Your Attraction - Chapter 9/11
Title: Your Attraction
Status: 9/11
Fandom: Hey! Say! JUMP
Pairing: Yamada/Keito
Overall rating: NC-17
Warnings: Half-AU where Keito's a university student. Pining. Lots of sex. Mess. A bit of angst, but in general a feelgood fic
Wordcount: 5639
Summary: Keito can't help if he stares at the man who just made him spill his drink for five seconds too long, looking at those dark lashes and wondering if there are people this pretty in real life
The bar looks tiny at first glance, just a microscopic front desk sort of thing with a set of stairs leading up behind it. There's a bored man there, supposedly to check people's IDs, but he barely glances up as Yamada simply walks past like he lives there, and Keito follows nervously.
Yamada just slipped on jeans, a T-shirt and a coat and he looks like a million bucks, and Keito feels cheap and clumsy and sweaty despite wearing a borrowed T-shirt.
His hands are sweating and his heart is beating uncomfortably loud in his ears, because he's so not ready to meet Yamada's group. He doesn't even know who will be here but it doesn't matter, he still feels like he's meeting Yamada's parents.
They get upstairs and it's smoky and loud, the tables arranged in booths divided by what looks like rebars braided with string lights.
Yamada seems to know where he's going, and Keito simply follows, noting from the design of the place that he would never consider going here. It's definitely out of his price range.
They round a corner and the booths get bigger, and Yamada clearly takes aim for one of the few that doesn't contain drunk men in suits.
Keito swallows and draws a deep breath, trying to convince himself that even if he makes an ass of himself, theses guys are obviously drunk and they most likely won't remember him anyway.
In the booth there are five people, and Keito recognizes two of them from the first night at the nightclub. The oshare guy with longer hair and a goofy pretty smile, and the lithe man with black hair and judging eyes, that he now knows are Takaki and Chinen.
Takaki's sitting next to a tall man with sharp cheekbones and hair in a dusty shade of brown, the two of them clearly sharing a cigarette as they giggle together. Chinen's pulled close by another man with an interesting haircut, sultry eyes and long fingers, an arm wrapped snugly around Chinen's shoulders while he half yells things across the table at the final occupant of the booth, Daiki. He thinks the two he's not sure of are Yabu and Inoo, but he doesn't dare assuming.
It feels so weird looking at them all up close in person when he's only really seen them on a screen or in glossy magazine pages.
Yamada walks all the way up to the table and stops at the edge of it, waiting the two seconds it takes for them to realize he's there.
Daiki pauses mid sentence and just stares at him for a moment, which causes the rest to look up as well, and there's another moment of silence before cheering breaks out.
“Yama-chan! You came!” Takaki hollers, reaching out as if to hug him and almost burns his neighbour with the cigarette in the process.
“I'm here!” Yamada agrees, looking over his shoulder at Keito with an apologetic smile, and all the attention shifts so rapidly that Keito feels like someone just directed a spotlight at him.
“Ohhh you must be Keito!” Daiki calls, looking at him with a big grin, hopping in closer to the smoking pair and pats the seat next to him. “I recognize you!”
“I do too!” Takaki agrees happily, and Keito doesn't really know what else to do than obediently sit down and slide in next to Daiki. “You're cute!”
“Hi.” He says awkwardly, but Yamada sits down next to him, shrugging out of his coat and his cologne has a calming effect on Keito.
“Everyone, this is Keito, please be nice to him.” Yamada says, and Keito's not used to the commanding tone he takes on, his volume enough to match Daiki. But he figures that's needed in this kind of company.
“Hi Keito!” Daiki calls, wrapping an arm tightly around Keito's shoulders and shakes him a little. “You wanna drink beer, right?”
“Uhm, I... Sure.” Keito agrees, but the man opposite him with the funny haircut already pressed the button to order. Repeatedly.
“This is Daiki.” Yamada leans in close to Keito and easily shoves Daiki's arm off of him, and Keito gravitates back towards Yamada instinctively. “Yabu, Takaki, Inoo and Chinen.”
They all look at him curiously, and Yabu grins.
“He does look like Hikaru's picture!” He exclaims, and Takaki chuckles next to him, resting his head on Yabu's shoulder for a moment and his long hair drapes over the plain black T-shirt Yabu's wearing.
“Wait what picture?” Keito asks, feeling a little cold suddenly, but Yamada immediately tries to hush them.
“There's no picture, don't be dicks guys!” He calls, then gets distracted as the waiter arrives at their table with a notepad ready, and Yabu just wriggles his eyebrows in an obvious 'or is there?' kind of way.
Yamada swiftly orders for himself and apparently Keito too, then glances across the table at Chinen. “You want anything?”
Keito looks up at Chinen carefully, because he's honestly most scared of him. He doesn't know much about him really, except that he has this very cute image in the videos and magazines, but in person there's not that vibe at all. He seems reserved and distant and like Keito might as well not be there.
Chinen doesn't look back at him, only nods at Yamada with an affirmative noise, and Yamada easily orders another kind of beer for him.
It makes Keito wet his lips and he's not sure why he's uncomfortable suddenly, but he knows that getting Chinen to like him feels like the most important thing he's had to do in weeks.
He eyes Inoo's hand on Chinen's shoulder drawing smooth, circular patterns over the fabric of his shirt and he wonders if they're a thing.
“So Keito, it's good to finally meet you.” Daiki says, his arm coming back up around Keito's shoulders as he pulls him in, and he smells nice. “Now, what are your intentions with my daughter?”
Yabu and Takaki cackle across the table, and Keito assumes they're the drunkest two, but Yamada's hand once again shoves Daiki's arm off Keito's shoulders.
“Stop touching him or we're leaving.” Yamada leans across Keito to tell Daiki off, and Keito feels a little hot at the possessive tone because he's never heard it before.
“Aww, are you jealous Yama-chan?” Inoo teases from across the table, and Chinen leans his head against Inoo's shoulder as he looks up at Inoo with a small smile.
“No, I just don't want you guys defiling him.” Yamada says determinedly, and they all laugh, Yabu's eyes slitting so much they seem to disappear as he speaks.
“Don't worry Yama-chan, that's your job.” He says, making Inoo and Daiki howl with laughter while Takaki raises his hand to cover his mouth like a girl would do as he laughs.
“Speaking of that, Keito, what's he really like-” Daiki starts, his arm coming up to wrap around Keito's shoulders again but Yamada slaps his hand away before it gets there.
“No!” He calls, and Keito wonders if he's always bullied like this or if they're all just drunk.
At least it's pretty cute how frustrated he looks, the dejected look in his eyes and the expression that plainly says he regrets coming.
“No but, seriously, Keito, tell us about yourself.” Yabu says, stealing the cigarette back from Takaki's careless fingers. “You're a student, right?”
And Keito talks a little about what he does, that he has about zero chances of getting a job out of his education, but he hopes to get into translating eventually. That spirals into them making him translate things into English, and Keito actually feels very included, and stupidly proud as they make wide eyes at him when he does translate any dumb stuff they come up with.
