fic for budiamond
Gift fic for: budiamond
From: konfekta
Title: Wishes Out of Airplanes
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: None really. Tiny, tiny hints of Ryo/Tegoshi and Koyama/Tegoshi though, and I really mean tiny.
Warnings: Slight language.
Summary: It takes around eleven hours to fly between Japan and Los Angeles. And there are a lot of things that can happen in the space of eleven hours, both good and bad. Well at least, when Ryo gets back home, he can brag to his friends about being one of the few survivors of a serious plane crash.
Notes: For budiamond. I am so nervous and I really, really hope this is to your liking and I that it doesn't seem too rushed or anything but I don't think I could have written it any other way ^^ So, here you go :) The title's from the song "Airplanes" by B.o.B and Hayley Williams. And the snippets of lyrics inside belong to my stepfather^^
Ryo has never liked planes. Has never been very fond of the idea of flying somewhere. The human isn’t supposed to fly, and had she been, God would have given her wings. Right? Besides, Ryo doesn’t like being the one not in control. And when you’re travelling by plane you’re far from the being in control, which means that if something were to go wrong, he has to put his trust in someone else to save his sorry ass. It would have been so much better if they had gone by car or something where at least he could have been the driver.
There’s just one problem though; you can’t exactly drive from Japan to America.
“Why is it that stupid jerk has to live in America of all the fucking places? He’s Japanese isn’t he?!”
“Ryo-chan, please,” his manager and friend, Yamapi, says from the seat beside him, “I know you don’t like flying, but Akanishi’s one of the biggest producers in the world! If anyone can make you a name to remember, it’s him. So just take a deep breath and enjoy the ride.”
“Easy for you to say,” he grunts and crosses his arms over his chest. Well, at least they’re flying first class which means he’s got more than enough space to stretch out his legs in and doesn’t have to spend the entire flight yelling at screaming kids.
With a bored expression he takes a look at the other passengers. There’s an old rich-looking couple sitting in the row in front of them. He caught a glimpse of them when they stepped on board and he wouldn’t exactly call himself a relationship expert, but even a kid could’ve seen that the only reason she was still sticking with him was because of the money. Poor souls.
Other than that there are only two more passengers, two young men sitting in the seats to his left. One tall guy with single lidded eyes and designer sunglasses resting on top of his head, who Ryo guesses must be some kind of celebrity, with his flashy clothes he’d stand out absolutely anywhere. The shorter of the two looked like a brat, in lack of a better word, with black shorts reaching mid-thigh, a t-shirt too big resulting in it hanging off his shoulder, revealing just a little bit too much skin, and naked feet propped up on his seat. There’s a DS lite in his hands and it’s making all these annoying and really loud noises and Ryo feels his right eye twitch. There is no way that thing is going to survive this trip if Ryo has to listen to that for 11 hours.
He tries to ignore it and turns back to Yamapi who’s reading some kind of magazine with kittens on the front page and Ryo has a feeling he doesn’t even want to know what it’s actually about.
“Finally,” he mutters to himself when the seatbelt sign in front lights up and a flight attendant steps out from the personnel room. And unfortunately, Ryo thinks, it’s not a pretty girl with long legs and big breasts like he had hoped for, but a nervous looking kind of skinny guy with his short black hair in a ridiculous Mohawk.
He stutters when he explains the safety instructions and stumbles a little when pointing out the emergency exits. The old woman in front chuckles hoarsely and calls him cute. It makes his ears go red and he hurries to get back into the safe haven of the personnel room. The plane starts moving and Ryo leans back in his soft seat, closing his eyes and trying to make his racing heart calm down.
“Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Masuda and I will be your Captain for this flight. We are expecting to land in Los Angeles at 6pm local time where the weather right now is sunny with not a cloud in sight. A perfect day for a dip in the ocean. We ask you to turn off all electrical devices and that you remain seated during takeoff, you may turn them back on when the seatbelt sign switches off. My crew and I hope that you will have a pleasant flight. Fufufufu~”
Ryo’s eyes pop open and he grips the armrests on his chair even harder. He knew this was a bad idea and why didn’t they just ask Akanishi to come to them instead?! That would have made things so much easier. He wonders if it’s still possible for him to ask them to stop the plane and get off.
“Ryo-chan,” Yamapi starts in that calming tone of his voice that Ryo both loves and hates. “Will you please let go of my wrist? It hurts.”
Ryo looks down and sees that apparently, it wasn’t the armrest he was gripping with all his strength. “Oh. Sorry.”
“And will you please just relax? Nothing’s going to happen!”
“Pi! The Captain was laughing! He’s a maniac and we’re putting our lives in the hands of this man?!”
Yamapi bows his head and pinches the bridge of his nose. “He was just being nice. Stop being so negative about everything.”
The plane then suddenly speeds up and it feels like something huge is pushing on his chest back into his seat, so he closes his eyes tightly, mentally going through his will. What feels like hours, but isn’t more than just a couple of seconds, passes before someone’s carefully tapping him on his shoulder and he slowly dares to open his eyes again. The first thing he sees is the awkward flight attendant standing right in front of him with a worried expression.
“Sir, are you alright?”
