The start of something beautiful
Title: The Start Of Something Beautiful (Oneshot)
Author: fireflychen
Pairing: Yamashita Tomohisa/Kato Shigeaki
Summary: When Yamapi noticed that he kind of maybe liked Shige more than what the term "member ai" implied, he shrugged and went on doing the things that an idol normally did, without putting too much thought into his new discovery.
Word count: 2800+ (omfg)
Warning: The timeline’s kind of messed up and English isn’t my first language. Sorry if it sounds strange sometimes. Also, “kind of” first time writing something and everything’s kinda rushed.
Notes: For jojibear who requested Shige/Pi during our impromptu Nana-fic exchange idea. Sorry, I know I went way over the deadline.^^” Prompt was “Beginning” but I don’t think I quite managed to fulfill it. Hey, at least it’s Shige/Pi, right? I hope you like it hon. Get better soon!♥ And also a BIG THANK YOU to trivialaffair who beta-ed the story for me or else it wouldn’t have been understandable. ♥
Others who have participated are: jojibear , misticloud , trivialaffair and currynana
• Spring Concert tour 2006
When Yamapi noticed that he kind of maybe liked Shige more than what the term "member ai" implied, he shrugged and went on doing the things that an idol normally did, without putting too much thought into his new discovery. After all, he was a professional when it came to work. It wouldn’t do to let those kind of thoughts distract him and he was afraid that these newfound feelings would only destroy the group’s already tacky dynamic.
+
Yamapi tried hard to dispel these thoughts whenever he saw Shige but they kept coming back no matter what he did.
He wondered what it would feel like to hold the younger man, to talk freely to him about mundane things, to be near him, to have Shige see him as Yamashita Tomohisa and not as Yamapi, super idol extraordinaire, or some other kind of unreachable being.
However, Yamapi always hesitated to make a move and to approach the other. He told himself that it was probably just a passing infatuation and that these new feelings were totally normal, seeing how he and Shige had to spend more time together because of their duet. They spent many hours composing and practising, so it was unavoidable that he’d develop a certain...affection for or even an interest in Shige. Spending a lot of time with a person you barely knew beforehand could do that to you, he told himself every time he caught himself staring at Shige when he thought the younger man's attention was directed. Besides, he’s not that bad to look at.
+
It first began with little things he'd noticed about the other boy, starting with the way he would nervously fidget in his seat every time he and Yamapi sat together, pouring over their note sheets and trying to come up with lyrics. So different from Ryo-chan, even though they’re both Kansai boys. The thought would flitter through his mind whenever he saw Shige dropping the pen or other things that he had been holding, but soon enough, he didn’t think much about it anymore. He was used to that reaction from his kouhais and other people, and he’d seen worse. He kindly ignored Shige’s cringing and stuttering every time he asked him a question or his opinion, and just hoped that the other boy would relax in his presence soon so that they would get it over and done with.
+
With time, Shige became more open, even going as far as voicing his opinions instead of waiting for Yamapi to ask him. Yamapi was positively surprised to find out that the rumours about Shige’s quick mind and witty comments were actually true, now that he got to see them for himself, though the boy would still get flustered when asked directly. Yamapi wondered why he hadn’t notice this other side of him before, and he found himself wanting to see more of this Shige.
+
Sitting alone in his hotel room after yet another successful show, with the lights dimmed which cast the room into a pleasant and warm glow and the low buzz of the busy streets penetrating through the slightly open window, Yamapi had a lot of time to ponder his newly acquired fascination with Shige.
He had seen the way the other boy interacted with Koyama, Kusano and even with Massu and Tegoshi, and found himself a little bothered by how carefree and confident he appeared around them, so drastically different from the way Shige behaved around Ryo and himself.
That slight discomfort he had felt when he’d seen the way Shige had turned around and smiled at Koyama brightly after their concert and completely avoided looking at him, even though he had been standing right next to the oldest bandmate, had surprised and puzzled him.
Why won’t you look at me, Shige?
+
Those moments were happening far too often Yamapi decided after yet another painful twist in his stomach when Shige politely told him “Otsukara sama deshita!” all the while looking down at his feet, wringing his hands and shuffling his feet on ground as if he couldn’t wait to get away from him. Giving the boy a forced smile and a slight nod, he actually felt like grabbing the law student and shaking the living light out of him when he saw his tensed shoulder relax and the strained smile transformed itself into a relieved one.
