A treat for swedish_weirdo
A treat for: swedish_weirdo
Cooked up by: A friendly chef
Title: Sorry (did I just s-stutter?)
Characters/Groups: Akanishi Jin, Kamenashi Kazuya
Genre: Slice of life, friendship, humor
Rating: PG for some language
Summary: It’s totally Yamapi’s fault Jin and Kame end up sharing a hotel room.
Author's Notes: I was so excited I got to write for you, swedish_weirdo! :D I kind of went with your first prompt, so I really hope you’ll like this fic. Many thanks to my awesome beta S.
There are a lot of things in Kame’s life that he doesn’t see coming. Actually, his entire life is made of things that he hadn’t seen coming. Like the day he got into Johnny’s Entertainment. The day he met Jin. The day KAT-TUN was formed. The day KAT-TUN debuted. Those two days where Jin left.
No, that’s not entirely true. He had seen that one coming. The day Jin left.
He leans back against the uncomfortable, wooden bench and puts the earphones of his Ipod in his ears. Leisurely, he scrolls through his music list, trying to decide what he’s going to listen to. At his feet, there’s a small weekend bag. Normally, he’d only take that bag when he’s going somewhere for work. But for the next four days, he won’t be working.
On one of their evenings out, Yamapi told Kame that he needed some time off. That he looked tired. That maybe some time in the countryside would do him well. Kame couldn’t really argue that, because he hadbeen tired. Exhausted, really. Maybe some time off would do him well. So he took on Yamapi’s offer and the train ticket he gave him. A ticket for the train that will be arriving soon.
He just wants to press ‘play’ and close his eyes, when he hears a voice coming from his right.
“What are you doing here?”
Annoyed, he looks up and raises his eyebrows. Jin is standing next to his bench. “What does it matter to you if I’m here?” he says, not trying to hide his bitch face.
“Nothing ,” Jin mutters. He stands next to Kame’s bench and practically throws his own weekend bag on the ground.
Despite the fact that Jin seriously pisses him off, Kame is kind of curious as to why Jin is here. With his weekend bag. But luckily, he doesn’t have to ask, because Jin already does.
“Going somewhere?” Jin asks, eying the bag near Kame’s feet.
“Obviously,” Kame says, glancing at Jin. “Or else I wouldn’t be at a train station.”
“Oh right,” Jin says awkwardly. He buries his hands in his jeans pockets. “So, where are you going?”
Kame tells him the name of the town Yamapi is sending him to.
Jin frowns. “Really? That’s where I’m going as well.”
“Oh,” Kame says. “That’s a coincidence.”
“Yeah,” Jin nods.
Too much of a coincidence, Kame thinks suspiciously. Why would Jin go to the exact same town as he is? As far as he understood from Yamapi, it’s a very small and quiet town near the sea. Yamapi himself took his girlfriend there on their anniversary and really loved it there. That’s why he recommended it to Kame.
He gives Jin another look. He hopes this isn’t what he thinks it is or else there will be a possibility he has to strangle Yamapi, even if he meant it well.
-
A few minutes later, the train arrives. Jin picks up his bag and walks to one of the doors. Looking at Kame, he wonders if Kame expects him to travel with him. He hopes not, because when they’re together it always makes him feel fucking uncomfortable. Being with Kame is like being with a T-Rex: you have to fear for your life, but when you run away too late, you get ripped apart and eaten. Okay, not really, but sometimes it feels like it. But Kame’s face is looking particularly bitchy today, so he decides against it and enters the train.
Jin sits down and puts his bag next to him, so that no one (Kame) can sit down next to him. Kame doesn’t, because he sits down at the other side of the compartment, as far away from Jin as possible. Which is great, because then Jin won’t have to travel with a T-Rex.
That doesn’t make him less suspicious, though. Because why would Kame go to the same place as Jin? Coincidences like that just don’t exist. Especially when the one who told him to take a break ‘because he totally deserved it’, is his best friend Yamapi.
He suspects that it has something to do with a conversation they had the other day. He and the gang (Yamapi, Ryo and Yuu) went out clubbing, but of course they had to run into stupid Kame, who was there with a friend Jin didn’t know.
“I wish he’d just leave,” Jin had whined to Yamapi, while sipping his third beer. “His face annoys me.”
“Oh really?” Yamapi said, not impressed by Jin’s complaining. “With the way you’re staring at him longingly, I’d say you miss him.”
