Gift fic for carmine_pink (part one)
Gift fic for: carmine_pink
From: newsficcon
Title: Freebird
Rating: PG
Pairing: Yamapi/Shige, with random appearances of other NEWS members
Warnings: AU
Summary: He decides to walk out on being Yamapi. So Tomohisa meets Shige and that’s how it all starts.
Notes: carmine_pink, I enjoyed writing this and I apologize for the length, the fic just ran away from me! I really really hope that you’ll enjoy this anyway! ♥ Millions of thanks to my lovely Rs for their help and encouragement! ♥
“I quit,” he says firmly, to the shocked faces of his employers, and he bows down professionally before straightening back up. “Thank you for everything,” he adds, before turning on his heel and walking out the door.
He doesn’t look back.
--
Yamashita Tomohisa pushes open the door to the small bookshop, the overhead bells chiming as he steps inside, and the smell of old paper and print greets him.
He smiles to himself as the door clinks shut behind him and walks toward a display by the window. There are a few new releases: the newest volume of ONE PIECE, a work by Murakami Haruki, and another by an author Yamashita hasn’t heard of. He picks that one up and flips through the pages before turning to the back to read the summary.
“Are you finding everything okay?” questions a deep voice from behind, and Yamashita jumps a bit in surprise as he turns. A young man with dark hair that falls in his face stares back at him over the top of a pile of books in his hands. He smiles warmly at Yamashita who nods.
“I’m just looking,” he replies kindly. “Thanks.”
The boy nods and replies, “Let me know if you need anything. It can be a little hard to find stuff in here sometimes.”
Yamashita thanks him again and watches as he ambles toward the back and disappears behind a bookshelf. Yamashita turns his attention back to the book in his hand, finishes reading and then puts it back on its little display. He heads toward the first aisle next and scans the spines of the various literature on the shelves.
The shop is seemingly empty and extremely quiet, but it’s not unnerving so much as it is rather peaceful. It lets his mind focus on reading the titles of the books, everything from the history of Japan to learning how to use computers. As he walks further around the shelves, it becomes mostly novels, fiction and nonfiction. He’s heard of a few, and stops at the ones that intrigue him, opening the spines and pressing his fingers against the colored pages. Most of the books are old, worn, with dog-ears and scribbles in the margins. Yamashita likes it, reads the little notes, the dedications, jumps to pages with the corners tucked in, wants to see what another person found so interesting.
He finds a book entitled I am a Cat and stops to actually read, flipping to the first page and dropping down to sit crosslegged on the floor. He doesn’t keep track of the time, and doesn’t know how long it’s been since he started reading, just shuts off the outside world and sinks into the pages, the words on the paper and the images that conjure up in his head.
It’s only when the shop employee stops beside him and says, “I love that one,” does Yamashita fall out of the book and back into reality. He blinks up at the man who gives him a slightly apologetic look, as if he’s realized he’s disturbing him, but with Yamashita’s encouraging smile he continues, “You have good taste. You’ve been reading for almost an hour, are you liking the book?”
Yamashita nods excitedly. “It’s very good.”
The man smiles; it’s a warm smile that lights up his eyes and makes Yamashita feel at home. “I’m glad,” he says. “If you want, I can give you more recommendations of the author’s other works. He writes very interesting novels. If you like this one, you’ll like the others.”
Yamashita grins, finding the man’s enthusiasm rather adorable. But he shakes his head and stands. “Actually, I think I’ll get just get this for today. I’ve been here longer than I planned and I have to head out. Maybe another time.”
The man looks just slightly put out but nods and gestures toward the front. “I’ll ring you up then, if you’re done,” he says, and Yamashita follows him to the register.
He pays for the book, watches the man put it into a small plastic bag for him and hands back his change. “Thanks,” Yamashita says with a smile.
“Come back again soon,” he replies as Yamashita leaves, the bells above the door ringing his goodbye.
--
Yamashita doesn’t usually read a lot. If someone gives him a book and tells him it’s good, he’ll probably read it. But he usually doesn’t go around looking for new material. The most he ever reads is manga, and even that’s a rare occasion. So he’s not entirely sure what it is that has him back at the small bookstore only two days later.
Not even before the door shuts after him, does he hear the pleased greeting of, “You’re back!” from the young employee. He’s standing up on a wall-ladder, a stack of books on one of the flat bars at the top.
“Hi,” Yamashita says, grinning.
“Are you looking for anything in particular today?”
Yamashita shakes his head. “No, just browsing,” he replies.
The man slowly climbs down the ladder and asks once he reaches the floor, “Did you finish that book you got last time? What’d you think?”
“I loved it,” Yamashita replies, beaming, and somehow he finds himself conversing with the man about the novel, the things he liked and didn’t, what surprised him and how much he enjoyed the story. The man talks back just as animatedly, looking as excited as the last time Yamashita had seen him.
After a while though he suddenly cuts himself off and rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “Sorry,” he says, “I’m getting carried away.”
Yamashita laughs, shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it! I’ve been wanting to talk to someone about it since I finished but no one else seemed to really care.”
“Well, you came to right place for that, then,” the man replies.
Yamashita smiles broadly and says, “I’m Yamashita Tomohisa, by the way,” and extends a hand.
The man pauses for a second, staring back at him, and Yamashita feels a sinking trepidation that disappears when the man lowers the hand around his neck and grasps Yamashita’s; his grip is tentative, warm. “Kato Shigeaki,” he replies and his next smile has Yamashita’s heart beating faster.
--
Yamashita stops by the bookstore almost every other day. He doesn’t always buy something, or does he even browse; mostly he just follows Kato - Shige, as the young man told him to call him - around and talk about random things.
It’s primarily about literature; Shige seems to have read his way through the entire shop. He tells Yamashita about his favorite stories, and the way his face brightens up as he talks about it makes Yamashita feel all warm inside.
“Don’t you have work or something?” Shige asks one day, when Yamashita stops by during lunch, bringing take-out from a place down the street.
Yamashita shakes his head. “Nope, free as a bird,” he replies, grinning, and doesn’t elaborate.
Shige just assesses him curiously but doesn’t press the topic. He pulls out a box and says as he breaks apart his chopsticks, “Then you should stay and help out here.” He glances up to meet Yamashita’s eyes before dropping them down again.
Yamashita stares back at him for a few moments before he replies, “I’d love to.”
--
Despite his kind attitude, Shige is a surprising slave-driver. Yamashita comes by every other day and Shige starts making him help out, ordering him to put price tags on the books (always on the inside back cover, so as to not damage the actual covers), straightening up the areas that have been ruined by previous guests, or unloading boxes in the small back room.