Maybe he felt that way because he thought that he’d finally found a slight connection with the younger boy. After all, they did spend a lot of time working on their duet together. Although a traitorous little voice somewhere in his mind kept whispering Maybe you’re just jealous that you can’t have that kind of friendship with him? But Yamapi just mentally scoffed and told that little voice to shut the hell up. Why should he be jealous of what Koyama had with Shige? He had Ryo-chan, their friendship could rival theirs. However, his own reasonings sounded wrong to his ears because he knew that there was something more that he wanted to have and that something could be found with Shige.
Somehow. Maybe.
He just had to find out what it was.
+
Yamapi found himself more often than not observing Shige during their break time and trying to figure him out.
He knew that Shige knew that he was staring at him, but Yamapi didn’t feel the need to be more subtle in his actions He had never thought much of hiding one’s true intention and had always been the straightforward type. Moreover, it was interesting and also puzzling to see him stiffen whenever he felt Yamapi’s eyes on him and seeing Shige’s genuine smile transform itself into a fake one.
Even the other members had already caught on to the fact that there was something strange going on with their leader and their allegedly smartest group member. However, only Ryo had a slight inkling of what was really going on.
Ryo even told Yamapi once after a show to get a grip on himself and to wipe that digusting smitten look off his face. One look at Yamapi’s confused face compelled him to let out a derisive snort and to walk off with a muttered “Idiot”.
It seemed like even one of the persons in question didn’t know what was going on.
How pathetic.
+
When NEWS’ hiatus was officially announced, Yamapi discovered a new side of Shige.
Gathered together in one of the many big, cold conference rooms in the agency, their managers told them stoically that all NEWS activity would be officially put on hold for an infinite amount of time. Everyone sat frozen in their seat, and nobody dared to make a noise. Fleetingly, Yamapi wondered why nobody hadn’t already jumped up and began to shout and break things because he certainly felt like doing all that when his eyes shifted on their own accord to Shige, who was staring blankly at Kusano. Kusano, the one who was at fault, the one to blame for all the shit that was happening right then in that room.
The one who might have destroyed all their hard work with a single stupid action.
+
After explaining everything to them, the managers quickly left the room to let the young men deal with the shocking revelation, neither wanting to see the lost look on their faces.
Immediately, Yamapi and Ryo stood up and went to look out the window while the other members all began to crowd around Kusano simultaneously questioning him and consoling the trembling boy. Yamapi turned away from his spot by the window, a blank expression plastered firmly on his face, not giving away anything of his inner turmoil.
He leaned against the window, arms crossed over his chest and took in the scene, his gaze lingering on each member’s face, as if he was trying to memorise every contour, every line. His gaze finally settled on Shige’s face, and every noise, Tegoshi’s sniffles, Kusano’s sobbing and Koyama’s choked voice, faded away as his entire attention was focused on the man who had been occupying his mind for the last few months. He was the only one who wasn’t crying, who tried to act brave around the other member, especially around Kusano, who probably felt like his world was breaking apart right in front of his eyes. Yamapi literally saw how Shige built up his fake smile as he went on whispering comforting things into Kusano’s ear and hugging the young man. Yamapi wanted nothing more than to go up to and take Shige into his arms.
The announcement didn’t leave Yamapi unaffected either, despite his detached stance. In fact, he felt like running up to Johnny-san’s office and beating the old man to a bloody pulp, regardless of the fact that that particular man was responsible for his salary, but he knew it would be of no use. He sometimes really hated his job.
He didn’t want to break down in front of the other members either, didn’t want them to see his weak side. And seeing how Shige tried to be strong for the other members and having nobody he could rely on (Ryo was totally out of question), Yamapi thought that At least I have to be strong for him.
+
It had never quite occurred to Yamapi that being on hiatus meant he would be even busier than ever before... and that he couldn’t see Shige anymore.
More often than not, Yamapi asked himself during filming breaks or when he was alone in his room after a long workday, what the other man was doing, where he was and how he’d been all that time. Yamapi even resorted to regularly checking the other members’ jwebs in hopes of keeping tabs on the other man’s life. Koyama’s entries became a real lifesaver and Yamapi found himself often waiting anxiously for a new entry of “Wagahai”.
