[Vix] Drabbles
Drabbles! :D From a request post back in June.
1582; Kitayama/Fujigaya, PG13
for bwfas, prompt Kimono, 1582
"My Lord, we must leave."
The shouts and sounds of battle are still distant, but they grow ever-closer with every passing moment. The subjects guarding Kitayama whilst he slept were few - they had not been expecting to have to fend off an attack here, on safe territory - but they fight well, their bravery and loyalty to Kitayama fueling them to do their best, fight their hardest and take down as many as they can before they finally fall. They can't keep the troops at bay forever though; eventually the warriors will take down the last of Kitayama's men, and then there will be nothing standing in their way. One look at his master's face, and Taisuke knows Kitayama knows this too.
Then Kitayama blinks, and the defeated look in his eyes is gone.
"You wish for me to leave here, Taisuke?" He asks, straightening his back and placing his palms flat on his thighs, "You wish for me to run, and have them give chase? Do you wish for me to play the coward, Taisuke?"
Taisuke's eyes are drawn towards the ground. "No, my Lord. I simply do not wish- I do not-" He can't say it, voice stuck uncomfortably in his throat, and Taisuke swallows and says nothing.
Kitayama doesn't need him to speak though, has never needed to hear the words leave Taisuke's mouth to know what he means, and offers a small smile, reaching out to lift Taisuke's chin in an encouragement to look at him.
"I know, Taisuke. I will not let them take me, do not fear that. But you, you must leave here. You have done more for me than I could ever have asked of you, and you mean more to me than any other. So I must ask that you leave. They will not follow you, you need only hide in the temple grounds until they are gone and you will be free. You have enough gold to take care of yourself now, so please, go. This is not your time to die, not here."
But Taisuke has already stopped listening and is shaking his head firmly. "No, my Lord, I will not run. I am no coward. This is the only life I know, the only life I wish to know. And if this is how I should leave this world, then so be it. I would rather it be by your side than after many years on these lands without you to share them with me."
Taisuke sees Kitayama's throat working, and catches a hint of a sad smile around his eyes, but it's gone before it ever makes it onto his face.
"Very well," his master says in tight, precise syllables. "If that is truly what you wish, Taisuke."
"It is, my Lord," Taisuke replies firmly. He might only be young, but he's never been more sure of anything in his life.
Kitayama nods sharply, eyes flickering towards the door as the shouts grow louder still. "We do not have much time. Bring me my sword."
Taisuke does as he is asked without hesitation, eyes never wavering as Kitayama draws the short blade and holds it out, straight and steady, the tip resting just above where Taisuke knows his navel to be.
"Come here," he says, and his voice is rough, taking on a gravelly effect that Taisuke isn't used to hearing in this kind of situation.
Still, Taisuke goes to him, and Kitayama leans forward to press their foreheads together, drawing a deep, shuddering breath. Kitayama's mouth tastes of salt and Taisuke's cheeks feel wet, but he can't tell whose eyes the tears are from. Maybe it doesn't matter; they've shared so much in their time together that it feels somehow apt that they should share these tears too.
Then Kitayama's easing himself back, and Taisuke doesn't look away, can't look away, as he drives the blade as deep as he can, a grunt of pain catching behind his teeth. Kitayama's fingers flex around the handle, getting a better grip before they draw it harshly across his stomach, as far to the left as he can manage. Kitayama's face is calm, features smooth, but Taisuke can see the unbearable pain shining black in his master's eyes, and Kitayama's hands falter as he tries to draw the blade across to the right to complete the ritual.
"Taisuke-" he says, grinding the word out, and it's all he needs to say. Taisuke can see his master's enviable strength failing him, fingers struggling to hold onto his blade, and he moves closer once more to take hold of hands that once held him close, wrapping fingers that once stroked through his hair in his own. As he draws the blade across in that one, final slicing motion, Taisuke presses his mouth to his master's again, feeling Kitayama's lips move weakly against his as he bleeds out across Taisuke's lap.
Taisuke holds his master upright for as long as he can, clutching onto the knife handle until the last of Kitayama's strength has faded, then he gently lays him down and draws the blade out as carefully as he can. The sounds of battle are close now, and Taisuke hears the thud of a man falling outside their door. He curls his fingers around his master's blade, still warm where Kitayama's fingers had held it tightly, and touches the tip to his stomach.
Taisuke is not scared. Taisuke knows there will be another time, another life for them.
