Chapter 12- 'Fire' (Final Chapter)
Massu pressed his lips together, trying to hide his nervousness. They were finally about to find out what had happened between the old lady and the gatekeeper. He felt the urge to touch Tegoshi, so he sneaked his hand under the table, caressing the other one's fingers and testing his mood. He smiled shily as the other one promptly squeezed his hand.
The old lady took a sip of tea. 'Well, let me begin by saying that just because my story doesn't have a happy ending, it doesn't mean you two should be afraid of love.', she smiled kindly, eyes lingering on Tegoshi in particular. Her eyebrows frowned momentarily, as if she had suddenly noticed something new. 'Hm.', she said, raising one eyebrow. 'Anyway, your gatekeeper was... well, still is my husband.', she said, a tone of nostalgia in her voice.
Tegoshi widened his eyes. 'Whoa...'
Massu forced himself to drink tea, for the lack of anything better to do with his other hand. He was not good at serious conversations.
'I helped him around the property, and we shared the house he now lives in alone. And, for many years, we lived a very happy life.'
Both boys nodded, like two scared children listening to a horror story.
'But then... things started to change. My husband... he became obsessed.'
Massu opened his mouth wide. 'With KAT-TUN?'
The old lady nodded, surprised that they knew. 'Yes. It started as a hobby. Between us, I was personally never a huge fan. I'm more of a rock person myself.', she said, giggling. 'I have several Hyde albums! Really, music is great. But it needs to be a healthy part of your life... and not take over your soul.', she finished that last sentence with a dark undertone.
Tegoshi made a mental note to call Hyde and ask him to send the old lady an autographed CD. He continued listening, at times distracted by Massu's warm hand squeezing his own. 'So, how obsessed was he?'
She thought for a second. 'The last straw for me was when we were supposed to celebrate our anniversary... but instead, he locked himself in the basement to watch the latest KAT-TUN concert DVD.', she frowned, the aging lines of her face making her seem much more severe than she really was. 'So I packed my bags and left. It's been two years, and I haven't seen him since.'
Tegoshi looked down for a second, thinking. It was such a sad story, and he knew the gatekeeper was a good person, even if at times he acted a bit creepy. 'May we ask you a favor?', he said, hesitantly.
She nodded.
'Would you give him one last chance?', he watched her face closely, studying her reaction. As she was about to nod negatively, he continued to talk. 'Just... come to the property tonight. Please?'
The old lady bit her lip, pensive. After a few moments, she took a deep breath, closing her eyes. 'Alright.'
Tegoshi looked at Massu, who smiled back in response. They stood up, bowing. 'Thank you!'
The old lady got up as well, leading them to the door. 'I'll see you boys tonight.', she waved, and it took Massu and Tegoshi a few minutes to understand that the old lady had finally realized Tegoshi was not a girl.
~~
'So what on earth do you suggest we do to help them?', Ryo snapped, sipping on a beer and taking a bite of his hot dog.
'I don't know. But we need to come up with a plan to help the gatekeeper win the old lady's heart back!', Tegoshi said excitedly, as if this was a game he simply had to win.
'Honestly, I don't blame her. He's an old man with a creepy Jin crush.', Yamapi said, pouring about five spoons of ketchup on his hot dog.
'You just described yourself in like, ten years.', Ryo smirked, dodging the napkin ball Yamapi had just thrown at him.
'No, there's a way.', Shige said, rubbing his chin. 'He needs to show her he's a changed man.'
The other boys stared at Shige, knowing his mind was working on something. He suddenly looked at Koyama's hand. 'Koyama. Why do you have that band-aid on?'
The taller boy lifted his index finger, a silly smile on his face. 'This? Ah, I burned myself on the hot pot while cooking the sausages.'
Shige lifted one eyebrow, smiling. Burned..., he thought. 'You just came up with the perfect solution, Kei-chan.', he smiled at his friend, and the rest of the group looked at each other in confusion.
~~
Yamapi and Koyama finished piling up wood by an empty spot near the beach house. The old gatekeeper paced around, mumbling incoherent sentences.