“Why don’t you just ask him yourself?” Ryo asked once during one of their rare get-togethers, when he noticed that Yamapi was paying his mobile phone more attention than his ramen. A sign that whatever was bothering Yamapi was pretty serious.
“Ask who?” he replied absentmindedly, while fiddling with his phone charm and opening and closing the flip phone. Ryo let out an annoyed sigh, reached over their table and gave him a hard slap on the head. “Shige, of course. It’s totally obvious that you have a crush on him. You’re acting like such a girl. Or a stalker.”
“What the...? NO!” Yamapi yelled and jumped up from his seat. Surprised by his own outburst, he stopped rubbing his abused head, took a peek at Ryo’s grinning face and groaned out aloud. No, he wasn’t crushing on Shige. SHIGE of all possible people. He fell heavily back into his seat and avoided looking at Ryo who was most probably smirking at and enjoying his pain.
“It’s just a phase. He’s a pretty interesting guy, don’t you think? You would know what I mean if you’d spend more time with him. I mean, he’s a walking oxymoron, he can be confident and bossy when he’s around the other members, but around you or me, he gets all shy and he’s smart, did you know that he took up law? And Wagahai, why does he even have an imag...” Yamapi trailed off and wished he could wipe that smug look off the other’s face.
“You’re completely smitten.”
“I’m not!”
+
“Just ask him out already. It’s getting annoying how all you’ve been doing since we got here is glancing at your mobile phone.”
Yamapi quickly looked up from the display to stare unbelievably at Jin and soon a calculating look settled over his face.
“Ryo’s been a tattletale again, hasn’t he?”
“He’s got a surprisingly big mouth for such a small guy.”
+
Yamapi’s chance at finally being near Shige and, of course, the other members, offered itself at the end of the year when NEWS was officially reunited during the Countdown.
Still feeling dizzy and high on the adrenaline rushing through his body from the announcement, Yamapi stumbled to his dressing room to get changed into their, admittedly horrible, but distintively NEWS outfits. When Yamapi looked at himself in the mirror, the realization that this was NEWS’ new beginning hit him with full force and he felt even giddier and like a child on a sugar high. I wonder if this is also a new beginning for me and Shige?
He didn’t even quite mind the little pang in his chest when he remembered the way Shige had thrown himself at Koyama, both of them laughing and grinning all the time (and in Koyama’s case, crying).
At last he’d got to see that beautiful smile again.
+
Even though NEWS had resumed their group activities, Yamapi quickly found out that it wasn’t that easy to get closer to the other man. It seemed like they’d never find themselves alone with each other, and the looks that Ryo (or even Jin) sometimes kept throwing at him whenever he spaced out or looked one time too many at Shige didn’t help alleviate the restlessness and longing that he felt whenever their eyes crossed or when they were in the same room. Which meant that he was constantly experiencing these feelings as they were touring.
“When are you going to finally make a move?”
They were standing to the side of the stage and were watching Shige’s rehearsal for his solo song. Yamapi sighed and glanced at Ryo, who kept his eyes fixed on the performance.
“I don’t wanna scare him away. I’ll approach things slowly, I think,” Yamapi mumbled, and he hoped that Ryo would stop asking this question someday.
“You’ve been taking things far too slowly for a long time already. You do know that things tend to slip away if you don’t act fast enough, right?” With that said, Ryo walked away but not before giving Yamapi a friendly clap on the back.
Yamapi kept on watching Shige while his best friend’s words ran through his mind over and over again.
+
It took Yamapi several weeks to gather his courage before he finally decided to do something about his crush (by this point, he had officially admitted that it was a crush, and Ryo had had a field day when he found out). So on Shige’s birthday, he did. After dance practice, he pulled the younger man out of the room with into a deserted corridor, ignoring Ryo’s loud snickering, and he swore that he’d come up with more jokes about his height in the future.
Once he was sure that the two of them were alone and that none of the other members had decided to follow them, Yamapi turned around to look at Shige, who was looking back at him with a raised eyebrow and curiosity written all over his face. Nervously running a hand through his hair and quickly stuffing it back into his pockets to hide how much his hands were trembling, he looked anywhere but at the other’s face.