Yamada mostly sits close next to him and listens, occasionally calling objections at his friends when they get too nasty, and Keito likes feeling him so close, likes the hand coming to rest on his thigh under the table even though it makes him trail off mid sentence when it appears.
But he notices that Chinen still didn't speak a word, and Keito wonders what he has to do to get him to talk. If that's something Keitos's even capable of doing.
Keito keeps glancing over at him, at how he seems to melt into Inoo's side like a damsel in distress, letting himself be protected from whatever danger the outside world offers.
The conversation flows easily as Daiki picks up talking about how bad he was at English in school, and the others fill in with their worst school subjects. Keito's listening to Inoo tell a story about falling asleep during a math test when Yamada leans a little away from him, and Keito's attention naturally drifts.
“How did that thing go today?” Yamada asks Chinen, sipping his beer, and Keito's surprised to hear Chinen talk for the first time since they came.
“It was okay.” Chinen shrugs, upsetting Inoo's hand on his shoulder a little. “You're probably not gonna like it but it wasn't too bad? I mean we've both done worse.”
“As long as I don't have to take my clothes off.” Yamada says seriously, making Chinen laugh at his mortified expression, and Keito feels oddly like he's intruding as he watches them.
He's gotten the impression that Yamada and Chinen are close, but he's never actually heard Yamada talk about him.
“Hey, I gotta pee.” Inoo breaks in suddenly, and Chinen just turns to look at him like he couldn't care less, which makes Inoo laugh. “I'll be right back babe, just move.”
Chinen sighs and slides out of the booth, and Inoo happily squeezes his ass as he slips past before heading off.
Chinen clearly doesn't care, just sits back down and goes back to his conversation with Yamada, and Keito tries his hardest not to eavesdrop.
Daiki draws him back into conversation, talking about fashion choices now, and Keito wouldn't wear any of the things they bring up. He's not sure if that means he has no fashion sense or if these guys are just damaged from years covered in glitter.
At one point it hits him that he's sitting next to Arioka Daiki, the actual person, and he has to grin at the idea of what Ami's sister's face would look like if she knew. He gets a weird urge to steal Daiki's coaster.
“Hey.” Yamada's voice suddenly breathes against his ear and Keito jumps in surprise, quickly turning back to look at his face so close to his own. Yamada's watching him carefully, big eyes searching for signs of discomfort. “Are they okay? Because if they're assholes let me know.”
“They're okay.” Keito replies, unable to keep the soft smile from his lips at Yamada's concern, and he doesn't care about anything else in the world right now than Yamada's responding smile. And maybe a little bit the hand on his thigh that's stroking gently up and down.
“Oh wow you guys really are in love.” Inoo says, sounding impressed, and Keito feels the blush rise on his cheeks before he turns his head to find Inoo observing them from across the table while absently playing with Chinen's hair.
Takaki's also watching them with shameless interest, but Yabu looks away with a knowing smile as Keito glances at him, pointedly focusing on lighting a new cigarette.
“You're dumber than you look.” Yamada counters, and it's so immature that Keito can't keep from laughing.
The others laugh too, and the conversation moves on.
Keito's not sure for how long they've been there, but it has to be more than an hour because he's had two beers and he's not a fast drinker, when Chinen says he wants to go home.
“Want me to take you?” Inoo asks, and Chinen rolls his eyes.
“You're drunk, you're not taking anyone.” He says, but Inoo just squeezes him tighter into a hug, his voice going so sultry Keito feels a little uncomfortable.
“I could still take you home.” He says into Chinen's hair, and Chinen shrugs.
“Yeah sure, whatever.”
Yamada just makes a face at the exchange like it disgusts him, and then turns to Keito. “Wanna go home too?”
Keito nods, because he can sense that Yamada wants to go and he doesn't mind taking the blame for wanting to leave. He's tried hard enough for today.
“What, already?” Daiki protests, frowning at them, and Takaki makes some kind of put out noise that just sounds like a puppy sneezing.
“I have work tomorrow. Unlike some.” Yamada says, the jab obvious from his tone and Daiki clutches at his heart.
“Oh no, the pain is too much!” He calls, and for a second Keito's actually concerned because he does look in pain, until he rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out at Yamada. “I like sleeping.”
It still takes another ten minutes to argue the fact that they are leaving, and in the end, Yamada simply grabs his coat and Keito's arm and leaves.
It feels relieving to be out in the cold night air again, and Keito draws a long, deep breath, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans.
“Are you okay?” Yamada asks, sounding a little concerned as he eyes Keito closely, a tiny pink tint to his cheeks from the alcohol and the heat inside. “They can be pretty intense.”
“I'm fine.” Keito assures, smiling at how Yamada keeps checking in with him. “Thanks for bringing me. I learned new things about you.”
“Wait, you did?” Yamada frowns, looking concerned for a different reason suddenly.
“Yeah. Like that your group bullies you, that you can be mean and that you feel very possessive over me.” He offers, his voice much more affectionate than he intended, but Yamada still makes a face.
“That doesn't sound like good things.” He says, not meeting Keito's eyes.
“No, no, don't do that.” Keito hurries to say, and thankfully Yamada turns to look at him questioningly. “They are good things, it makes me feel less worried about you? I guess?”
Yamada blinks at him, slowing to a stop as he eyes Keito's face carefully. “You worry about me?”
Keito shrugs uncomfortably, feeling his cheeks flush immediately. “I mean. You work a lot and you seem tired and I guess I worry you're overdoing it? So I guess, seeing you like that with your friends made me feel more like you can take care of yourself. Maybe. I don't know, that sounds stupid.”
He's just rambling, and he's not even sure what he's trying to say, so he just stops, carefully meeting Yamada's eyes and waiting for a yelling.
But Yamada's expression is soft as he watches Keito with his head tilted like he finds Keito adorable, and the pressure on Keito's insides loosen a little.
“That's... That's really sweet of you.” He says, his smile a little embarrassed, and Keito feels really cheesy and really awkward because he wants to reach out for him, kiss him, but he knows he can't do that here.
Keito can't think of a single thing to say, so he simply clears his throat and shrugs again, but Yamada just looks knowing as he starts to walk again.
“So uhm, is there something between Inoo and Chinen?” Keito asks, just to change the subject, but then realizes as soon as he asked that maybe that was out of line. “I mean, uhm, if I can ask that, of course.”
“What?!” Yamada exclaims with a laugh. “Iew, god, no, why would you think that?”
Keito blinks in surprise, and just raises his eyebrows because who wouldn't think that, and when Yamada looks at him he makes a face.
“Yeah, okay, I can see why you would think that.” He surrenders, but he still looks a little weirded out. “But no, there isn't, Inoo's just clingy. He's very taken by someone else.”
“Oh. Okay.” Keito says, realizing this was a bad topic to talk about because he feels like he can't ask any counter questions without coming off nosy.
