous being an ER doc. I had a ten year-old kid in the other day... you will not believe which orifice I had to remove an eraser from."
There were a couple of beats of silence before the friend replied incredulously.
"….No!"
"Ooooh yeah. I don't even want to know how he and his friends came up with the idea for 'Ultimate Kancho' but it was not fun. It took like twenty minutes to rectify the situation."
Another few beats of horrified silence.
"Did you seriously just make an ass pun? You are the worst person on the planet!" Kame wasn't convinced, the friend was laughing so hard he could barely get the accusation out between guffaws.
"How long have you known me? You know I can't help it, it's completely un-kancho-is."
"Stop! I give up! You win. I need so many beers to wipe that from my mind."
"Seriously, Maru? Wipe it? Need some alcohol to flush that all away?" Now his neighbor was also in hysterics.
The friend could only answer in an inarticulate groan and the thunk of what was maybe his head hitting the kotatsu.
Kame was confronted with the sobering possibility that he might have a bit of a crush because personally, he had found that pretty charming.
2. His neighbor had great taste in music. Kame was usually listening to music when he was home and he usually sang along. When he wasn't listening to something he always found himself humming to himself or singing softly. After his neighbor moved in about the half the time he found humming along to the other man's music. He usually gravitated towards pop; he liked things that were upbeat and energetic or things that had thoughtful lyrics. While there was definitely some overlap to their tastes, it seemed like his neighbor was a little more rock and sometimes, quirky indie-sounding folk. Kame was pleasantly surprised to find that he liked most of the things his neighbor played. On one occasion he could not get a particular song out of his head -- he must have been singing the few fragments he had picked up for a solid week. He came home one afternoon to find a slim CD case in his genkan. The silver face was blank but had a hand-written track list and a short note: 'It's a catchy song, isn't it? The band isn't very famous now but I think they will be big in the future! I threw some more of their songs and some other things I think you might like on here. I hope you enjoy them!' His neighbor must have slipped it under the door. He put the whole playlist on his iPod that night - it was only a few days before he knew them by heart. The next week he packed a bento and left it in front of the door with his own note. 'You must know by now that I really like the music. You seem to be working hard, be sure to take care of your health.' The next day the dishes, now clean and neatly stacked, were accompanied by return message, just a smiley face and a 'delicious, thank you!' followed by an excessive number of exclamation points.
3. A few nights a week his neighbor spent the evening yelling at his TV. Well, not really yelling. The sound effects and cheerful music already indicated a fairly dedicated gamer but the running commentary directed at whichever game he was playing/character he was bitching at/boss he was fighting was a dead giveaway. Kame often found himself chuckling at the other man's wry commentary and on more than one occasion he murmured a quiet 'do your best', hoping to hear the small crow of triumph that meant another victory.
4. He was pretty sure the other man was single. If he was in a long-term relationship it would be kind of odd for him to never have the other person over to his apartment. It could be long-distance, of course, but Kame had never heard any phone calls that sounded romantic either. There were so many reasons why developing a crush on a mystery person was a horrible idea even if they did inadvertently share a lot of their lives. He could be seeing someone, he might be different in person, he was almost certainly not into guys. Kame had been a little surprised by those fluttery feelings of affection himself - it had been a long time since he had any of those sorts of thoughts about a man. But he couldn't deny that there was attraction there - odd as it was. Once or twice he had woken up without realizing why. In the dark even tiny sounds seemed louder. He could tell the other man was trying really hard to be quiet but small noises escaped, a shaky breath, a muffled moan, the unmistakeable slick sound of a hand moving over hot skin. Kame had just lain there in the dark wide-eyed and wondering... what his neighbor looked like, what kinds of things he liked, what he would sound like if he wasn't holding back. It seemed almost impossibly erotic, his imagination running wild, fueled by those tantalizingly soft sounds. Mind and body now wide awake it was impossible to resist, hands inevitably sliding down under the elastic of his sweatpants to slide over his own aching flesh - luckily, Kame could be very quiet indeed when he tried.
Before he knew it the day was gone and the cake was ready to be packed away for delivery. He cleaned up and headed home, wondering for the hundredth time if today would be the day they met. If it wasn't...what then. He had been chasing the thought around his mind for a long time, what was a little longer? A year was a good time limit, he thought. If they managed not to cross paths after a whole year, he would bite the bullet and introduce himself, invite the man over for dinner or something. Suddenly Spring seemed a lot closer.
~~~
The seasons had nearly come back full circle when it happened. Junno had noticed the faint fresh tang in that air that was just beginning to lose its icy edge. In a few weeks there would be the first hint of sakura and shortly after that he would have lived in his apartment for a year.
It was a normal day, in as much as any day in the emergency department could be considered normal. They had recently had a shift rotation so he was on a more normal human schedule starting and finishing in the afternoon. It felt good to be able to actually enjoy a little of the early spring sunlight. They were enjoying a bit of a lull when he was paged to the nurses' station.