“Yamashita-kun?”
His mouth felt suddenly very dry and he had to clear his throat several times. He tried to organize his thoughts, which ran along the lines of For Christ’s sake, get a grip on yourself! It’s only Shige, taking him out for his birthday is not considered a date and oh no, what if I embarrass myself and oh God, he’ll surely turn me down...”
“Yamashita-kun?” Shige asked more forcefully now and even waved his hand in front of Yamapi’s face. He quickly snapped out of his inner monologue and turned panicky eyes to the law student and the words tumbled out of his mouth before his brain could tell him to shut up.
Yamapi kept his head low to hide his reddening face after realising what he’d done, I’m such a girl, Ryo as right all along, and he had to fight the urge to run away that was growing with each seconds that went by without Shige uttering a single word. Stupisstupidstupidstupid...
“Ok”.
Time seemed to stop when Yamapi’s mind registered what Shige had just said. Eyes widening, he quickly lifted his head to stare unbelievably and with an open mouth at the other man, a warm and bubbly feeling quickly forming in his chest and spreading through his whole body.
Shige gave him an embarrassed grin when he noticed that Yamapi still hadn’t said a word and shuffled his feet around the ground. Yamapi thought that it was such an adorable image, and he gave him a bright smile and quickly told him when he’d come to pick him up. He couldn’t resist grabbing the law student and giving him a quick hug, surprising Shige, but mostly himself with that impulsive action.
Quickly letting go of Shige and taking a step back, Yamapi blushed a shade of red that was horribly clashing with his haircolor and stared embarrassedly at his feet.
But Shige just gave him a bright, honest smile, complete with sparkling eyes, that took Yamapi’s breath away and he knew, at that very instatnt, that it was going to be the start of something beautiful.
------------------------------------------
A/N: Comments and criticism are more than welcome. :) Oh, and to moonbyrd :
Me: Btw, Meg wants me to tell you that she’s still waiting for her 1000 sth words Shoshige fic. XPPPP
Triv: Hahahaha oh Meg. Of course. (tell her i said NO)
Author: fireflychen
Pairing: Yamashita Tomohisa/Kato Shigeaki
Summary: When Yamapi noticed that he kind of maybe liked Shige more than what the term "member ai" implied, he shrugged and went on doing the things that an idol normally did, without putting too much thought into his new discovery.
Word count: 2800+ (omfg)
Warning: The timeline’s kind of messed up and English isn’t my first language. Sorry if it sounds strange sometimes. Also, “kind of” first time writing something and everything’s kinda rushed.
Notes: For jojibear who requested Shige/Pi during our impromptu Nana-fic exchange idea. Sorry, I know I went way over the deadline.^^” Prompt was “Beginning” but I don’t think I quite managed to fulfill it. Hey, at least it’s Shige/Pi, right? I hope you like it hon. Get better soon!♥ And also a BIG THANK YOU to trivialaffair who beta-ed the story for me or else it wouldn’t have been understandable. ♥
Others who have participated are: jojibear , misticloud , trivialaffair and currynana
• Spring Concert tour 2006
When Yamapi noticed that he kind of maybe liked Shige more than what the term "member ai" implied, he shrugged and went on doing the things that an idol normally did, without putting too much thought into his new discovery. After all, he was a professional when it came to work. It wouldn’t do to let those kind of thoughts distract him and he was afraid that these newfound feelings would only destroy the group’s already tacky dynamic.
+
Yamapi tried hard to dispel these thoughts whenever he saw Shige but they kept coming back no matter what he did.
He wondered what it would feel like to hold the younger man, to talk freely to him about mundane things, to be near him, to have Shige see him as Yamashita Tomohisa and not as Yamapi, super idol extraordinaire, or some other kind of unreachable being.
However, Yamapi always hesitated to make a move and to approach the other. He told himself that it was probably just a passing infatuation and that these new feelings were totally normal, seeing how he and Shige had to spend more time together because of their duet. They spent many hours composing and practising, so it was unavoidable that he’d develop a certain...affection for or even an interest in Shige. Spending a lot of time with a person you barely knew beforehand could do that to you, he told himself every time he caught himself staring at Shige when he thought the younger man's attention was directed. Besides, he’s not that bad to look at.