“Which does not stop him from being clingy with everyone except his boyfriend but hey, that's him.” Yamada shrugs, sounding casual, but Keito still picks up a tense undertone.
“Does Chinen have anyone?” He asks, and Yamada shakes his head with a smile.
“Nah, if someone wants to date him they'd have to physically drag him out of his house.” He says, and Keito can definitely picture that. “He did have a boyfriend until like last year though.”
Keito is not surprised in the slightest, but he still feels a need to ask. “A lot of boyfriends and not many girlfriends huh?”
Yamada turns his head to look at him, his expression plainly saying 'bitch please'. “You clearly don't know what it's like to grow up in Johnny's.”
“I most certainly don't.” Keito agrees, and he's pretty happy that he doesn't. Still, he wouldn't mind a group of friends that aren't majorly straight.
“There is one guy in my group.” Yamada starts, raising a single finger to emphasize the number. “Who's not into boys even a tiny bit. One.”
“One? Who?” Keito asks, his mind already trying to figure out who that could be, but Yamada shakes his head with a teasing smile.
“You figure that out.” He says, and Keito figures that was the limit for personal information about other people tonight.
Keito shrugs, trying to convey that he doesn't really care except now that Yamada said that, he can't help being curious.
“... Did you ever date anyone in your group?” He asks instead, trying to sound casual but he's pretty sure Yamada sees through him.
It's a thought that he tried to push away tonight, but he couldn't really help himself when he noticed how Yamada talked to Chinen, how he looked at Yabu and Takaki smoking.
“Definitely not.” Yamada says determinedly, and Keito feels better immediately. “Chinen and I kissed when we were like 14 just to try it, but that's all.”
“Oh. Okay. Sounds reasonable.” Keito says, trying to fight the instant insecurity in his chest because he never kissed anyone just to try it.
“Good.” Yamada says, smiling as he starts digging for the keys to his apartment. “You have absolutely no one to be jealous of.”
Keito sends a silent thought to all the thousands of girls that would do anything to even look at Yamada in real life, but it just makes him smile. If only they knew.
~*~
Hey, you wanna go out on Sunday? My friend told me about this café and I really wanna try it.
Keito finds the message on his phone as he comes home from school and a terrible rainstorm. His hair is dripping onto the floor and nothing on him is dry, so when he glances at the wet, blurry screen, he assumes the message is from one of his girl friends considering the content. And since hanging out with other people than Yamada doesn't seem quite as important anymore, he leaves his phone for a while as he strips off his soaked clothes and takes a long hot shower, heats up some leftover food and settles on his bed to watch a movie.
So when he finally picks up his phone again to check that message, only to realize it's from Yamada, it's already followed by a second one.
I get it if you're busy. Or don't want to. Call me later, okay?
He stares at the messages for a long moment, surprised at both the first suggestion and the clearly second guessing one because Yamada's never done that before. But then again, Keito tends to reply to his texts within 10 minutes if he's not asleep. He just didn't think going out together during daytime would be on Yamada's agenda, like, ever, even though technically it wouldn't be bad for him to be seen with some random guy, right? He must have ordinary friends like anyone else. The last text was sent 12 minutes ago, so he sets his food aside and finds Yamada's number.
The signals pass, and Keito figures he might be working after all, ready to hang up when there's a small click on the other end.
“Hey.” Yamada says, sounding a little breathy like he's relieved. “I didn't mean you had to call me right now, I promise.”
“Yeah?” Keito asks, smiling because he's relieved too. Relieved that Yamada doesn't appear to be in bad shape. “I came home and went straight into the shower, I was pretty soaked. So I didn't see your message.”
“Is it raining? I haven't seen a window in a while.” Yamada says softly, and Keito hears it.
“Cats and dogs.” He says, then decides to point out what he heard. “Are you very tired?”
There a moment of silence, and then a faint sigh. “Yeah.”
“Can you go home soon?” Keito asks, hoping he can, and he's starting to realize where the insecurities came from.
“Hopefully in like an hour? I don't really know.” Yamada says, and he sounds so worn out suddenly that Keito's heart hurts.
“I wish I could feed you some energy somehow.” He says, and Yamada actually manages a soft laugh.
“You're doing it right now?” He offers, and Keito smiles so stupidly he's happy nobody sees him.
“I'm happy to hear that. Makes me feel less useless.” Keito confesses, and he can almost hear Yamada frown on the other end, so he decides to precede his protest. “I'd love to go out on Sunday, by the way.”
“Yeah? Is that okay?” Yamada asks, successfully distracted but now he sounds a little anxious instead.
“I mean, if you're okay with it, I'm okay with it?” Keito says, still finding it difficult to understand why he would mind.
“... It's not too girly?” Yamada asks, and Keito laughs out loud.
“You know I'm a gay man, right?” He says, and Yamada breathes a laugh on the other end. “I love cafes. Try and scare me off, I dare you.”
“Okay. Okay, good.” Yamada says, finally sounding relieved. “It's in Shibuya, so I figured we could meet there? Maybe do some shopping or something if we feel like it? I need a new jacket.”
“Do you need a jacket?” Keito asks, and he knows he sounds very judgemental but come on. He wonders how much money Yamada's spent on the jackets he already owns.
“Don't be patronizing.” Yamada warns him. “Or I might not pay for the date.”
“What if I want to pay?” Keito tries, but Yamada just hushes him.
“I really do need a jacket, okay, it's almost winter and I don't have a coat for that.” Yamada explains, and Keito just smiles.
“I've had the same one for years.” He admits, thinking about his pretty worn winter jacket that he considers refreshing every year but then never feels like he has the funds for it.
“We can get you one, too.” Yamada says, and Keito can hear him smiling, which makes his heart slowly mend itself after the heartbreak of hearing him so tired.
He doesn't even have the heart to tell Yamada that he most certainly doesn't want Yamada buying him anything.
“Yeah, maybe.” He agrees instead, thinking that he can pick that battle whenever Yamada tries. He'll just pretend to hate everything.
“Is eleven too early?” Yamada asks, and Keito says no, he gets up to class at 8 every morning anyway. Besides, Shibuya isn't that far from him.
They settle on a place to meet, and then Yamada has to hang up to go do something. Keito doesn't even know if he's filming or what he's doing right now, but he feels bad that Yamada's so stressed again.
At least he's starting to see the pattern between fatigue and insecurity, even if it's not a nice one. He lays his phone down on the nightstand and returns to the remains of his slightly cold food, thinking that at least Sunday is only four days from now.
~*~
As usual, four days is a long time in Keito's life without Yamada. He doesn't even know what he did with his time when Yamada wasn't around. Sleep? Study? Hang out with friends? Either way, it's clearly not enough for him these days.
So when he's finally on the train to Shibuya that Sunday, he feels calm in a way he never usually does before meeting Yamada. But at least now he knows he gets to meet him, and that it will help ease the longing in his body that's been there since the date was settled. It's like he's got an internal countdown to every time he gets to see Yamada that his body manages on its own.