'I feel so bad...', Koyama said, both hands in front of his face. 'Do you think this is the right thing to do?'
Yamapi put a hand on Koyama's shoulder. 'Shige is right. It's the only way.', the group leader said, squeezing the taller boy's arm. He then waved at the gatekeeper, who nodded, turning around and leaving.
Both boys sat down, watching the old man walk to his house, then come back with a large bag. As Yamapi looked at the sky, the sun setting right in front of their eyes, Koyama looked at his watch. It was almost time.
~~
Shige waved at the old lady as soon as she pulled in the property. She got off her bike, fixing her dress. 'Wow...', she said, walking towards him. 'I haven't been here in a while.'
The tall boy bowed to greet her, smiling. 'We're glad you came.', he offered his arm, and she accepted. It was dark already, and her glasses were weak.
'I'm not exactly sure what you boys think you're going to accomplish here, but I figured it would be worth the experience anyway.', she said, forcing a smile. Shige could tell she was nervous. After all, she hadn't seen her husband in two years.
As they walked towards the beach, the old lady could see a strong source of light ahead. And after a few steps, she realized it was actually a fire. Shige walked her to it, stopping right in front of it. 'Can you wait here?', he asked.
She stared at the fire, perplexed. 'I suppose.', she answered, eyes still on the flames. She didn't even notice when Shige left, because her focus was on what was actually being consumed by the fire. Tons of magazines, posters, and even t-shirts. The vast majority of the gatekeeper's KAT-TUN collection was right in front of her, engulfed in flames. 'What... what is this?', she thought out loud.
Though, before she could think of anything else, she heard guitar strings coming from the other side of the beach. She lifted her eyes, squinting, only to see Ryo playing the guitar, followed by Tegoshi.
And, a bit behind them, came the old gatekeeper, holding flowers.
Ryo continued to play, and Tegoshi's voice soon followed.
Dore dake aruitekitan darou...
The old lady felt paralyzed, unsure of how to react. This was either the most ridiculous or the most romantic thing anyone had ever done. She watched through the flames as her husband approached her.
Furimuitara namida no ato
kizutsuke kizutsuki tadoritsuita basho ...
He circled around the fire, stopping a few meters away, and handing her the flowers.
ima koko ni kimi ga iru...
The old lady took the flowers, unsure of what to say.
AI NANTEEEEEEEEE....
Ryo nudged Tegoshi with his shoulder. 'Hey, showman, you're not the star tonight. Tone it down!', he whispered, still playing chords in his guitar.
'Sorry, sorry!', Tegoshi whispered back. He decided to stop singing, and watch the old couple in front of him instead.
The old lady stared at her flowers, confused. 'This... what does this mean, exactly?'
The creepy gatekeeper fidgeted nervously with his hands, running his fingers through the few hair strands on his head. At that moment, Ryo and Tegoshi realized he was significantly shorter than her. 'I... I still love KAT-TUN.', he started, now looking at her. 'But I love you more. From now on, you are my priority. Please... give me another chance?'
The old lady looked him in the eye for a bit. She then looked behind him, at an anxious Tegoshi and a serious Ryo, who was still playing his guitar. And, not too far, she could see the other boys staring from the beach house window, as if they were watching a movie.
She looked at the flames once again, Jin's uchiwa melting away with the other KAT-TUN items.
'Alright.', she said, looking down at her flowers.
The gatekeeper held his breath. 'Really?'
'Really.', she smiled. 'However,', she continued. 'I'm hanging my damn Hyde posters on the walls!'
~~
The boys and the old couple all had dinner together, courtesy of Shige and his fishing skills. They finished off two bottles of champagne, sang karaoke, and played Smash Bros. At the end of the night, the gatekeeper and the old lady had retrieved to their house, and a drunken Yamapi was once again laying motionless on the floor of the dining room.