“If I didn’t know any better, I think you like bossing me around,” Yamashita teases at the end of one week.
Shige laughs. “Maybe a little,” he replies.
Yamashita sits on the floor, his back against a bookshelf, and unwraps the onigiri Shige had offered him. “Don’t you have anyone else helping out around here?”
“We don’t really have the budget for more,” Shige mumbles with a sigh. “It’d be nice, but I don’t really mind. It keeps the place quiet and I can do whatever I want.”
Yamashita stares at him around a mouthful of rice. Shige looks back uncomfortably and Yamashita swallows before he says, nonchalant, “Then I’ll help out.”
Shige chokes on his food. “Huh?” he exclaims, like he hadn’t heard properly. “You do realize what I just said, right? We don’t have the--”
“I know,” Yamashita cuts in. “I’ll help out anyway. You don’t have to pay me or anything. I’ll help out of the goodness of my heart.” He grins.
Shige snorts and then frowns, looking apprehensive. “Don’t you have something to do? A job? Maybe a family you’re supposed to be taking care of? Why are you spending all your time in a bookshop?”
Yamashita shakes his head. “I told you, I’m free as a bird,” he says happily. “No job, no family of my own. I’m completely single.” He smirks. “I’m always looking though, if you’re interested, Shige.”
Shige glares and tosses his crumpled up onigiri wrapper at Yamashita’s face.
Laughing, Yamashita stretches his arms above his head and lets out a satisfied sigh. “I can do whatever I want,” he says. He smiles at Shige. “And I like it here.”
The sincerity of his voice seems to not go unnoticed by Shige, who pauses in raising his onigiri to his mouth and looks back at Yamashita with a pink blush rising high in his cheeks. Yamashita thinks he looks rather adorable and drops his gaze as he returns to eating, and hears Shige do the same.
When Yamashita chances a glance at him a moment later, the younger boy is smiling widely to himself.
--
“Thank you and come again!” Yamashita says cheerfully and watches a group of three young pretty mothers head out the door, each with their own little boy, giggling and waving back at him through the window as they make their way down the sidewalk. He grins after them.
“Stop flirting,” Shige admonishes, though he sounds mostly amused, as he drops a stack of books onto the counter beside Yamashita.
“Aw, are you jealous, Shige?” Yamashita teases, leaning toward him and batting his eyelashes. Shige laughs and shoves at him.
He pats the stack of books and says, “These books are falling out of their spines. Can you glue them back?”
“Sure thing, Boss,” Yamashita says, salutes, and laughs when Shige merely rolls his eyes at him.
Shige leaves him to it and heads off down an aisle. Yamashita watches until he disappears and then glances at the books. He opens up the drawer under the register table and pulls out the heavy-duty glue they use to to mend the books. He reaches for the book on top and the paperback cover hangs halfway off. He laughs, flips through the book. The pages are old and worn, a few have been taped meticulously back together. He thinks it gives the book its own story, that someone enjoyed it enough to read it so much, or perhaps it fell in the hands of someone who didn’t take care of it. Yamashita likes thinking about those things, wonders about the kind of people who have read the books he sees throughout the store. It’s not a second-hand shop by any means, but they do take sell-backs, and the number of used books is fairly decent.
Yamashita likes those the best, though. There’s something about opening up a book that’s a little tattered; pencil marks in the margins, names scribbled in the inside cover, the lingering scent of someone’s perfume, coffee, curry, staining the pages. It’s different from the way it feels cracking open the spine of a new book, inhaling the clean paper and the sharp ink. Yamashita likes them both, but he tends to navigate toward the used books more.
He goes through the book in his hand for a couple of minutes before he even reaches for the glue. He reads all the little notes, scans the pages and gets a taste of the novel itself, making his way through the whole book before he sets it back down onto the pile. He grabs the glue and gets to work.
He goes through the same process with each book, occasionally stopping to help out a guest that stops by. He chats amiably with them. He’s not as knowledgeable about the best novels or the more obscure ones like Shige is, but he offers his own advice about the few things he’s managed to read while starting to visit and help out here. It’s all worth it when the customers leave with smiles on their faces. Yamashita thinks that’s something he’ll always like to do - making other people happy.
“You’re getting the hang of things, it seems,” Shige remarks as he returns to the front of the store in time to see Yamashita waving goodbye to an elderly woman, holding the door open as she leaves. The bells above the door chime with the summer wind and Yamashita leans against it for awhile, breathing in the fresh air.
“I’m glad,” he replies, staring out through the door down the sidewalk. “I told you, I like it here.”
Shige eyes him curiously, and Yamashita knows he’s yet again wondering why he’s spending all his time here. Shige stares at him a lot like that when he thinks Yamashita isn’t looking. Truth be told, Yamashita’s not sure why he’s here so much, either. But, compared to before, this place, the calmness, the freedom to do as he pleases, dress and talk as he wants, the old book smell and the easiness of everything makes him feel lighter than he has in years.
He turns and smiles at Shige, and knows that Shige himself has a lot to do with that, too.
--
Their first kiss is pressed up against a bookshelf in the back of the store, shadows hiding their faces and streams of sunlight dancing at their feet. Shige gasps, the books cradled in his arm falling to the floor around them with a loud procession of thuds, and his fingers curl into the sleeve of Yamashita’s shirt at his elbow. Yamashita licks his lips, gently, slowly, and the blood rushes in his ears when Shige reciprocates.
The quiet chime of the bells has Yamashita pulling back first, sliding his hand down Shige’s arm as he passes back up to the front and greets the middle-aged man with a cheerful, “How can I help you today?”
When he takes the man down the aisle to show him the section with the old history books, he walks by Shige, crouched on the floor, picking up his earlier dropped books, and ruffles his hair. Shige swats at his hand, glancing up at him with bright eyes, his face flushed adorably red, and Yamashita feels the urge to kiss him again.
Instead he grins and returns his attention to the guest, and for the rest of the unusually busy day, every glance they steal at one another makes Yamashita’s heart feel warmer, stronger, and fuller in his chest.
--
It’s almost a whole month before he sees it, written across the top of the newspaper in bold, red ink: Top Idol Yamashita Tomohisa Leaves Agency?!
He can’t even make it past the first paragraph, and has to refrain from crumpling the newspaper in his hands. He wonders if Shige has seen this yet. He tucks the newspapers into their shelf by the doorway and covers up the top with the leftovers from yesterday that he’s supposed to recycle.
