[FIC] Three Hundred and Sixty-five
Title: Three Hundred and Sixty-Five
Fandom/Pairing: Arashi/ShoJun
Rating: PG - 13
Word Count: 1719
Notes: so the community has reached 100+ members! ika_rasu and i will make a proper celebratory post soon. for the meantime, here's the entry i submitted for the sakumoto fic contest. :)
It was Matsumoto Jun’s first birthday since he entered the jimusho. He still wasn’t used to the dazzling sets and the bright lights; they still awed him. It was understandable; he was young and he was excited, exactly like the rest of his fellow juniors. Jun has made quite a few friends so far, and they were the ones who bought him a cake to blow during their break that day.
The small crowd chanted for him to blow the candles, after singing their slightly off-key birthday song. Jun obeyed, a large smile permanently on his lips. Afterwards, everyone took a slice of his cake and greetings started raining on Jun. Suddenly, everyone felt like his friend, and the thought made Jun ecstatic.
“You’re Matsumoto, right?”
Jun looked up, ready to tell this person that yes, he was Matsumoto and yes, it was his birthday. That was the plan, until he saw who was asking. In front of Jun was Sakurai Sho.
Sakurai was well-known among the juniors. His family was well-off, his parents were famous people in their field, he was in a good school and the fans loved him. Jun could feel his words die in his throat so he replied with a weak nod instead. This didn’t seem to bother Sho in the least and he just smiled at the birthday boy.
“Happy birthday, Matsumoto.”
--
Somehow, they became friends. It was all surreal to Jun somehow, because he’s always seen Sakurai as someone a step ahead of him. Since the beginning, he’s always used to looking at Sakurai’s back, He had never expected to be able to walk alongside him, to have Sakurai tell him “Call me Sho”, much more be friends with him.
“What are you going to do for your birthday?” Sho asked; he was playing randomly with his lunch, moving the food around with his chopsticks.
“I guess I’m going to eat out.”
“Who with?”
“Well, since everyone’s busy with the concert rehearsals I was thinking of treating them all out when our day off comes…” Jun fidgeted in his seat. He didn’t want Sho to think that he was some kind of loser who spends his birthdays alone, but he didn’t want to burden anybody just because he wanted to celebrate either.
“I’m not busy.”
“W-what?”
“I said, I’m not busy on the thirtieth.” Sho repeated slowly, taking a sausage between his chopsticks.
“Oh.” Jun looked down at his lunchbox, thinking of what to say next.
“This is the part where you ask me to join you on your birthday, you idiot.” For emphasis, Sho said before eating the sausage. “I definitely won’t let you spend your birthday alone,”
“Thanks, Sho-kun.”
Jun’s smile stretched wide and it hurt his cheeks a bit, but he didn’t care because he felt happy all over.
--
He just turned sixteen but his presents were still as childish as ever. Among the gifts were the small toys from the nearby convenience store, a top of some kind, a wristband and some colorful plastic figures that Jun couldn’t decipher at the moment. The birthday celebrant didn’t mind, he was after their company after all.
“For your birthday, I’ll tell you a great secret.” Sho was the last guest to leave, and like before, Jun felt slightly giddy and giggly around him. He was still the guy Jun looked up to, after all.
“A secret? What is it?”
“An awesome one. You’ll have to wait a bit though, but I assure you it’s worth it.”
Jun believed him, like he always did. Several days later, they debuted as Arashi.
--
This year was a bit quieter compared to the others, nevertheless Jun felt happy. He couldn’t invite any of his friends because he had work to attend to, but in consolation, he spent it rehearsing dance moves with the rest of Arashi.
There was something in Jun that still felt detached to the rest of them. He didn’t know what was wrong and If it was appropriate to voice out. When he was with them, he tried to act normal, but he had a constant hesitance in every action.
“Stop spacing out.”
A gentle flick on his forehead made him remember that they were supposed to be preparing for a photoshoot.
“S-sorry, Sho-kun,” Jun muttered.
“Sho-kun, you up for playing some virtual soccer? I want to try out a new technique I learned,” Aiba grinned from the seat near the pair, slightly bouncy as he asked this.
“How about Matsujun over here,” Sho jabbed his thumb towards Jun. “He’s pretty good.”
“That all right with you, Jun-kun? Let’s go,” Aiba grinned at him. Before Jun went to go sit next to Aiba, he threw a smile at Sho, and the latter smiled back.
