Silhouette: SEQUEL
Takaki leaned against the brick wall outside of the studio, the sun rays almost penetrating his dark glasses. He pushed his left shoe further into the dry soil, his hands in his pocket. He looked up at the clear sky again, then at his watch, again, and bit his lip. It was almost five in the evening, but the sun seemed ready to shed its light already. He didn’t want to miss the sunset.
At least, not without Yabu.
Takaki blinked his eyes at the sun, squinting slightly behind his shades. It had been almost six days since his return from Taiwan, and all that he had on his plate ever since were more interviews, more scheduled photo shoots and more individual commercial filming to make up for the days that he wasn’t back here in Japan with the rest of JUMP. He had so much to catch up on, and they were just given their schedule for next month. Week after week they would have appearances on TV and promotional stints they would have to do for their new singles. Everything was so fast, so hasty - he felt like he didn’t even have time to recuperate from his trip.
What made things worse was the current status of relationship he had with Yabu... or at least, he thought he had. Not that their relationship had taken a turn for the worse or anything - initially, Takaki thought that there was advancement in their relationship, but at the moment, everything seemed to be in a... he frowned his eyes for the right word.
Standstill.
Just two days ago, Takaki and Yabu were eating together in their dressing room. They were seated in close proximity, talking heartily, laughing over the silliest of things, until Daiki came in.
“You guys seem really close,” Daiki said, with a wink. He leaned towards the table, his back bent as he planted his elbows on the table, his palms cupping his fluffy chin.
“Tell me,” Daiki said inquiringly. “Are the both of you together?”
Takaki’s eyes darted to Yabu’s. Yabu had looked up at him, his eyes flashing the slightest hint of worry and panic. Takaki’s palms grew moist and was about to speak, but Yabu beat him to it.
“No, Daiki!” Yabu laughed, albeit a little nervously. “I think you got your facts all wrong. I was just telling Takaki about Keito’s little accident when he wasn’t around - do you remember? The one where we were practicing for Bouken Rider, and he accidentally stepped on the uchiwa Chi-chan was making for Ohno-kun and broke the handle?”
Daiki looked at Takaki uncertainly, but Takaki had his eyes fixated somewhere else on the ground. He turned to Yabu. “Ah... yeah. I guess.”
And the next day, Yabu had waited for Takaki at the train station before making his way to the studio, acting as if nothing had happened. They returned to how they usually were - close, intimate and comfortable, but he always withdrew himself when there was somebody else in the same room.
Takaki looked at his watch again.
“Were you waiting for me?” a voice behind him spoke.
Takaki wheeled around. Yabu was there, grinning back at him, his carrier bag swung over his left shoulder as always. Takaki took off his shades. “What took you so long?”
“Hikaru,” Yabu began. He looked up at Takaki alarmingly and waved his hands hastily. “It’s nothing, don’t worry! He only really wanted to ask my opinion about this song he was composing, but I told him I couldn’t make out the tune of it and he got all frustrated at me and made me help him fix some notes. I told him I really couldn’t help him, because you know, I don’t know any more about composing music than he does, so it took me really long to get him to stop harassing me. He finally stopped when I told him he was better off consulting somebody else like Akun or Yonemura-kun or something. And he said it made sense, and I managed to escape and now I’m here.”
He peered into Takaki’s eyes. “You’re not angry or anything, are you?”
Takaki shook his head and laughed. “You didn’t need to go to such great lengths to explain everything to me, Yabu.”
Yabu grinned. He reached over and slid his fingers around Takaki’s. He looked up at Takaki and smiled. “Where did you say you were going to bring me again?”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Takaki had brought Yabu around the great big hill behind his house. It had a vast, unobstructed view of the sky ahead, peppered with the contours of smaller hills beyond. The red sun was beginning to set, its warm glow illuminating their faces as they watched in silence.
Takaki felt Yabu draw in a breath. He looked over, suddenly aware of the weight of Yabu’s head on his shoulder.
“Yabu, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
Takaki bit his lips and thought of a tactful way to phrase his question.
“Are we... together?”
He felt himself blush a bit. It was such an obstinate question.
Yabu sat up straight and looked at him. “What are you talking about?”
“I... I don’t know,” Takaki looked ahead, avoiding Yabu’s watchful gaze. “Remember when Daiki asked if we were together and... well, I don’t know. You said no when he asked if we were together. So that makes us two, right? We’re not together?”