Shige’s not the pop-culture type of person, more interested in worldly events like politics and the news, not about idols or boybands, but the uneasiness Yamashita hasn’t felt since he’d still been working for Johnny’s sinks its way deep inside his veins.
It’s not that he doesn’t want to tell Shige the truth - he thought Shige had to have recognized him or his name when he’d introduced himself that day weeks ago. But Shige has never mentioned it, and never treated Yamashita like a celebrity. And so, Yamashita never felt the need to inform him any differently.
It doesn’t matter either way, but Yamashita doesn’t want Shige to find out from the newspapers.
He hopes Shige doesn’t watch the news too closely that day. It must be all over, he thinks, feeling only slightly worried.
“Are you okay?” Shige asks him towards the end of the work day, coming up to sit beside him on the floor. Yamashita has been putting books away for the past few hours, returning misplaced books to their proper spots, adding in new ones that have just arrived, and reorganizing the shelves. He’s distracted, his mind elsewhere, and he’s not getting as much done as he usually does.
He turns to Shige and sighs. “Not really,” he replies but doesn’t elaborate.
Shige inches just a little closer so their shoulders are pressed together, warm through the sleeves of their shirts. “Want to talk about it?” he asks after a few moments of silence.
Yamashita just shakes his head.
Shige hesitates for a moment, like he’s not sure whether to press the topic or let it go, but then he merely reaches out and squeezes Yamashita’s knee gently. “If you’re sure,” he finally says.
Yamashita covers his hand with his own, threading his fingers between Shige’s and curling them tight together. “Don’t worry about me,” he says, and smiles at Shige’s troubled expression.
“It’s hard not to, when you’re being so...unlike yourself,” Shige says with a sigh. He rubs his thumb along Yamashita’s skin and then stands up suddenly, his face brightening up as he holds out a hand for Yamashita to take. Yamashita does, and lets Shige haul him to his feet. “Let’s close up earlier, go get dinner. My treat.”
Yamashita laughs. “Is this supposed to make me feel better?”
“Is it working?”
“Yes.”
“Then, yes, it’s supposed to make you feel better.” Shige grins. “Come on. Leave the books.”
Yamashita mock-gasps. “Leave the books? Are you feeling okay?”
Shige shoves at his shoulder, but his eyes are sparkling. “Very funny,” he says, and Yamashita tugs on his hand, pulls him close and chuckles against his lips as he kisses him.
Shige tenses for a moment, always still so surprised, but relaxes in the next second and brushes their mouths together. They pull away at the same time and Yamashita breaks the spell as he says, “Thank you, Shige.”
Flustered, Shige just nods and rushes towards the door, almost stumbling over the stack of books Yamashita had been going through. Yamashita catches him before he falls, an arm around his waist, and they laugh as they head out.
It’s raining, the skies grey and moody, and Shige runs back inside to grab the umbrella while Yamashita waits under the awning. He watches the rain pelt the sidewalks, the air sticky and uncomfortable. Shige rushes back outside and Yamashita takes the umbrella from him, opening it up. They huddle beneath it and walk quietly down the streets in search for a place to eat.
They find a small, seemingly unknown little ramen shop and while Shige looks skeptical at first he relents at Yamashita’s insistence. He wants a place where he would less be recognized, and after ordering they take a table in the corner, complaining over-dramatically about their wet clothes and skin.
They’ve never been out like this before. They mostly just see each other during the day when Yamashita comes down to help. Other than a few mails here and there, they don’t talk much outside of the bookshop. And the most they’ve ever done is kiss, but Yamashita’s certain of his feelings - he likes it how it is, and he wouldn’t be opposed to more - but for once, he’s in no rush, and the easiness of his relationship with Shige, whatever it might be, is quite honestly the best relationship he’s ever been in.
“This feels a little weird,” Shige comments, blushing a little. “It’s like a date.”
Yamashita grins broadly. “I don’t recall you asking me out, Shige.”
Shige turns a deeper shade of red. “You know what I mean!” he exclaims. “Besides, you could have just as easily asked me.”
Yamashita wonders if Shige has wanted him to. He’s never voiced his displeasure with the way things were going, but...maybe it’s been on his mind. His gaze softens and he bumps his knee against Shige’s under the table. “You’re right,” he says with a firm nod. “Shige,” he says seriously, folding his hands onto the table. “Will you go on a date with me?”
Shige stares at him for three seconds before he bursts into laughter. It’s beautiful, his laugh, always so free and honest. His eyes are dancing and he can’t seem to stop laughing long enough to speak, and he giggles harder whenever he glances back at Yamashita.
“I was serious!” Yamashita adds, chuckling along with Shige’s infectious mirth, but it just makes Shige laugh more.
“I know, I know,” Shige gasps. “That’s why it’s so funny.” He meets Yamashita’s eyes again and continues, “Who asks someone out like that? You sounded like you were informing me someone died.”
“That bad, huh?” Yamashita says with a sigh, slumping back against his chair. “I must be out of practice.”
“Just try harder next time,” Shige teases, “and maybe I’ll say yes.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Yamashita replies and they both grin.
--
It’s just a few days later that it happens. Yamashita is working in the back corner of the bookshop. It’s around three in the afternoon and the shop is empty; it’s been a quiet, slow day that he and Shige have been mostly trying to keep things organized and have been simply enjoying each other’s company.
Yamashita’s putting back some books that a few kids had failed to return properly earlier, and is sitting down in the furthest corner from the door so he doesn’t see him come in. All he hears are the bells above the door, but since Shige is up at the register, he doesn’t move to go look. It’s only when the dulcet tones of someone familiar cuts through Yamashita’s peaceful surroundings does he drop the book in his hand and feel his heart plummet. He should’ve expected this eventually, but he had been hoping it wouldn’t be so soon.
“I know he’s here,” demands the voice, angry and frustrated. “Pi, where the fuck are you?”
“I-I assure you there’s no one with that name here,” Shige says politely, albeit sounding a little frightened and Yamashita heaves himself to his feet and slowly makes his way to the front.
“How did you find me here, Ryo-chan? Have you been stalking me?” he questions, drawing the attention of the other men. Shige looks confused now, eyes darting between him and his friend, his ex-coworker, Nishikido Ryo.
Ryo’s eyes narrow at him and for a brief second he just stares. Then he lunges. But Yamashita’s known Ryo since they were kids and knows how to read him, and dodges at the last second so Ryo’s blow hits only air. Before Ryo can retaliate, Yamashita pulls him into a hug, sighing happily because, despite everything, he has missed his best friend.
Over Ryo’s tense shoulders, Shige’s eyes are wide. Yamashita smiles at him reassuringly, then pats Ryo’s back until Ryo relaxes and slugs him half-heartedly in the side.