"Patient for you in triage room five, Taguchi-sensei," one of the nurses informed him, flipping him the chart with one hand, the other not even slowing its typing. "Nasty looking but maybe not too serious. One of the new girls got all squeamish on us." She rolled her eyes, making it clear exactly how unimpressed she was.
He grinned, "I expect you'll help her get over that quickly, ne, Sato-san?"
He headed down the hall, scanning the chart as he went. It was a pretty serious burn, but a non-vital area. Might need to be lanced and treated to prevent infection. As long as the patient wasn't an incurable squirmer it shouldn't be too difficult. The paper oracle disclosed the name Kamenashi Kazuya.
Junno stopped in his tracks. It could be a coincidence, couldn't it? Kamenashi wasn't the most common surname but it was possible. He flipped to the last page to check the address - it was definitely his neighbor sitting in his treatment room. Well crap. He slid his eyes to the side, surreptitiously checking his hair in the nearest reflective surface. It could have looked worse, especially considering the back bit that never laid flat and the twenty-two hours of work already behind him.
He paused for a second in front of triage room five, trying to convince himself that he could be totally cool. Cool and professional, yeah. One last ditch effort to slick the back of his hair down and he was pushing open the door.
Wow. The man (Kamenashi Kazuya, aged twenty-seven - he knew they had to be close!) was really handsome. Soft, golden brown hair waved softly around even features, barely brushing his shoulders - pretty lips, nice chin, interesting nose all combined to a rather nice face accented with a neutral, if serious expression. But that was only to be expected -- he was probably in a good amount of pain. Dark eyes framed by long lashes flashed up at his entrance and Junno tried to swallow his sudden nervousness. He had always had a weakness for incredibly attractive people. In his own defense, he supposed most people did. This time it was worse because he kind of knew this person and wanted to make a good impression.
After maybe a second Kamenashi shifted slightly with a muted sound of pain and all of Junno's scattered thoughts flew out of his head as he went into doctor mode. "Hi, I'm Taguchi-sensei. Let's see what we're dealing with.
He pulled his stool up to the bench to get a closer look. It was pretty bad but probably looked worse than it actually was. Kamenashi's checked pants were partially melted to the skin in the burned area. He cut away the leg of the pants below the burn and got out the tweezers to begin easing the melted fabric away from the damaged skin.
"This is going to sting a little. I could give you a local anesthetic."
Kame's voice was only slightly strained, Junno was pretty good at being gentle. "No, it's ok. I'm pretty ok with pain."
"This is pretty serious, Kamenashi-san. How did it happen?"
"Liquid sugar. My assistant knocked over a tray."
Junno hummed thoughtfully, still engaged in picking out stray shreds of material. "You need to be careful, synthetic fabrics are especially dangerous for burns. Can you get chef's pants in a natural material like cotton or linen?"
The other man started a bit in surprise. "How did you know I'm a chef?" A long second ticked by as Junno tried to decide how to response but Kame spoke up first. "I'm sorry. It must be pretty obvious. Who else would get sugar burns at work. I'm a pastry chef actually."
"Sweet!" He wanted to kick himself but through heroic effort kept his face blank. Why now, of all times to crack a stupid joke. He flicked his eyes up at Kame's face for a second. He was blinking down at Junno, Junno could practically see the wheels turning in his head. He should probably say something.
"Well, yeah. But I sort of knew a little bit about you already. I mean, I recognized your voice and your name from the mailbox."
"You're my next door neighbor!" He sounded surprised but not creeped out, this was good -- Junno ventured another glance.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Taguchi Junnosuke, you can call me Junno. My friends do." Inside of his head he was screaming at his apparent sudden inability to form coherent sentences but he continued gamely on. "And you can also. If you want." Not cool, so not cool.
Kamenashi laughed but not in a mean way, more like he was inviting Junno to enjoy the joke. "I think you know who I am but please call me Kame."
"Ok, Kame. The hard part is over." Both medically and emotionally. He had somehow managed to meet his neighbor and address the fact that he probably knew way more about him than was normal and clear the wound of all foreign material. "Let's get you fixed up."
By the time he had cleaned and bandaged the wound, prescribed some burn treatment cream, and lopped off the other leg of Kame's pants into shorts, 'So they match!' he only had five minutes of his shift left. He forced the invitation out before he could chicken out again.
"I'm just about done for the day and you shouldn't go back to work today. If you like, we could head home together." He tried for a jaunty, winning smile. "It's not very far out of my way."
It seemed to work, Kame smiled back which brought the butterflies back full force.
"You should go to the front and get your paperwork processed, I'll meet you in the lobby in a few."
"Sure."
At that Junno got out as quickly as he could without it seeming like he was fleeing and hoped like hell that fifteen minutes or so in the locker room would help him calm down.
~~~
Kame tapped his fingers nervously on the desk while he waited for his paperwork to be processed. 'So the neighbor you have an inexplicable crush on is a hot doctor. So what. It's fine, right?'