The next thing he sees is Yamapi next to him with his seat leaned back as far as possible, reading that cat magazine again with headphones in his ears. That traitor. His eyes then travel from Yamapi to the window to his right where he can see white fluffy clouds fleeting by, which means they’re in the air already, which means he’s still alive and that he doesn’t have to give his precious guitars to his ungrateful brothers.
“Sir, is there anything I can get you?”
He turns back to the flight attendant still standing before him. The tag on his west says Kato, so Ryo assumes that’s his name.
“Yes, Kato, give me glass of the strongest shit you’ve got. No wait, make that the whole bottle.”
“Sir, I hope you understand that it would not be good for you to get drunk up in the air.”
“No worries,” Ryo says waving his hand as he feels the irritation build up inside him. Seriously, he needs that damn drink, like, now! “I have high alcohol tolerance.”
The old lady, obviously having listened to their conversation, chuckles again and Ryo wants to tell her to shut the fuck up. Kato sighs and nods and walks away only to come back shortly after with a glass and bottle of whisky. It’s pretty clear that he’s still very unsure of giving Ryo the liquor, but he does it anyway and bows at him before turning to the two young men on his left and asking them the same question.
He downs the first glass within seconds, the burning in his throat immediately calming him down, and fills up his second just as quickly. For eleven freaking hours he’s going to sit here, and then, two weeks later, he has to go back to Japan too. That’s a total of twenty two hours up in the air! The next time he has to go to America he swears he will swim. The plane makes an unexpected turn and he almost ends up with half his whisky glass in his lap instead. He curses under his breath and puts the glass back on the small table in between his and Yamapi’s seats. That thing’s dangerous.
“You’re funny,” someone suddenly says and Ryo turns to see the young boy in black shorts staring at him interestedly. His feet are still propped up on his seat and he’s resting his head on top of his knees. His tall friend is sleeping soundly next to him with a sparkly mask covering his eyes.
“Excuse me?” he says affronted with both eyebrows raised high, because seriously, he cannot believe that a stupid little kid just called him funny.
“I said you’re funny. And really fascinating.”
“I seriously really don’t know how to respond to that.”
The boy laughs. A sweet and soft sound that feels like silk to Ryo’s ears. His heart skips a beat and it kind of disturbs him, like, a lot. So he decides to just blame it on the fact that he’s right now thousands of feet up in the air and it’s obviously twisting his mind in a very sick way. He shakes his head, trying to clear it up a bit.
“Are you going to L.A?”
“Well, that’s where this plane is heading so, yes?”
The boy laughs again. “You really are funny. I like you.”
“Uh-huh,” Ryo says and tries not to fixate too much on the fact that the boy’s shirt is slipping even further down his shoulder. He’s gorgeous, really, he can’t deny that. But honestly, the boy can’t be any older than fifteen.
“Aww, Ryo-chan, are you making new friends?”
“No. I’m not.” He says through gritted teeth and sends Yamapi a glare over his shoulder. “Go back to your ugly kittens.”
Yamapi only chuckles and punches Ryo lightly in the arm. Ryo rolls his eyes and tries to swat him away. It doesn’t work though and Yamapi quite literally climbs over onto Ryo’s seat instead so that it’s easier for him to “talk to our new friend” and Ryo feels like opening one of the emergency exits and throwing him out.
“I’m Yamapi,” he says and extends his right hand to the young boy. “I work as a manager to this guy here, Nishikido Ryo. He’s an amazing musician and singer and we’re on our way to L.A to make him a star.”
“Really?” the kid says and looks rather impressed. Suddenly Ryo feels quite proud. “I’m just going there for vacation with my friend.” He gestures to the sleeping flashy guy. “He’s a news caster.”
“Ah! So that’s why I recognized him.” Yamapi lights up and Ryo just shakes his head.
“What’s your name kiddo?”
“Tegoshi Yuya,” Tegoshi says and gives Ryo an amused look. “And I’m far from being a kid. I know it might not look that way but I’m actually twenty.” He pulls his shirt up his shoulder again.
“Huh. Who would have thought?” He tries to sound unfazed, but deep inside he’s actually relieved. At least he’s not some kind of sick perv then.
Tegoshi just rolls his eyes and signals for Kato to come over and give him a glass of water.
***
Sometimes when we have stormy weather
We might doubt our life together
And I may say things not so smart
And you might wish us far apart
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
And you may run and stomp the floor slam the door
“Are you writing lyrics?”
And I wonder; what was that for?
“… maybe.”
“Can I read them?”
But even parted we still seek are always weak
I can’t don’t even dare to speak
“No.”
“Why not? I’m good at constructive criticism.”
“I don’t care. Besides, I don’t want anyone criticizing my lyrics.”
“Fine then.” Tegoshi pouts and crosses his arms over his chest. “Can’t you at least tell me what kind of song it is? Do you have a name for it?”
“No, no, and stop being so nosy.”
“Hmph. You know what? I take it back; you’re no fun at all!”
“Uh-huh, that’s nice.”
At times like those
We might suppose
“You’re not even listening to me!”
“I don’t have to, you say nothing of interest.”