+
It first began with little things he'd noticed about the other boy, starting with the way he would nervously fidget in his seat every time he and Yamapi sat together, pouring over their note sheets and trying to come up with lyrics. So different from Ryo-chan, even though they’re both Kansai boys. The thought would flitter through his mind whenever he saw Shige dropping the pen or other things that he had been holding, but soon enough, he didn’t think much about it anymore. He was used to that reaction from his kouhais and other people, and he’d seen worse. He kindly ignored Shige’s cringing and stuttering every time he asked him a question or his opinion, and just hoped that the other boy would relax in his presence soon so that they would get it over and done with.
+
With time, Shige became more open, even going as far as voicing his opinions instead of waiting for Yamapi to ask him. Yamapi was positively surprised to find out that the rumours about Shige’s quick mind and witty comments were actually true, now that he got to see them for himself, though the boy would still get flustered when asked directly. Yamapi wondered why he hadn’t notice this other side of him before, and he found himself wanting to see more of this Shige.
+
Sitting alone in his hotel room after yet another successful show, with the lights dimmed which cast the room into a pleasant and warm glow and the low buzz of the busy streets penetrating through the slightly open window, Yamapi had a lot of time to ponder his newly acquired fascination with Shige.
He had seen the way the other boy interacted with Koyama, Kusano and even with Massu and Tegoshi, and found himself a little bothered by how carefree and confident he appeared around them, so drastically different from the way Shige behaved around Ryo and himself.
That slight discomfort he had felt when he’d seen the way Shige had turned around and smiled at Koyama brightly after their concert and completely avoided looking at him, even though he had been standing right next to the oldest bandmate, had surprised and puzzled him.
Why won’t you look at me, Shige?
+
Those moments were happening far too often Yamapi decided after yet another painful twist in his stomach when Shige politely told him “Otsukara sama deshita!” all the while looking down at his feet, wringing his hands and shuffling his feet on ground as if he couldn’t wait to get away from him. Giving the boy a forced smile and a slight nod, he actually felt like grabbing the law student and shaking the living light out of him when he saw his tensed shoulder relax and the strained smile transformed itself into a relieved one.
Maybe he felt that way because he thought that he’d finally found a slight connection with the younger boy. After all, they did spend a lot of time working on their duet together. Although a traitorous little voice somewhere in his mind kept whispering Maybe you’re just jealous that you can’t have that kind of friendship with him? But Yamapi just mentally scoffed and told that little voice to shut the hell up. Why should he be jealous of what Koyama had with Shige? He had Ryo-chan, their friendship could rival theirs. However, his own reasonings sounded wrong to his ears because he knew that there was something more that he wanted to have and that something could be found with Shige.
Somehow. Maybe.
He just had to find out what it was.
+
Yamapi found himself more often than not observing Shige during their break time and trying to figure him out.
He knew that Shige knew that he was staring at him, but Yamapi didn’t feel the need to be more subtle in his actions He had never thought much of hiding one’s true intention and had always been the straightforward type. Moreover, it was interesting and also puzzling to see him stiffen whenever he felt Yamapi’s eyes on him and seeing Shige’s genuine smile transform itself into a fake one.
Even the other members had already caught on to the fact that there was something strange going on with their leader and their allegedly smartest group member. However, only Ryo had a slight inkling of what was really going on.
Ryo even told Yamapi once after a show to get a grip on himself and to wipe that digusting smitten look off his face. One look at Yamapi’s confused face compelled him to let out a derisive snort and to walk off with a muttered “Idiot”.
It seemed like even one of the persons in question didn’t know what was going on.
How pathetic.
+
When NEWS’ hiatus was officially announced, Yamapi discovered a new side of Shige.
Gathered together in one of the many big, cold conference rooms in the agency, their managers told them stoically that all NEWS activity would be officially put on hold for an infinite amount of time. Everyone sat frozen in their seat, and nobody dared to make a noise. Fleetingly, Yamapi wondered why nobody hadn’t already jumped up and began to shout and break things because he certainly felt like doing all that when his eyes shifted on their own accord to Shige, who was staring blankly at Kusano. Kusano, the one who was at fault, the one to blame for all the shit that was happening right then in that room.