He gets off the train and manages his way through the crowds, up stairs and down stairs, following the signs because honestly he doesn't know Shibuya station that well. It's not his kind of place.
Keito passes the Hachiko statue, seeing several people hanging around, looking like they're waiting, and the mandatory tourists photographing it. Yamada turned that rendezvous spot suggestion down as soon as Keito tried it.
“I'm not going to stand around by an attraction, I am an attraction in my own.” He'd said, and even though he'd laughed a little, Keito realized as he remembered the concert crowds how true that statement was.
So he crosses over the road, and walks after the directions in a text message until he finds the designated smaller street, and almost walks right into Yamada as he turns the corner.
“Oh, shit, sorry.” He says automatically, but Yamada just laughs.
“Hi.” He says, and Keito can tell he's smiling even though he's wearing a mask.
“Hi.” Keito sighs, smiling back as he takes in the look of the day. Full disguise mode with a black mask, a beanie, glasses and a black leather jacket paired with ripped jeans.
He can't help but reach out and brush Yamada's arm, even though he realizes he's not allowed to really touch him since they're in public.
“Good to see you.” Yamada says, and he sounds so honest Keito almost wants to cry. “I really missed you.”
“Me too.” Keito says, and he feels like he should have worn a mask too because his emotions are very clear on his face. “Are you feeling any better?”
“I am now?” Yamada says, and Keito just smiles back stupidly. “Wanna do some shopping first and then cafe for lunch?”
“Sure.” Keito shrugs, because honestly, if he can be with Yamada, he's up for anything.
“Good. If it's boring, tell me.” Yamada says seriously, then walks back out onto the main street and confidently starts guiding Keito along.
Whatever it is, it certainly isn't boring. Yamada walks into stores Keito wouldn't even consider going to, stores with golden names on fancy glass walls, stores with practically nothing inside, and stores with price tags that says “upon request”. Keito feels incredibly underdressed wearing what he usually wears, because the clerks can definitely tell he's wearing an old H&M jacket and cheap hair products. Thankfully Yamada is so natural Keito just tags along, feeling like he's getting a privileged look into a different universe.
Yamada doesn't find a jacket, but apparently, that only makes him happy.
“Really bad selection right now, don't you think?” He asks with a contradictory smile as they exit yet another store Keito's never heard of.
“Do you even want to find a jacket?” Keito asks, genuinely, because Yamada always finds faults with anything. Too dark, too light, too many zippers, not enough details, wrong material, not worth the price and so on.
“Of course I do!” Yamada objects, nudging Keito's shoulder with his own. “I just want to find the right one, you know?”
“Ah, don't we all look for the right one.” Keito teases, and Yamada rolls his eyes, but then sends Keito a soft look that melts his insides entirely.
“Yeah well, it's hard to find.” He shrugs then, steering Keito along. “You swear you'd tell me if you liked something, right?”
“I swear. Again.” Keito sighs, because as soon as he even glanced at anything, Yamada immediately asked if he wanted it.
“I somehow don't believe you.” Yamada sighs, but he doesn't sound as exasperated as he could be.
“Then don't.” Keito tells him, and Yamada just sighs more pointedly at him.
“I'll buy you something really expensive one day. Just watch me.” Yamada threatens, and it's Keito's turn to roll his eyes.
“I'm just happy you want to hang out with me, you really don't have to pay me in material stuff too.” He says, and Yamada makes a non-committal noise.
“We'll see.” He says, then looks up. “Hey, wanna take a quick tour in 109? I just love to look.”
“Do you really?” Keito teases, but then looks up to see that the building is just a block away. He's getting a bit hungry, but looking at Yamada doing things he likes feels more important than food. “But yeah, sure.”
He's been to the department store a couple times with his girl friends, and he must admit, it's fun to look at all the alternative designer stuff. He very secretly likes the shoe stores a lot, with the fun patterns and designs that normal shoe stores don't have.
Apparently, Yamada likes the accessories. He eyes handbags and jewellery, mentioning some friend or sister or co-star when he sees things, but only very quietly, because this place is packed with younger girls.
Yamada very pointedly slips into a store store and pretends to be very interested in socks with rabbit fur balls as a trio of girls pass, one of who is carrying a Hey! Say! Jump tote bag.
“You're like a ninja.” Keito says in quiet admiration as they return to their previous route, and Yamada smiles. “I wouldn't have seen that until she was right in front of me.”
“Trust me, I know every single design we've had on goods ever.” Yamada explains, walking a little closer to Keito than perhaps he'd have to, keeping his voice down. “And you're starting to recognize the type after a while.”
“I'm still impressed.” Keito tells him, and Yamada shrugs, looking ahead.
“Wanna look at earrings?” He asks, and Keito obediently follows into a small shop full of earrings.
Yamada gravitates towards silver and sparkles, and Keito lingers at the decorative stuff. There's all sorts of cute things, cookies and pies, butterflies, flowers, cats, berries and fruit, bows and Alice in Wonderland themes. And then there are cooler things, graphic designs and simplistic but expensive looking metal shapes.
“Do you find anything?” Yamada mumbles just next to him, and Keito smiles at how he sensed his presence from the perfume.
“I mean, I don't have any piercings, so not really?” Keito says, taking down a set with a silver star that dangles on a centimetre long chain, and a matching star stud that sparkles. “But I like stuff like this?”
“Why don't you get pierced then?” Yamada suggests, and Keito turns around to look at him with wide eyes. He wishes he could see his entire face, but the eyes behind those glasses are questioning.
“You're kidding, right?” He says, but Yamada just shakes his head.
“No? It'd be cool, don't you think?” He says. “You could do just one earlobe, that's what I have? It doesn't hurt much.”
“I...” Keito starts, but he actually considers it.
“I could do it for you?” Yamada says, sounding honest. “There was this whole thing about piercing each other as juniors but I was scared so I never got to do it. I kinda wanted to try.”
“... You wanna stab me with a needle?” Keito asks, raising his eyebrows and he feels his cheeks heating up because somehow that's kind of a little hot. Like Yamada leaving a mark on him that he could keep forever, or something. And here he is seriously considering piercing his ear when he's never even thought about it before.
“There are kits.” Yamada says casually, motioning to a display behind Keito's back. “And I'm just saying I wouldn't mind doing it if you wanted to get one.”
Keito turns around to look at the small kits packed in plastic, then at the other things in the same corner. Piercings for lips, noses, tongues and bellybuttons.
Then he turns back to Yamada, looking at his pierced ear with a tiny silver chrystal in it.
“It doesn't hurt much?” He asks, just to confirm.
“Not really. It stings when you do it but then it's okay. Heals in a couple weeks.” Yamada says, and he sounds so intrigued that Keito just makes his decision.
“Okay. Let's do it.” He says, and Yamada's eyebrows rise, but Keito can tell he's smiling.
“Cool.” He says, giving Keito a hot look, before grasping the earrings Keito's still holding in his hand and reaches across towards the kits. “I'll pay.”