So what? So what? He had to pull himself together. So the man was obviously smart. And cute and tall and really good-looking. He just had to not embarrass himself horribly in the next thirty minutes. Sure. No problem.
Junno returned as promised, just as Kame was cleared to leave. He had traded his scrubs for casual clothes - a t-shirt, leather jacket, and jeans that transformed him from a really hot doctor to a really hot... something else. Frankly, he looked like a model. Who needed legs that long anyway. But his smile was soft and bright and Kame found himself relaxing.
The train was fast but Kame's was walking more slowly than normal so the journey from the station to their building felt more rambling than usual. But Junno seemed perfectly content to walk at Kame's pace. The conversation helped keep his mind off of the discomfort.
"Did you always want to be a doctor?"
"Nah. When I was a kid I thought about being some kind of performer. Maybe a comedian. I had an introduction joke and everything!"
Kame made a soft, inquiring noise and Junno turned to him with a blazing smile. "Iriguchi, deguchi, Taguchi desu!"
Kame blinked a few times, stunned, before he found himself giggling helplessly. It was probably the jazz hands that did him in. "That was awful."
"You say that but you're laughing," his companion returned triumphantly.
"Ok, it's kind of funny."
"Did you always want to be a chef?" Junno fired back.
Kame hummed thoughtfully, "Yeah. I always enjoyed cooking when I was young. I used to help my mom in the kitchen but when I was about twelve my aunt took me to a really high-class patisserie. All of the cakes, the sugar flowers, and gold decorations and all of it edible - it just looked like magic."
"I'd like to see your shop sometime," Junno replied earnestly.
"I'll take you next time we both have a day off," Kame replied immediately. Oh man, he was definitely in over his head.
Before he knew it they had reached their floor. "Thank you for taking care of me, sensei."
"Of course! I would say any time but I don't really want to see you back in my exam room soon. No offense."
They both looked at their doors, hesitating. Kame took a deep breath, here went nothing.
"Would you like to come in for a bit?"
"Do you want some dinner?"
They both blurted it out at the same time and laughed. Maybe this wouldn't be so disastrous after all.
Junno smiled, "I can't cook as well as you but I'm pretty good at pasta or omurice."
"I love pasta. We can use my kitchen if you want. I have cake for dessert."
"Perfect!"
Kame fished his keys out of his bag and was just about to officially welcome Junno into his home for the first time when Junno stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm. He looked up questioningly.
"Before you do that, there's just one thing," Junno's voice trailed off softly. Kame was confused for the moment before Junno leaned down to kiss him.
The kiss was soft and affectionate, the slide of Junno's lips lighting him up with sensation. No one could blame him for melting into it. Junno responded by tugging him a little closer.
Some long moments later they pulled away for breath Junno looked down, eyes serious. "Is it still ok?"
Kame grinned, he really had no idea. "Yeah, it is. Really ok. Please come in."
Junno's bright laughter, dazzling now that it was unhindered by a wall and directed at him, made his comfortable apartment seem downright joyful. Kame drew the curtains open to the afternoon sunlight with a smile. He really loved this apartment.
From: beltenebra
Title: Echos of Another Life
Pairings/Characters: Junno/Kame, brief mentions of Koki, Ueda, and Nakamaru
Rating: R
Warnings: AU, Brief mentions of non-central (non- KAT-TUN) character death
Notes: I really enjoyed writing something quiet and meandering. yuumei_nata, I hope this is the kind of story you will enjoy! Huge thanks to my beta for swift work and tons of encouragement. ♥
Summary: Our neighbors might be closer than we think. A story about two lives - and one wall.
Junno loved the apartment the first time he saw it. The building was tucked away on a little side street away from the bustle of the main roads near the station, only a few stops away from the hospital too. It was small, but most Tokyo apartments were. The walls were an unusually whimsical pale yellow that lit up with the morning sun making the small space seem cozy instead of confining. The wood floors were smooth under his slippered feet. He could already see his bed there, shelves in that corner, a kotatsu next to them. He turned to the real estate agent with a broad smile. "I'll take it."
The moving company had just finished depositing his boxes and packed up their supplies. He flopped down on the bed; the sheets were still packed but his futon was comfortable against his back. He stretched out and contemplated his new ceiling in the late afternoon light. Maybe in a few minutes he could summon enough energy to start unpacking.
Two minutes of blissful silence had gone by when he heard the distinctive click of a key in a lock. He lifted his head enough to confirm that his door was still securely bolted. The sounds of a door swinging open and the thunk of shoes hitting the entryway floor were unmistakable. When he had first seen the place it was mid-morning, the building had been quiet; everyone must have been out. Now it was late afternoon and he could clearly hear his neighbor's footsteps. He'd thought he had checked everything - the seal on the windows, the water pressure, the ambient light - but super-thin, privacy-destroying walls had never occurred to him. He sighed gustily and wondered if neighbor-san could hear it. He hoped whoever it was wasn't prone to snoring or rap music.