Everything will stop
We will never give get up
Ryo sighs and closes his notebook, placing it on the table next to him. He can’t work in this commotion. Yamapi’s busy playing a seemingly exciting game of cards with Kato and the news caster, whose name they found out when he woke up was Koyama, while talking really loudly about music and other things. The old couple’s sleeping and Tegoshi’s gotten quite obviously bored with whatever he was doing before he started bothering Ryo.
He checks his watch and grimly notes that there’s still a little less than eight hours left of this torture. He feels the need to move, so he stands up, stretches his arms above his head and walks a few laps around the cabin. As he walks he starts to hum the melody to his new song, going through the lyrics over and over in his head to make sure everything fits perfectly. If he, by any chance, decides to play this song for Akanishi he really can’t afford it to sound half-assed.
The plane makes a sudden shake, not much but still enough for him to lose his balance and end up nose first on the floor. He can hear the other four guys laughing at him and he lets out a string of curses into the dark blue carpet covering the hard floor.
“It’s much safer if you remain seated Nishikido-san,” Kato says and Ryo rolls around to his back so that he can glare at the guy.
“No shit,” he says, but still makes no effort to actually get up on his feet again. To his surprise it’s quite comfortably down here.
He pillows his head on his arms and stares up at the roof. Compared to the rest of the first class interior it’s really ugly. If he had been the one to decorate this plane he would have asked someone to make a ceiling painting.
“Are you having fun?” Yamapi asks and Ryo flips him off.
“Shut up. I’m having a moment.”
Yamapi laughs again and Ryo sits up. The floor got boring really fast. He crawls back onto his feet and takes a small detour to the toilet before deciding to join the others in a friendly game of poker.
***
When Ryo wakes up the plane is shaking violently. Or rather, Ryo wakes up from his amazing dream about sold-out concerts and millions of screaming fans because of the plane shaking violently. At first he figures it’s just a case of extra strong clear-air turbulence, Yamapi told him before takeoff that it might happen when bodies of air traveling at different speeds meet and that it’s absolutely normal and nothing dangerous.
It takes the frantic screams of passengers coming from business and economy class and the sight of a praying Yamapi beside him to understand that maybe there might just be something else than air pockets this time. A look outside the window and the treacherous sea closing in on them rapidly makes him wish he’d never chosen to become a professional musician.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we remind you that it is very important that you even in a situation like this stay calm and don’t panic-”
Ryo does the only thing he can. He passes out.
***
He’s five and the whole family’s having dinner together. It’s his older brother’s birthday, but he too is getting presents.
He’s nine and Minami-chan takes his hand in hers and leads him to the tree behind the school where he receives his first ever kiss that’s not from his mother.
He’s fourteen and he’s just bought his first guitar. But playing it is hard and it takes a whole five months before he even approaches it again.
He’s sixteen and Yuko-chan places his hand over her naked chest. It’s soft, just like her lips and the rest of her body.
He’s nineteen and he meets Yamapi at a party. They decide they’re gonna make it big.
He’s twenty four and they’re on a plane to meet a big ass producer in Los Angeles. They never arrive.
He’s -
***
The sun is shining strong in his eyes, even if he has them closed. Too strong and he tries to turn away from it. It doesn’t work. His whole body aches and it feels like he just got run over by a truck. Slowly, carefully, he opens his eyes and stares right into the bright sun. It blinds him but with a little bit of strength he at least manages to sit up, even with his body feeling like it’s on fire.
He rubs his eyes with the palms of his hands. They feel dirty and when he actually opens his eyes again he sees they’re full of tiny scratches and wounds. He just stares at them for a while before remembering. Remembering that the plane was falling, falling fast and that he should not be alive. But he is, right?
He looks up and sees nothing but clear blue water below a light blue sky with not a cloud in sight. His neck cracks nastily when he turns his head to the right. There’s a plane wreck resting nicely on top of the white beach. No, actually, it’s just half the plane. The nose, first class and most of what used to be business class. He looks back out over the ocean; he doesn’t even want to know where the rest of plane and its passengers are.
“How are you feeling?”
He turns to his left and sees Kato sitting next to him with his face full of scrapes and dried blood and Ryo figures he must look the same.
“Like crap,” he manages to get out and his throat feels like he hasn’t been drinking anything for a month. “Where’s -” he doesn’t want to finish the question, afraid of the answer, but Kato seems to get it anyway.
“Yamashita-san went with Captain Masuda and a few others to explore the island. Koyama-san and Tegoshi-kun are resting in the shadow behind us. You were out the longest, we were afraid you wouldn’t make it.”
Ryo nods and Kato continues. “But don’t worry, we’ve found out that both the black box and the control table is still intact in there,” he gestures to what’s left of the plane. “We’ve sent out signals of what’s happened to us and our whereabouts. It shouldn’t be long before we’re rescued.”
“I’m thirsty.”
Kato chuckles. “Come on, I’ll help you over to the shadow.” Kato helps him to steadily get up on his feet and then lets him lean against him during the whole time it takes them to reach the cool shadows under the palm trees and Ryo thinks his right leg might be broken because it crunches worryingly under him whenever he takes a step with it.
“Ryo-chan! You’re okay!” Tegoshi exclaims when he sees them and crawls out from under Koyama’s arm.
Normally, Ryo thinks as Kato carefully helps him to sit back down on the sand again, he would have told the younger boy off for using that name on him. But right now isn’t normally and the fact that he’s actually just survived a plane crash is slowly dawning on him, so he just smiles tiredly and nods.