~*~
Chapter 8
Chapter 10
Status: 9/11
Fandom: Hey! Say! JUMP
Pairing: Yamada/Keito
Overall rating: NC-17
Warnings: Half-AU where Keito's a university student. Pining. Lots of sex. Mess. A bit of angst, but in general a feelgood fic
Wordcount: 5639
Summary: Keito can't help if he stares at the man who just made him spill his drink for five seconds too long, looking at those dark lashes and wondering if there are people this pretty in real life
The bar looks tiny at first glance, just a microscopic front desk sort of thing with a set of stairs leading up behind it. There's a bored man there, supposedly to check people's IDs, but he barely glances up as Yamada simply walks past like he lives there, and Keito follows nervously.
Yamada just slipped on jeans, a T-shirt and a coat and he looks like a million bucks, and Keito feels cheap and clumsy and sweaty despite wearing a borrowed T-shirt.
His hands are sweating and his heart is beating uncomfortably loud in his ears, because he's so not ready to meet Yamada's group. He doesn't even know who will be here but it doesn't matter, he still feels like he's meeting Yamada's parents.
They get upstairs and it's smoky and loud, the tables arranged in booths divided by what looks like rebars braided with string lights.
Yamada seems to know where he's going, and Keito simply follows, noting from the design of the place that he would never consider going here. It's definitely out of his price range.
They round a corner and the booths get bigger, and Yamada clearly takes aim for one of the few that doesn't contain drunk men in suits.
Keito swallows and draws a deep breath, trying to convince himself that even if he makes an ass of himself, theses guys are obviously drunk and they most likely won't remember him anyway.
In the booth there are five people, and Keito recognizes two of them from the first night at the nightclub. The oshare guy with longer hair and a goofy pretty smile, and the lithe man with black hair and judging eyes, that he now knows are Takaki and Chinen.
Takaki's sitting next to a tall man with sharp cheekbones and hair in a dusty shade of brown, the two of them clearly sharing a cigarette as they giggle together. Chinen's pulled close by another man with an interesting haircut, sultry eyes and long fingers, an arm wrapped snugly around Chinen's shoulders while he half yells things across the table at the final occupant of the booth, Daiki. He thinks the two he's not sure of are Yabu and Inoo, but he doesn't dare assuming.
It feels so weird looking at them all up close in person when he's only really seen them on a screen or in glossy magazine pages.
Yamada walks all the way up to the table and stops at the edge of it, waiting the two seconds it takes for them to realize he's there.
Daiki pauses mid sentence and just stares at him for a moment, which causes the rest to look up as well, and there's another moment of silence before cheering breaks out.
“Yama-chan! You came!” Takaki hollers, reaching out as if to hug him and almost burns his neighbour with the cigarette in the process.
“I'm here!” Yamada agrees, looking over his shoulder at Keito with an apologetic smile, and all the attention shifts so rapidly that Keito feels like someone just directed a spotlight at him.
“Ohhh you must be Keito!” Daiki calls, looking at him with a big grin, hopping in closer to the smoking pair and pats the seat next to him. “I recognize you!”
“I do too!” Takaki agrees happily, and Keito doesn't really know what else to do than obediently sit down and slide in next to Daiki. “You're cute!”
“Hi.” He says awkwardly, but Yamada sits down next to him, shrugging out of his coat and his cologne has a calming effect on Keito.
“Everyone, this is Keito, please be nice to him.” Yamada says, and Keito's not used to the commanding tone he takes on, his volume enough to match Daiki. But he figures that's needed in this kind of company.
“Hi Keito!” Daiki calls, wrapping an arm tightly around Keito's shoulders and shakes him a little. “You wanna drink beer, right?”
“Uhm, I... Sure.” Keito agrees, but the man opposite him with the funny haircut already pressed the button to order. Repeatedly.
“This is Daiki.” Yamada leans in close to Keito and easily shoves Daiki's arm off of him, and Keito gravitates back towards Yamada instinctively. “Yabu, Takaki, Inoo and Chinen.”
They all look at him curiously, and Yabu grins.
“He does look like Hikaru's picture!” He exclaims, and Takaki chuckles next to him, resting his head on Yabu's shoulder for a moment and his long hair drapes over the plain black T-shirt Yabu's wearing.
“Wait what picture?” Keito asks, feeling a little cold suddenly, but Yamada immediately tries to hush them.
“There's no picture, don't be dicks guys!” He calls, then gets distracted as the waiter arrives at their table with a notepad ready, and Yabu just wriggles his eyebrows in an obvious 'or is there?' kind of way.
Yamada swiftly orders for himself and apparently Keito too, then glances across the table at Chinen. “You want anything?”
Keito looks up at Chinen carefully, because he's honestly most scared of him. He doesn't know much about him really, except that he has this very cute image in the videos and magazines, but in person there's not that vibe at all. He seems reserved and distant and like Keito might as well not be there.
Chinen doesn't look back at him, only nods at Yamada with an affirmative noise, and Yamada easily orders another kind of beer for him.
It makes Keito wet his lips and he's not sure why he's uncomfortable suddenly, but he knows that getting Chinen to like him feels like the most important thing he's had to do in weeks.
He eyes Inoo's hand on Chinen's shoulder drawing smooth, circular patterns over the fabric of his shirt and he wonders if they're a thing.
“So Keito, it's good to finally meet you.” Daiki says, his arm coming back up around Keito's shoulders as he pulls him in, and he smells nice. “Now, what are your intentions with my daughter?”
Yabu and Takaki cackle across the table, and Keito assumes they're the drunkest two, but Yamada's hand once again shoves Daiki's arm off Keito's shoulders.
“Stop touching him or we're leaving.” Yamada leans across Keito to tell Daiki off, and Keito feels a little hot at the possessive tone because he's never heard it before.
“Aww, are you jealous Yama-chan?” Inoo teases from across the table, and Chinen leans his head against Inoo's shoulder as he looks up at Inoo with a small smile.
“No, I just don't want you guys defiling him.” Yamada says determinedly, and they all laugh, Yabu's eyes slitting so much they seem to disappear as he speaks.
“Don't worry Yama-chan, that's your job.” He says, making Inoo and Daiki howl with laughter while Takaki raises his hand to cover his mouth like a girl would do as he laughs.
“Speaking of that, Keito, what's he really like-” Daiki starts, his arm coming up to wrap around Keito's shoulders again but Yamada slaps his hand away before it gets there.
“No!” He calls, and Keito wonders if he's always bullied like this or if they're all just drunk.
At least it's pretty cute how frustrated he looks, the dejected look in his eyes and the expression that plainly says he regrets coming.
“No but, seriously, Keito, tell us about yourself.” Yabu says, stealing the cigarette back from Takaki's careless fingers. “You're a student, right?”
And Keito talks a little about what he does, that he has about zero chances of getting a job out of his education, but he hopes to get into translating eventually. That spirals into them making him translate things into English, and Keito actually feels very included, and stupidly proud as they make wide eyes at him when he does translate any dumb stuff they come up with.