--
“This is delicious,”
“It should be, I paid half of my savings for that,”
“I bought you a gift though,, so don’t complain much.”
“You gave me a cellphone strap.”
“What? It suits you!”
“Sometimes I think you mistake me for a girl.”
“You’re short, and you wore a wig and a skirt once.”
“I can’t believe I considered you my friend!”
“Stop making that face, you’re looking more like a girl!”
“Shut up,”
“Thanks for the food, Matsujun.”
“You better be grateful I am amused in your company or else you won’t be eating that right now.”
--
Jun’s work schedule was so busy that he almost forgot about his birthday. Arashi was releasing a new album, and he had a drama to film, including various promotions on TV shows and commercials. Even with the loaded schedule, Jun found himself enjoying all of this. In all of this, he felt like everything was in place.
“Matsujun?”
“Ah, Sho-kun,” Jun balanced his cellphone between his shoulder and his ear, as he sorted through his clothes for the meeting with the drama staff later. “What’s up?”
“Well, I’m free on Thursday so I was wondering if you want to go get a drink or something?”
“Thursday? Sorry but I have to go meet up with the cast that day, and then do a rehearsal for filming. How about next week?”
There was a slight pause that followed, and for a moment Jun thought Sho hung up on him.
“That’s too bad. I won’t be free next week though. I’ll just go call you if my schedule clears up.”
“Oh. Okay then.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
Jun took a peek at the calendar and saw that Thursday was the thirtieth. Somehow, there was an aching void in him as he pressed the button to end Sho’s call. Sho’s schedule never did clear up, he didn’t call Jun again.
--
Things were changing. Jun wasn’t sure exactly who was changing and did it first, but it didn’t matter. In the end, things weren’t the same. Of course Jun wanted to bring the old times back, back when he was young and easily dazzled by Sho’s bright aura; but at the same time, he didn’t want things to go back to how they were. Right now he was on the peak of his career, and people started to acknowledge him for himself. Jun was greedy and he knew it. Why can’t he have both?
During Jun’s party, Sho left early because he has work tomorrow.
“Happy birthday, Matsujun.” Sho said hurriedly, giving Jun a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
As Sho went off, Jun was about to say something but a girl-who was she? A cousin of someone or something?-suddenly approached him with a sugary sweet “Happy birthday.”
Jun stared at Sho’s back, before he followed her back inside.
--
Today was going to be spent relaxing, Jun told himself. He wasn’t going to strain himself by thinking of work nor was he going to do anything that might lead him to think of work either. Relax, relax. Maybe he could make pasta for dinner tonight, he was in the mood for it. To go with it, maybe some wine too. Jun made his way to the kitchen, and once he was there he started to take out various pots, cans and herbs.
In the middle of cooking, he heard his machine take a message. He decided to ignore it, reminding himself to not think of that four lettered word. He’s been doing a good job of distracting himself as it is.
“-it’s Sho. I know you don’t want to be bothered but-”
Jun paused for a moment, his parsley loosely chopped before him.
“I just wanted to greet you happy birthday. I haven’t done that for a long time now, have I? I-well, I hope you’re doing fine, and that you’re having a good birthday. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”
That was the only time that day that Jun allowed himself to think of work. He didn’t know when Sho and work became synonymous with each other.
--
Jun was a greedy, greedy, greedy man. But nobody can really blame him.
“I haven’t been to your place in such a long time,” Sho looked around like it was his first time in Jun’s house. In a way, that was the case, as Jun changed quite a lot of things in the house since Sho last came over. “Hey is that a new DVD player? I didn’t know you bought that model, I heard it’s pretty good.”
For some reason, Jun felt helpless. He watched as Sho moved around the house like a child, inspecting all the unfamiliar things and expressing delight in seeing things he recognized. Jun wanted to say so many things, but he didn’t know where to start. It was quite hard to figure out where to start.
“Matsujun,” Sho’s clear voice was one of the things Jun liked about Sho-always sure, always confident. “Happy birthday. I miss telling you that personally.”
“Where’s my present,” Jun said, a lump in his throat making it difficult to speak. “Surely, you got me a good one this time?”
“All I have to give is a hug.”
Their eyes meet and Sho gave him a smile. Jun rolled his eyes in mock exasperation.
“I could do with that.”
Jun’s smile stretched wide and it hurt his cheeks a bit, but he didn’t care because he felt happy all over.