A moment later a soft melody drifted through the wall. Neighbor-san was humming. It was a fluid, happy sound. Junno vaguely recognized a pop song that had been getting a lot of radio play, at least he thought so; it seemed to be playing every other time he walked past the nurses' station. Well if was going to be musically accosted in his new home at least the person had a pleasant voice.
~~~
Kame had hated the place at first but it wasn't the apartment's fault. It was a pretty little place, the space was well-arranged and he found the pale blue walls soothing. It was what it represented - the small apartment was the perfect space for one person's worth of clothes, books, dishes - an ever-present reminder that he had failed. He had always been the type of person who believed that with enough effort, the right amount of hard work and dedication, anything was possible. But effort hadn't kept her from leaving. It wasn't like one of his recipes, he couldn't just adjust the amount of flour or add some gelatin - no amount of tweaking was going to make them perfect. She was never one to sugarcoat things, he thought with a wry smile. The day she walked out for good she told him plainly that there were some things that would never work.
He couldn't even be mad. It was nothing like a drama, no palpable shift from perfect to explosively bad. There were no passionate arguments, no shouting matches. Just a slow slide from warm and comfortable to distant and awkward. Near the end even he had to admit that they felt closer to strangers than they had on their first few dates. It wasn't her fault, and he might be ready to accept that it wasn't his either.
It was still early spring when he acquired a new neighbor. Kame kept pastry shop hours - up at the crack of dawn to create the day's desserts and on his way home in the afternoon when the chefs let the shop assistants take over. He liked being able to walk home while it was still light; it beat salarymen's hours by a mile and the trains he took were too early for even the most keen office worker.
He had just finished grinding beans for his habitual after-work coffee when he heard the sound of things being shifted around next door. He put the coffee on to boil and stayed standing at the counter, listening intently to the noises from the other side of the wall. Sounded like someone had finally moved into the open apartment. Kame wondered what kind of person it was. From the low muttering about the best possible placement of the kotatsu it sounded like a guy. There was no answering murmur and the apartments here were small enough to make even the closest couple balk at sharing so he assumed the guy was talking to himself.
Unlikely as it was, he hoped that they had relatively compatible schedules; his four am alarm was obnoxious enough for him and he set it on purpose.
~~~
Junno had settled into his new place and new schedule nicely. His current rotation had him on a six am to six am, one day on, one day off schedule. That first morning he blearily slapped at his alarm to discover that it was still a half an hour shy of 4:30 and blinked up at the dark ceiling in confusion until he heard his neighbor's feet hit the floor with a hiss. Junno snuggled deeper into his blankets, it was still close enough to winter to be pretty chilly in the morning. He kind of enjoyed the light doze accompanied by the soothing sound of the shower next door. By the time his own alarm went off he was mentally ready to be up and about. He was out of his own shower but still mid-breakfast when neighbor-san headed out at 5:15. He hoped that whatever job the man was headed out to he enjoyed it enough to make having to be functional at 5:15 am worthwhile.
Six months later Junno had compiled a small mental list of the things he knew about neighbor-san.
1. He had a really nice voice. He seemed to be in the habit of humming or singing softly to himself as he went about whatever he did on the other side of the wall. Junno was fuzzy on the details but he knew they included coffee.
2. He could cook. Well, Junno assumed he could cook. The smells that drifted in through the open window and accompanied the chopping and sizzling and stirring sounds were always great. He wondered if neighbor-san could hear his deep breaths in and muttered compliments about the aroma. It wouldn't make much sense if things that smelled so delicious tasted awful.
3. His days off were Sunday and Monday. Probably. He couldn't be a hundred percent sure because his own off days weren't regular but when he was off on those days it seemed that neighbor-san was too. The first Sunday he had off he had woken up right around when his alarm should be trilling at him. He heard neighbor-san get up and shuffle off to the bathroom but after a few minutes he came back and resettled the blankets, bed frame creaking slightly as he laid back down. Junno realized that their beds must be up against the same wall. He turned to face the wall and wondered sleepily if neighbor-san loved the feeling of waking up and realizing you got to go back to sleep as much as he did.
4. He was probably close to Junno's age. Sometimes neighbor-san had phone conversations with someone Junno assumed was his mother. They were full of quiet sighs and insistences that of course he was eating well and work was fine and he really didn't need to be set up on any dates right now as he was quite busy, thank you. From what Junno could surmise, neighbor-san never brought anyone home so if he was dating he was doing it all outside but he kind of got the feeling that neighbor-san was married to his job. Junno could certainly relate.
5. He did, however, sometimes have friends over. Junno had been heading out to the combini one evening when two guys rolled up to neighbor-san's apartment. They seemed to be mid-to-late twenties, both with dark hair though one wore it long and ponytailed and the other short and spiky. They kind of looked like they had stepped out a denim advertisement - handsome faces and cool, casual style. Spiky hair-san had a guitar slung over his back he noticed before Ponytail-san flicked his eyes sideways to give him a raised eyebrow. He had been caught staring. He turned his eyes to his bag, digging for his keys.
