Birds of a feather - Keiji, Reita
Chapters: Oneshot
Genre: Friendship, fluff
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Liberties with a bird's point of view.
Summary: A tale about Keiji. A tale about friendship.
Disclaimer: I'm in no way affiliated with the GazettE or PS Company.
Characters are fictional. Any resemblance to actual people is purely coincidental.
Comments: Written as a birthday present for chivakaza, as a response to her indirect request "Write me Keiji / Reita, an ultimate comfort fic."
The only place he knows of is the cage. Full of birds like him, in a place which he learns to be called, the pet shop. It is not bad, at least he doesn't think he has any reasons to complain. The air in the corner where the cage is situated is warm, just the way he likes his air to be, he has enough food and water. And he has company. They are not exactly friends. It is not that he doesn’t want any, he just finds it easier that way. Because they all seem to come and go. Often he wonders where they go to.
There is also people, outside the cage. Sometimes as many as his companions in the cage. They come and go too. Sometimes they are the ones that take the others with them. Sometimes they take a puppy. Or a turtle instead.
He doesn't mind that they never choose him. It is not like he especially likes any of those people, they all stand too close, almost like they're trying to push their huge heads inside their cage. They stare at them, and their eyes and faces make him feel uncomfortable. He doesn’t like feeling uncomfortable so he usually flies to the farthest corner and hides behind the others.
Apart from that he is usually pretty content with how he spends his days. Birds come and go, but the cage is familiar. He doesn’t mind it, much. But that all changes the day one person enters the shop. He notices him the moment he steps inside. It is his head, the cap he has on is black and white, nothing special about that. What is special is what is peeking underneath the brim; it is the person’s hair. He likes it, it is almost the same color as his feathers.
The person doesn’t browse around like other people usually do, but heads straight for their cage instead. And for the first time in a long while he stays on his perch. He wants to observe this person more closely. For the first time he wants to be observed too.
The face of this person is gentle, there is a little smile gracing his face and as his eyes browse around their cage, looking at others, he finds himself doing what he said he’ll never do. He tries to keep the person’s attention on himself. He shuffles left and right, flaps his wings, bobs his head up and down. So maybe he performs, just a little bit. But as he finds himself situated in a smaller cage, he tells himself it is alright. He is going somewhere else, to a new place. In all honesty he was getting bored with the cage and its constant chatter for a while now. Of course he is just a little bit scared too, but his person’s voice is soothing and his grip on his cage handle is steady, so as the wind ruffles his feathers on their way to his person’s car he decides to trust him that everything will be alright.
And everything is. His cage is placed in the comfortable corner. His new perch is wooden, and only his, he definitely likes it better than the plastic ones he always had to share. His new bowls are filled with food and water. It will take him some time to get used to everything but he likes it. But the best of all, after everything seems to be set in its right place, his person lets him out of the cage. He questions it only for a brief moment, before he starts climbing the bars to get to the open door. Then he’s flying. Flying like he never had the chance before.
The space is bigger than anything he is used to and he gets tired sooner than he expects. So it is an accident of sorts, when he ends up landing on his person’s shoulder but his person doesn’t seem to mind. At first he just stands very still, like he is afraid he’ll scare him off. And he appreciates it. And finds that he likes his person’s shoulder. When they both relax after their initial shock he knows he could get used to this too.
He kind of knew already he was a cockatiel, he isn’t surprised when he hears his person mentioning this to someone over the phone, but now he learns he has a proper name too. Keiji. Because that is what his person says to his friend, "His name is Keiji."
Keiji likes it, he thinks it suits him.
On the other hand he finds himself bit confused when it comes to his person’s name. He seems to have a lot of them. Some of his friends that visit them call him Reita, others call him Akira. And the old lady, who lives next door and looks after Keiji at times when Reita, Akira, has to go away, calls him Mr. Suzuki. Keiji doesn't know which name he should use. He himself only has one name after all.
Then there is Uechan, the name his friend Uruha sometimes uses, the name that gets the widest grin from Reita, Akira, he’s getting bored with this, as a response. The grin Uruha takes away with a peck on his lips, just before he drags him away to Reita's bedroom. Where he gets Reita to make the deepest moans Keiji has ever heard him produce. They make Keiji scared thinking Uruha is hurting Reita in there. He nervously paces around the table, listening and waiting impatiently for Reita to break free from Uruha's evil claws. When he finally comes out, Keiji flies straight to his shoulder, checking Reita for any possible scratches or bruises. And indeed he finds red teeth marks marring Reita’s collarbone. But he is confused because Reita looks happy and is smiling at Keiji the way he usually does. Keiji is relieved, but it still doesn't mean he'll let Uruha get away with it just like that.