The one who might have destroyed all their hard work with a single stupid action.
+
After explaining everything to them, the managers quickly left the room to let the young men deal with the shocking revelation, neither wanting to see the lost look on their faces.
Immediately, Yamapi and Ryo stood up and went to look out the window while the other members all began to crowd around Kusano simultaneously questioning him and consoling the trembling boy. Yamapi turned away from his spot by the window, a blank expression plastered firmly on his face, not giving away anything of his inner turmoil.
He leaned against the window, arms crossed over his chest and took in the scene, his gaze lingering on each member’s face, as if he was trying to memorise every contour, every line. His gaze finally settled on Shige’s face, and every noise, Tegoshi’s sniffles, Kusano’s sobbing and Koyama’s choked voice, faded away as his entire attention was focused on the man who had been occupying his mind for the last few months. He was the only one who wasn’t crying, who tried to act brave around the other member, especially around Kusano, who probably felt like his world was breaking apart right in front of his eyes. Yamapi literally saw how Shige built up his fake smile as he went on whispering comforting things into Kusano’s ear and hugging the young man. Yamapi wanted nothing more than to go up to and take Shige into his arms.
The announcement didn’t leave Yamapi unaffected either, despite his detached stance. In fact, he felt like running up to Johnny-san’s office and beating the old man to a bloody pulp, regardless of the fact that that particular man was responsible for his salary, but he knew it would be of no use. He sometimes really hated his job.
He didn’t want to break down in front of the other members either, didn’t want them to see his weak side. And seeing how Shige tried to be strong for the other members and having nobody he could rely on (Ryo was totally out of question), Yamapi thought that At least I have to be strong for him.
+
It had never quite occurred to Yamapi that being on hiatus meant he would be even busier than ever before... and that he couldn’t see Shige anymore.
More often than not, Yamapi asked himself during filming breaks or when he was alone in his room after a long workday, what the other man was doing, where he was and how he’d been all that time. Yamapi even resorted to regularly checking the other members’ jwebs in hopes of keeping tabs on the other man’s life. Koyama’s entries became a real lifesaver and Yamapi found himself often waiting anxiously for a new entry of “Wagahai”.
“Why don’t you just ask him yourself?” Ryo asked once during one of their rare get-togethers, when he noticed that Yamapi was paying his mobile phone more attention than his ramen. A sign that whatever was bothering Yamapi was pretty serious.
“Ask who?” he replied absentmindedly, while fiddling with his phone charm and opening and closing the flip phone. Ryo let out an annoyed sigh, reached over their table and gave him a hard slap on the head. “Shige, of course. It’s totally obvious that you have a crush on him. You’re acting like such a girl. Or a stalker.”
“What the...? NO!” Yamapi yelled and jumped up from his seat. Surprised by his own outburst, he stopped rubbing his abused head, took a peek at Ryo’s grinning face and groaned out aloud. No, he wasn’t crushing on Shige. SHIGE of all possible people. He fell heavily back into his seat and avoided looking at Ryo who was most probably smirking at and enjoying his pain.
“It’s just a phase. He’s a pretty interesting guy, don’t you think? You would know what I mean if you’d spend more time with him. I mean, he’s a walking oxymoron, he can be confident and bossy when he’s around the other members, but around you or me, he gets all shy and he’s smart, did you know that he took up law? And Wagahai, why does he even have an imag...” Yamapi trailed off and wished he could wipe that smug look off the other’s face.
“You’re completely smitten.”
“I’m not!”
+
“Just ask him out already. It’s getting annoying how all you’ve been doing since we got here is glancing at your mobile phone.”
Yamapi quickly looked up from the display to stare unbelievably at Jin and soon a calculating look settled over his face.
“Ryo’s been a tattletale again, hasn’t he?”
“He’s got a surprisingly big mouth for such a small guy.”
+
Yamapi’s chance at finally being near Shige and, of course, the other members, offered itself at the end of the year when NEWS was officially reunited during the Countdown.