The blade sinks home.
One day, he will be with his master again.
Fool Me Again; Tottsu/Fujigaya, PG13
for crazy_otaku911, prompt 'Now I know what a fool I've been, but if you kiss me now, I know you'll fool me again' - ♫
Tottsu doesn't like to think he's a particularly gullible person.
He doesn't like to think it, but he has it proved to him on a startlingly regular basis. Every time one of his group loiter in the corridor, he's the first to go into their break room. Every time one of Kisumai turn up with a surprise lunch, he's the first to open the bento. Every time a teeny, tiny junior pokes their head in the door and announces, with wide, terrified eyes, that there's been an accident and they need to come quickly, he's the first one on the scene. And every time he gets soaked through, or finds liver in his food, or falls over a giggling pile of limbs in the middle of the floor (that inevitably turns out to be Fumi and Fujigaya), he's reminded again of how much he needs to think more carefully before trusting his colleagues so implicitly.
Sometimes he manages it for a little while - once he even made it two days without incident - but it never takes long before he's back to assuming the best (or the worst, depending on the situation) because Tottsu knows that the one day he doesn't eat the food will be the one time someone really is being generous, and the one time he doesn't go running at the first sign of trouble will be the one time someone really is in desperate need of help.
Fujigaya's the worst, really, and no matter how many pranks the other man pulls on him, Tottsu can't stop himself blindly walking into every single one. However, unlike everyone else who has figured out how much fun it is to pull the wool over Tottsu's eyes, Fujigaya always, always makes up for it. Whether it's when they get home later that day, or in a quiet corner while everyone else is in rehearsals, or in an unlocked closet on their lunch break, every time Fujigaya will wrap a hand around his wrist and pull him close, eyes fluttering closed as he lets out a soft breath before covering Tottsu's mouth with his own. Whether Fujigaya's kisses are soft and sweet, or more hard and needy, Tottsu always finds himself melting and responding in kind, hands bunching in the back of Fujigaya's shirt or in his new, short hair. He misses being able to tangle his fingers in the long, curled strands, misses being able to pull it loose from its ponytail and muss it up even more, but there's always plenty of other places for his hands to rest, like Fujigaya's neck, his waist, his belt loops, and Tottsu can't find it in him to care all that much that the hair's gone when Fujigaya's kissing him like he's oxygen.
The next time Fujigaya switches out Tottsu's hair straighteners with an old, broken pair, Tottsu almost catches him in the act, but instead he sneaks back out before Fujigaya notices him and hides around the corner until the other man leaves. When he switches the straighteners on later that day and they start to smoke, Tottsu doesn't screech and panic like he normally would, just turns them off (and unplugs them from the wall), wanders sedately down the hall to Kisumai's break-room and drags Fujigaya back out with him.
Nobody bats an eyelid, but they do get a leer and a long, slow wink from Kitayama just before the door closes behind them.
Smile Maker; Hikaru/Inoo, G
for chokingday
Inoo likes to think he's a pretty cheery kind of guy. He's not the type to throw tantrums or sulk when things don't go his way, and often the sunshine or the smell of grass after rain or the cheerful good morning!s from his groupmates is enough to banish any kind of bad mood if he does happen to wake up on the wrong side of the bed.
Sometimes though, every now and then, one too many things go wrong, he can't get the steps right and he can't remember the correct lyrics and he's tired and hungry and work is the last place on earth that he wants to be.
At times like that, there's Hikaru.
Hikaru isn't known for his ability to be serious. Ever. If someone's in a foul mood, it's usually a safe bet to assume one of Hikaru's pranks didn't go down as well as he'd intended, or he's taken something a step too far and now the whole group is paying the price. And Hikaru always seems to pull his best (or worst, depending on who's being asked and who was being targeted at the time) pranks when Inoo's in a particularly deep funk.
Every single time, Inoo is so distracted by the misfortune of whoever Hikaru's decided to bring down this time that by the time he remembers he was even in a bad mood he's forgotten why it came about in the first place. It's taken Inoo a long time to realise that Hikaru only ever really, really winds people up when he's feeling at his worst, and he's still not entirely sure whether or not Hikaru's doing it on purpose.
So the next time he goes into work - feeling absolutely fine - he flops down on one of the couches across from Hikaru with a sigh, flips his cellphone open and closed over and over again, and only murmurs half-hearted greetings to the others as they arrive. He stumbles during practice and trips over his words and even brushes Yabu off brusquely when he offers to pick up lunch (he'll apologise for it later, Inoo promises himself).