“I am,” he says and thankfully accepts the bottle of water Koyama’s offering him. “I am,” he repeats, like he really has to say it to believe it.
“I was so worried,” Tegoshi says and makes sure he finishes the whole bottle. “Yamapi will probably be back soon. They’re in the jungle looking for food and whatever.”
“How many are there?”
“Survivors? There are seventeen of us in total,” Koyama says and moves closer to Tegoshi, placing an arm around his waist. “The old couple unfortunately didn’t make it.”
“I see. Well, I just hope Akanishi won’t be mad at us for making him wait for his next star.”
Tegoshi laughs, but it’s not the same kind of pure laugh he had when they were still on the plane. “If anything,” he says and puts a reassuring hand on Ryo’s shoulder, “I think this will only make you even more popular and Akanishi, whoever the guy is, is going to be proud to have you as his next star.”
Ryo tries to laugh at that, but his throat is still dry so it only comes out as wheezing that soon turns into a nasty cough and Kato hurries to bring him another bottle of water.
***
Nighttime on an unknown island in the middle of the ocean is still kind of nice and cozy, Ryo finds out. There’s no sound of traffic or random people yelling to each other on the street and the only things you can hear are the small waves running into shore and the sparks coming from the fire they managed to set up.
Ryo’s tired, he can feel his eyes starting to shut, but he doesn’t want to sleep just yet, he wants to spend more time with his newfound friends. He’s hungry too, but there wasn’t that much food that could be saved from the wreck so right now they just have to do with the fruit the investigation team brought back earlier. But even that won’t last for too long, so Ryo really hopes that help is on its way.
“Everyone, may I have your attention please,” Captain Masuda suddenly breaks the silence and stands up. “This is not the end. This is only the beginning of a new chapter in your lives. Don’t feel sad for what has happened, and instead be happy for what is to come. My two still living crew mates and I have managed to get in contact with the control towers in both Japan and America, they know of our position and help will arrive probably early tomorrow morning. So just continue to stay strong and the sun will arise even sooner.
“Now,” he says and pauses, “I want us all to hold hands, look up towards the stars and pray for all the lost souls.”
Ryo links hands with Yamapi and Kato and bends his neck backwards. With no city lights to hide them, millions and millions of stars can be seen and it’s one of the prettiest sights he has ever had the privilege to set his eyes on. And someday I’m going to be one of them, he thinks and smiles. Someday.
“Okay then,” Masuda then says with a bright smile once they’re all finished with their prayers, “to lift the mood a little, I am now going to tell you a very common joke in the world of airplanes and flight personnel. What are the three worst things you can hear in the cockpit?”
Ryo hears Kato groan beside him and when he turns to look the other’s already hid his face in his palms. “I’ve heard this joke like a hundred times already and it’s not funny!”
Ryo grins. “Really? I’ve never heard it. I think.”
“Be happy.”
“The second officer says,” Masuda continues, “Oh shit! The first officer says, I have an idea! And the Captain says, Hey, watch this! Fufufufu~”
He’s met with absolute silence but his smile is still just as bright and his eyes are shining with joy. Kato groans again.
Ryo snorts. “Dude, that was like the lamest joke I’ve heard in my life!”
***
The flashes blind his eyes, the screams deafen his ears but the music and all of it combined caresses his heart. This is where he’s supposed to be, this is what he’s been working so hard for, where he’s been trying to get to for years. It satisfies him beyond belief and he wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
After yet another successful performance he thanks the fans who took their time to come and see him, before tiredly walking off the stage, his right leg shaking slightly under his weight, and back to his loge. Akanishi slaps his back the minute he steps inside and Yamapi’s there straight after to give him a high-five.
“That was amazing!” Yamapi says and hands him a bottle of fresh sparkling water. “You kicked their asses, just like you always do.”
“Yeah,” Akanishi adds. “Soon you will be taking over America and then the world!”
“As long as I don’t have to fly, then sure.”
They both laugh. “Don’t worry, you can take the boat.”
He sighs and sits down in front of the mirror and stares at the sweaty yet very handsome reflection staring back at him. His leg really hurts but he can barely feel it, his body still hyped up from the concert. Tonight, he thinks, he’s just gonna go home, order himself a nice greasy pizza, a couple of beers and then sleep until dinner the next day. He’s definitely deserved it.
The door suddenly bursts open with a loud bang and four excited guys rush inside, all loud words and flailing arms. Akanishi laughs at them before saying he has some important things to take care of so he’s going to leave them alone now and exits.
“Ryo-chan!” Tegoshi almost shouts in his ear before throwing his arms around him. “That was so gooooooood~! You’re the best!”
“I really am, huh?”
Kato snorts and gives him a pretty hard whack to the back of his head. “Seriously, if you loved yourself even more than you already do, there wouldn’t be any love left for the rest of the world.”
Ryo swats him away and untangles himself from Tegoshi’s death grip on his neck. Koyama punches him playfully in the arm and Masuda smiles brightly at him over their heads. Yamapi just laughs at them and everything feels perfect.
“So guys, how about pizza? I’m buying.”