"I think he's jealous." Uruha laughs and tries to pet Keiji with his hand.
Keiji isn't having any of that, he snaps at Uruha’s finger, and is all too happy when Uruha flinches away with a yelp.
He decides he’ll just settle with using the name Reita. He thinks that one will be the easiest to learn to speak in the end. Which is on his to do list, just right after he learns how to whistle the tune from the video game Uruha and Reita like to play together.
Few weeks after, when he hears high pitched moan coming from Reita’s bedroom, this time voice unmistakably Uruha's, Keiji feels properly avenged and ready to forgive him. He shouldn't have even doubted Reita can take after himself.
Usually Keiji is very happy with Reita. Only times he isn’t happy is when he notices Reita looking tired and sad. Keiji doesn’t like that. So he does his best to make Reita smile again. He flies to Reita’s shoulder and tries to give him a massage with his feet. It makes Reita pet his head, but doesn’t always make him smile. Still Keiji doesn’t give up that easily. Instead, he sings. Keiji thinks Reita likes when he sings for him. Because usually when he does, it makes Reita smile.
But there are times it doesn’t. In the direst situations Keiji thinks he can only see a little smile cracking around the edges of Reita’s lips, but can’t tell for sure. For times like those he leaves his most embarrassing act. He dances.
Keiji knows he isn’t the best of dancers. But he gives his best, shuffling his feet around, bobbing his head up and down, he puts on the whole show. And that never fails to make Reita smile and even laugh. In any other circumstances laugher would be a terrible blow to Keiji’s ego, but he enjoys the rich, unburdened sound of Reita’s laugher so it makes it alright in the end. For the price of Reita’s laughter Keiji can live with a little bit of embarrassment.
One day Reita brings Ruki back home with him. He takes off his shoes, hangs on his jacket, and opens the door of Keiji’s cage. Like he usually does. He goes to make Ruki and himself some tea. Ruki talks to him from the living room. Lighting up a cigarette, he opens the window, because he knows Reita doesn’t like Keiji breathing in the smoke. Reita says it is not good for Keiji’s lungs.
Ruki doesn’t notice Keiji’s cage is open, when he leaves to join Reita in the kitchen, he forgets to close the window. Keiji of course notices this. And Keiji is curious. After all an open window is something he has only seen from a far until then. He thinks it is the perfect opportunity for some exploration.
He doesn’t think Reita will mind. Not like he ever forbid Keiji from doing anything, except that one time, when Keiji wanted to taste some of Reita’s music sheets. So he uses the opportunity to fly to the edge of the window. Edge he is already familiar with. He often walks around the edge and looks through the window at the sky. He likes the sky.
But this time it's different. He can feel the wind blowing. The sky looks especially blue today, the air is warm. Keiji can’t help but walk carefully over to the outer edge. He wants to see more. The ground beneath seems bit far but not especially frightening to Keiji. He is more interested in the wind and the sky anyway. Here he can feel the wind even better than from the inside. It ruffles his crest, he spreads his wings and it does the same to his feathers. He gets almost overwhelming urge to fly. To plunge toward the ground, spread his wings as wide as he can and let the wind pick him up.
Keiji loves to fly and the sky looks so much larger than their apartment. He spreads his wings, feels the direction of the wind and just before he is ready to push himself off he hears Reita shout, "Keiji!"
It frightens him, Reita has never shouted at him before. He doesn’t know what he has done wrong. He doesn’t want Reita to be angry with him. It makes him want to fly away even more. Fly away and hide. At the treetop he can spot just bellow. Or the crook of Reita’s neck. But before he is able to decide what he should do Reita speaks again, much softer this time, stretching out his hand towards him, "Keiji. Keiji, come back inside."
Keiji is confused. If Reita is angry with him, why does he suddenly sound so sad.
Then he understands. It is fear. Reita is scared. Scared, thinking Keiji wants to leave him for the clear blue sky and the green treetops. Scared, thinking Keiji will choose the wind and the sun instead of him. Like there is an actual choice to be made. Like he doesn’t know Keiji finds the caress of Reita’s hand gentler than the one of a wind. Like he doesn’t know Keiji feels more warmth radiating from Reita’s smile than he can feel radiating from the Sun.
And maybe he doesn’t, Keiji thinks. So he flies back to his place on Reita’s right shoulder, nuzzles in the crook of his neck and nips at Reita’s ear affectionately.
If Reita doesn’t know all this, then Keiji will just have to show him.
AN: According to my internet information Reita's childhood nickname was Uechan. So I took the liberty of having Uruha use it as his private nickname for Reita here. My brain was too fried to think of something imaginative enough on my own. Also my resident Japanese expert, the birthday girl, aka chivakaza, just told me that ue means above, on top. Which makes the nickname work even better in the context of the fic xD
Genre: Friendship, fluff
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Liberties with a bird's point of view.