And sure enough, by the time lunch is over, Chinen's choking on something that definitely wasn't a radish in his lunch, and Yamada's skin isn't as moisturised as he'd hoped, but does smell incredibly minty.
Inoo grins widely while Yamada dumps the toothpaste out into the trash, and catches Hikaru's eye when he sees him watching from across the room. Hikaru looks away hurriedly but Inoo's already caught him, and approaches him later on once everyone else has gone home.
"You don't always have to try and make me feel better, y'know," he says with a small smile.
Hikaru shrugs. "Who says I was trying to make you feel better? I don't care if you're a grouch."
Inoo's smile widens and he shoves Hikaru gently. "Sure you don't. But thanks anyway."
As he leaves, before completely closing the door behind him, Inoo turns back and peers through the crack to watch his friend gather his things. And when Hikaru straightens and slings his bag over his shoulder, Inoo can see that he's smiling too.
Thanks; Yuma/7WEST, G
for nudrive, prompt Why did you go?
Even after all this time, Yuma still doesn't quite know what to feel. When the calls come to tell him he's needed in Tokyo, he's always excited to be going back, to be seeing all the friends he's made in Tokyo again, to be recording and rehearsing and performing, but he's always terribly disappointed, too. He doesn't like leaving all the friends he has in Kansai, doesn't like feeling like he's betraying them by running off to do things without them, but he loves rejoining his group in Tokyo. They always make him feel welcome in Tokyo, completely at home and a treasured guest at the same time, and the joyful greetings he gets every time he returns home never get old. He loves and hates the travelling he has to do in perfectly equal measures, and one day, when the call comes through mid-rehearsal and Shigeoka approaches him with a sombre look on his face, Yuma thinks he might be at the end of his tether.
"We miss you when you're gone, you know," Shigeoka says softly, and Yuma feels his heart break a little. He doesn't know what to say so he just nods and can't quite meet Shigeoka's eyes.
"I'm sorry," he says eventually, and Shige frowns. Before his friend can say anything though, there's an arm being slung around his shoulders and Yuma finds himself face-to-face with Ryusei. Ryusei must be crouching for him.
"What are you sorry for, idiot?" Ryusei asks with a grin, although the question is entirely rhetorical, "Don't be stupid."
Another sudden weight around his neck makes Yuma stumble, and it's Kamiyama's laughter he hears against his ear. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?" he says, and Yuma can hear the cheeky smirk in his voice, "If you stick around too much, we probably wouldn't like you any more. Gotta get rid of you now and again, y'know!"
Yuma laughs and flails an arm around in an attempt to whack Kami anywhere he can reach. "See if I bring you back anything this time, ass."
It takes the combined strength of Take, Non-chan, Gakki and Shige to remove Ryusei and Kamiyama from Yuma's body - who could do little more than flail his hands around rather uselessly once the two of them really got hold of him - and when he's finally free again, it's Shige who notices the dejected way Yuma collects up his things.
"It's not a bad thing, you know," he says, keeping his voice low so that the others can't butt in again, "You going off to Tokyo. Nobody minds."
Yuma smiles a small, half-hearted quirk of the lips, and Shige nudges him with a sharp elbow.
"It's exciting, all this attention you're getting! You totally deserve it too, we all think so. We miss you when you're gone, but nobody begrudges you going and doing everything you're getting to do. Just make sure you bring some of those Tokyo fans back for us too, 'kay?"
Yuma's smile is much more genuine this time, and he feels his chest swell with gratitude.
"Thanks," he murmurs. He wants to say so much more, but he's never been very good with words - being a seventeen-year-old boy has never helped much with that either - so he just nudges Shige back, and grins back when his friend flashes bright white teeth in his direction, eyes crinkling at the corners.
"Thanks," Yuma says again. And he means it.
英語は何？; Keito/Hasshi, G
for nudrive, prompt because we all know how much Hasshi hates English.
"Come on, repeat after me," Keito says gently, "It's very nice to meet you."
His pronunciation is perfect, Hasshi thinks, and buries is face in his arms. He misjudges the distance a little and ends up slamming his nose into the table, then recoils with a yelp.
Keito just eyes him calmly, blinking when Hasshi cups his nose protectively with one hand, his pout just about visible beneath his fingers.