But then we meet again
In the conjunction of two hearts
From: konfekta
Title: Wishes Out of Airplanes
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: None really. Tiny, tiny hints of Ryo/Tegoshi and Koyama/Tegoshi though, and I really mean tiny.
Warnings: Slight language.
Summary: It takes around eleven hours to fly between Japan and Los Angeles. And there are a lot of things that can happen in the space of eleven hours, both good and bad. Well at least, when Ryo gets back home, he can brag to his friends about being one of the few survivors of a serious plane crash.
Notes: For budiamond. I am so nervous and I really, really hope this is to your liking and I that it doesn't seem too rushed or anything but I don't think I could have written it any other way ^^ So, here you go :) The title's from the song "Airplanes" by B.o.B and Hayley Williams. And the snippets of lyrics inside belong to my stepfather^^
Ryo has never liked planes. Has never been very fond of the idea of flying somewhere. The human isn’t supposed to fly, and had she been, God would have given her wings. Right? Besides, Ryo doesn’t like being the one not in control. And when you’re travelling by plane you’re far from the being in control, which means that if something were to go wrong, he has to put his trust in someone else to save his sorry ass. It would have been so much better if they had gone by car or something where at least he could have been the driver.
There’s just one problem though; you can’t exactly drive from Japan to America.
“Why is it that stupid jerk has to live in America of all the fucking places? He’s Japanese isn’t he?!”
“Ryo-chan, please,” his manager and friend, Yamapi, says from the seat beside him, “I know you don’t like flying, but Akanishi’s one of the biggest producers in the world! If anyone can make you a name to remember, it’s him. So just take a deep breath and enjoy the ride.”
“Easy for you to say,” he grunts and crosses his arms over his chest. Well, at least they’re flying first class which means he’s got more than enough space to stretch out his legs in and doesn’t have to spend the entire flight yelling at screaming kids.
With a bored expression he takes a look at the other passengers. There’s an old rich-looking couple sitting in the row in front of them. He caught a glimpse of them when they stepped on board and he wouldn’t exactly call himself a relationship expert, but even a kid could’ve seen that the only reason she was still sticking with him was because of the money. Poor souls.
Other than that there are only two more passengers, two young men sitting in the seats to his left. One tall guy with single lidded eyes and designer sunglasses resting on top of his head, who Ryo guesses must be some kind of celebrity, with his flashy clothes he’d stand out absolutely anywhere. The shorter of the two looked like a brat, in lack of a better word, with black shorts reaching mid-thigh, a t-shirt too big resulting in it hanging off his shoulder, revealing just a little bit too much skin, and naked feet propped up on his seat. There’s a DS lite in his hands and it’s making all these annoying and really loud noises and Ryo feels his right eye twitch. There is no way that thing is going to survive this trip if Ryo has to listen to that for 11 hours.
He tries to ignore it and turns back to Yamapi who’s reading some kind of magazine with kittens on the front page and Ryo has a feeling he doesn’t even want to know what it’s actually about.
“Finally,” he mutters to himself when the seatbelt sign in front lights up and a flight attendant steps out from the personnel room. And unfortunately, Ryo thinks, it’s not a pretty girl with long legs and big breasts like he had hoped for, but a nervous looking kind of skinny guy with his short black hair in a ridiculous Mohawk.
He stutters when he explains the safety instructions and stumbles a little when pointing out the emergency exits. The old woman in front chuckles hoarsely and calls him cute. It makes his ears go red and he hurries to get back into the safe haven of the personnel room. The plane starts moving and Ryo leans back in his soft seat, closing his eyes and trying to make his racing heart calm down.
“Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Masuda and I will be your Captain for this flight. We are expecting to land in Los Angeles at 6pm local time where the weather right now is sunny with not a cloud in sight. A perfect day for a dip in the ocean. We ask you to turn off all electrical devices and that you remain seated during takeoff, you may turn them back on when the seatbelt sign switches off. My crew and I hope that you will have a pleasant flight. Fufufufu~”
Ryo’s eyes pop open and he grips the armrests on his chair even harder. He knew this was a bad idea and why didn’t they just ask Akanishi to come to them instead?! That would have made things so much easier. He wonders if it’s still possible for him to ask them to stop the plane and get off.
“Ryo-chan,” Yamapi starts in that calming tone of his voice that Ryo both loves and hates. “Will you please let go of my wrist? It hurts.”
Ryo looks down and sees that apparently, it wasn’t the armrest he was gripping with all his strength. “Oh. Sorry.”
“And will you please just relax? Nothing’s going to happen!”
“Pi! The Captain was laughing! He’s a maniac and we’re putting our lives in the hands of this man?!”
Yamapi bows his head and pinches the bridge of his nose. “He was just being nice. Stop being so negative about everything.”
The plane then suddenly speeds up and it feels like something huge is pushing on his chest back into his seat, so he closes his eyes tightly, mentally going through his will. What feels like hours, but isn’t more than just a couple of seconds, passes before someone’s carefully tapping him on his shoulder and he slowly dares to open his eyes again. The first thing he sees is the awkward flight attendant standing right in front of him with a worried expression.
“Sir, are you alright?”
