Signal Fire
Title: Signal Fire
Rating: PG
Group/Pairing: RyoPi ft. Jin
Warnings: AU, fluff
Notes: Written for jentfic_remix. I liked the concept (and song) behind the original fic and I decided to put a new perspective on it :)
Link to Original Story: pangarap lang kita (you’re only my dream)
Link to Original Writer: romapi romapistories
The first day of school was always the worst, especially for the new kid. All the kids somehow found out that a transfer student was coming and it would be the talk of the school for an entire week. Nishikido Ryo figured he would be prepared with this in mind, but this was just not his day.
“Watch where you’re going!” Someone yelled as Ryo tried to park his bike in an empty spot. He turned around to see a tall guy with a beanie give him a dirty look. Next to that guy was someone he did know; Yamashita Tomohisa.
“Jin,” Yamapi said sharply, “chill.”
Jin didn’t seem to care and walked off.
“Hey,” Yamapi greeted Ryo. "Sorry about that. Mornings are not really his thing.”
“That’s alright, Yamashita-san,” Ryo replied.
“Hey, it’s Yamapi, remember?” He responded with a chuckle. “Look, I know it might be a bit weird, but my mom thinks of you as her own son, and she knows you’ll do great at this school. I can totally show you around."
Ryo didn't know what to say. Even if they had known each other since they were young, he was still one of his mom's employees, and Yamapi was the only son of the affluent Yamashita family. He couldn't really see himself fitting in with the rest of the people at this school, but it didn't hurt to have someone he knew there.
Yamapi didn't wait for a response as he put his arm around Ryo and walked him towards the classrooms. "Oh, and at lunch, I can introduce you to the guys," he continued, enthusiastically. "This is going to be great!"
Ryo simply walked with him and tried to avert the stares he was getting from the people around.
---
At lunch, Ryo managed to find a relatively quiet spot to sit, not at all trying to avoid the people Yamapi called his friends. Being introduced to them was one thing, but pretending to be their friend was another. After the first week, Ryo knew it was just better keeping their friendship the way it had always been -out of school. They would still get together to study, play ball, and just hang out and listen to music, but school wasn't the place for that.
Ryo sensed there was a change in their relationship as well, or maybe it was just him. Seeing Yamapi at school, even across the room, would make him jittery. Even out of school, when he would see him at the restaurant, he would accidentally drop or spill something on him. It was getting ridiculous. Yet Yamapi would just brush it off and comment on Ryo's lack of coordination that day. In the end, Ryo resigned himself to being a fool, not really sure why he was acting this way. Yamapi didn't seem to notice it, so it must just be Ryo's own mind going crazy.
---
After a few months with Ryo at the same school, Yamapi became a bit frustrated at the amount of progress he had gained in getting closer to Ryo, which was not very much. Even though they were in the same class, they sat across the room from each other (teacher's choice, not his) and barely saw each other during lunch. They spent some free time together after school, just as they usually did, but this was not what Yamapi had imagined when he heard that Ryo was going to be at his school.
In order to drown out his frustations, Yamapi went to the kitchen in search for some food.
Shige, the family's master chef, was already in there preparing their dinner for that night. Yamapi hunched over and rested his elbows on the kitchen table. He took a carrot from the vegetable bin and started peeling it. Shige smacked the young man’s hand down and scowled at him. “As much as I appreciate your help, sir, you’re just going to mess that up.”
Yamapi laughed, “Yes, chef.”
“So? What is it that’s bothering you?”
“What makes you think something’s bothering me?”
Shige stopped mid-step, frying pan in his hand, and eyebrows raised, as if saying, Come on, you know I’m right.
“Ok, so there’s someone I like who I’ve known for some time, but I don’t know if we would work out.”
“Oh boy,” the chef muttered under his breath.
“We have a pretty comfortable friendship, and we have a lot in common, but he doesn’t seem interested in me like that. Or maybe…”
“What?” Shige asked as he placed the final piece of decorative parsley on his masterpiece of a dish and placed it on the cart. He waved for Yamapi to walk out to the dining room with him.