"Kame, come on!" Spiky-hair had apparently deemed the moment after his initial knock to be a moment too long.
"Just come in, it's open." The slightly husky voice was very familiar though he didn't usually hear it at a normal volume.
The guys stepped into the entryway just as Junno successfully freed his keys. Kame, they had said. The 'Kamenashi' mailbox must belong to him. The door closed before he could surreptitiously lean over to try to catch a glimpse inside. He did however linger just long enough to hear a faint, "Smells good, Kazuya!" from Ponytail.
"Kamenashi Kazuya," Junno repeated very softly to himself in the dim hallway lighting. It was a nice name.
~~~
Junno had officially been a doctor for about three years now. Between medical school and working with patients he had faced death plenty of times. Today felt different though. Today was the first time he had ever tangibly felt someone’s life slip through his gloved fingers. Today was the first time a patient died on his table.
Intellectually the facts were clear. It was emergency surgery, a collapsed lung and internal lacerations, but they had things under control. They had stabilized the lung and stemmed the bleeding from the liver. He had been in that place of calm clarity when he knew just what needed to be done -- he could see all of the steps unfolding before him. He knew that they were going to save this woman. Then all hell broke loose.
They patched the liver but the bleeding didn’t stop - it was the intestines but they couldn’t find the source. The nurses could barely suction the blood away fast enough to look -- her bp plummeted, the kidneys shut down, they couldn’t get enough fluids into her. All attempts at resuscitation failed. He had been so sure.
The attending surgeon assured him that there was nothing he could have done differently. There was no blame assigned just bad luck. Junno nodded mutely, accepted the black coffee the attending pressed into his hand. It was best to stay awake -- every time he closed his eyes he could see that flat green line, heard the digital drone of a life lost.
But he was a professional; he clamped down on his emotions and held it together for the next six hours of his shift. It wasn’t until the door had been firmly locked behind him, the early morning sun throwing faint stripes of light across the floor, that he felt the tightness in his chest, the stinging in his eyes, turmoil in his mind pushing outward. He sank down in the pool of shadow in front of his bed, knees tucked up to his chin like a child. He tried to take a deep, calming breath and it came out as a sob.
He buried his head in his arms trying to be as quiet as possible. It was barely dawn and it was Neighbor-san’s day off. No one deserved to be woken up by a stranger’s hysterics. Not a minute after that thought came the telltale sounds of a body shifting, feet hitting the floor and padding to the bathroom. Neighbor-san settled back in bed and Junno thought he had escaped notice -- he was just about to get up and move to the shower so even he wouldn’t be able to tell if he was still crying.
Neighbor-san’s voice was soft, still rusty with sleep. “It’s ok you know.”
Junno froze, breath caught in his throat.
“Whatever happened... if you need to, it’s ok. Just let it out.”
The quiet words broke his resolve completely. He crumpled in on himself, shoulders shuddering, his voice hoarse with it. But it felt better this time, knowing that someone was there. Neighbor-san curled up in bed, a silent witness - quiet permission to let go.
It felt like ages, but was probably only a few minutes. Junno could feel the sorrow flow out of him like water, leaving a small, more manageable ache behind. He looked up and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror -- it was probably a good thing that Neighbor-san was on the other side of the wall. He was a mess, nose stuffed, face tear-streaked, t-shirt damp and splotchy. He was still debating whether it would be better to shower now or later when he heard it. It was one of Neighbor-san’s favorite songs, the tune was familiar because he caught snatches of it from the other apartment all the time. Usually Neighbor-san was just humming but this time it was accompanied by words.
'Can you hear us? We will make you smile.
When you gather kindnesses little by little, see, a flower of courage will bloom.
We’ll grow a smile that will reach all the way to where you are.'
Now he felt himself able to take those deep breaths and let the morning settle back into quiet. His limbs and eyes felt heavy, he pulled off his shirt and climbed into bed.
“You have a really nice voice,” Junno murmured, assuming that Neighbor-san had already succumbed to unconsciousness.
He barely caught the sleepily mumbled, ‘thank you’ before the weariness dragged him down. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.
~~~~
It was rare that Kame had a day when all of his time was devoted to one project. Usually he had prep lists for a dozen different desserts with a dozen components each all with different prep and waiting times to balance. He was a multi-tasker in the extreme and he loved the challenge. His friends often got on his case about being a perfectionist but it didn't just help him excel at his job, it was essential.
Today was special though - he was working on a wedding cake for a high-profile client who also happened to be a close, personal friend of the owner. They had baked all of the cake components yesterday and today Kame's entire day would be devoted to putting it together and decorating it. Of course there were still many elements that required a lot of concentration - modeling-chocolate flowers, sugar pearls, and royal icing curls abounded. But for once he could focus on one task at a time so while his hands were busy he found his mind wandering a bit.