Takaki felt his ears grow warmer as he spoke. He couldn’t believe how awkwardly he was approaching this.
Yabu seemed like he was ready to explode.
“I said no only because you didn’t seem like you didn’t want to say anything, you dope!” Yabu cried. “I looked up at you, and you were looking back at me like you were totally confused, and I thought you didn’t want anybody to know about us and you looked like you weren’t able to say it out, so I just said no, like I thought you would’ve!”
Yabu drew in another deep breath. “Is that what you’ve been worrying about lately?”
Takaki nodded.
“I can’t believe you. You’re such a dope.”
Takaki turned to him. “You’re not angry or anything, are you?”
Yabu pursed his lips. “No, I’m just terribly amused.”
Takaki didn’t look too convinced. Yabu turned to him.
“Don’t go all quiet on me.”
Yabu reached over and took Takaki’s hands into his.
“Look... I didn’t want to make you upset because I didn’t know if you wanted other people to know, but you know, you could’ve told me earlier that you were okay with it,” Yabu said quietly. “I just... I didn’t want to lose you over small things like that.”
“And to answer your question...”
“... we’re definitely together.”
Takaki smiled and pulled Yabu closer. They hugged for a moment, and gently, Takaki pulled away and leaned backwards to look into Yabu’s eyes. He moved closer, closer, and closer, until their lips touched, and kissed Yabu, softly.
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Hikaru splashed cold water on to his face. He looked at himself in the mirror, checking every inch of his face. He smiled to himself.
I’ve been waiting for so long.
He grabbed his car keys and left the house.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yabu dialled Takaki’s mobile phone for the umpteenth time. Takaki wasn’t one to be late on important days. He was about to punch his number again in frustration when he saw Takaki running towards him, hair messy, shoelaces undone. As he ran towards Yabu, he smiled sheepishly.
“Sorry, I couldn’t find my shoes.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It had been two years, two long years, since he had last seen Inoo. He had wanted to visit him in America, but both of them had been busy, Inoo with his studies, and Hikaru with his work. He called Inoo at least once a week, but due to the time difference and their different schedules, it was hard to talk for long.
It had been two years, two long years, since the letter.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Ne Daiki, are you excited about Inoo-chan’s return?” Chinen asked, chewing on a blue gummy bear.
Daiki looked at Chinen and smiled.
“Of course.”
He took Chinen’s hands and held them tightly.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“LOOK IT’S INOO-CHAN!” Ryutaro exclaimed loudly, grabbing Keito’s arms.
“What? Where?”
“Inoo-chan! We’re here!”
He was still as slender as ever, and had grown a little taller. His cap was pulled down low so that it covered half of his face, but Hikaru could see that he had lost some weight. His hair was longer, and his bag was slung carelessly over his shoulder.
Inoo noticed the younger JUMP members jumping around excitedly (anyone would), and gave a smile. He walked over to them and they all surrounded him, bombarding him with questions.
“So how was America? Was it fun?”
“How’s the burgers there? I heard it’s really good!”
“Harry Potter?”
“Not Harry Potter! It’s Superman!”
Inoo smiled and laughed along with them, trying his best to answer all their questions. Takaki, Yabu and Daiki joined in, patting Inoo and playing around with him. Then, Yabu pulled Inoo from the rest of them and pushed him towards the lone Hikaru.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Hey.” Inoo said softly.
“Hey.” Hikaru felt his palms feel sweaty, and he felt awkward and nervous, like how he felt when he first confessed to Inoo.
Suddenly, Inoo ran forward to Hikaru and hugged him tightly.
“I missed you so much.”
Hikaru hugged him back, and felt a teardrop roll down his face.
“I missed you too.”
Ryutaro poked Yuto’s sides. “Why is Hikaru crying? Is he sad that Inoo-chan is back?”
Yuto grinned. “It’s called love.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Hikaru?” Inoo asked, as they looked up at the stars. They had spent the whole day together, and now they were lying down at the rooftop of Inoo’s place.
“Hmm?”
“Do you have someone else now?”
Hikaru sat up, and looked at Inoo. “What?”
Inoo continued looking up at the sky. “I mean, it’s been two years right. Many things must have happened. So have you found someone new? I mean it’s perfectly okay to tell me if you do, because it’s pretty selfish of me to ask you to wait for me till I come back, but I just wanted to know -”
Inoo stopped halfway as Hikaru kissed him.