"Do I have too?" He whines, more than a little put out when Keito doesn't offer him at least a little sympathy.
"Yes," the other boy tells him shortly, in English. "Your pronunciation is horrible, and that's compared to everyone else in the agency."
Hasshi opens his mouth to retort, but Keito cuts him off before he can get anything out. "-Except the little ones. They're still learning Japanese, they don't count."
"I'm still learning Japanese!" Hasshi exclaims.
Keito fixes him with a look that says it all, and Hasshi doesn't even want to risk pointing out that both of his eyes aren't quite looking in the same direction.
Instead, he lowers his hand (sticking his tongue out behind it for good measure as it passes his mouth) and drops his eyes to the table. His it's very nice to meet you comes out half-garbled and half-mumbled, but Keito grins and slings an arm around his shoulder anyway.
Hasshi decides he might try a little harder, just this once, because he can totally handle grins and hugs.
ラブラブポーズ; Nikaido/Senga, Kitayama/Fujigaya, PG
for snowqueenofhoth
"Dude..." Kitayama drawls, blinking slowly as the photographer lowers his camera. "What the hell was that."
Senga pouts, and Nikaido eyes him warily.
"That was our raburabu pose!" He says quickly, "We both made a heart, see-" He mimicks his half of the pose again, just in case Kitayama had misunderstood the first time. When Senga doesn't join him, Nikaido lowers his arms and glances over, catching the thoughtful look on Senga's face.
Nikaido knows from experience that that is never a good look to see on Senga's face.
"Really?" Senga asks, brow furrowed. "Because I thought our raburabu pose was mrmphmr-"
Senga frowns, finding Nikaido's hand clamped across his mouth. He promptly yanks it away. "Hey!"
"Shut up," Nikaido hisses in his ear, and Kitayama's eyebrows rise up beneath his fringe.
"I don't think I want to know what your raburabu pose is," he says pointedly, and turns to leave them to it, only to walk straight into Fujigaya.
"Wanna see my raburabu pose?" Fujigaya grins. Kitayama scoffs in disgust and shoves him out of the way.
"Disgusting, all of you. Get a room or something."
"How about your room, tonight?" Fujigaya drawls, winking suggestively.
Kitayama huffs again and really does leave this time.
It really isn't his fault his door is unlocked that night.
1582; Kitayama/Fujigaya, PG13
for bwfas, prompt Kimono, 1582
"My Lord, we must leave."
The shouts and sounds of battle are still distant, but they grow ever-closer with every passing moment. The subjects guarding Kitayama whilst he slept were few - they had not been expecting to have to fend off an attack here, on safe territory - but they fight well, their bravery and loyalty to Kitayama fueling them to do their best, fight their hardest and take down as many as they can before they finally fall. They can't keep the troops at bay forever though; eventually the warriors will take down the last of Kitayama's men, and then there will be nothing standing in their way. One look at his master's face, and Taisuke knows Kitayama knows this too.
Then Kitayama blinks, and the defeated look in his eyes is gone.
"You wish for me to leave here, Taisuke?" He asks, straightening his back and placing his palms flat on his thighs, "You wish for me to run, and have them give chase? Do you wish for me to play the coward, Taisuke?"
Taisuke's eyes are drawn towards the ground. "No, my Lord. I simply do not wish- I do not-" He can't say it, voice stuck uncomfortably in his throat, and Taisuke swallows and says nothing.
Kitayama doesn't need him to speak though, has never needed to hear the words leave Taisuke's mouth to know what he means, and offers a small smile, reaching out to lift Taisuke's chin in an encouragement to look at him.
"I know, Taisuke. I will not let them take me, do not fear that. But you, you must leave here. You have done more for me than I could ever have asked of you, and you mean more to me than any other. So I must ask that you leave. They will not follow you, you need only hide in the temple grounds until they are gone and you will be free. You have enough gold to take care of yourself now, so please, go. This is not your time to die, not here."
But Taisuke has already stopped listening and is shaking his head firmly. "No, my Lord, I will not run. I am no coward. This is the only life I know, the only life I wish to know. And if this is how I should leave this world, then so be it. I would rather it be by your side than after many years on these lands without you to share them with me."
Taisuke sees Kitayama's throat working, and catches a hint of a sad smile around his eyes, but it's gone before it ever makes it onto his face.
"Very well," his master says in tight, precise syllables. "If that is truly what you wish, Taisuke."