Yamada mostly sits close next to him and listens, occasionally calling objections at his friends when they get too nasty, and Keito likes feeling him so close, likes the hand coming to rest on his thigh under the table even though it makes him trail off mid sentence when it appears.
But he notices that Chinen still didn't speak a word, and Keito wonders what he has to do to get him to talk. If that's something Keitos's even capable of doing.
Keito keeps glancing over at him, at how he seems to melt into Inoo's side like a damsel in distress, letting himself be protected from whatever danger the outside world offers.
The conversation flows easily as Daiki picks up talking about how bad he was at English in school, and the others fill in with their worst school subjects. Keito's listening to Inoo tell a story about falling asleep during a math test when Yamada leans a little away from him, and Keito's attention naturally drifts.
“How did that thing go today?” Yamada asks Chinen, sipping his beer, and Keito's surprised to hear Chinen talk for the first time since they came.
“It was okay.” Chinen shrugs, upsetting Inoo's hand on his shoulder a little. “You're probably not gonna like it but it wasn't too bad? I mean we've both done worse.”
“As long as I don't have to take my clothes off.” Yamada says seriously, making Chinen laugh at his mortified expression, and Keito feels oddly like he's intruding as he watches them.
He's gotten the impression that Yamada and Chinen are close, but he's never actually heard Yamada talk about him.
“Hey, I gotta pee.” Inoo breaks in suddenly, and Chinen just turns to look at him like he couldn't care less, which makes Inoo laugh. “I'll be right back babe, just move.”
Chinen sighs and slides out of the booth, and Inoo happily squeezes his ass as he slips past before heading off.
Chinen clearly doesn't care, just sits back down and goes back to his conversation with Yamada, and Keito tries his hardest not to eavesdrop.
Daiki draws him back into conversation, talking about fashion choices now, and Keito wouldn't wear any of the things they bring up. He's not sure if that means he has no fashion sense or if these guys are just damaged from years covered in glitter.
At one point it hits him that he's sitting next to Arioka Daiki, the actual person, and he has to grin at the idea of what Ami's sister's face would look like if she knew. He gets a weird urge to steal Daiki's coaster.
“Hey.” Yamada's voice suddenly breathes against his ear and Keito jumps in surprise, quickly turning back to look at his face so close to his own. Yamada's watching him carefully, big eyes searching for signs of discomfort. “Are they okay? Because if they're assholes let me know.”
“They're okay.” Keito replies, unable to keep the soft smile from his lips at Yamada's concern, and he doesn't care about anything else in the world right now than Yamada's responding smile. And maybe a little bit the hand on his thigh that's stroking gently up and down.
“Oh wow you guys really are in love.” Inoo says, sounding impressed, and Keito feels the blush rise on his cheeks before he turns his head to find Inoo observing them from across the table while absently playing with Chinen's hair.
Takaki's also watching them with shameless interest, but Yabu looks away with a knowing smile as Keito glances at him, pointedly focusing on lighting a new cigarette.
“You're dumber than you look.” Yamada counters, and it's so immature that Keito can't keep from laughing.
The others laugh too, and the conversation moves on.
Keito's not sure for how long they've been there, but it has to be more than an hour because he's had two beers and he's not a fast drinker, when Chinen says he wants to go home.
“Want me to take you?” Inoo asks, and Chinen rolls his eyes.
“You're drunk, you're not taking anyone.” He says, but Inoo just squeezes him tighter into a hug, his voice going so sultry Keito feels a little uncomfortable.
“I could still take you home.” He says into Chinen's hair, and Chinen shrugs.
“Yeah sure, whatever.”
Yamada just makes a face at the exchange like it disgusts him, and then turns to Keito. “Wanna go home too?”
Keito nods, because he can sense that Yamada wants to go and he doesn't mind taking the blame for wanting to leave. He's tried hard enough for today.
“What, already?” Daiki protests, frowning at them, and Takaki makes some kind of put out noise that just sounds like a puppy sneezing.
“I have work tomorrow. Unlike some.” Yamada says, the jab obvious from his tone and Daiki clutches at his heart.
“Oh no, the pain is too much!” He calls, and for a second Keito's actually concerned because he does look in pain, until he rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out at Yamada. “I like sleeping.”
It still takes another ten minutes to argue the fact that they are leaving, and in the end, Yamada simply grabs his coat and Keito's arm and leaves.
It feels relieving to be out in the cold night air again, and Keito draws a long, deep breath, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans.
“Are you okay?” Yamada asks, sounding a little concerned as he eyes Keito closely, a tiny pink tint to his cheeks from the alcohol and the heat inside. “They can be pretty intense.”
“I'm fine.” Keito assures, smiling at how Yamada keeps checking in with him. “Thanks for bringing me. I learned new things about you.”
“Wait, you did?” Yamada frowns, looking concerned for a different reason suddenly.
“Yeah. Like that your group bullies you, that you can be mean and that you feel very possessive over me.” He offers, his voice much more affectionate than he intended, but Yamada still makes a face.
“That doesn't sound like good things.” He says, not meeting Keito's eyes.
“No, no, don't do that.” Keito hurries to say, and thankfully Yamada turns to look at him questioningly. “They are good things, it makes me feel less worried about you? I guess?”
Yamada blinks at him, slowing to a stop as he eyes Keito's face carefully. “You worry about me?”
Keito shrugs uncomfortably, feeling his cheeks flush immediately. “I mean. You work a lot and you seem tired and I guess I worry you're overdoing it? So I guess, seeing you like that with your friends made me feel more like you can take care of yourself. Maybe. I don't know, that sounds stupid.”
He's just rambling, and he's not even sure what he's trying to say, so he just stops, carefully meeting Yamada's eyes and waiting for a yelling.
But Yamada's expression is soft as he watches Keito with his head tilted like he finds Keito adorable, and the pressure on Keito's insides loosen a little.
“That's... That's really sweet of you.” He says, his smile a little embarrassed, and Keito feels really cheesy and really awkward because he wants to reach out for him, kiss him, but he knows he can't do that here.
Keito can't think of a single thing to say, so he simply clears his throat and shrugs again, but Yamada just looks knowing as he starts to walk again.
“So uhm, is there something between Inoo and Chinen?” Keito asks, just to change the subject, but then realizes as soon as he asked that maybe that was out of line. “I mean, uhm, if I can ask that, of course.”
“What?!” Yamada exclaims with a laugh. “Iew, god, no, why would you think that?”
Keito blinks in surprise, and just raises his eyebrows because who wouldn't think that, and when Yamada looks at him he makes a face.
“Yeah, okay, I can see why you would think that.” He surrenders, but he still looks a little weirded out. “But no, there isn't, Inoo's just clingy. He's very taken by someone else.”
“Oh. Okay.” Keito says, realizing this was a bad topic to talk about because he feels like he can't ask any counter questions without coming off nosy.