Lately it seemed his mind had a tendency to wander in the direction of his mysterious neighbor. Every time he opened the front door he was hoping that he might accidentally run into the other man and get a chance to introduce himself. He knew that he didn't really need an excuse and he was being ridiculous. He had told himself dozens of times that he should knock on the door and say hi - but after almost eight months it seemed stupid to welcome him to the building. Possibly he was being a wuss - if he was being honest he couldn't discount that.
All of the little snippets of information he had gathered so far added up to what seemed to be a pretty nice person. Kame ran through the small discoveries in his mind like he was knocking out one of his prep lists.
1. He had thought his neighbor might be in a medical profession - maybe a doctor. His schedule seemed to gravitate towards long shifts on a rotating basis. (He told himself that he had the kind of logical mind that naturally gathered information and processed the most likely possibility for a situation and he wasn't being creepy. It was almost entirely unconscious speculation, really.) A conversation he couldn't help but overhear a few weeks ago had clinched it. His neighbor had a friend over for dinner. Well, Kame assumed they ate something but they were definitely drinking - their conversation was relaxed and jovial and loud.
"Man, work is killing me recently. My last shift was ridiculous - it was almost comical." The other man's voice was mellow, there was no actual rancor in his tone. He must have been making an amusing face because mystery neighbor laughed, a free happy sound that always made Kame smile in response.
"This old woman placed an emergency call about her husband but when we got there she started whacking me with her cane because she was convinced we were burglars."
"You'd have to be pretty shitty burglars to drive a getaway car with flashing lights and sirens."
"Right? So we convince her we're not going to rob her, and take her and the husband to the hospital and it turns out he just had gas. All the way to the hospital. We had to, like, fumigate the cabin after."
"Taco night at the Tanakas?"
"Or something. I also had two different salarymen throw up on my shoes. Not an hour apart, the second one after I cleaned my shoes, of course." The friend sounded resigned. "You definitely made the right choice; doctors have it way better than paramedics."
Kame could practically hear the rueful amusement in his neighbor's reply. "I don't know about that, Maru. Cardiac and transplant and neurosurgeons tend to get most of the glory. It's not all that glamorous being an ER doc. I had a ten year-old kid in the other day... you will not believe which orifice I had to remove an eraser from."
There were a couple of beats of silence before the friend replied incredulously.
"….No!"
"Ooooh yeah. I don't even want to know how he and his friends came up with the idea for 'Ultimate Kancho' but it was not fun. It took like twenty minutes to rectify the situation."
Another few beats of horrified silence.
"Did you seriously just make an ass pun? You are the worst person on the planet!" Kame wasn't convinced, the friend was laughing so hard he could barely get the accusation out between guffaws.
"How long have you known me? You know I can't help it, it's completely un-kancho-is."
"Stop! I give up! You win. I need so many beers to wipe that from my mind."
"Seriously, Maru? Wipe it? Need some alcohol to flush that all away?" Now his neighbor was also in hysterics.
The friend could only answer in an inarticulate groan and the thunk of what was maybe his head hitting the kotatsu.
Kame was confronted with the sobering possibility that he might have a bit of a crush because personally, he had found that pretty charming.
2. His neighbor had great taste in music. Kame was usually listening to music when he was home and he usually sang along. When he wasn't listening to something he always found himself humming to himself or singing softly. After his neighbor moved in about the half the time he found humming along to the other man's music. He usually gravitated towards pop; he liked things that were upbeat and energetic or things that had thoughtful lyrics. While there was definitely some overlap to their tastes, it seemed like his neighbor was a little more rock and sometimes, quirky indie-sounding folk. Kame was pleasantly surprised to find that he liked most of the things his neighbor played. On one occasion he could not get a particular song out of his head -- he must have been singing the few fragments he had picked up for a solid week. He came home one afternoon to find a slim CD case in his genkan. The silver face was blank but had a hand-written track list and a short note: 'It's a catchy song, isn't it? The band isn't very famous now but I think they will be big in the future! I threw some more of their songs and some other things I think you might like on here. I hope you enjoy them!' His neighbor must have slipped it under the door. He put the whole playlist on his iPod that night - it was only a few days before he knew them by heart. The next week he packed a bento and left it in front of the door with his own note. 'You must know by now that I really like the music. You seem to be working hard, be sure to take care of your health.' The next day the dishes, now clean and neatly stacked, were accompanied by return message, just a smiley face and a 'delicious, thank you!' followed by an excessive number of exclamation points.
3. A few nights a week his neighbor spent the evening yelling at his TV. Well, not really yelling. The sound effects and cheerful music already indicated a fairly dedicated gamer but the running commentary directed at whichever game he was playing/character he was bitching at/boss he was fighting was a dead giveaway. Kame often found himself chuckling at the other man's wry commentary and on more than one occasion he murmured a quiet 'do your best', hoping to hear the small crow of triumph that meant another victory.