“What - you - he - I don’t miss him!” Jin spluttered. “And I don’t look at him longingly.”
Yamapi gave him The Look, which usually implied that Yamapi knew exactly what Jin was thinking. “You’re always complaining about him, but I know you just want to talk to him. It’s not that weird, you used to be really good friends,” Yamapi said simply.
“Used to be, yeah,” Jin said, but he had secretly glanced at Kame, before going back to his beer. He didn’t miss Kame. Damn Yamapi and His Look.
Jin pulls out his phone and calls said best friend. “What the hell, Pi,” he says, the moment Yamapi picks up the phone. “Why is Kamenashi on the same train as me?”
“Dunno,” Yamapi says, sounding quite oblivious. “Why don’t you ask him?”
“I did. And guess what? He’s going to the same town as me.”
“Then why did you ask me if you already asked Kame?”
“I was trying to make a point!” Jin calls out. “I know you have something to do with this, Pi.”
He can almost hear Yamapi grin. “And why would you think that?”
“Because you set me up on this trip.”
“Like the good friend I am. Yes, I know. And?”
“I bet you did the same for Kamenashi, didn’t you?” Jin glares in the direction of Kame.
“Don’t worry so much, Jin. Just enjoy your trip! I’ll talk to you in a few days.”
“Pi, wait!” Jin yells at his phone, but Yamapi has already hung up.
Jin grumbles and stuffs his phone back into his jeans pocket. Stupid Yamapi. He has something to do with this, he’s sure of it. How, he doesn’t know yet. But he has a feeling he’ll find out soon enough.
-
The jolt of the train stopping at his destination wakes up Kame. He slowly opens his eyes and needs a second to remember where he is and what he’s doing here. He sits up straight, rubbing in his tired eyes. Huh, he is already here? That went a lot faster than he thought. He gets up, picks up his bag and starts walking to the exit.
On his way to the door, he passes Jin, who is still fast asleep. For a moment, Kame contemplates not waking him up and letting him travel on, but even he’s not that childish. “Akanishi,” he says, poking Jin’s shoulder. “We’re here.”
“Huh what?” Jin calls out, sitting up straight in his seat. He looks up at Kame. “Kamenashi?”
Kame rolls his eyes. “Just get up or else you’ll miss your stop.” He proceeds to walk to the door, while Jin scrambles to his feet and grabs his bag, still looking sleepy.
Once outside the train, he turns around to Jin. "Well, see you around, Akanishi." He gives a small nod and doesn't wait for Jin's answer, before leaving the small train station and looking for a cab. There's just a cab turning around the corner and he gives the cabbie a sign, making him stop in front of Kame. He gets in and gives the cabbie the address of the hotel he'll be staying.
As they drive off, Kame looks around to see Jin just getting in a different taxi. He still wonders why Jin is here. Maybe he has some business here or something. Kame really has no idea what Jin's up to these days. Okay, so he knows about that Samurai movie and Jin is supposed to be recording a solo album, but that's it. Maybe Jin has some other secret project he's working on. Or maybe he's also here for a vacation.
Kame had heard Jin, talking on the phone with Yamapi on the train. It seemed like they had a small argument - like Yamapi did something Jin hadn't liked very much. Kame usually isn't the curious type, but he does kind of want to know what they were arguing about... He almost thinks it has something to do with Kame himself, but that's almost impossible. He and Jin haven't talked in ages, apart from the 'good morning's whenever they ran into each other at the Jumisho. So why would Jin talk with Yamapi about him?
The drive to the hotel is short and it's not long before the cabbie pulls over. Kame gives him some cash and gets out of the car, which drives away immediately. He hadn't paid attention when they were driving, but now he notices he's near the sea - he can smell the salty water. He's standing in front of a small Japanese-styled hotel, built at the edge of a small village.
“Hello?” Kame calls out when he enters the hotel.
“Hi dear,” a gentle voice says on his left. Kame starts and turns around, seeing a very old and small lady standing behind the reception desk. She’s dressed in traditional clothing and she gives him a wide, wrinkly smile.
“Um, hi,” Kame says, walking to the desk. “I made reservations. My name’s Kamenashi.”
“Ah yes,” the woman says, looking up his name in a very large book. “Here’s your key, Kamenashi-san. Have a wonderful stay at our hotel.”
“Thank you,” Kame says politely, taking the key. He just wants to go to his room, when he hears the door open behind him. He turns around and sees Jin stepping into the hall.