--fin
Fandom/Pairing: Arashi/ShoJun
Rating: PG - 13
Word Count: 1719
Notes: so the community has reached 100+ members! ika_rasu and i will make a proper celebratory post soon. for the meantime, here's the entry i submitted for the sakumoto fic contest. :)
It was Matsumoto Jun’s first birthday since he entered the jimusho. He still wasn’t used to the dazzling sets and the bright lights; they still awed him. It was understandable; he was young and he was excited, exactly like the rest of his fellow juniors. Jun has made quite a few friends so far, and they were the ones who bought him a cake to blow during their break that day.
The small crowd chanted for him to blow the candles, after singing their slightly off-key birthday song. Jun obeyed, a large smile permanently on his lips. Afterwards, everyone took a slice of his cake and greetings started raining on Jun. Suddenly, everyone felt like his friend, and the thought made Jun ecstatic.
“You’re Matsumoto, right?”
Jun looked up, ready to tell this person that yes, he was Matsumoto and yes, it was his birthday. That was the plan, until he saw who was asking. In front of Jun was Sakurai Sho.
Sakurai was well-known among the juniors. His family was well-off, his parents were famous people in their field, he was in a good school and the fans loved him. Jun could feel his words die in his throat so he replied with a weak nod instead. This didn’t seem to bother Sho in the least and he just smiled at the birthday boy.
“Happy birthday, Matsumoto.”
--
Somehow, they became friends. It was all surreal to Jun somehow, because he’s always seen Sakurai as someone a step ahead of him. Since the beginning, he’s always used to looking at Sakurai’s back, He had never expected to be able to walk alongside him, to have Sakurai tell him “Call me Sho”, much more be friends with him.
“What are you going to do for your birthday?” Sho asked; he was playing randomly with his lunch, moving the food around with his chopsticks.
“I guess I’m going to eat out.”
“Who with?”
“Well, since everyone’s busy with the concert rehearsals I was thinking of treating them all out when our day off comes…” Jun fidgeted in his seat. He didn’t want Sho to think that he was some kind of loser who spends his birthdays alone, but he didn’t want to burden anybody just because he wanted to celebrate either.
“I’m not busy.”
“W-what?”
“I said, I’m not busy on the thirtieth.” Sho repeated slowly, taking a sausage between his chopsticks.
“Oh.” Jun looked down at his lunchbox, thinking of what to say next.
“This is the part where you ask me to join you on your birthday, you idiot.” For emphasis, Sho said before eating the sausage. “I definitely won’t let you spend your birthday alone,”
“Thanks, Sho-kun.”
Jun’s smile stretched wide and it hurt his cheeks a bit, but he didn’t care because he felt happy all over.
--
He just turned sixteen but his presents were still as childish as ever. Among the gifts were the small toys from the nearby convenience store, a top of some kind, a wristband and some colorful plastic figures that Jun couldn’t decipher at the moment. The birthday celebrant didn’t mind, he was after their company after all.
“For your birthday, I’ll tell you a great secret.” Sho was the last guest to leave, and like before, Jun felt slightly giddy and giggly around him. He was still the guy Jun looked up to, after all.
“A secret? What is it?”
“An awesome one. You’ll have to wait a bit though, but I assure you it’s worth it.”
Jun believed him, like he always did. Several days later, they debuted as Arashi.
--
This year was a bit quieter compared to the others, nevertheless Jun felt happy. He couldn’t invite any of his friends because he had work to attend to, but in consolation, he spent it rehearsing dance moves with the rest of Arashi.
There was something in Jun that still felt detached to the rest of them. He didn’t know what was wrong and If it was appropriate to voice out. When he was with them, he tried to act normal, but he had a constant hesitance in every action.
“Stop spacing out.”
A gentle flick on his forehead made him remember that they were supposed to be preparing for a photoshoot.
“S-sorry, Sho-kun,” Jun muttered.
“Sho-kun, you up for playing some virtual soccer? I want to try out a new technique I learned,” Aiba grinned from the seat near the pair, slightly bouncy as he asked this.
“How about Matsujun over here,” Sho jabbed his thumb towards Jun. “He’s pretty good.”
“That all right with you, Jun-kun? Let’s go,” Aiba grinned at him. Before Jun went to go sit next to Aiba, he threw a smile at Sho, and the latter smiled back.