4. He was pretty sure the other man was single. If he was in a long-term relationship it would be kind of odd for him to never have the other person over to his apartment. It could be long-distance, of course, but Kame had never heard any phone calls that sounded romantic either. There were so many reasons why developing a crush on a mystery person was a horrible idea even if they did inadvertently share a lot of their lives. He could be seeing someone, he might be different in person, he was almost certainly not into guys. Kame had been a little surprised by those fluttery feelings of affection himself - it had been a long time since he had any of those sorts of thoughts about a man. But he couldn't deny that there was attraction there - odd as it was. Once or twice he had woken up without realizing why. In the dark even tiny sounds seemed louder. He could tell the other man was trying really hard to be quiet but small noises escaped, a shaky breath, a muffled moan, the unmistakeable slick sound of a hand moving over hot skin. Kame had just lain there in the dark wide-eyed and wondering... what his neighbor looked like, what kinds of things he liked, what he would sound like if he wasn't holding back. It seemed almost impossibly erotic, his imagination running wild, fueled by those tantalizingly soft sounds. Mind and body now wide awake it was impossible to resist, hands inevitably sliding down under the elastic of his sweatpants to slide over his own aching flesh - luckily, Kame could be very quiet indeed when he tried.
Before he knew it the day was gone and the cake was ready to be packed away for delivery. He cleaned up and headed home, wondering for the hundredth time if today would be the day they met. If it wasn't...what then. He had been chasing the thought around his mind for a long time, what was a little longer? A year was a good time limit, he thought. If they managed not to cross paths after a whole year, he would bite the bullet and introduce himself, invite the man over for dinner or something. Suddenly Spring seemed a lot closer.
~~~
The seasons had nearly come back full circle when it happened. Junno had noticed the faint fresh tang in that air that was just beginning to lose its icy edge. In a few weeks there would be the first hint of sakura and shortly after that he would have lived in his apartment for a year.
It was a normal day, in as much as any day in the emergency department could be considered normal. They had recently had a shift rotation so he was on a more normal human schedule starting and finishing in the afternoon. It felt good to be able to actually enjoy a little of the early spring sunlight. They were enjoying a bit of a lull when he was paged to the nurses' station.
"Patient for you in triage room five, Taguchi-sensei," one of the nurses informed him, flipping him the chart with one hand, the other not even slowing its typing. "Nasty looking but maybe not too serious. One of the new girls got all squeamish on us." She rolled her eyes, making it clear exactly how unimpressed she was.
He grinned, "I expect you'll help her get over that quickly, ne, Sato-san?"
He headed down the hall, scanning the chart as he went. It was a pretty serious burn, but a non-vital area. Might need to be lanced and treated to prevent infection. As long as the patient wasn't an incurable squirmer it shouldn't be too difficult. The paper oracle disclosed the name Kamenashi Kazuya.
Junno stopped in his tracks. It could be a coincidence, couldn't it? Kamenashi wasn't the most common surname but it was possible. He flipped to the last page to check the address - it was definitely his neighbor sitting in his treatment room. Well crap. He slid his eyes to the side, surreptitiously checking his hair in the nearest reflective surface. It could have looked worse, especially considering the back bit that never laid flat and the twenty-two hours of work already behind him.
He paused for a second in front of triage room five, trying to convince himself that he could be totally cool. Cool and professional, yeah. One last ditch effort to slick the back of his hair down and he was pushing open the door.
Wow. The man (Kamenashi Kazuya, aged twenty-seven - he knew they had to be close!) was really handsome. Soft, golden brown hair waved softly around even features, barely brushing his shoulders - pretty lips, nice chin, interesting nose all combined to a rather nice face accented with a neutral, if serious expression. But that was only to be expected -- he was probably in a good amount of pain. Dark eyes framed by long lashes flashed up at his entrance and Junno tried to swallow his sudden nervousness. He had always had a weakness for incredibly attractive people. In his own defense, he supposed most people did. This time it was worse because he kind of knew this person and wanted to make a good impression.
After maybe a second Kamenashi shifted slightly with a muted sound of pain and all of Junno's scattered thoughts flew out of his head as he went into doctor mode. "Hi, I'm Taguchi-sensei. Let's see what we're dealing with.
He pulled his stool up to the bench to get a closer look. It was pretty bad but probably looked worse than it actually was. Kamenashi's checked pants were partially melted to the skin in the burned area. He cut away the leg of the pants below the burn and got out the tweezers to begin easing the melted fabric away from the damaged skin.
"This is going to sting a little. I could give you a local anesthetic."
Kame's voice was only slightly strained, Junno was pretty good at being gentle. "No, it's ok. I'm pretty ok with pain."
"This is pretty serious, Kamenashi-san. How did it happen?"
"Liquid sugar. My assistant knocked over a tray."
Junno hummed thoughtfully, still engaged in picking out stray shreds of material. "You need to be careful, synthetic fabrics are especially dangerous for burns. Can you get chef's pants in a natural material like cotton or linen?"
The other man started a bit in surprise. "How did you know I'm a chef?" A long second ticked by as Junno tried to decide how to response but Kame spoke up first. "I'm sorry. It must be pretty obvious. Who else would get sugar burns at work. I'm a pastry chef actually."