The next thing he sees is Yamapi next to him with his seat leaned back as far as possible, reading that cat magazine again with headphones in his ears. That traitor. His eyes then travel from Yamapi to the window to his right where he can see white fluffy clouds fleeting by, which means they’re in the air already, which means he’s still alive and that he doesn’t have to give his precious guitars to his ungrateful brothers.
“Sir, is there anything I can get you?”
He turns back to the flight attendant still standing before him. The tag on his west says Kato, so Ryo assumes that’s his name.
“Yes, Kato, give me glass of the strongest shit you’ve got. No wait, make that the whole bottle.”
“Sir, I hope you understand that it would not be good for you to get drunk up in the air.”
“No worries,” Ryo says waving his hand as he feels the irritation build up inside him. Seriously, he needs that damn drink, like, now! “I have high alcohol tolerance.”
The old lady, obviously having listened to their conversation, chuckles again and Ryo wants to tell her to shut the fuck up. Kato sighs and nods and walks away only to come back shortly after with a glass and bottle of whisky. It’s pretty clear that he’s still very unsure of giving Ryo the liquor, but he does it anyway and bows at him before turning to the two young men on his left and asking them the same question.
He downs the first glass within seconds, the burning in his throat immediately calming him down, and fills up his second just as quickly. For eleven freaking hours he’s going to sit here, and then, two weeks later, he has to go back to Japan too. That’s a total of twenty two hours up in the air! The next time he has to go to America he swears he will swim. The plane makes an unexpected turn and he almost ends up with half his whisky glass in his lap instead. He curses under his breath and puts the glass back on the small table in between his and Yamapi’s seats. That thing’s dangerous.
“You’re funny,” someone suddenly says and Ryo turns to see the young boy in black shorts staring at him interestedly. His feet are still propped up on his seat and he’s resting his head on top of his knees. His tall friend is sleeping soundly next to him with a sparkly mask covering his eyes.
“Excuse me?” he says affronted with both eyebrows raised high, because seriously, he cannot believe that a stupid little kid just called him funny.
“I said you’re funny. And really fascinating.”
“I seriously really don’t know how to respond to that.”
The boy laughs. A sweet and soft sound that feels like silk to Ryo’s ears. His heart skips a beat and it kind of disturbs him, like, a lot. So he decides to just blame it on the fact that he’s right now thousands of feet up in the air and it’s obviously twisting his mind in a very sick way. He shakes his head, trying to clear it up a bit.
“Are you going to L.A?”
“Well, that’s where this plane is heading so, yes?”
The boy laughs again. “You really are funny. I like you.”
“Uh-huh,” Ryo says and tries not to fixate too much on the fact that the boy’s shirt is slipping even further down his shoulder. He’s gorgeous, really, he can’t deny that. But honestly, the boy can’t be any older than fifteen.
“Aww, Ryo-chan, are you making new friends?”
“No. I’m not.” He says through gritted teeth and sends Yamapi a glare over his shoulder. “Go back to your ugly kittens.”
Yamapi only chuckles and punches Ryo lightly in the arm. Ryo rolls his eyes and tries to swat him away. It doesn’t work though and Yamapi quite literally climbs over onto Ryo’s seat instead so that it’s easier for him to “talk to our new friend” and Ryo feels like opening one of the emergency exits and throwing him out.
“I’m Yamapi,” he says and extends his right hand to the young boy. “I work as a manager to this guy here, Nishikido Ryo. He’s an amazing musician and singer and we’re on our way to L.A to make him a star.”
“Really?” the kid says and looks rather impressed. Suddenly Ryo feels quite proud. “I’m just going there for vacation with my friend.” He gestures to the sleeping flashy guy. “He’s a news caster.”
“Ah! So that’s why I recognized him.” Yamapi lights up and Ryo just shakes his head.
“What’s your name kiddo?”
“Tegoshi Yuya,” Tegoshi says and gives Ryo an amused look. “And I’m far from being a kid. I know it might not look that way but I’m actually twenty.” He pulls his shirt up his shoulder again.
“Huh. Who would have thought?” He tries to sound unfazed, but deep inside he’s actually relieved. At least he’s not some kind of sick perv then.
Tegoshi just rolls his eyes and signals for Kato to come over and give him a glass of water.
***
Sometimes when we have stormy weather
We might doubt our life together
And I may say things not so smart
And you might wish us far apart
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
And you may run and stomp the floor slam the door
“Are you writing lyrics?”
And I wonder; what was that for?
“… maybe.”
“Can I read them?”
But even parted we still seek are always weak
I can’t don’t even dare to speak
“No.”
“Why not? I’m good at constructive criticism.”
“I don’t care. Besides, I don’t want anyone criticizing my lyrics.”
“Fine then.” Tegoshi pouts and crosses his arms over his chest. “Can’t you at least tell me what kind of song it is? Do you have a name for it?”
“No, no, and stop being so nosy.”
“Hmph. You know what? I take it back; you’re no fun at all!”
“Uh-huh, that’s nice.”
At times like those
We might suppose
“You’re not even listening to me!”
“I don’t have to, you say nothing of interest.”