“Akanishi?” he says, raising his eyebrows. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m staying here for the weekend,” Jin says, walking to the reception desk and putting down his bag. “Akanishi, please,” he tells the hotel owner.
“Of course,” the lady says. “Kamenashi-san already has the key.” She points at Kame, who is still staring at Jin.
“Huh?” Jin says. “But I’m pretty sure I have my own room.”
“Oh no,” the lady says with a smile. “It says so here: Akanishi and Kamenashi, room 12.”
Jin frowns. “Maybe something went wrong when my friend made the reservations. …Another friend!” he adds quickly, when the lady gives him a pointed look.
Kame has walked back to the desk. “Which friend?” he asks Jin.
“Yamapi…” Jin mutters and then everything seems to click into place. “Oh. Yamapi.”
Kame should’ve known. “This is his doing.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Jin grumbles under his breath, but Kame can still hear it. “Um excuse me. Can you please give me another room? There’s no way I’m sharing with him.” He points at Kame.
“Sorry darling, can’t do,” the lady says. “Everything else is full.”
Kame is pretty sure they’re the only guests, because there are no other keys missing from the key holder. This is definitely Yamapi’s doing.
“I’m afraid you two have to share a room,” the lady shrugs, before disappearing into a doorway behind her.
Which means, Kame thinks as he eyes Jin and his stupid hoodie, he will have to share his four days of peace with none other than Akanishi Jin.
-
Jin can’t believe this is happening. He wishes this is some bad dream he’s having and that he’ll wake up from it any moment now. But pinching his own arm tells him this isn’t a bad dream. This is real and yes, he does have to share his vacation with Kamenashi fucking Kazuya.
How can Yamapi do this to him? He knows Jin and Kame don’t get along well (which is quite an understatement). Knowing Yamapi, he must’ve meant it well or something - even though Jin doesn’t really believe that - but this isn’t helping at all. Yamapi better pay up for this room.
Luckily, it is a very nice room. There are two bedrooms (thank God), a living room and a spacious bath room. And apparently, there’s also an onson in the backyard of the hotel. But that doesn’t mean that Jin is going to enjoy his time here. Not when he has to spend his time with Kame.
He could just go and find himself another hotel, but as it happened, Yamapi picked out the best hotel in the entire village and from what he’s seen, the others are kind of dodgy. So there’s only one option and that is staying here. With Kamenashi. Great.
Jin throws his bag on the ground and falls face-first into his futon. He knows he’s being a little childish, but he really can’t stand Kamenashi. Ever since a few years there’s just something about him that annoys him. It’s mostly the eyebrows, but there’s something else he can’t quite put his finger on.
He sends Yamapi a ‘ihu :(’ text for good measure.
-
To be honest, Kame isn’t even that bothered by Jin’s presence. Well, as long as Jin stays out of Kame’s sight, that is. Luckily, he plans to spend most of his time away from Jin, so if everything goes well, he’ll only have to see him in the mornings and evenings.
Jin seems to be thinking the same, because the next day, Kame doesn’t see much of him. Which is great, because that means he can enjoy a quiet day.
He decides to go for a walk on the beach. Kame really loves the sea, but rarely gets to visit on his own, because of his packed schedule. It’s a miracle he’s managed to get a few days off, though Yamapi may have had something to do with that.
Dipping his hand in the water, he decides it’s warm enough and pulls of his sandals. He sighs at the feeling of the water hitting his feet. He loves that feeling, especially when the water and sand swishes through his toes. It’s possibly the best feeling there is. Well, there other feelings, too. Like the ones he get when he looks at Jin… Not those kind of feelings, but others. That imply he misses Jin. But he doesn’t, at all. He’s made peace with it a long time ago. Jin’s not his friend anymore and that’s fine. He has other friends, he doesn’t need Jin to be his. But well, that doesn’t really explain those feelings. He wishes he knows what they mean.
It’s kind of weird though, sharing a room with Jin without talking to him. It reminds him of those last months they spend as a six-member band. Sometimes he had to share a hotel room with Jin on one of their concert tours. Back then, they already hadn’t been on great terms and they tried to avoid each other as much as possible. It just felt too awkward, being together alone. It wasn’t like Kame disliked Jin, though. They were just done being friends. He still doesn’t dislike him, but he doesn’t really like him either.
But Yamapi obviously wants them to get along or else he wouldn’t have send them here. Together. Kame doesn’t really understand what Yamapi wants to achieve. He knows nothing will come out of this, anyway.