“I might not be his type. Maybe I’m getting my signals crossed. He hasn’t said or done anything to show me his feelings, any feelings, really. He’s a really honest, straight-forward, kind of person, but he doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve.”
“And you do.”
Yamapi looked at the chef thoughtfully and nodded.
“So, you should tell him how you feel.” Shige placed his delicately prepared dishes for the Yamashita family on the dining table, and said, “The only way to get your signals uncrossed is to get your hands dirty and uncross them yourself.”
“Yeah…”
“And sir, sorry to say, but you can be a little obli -what’s a better word? -aloof sometimes, so maybe your signals really are crossed.”
“I can’t tell whether that’s comforting or not.”
Shige shrugged and walked away.
Yamapi stared at the plates on the table, meticulously placed so that the food was evenly spaced out between seats, a floral ornament in front of each dish. He plucked a loose petal off a flower without much thought and placed it in the palm of his hand. Looking at it, a thought occurred to him, and he smiled.
---
“Hurry up, Jin! We’re only going to my mom’s place, don’t have to put on so much hairspray,” Yamapi said while coughing and waving his hands in front of his face.
“It’s not hairspray,” Jin said, walking to the door, “It’s cologne.”
Yamapi rolled his eyes, “Come on.”
By the time they got to the restaurant, it was late evening and there was a decent crowd of people eating. They walked in, pretty much unnoticed to everyone, and headed to their private reserved spot in the back corner.
They weren’t totally unnoticed though, as Ryo went up to their table to take their orders. “What can I get you guys?”
“The usual for me,” Yamapi answered with a smile. “Looks like we had a lot of business tonight.”
“Yea, we’ve been swamped, but you came at the right time. There are not that many orders right now.”
“Great,” Jin chimed in, “I’ll bet it’s because the ladies love to come see you.”
Yamapi kicked him under the table, and tried laughing it off. “Any ways, do you think you’ll have time after work tonight? I wanted to ask you something about that History assignment that we have.”
“Yea…that’s fine,” Ryo answered a little taken aback. He turned to Jin to get his order and was met with a not so amused face. “I’ll have the usual too.”
“Great, I’ll be right back.” Ryo walked towards the kitchen and disappeared around the corner, just missing the straw Jin threw at his back.
“Hey, you better pick that up,” Yamapi joked, but feeling as if he needed to defend Ryo.
“That kid has a crush on you, ever since your mom let him stay at the school and you’re just egging him on. What’s so great about him?”
Yamapi laughed, “Do I hear a hint of jealousy in your voice?”
Jin scoffed, “Not at all. You see those girls in the front there? They’ve been eyeing us since we walked in, so while you’re doing some nerdy homework, I’ll be doing something else.”
Yamapi groaned and covered his face with his palms. “Do whatever you want, my friend, as long as I don’t hear about it on the school news again.” They both laughed.
---
“You sure you don’t want to join us?” Jin asked, two girls hanging off his arms at the end of the night.
Yamapi shook his head and patted his friend on the shoulder, “Good night.” He walked back into the restaurant to find Ryo cleaning tables. He grabbed a rag and started wiping as well.
“You don’t have to do that, Yama-pi,” Ryo said as he took the rag from him.
Yamapi lowered his head, smiling. “I’m glad you finally stopped calling me ‘Yamashita,’ that was getting weird at school.”
“Yea, well, we don’t exactly hang with the same crowd, so I went with the safer bet.”
“Come on, we’ve known each other way longer than any of those people, and you know that.” Yamapi grabbed the rag back and started wiping the table again.
Ryo smiled and asked, “You don’t really have a History question, do you?”
“Busted,” he laughed a bit nervously. “I actually wanted to give you something.”
“Wow, and you skipped out on a date with those girls for me?” Ryo said in a mockingly sweet voice.
“Oh I see, now the real you comes out. Late at night, when no one else is around to see that the scrawny kid at school has got this sarcastic sense of humor.”
Ryo turned around and said under his breath, “Only with you.”
“What was that?” Yamapi asked, stepping a bit closer.
“Nothing,” he answered hastily. “What’s this thing you wanted to give me?”