"It is, my Lord," Taisuke replies firmly. He might only be young, but he's never been more sure of anything in his life.
Kitayama nods sharply, eyes flickering towards the door as the shouts grow louder still. "We do not have much time. Bring me my sword."
Taisuke does as he is asked without hesitation, eyes never wavering as Kitayama draws the short blade and holds it out, straight and steady, the tip resting just above where Taisuke knows his navel to be.
"Come here," he says, and his voice is rough, taking on a gravelly effect that Taisuke isn't used to hearing in this kind of situation.
Still, Taisuke goes to him, and Kitayama leans forward to press their foreheads together, drawing a deep, shuddering breath. Kitayama's mouth tastes of salt and Taisuke's cheeks feel wet, but he can't tell whose eyes the tears are from. Maybe it doesn't matter; they've shared so much in their time together that it feels somehow apt that they should share these tears too.
Then Kitayama's easing himself back, and Taisuke doesn't look away, can't look away, as he drives the blade as deep as he can, a grunt of pain catching behind his teeth. Kitayama's fingers flex around the handle, getting a better grip before they draw it harshly across his stomach, as far to the left as he can manage. Kitayama's face is calm, features smooth, but Taisuke can see the unbearable pain shining black in his master's eyes, and Kitayama's hands falter as he tries to draw the blade across to the right to complete the ritual.
"Taisuke-" he says, grinding the word out, and it's all he needs to say. Taisuke can see his master's enviable strength failing him, fingers struggling to hold onto his blade, and he moves closer once more to take hold of hands that once held him close, wrapping fingers that once stroked through his hair in his own. As he draws the blade across in that one, final slicing motion, Taisuke presses his mouth to his master's again, feeling Kitayama's lips move weakly against his as he bleeds out across Taisuke's lap.
Taisuke holds his master upright for as long as he can, clutching onto the knife handle until the last of Kitayama's strength has faded, then he gently lays him down and draws the blade out as carefully as he can. The sounds of battle are close now, and Taisuke hears the thud of a man falling outside their door. He curls his fingers around his master's blade, still warm where Kitayama's fingers had held it tightly, and touches the tip to his stomach.
Taisuke is not scared. Taisuke knows there will be another time, another life for them.
The blade sinks home.
One day, he will be with his master again.
Fool Me Again; Tottsu/Fujigaya, PG13
for crazy_otaku911, prompt 'Now I know what a fool I've been, but if you kiss me now, I know you'll fool me again' - ♫
Tottsu doesn't like to think he's a particularly gullible person.
He doesn't like to think it, but he has it proved to him on a startlingly regular basis. Every time one of his group loiter in the corridor, he's the first to go into their break room. Every time one of Kisumai turn up with a surprise lunch, he's the first to open the bento. Every time a teeny, tiny junior pokes their head in the door and announces, with wide, terrified eyes, that there's been an accident and they need to come quickly, he's the first one on the scene. And every time he gets soaked through, or finds liver in his food, or falls over a giggling pile of limbs in the middle of the floor (that inevitably turns out to be Fumi and Fujigaya), he's reminded again of how much he needs to think more carefully before trusting his colleagues so implicitly.
Sometimes he manages it for a little while - once he even made it two days without incident - but it never takes long before he's back to assuming the best (or the worst, depending on the situation) because Tottsu knows that the one day he doesn't eat the food will be the one time someone really is being generous, and the one time he doesn't go running at the first sign of trouble will be the one time someone really is in desperate need of help.
Fujigaya's the worst, really, and no matter how many pranks the other man pulls on him, Tottsu can't stop himself blindly walking into every single one. However, unlike everyone else who has figured out how much fun it is to pull the wool over Tottsu's eyes, Fujigaya always, always makes up for it. Whether it's when they get home later that day, or in a quiet corner while everyone else is in rehearsals, or in an unlocked closet on their lunch break, every time Fujigaya will wrap a hand around his wrist and pull him close, eyes fluttering closed as he lets out a soft breath before covering Tottsu's mouth with his own. Whether Fujigaya's kisses are soft and sweet, or more hard and needy, Tottsu always finds himself melting and responding in kind, hands bunching in the back of Fujigaya's shirt or in his new, short hair. He misses being able to tangle his fingers in the long, curled strands, misses being able to pull it loose from its ponytail and muss it up even more, but there's always plenty of other places for his hands to rest, like Fujigaya's neck, his waist, his belt loops, and Tottsu can't find it in him to care all that much that the hair's gone when Fujigaya's kissing him like he's oxygen.