“You fucking asshole,” Ryo grumbles. “What the hell have you been doing?!”
Yamashita lets him go and turns his smile from Shige to Ryo. “It’s nice to see you too, Ryo-chan.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit,” Ryo bitches, staring angrily at Yamashita until he feels guilt seep into his veins. A month away from Ryo and he’s not as immune to that glare as he usually is. “You’ve been ignoring my calls for weeks, you never answer the door when I go over, and on top of all that, you fucking quit the agency--”
Yamashita quickly slams a hand over Ryo’s mouth, Ryo making an affronted muffled noise and glaring even harder. Yamashita darts his gaze at Shige who is staring at them transfixed, and then says brightly to him, “Think you can hold down the fort, Shige? I need to talk to Ryo for a bit.”
Shige nods slowly and Yamashita drops his hand from Ryo’s mouth, ignoring his friend’s “What the hell is wrong with you?!” as he pushes him toward the door and back outside. The bells ring incessantly after them and Yamashita can still feel Shige’s gaze on him, certain that he’s watching discreetly through the window as he sits down onto the curb and Ryo joins him.
Yamashita doesn’t say anything, not even sure where to start, and he would rather Ryo just yell him out and get it over with. But, it seems Ryo’s fire is gone from earlier and he leans back with his palms on the sidewalk and tilts his head backward.
“It’s nice to see you’re doing well,” he says after a long stretch of simply listening to the soft whistle of the wind and the tires screeching in the distance. “You look good. Better than I’ve seen you in a long time.”
Yamashita smiles. “I feel really good,” he replies honestly. “How did you find me here?”
“I have my ways,” Ryo says haughtily, as though he had an army of spies out searching for him or something. “That’s not really the point. Why are you here?”
“I work here,” Yamashita says quickly, defensively.
“Really.”
“Yes, really,” Yamashita retorts, but from one look at Ryo, he crumbles, like usual. He sighs, picks at the fashionably ripped hole at the knee of his jeans. “Okay, fine, not really. I just help Shige out. Shige - he’s the one you freaked out earlier, coming in here like that.”
“Well, what was I supposed to do? He said he didn’t know you!”
“Of course he doesn’t, when you refer to me as Pi,” Yamashita replies. “He doesn’t know about me. Being an idol. Being famous.”
Now Ryo looks like he’s been hit by a bus. It’d actually be a little funny if Yamashita didn’t know it was only the prelude to a storm.
And, sure enough, a few minutes later, Ryo exclaims, “What?! You’ve been here for over a month and you’re telling me this kid doesn’t even know who you are? You’re kidding, right? Your face is plastered all over the fucking country.” He gestures wildly out toward the streets.
“Shige isn’t really interested in that sort of stuff,” he replies easily. “If he knows who I am, he’s never said anything. I don’t think he does.”
Ryo stares at him, reads between the lines. “You mean you hope he doesn’t.”
“No,” Yamashita says petulantly, but Ryo’s doing that know-it-all grinning thing that Yamashita definitely hasn’t missed. “Shut up,” he grumbles, and pushes at Ryo’s shoulder.
Ryo just laughs and it eases Yamashita’s nerves instantly. “Well, forget about him for a moment,” Ryo continues and Yamashita doesn’t get a chance to feel offended on Shige’s behalf before Ryo’s questioning, “So, what’re you going to do?”
“What do you mean what am I going to do?” Yamashita replies. “I don’t know. I like it here. I like having freedom. I’m not going back, if that’s what you wanted to hear.”
“It isn’t,” Ryo admits, and the heel of his shoe makes a scuffing noise against the ground when he kicks at it. “Are you seriously just throwing everything away like this?”
“Yes,” Yamashita says, adamant. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me,” Ryo snaps back. “I’m your fucking best friend, idiot. Sometimes I’m pretty sure I get you more than you get yourself.”
Yamashita chuckles, looking up at the cloudless sky; it’s a bright, calming blue. “Yeah, you’re probably right about that,” he says. “Then you should know that I mean it when I say I’m not returning.”
“I don’t know, Pi,” Ryo says. “That’s up to you.” He pauses, sighs, and pushes himself up, rests his elbows on his knees. “They haven’t reported you leaving yet, of course. Trying to keep it hidden. Some magazines have caught rumors, but it’s not been confirmed.” He stops again, turns to meet Yamashita’s eyes, and adds, “You realize you never completely quit, right?” Yamashita tenses, and gives a tiny nod; it’s true, no point in denying it. Ryo sighs. “You know how that old man is. He’s acting like he’s given you a vacation. They said that if you come back within the next month, they’ll pretend none of this ever happened.”
Yamashita scoffs, turning away and glaring out at the trees across the short street. “Of course,” he says bitterly. “They make you play messenger so I have no choice but to give in?”
Ryo shakes his head. “If you’d checked your messages, you’d see about a hundred from your manager telling you the same thing. Koyama begged me to let you know if I ever saw you. And you know how he gets; he’s practically hysterical. He figured you’d listen to me more than management.”
“Well, they’ve got one thing right.”
“Look, Pi,” Ryo says. “I don’t know exactly what happened, and you don’t have to tell me. I’m just telling you what they told me to say, and letting you know that I have your back, no matter what you choose.”
Yamashita turns back to Ryo and feels warmth swell in his heart. “Thanks, Ryo-chan,” he says. “That means a lot.”
“Just don’t fucking ignore me like that again, okay?” Ryo snaps. “You fucking had me worried. Everyone is worried about you. Go home and check your stupid messages.”
Yamashita nods, laughing a little. “I promise,” he replies.
“Good,” Ryo says, satisfied, before a shark-like grin spreads across his face. “So, now, tell me about your boyfriend.”
Yamashita splutters. His face heats up as he brokenly tries to deny Ryo’s accusation while Ryo merely guffaws with amusement bright in his eyes. “I hate you,” he manages to mumble in the end, which more or less confirms everything and he knows it.
Ryo pats him on the shoulder and says, “You can introduce us properly next time.” He stands and Yamashita follows. “I should go. I have a meeting soon. I just came by to talk to you.”
“I’m glad you did,” Yamashita says. “I’m sorry for ignoring your messages.”
“As you should be,” Ryo says with a grin. “I’ll call you later. And...well, just think about what I said, okay? What they’re offering. You might not want to go back right now, but...do you really think you could be happy here?”
Yamashita sighs, stuffing his hands into his pockets and hanging his head. Ryo smiles at him, gives him a quick one-armed hug, and repeats, “Just think about it.”