-
When Jin returns from dinner at a small ramen place, it’s already dark outside. He slowly walks back to the hotel, the still warm air hitting his bare arms. Already two days have passed. He hasn’t done much, except for sleeping a lot, lazing around, trying to compose some songs and taking long walks in the neighborhood. It’s kind of nice, not having to do anything. Okay, so he needs to get a few songs done for his album, but that’s okay, because composing kind of relaxes him. But as for the rest, he’s free to do what he wants.
It surprises him that he hasn’t seen Kame much. Only once in the morning, when he’d stumbled into the living room, still half-asleep. Jin is kind of glad they don’t have to spend time together. It’d only be awkward, anyway. He still hasn’t forgotten the T-Rex.
He opens the door of their hotel room and shuffles off his shoes. He goes to the living room to get his laptop and work on his songs, but stops dead when he sees Kame laying on the floor. When he gets a little closer, he realizes Kame’s fallen asleep when watching TV, which is still on.
Jin stares at Kame’s face. He looks really peaceful and healthy, which relieves Jin. Because he isn’t stupid - of course he knows Kame’s had a rough year (of which Jin might’ve been the cause of). He’d seen him on TV and YouTube a couple of times, thinking Kame looked really tired. Jin’s kind of glad Kame is okay again.
Not wanting to wake him up, Jin gets the remote control and turns off the TV. He wonders if he also should get a blanket - he doesn’t want Kame to get a cold. But he also doesn’t want Kame to think he cares about him, so instead he gets his laptop and goes back to his own room.
An hour later, he gets the blanket anyway.
-
The next morning, Kame wakes up on the living room floor with a painful neck and a blanket thrown over him. Still sleepy, he sits up and tries to remember if he got the blanket himself. But he’s pretty sure he fell asleep in front of the TV yesterday. That only means one thing. The other person in this hotel room did this.
Kame gets up and stretches his arms. He feels a little stiff from sleeping on the floor, but it’s not too bad. Maybe a cup of coffee and a nice, hot bath will make things better. He grabs a towel and goes to the onson in the back yard of the hotel. No one’s there and Kame has the whole bath to himself.
It’s still early and there’s no one yet. Perfect. He slips into the bath, sighing in pleasure. Eyes closed, he leans against the edge of the bath and starts enjoying the hot water. Losing track of time, Kame stays in the water until his fingers start getting all wrinkly.
Then a door opens and Jin steps outside.
Kame’s eyes snap open at the sound. “Hi,” he says slowly, but Jin is already trying to leave again.
“Sorry, I didn’t know you were here. I’ll leave,” Jin says quickly.
“No, it’s okay,” Kame replies. “I was about to get out, anyway.”
“Oh,” Jin says awkwardly. “Well, okay.”
While Kame gets out of the water, Jin gets in. Not wanting to stay around for much longer, Kame wraps a bigger towel around his waist and gives Jin a little nod. “Well, see you later,” he says.
He can hear Jin murmur a small, “Yeah”, before leaving the onson. Well, that was pretty awkward, he thinks, as he goes back to his room to dress (the nakedness probably added to that). He almost wishes they weren’t so uncomfortable around each other, but he knows that probably won’t ever go away. Not if they don’t start talking to each other.
-
Jin doesn’t see Kame for the rest of the day. He has no idea where he went, or why, because the sky has been very dark all day and it feels like it’s going to storm any minute now. He watches the sky from the living room floor, where he’s been sprawled out the entire afternoon with a bunch of One Piece mangas he didn’t really read. He tried to, but he keeps looking outside, wondering when it’s going to rain - and wondering when Kame’s coming home.
He shoves the mangas out of the way and turns on the TV. But there’s nothing good on. Some lame variety show, the rerun of an old drama he gets bored of after five minutes and a few other shows he isn’t interested in. In the end he settles with a horror movie. Which isn’t such a great idea, because it kind of really scares him.
It gives him all sorts of horrible ideas of what might’ve happened to Kame. Maybe he got kidnapped by some creepy stalker fan. Or maybe he went surfing and got eaten by sharks. Or maybe he got stabbed on the way home and he’s currently laying in the gutter, bleeding to death.
Jin shivers, shaking his head to get rid of all those thoughts. He doesn’t even know why he has them, because he doesn’t even care about Kame. Why would he care if Kame got kidnapped?
But the truth is, he does care. Kame was his best friend, after all.