“Right!” He ran to get the bunch of roses he had stashed in the trunk of his car and checked to make sure they didn’t look dry or messed up from the ride over. As he went to open the door again, his heart was pounding and drowned out everything, his thoughts and his doubts about how this was going to turn out. He had already gone through the scenario in his head, how he was going to hand the roses over, tell him how there were extras at home and thought that it’d be nice to give them to someone he cared about, and let Ryo decide the flow of conversation from there. That way, there would be no real confession of particular feelings if he didn’t seem to accept the roses.
He took a deep breath and pushed forward.
Instead of finding Ryo still busy with cleaning, Yamapi found him waiting by the door, holding something in his hands.
They stood awkwardly at the entrance for a moment until Yamapi basically threw the flowers at Ryo, blurted out his explanation at super speed, and then waited for his response.
Ryo couldn’t help but to laugh. “That makes me feel a bit better,” he said as he handed his package to Yamapi.
Yamapi opened up the bag to find a bunch of roses. He looked up with a look of confusion, and maybe a bit of hope, on his face.
“I don’t really have a fancy explanation why I’m giving this to you. I guess it took me awhile to figure out that…uh…I like you. So, yea.”
Yamapi didn’t know what the best way to react would have been, but he decided to go with his gut, and his gut was telling him to take this chance and run with it.
He pulled Ryo in for a hug and held him close, close enough to feel the steady pounding of his heart. “I like you too.”
Rating: PG
Group/Pairing: RyoPi ft. Jin
Warnings: AU, fluff
Notes: Written for jentfic_remix. I liked the concept (and song) behind the original fic and I decided to put a new perspective on it :)
Link to Original Story: pangarap lang kita (you’re only my dream)
Link to Original Writer: romapi romapistories
The first day of school was always the worst, especially for the new kid. All the kids somehow found out that a transfer student was coming and it would be the talk of the school for an entire week. Nishikido Ryo figured he would be prepared with this in mind, but this was just not his day.
“Watch where you’re going!” Someone yelled as Ryo tried to park his bike in an empty spot. He turned around to see a tall guy with a beanie give him a dirty look. Next to that guy was someone he did know; Yamashita Tomohisa.
“Jin,” Yamapi said sharply, “chill.”
Jin didn’t seem to care and walked off.
“Hey,” Yamapi greeted Ryo. "Sorry about that. Mornings are not really his thing.”
“That’s alright, Yamashita-san,” Ryo replied.
“Hey, it’s Yamapi, remember?” He responded with a chuckle. “Look, I know it might be a bit weird, but my mom thinks of you as her own son, and she knows you’ll do great at this school. I can totally show you around."
Ryo didn't know what to say. Even if they had known each other since they were young, he was still one of his mom's employees, and Yamapi was the only son of the affluent Yamashita family. He couldn't really see himself fitting in with the rest of the people at this school, but it didn't hurt to have someone he knew there.
Yamapi didn't wait for a response as he put his arm around Ryo and walked him towards the classrooms. "Oh, and at lunch, I can introduce you to the guys," he continued, enthusiastically. "This is going to be great!"
Ryo simply walked with him and tried to avert the stares he was getting from the people around.
---
At lunch, Ryo managed to find a relatively quiet spot to sit, not at all trying to avoid the people Yamapi called his friends. Being introduced to them was one thing, but pretending to be their friend was another. After the first week, Ryo knew it was just better keeping their friendship the way it had always been -out of school. They would still get together to study, play ball, and just hang out and listen to music, but school wasn't the place for that.
Ryo sensed there was a change in their relationship as well, or maybe it was just him. Seeing Yamapi at school, even across the room, would make him jittery. Even out of school, when he would see him at the restaurant, he would accidentally drop or spill something on him. It was getting ridiculous. Yet Yamapi would just brush it off and comment on Ryo's lack of coordination that day. In the end, Ryo resigned himself to being a fool, not really sure why he was acting this way. Yamapi didn't seem to notice it, so it must just be Ryo's own mind going crazy.