> Go to part two
From: newsficcon
Title: Freebird
Rating: PG
Pairing: Yamapi/Shige, with random appearances of other NEWS members
Warnings: AU
Summary: He decides to walk out on being Yamapi. So Tomohisa meets Shige and that’s how it all starts.
Notes: carmine_pink, I enjoyed writing this and I apologize for the length, the fic just ran away from me! I really really hope that you’ll enjoy this anyway! ♥ Millions of thanks to my lovely Rs for their help and encouragement! ♥
“I quit,” he says firmly, to the shocked faces of his employers, and he bows down professionally before straightening back up. “Thank you for everything,” he adds, before turning on his heel and walking out the door.
He doesn’t look back.
--
Yamashita Tomohisa pushes open the door to the small bookshop, the overhead bells chiming as he steps inside, and the smell of old paper and print greets him.
He smiles to himself as the door clinks shut behind him and walks toward a display by the window. There are a few new releases: the newest volume of ONE PIECE, a work by Murakami Haruki, and another by an author Yamashita hasn’t heard of. He picks that one up and flips through the pages before turning to the back to read the summary.
“Are you finding everything okay?” questions a deep voice from behind, and Yamashita jumps a bit in surprise as he turns. A young man with dark hair that falls in his face stares back at him over the top of a pile of books in his hands. He smiles warmly at Yamashita who nods.
“I’m just looking,” he replies kindly. “Thanks.”
The boy nods and replies, “Let me know if you need anything. It can be a little hard to find stuff in here sometimes.”
Yamashita thanks him again and watches as he ambles toward the back and disappears behind a bookshelf. Yamashita turns his attention back to the book in his hand, finishes reading and then puts it back on its little display. He heads toward the first aisle next and scans the spines of the various literature on the shelves.
The shop is seemingly empty and extremely quiet, but it’s not unnerving so much as it is rather peaceful. It lets his mind focus on reading the titles of the books, everything from the history of Japan to learning how to use computers. As he walks further around the shelves, it becomes mostly novels, fiction and nonfiction. He’s heard of a few, and stops at the ones that intrigue him, opening the spines and pressing his fingers against the colored pages. Most of the books are old, worn, with dog-ears and scribbles in the margins. Yamashita likes it, reads the little notes, the dedications, jumps to pages with the corners tucked in, wants to see what another person found so interesting.
He finds a book entitled I am a Cat and stops to actually read, flipping to the first page and dropping down to sit crosslegged on the floor. He doesn’t keep track of the time, and doesn’t know how long it’s been since he started reading, just shuts off the outside world and sinks into the pages, the words on the paper and the images that conjure up in his head.
It’s only when the shop employee stops beside him and says, “I love that one,” does Yamashita fall out of the book and back into reality. He blinks up at the man who gives him a slightly apologetic look, as if he’s realized he’s disturbing him, but with Yamashita’s encouraging smile he continues, “You have good taste. You’ve been reading for almost an hour, are you liking the book?”
Yamashita nods excitedly. “It’s very good.”
The man smiles; it’s a warm smile that lights up his eyes and makes Yamashita feel at home. “I’m glad,” he says. “If you want, I can give you more recommendations of the author’s other works. He writes very interesting novels. If you like this one, you’ll like the others.”
Yamashita grins, finding the man’s enthusiasm rather adorable. But he shakes his head and stands. “Actually, I think I’ll get just get this for today. I’ve been here longer than I planned and I have to head out. Maybe another time.”
The man looks just slightly put out but nods and gestures toward the front. “I’ll ring you up then, if you’re done,” he says, and Yamashita follows him to the register.
He pays for the book, watches the man put it into a small plastic bag for him and hands back his change. “Thanks,” Yamashita says with a smile.
“Come back again soon,” he replies as Yamashita leaves, the bells above the door ringing his goodbye.
--
Yamashita doesn’t usually read a lot. If someone gives him a book and tells him it’s good, he’ll probably read it. But he usually doesn’t go around looking for new material. The most he ever reads is manga, and even that’s a rare occasion. So he’s not entirely sure what it is that has him back at the small bookstore only two days later.
Not even before the door shuts after him, does he hear the pleased greeting of, “You’re back!” from the young employee. He’s standing up on a wall-ladder, a stack of books on one of the flat bars at the top.
“Hi,” Yamashita says, grinning.
“Are you looking for anything in particular today?”
Yamashita shakes his head. “No, just browsing,” he replies.
The man slowly climbs down the ladder and asks once he reaches the floor, “Did you finish that book you got last time? What’d you think?”
“I loved it,” Yamashita replies, beaming, and somehow he finds himself conversing with the man about the novel, the things he liked and didn’t, what surprised him and how much he enjoyed the story. The man talks back just as animatedly, looking as excited as the last time Yamashita had seen him.
After a while though he suddenly cuts himself off and rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “Sorry,” he says, “I’m getting carried away.”
Yamashita laughs, shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it! I’ve been wanting to talk to someone about it since I finished but no one else seemed to really care.”
“Well, you came to right place for that, then,” the man replies.
Yamashita smiles broadly and says, “I’m Yamashita Tomohisa, by the way,” and extends a hand.
The man pauses for a second, staring back at him, and Yamashita feels a sinking trepidation that disappears when the man lowers the hand around his neck and grasps Yamashita’s; his grip is tentative, warm. “Kato Shigeaki,” he replies and his next smile has Yamashita’s heart beating faster.
--
Yamashita stops by the bookstore almost every other day. He doesn’t always buy something, or does he even browse; mostly he just follows Kato - Shige, as the young man told him to call him - around and talk about random things.
It’s primarily about literature; Shige seems to have read his way through the entire shop. He tells Yamashita about his favorite stories, and the way his face brightens up as he talks about it makes Yamashita feel all warm inside.
“Don’t you have work or something?” Shige asks one day, when Yamashita stops by during lunch, bringing take-out from a place down the street.
Yamashita shakes his head. “Nope, free as a bird,” he replies, grinning, and doesn’t elaborate.
Shige just assesses him curiously but doesn’t press the topic. He pulls out a box and says as he breaks apart his chopsticks, “Then you should stay and help out here.” He glances up to meet Yamashita’s eyes before dropping them down again.
Yamashita stares back at him for a few moments before he replies, “I’d love to.”
--
Despite his kind attitude, Shige is a surprising slave-driver. Yamashita comes by every other day and Shige starts making him help out, ordering him to put price tags on the books (always on the inside back cover, so as to not damage the actual covers), straightening up the areas that have been ruined by previous guests, or unloading boxes in the small back room.