Quickly changing channels, he ends up watching the drama. It may be boring, but at least it isn’t scary. After a while, it finally starts to rain. Thick droplets clatter against the windows and Jin would’ve felt cozy, curled up with a blanket in front of the TV, if Kame wasn’t out there in the rain.
Just when it starts to rain really hard, the door opens and a very wet, but alive Kame steps into the room.
“Where have you been?” Jin blurts out immediately. “I thought you got eaten by sharks!”
Kame frowns at him, but he looks amused. “Sharks?” he says, shaking out his hair. He slips out of his shoes and soaked coat.
“Yeah, y’know…” Jin says, trailing off. “It’s fucking storming outside.”
“I know,” Kame says. “Wait, let me get changed.” He disappears into his bedroom, only to come out a few minutes later, dressed in sweatpants and a white t-shirt.
“That’s better,” Kame sighs. “Tea?” He doesn’t wait for Jin’s answer, but gets water from the cooker and pours them a mug of tea. Then he plops down next to Jin, who’s still eying him suspiciously.
“Where have you been all day?” Jin says, taking the tea from Kame.
Kame takes a sip of tea first, before answering. “I went out for a walk,” he explains, “but halfway it got really dark, so I went to get some food at a restaurant. I thought I’d wait for the storm to pass, but it didn’t and when it got really late, I just ran home.”
“Oh,” Jin says, sipping from his own tea.
“Were you worried?” Kame says, almost smiling.
“Of course! …Not,” Jin adds quickly, looking flustered.
Kame still looks amused, but doesn’t reply. A silence falls, where both of them are carefully sipping their tea. Jin feels like he should say something. Maybe apologize. But he doesn’t want Kame to turn into a T-Rex again, even though he’s now more like a turtle.
“We haven’t done this in a long time,” Kame then says, setting down his empty mug.
“What?” Jin says, snapping out of his thoughts.
“This. Being together.”
“Well, we didn’t really have a reason to,” Jin replies. “Or maybe we did…”
Again, they’re silent for a moment. Then at the same time:
“Akanishi-”
“Kamenashi-”
“You go first,” Kame says, looking at Jin.
“Um,” Jin says, unnecessarily adjusting his blanket over his legs. “I was just w-wondering… Are you mad at me?”
Kame raises his eyebrows in surprise. He’d expected Jin to say anything but this. “No,” he answers without missing a beat. “Of course not.”
“Really? Because you have every reason to.” Jin looks at Kame and Kame can see he feels very uncomfortable, but not for the same reasons as before.
“Akanishi…” Kame begins slowly. “I’m not mad. Maybe I was at first, but now I know. That you made the right decision. Why would I be mad at you for doing that?”
Jin shrugs. “I’d be mad at me. For leaving. I mean - I talked with Koki and Ueda and Taguchi and Maru. But I didn’t talk to you. Explain to you why. I-I guess I feel…” Kind of guilty.
“I know why,” Kame says.
“I’m sorry,” Jin says, biting his lip.
“It’s okay. It’s been a year already.”As Kame says those words, he realizes with a pang he does miss Jin. Like that. As a friend. It’s a weird feeling.
A third silence is hanging in the air, but Kame is kind of done with silences, so instead he says, “I heard about your movie. That’s awesome.”
“Thanks,” Jin says, sitting up a bit straighter. “It is kind of awesome. I got to ride horse and fight with swords and shit. Much cooler than the stuff we used to do with KAT-TUN.”
This time, Kame does smile at him and Jin wonders if that’s a turtle smile or a flesh-eating dinosaur smile. “You’re not going to turn into a T-Rex now, are you?” he asks slowly.
“What?” Kame says.
“Nothing! Want some beer? I really want some beer.” Jin quickly gets up to walk to the fridge in the corner of the room, kind of relieved the T-Rex seems to be gone. He doesn’t know if it’s for good, but this is already enough.
When he turns around with two bottles in his hands, Kame is standing at the opened porch door, looking outside. “Seems it stopped raining,” he says excitedly. He steps outside and sits down onto the floor of the porch.
Jin follows and plops down next to Kame, giving him a bottle. The sky is already clearing up and it’s just in time for sunset.
“Cheers,” Kame says, clinking their bottles together.
“I still don’t like your face, though,” Jin says, taking a sip.
Kame shrugs. “I don’t like yours either. You really need a haircut.”
Jin gently nudges him with his shoulder, before focusing on the sun slowly settling into the sea. Maybe he won’t kill Yamapi after all.