Everything will stop
We will never give get up
Ryo sighs and closes his notebook, placing it on the table next to him. He can’t work in this commotion. Yamapi’s busy playing a seemingly exciting game of cards with Kato and the news caster, whose name they found out when he woke up was Koyama, while talking really loudly about music and other things. The old couple’s sleeping and Tegoshi’s gotten quite obviously bored with whatever he was doing before he started bothering Ryo.
He checks his watch and grimly notes that there’s still a little less than eight hours left of this torture. He feels the need to move, so he stands up, stretches his arms above his head and walks a few laps around the cabin. As he walks he starts to hum the melody to his new song, going through the lyrics over and over in his head to make sure everything fits perfectly. If he, by any chance, decides to play this song for Akanishi he really can’t afford it to sound half-assed.
The plane makes a sudden shake, not much but still enough for him to lose his balance and end up nose first on the floor. He can hear the other four guys laughing at him and he lets out a string of curses into the dark blue carpet covering the hard floor.
“It’s much safer if you remain seated Nishikido-san,” Kato says and Ryo rolls around to his back so that he can glare at the guy.
“No shit,” he says, but still makes no effort to actually get up on his feet again. To his surprise it’s quite comfortably down here.
He pillows his head on his arms and stares up at the roof. Compared to the rest of the first class interior it’s really ugly. If he had been the one to decorate this plane he would have asked someone to make a ceiling painting.
“Are you having fun?” Yamapi asks and Ryo flips him off.
“Shut up. I’m having a moment.”
Yamapi laughs again and Ryo sits up. The floor got boring really fast. He crawls back onto his feet and takes a small detour to the toilet before deciding to join the others in a friendly game of poker.
***
When Ryo wakes up the plane is shaking violently. Or rather, Ryo wakes up from his amazing dream about sold-out concerts and millions of screaming fans because of the plane shaking violently. At first he figures it’s just a case of extra strong clear-air turbulence, Yamapi told him before takeoff that it might happen when bodies of air traveling at different speeds meet and that it’s absolutely normal and nothing dangerous.
It takes the frantic screams of passengers coming from business and economy class and the sight of a praying Yamapi beside him to understand that maybe there might just be something else than air pockets this time. A look outside the window and the treacherous sea closing in on them rapidly makes him wish he’d never chosen to become a professional musician.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we remind you that it is very important that you even in a situation like this stay calm and don’t panic-”
Ryo does the only thing he can. He passes out.
***
He’s five and the whole family’s having dinner together. It’s his older brother’s birthday, but he too is getting presents.
He’s nine and Minami-chan takes his hand in hers and leads him to the tree behind the school where he receives his first ever kiss that’s not from his mother.
He’s fourteen and he’s just bought his first guitar. But playing it is hard and it takes a whole five months before he even approaches it again.
He’s sixteen and Yuko-chan places his hand over her naked chest. It’s soft, just like her lips and the rest of her body.
He’s nineteen and he meets Yamapi at a party. They decide they’re gonna make it big.
He’s twenty four and they’re on a plane to meet a big ass producer in Los Angeles. They never arrive.
He’s -
***
The sun is shining strong in his eyes, even if he has them closed. Too strong and he tries to turn away from it. It doesn’t work. His whole body aches and it feels like he just got run over by a truck. Slowly, carefully, he opens his eyes and stares right into the bright sun. It blinds him but with a little bit of strength he at least manages to sit up, even with his body feeling like it’s on fire.
He rubs his eyes with the palms of his hands. They feel dirty and when he actually opens his eyes again he sees they’re full of tiny scratches and wounds. He just stares at them for a while before remembering. Remembering that the plane was falling, falling fast and that he should not be alive. But he is, right?
He looks up and sees nothing but clear blue water below a light blue sky with not a cloud in sight. His neck cracks nastily when he turns his head to the right. There’s a plane wreck resting nicely on top of the white beach. No, actually, it’s just half the plane. The nose, first class and most of what used to be business class. He looks back out over the ocean; he doesn’t even want to know where the rest of plane and its passengers are.
“How are you feeling?”
He turns to his left and sees Kato sitting next to him with his face full of scrapes and dried blood and Ryo figures he must look the same.
“Like crap,” he manages to get out and his throat feels like he hasn’t been drinking anything for a month. “Where’s -” he doesn’t want to finish the question, afraid of the answer, but Kato seems to get it anyway.
“Yamashita-san went with Captain Masuda and a few others to explore the island. Koyama-san and Tegoshi-kun are resting in the shadow behind us. You were out the longest, we were afraid you wouldn’t make it.”
Ryo nods and Kato continues. “But don’t worry, we’ve found out that both the black box and the control table is still intact in there,” he gestures to what’s left of the plane. “We’ve sent out signals of what’s happened to us and our whereabouts. It shouldn’t be long before we’re rescued.”
“I’m thirsty.”
Kato chuckles. “Come on, I’ll help you over to the shadow.” Kato helps him to steadily get up on his feet and then lets him lean against him during the whole time it takes them to reach the cool shadows under the palm trees and Ryo thinks his right leg might be broken because it crunches worryingly under him whenever he takes a step with it.
“Ryo-chan! You’re okay!” Tegoshi exclaims when he sees them and crawls out from under Koyama’s arm.
Normally, Ryo thinks as Kato carefully helps him to sit back down on the sand again, he would have told the younger boy off for using that name on him. But right now isn’t normally and the fact that he’s actually just survived a plane crash is slowly dawning on him, so he just smiles tiredly and nods.