“If I didn’t know any better, I think you like bossing me around,” Yamashita teases at the end of one week.
Shige laughs. “Maybe a little,” he replies.
Yamashita sits on the floor, his back against a bookshelf, and unwraps the onigiri Shige had offered him. “Don’t you have anyone else helping out around here?”
“We don’t really have the budget for more,” Shige mumbles with a sigh. “It’d be nice, but I don’t really mind. It keeps the place quiet and I can do whatever I want.”
Yamashita stares at him around a mouthful of rice. Shige looks back uncomfortably and Yamashita swallows before he says, nonchalant, “Then I’ll help out.”
Shige chokes on his food. “Huh?” he exclaims, like he hadn’t heard properly. “You do realize what I just said, right? We don’t have the--”
“I know,” Yamashita cuts in. “I’ll help out anyway. You don’t have to pay me or anything. I’ll help out of the goodness of my heart.” He grins.
Shige snorts and then frowns, looking apprehensive. “Don’t you have something to do? A job? Maybe a family you’re supposed to be taking care of? Why are you spending all your time in a bookshop?”
Yamashita shakes his head. “I told you, I’m free as a bird,” he says happily. “No job, no family of my own. I’m completely single.” He smirks. “I’m always looking though, if you’re interested, Shige.”
Shige glares and tosses his crumpled up onigiri wrapper at Yamashita’s face.
Laughing, Yamashita stretches his arms above his head and lets out a satisfied sigh. “I can do whatever I want,” he says. He smiles at Shige. “And I like it here.”
The sincerity of his voice seems to not go unnoticed by Shige, who pauses in raising his onigiri to his mouth and looks back at Yamashita with a pink blush rising high in his cheeks. Yamashita thinks he looks rather adorable and drops his gaze as he returns to eating, and hears Shige do the same.
When Yamashita chances a glance at him a moment later, the younger boy is smiling widely to himself.
--
“Thank you and come again!” Yamashita says cheerfully and watches a group of three young pretty mothers head out the door, each with their own little boy, giggling and waving back at him through the window as they make their way down the sidewalk. He grins after them.
“Stop flirting,” Shige admonishes, though he sounds mostly amused, as he drops a stack of books onto the counter beside Yamashita.
“Aw, are you jealous, Shige?” Yamashita teases, leaning toward him and batting his eyelashes. Shige laughs and shoves at him.
He pats the stack of books and says, “These books are falling out of their spines. Can you glue them back?”
“Sure thing, Boss,” Yamashita says, salutes, and laughs when Shige merely rolls his eyes at him.
Shige leaves him to it and heads off down an aisle. Yamashita watches until he disappears and then glances at the books. He opens up the drawer under the register table and pulls out the heavy-duty glue they use to to mend the books. He reaches for the book on top and the paperback cover hangs halfway off. He laughs, flips through the book. The pages are old and worn, a few have been taped meticulously back together. He thinks it gives the book its own story, that someone enjoyed it enough to read it so much, or perhaps it fell in the hands of someone who didn’t take care of it. Yamashita likes thinking about those things, wonders about the kind of people who have read the books he sees throughout the store. It’s not a second-hand shop by any means, but they do take sell-backs, and the number of used books is fairly decent.
Yamashita likes those the best, though. There’s something about opening up a book that’s a little tattered; pencil marks in the margins, names scribbled in the inside cover, the lingering scent of someone’s perfume, coffee, curry, staining the pages. It’s different from the way it feels cracking open the spine of a new book, inhaling the clean paper and the sharp ink. Yamashita likes them both, but he tends to navigate toward the used books more.
He goes through the book in his hand for a couple of minutes before he even reaches for the glue. He reads all the little notes, scans the pages and gets a taste of the novel itself, making his way through the whole book before he sets it back down onto the pile. He grabs the glue and gets to work.
He goes through the same process with each book, occasionally stopping to help out a guest that stops by. He chats amiably with them. He’s not as knowledgeable about the best novels or the more obscure ones like Shige is, but he offers his own advice about the few things he’s managed to read while starting to visit and help out here. It’s all worth it when the customers leave with smiles on their faces. Yamashita thinks that’s something he’ll always like to do - making other people happy.
“You’re getting the hang of things, it seems,” Shige remarks as he returns to the front of the store in time to see Yamashita waving goodbye to an elderly woman, holding the door open as she leaves. The bells above the door chime with the summer wind and Yamashita leans against it for awhile, breathing in the fresh air.
“I’m glad,” he replies, staring out through the door down the sidewalk. “I told you, I like it here.”
Shige eyes him curiously, and Yamashita knows he’s yet again wondering why he’s spending all his time here. Shige stares at him a lot like that when he thinks Yamashita isn’t looking. Truth be told, Yamashita’s not sure why he’s here so much, either. But, compared to before, this place, the calmness, the freedom to do as he pleases, dress and talk as he wants, the old book smell and the easiness of everything makes him feel lighter than he has in years.
He turns and smiles at Shige, and knows that Shige himself has a lot to do with that, too.
--
Their first kiss is pressed up against a bookshelf in the back of the store, shadows hiding their faces and streams of sunlight dancing at their feet. Shige gasps, the books cradled in his arm falling to the floor around them with a loud procession of thuds, and his fingers curl into the sleeve of Yamashita’s shirt at his elbow. Yamashita licks his lips, gently, slowly, and the blood rushes in his ears when Shige reciprocates.
The quiet chime of the bells has Yamashita pulling back first, sliding his hand down Shige’s arm as he passes back up to the front and greets the middle-aged man with a cheerful, “How can I help you today?”
When he takes the man down the aisle to show him the section with the old history books, he walks by Shige, crouched on the floor, picking up his earlier dropped books, and ruffles his hair. Shige swats at his hand, glancing up at him with bright eyes, his face flushed adorably red, and Yamashita feels the urge to kiss him again.
Instead he grins and returns his attention to the guest, and for the rest of the unusually busy day, every glance they steal at one another makes Yamashita’s heart feel warmer, stronger, and fuller in his chest.
--
It’s almost a whole month before he sees it, written across the top of the newspaper in bold, red ink: Top Idol Yamashita Tomohisa Leaves Agency?!
He can’t even make it past the first paragraph, and has to refrain from crumpling the newspaper in his hands. He wonders if Shige has seen this yet. He tucks the newspapers into their shelf by the doorway and covers up the top with the leftovers from yesterday that he’s supposed to recycle.
Shige’s not the pop-culture type of person, more interested in worldly events like politics and the news, not about idols or boybands, but the uneasiness Yamashita hasn’t felt since he’d still been working for Johnny’s sinks its way deep inside his veins.