The next time Fujigaya switches out Tottsu's hair straighteners with an old, broken pair, Tottsu almost catches him in the act, but instead he sneaks back out before Fujigaya notices him and hides around the corner until the other man leaves. When he switches the straighteners on later that day and they start to smoke, Tottsu doesn't screech and panic like he normally would, just turns them off (and unplugs them from the wall), wanders sedately down the hall to Kisumai's break-room and drags Fujigaya back out with him.
Nobody bats an eyelid, but they do get a leer and a long, slow wink from Kitayama just before the door closes behind them.
Smile Maker; Hikaru/Inoo, G
for chokingday
Inoo likes to think he's a pretty cheery kind of guy. He's not the type to throw tantrums or sulk when things don't go his way, and often the sunshine or the smell of grass after rain or the cheerful good morning!s from his groupmates is enough to banish any kind of bad mood if he does happen to wake up on the wrong side of the bed.
Sometimes though, every now and then, one too many things go wrong, he can't get the steps right and he can't remember the correct lyrics and he's tired and hungry and work is the last place on earth that he wants to be.
At times like that, there's Hikaru.
Hikaru isn't known for his ability to be serious. Ever. If someone's in a foul mood, it's usually a safe bet to assume one of Hikaru's pranks didn't go down as well as he'd intended, or he's taken something a step too far and now the whole group is paying the price. And Hikaru always seems to pull his best (or worst, depending on who's being asked and who was being targeted at the time) pranks when Inoo's in a particularly deep funk.
Every single time, Inoo is so distracted by the misfortune of whoever Hikaru's decided to bring down this time that by the time he remembers he was even in a bad mood he's forgotten why it came about in the first place. It's taken Inoo a long time to realise that Hikaru only ever really, really winds people up when he's feeling at his worst, and he's still not entirely sure whether or not Hikaru's doing it on purpose.
So the next time he goes into work - feeling absolutely fine - he flops down on one of the couches across from Hikaru with a sigh, flips his cellphone open and closed over and over again, and only murmurs half-hearted greetings to the others as they arrive. He stumbles during practice and trips over his words and even brushes Yabu off brusquely when he offers to pick up lunch (he'll apologise for it later, Inoo promises himself).
And sure enough, by the time lunch is over, Chinen's choking on something that definitely wasn't a radish in his lunch, and Yamada's skin isn't as moisturised as he'd hoped, but does smell incredibly minty.
Inoo grins widely while Yamada dumps the toothpaste out into the trash, and catches Hikaru's eye when he sees him watching from across the room. Hikaru looks away hurriedly but Inoo's already caught him, and approaches him later on once everyone else has gone home.
"You don't always have to try and make me feel better, y'know," he says with a small smile.
Hikaru shrugs. "Who says I was trying to make you feel better? I don't care if you're a grouch."
Inoo's smile widens and he shoves Hikaru gently. "Sure you don't. But thanks anyway."
As he leaves, before completely closing the door behind him, Inoo turns back and peers through the crack to watch his friend gather his things. And when Hikaru straightens and slings his bag over his shoulder, Inoo can see that he's smiling too.
Thanks; Yuma/7WEST, G
for nudrive, prompt Why did you go?
Even after all this time, Yuma still doesn't quite know what to feel. When the calls come to tell him he's needed in Tokyo, he's always excited to be going back, to be seeing all the friends he's made in Tokyo again, to be recording and rehearsing and performing, but he's always terribly disappointed, too. He doesn't like leaving all the friends he has in Kansai, doesn't like feeling like he's betraying them by running off to do things without them, but he loves rejoining his group in Tokyo. They always make him feel welcome in Tokyo, completely at home and a treasured guest at the same time, and the joyful greetings he gets every time he returns home never get old. He loves and hates the travelling he has to do in perfectly equal measures, and one day, when the call comes through mid-rehearsal and Shigeoka approaches him with a sombre look on his face, Yuma thinks he might be at the end of his tether.
"We miss you when you're gone, you know," Shigeoka says softly, and Yuma feels his heart break a little. He doesn't know what to say so he just nods and can't quite meet Shigeoka's eyes.
"I'm sorry," he says eventually, and Shige frowns. Before his friend can say anything though, there's an arm being slung around his shoulders and Yuma finds himself face-to-face with Ryusei. Ryusei must be crouching for him.