Tegoshi decided he was too tired to keep drinking, so he walked to his room, undressing on his way to the bathroom. He turned on the shower, letting the warm water hit his back. After a short while, he walked out, grabbing a towel to dry himself. He stared into the mirror, brushing his teeth. He wanted to get dressed, but he was too tired, so all he managed to put on were pijama pants.
For some reason, that night his heart felt a little heavy. Maybe the whole gatekeeper ordeal had drained his energy, or maybe it was the fact that their vacation was near its end. But deep down he knew that what troubled him the most was his relationship with Massu. At times, he wasn't sure whether they had made the right decision to move on from friends onto something else. He was sure it was what he wanted, but Massu was extremely hard to read. Tegoshi often felt like, if things were to really get serious, the first step would always have to come from him. And he was tired of taking the first step.
A noise startled him. He walked out of the bathroom and into the dark bedroom, only to see Massu closing the door behind him. He was holding a flower in his hand. 'Sorry, didn't mean to scare you.'
Tegoshi dropped the towel next to him on the floor. 'Is that for me?', he was trying not to smile too much.
Massu walked towards him, handing him the flower. 'Yup.', he had a smug smile on his face.
The shorter boy picked up the flower, holding it up to his nose. 'It has no smell.', he laughed.
'Sorry.', Massu said, scratching the back of his head.
Tegoshi looked up at him, hesitant. 'Massu...', he wanted to say so much, but couldn't figure out how. And it didn't matter anyway, because the older boy had suddenly pressed his lips against his own, and one of his hands was on his waist, while the other was in the back of his head.
And only after several moments they parted, though their lips were still touching, and Massu could feel Tegoshi's smile near his own mouth. 'What was that for?', the younger boy asked.
'I convinced the guys to let us have the room for the night.', Massu said.
'Oh.', Tegoshi smiled again, moving his hand to the other one's chin. His heart felt lighter now, and he knew that, from now on, he would no longer have to worry about taking the first step.
~~
Koyama, whose member ai level would always go up whenever he was wasted, kept poking the group leader with a bottle, whispering '...Yamapi.... Yamapi...' in a really tiny voice.
Unfazed by the now familiar scene, Shige decided to walk outside, to breathe some fresh air, and to maybe sober up a little. He started walking towards the sea, feeling the breeze in his hair.
'KATO.', Ryo screamed behind him. 'Where do you think you're going?', his eyebrows were knitted in anger, though that no longer had any effect on the taller boy.
'I'm walking around. Is that allowed?', he said, still walking.
'NO.', the shorter man followed behind. They were near the sea, their feet starting to get wet. 'Will you stop walking in such wide steps?? I can't keep up!'
Shige laughed, turning around. 'Sorry, I guess you aren't used to dating regular-sized people.', he provoked.
'Shut up!', Ryo said, fist in air. He looked drunk, angry, and, as Shige could testify, incredibly attractive. He started walking towards Shige, but tripped on a rock, falling straight into the water. 'Shit!!'
Shige laughed a very loud laugh. 'You'd think you'd have learned to hold your liquor by now!', he bent over, offering the older man a hand.
Ryo took it, though he didn't get up. Instead, he pulled Shige down, causing the taller boy to fall on top of him. 'You are so weak.', the older man laughed, holding the other one by the wrists and keeping him from getting up.
'Very funny.', Shige said in anger, right before a small wave hit them both over the head. Though they were still laying on the sand, they were now completely wet.
Ryo laughed, moving one of his hands to Shige's face. 'You're hot when you're mad.'
Shige frowned. 'Well, expect to see a lot of hot in this relationship, then.'
Ryo pulled him into a long kiss, the warm sea water now rising up to their waists. 'You know, you're a good kisser. Surprisingly.', Ryo said after pulling away.
Shige moved some wet hair from the older boy's face. 'There are a lot of things I'm good at. Boyfriend.',he said smiling into another kiss.
Ryo cursed mentally, but felt too weak to complain, deciding that it definitely wasn't so bad to have a tall, clumsy, and awkward boyfriend like Shige.