“Does this answer your question?” He mumbled.
Inoo could only smile.
“I told you I’ll wait for you anyway, stupid.”
At least, not without Yabu.
Takaki blinked his eyes at the sun, squinting slightly behind his shades. It had been almost six days since his return from Taiwan, and all that he had on his plate ever since were more interviews, more scheduled photo shoots and more individual commercial filming to make up for the days that he wasn’t back here in Japan with the rest of JUMP. He had so much to catch up on, and they were just given their schedule for next month. Week after week they would have appearances on TV and promotional stints they would have to do for their new singles. Everything was so fast, so hasty - he felt like he didn’t even have time to recuperate from his trip.
What made things worse was the current status of relationship he had with Yabu... or at least, he thought he had. Not that their relationship had taken a turn for the worse or anything - initially, Takaki thought that there was advancement in their relationship, but at the moment, everything seemed to be in a... he frowned his eyes for the right word.
Standstill.
Just two days ago, Takaki and Yabu were eating together in their dressing room. They were seated in close proximity, talking heartily, laughing over the silliest of things, until Daiki came in.
“You guys seem really close,” Daiki said, with a wink. He leaned towards the table, his back bent as he planted his elbows on the table, his palms cupping his fluffy chin.
“Tell me,” Daiki said inquiringly. “Are the both of you together?”
Takaki’s eyes darted to Yabu’s. Yabu had looked up at him, his eyes flashing the slightest hint of worry and panic. Takaki’s palms grew moist and was about to speak, but Yabu beat him to it.
“No, Daiki!” Yabu laughed, albeit a little nervously. “I think you got your facts all wrong. I was just telling Takaki about Keito’s little accident when he wasn’t around - do you remember? The one where we were practicing for Bouken Rider, and he accidentally stepped on the uchiwa Chi-chan was making for Ohno-kun and broke the handle?”
Daiki looked at Takaki uncertainly, but Takaki had his eyes fixated somewhere else on the ground. He turned to Yabu. “Ah... yeah. I guess.”
And the next day, Yabu had waited for Takaki at the train station before making his way to the studio, acting as if nothing had happened. They returned to how they usually were - close, intimate and comfortable, but he always withdrew himself when there was somebody else in the same room.
Takaki looked at his watch again.
“Were you waiting for me?” a voice behind him spoke.
Takaki wheeled around. Yabu was there, grinning back at him, his carrier bag swung over his left shoulder as always. Takaki took off his shades. “What took you so long?”
“Hikaru,” Yabu began. He looked up at Takaki alarmingly and waved his hands hastily. “It’s nothing, don’t worry! He only really wanted to ask my opinion about this song he was composing, but I told him I couldn’t make out the tune of it and he got all frustrated at me and made me help him fix some notes. I told him I really couldn’t help him, because you know, I don’t know any more about composing music than he does, so it took me really long to get him to stop harassing me. He finally stopped when I told him he was better off consulting somebody else like Akun or Yonemura-kun or something. And he said it made sense, and I managed to escape and now I’m here.”
He peered into Takaki’s eyes. “You’re not angry or anything, are you?”
Takaki shook his head and laughed. “You didn’t need to go to such great lengths to explain everything to me, Yabu.”
Yabu grinned. He reached over and slid his fingers around Takaki’s. He looked up at Takaki and smiled. “Where did you say you were going to bring me again?”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Takaki had brought Yabu around the great big hill behind his house. It had a vast, unobstructed view of the sky ahead, peppered with the contours of smaller hills beyond. The red sun was beginning to set, its warm glow illuminating their faces as they watched in silence.
Takaki felt Yabu draw in a breath. He looked over, suddenly aware of the weight of Yabu’s head on his shoulder.
“Yabu, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
Takaki bit his lips and thought of a tactful way to phrase his question.
“Are we... together?”
He felt himself blush a bit. It was such an obstinate question.
Yabu sat up straight and looked at him. “What are you talking about?”
“I... I don’t know,” Takaki looked ahead, avoiding Yabu’s watchful gaze. “Remember when Daiki asked if we were together and... well, I don’t know. You said no when he asked if we were together. So that makes us two, right? We’re not together?”
Takaki felt his ears grow warmer as he spoke. He couldn’t believe how awkwardly he was approaching this.
Yabu seemed like he was ready to explode.