It’s not that he doesn’t want to tell Shige the truth - he thought Shige had to have recognized him or his name when he’d introduced himself that day weeks ago. But Shige has never mentioned it, and never treated Yamashita like a celebrity. And so, Yamashita never felt the need to inform him any differently.
It doesn’t matter either way, but Yamashita doesn’t want Shige to find out from the newspapers.
He hopes Shige doesn’t watch the news too closely that day. It must be all over, he thinks, feeling only slightly worried.
“Are you okay?” Shige asks him towards the end of the work day, coming up to sit beside him on the floor. Yamashita has been putting books away for the past few hours, returning misplaced books to their proper spots, adding in new ones that have just arrived, and reorganizing the shelves. He’s distracted, his mind elsewhere, and he’s not getting as much done as he usually does.
He turns to Shige and sighs. “Not really,” he replies but doesn’t elaborate.
Shige inches just a little closer so their shoulders are pressed together, warm through the sleeves of their shirts. “Want to talk about it?” he asks after a few moments of silence.
Yamashita just shakes his head.
Shige hesitates for a moment, like he’s not sure whether to press the topic or let it go, but then he merely reaches out and squeezes Yamashita’s knee gently. “If you’re sure,” he finally says.
Yamashita covers his hand with his own, threading his fingers between Shige’s and curling them tight together. “Don’t worry about me,” he says, and smiles at Shige’s troubled expression.
“It’s hard not to, when you’re being so...unlike yourself,” Shige says with a sigh. He rubs his thumb along Yamashita’s skin and then stands up suddenly, his face brightening up as he holds out a hand for Yamashita to take. Yamashita does, and lets Shige haul him to his feet. “Let’s close up earlier, go get dinner. My treat.”
Yamashita laughs. “Is this supposed to make me feel better?”
“Is it working?”
“Yes.”
“Then, yes, it’s supposed to make you feel better.” Shige grins. “Come on. Leave the books.”
Yamashita mock-gasps. “Leave the books? Are you feeling okay?”
Shige shoves at his shoulder, but his eyes are sparkling. “Very funny,” he says, and Yamashita tugs on his hand, pulls him close and chuckles against his lips as he kisses him.
Shige tenses for a moment, always still so surprised, but relaxes in the next second and brushes their mouths together. They pull away at the same time and Yamashita breaks the spell as he says, “Thank you, Shige.”
Flustered, Shige just nods and rushes towards the door, almost stumbling over the stack of books Yamashita had been going through. Yamashita catches him before he falls, an arm around his waist, and they laugh as they head out.
It’s raining, the skies grey and moody, and Shige runs back inside to grab the umbrella while Yamashita waits under the awning. He watches the rain pelt the sidewalks, the air sticky and uncomfortable. Shige rushes back outside and Yamashita takes the umbrella from him, opening it up. They huddle beneath it and walk quietly down the streets in search for a place to eat.
They find a small, seemingly unknown little ramen shop and while Shige looks skeptical at first he relents at Yamashita’s insistence. He wants a place where he would less be recognized, and after ordering they take a table in the corner, complaining over-dramatically about their wet clothes and skin.
They’ve never been out like this before. They mostly just see each other during the day when Yamashita comes down to help. Other than a few mails here and there, they don’t talk much outside of the bookshop. And the most they’ve ever done is kiss, but Yamashita’s certain of his feelings - he likes it how it is, and he wouldn’t be opposed to more - but for once, he’s in no rush, and the easiness of his relationship with Shige, whatever it might be, is quite honestly the best relationship he’s ever been in.
“This feels a little weird,” Shige comments, blushing a little. “It’s like a date.”
Yamashita grins broadly. “I don’t recall you asking me out, Shige.”
Shige turns a deeper shade of red. “You know what I mean!” he exclaims. “Besides, you could have just as easily asked me.”
Yamashita wonders if Shige has wanted him to. He’s never voiced his displeasure with the way things were going, but...maybe it’s been on his mind. His gaze softens and he bumps his knee against Shige’s under the table. “You’re right,” he says with a firm nod. “Shige,” he says seriously, folding his hands onto the table. “Will you go on a date with me?”
Shige stares at him for three seconds before he bursts into laughter. It’s beautiful, his laugh, always so free and honest. His eyes are dancing and he can’t seem to stop laughing long enough to speak, and he giggles harder whenever he glances back at Yamashita.
“I was serious!” Yamashita adds, chuckling along with Shige’s infectious mirth, but it just makes Shige laugh more.
“I know, I know,” Shige gasps. “That’s why it’s so funny.” He meets Yamashita’s eyes again and continues, “Who asks someone out like that? You sounded like you were informing me someone died.”
“That bad, huh?” Yamashita says with a sigh, slumping back against his chair. “I must be out of practice.”
“Just try harder next time,” Shige teases, “and maybe I’ll say yes.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Yamashita replies and they both grin.
--
It’s just a few days later that it happens. Yamashita is working in the back corner of the bookshop. It’s around three in the afternoon and the shop is empty; it’s been a quiet, slow day that he and Shige have been mostly trying to keep things organized and have been simply enjoying each other’s company.
Yamashita’s putting back some books that a few kids had failed to return properly earlier, and is sitting down in the furthest corner from the door so he doesn’t see him come in. All he hears are the bells above the door, but since Shige is up at the register, he doesn’t move to go look. It’s only when the dulcet tones of someone familiar cuts through Yamashita’s peaceful surroundings does he drop the book in his hand and feel his heart plummet. He should’ve expected this eventually, but he had been hoping it wouldn’t be so soon.
“I know he’s here,” demands the voice, angry and frustrated. “Pi, where the fuck are you?”
“I-I assure you there’s no one with that name here,” Shige says politely, albeit sounding a little frightened and Yamashita heaves himself to his feet and slowly makes his way to the front.
“How did you find me here, Ryo-chan? Have you been stalking me?” he questions, drawing the attention of the other men. Shige looks confused now, eyes darting between him and his friend, his ex-coworker, Nishikido Ryo.
Ryo’s eyes narrow at him and for a brief second he just stares. Then he lunges. But Yamashita’s known Ryo since they were kids and knows how to read him, and dodges at the last second so Ryo’s blow hits only air. Before Ryo can retaliate, Yamashita pulls him into a hug, sighing happily because, despite everything, he has missed his best friend.
Over Ryo’s tense shoulders, Shige’s eyes are wide. Yamashita smiles at him reassuringly, then pats Ryo’s back until Ryo relaxes and slugs him half-heartedly in the side.