“Which does not stop him from being clingy with everyone except his boyfriend but hey, that's him.” Yamada shrugs, sounding casual, but Keito still picks up a tense undertone.
“Does Chinen have anyone?” He asks, and Yamada shakes his head with a smile.
“Nah, if someone wants to date him they'd have to physically drag him out of his house.” He says, and Keito can definitely picture that. “He did have a boyfriend until like last year though.”
Keito is not surprised in the slightest, but he still feels a need to ask. “A lot of boyfriends and not many girlfriends huh?”
Yamada turns his head to look at him, his expression plainly saying 'bitch please'. “You clearly don't know what it's like to grow up in Johnny's.”
“I most certainly don't.” Keito agrees, and he's pretty happy that he doesn't. Still, he wouldn't mind a group of friends that aren't majorly straight.
“There is one guy in my group.” Yamada starts, raising a single finger to emphasize the number. “Who's not into boys even a tiny bit. One.”
“One? Who?” Keito asks, his mind already trying to figure out who that could be, but Yamada shakes his head with a teasing smile.
“You figure that out.” He says, and Keito figures that was the limit for personal information about other people tonight.
Keito shrugs, trying to convey that he doesn't really care except now that Yamada said that, he can't help being curious.
“... Did you ever date anyone in your group?” He asks instead, trying to sound casual but he's pretty sure Yamada sees through him.
It's a thought that he tried to push away tonight, but he couldn't really help himself when he noticed how Yamada talked to Chinen, how he looked at Yabu and Takaki smoking.
“Definitely not.” Yamada says determinedly, and Keito feels better immediately. “Chinen and I kissed when we were like 14 just to try it, but that's all.”
“Oh. Okay. Sounds reasonable.” Keito says, trying to fight the instant insecurity in his chest because he never kissed anyone just to try it.
“Good.” Yamada says, smiling as he starts digging for the keys to his apartment. “You have absolutely no one to be jealous of.”
Keito sends a silent thought to all the thousands of girls that would do anything to even look at Yamada in real life, but it just makes him smile. If only they knew.
~*~
Hey, you wanna go out on Sunday? My friend told me about this café and I really wanna try it.
Keito finds the message on his phone as he comes home from school and a terrible rainstorm. His hair is dripping onto the floor and nothing on him is dry, so when he glances at the wet, blurry screen, he assumes the message is from one of his girl friends considering the content. And since hanging out with other people than Yamada doesn't seem quite as important anymore, he leaves his phone for a while as he strips off his soaked clothes and takes a long hot shower, heats up some leftover food and settles on his bed to watch a movie.
So when he finally picks up his phone again to check that message, only to realize it's from Yamada, it's already followed by a second one.
I get it if you're busy. Or don't want to. Call me later, okay?
He stares at the messages for a long moment, surprised at both the first suggestion and the clearly second guessing one because Yamada's never done that before. But then again, Keito tends to reply to his texts within 10 minutes if he's not asleep. He just didn't think going out together during daytime would be on Yamada's agenda, like, ever, even though technically it wouldn't be bad for him to be seen with some random guy, right? He must have ordinary friends like anyone else. The last text was sent 12 minutes ago, so he sets his food aside and finds Yamada's number.
The signals pass, and Keito figures he might be working after all, ready to hang up when there's a small click on the other end.
“Hey.” Yamada says, sounding a little breathy like he's relieved. “I didn't mean you had to call me right now, I promise.”
“Yeah?” Keito asks, smiling because he's relieved too. Relieved that Yamada doesn't appear to be in bad shape. “I came home and went straight into the shower, I was pretty soaked. So I didn't see your message.”
“Is it raining? I haven't seen a window in a while.” Yamada says softly, and Keito hears it.
“Cats and dogs.” He says, then decides to point out what he heard. “Are you very tired?”
There a moment of silence, and then a faint sigh. “Yeah.”
“Can you go home soon?” Keito asks, hoping he can, and he's starting to realize where the insecurities came from.
“Hopefully in like an hour? I don't really know.” Yamada says, and he sounds so worn out suddenly that Keito's heart hurts.
“I wish I could feed you some energy somehow.” He says, and Yamada actually manages a soft laugh.
“You're doing it right now?” He offers, and Keito smiles so stupidly he's happy nobody sees him.
“I'm happy to hear that. Makes me feel less useless.” Keito confesses, and he can almost hear Yamada frown on the other end, so he decides to precede his protest. “I'd love to go out on Sunday, by the way.”
“Yeah? Is that okay?” Yamada asks, successfully distracted but now he sounds a little anxious instead.
“I mean, if you're okay with it, I'm okay with it?” Keito says, still finding it difficult to understand why he would mind.
“... It's not too girly?” Yamada asks, and Keito laughs out loud.
“You know I'm a gay man, right?” He says, and Yamada breathes a laugh on the other end. “I love cafes. Try and scare me off, I dare you.”
“Okay. Okay, good.” Yamada says, finally sounding relieved. “It's in Shibuya, so I figured we could meet there? Maybe do some shopping or something if we feel like it? I need a new jacket.”
“Do you need a jacket?” Keito asks, and he knows he sounds very judgemental but come on. He wonders how much money Yamada's spent on the jackets he already owns.
“Don't be patronizing.” Yamada warns him. “Or I might not pay for the date.”
“What if I want to pay?” Keito tries, but Yamada just hushes him.
“I really do need a jacket, okay, it's almost winter and I don't have a coat for that.” Yamada explains, and Keito just smiles.
“I've had the same one for years.” He admits, thinking about his pretty worn winter jacket that he considers refreshing every year but then never feels like he has the funds for it.
“We can get you one, too.” Yamada says, and Keito can hear him smiling, which makes his heart slowly mend itself after the heartbreak of hearing him so tired.
He doesn't even have the heart to tell Yamada that he most certainly doesn't want Yamada buying him anything.
“Yeah, maybe.” He agrees instead, thinking that he can pick that battle whenever Yamada tries. He'll just pretend to hate everything.
“Is eleven too early?” Yamada asks, and Keito says no, he gets up to class at 8 every morning anyway. Besides, Shibuya isn't that far from him.
They settle on a place to meet, and then Yamada has to hang up to go do something. Keito doesn't even know if he's filming or what he's doing right now, but he feels bad that Yamada's so stressed again.
At least he's starting to see the pattern between fatigue and insecurity, even if it's not a nice one. He lays his phone down on the nightstand and returns to the remains of his slightly cold food, thinking that at least Sunday is only four days from now.
~*~
As usual, four days is a long time in Keito's life without Yamada. He doesn't even know what he did with his time when Yamada wasn't around. Sleep? Study? Hang out with friends? Either way, it's clearly not enough for him these days.
So when he's finally on the train to Shibuya that Sunday, he feels calm in a way he never usually does before meeting Yamada. But at least now he knows he gets to meet him, and that it will help ease the longing in his body that's been there since the date was settled. It's like he's got an internal countdown to every time he gets to see Yamada that his body manages on its own.