Summary: A tale about Keiji. A tale about friendship.
Disclaimer: I'm in no way affiliated with the GazettE or PS Company.
Characters are fictional. Any resemblance to actual people is purely coincidental.
Comments: Written as a birthday present for chivakaza, as a response to her indirect request "Write me Keiji / Reita, an ultimate comfort fic."
The only place he knows of is the cage. Full of birds like him, in a place which he learns to be called, the pet shop. It is not bad, at least he doesn't think he has any reasons to complain. The air in the corner where the cage is situated is warm, just the way he likes his air to be, he has enough food and water. And he has company. They are not exactly friends. It is not that he doesn’t want any, he just finds it easier that way. Because they all seem to come and go. Often he wonders where they go to.
There is also people, outside the cage. Sometimes as many as his companions in the cage. They come and go too. Sometimes they are the ones that take the others with them. Sometimes they take a puppy. Or a turtle instead.
He doesn't mind that they never choose him. It is not like he especially likes any of those people, they all stand too close, almost like they're trying to push their huge heads inside their cage. They stare at them, and their eyes and faces make him feel uncomfortable. He doesn’t like feeling uncomfortable so he usually flies to the farthest corner and hides behind the others.
Apart from that he is usually pretty content with how he spends his days. Birds come and go, but the cage is familiar. He doesn’t mind it, much. But that all changes the day one person enters the shop. He notices him the moment he steps inside. It is his head, the cap he has on is black and white, nothing special about that. What is special is what is peeking underneath the brim; it is the person’s hair. He likes it, it is almost the same color as his feathers.
The person doesn’t browse around like other people usually do, but heads straight for their cage instead. And for the first time in a long while he stays on his perch. He wants to observe this person more closely. For the first time he wants to be observed too.
The face of this person is gentle, there is a little smile gracing his face and as his eyes browse around their cage, looking at others, he finds himself doing what he said he’ll never do. He tries to keep the person’s attention on himself. He shuffles left and right, flaps his wings, bobs his head up and down. So maybe he performs, just a little bit. But as he finds himself situated in a smaller cage, he tells himself it is alright. He is going somewhere else, to a new place. In all honesty he was getting bored with the cage and its constant chatter for a while now. Of course he is just a little bit scared too, but his person’s voice is soothing and his grip on his cage handle is steady, so as the wind ruffles his feathers on their way to his person’s car he decides to trust him that everything will be alright.
And everything is. His cage is placed in the comfortable corner. His new perch is wooden, and only his, he definitely likes it better than the plastic ones he always had to share. His new bowls are filled with food and water. It will take him some time to get used to everything but he likes it. But the best of all, after everything seems to be set in its right place, his person lets him out of the cage. He questions it only for a brief moment, before he starts climbing the bars to get to the open door. Then he’s flying. Flying like he never had the chance before.
The space is bigger than anything he is used to and he gets tired sooner than he expects. So it is an accident of sorts, when he ends up landing on his person’s shoulder but his person doesn’t seem to mind. At first he just stands very still, like he is afraid he’ll scare him off. And he appreciates it. And finds that he likes his person’s shoulder. When they both relax after their initial shock he knows he could get used to this too.
He kind of knew already he was a cockatiel, he isn’t surprised when he hears his person mentioning this to someone over the phone, but now he learns he has a proper name too. Keiji. Because that is what his person says to his friend, "His name is Keiji."
Keiji likes it, he thinks it suits him.
On the other hand he finds himself bit confused when it comes to his person’s name. He seems to have a lot of them. Some of his friends that visit them call him Reita, others call him Akira. And the old lady, who lives next door and looks after Keiji at times when Reita, Akira, has to go away, calls him Mr. Suzuki. Keiji doesn't know which name he should use. He himself only has one name after all.
Then there is Uechan, the name his friend Uruha sometimes uses, the name that gets the widest grin from Reita, Akira, he’s getting bored with this, as a response. The grin Uruha takes away with a peck on his lips, just before he drags him away to Reita's bedroom. Where he gets Reita to make the deepest moans Keiji has ever heard him produce. They make Keiji scared thinking Uruha is hurting Reita in there. He nervously paces around the table, listening and waiting impatiently for Reita to break free from Uruha's evil claws. When he finally comes out, Keiji flies straight to his shoulder, checking Reita for any possible scratches or bruises. And indeed he finds red teeth marks marring Reita’s collarbone. But he is confused because Reita looks happy and is smiling at Keiji the way he usually does. Keiji is relieved, but it still doesn't mean he'll let Uruha get away with it just like that.
"I think he's jealous." Uruha laughs and tries to pet Keiji with his hand.