“I am,” he says and thankfully accepts the bottle of water Koyama’s offering him. “I am,” he repeats, like he really has to say it to believe it.
“I was so worried,” Tegoshi says and makes sure he finishes the whole bottle. “Yamapi will probably be back soon. They’re in the jungle looking for food and whatever.”
“How many are there?”
“Survivors? There are seventeen of us in total,” Koyama says and moves closer to Tegoshi, placing an arm around his waist. “The old couple unfortunately didn’t make it.”
“I see. Well, I just hope Akanishi won’t be mad at us for making him wait for his next star.”
Tegoshi laughs, but it’s not the same kind of pure laugh he had when they were still on the plane. “If anything,” he says and puts a reassuring hand on Ryo’s shoulder, “I think this will only make you even more popular and Akanishi, whoever the guy is, is going to be proud to have you as his next star.”
Ryo tries to laugh at that, but his throat is still dry so it only comes out as wheezing that soon turns into a nasty cough and Kato hurries to bring him another bottle of water.
***
Nighttime on an unknown island in the middle of the ocean is still kind of nice and cozy, Ryo finds out. There’s no sound of traffic or random people yelling to each other on the street and the only things you can hear are the small waves running into shore and the sparks coming from the fire they managed to set up.
Ryo’s tired, he can feel his eyes starting to shut, but he doesn’t want to sleep just yet, he wants to spend more time with his newfound friends. He’s hungry too, but there wasn’t that much food that could be saved from the wreck so right now they just have to do with the fruit the investigation team brought back earlier. But even that won’t last for too long, so Ryo really hopes that help is on its way.
“Everyone, may I have your attention please,” Captain Masuda suddenly breaks the silence and stands up. “This is not the end. This is only the beginning of a new chapter in your lives. Don’t feel sad for what has happened, and instead be happy for what is to come. My two still living crew mates and I have managed to get in contact with the control towers in both Japan and America, they know of our position and help will arrive probably early tomorrow morning. So just continue to stay strong and the sun will arise even sooner.
“Now,” he says and pauses, “I want us all to hold hands, look up towards the stars and pray for all the lost souls.”
Ryo links hands with Yamapi and Kato and bends his neck backwards. With no city lights to hide them, millions and millions of stars can be seen and it’s one of the prettiest sights he has ever had the privilege to set his eyes on. And someday I’m going to be one of them, he thinks and smiles. Someday.
“Okay then,” Masuda then says with a bright smile once they’re all finished with their prayers, “to lift the mood a little, I am now going to tell you a very common joke in the world of airplanes and flight personnel. What are the three worst things you can hear in the cockpit?”
Ryo hears Kato groan beside him and when he turns to look the other’s already hid his face in his palms. “I’ve heard this joke like a hundred times already and it’s not funny!”
Ryo grins. “Really? I’ve never heard it. I think.”
“Be happy.”
“The second officer says,” Masuda continues, “Oh shit! The first officer says, I have an idea! And the Captain says, Hey, watch this! Fufufufu~”
He’s met with absolute silence but his smile is still just as bright and his eyes are shining with joy. Kato groans again.
Ryo snorts. “Dude, that was like the lamest joke I’ve heard in my life!”
***
The flashes blind his eyes, the screams deafen his ears but the music and all of it combined caresses his heart. This is where he’s supposed to be, this is what he’s been working so hard for, where he’s been trying to get to for years. It satisfies him beyond belief and he wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
After yet another successful performance he thanks the fans who took their time to come and see him, before tiredly walking off the stage, his right leg shaking slightly under his weight, and back to his loge. Akanishi slaps his back the minute he steps inside and Yamapi’s there straight after to give him a high-five.
“That was amazing!” Yamapi says and hands him a bottle of fresh sparkling water. “You kicked their asses, just like you always do.”
“Yeah,” Akanishi adds. “Soon you will be taking over America and then the world!”
“As long as I don’t have to fly, then sure.”
They both laugh. “Don’t worry, you can take the boat.”
He sighs and sits down in front of the mirror and stares at the sweaty yet very handsome reflection staring back at him. His leg really hurts but he can barely feel it, his body still hyped up from the concert. Tonight, he thinks, he’s just gonna go home, order himself a nice greasy pizza, a couple of beers and then sleep until dinner the next day. He’s definitely deserved it.
The door suddenly bursts open with a loud bang and four excited guys rush inside, all loud words and flailing arms. Akanishi laughs at them before saying he has some important things to take care of so he’s going to leave them alone now and exits.
“Ryo-chan!” Tegoshi almost shouts in his ear before throwing his arms around him. “That was so gooooooood~! You’re the best!”
“I really am, huh?”
Kato snorts and gives him a pretty hard whack to the back of his head. “Seriously, if you loved yourself even more than you already do, there wouldn’t be any love left for the rest of the world.”
Ryo swats him away and untangles himself from Tegoshi’s death grip on his neck. Koyama punches him playfully in the arm and Masuda smiles brightly at him over their heads. Yamapi just laughs at them and everything feels perfect.
“So guys, how about pizza? I’m buying.”
But then we meet again
In the conjunction of two hearts