He gets off the train and manages his way through the crowds, up stairs and down stairs, following the signs because honestly he doesn't know Shibuya station that well. It's not his kind of place.
Keito passes the Hachiko statue, seeing several people hanging around, looking like they're waiting, and the mandatory tourists photographing it. Yamada turned that rendezvous spot suggestion down as soon as Keito tried it.
“I'm not going to stand around by an attraction, I am an attraction in my own.” He'd said, and even though he'd laughed a little, Keito realized as he remembered the concert crowds how true that statement was.
So he crosses over the road, and walks after the directions in a text message until he finds the designated smaller street, and almost walks right into Yamada as he turns the corner.
“Oh, shit, sorry.” He says automatically, but Yamada just laughs.
“Hi.” He says, and Keito can tell he's smiling even though he's wearing a mask.
“Hi.” Keito sighs, smiling back as he takes in the look of the day. Full disguise mode with a black mask, a beanie, glasses and a black leather jacket paired with ripped jeans.
He can't help but reach out and brush Yamada's arm, even though he realizes he's not allowed to really touch him since they're in public.
“Good to see you.” Yamada says, and he sounds so honest Keito almost wants to cry. “I really missed you.”
“Me too.” Keito says, and he feels like he should have worn a mask too because his emotions are very clear on his face. “Are you feeling any better?”
“I am now?” Yamada says, and Keito just smiles back stupidly. “Wanna do some shopping first and then cafe for lunch?”
“Sure.” Keito shrugs, because honestly, if he can be with Yamada, he's up for anything.
“Good. If it's boring, tell me.” Yamada says seriously, then walks back out onto the main street and confidently starts guiding Keito along.
Whatever it is, it certainly isn't boring. Yamada walks into stores Keito wouldn't even consider going to, stores with golden names on fancy glass walls, stores with practically nothing inside, and stores with price tags that says “upon request”. Keito feels incredibly underdressed wearing what he usually wears, because the clerks can definitely tell he's wearing an old H&M jacket and cheap hair products. Thankfully Yamada is so natural Keito just tags along, feeling like he's getting a privileged look into a different universe.
Yamada doesn't find a jacket, but apparently, that only makes him happy.
“Really bad selection right now, don't you think?” He asks with a contradictory smile as they exit yet another store Keito's never heard of.
“Do you even want to find a jacket?” Keito asks, genuinely, because Yamada always finds faults with anything. Too dark, too light, too many zippers, not enough details, wrong material, not worth the price and so on.
“Of course I do!” Yamada objects, nudging Keito's shoulder with his own. “I just want to find the right one, you know?”
“Ah, don't we all look for the right one.” Keito teases, and Yamada rolls his eyes, but then sends Keito a soft look that melts his insides entirely.
“Yeah well, it's hard to find.” He shrugs then, steering Keito along. “You swear you'd tell me if you liked something, right?”
“I swear. Again.” Keito sighs, because as soon as he even glanced at anything, Yamada immediately asked if he wanted it.
“I somehow don't believe you.” Yamada sighs, but he doesn't sound as exasperated as he could be.
“Then don't.” Keito tells him, and Yamada just sighs more pointedly at him.
“I'll buy you something really expensive one day. Just watch me.” Yamada threatens, and it's Keito's turn to roll his eyes.
“I'm just happy you want to hang out with me, you really don't have to pay me in material stuff too.” He says, and Yamada makes a non-committal noise.
“We'll see.” He says, then looks up. “Hey, wanna take a quick tour in 109? I just love to look.”
“Do you really?” Keito teases, but then looks up to see that the building is just a block away. He's getting a bit hungry, but looking at Yamada doing things he likes feels more important than food. “But yeah, sure.”
He's been to the department store a couple times with his girl friends, and he must admit, it's fun to look at all the alternative designer stuff. He very secretly likes the shoe stores a lot, with the fun patterns and designs that normal shoe stores don't have.
Apparently, Yamada likes the accessories. He eyes handbags and jewellery, mentioning some friend or sister or co-star when he sees things, but only very quietly, because this place is packed with younger girls.
Yamada very pointedly slips into a store store and pretends to be very interested in socks with rabbit fur balls as a trio of girls pass, one of who is carrying a Hey! Say! Jump tote bag.
“You're like a ninja.” Keito says in quiet admiration as they return to their previous route, and Yamada smiles. “I wouldn't have seen that until she was right in front of me.”
“Trust me, I know every single design we've had on goods ever.” Yamada explains, walking a little closer to Keito than perhaps he'd have to, keeping his voice down. “And you're starting to recognize the type after a while.”
“I'm still impressed.” Keito tells him, and Yamada shrugs, looking ahead.
“Wanna look at earrings?” He asks, and Keito obediently follows into a small shop full of earrings.
Yamada gravitates towards silver and sparkles, and Keito lingers at the decorative stuff. There's all sorts of cute things, cookies and pies, butterflies, flowers, cats, berries and fruit, bows and Alice in Wonderland themes. And then there are cooler things, graphic designs and simplistic but expensive looking metal shapes.
“Do you find anything?” Yamada mumbles just next to him, and Keito smiles at how he sensed his presence from the perfume.
“I mean, I don't have any piercings, so not really?” Keito says, taking down a set with a silver star that dangles on a centimetre long chain, and a matching star stud that sparkles. “But I like stuff like this?”
“Why don't you get pierced then?” Yamada suggests, and Keito turns around to look at him with wide eyes. He wishes he could see his entire face, but the eyes behind those glasses are questioning.
“You're kidding, right?” He says, but Yamada just shakes his head.
“No? It'd be cool, don't you think?” He says. “You could do just one earlobe, that's what I have? It doesn't hurt much.”
“I...” Keito starts, but he actually considers it.
“I could do it for you?” Yamada says, sounding honest. “There was this whole thing about piercing each other as juniors but I was scared so I never got to do it. I kinda wanted to try.”
“... You wanna stab me with a needle?” Keito asks, raising his eyebrows and he feels his cheeks heating up because somehow that's kind of a little hot. Like Yamada leaving a mark on him that he could keep forever, or something. And here he is seriously considering piercing his ear when he's never even thought about it before.
“There are kits.” Yamada says casually, motioning to a display behind Keito's back. “And I'm just saying I wouldn't mind doing it if you wanted to get one.”
Keito turns around to look at the small kits packed in plastic, then at the other things in the same corner. Piercings for lips, noses, tongues and bellybuttons.
Then he turns back to Yamada, looking at his pierced ear with a tiny silver chrystal in it.
“It doesn't hurt much?” He asks, just to confirm.
“Not really. It stings when you do it but then it's okay. Heals in a couple weeks.” Yamada says, and he sounds so intrigued that Keito just makes his decision.
“Okay. Let's do it.” He says, and Yamada's eyebrows rise, but Keito can tell he's smiling.
“Cool.” He says, giving Keito a hot look, before grasping the earrings Keito's still holding in his hand and reaches across towards the kits. “I'll pay.”
~*~
Chapter 8
Chapter 10