~~ The end
Author's note: It's done! Sorry about the delay for the last chapter. Life got in the way. Again. We hope you guys enjoyed this fic! We're so happy to have had so many followers, and we're happy that some of you have been with us from the very first fic. Thank you!
We have a another story planned, so please stay tuned.... :)
The old lady took a sip of tea. 'Well, let me begin by saying that just because my story doesn't have a happy ending, it doesn't mean you two should be afraid of love.', she smiled kindly, eyes lingering on Tegoshi in particular. Her eyebrows frowned momentarily, as if she had suddenly noticed something new. 'Hm.', she said, raising one eyebrow. 'Anyway, your gatekeeper was... well, still is my husband.', she said, a tone of nostalgia in her voice.
Tegoshi widened his eyes. 'Whoa...'
Massu forced himself to drink tea, for the lack of anything better to do with his other hand. He was not good at serious conversations.
'I helped him around the property, and we shared the house he now lives in alone. And, for many years, we lived a very happy life.'
Both boys nodded, like two scared children listening to a horror story.
'But then... things started to change. My husband... he became obsessed.'
Massu opened his mouth wide. 'With KAT-TUN?'
The old lady nodded, surprised that they knew. 'Yes. It started as a hobby. Between us, I was personally never a huge fan. I'm more of a rock person myself.', she said, giggling. 'I have several Hyde albums! Really, music is great. But it needs to be a healthy part of your life... and not take over your soul.', she finished that last sentence with a dark undertone.
Tegoshi made a mental note to call Hyde and ask him to send the old lady an autographed CD. He continued listening, at times distracted by Massu's warm hand squeezing his own. 'So, how obsessed was he?'
She thought for a second. 'The last straw for me was when we were supposed to celebrate our anniversary... but instead, he locked himself in the basement to watch the latest KAT-TUN concert DVD.', she frowned, the aging lines of her face making her seem much more severe than she really was. 'So I packed my bags and left. It's been two years, and I haven't seen him since.'
Tegoshi looked down for a second, thinking. It was such a sad story, and he knew the gatekeeper was a good person, even if at times he acted a bit creepy. 'May we ask you a favor?', he said, hesitantly.
She nodded.
'Would you give him one last chance?', he watched her face closely, studying her reaction. As she was about to nod negatively, he continued to talk. 'Just... come to the property tonight. Please?'
The old lady bit her lip, pensive. After a few moments, she took a deep breath, closing her eyes. 'Alright.'
Tegoshi looked at Massu, who smiled back in response. They stood up, bowing. 'Thank you!'
The old lady got up as well, leading them to the door. 'I'll see you boys tonight.', she waved, and it took Massu and Tegoshi a few minutes to understand that the old lady had finally realized Tegoshi was not a girl.
~~
'So what on earth do you suggest we do to help them?', Ryo snapped, sipping on a beer and taking a bite of his hot dog.
'I don't know. But we need to come up with a plan to help the gatekeeper win the old lady's heart back!', Tegoshi said excitedly, as if this was a game he simply had to win.
'Honestly, I don't blame her. He's an old man with a creepy Jin crush.', Yamapi said, pouring about five spoons of ketchup on his hot dog.
'You just described yourself in like, ten years.', Ryo smirked, dodging the napkin ball Yamapi had just thrown at him.
'No, there's a way.', Shige said, rubbing his chin. 'He needs to show her he's a changed man.'
The other boys stared at Shige, knowing his mind was working on something. He suddenly looked at Koyama's hand. 'Koyama. Why do you have that band-aid on?'
The taller boy lifted his index finger, a silly smile on his face. 'This? Ah, I burned myself on the hot pot while cooking the sausages.'
Shige lifted one eyebrow, smiling. Burned..., he thought. 'You just came up with the perfect solution, Kei-chan.', he smiled at his friend, and the rest of the group looked at each other in confusion.
~~
Yamapi and Koyama finished piling up wood by an empty spot near the beach house. The old gatekeeper paced around, mumbling incoherent sentences.
'I feel so bad...', Koyama said, both hands in front of his face. 'Do you think this is the right thing to do?'