“You fucking asshole,” Ryo grumbles. “What the hell have you been doing?!”
Yamashita lets him go and turns his smile from Shige to Ryo. “It’s nice to see you too, Ryo-chan.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit,” Ryo bitches, staring angrily at Yamashita until he feels guilt seep into his veins. A month away from Ryo and he’s not as immune to that glare as he usually is. “You’ve been ignoring my calls for weeks, you never answer the door when I go over, and on top of all that, you fucking quit the agency--”
Yamashita quickly slams a hand over Ryo’s mouth, Ryo making an affronted muffled noise and glaring even harder. Yamashita darts his gaze at Shige who is staring at them transfixed, and then says brightly to him, “Think you can hold down the fort, Shige? I need to talk to Ryo for a bit.”
Shige nods slowly and Yamashita drops his hand from Ryo’s mouth, ignoring his friend’s “What the hell is wrong with you?!” as he pushes him toward the door and back outside. The bells ring incessantly after them and Yamashita can still feel Shige’s gaze on him, certain that he’s watching discreetly through the window as he sits down onto the curb and Ryo joins him.
Yamashita doesn’t say anything, not even sure where to start, and he would rather Ryo just yell him out and get it over with. But, it seems Ryo’s fire is gone from earlier and he leans back with his palms on the sidewalk and tilts his head backward.
“It’s nice to see you’re doing well,” he says after a long stretch of simply listening to the soft whistle of the wind and the tires screeching in the distance. “You look good. Better than I’ve seen you in a long time.”
Yamashita smiles. “I feel really good,” he replies honestly. “How did you find me here?”
“I have my ways,” Ryo says haughtily, as though he had an army of spies out searching for him or something. “That’s not really the point. Why are you here?”
“I work here,” Yamashita says quickly, defensively.
“Really.”
“Yes, really,” Yamashita retorts, but from one look at Ryo, he crumbles, like usual. He sighs, picks at the fashionably ripped hole at the knee of his jeans. “Okay, fine, not really. I just help Shige out. Shige - he’s the one you freaked out earlier, coming in here like that.”
“Well, what was I supposed to do? He said he didn’t know you!”
“Of course he doesn’t, when you refer to me as Pi,” Yamashita replies. “He doesn’t know about me. Being an idol. Being famous.”
Now Ryo looks like he’s been hit by a bus. It’d actually be a little funny if Yamashita didn’t know it was only the prelude to a storm.
And, sure enough, a few minutes later, Ryo exclaims, “What?! You’ve been here for over a month and you’re telling me this kid doesn’t even know who you are? You’re kidding, right? Your face is plastered all over the fucking country.” He gestures wildly out toward the streets.
“Shige isn’t really interested in that sort of stuff,” he replies easily. “If he knows who I am, he’s never said anything. I don’t think he does.”
Ryo stares at him, reads between the lines. “You mean you hope he doesn’t.”
“No,” Yamashita says petulantly, but Ryo’s doing that know-it-all grinning thing that Yamashita definitely hasn’t missed. “Shut up,” he grumbles, and pushes at Ryo’s shoulder.
Ryo just laughs and it eases Yamashita’s nerves instantly. “Well, forget about him for a moment,” Ryo continues and Yamashita doesn’t get a chance to feel offended on Shige’s behalf before Ryo’s questioning, “So, what’re you going to do?”
“What do you mean what am I going to do?” Yamashita replies. “I don’t know. I like it here. I like having freedom. I’m not going back, if that’s what you wanted to hear.”
“It isn’t,” Ryo admits, and the heel of his shoe makes a scuffing noise against the ground when he kicks at it. “Are you seriously just throwing everything away like this?”
“Yes,” Yamashita says, adamant. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me,” Ryo snaps back. “I’m your fucking best friend, idiot. Sometimes I’m pretty sure I get you more than you get yourself.”
Yamashita chuckles, looking up at the cloudless sky; it’s a bright, calming blue. “Yeah, you’re probably right about that,” he says. “Then you should know that I mean it when I say I’m not returning.”
“I don’t know, Pi,” Ryo says. “That’s up to you.” He pauses, sighs, and pushes himself up, rests his elbows on his knees. “They haven’t reported you leaving yet, of course. Trying to keep it hidden. Some magazines have caught rumors, but it’s not been confirmed.” He stops again, turns to meet Yamashita’s eyes, and adds, “You realize you never completely quit, right?” Yamashita tenses, and gives a tiny nod; it’s true, no point in denying it. Ryo sighs. “You know how that old man is. He’s acting like he’s given you a vacation. They said that if you come back within the next month, they’ll pretend none of this ever happened.”
Yamashita scoffs, turning away and glaring out at the trees across the short street. “Of course,” he says bitterly. “They make you play messenger so I have no choice but to give in?”
Ryo shakes his head. “If you’d checked your messages, you’d see about a hundred from your manager telling you the same thing. Koyama begged me to let you know if I ever saw you. And you know how he gets; he’s practically hysterical. He figured you’d listen to me more than management.”
“Well, they’ve got one thing right.”
“Look, Pi,” Ryo says. “I don’t know exactly what happened, and you don’t have to tell me. I’m just telling you what they told me to say, and letting you know that I have your back, no matter what you choose.”
Yamashita turns back to Ryo and feels warmth swell in his heart. “Thanks, Ryo-chan,” he says. “That means a lot.”
“Just don’t fucking ignore me like that again, okay?” Ryo snaps. “You fucking had me worried. Everyone is worried about you. Go home and check your stupid messages.”
Yamashita nods, laughing a little. “I promise,” he replies.
“Good,” Ryo says, satisfied, before a shark-like grin spreads across his face. “So, now, tell me about your boyfriend.”
Yamashita splutters. His face heats up as he brokenly tries to deny Ryo’s accusation while Ryo merely guffaws with amusement bright in his eyes. “I hate you,” he manages to mumble in the end, which more or less confirms everything and he knows it.
Ryo pats him on the shoulder and says, “You can introduce us properly next time.” He stands and Yamashita follows. “I should go. I have a meeting soon. I just came by to talk to you.”
“I’m glad you did,” Yamashita says. “I’m sorry for ignoring your messages.”
“As you should be,” Ryo says with a grin. “I’ll call you later. And...well, just think about what I said, okay? What they’re offering. You might not want to go back right now, but...do you really think you could be happy here?”
Yamashita sighs, stuffing his hands into his pockets and hanging his head. Ryo smiles at him, gives him a quick one-armed hug, and repeats, “Just think about it.”
> Go to part two