“I said no only because you didn’t seem like you didn’t want to say anything, you dope!” Yabu cried. “I looked up at you, and you were looking back at me like you were totally confused, and I thought you didn’t want anybody to know about us and you looked like you weren’t able to say it out, so I just said no, like I thought you would’ve!”
Yabu drew in another deep breath. “Is that what you’ve been worrying about lately?”
Takaki nodded.
“I can’t believe you. You’re such a dope.”
Takaki turned to him. “You’re not angry or anything, are you?”
Yabu pursed his lips. “No, I’m just terribly amused.”
Takaki didn’t look too convinced. Yabu turned to him.
“Don’t go all quiet on me.”
Yabu reached over and took Takaki’s hands into his.
“Look... I didn’t want to make you upset because I didn’t know if you wanted other people to know, but you know, you could’ve told me earlier that you were okay with it,” Yabu said quietly. “I just... I didn’t want to lose you over small things like that.”
“And to answer your question...”
“... we’re definitely together.”
Takaki smiled and pulled Yabu closer. They hugged for a moment, and gently, Takaki pulled away and leaned backwards to look into Yabu’s eyes. He moved closer, closer, and closer, until their lips touched, and kissed Yabu, softly.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hikaru splashed cold water on to his face. He looked at himself in the mirror, checking every inch of his face. He smiled to himself.
I’ve been waiting for so long.
He grabbed his car keys and left the house.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yabu dialled Takaki’s mobile phone for the umpteenth time. Takaki wasn’t one to be late on important days. He was about to punch his number again in frustration when he saw Takaki running towards him, hair messy, shoelaces undone. As he ran towards Yabu, he smiled sheepishly.
“Sorry, I couldn’t find my shoes.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It had been two years, two long years, since he had last seen Inoo. He had wanted to visit him in America, but both of them had been busy, Inoo with his studies, and Hikaru with his work. He called Inoo at least once a week, but due to the time difference and their different schedules, it was hard to talk for long.
It had been two years, two long years, since the letter.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Ne Daiki, are you excited about Inoo-chan’s return?” Chinen asked, chewing on a blue gummy bear.
Daiki looked at Chinen and smiled.
“Of course.”
He took Chinen’s hands and held them tightly.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“LOOK IT’S INOO-CHAN!” Ryutaro exclaimed loudly, grabbing Keito’s arms.
“What? Where?”
“Inoo-chan! We’re here!”
He was still as slender as ever, and had grown a little taller. His cap was pulled down low so that it covered half of his face, but Hikaru could see that he had lost some weight. His hair was longer, and his bag was slung carelessly over his shoulder.
Inoo noticed the younger JUMP members jumping around excitedly (anyone would), and gave a smile. He walked over to them and they all surrounded him, bombarding him with questions.
“So how was America? Was it fun?”
“How’s the burgers there? I heard it’s really good!”
“Harry Potter?”
“Not Harry Potter! It’s Superman!”
Inoo smiled and laughed along with them, trying his best to answer all their questions. Takaki, Yabu and Daiki joined in, patting Inoo and playing around with him. Then, Yabu pulled Inoo from the rest of them and pushed him towards the lone Hikaru.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Hey.” Inoo said softly.
“Hey.” Hikaru felt his palms feel sweaty, and he felt awkward and nervous, like how he felt when he first confessed to Inoo.
Suddenly, Inoo ran forward to Hikaru and hugged him tightly.
“I missed you so much.”
Hikaru hugged him back, and felt a teardrop roll down his face.
“I missed you too.”
Ryutaro poked Yuto’s sides. “Why is Hikaru crying? Is he sad that Inoo-chan is back?”
Yuto grinned. “It’s called love.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Hikaru?” Inoo asked, as they looked up at the stars. They had spent the whole day together, and now they were lying down at the rooftop of Inoo’s place.
“Hmm?”
“Do you have someone else now?”
Hikaru sat up, and looked at Inoo. “What?”
Inoo continued looking up at the sky. “I mean, it’s been two years right. Many things must have happened. So have you found someone new? I mean it’s perfectly okay to tell me if you do, because it’s pretty selfish of me to ask you to wait for me till I come back, but I just wanted to know -”
Inoo stopped halfway as Hikaru kissed him.
“Does this answer your question?” He mumbled.
Inoo could only smile.
“I told you I’ll wait for you anyway, stupid.”