Yamapi put a hand on Koyama's shoulder. 'Shige is right. It's the only way.', the group leader said, squeezing the taller boy's arm. He then waved at the gatekeeper, who nodded, turning around and leaving.
Both boys sat down, watching the old man walk to his house, then come back with a large bag. As Yamapi looked at the sky, the sun setting right in front of their eyes, Koyama looked at his watch. It was almost time.
~~
Shige waved at the old lady as soon as she pulled in the property. She got off her bike, fixing her dress. 'Wow...', she said, walking towards him. 'I haven't been here in a while.'
The tall boy bowed to greet her, smiling. 'We're glad you came.', he offered his arm, and she accepted. It was dark already, and her glasses were weak.
'I'm not exactly sure what you boys think you're going to accomplish here, but I figured it would be worth the experience anyway.', she said, forcing a smile. Shige could tell she was nervous. After all, she hadn't seen her husband in two years.
As they walked towards the beach, the old lady could see a strong source of light ahead. And after a few steps, she realized it was actually a fire. Shige walked her to it, stopping right in front of it. 'Can you wait here?', he asked.
She stared at the fire, perplexed. 'I suppose.', she answered, eyes still on the flames. She didn't even notice when Shige left, because her focus was on what was actually being consumed by the fire. Tons of magazines, posters, and even t-shirts. The vast majority of the gatekeeper's KAT-TUN collection was right in front of her, engulfed in flames. 'What... what is this?', she thought out loud.
Though, before she could think of anything else, she heard guitar strings coming from the other side of the beach. She lifted her eyes, squinting, only to see Ryo playing the guitar, followed by Tegoshi.
And, a bit behind them, came the old gatekeeper, holding flowers.
Ryo continued to play, and Tegoshi's voice soon followed.
Dore dake aruitekitan darou...
The old lady felt paralyzed, unsure of how to react. This was either the most ridiculous or the most romantic thing anyone had ever done. She watched through the flames as her husband approached her.
Furimuitara namida no ato
kizutsuke kizutsuki tadoritsuita basho ...
He circled around the fire, stopping a few meters away, and handing her the flowers.
ima koko ni kimi ga iru...
The old lady took the flowers, unsure of what to say.
AI NANTEEEEEEEEE....
Ryo nudged Tegoshi with his shoulder. 'Hey, showman, you're not the star tonight. Tone it down!', he whispered, still playing chords in his guitar.
'Sorry, sorry!', Tegoshi whispered back. He decided to stop singing, and watch the old couple in front of him instead.
The old lady stared at her flowers, confused. 'This... what does this mean, exactly?'
The creepy gatekeeper fidgeted nervously with his hands, running his fingers through the few hair strands on his head. At that moment, Ryo and Tegoshi realized he was significantly shorter than her. 'I... I still love KAT-TUN.', he started, now looking at her. 'But I love you more. From now on, you are my priority. Please... give me another chance?'
The old lady looked him in the eye for a bit. She then looked behind him, at an anxious Tegoshi and a serious Ryo, who was still playing his guitar. And, not too far, she could see the other boys staring from the beach house window, as if they were watching a movie.
She looked at the flames once again, Jin's uchiwa melting away with the other KAT-TUN items.
'Alright.', she said, looking down at her flowers.
The gatekeeper held his breath. 'Really?'
'Really.', she smiled. 'However,', she continued. 'I'm hanging my damn Hyde posters on the walls!'
~~
The boys and the old couple all had dinner together, courtesy of Shige and his fishing skills. They finished off two bottles of champagne, sang karaoke, and played Smash Bros. At the end of the night, the gatekeeper and the old lady had retrieved to their house, and a drunken Yamapi was once again laying motionless on the floor of the dining room.
Tegoshi decided he was too tired to keep drinking, so he walked to his room, undressing on his way to the bathroom. He turned on the shower, letting the warm water hit his back. After a short while, he walked out, grabbing a towel to dry himself. He stared into the mirror, brushing his teeth. He wanted to get dressed, but he was too tired, so all he managed to put on were pijama pants.