"What are you sorry for, idiot?" Ryusei asks with a grin, although the question is entirely rhetorical, "Don't be stupid."
Another sudden weight around his neck makes Yuma stumble, and it's Kamiyama's laughter he hears against his ear. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?" he says, and Yuma can hear the cheeky smirk in his voice, "If you stick around too much, we probably wouldn't like you any more. Gotta get rid of you now and again, y'know!"
Yuma laughs and flails an arm around in an attempt to whack Kami anywhere he can reach. "See if I bring you back anything this time, ass."
It takes the combined strength of Take, Non-chan, Gakki and Shige to remove Ryusei and Kamiyama from Yuma's body - who could do little more than flail his hands around rather uselessly once the two of them really got hold of him - and when he's finally free again, it's Shige who notices the dejected way Yuma collects up his things.
"It's not a bad thing, you know," he says, keeping his voice low so that the others can't butt in again, "You going off to Tokyo. Nobody minds."
Yuma smiles a small, half-hearted quirk of the lips, and Shige nudges him with a sharp elbow.
"It's exciting, all this attention you're getting! You totally deserve it too, we all think so. We miss you when you're gone, but nobody begrudges you going and doing everything you're getting to do. Just make sure you bring some of those Tokyo fans back for us too, 'kay?"
Yuma's smile is much more genuine this time, and he feels his chest swell with gratitude.
"Thanks," he murmurs. He wants to say so much more, but he's never been very good with words - being a seventeen-year-old boy has never helped much with that either - so he just nudges Shige back, and grins back when his friend flashes bright white teeth in his direction, eyes crinkling at the corners.
"Thanks," Yuma says again. And he means it.
英語は何？; Keito/Hasshi, G
for nudrive, prompt because we all know how much Hasshi hates English.
"Come on, repeat after me," Keito says gently, "It's very nice to meet you."
His pronunciation is perfect, Hasshi thinks, and buries is face in his arms. He misjudges the distance a little and ends up slamming his nose into the table, then recoils with a yelp.
Keito just eyes him calmly, blinking when Hasshi cups his nose protectively with one hand, his pout just about visible beneath his fingers.
"Do I have too?" He whines, more than a little put out when Keito doesn't offer him at least a little sympathy.
"Yes," the other boy tells him shortly, in English. "Your pronunciation is horrible, and that's compared to everyone else in the agency."
Hasshi opens his mouth to retort, but Keito cuts him off before he can get anything out. "-Except the little ones. They're still learning Japanese, they don't count."
"I'm still learning Japanese!" Hasshi exclaims.
Keito fixes him with a look that says it all, and Hasshi doesn't even want to risk pointing out that both of his eyes aren't quite looking in the same direction.
Instead, he lowers his hand (sticking his tongue out behind it for good measure as it passes his mouth) and drops his eyes to the table. His it's very nice to meet you comes out half-garbled and half-mumbled, but Keito grins and slings an arm around his shoulder anyway.
Hasshi decides he might try a little harder, just this once, because he can totally handle grins and hugs.
ラブラブポーズ; Nikaido/Senga, Kitayama/Fujigaya, PG
for snowqueenofhoth
"Dude..." Kitayama drawls, blinking slowly as the photographer lowers his camera. "What the hell was that."
Senga pouts, and Nikaido eyes him warily.
"That was our raburabu pose!" He says quickly, "We both made a heart, see-" He mimicks his half of the pose again, just in case Kitayama had misunderstood the first time. When Senga doesn't join him, Nikaido lowers his arms and glances over, catching the thoughtful look on Senga's face.
Nikaido knows from experience that that is never a good look to see on Senga's face.
"Really?" Senga asks, brow furrowed. "Because I thought our raburabu pose was mrmphmr-"
Senga frowns, finding Nikaido's hand clamped across his mouth. He promptly yanks it away. "Hey!"
"Shut up," Nikaido hisses in his ear, and Kitayama's eyebrows rise up beneath his fringe.
"I don't think I want to know what your raburabu pose is," he says pointedly, and turns to leave them to it, only to walk straight into Fujigaya.
"Wanna see my raburabu pose?" Fujigaya grins. Kitayama scoffs in disgust and shoves him out of the way.
"Disgusting, all of you. Get a room or something."
"How about your room, tonight?" Fujigaya drawls, winking suggestively.
Kitayama huffs again and really does leave this time.
It really isn't his fault his door is unlocked that night.