"Sweet!" He wanted to kick himself but through heroic effort kept his face blank. Why now, of all times to crack a stupid joke. He flicked his eyes up at Kame's face for a second. He was blinking down at Junno, Junno could practically see the wheels turning in his head. He should probably say something.
"Well, yeah. But I sort of knew a little bit about you already. I mean, I recognized your voice and your name from the mailbox."
"You're my next door neighbor!" He sounded surprised but not creeped out, this was good -- Junno ventured another glance.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Taguchi Junnosuke, you can call me Junno. My friends do." Inside of his head he was screaming at his apparent sudden inability to form coherent sentences but he continued gamely on. "And you can also. If you want." Not cool, so not cool.
Kamenashi laughed but not in a mean way, more like he was inviting Junno to enjoy the joke. "I think you know who I am but please call me Kame."
"Ok, Kame. The hard part is over." Both medically and emotionally. He had somehow managed to meet his neighbor and address the fact that he probably knew way more about him than was normal and clear the wound of all foreign material. "Let's get you fixed up."
By the time he had cleaned and bandaged the wound, prescribed some burn treatment cream, and lopped off the other leg of Kame's pants into shorts, 'So they match!' he only had five minutes of his shift left. He forced the invitation out before he could chicken out again.
"I'm just about done for the day and you shouldn't go back to work today. If you like, we could head home together." He tried for a jaunty, winning smile. "It's not very far out of my way."
It seemed to work, Kame smiled back which brought the butterflies back full force.
"You should go to the front and get your paperwork processed, I'll meet you in the lobby in a few."
"Sure."
At that Junno got out as quickly as he could without it seeming like he was fleeing and hoped like hell that fifteen minutes or so in the locker room would help him calm down.
~~~
Kame tapped his fingers nervously on the desk while he waited for his paperwork to be processed. 'So the neighbor you have an inexplicable crush on is a hot doctor. So what. It's fine, right?'
So what? So what? He had to pull himself together. So the man was obviously smart. And cute and tall and really good-looking. He just had to not embarrass himself horribly in the next thirty minutes. Sure. No problem.
Junno returned as promised, just as Kame was cleared to leave. He had traded his scrubs for casual clothes - a t-shirt, leather jacket, and jeans that transformed him from a really hot doctor to a really hot... something else. Frankly, he looked like a model. Who needed legs that long anyway. But his smile was soft and bright and Kame found himself relaxing.
The train was fast but Kame's was walking more slowly than normal so the journey from the station to their building felt more rambling than usual. But Junno seemed perfectly content to walk at Kame's pace. The conversation helped keep his mind off of the discomfort.
"Did you always want to be a doctor?"
"Nah. When I was a kid I thought about being some kind of performer. Maybe a comedian. I had an introduction joke and everything!"
Kame made a soft, inquiring noise and Junno turned to him with a blazing smile. "Iriguchi, deguchi, Taguchi desu!"
Kame blinked a few times, stunned, before he found himself giggling helplessly. It was probably the jazz hands that did him in. "That was awful."
"You say that but you're laughing," his companion returned triumphantly.
"Ok, it's kind of funny."
"Did you always want to be a chef?" Junno fired back.
Kame hummed thoughtfully, "Yeah. I always enjoyed cooking when I was young. I used to help my mom in the kitchen but when I was about twelve my aunt took me to a really high-class patisserie. All of the cakes, the sugar flowers, and gold decorations and all of it edible - it just looked like magic."
"I'd like to see your shop sometime," Junno replied earnestly.
"I'll take you next time we both have a day off," Kame replied immediately. Oh man, he was definitely in over his head.
Before he knew it they had reached their floor. "Thank you for taking care of me, sensei."
"Of course! I would say any time but I don't really want to see you back in my exam room soon. No offense."
They both looked at their doors, hesitating. Kame took a deep breath, here went nothing.
"Would you like to come in for a bit?"
"Do you want some dinner?"
They both blurted it out at the same time and laughed. Maybe this wouldn't be so disastrous after all.
Junno smiled, "I can't cook as well as you but I'm pretty good at pasta or omurice."
"I love pasta. We can use my kitchen if you want. I have cake for dessert."
"Perfect!"
Kame fished his keys out of his bag and was just about to officially welcome Junno into his home for the first time when Junno stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm. He looked up questioningly.
"Before you do that, there's just one thing," Junno's voice trailed off softly. Kame was confused for the moment before Junno leaned down to kiss him.
The kiss was soft and affectionate, the slide of Junno's lips lighting him up with sensation. No one could blame him for melting into it. Junno responded by tugging him a little closer.
Some long moments later they pulled away for breath Junno looked down, eyes serious. "Is it still ok?"
Kame grinned, he really had no idea. "Yeah, it is. Really ok. Please come in."
Junno's bright laughter, dazzling now that it was unhindered by a wall and directed at him, made his comfortable apartment seem downright joyful. Kame drew the curtains open to the afternoon sunlight with a smile. He really loved this apartment.