--
“This is delicious,”
“It should be, I paid half of my savings for that,”
“I bought you a gift though,, so don’t complain much.”
“You gave me a cellphone strap.”
“What? It suits you!”
“Sometimes I think you mistake me for a girl.”
“You’re short, and you wore a wig and a skirt once.”
“I can’t believe I considered you my friend!”
“Stop making that face, you’re looking more like a girl!”
“Shut up,”
“Thanks for the food, Matsujun.”
“You better be grateful I am amused in your company or else you won’t be eating that right now.”
--
Jun’s work schedule was so busy that he almost forgot about his birthday. Arashi was releasing a new album, and he had a drama to film, including various promotions on TV shows and commercials. Even with the loaded schedule, Jun found himself enjoying all of this. In all of this, he felt like everything was in place.
“Matsujun?”
“Ah, Sho-kun,” Jun balanced his cellphone between his shoulder and his ear, as he sorted through his clothes for the meeting with the drama staff later. “What’s up?”
“Well, I’m free on Thursday so I was wondering if you want to go get a drink or something?”
“Thursday? Sorry but I have to go meet up with the cast that day, and then do a rehearsal for filming. How about next week?”
There was a slight pause that followed, and for a moment Jun thought Sho hung up on him.
“That’s too bad. I won’t be free next week though. I’ll just go call you if my schedule clears up.”
“Oh. Okay then.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
Jun took a peek at the calendar and saw that Thursday was the thirtieth. Somehow, there was an aching void in him as he pressed the button to end Sho’s call. Sho’s schedule never did clear up, he didn’t call Jun again.
--
Things were changing. Jun wasn’t sure exactly who was changing and did it first, but it didn’t matter. In the end, things weren’t the same. Of course Jun wanted to bring the old times back, back when he was young and easily dazzled by Sho’s bright aura; but at the same time, he didn’t want things to go back to how they were. Right now he was on the peak of his career, and people started to acknowledge him for himself. Jun was greedy and he knew it. Why can’t he have both?
During Jun’s party, Sho left early because he has work tomorrow.
“Happy birthday, Matsujun.” Sho said hurriedly, giving Jun a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
As Sho went off, Jun was about to say something but a girl-who was she? A cousin of someone or something?-suddenly approached him with a sugary sweet “Happy birthday.”
Jun stared at Sho’s back, before he followed her back inside.
--
Today was going to be spent relaxing, Jun told himself. He wasn’t going to strain himself by thinking of work nor was he going to do anything that might lead him to think of work either. Relax, relax. Maybe he could make pasta for dinner tonight, he was in the mood for it. To go with it, maybe some wine too. Jun made his way to the kitchen, and once he was there he started to take out various pots, cans and herbs.
In the middle of cooking, he heard his machine take a message. He decided to ignore it, reminding himself to not think of that four lettered word. He’s been doing a good job of distracting himself as it is.
“-it’s Sho. I know you don’t want to be bothered but-”
Jun paused for a moment, his parsley loosely chopped before him.
“I just wanted to greet you happy birthday. I haven’t done that for a long time now, have I? I-well, I hope you’re doing fine, and that you’re having a good birthday. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”
That was the only time that day that Jun allowed himself to think of work. He didn’t know when Sho and work became synonymous with each other.
--
Jun was a greedy, greedy, greedy man. But nobody can really blame him.
“I haven’t been to your place in such a long time,” Sho looked around like it was his first time in Jun’s house. In a way, that was the case, as Jun changed quite a lot of things in the house since Sho last came over. “Hey is that a new DVD player? I didn’t know you bought that model, I heard it’s pretty good.”
For some reason, Jun felt helpless. He watched as Sho moved around the house like a child, inspecting all the unfamiliar things and expressing delight in seeing things he recognized. Jun wanted to say so many things, but he didn’t know where to start. It was quite hard to figure out where to start.
“Matsujun,” Sho’s clear voice was one of the things Jun liked about Sho-always sure, always confident. “Happy birthday. I miss telling you that personally.”
“Where’s my present,” Jun said, a lump in his throat making it difficult to speak. “Surely, you got me a good one this time?”
“All I have to give is a hug.”
Their eyes meet and Sho gave him a smile. Jun rolled his eyes in mock exasperation.
“I could do with that.”
Jun’s smile stretched wide and it hurt his cheeks a bit, but he didn’t care because he felt happy all over.
--fin