Keiji isn't having any of that, he snaps at Uruha’s finger, and is all too happy when Uruha flinches away with a yelp.
He decides he’ll just settle with using the name Reita. He thinks that one will be the easiest to learn to speak in the end. Which is on his to do list, just right after he learns how to whistle the tune from the video game Uruha and Reita like to play together.
Few weeks after, when he hears high pitched moan coming from Reita’s bedroom, this time voice unmistakably Uruha's, Keiji feels properly avenged and ready to forgive him. He shouldn't have even doubted Reita can take after himself.
Usually Keiji is very happy with Reita. Only times he isn’t happy is when he notices Reita looking tired and sad. Keiji doesn’t like that. So he does his best to make Reita smile again. He flies to Reita’s shoulder and tries to give him a massage with his feet. It makes Reita pet his head, but doesn’t always make him smile. Still Keiji doesn’t give up that easily. Instead, he sings. Keiji thinks Reita likes when he sings for him. Because usually when he does, it makes Reita smile.
But there are times it doesn’t. In the direst situations Keiji thinks he can only see a little smile cracking around the edges of Reita’s lips, but can’t tell for sure. For times like those he leaves his most embarrassing act. He dances.
Keiji knows he isn’t the best of dancers. But he gives his best, shuffling his feet around, bobbing his head up and down, he puts on the whole show. And that never fails to make Reita smile and even laugh. In any other circumstances laugher would be a terrible blow to Keiji’s ego, but he enjoys the rich, unburdened sound of Reita’s laugher so it makes it alright in the end. For the price of Reita’s laughter Keiji can live with a little bit of embarrassment.
One day Reita brings Ruki back home with him. He takes off his shoes, hangs on his jacket, and opens the door of Keiji’s cage. Like he usually does. He goes to make Ruki and himself some tea. Ruki talks to him from the living room. Lighting up a cigarette, he opens the window, because he knows Reita doesn’t like Keiji breathing in the smoke. Reita says it is not good for Keiji’s lungs.
Ruki doesn’t notice Keiji’s cage is open, when he leaves to join Reita in the kitchen, he forgets to close the window. Keiji of course notices this. And Keiji is curious. After all an open window is something he has only seen from a far until then. He thinks it is the perfect opportunity for some exploration.
He doesn’t think Reita will mind. Not like he ever forbid Keiji from doing anything, except that one time, when Keiji wanted to taste some of Reita’s music sheets. So he uses the opportunity to fly to the edge of the window. Edge he is already familiar with. He often walks around the edge and looks through the window at the sky. He likes the sky.
But this time it's different. He can feel the wind blowing. The sky looks especially blue today, the air is warm. Keiji can’t help but walk carefully over to the outer edge. He wants to see more. The ground beneath seems bit far but not especially frightening to Keiji. He is more interested in the wind and the sky anyway. Here he can feel the wind even better than from the inside. It ruffles his crest, he spreads his wings and it does the same to his feathers. He gets almost overwhelming urge to fly. To plunge toward the ground, spread his wings as wide as he can and let the wind pick him up.
Keiji loves to fly and the sky looks so much larger than their apartment. He spreads his wings, feels the direction of the wind and just before he is ready to push himself off he hears Reita shout, "Keiji!"
It frightens him, Reita has never shouted at him before. He doesn’t know what he has done wrong. He doesn’t want Reita to be angry with him. It makes him want to fly away even more. Fly away and hide. At the treetop he can spot just bellow. Or the crook of Reita’s neck. But before he is able to decide what he should do Reita speaks again, much softer this time, stretching out his hand towards him, "Keiji. Keiji, come back inside."
Keiji is confused. If Reita is angry with him, why does he suddenly sound so sad.
Then he understands. It is fear. Reita is scared. Scared, thinking Keiji wants to leave him for the clear blue sky and the green treetops. Scared, thinking Keiji will choose the wind and the sun instead of him. Like there is an actual choice to be made. Like he doesn’t know Keiji finds the caress of Reita’s hand gentler than the one of a wind. Like he doesn’t know Keiji feels more warmth radiating from Reita’s smile than he can feel radiating from the Sun.
And maybe he doesn’t, Keiji thinks. So he flies back to his place on Reita’s right shoulder, nuzzles in the crook of his neck and nips at Reita’s ear affectionately.
If Reita doesn’t know all this, then Keiji will just have to show him.
AN: According to my internet information Reita's childhood nickname was Uechan. So I took the liberty of having Uruha use it as his private nickname for Reita here. My brain was too fried to think of something imaginative enough on my own. Also my resident Japanese expert, the birthday girl, aka chivakaza, just told me that ue means above, on top. Which makes the nickname work even better in the context of the fic xD