For some reason, that night his heart felt a little heavy. Maybe the whole gatekeeper ordeal had drained his energy, or maybe it was the fact that their vacation was near its end. But deep down he knew that what troubled him the most was his relationship with Massu. At times, he wasn't sure whether they had made the right decision to move on from friends onto something else. He was sure it was what he wanted, but Massu was extremely hard to read. Tegoshi often felt like, if things were to really get serious, the first step would always have to come from him. And he was tired of taking the first step.
A noise startled him. He walked out of the bathroom and into the dark bedroom, only to see Massu closing the door behind him. He was holding a flower in his hand. 'Sorry, didn't mean to scare you.'
Tegoshi dropped the towel next to him on the floor. 'Is that for me?', he was trying not to smile too much.
Massu walked towards him, handing him the flower. 'Yup.', he had a smug smile on his face.
The shorter boy picked up the flower, holding it up to his nose. 'It has no smell.', he laughed.
'Sorry.', Massu said, scratching the back of his head.
Tegoshi looked up at him, hesitant. 'Massu...', he wanted to say so much, but couldn't figure out how. And it didn't matter anyway, because the older boy had suddenly pressed his lips against his own, and one of his hands was on his waist, while the other was in the back of his head.
And only after several moments they parted, though their lips were still touching, and Massu could feel Tegoshi's smile near his own mouth. 'What was that for?', the younger boy asked.
'I convinced the guys to let us have the room for the night.', Massu said.
'Oh.', Tegoshi smiled again, moving his hand to the other one's chin. His heart felt lighter now, and he knew that, from now on, he would no longer have to worry about taking the first step.
~~
Koyama, whose member ai level would always go up whenever he was wasted, kept poking the group leader with a bottle, whispering '...Yamapi.... Yamapi...' in a really tiny voice.
Unfazed by the now familiar scene, Shige decided to walk outside, to breathe some fresh air, and to maybe sober up a little. He started walking towards the sea, feeling the breeze in his hair.
'KATO.', Ryo screamed behind him. 'Where do you think you're going?', his eyebrows were knitted in anger, though that no longer had any effect on the taller boy.
'I'm walking around. Is that allowed?', he said, still walking.
'NO.', the shorter man followed behind. They were near the sea, their feet starting to get wet. 'Will you stop walking in such wide steps?? I can't keep up!'
Shige laughed, turning around. 'Sorry, I guess you aren't used to dating regular-sized people.', he provoked.
'Shut up!', Ryo said, fist in air. He looked drunk, angry, and, as Shige could testify, incredibly attractive. He started walking towards Shige, but tripped on a rock, falling straight into the water. 'Shit!!'
Shige laughed a very loud laugh. 'You'd think you'd have learned to hold your liquor by now!', he bent over, offering the older man a hand.
Ryo took it, though he didn't get up. Instead, he pulled Shige down, causing the taller boy to fall on top of him. 'You are so weak.', the older man laughed, holding the other one by the wrists and keeping him from getting up.
'Very funny.', Shige said in anger, right before a small wave hit them both over the head. Though they were still laying on the sand, they were now completely wet.
Ryo laughed, moving one of his hands to Shige's face. 'You're hot when you're mad.'
Shige frowned. 'Well, expect to see a lot of hot in this relationship, then.'
Ryo pulled him into a long kiss, the warm sea water now rising up to their waists. 'You know, you're a good kisser. Surprisingly.', Ryo said after pulling away.
Shige moved some wet hair from the older boy's face. 'There are a lot of things I'm good at. Boyfriend.',he said smiling into another kiss.
Ryo cursed mentally, but felt too weak to complain, deciding that it definitely wasn't so bad to have a tall, clumsy, and awkward boyfriend like Shige.
~~ The end
Author's note: It's done! Sorry about the delay for the last chapter. Life got in the way. Again. We hope you guys enjoyed this fic! We're so happy to have had so many followers, and we're happy that some of you have been with us from the very first fic. Thank you!
We have a another story planned, so please stay tuned.... :)