Still feeling dizzy and high on the adrenaline rushing through his body from the announcement, Yamapi stumbled to his dressing room to get changed into their, admittedly horrible, but distintively NEWS outfits. When Yamapi looked at himself in the mirror, the realization that this was NEWS’ new beginning hit him with full force and he felt even giddier and like a child on a sugar high. I wonder if this is also a new beginning for me and Shige?
He didn’t even quite mind the little pang in his chest when he remembered the way Shige had thrown himself at Koyama, both of them laughing and grinning all the time (and in Koyama’s case, crying).
At last he’d got to see that beautiful smile again.
+
Even though NEWS had resumed their group activities, Yamapi quickly found out that it wasn’t that easy to get closer to the other man. It seemed like they’d never find themselves alone with each other, and the looks that Ryo (or even Jin) sometimes kept throwing at him whenever he spaced out or looked one time too many at Shige didn’t help alleviate the restlessness and longing that he felt whenever their eyes crossed or when they were in the same room. Which meant that he was constantly experiencing these feelings as they were touring.
“When are you going to finally make a move?”
They were standing to the side of the stage and were watching Shige’s rehearsal for his solo song. Yamapi sighed and glanced at Ryo, who kept his eyes fixed on the performance.
“I don’t wanna scare him away. I’ll approach things slowly, I think,” Yamapi mumbled, and he hoped that Ryo would stop asking this question someday.
“You’ve been taking things far too slowly for a long time already. You do know that things tend to slip away if you don’t act fast enough, right?” With that said, Ryo walked away but not before giving Yamapi a friendly clap on the back.
Yamapi kept on watching Shige while his best friend’s words ran through his mind over and over again.
+
It took Yamapi several weeks to gather his courage before he finally decided to do something about his crush (by this point, he had officially admitted that it was a crush, and Ryo had had a field day when he found out). So on Shige’s birthday, he did. After dance practice, he pulled the younger man out of the room with into a deserted corridor, ignoring Ryo’s loud snickering, and he swore that he’d come up with more jokes about his height in the future.
Once he was sure that the two of them were alone and that none of the other members had decided to follow them, Yamapi turned around to look at Shige, who was looking back at him with a raised eyebrow and curiosity written all over his face. Nervously running a hand through his hair and quickly stuffing it back into his pockets to hide how much his hands were trembling, he looked anywhere but at the other’s face.
“Yamashita-kun?”
His mouth felt suddenly very dry and he had to clear his throat several times. He tried to organize his thoughts, which ran along the lines of For Christ’s sake, get a grip on yourself! It’s only Shige, taking him out for his birthday is not considered a date and oh no, what if I embarrass myself and oh God, he’ll surely turn me down...”
“Yamashita-kun?” Shige asked more forcefully now and even waved his hand in front of Yamapi’s face. He quickly snapped out of his inner monologue and turned panicky eyes to the law student and the words tumbled out of his mouth before his brain could tell him to shut up.
Yamapi kept his head low to hide his reddening face after realising what he’d done, I’m such a girl, Ryo as right all along, and he had to fight the urge to run away that was growing with each seconds that went by without Shige uttering a single word. Stupisstupidstupidstupid...
“Ok”.
Time seemed to stop when Yamapi’s mind registered what Shige had just said. Eyes widening, he quickly lifted his head to stare unbelievably and with an open mouth at the other man, a warm and bubbly feeling quickly forming in his chest and spreading through his whole body.
Shige gave him an embarrassed grin when he noticed that Yamapi still hadn’t said a word and shuffled his feet around the ground. Yamapi thought that it was such an adorable image, and he gave him a bright smile and quickly told him when he’d come to pick him up. He couldn’t resist grabbing the law student and giving him a quick hug, surprising Shige, but mostly himself with that impulsive action.
Quickly letting go of Shige and taking a step back, Yamapi blushed a shade of red that was horribly clashing with his haircolor and stared embarrassedly at his feet.
But Shige just gave him a bright, honest smile, complete with sparkling eyes, that took Yamapi’s breath away and he knew, at that very instatnt, that it was going to be the start of something beautiful.
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A/N: Comments and criticism are more than welcome. :) Oh, and to moonbyrd :
Me: Btw, Meg wants me to tell you that she’s still waiting for her 1000 sth words Shoshige fic. XPPPP
Triv: Hahahaha oh Meg. Of course. (tell her i said NO)