---
After a few months with Ryo at the same school, Yamapi became a bit frustrated at the amount of progress he had gained in getting closer to Ryo, which was not very much. Even though they were in the same class, they sat across the room from each other (teacher's choice, not his) and barely saw each other during lunch. They spent some free time together after school, just as they usually did, but this was not what Yamapi had imagined when he heard that Ryo was going to be at his school.
In order to drown out his frustations, Yamapi went to the kitchen in search for some food.
Shige, the family's master chef, was already in there preparing their dinner for that night. Yamapi hunched over and rested his elbows on the kitchen table. He took a carrot from the vegetable bin and started peeling it. Shige smacked the young man’s hand down and scowled at him. “As much as I appreciate your help, sir, you’re just going to mess that up.”
Yamapi laughed, “Yes, chef.”
“So? What is it that’s bothering you?”
“What makes you think something’s bothering me?”
Shige stopped mid-step, frying pan in his hand, and eyebrows raised, as if saying, Come on, you know I’m right.
“Ok, so there’s someone I like who I’ve known for some time, but I don’t know if we would work out.”
“Oh boy,” the chef muttered under his breath.
“We have a pretty comfortable friendship, and we have a lot in common, but he doesn’t seem interested in me like that. Or maybe…”
“What?” Shige asked as he placed the final piece of decorative parsley on his masterpiece of a dish and placed it on the cart. He waved for Yamapi to walk out to the dining room with him.
“I might not be his type. Maybe I’m getting my signals crossed. He hasn’t said or done anything to show me his feelings, any feelings, really. He’s a really honest, straight-forward, kind of person, but he doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve.”
“And you do.”
Yamapi looked at the chef thoughtfully and nodded.
“So, you should tell him how you feel.” Shige placed his delicately prepared dishes for the Yamashita family on the dining table, and said, “The only way to get your signals uncrossed is to get your hands dirty and uncross them yourself.”
“Yeah…”
“And sir, sorry to say, but you can be a little obli -what’s a better word? -aloof sometimes, so maybe your signals really are crossed.”
“I can’t tell whether that’s comforting or not.”
Shige shrugged and walked away.
Yamapi stared at the plates on the table, meticulously placed so that the food was evenly spaced out between seats, a floral ornament in front of each dish. He plucked a loose petal off a flower without much thought and placed it in the palm of his hand. Looking at it, a thought occurred to him, and he smiled.
---
“Hurry up, Jin! We’re only going to my mom’s place, don’t have to put on so much hairspray,” Yamapi said while coughing and waving his hands in front of his face.
“It’s not hairspray,” Jin said, walking to the door, “It’s cologne.”
Yamapi rolled his eyes, “Come on.”
By the time they got to the restaurant, it was late evening and there was a decent crowd of people eating. They walked in, pretty much unnoticed to everyone, and headed to their private reserved spot in the back corner.
They weren’t totally unnoticed though, as Ryo went up to their table to take their orders. “What can I get you guys?”
“The usual for me,” Yamapi answered with a smile. “Looks like we had a lot of business tonight.”
“Yea, we’ve been swamped, but you came at the right time. There are not that many orders right now.”
“Great,” Jin chimed in, “I’ll bet it’s because the ladies love to come see you.”
Yamapi kicked him under the table, and tried laughing it off. “Any ways, do you think you’ll have time after work tonight? I wanted to ask you something about that History assignment that we have.”
“Yea…that’s fine,” Ryo answered a little taken aback. He turned to Jin to get his order and was met with a not so amused face. “I’ll have the usual too.”
“Great, I’ll be right back.” Ryo walked towards the kitchen and disappeared around the corner, just missing the straw Jin threw at his back.
“Hey, you better pick that up,” Yamapi joked, but feeling as if he needed to defend Ryo.
“That kid has a crush on you, ever since your mom let him stay at the school and you’re just egging him on. What’s so great about him?”
Yamapi laughed, “Do I hear a hint of jealousy in your voice?”
Jin scoffed, “Not at all. You see those girls in the front there? They’ve been eyeing us since we walked in, so while you’re doing some nerdy homework, I’ll be doing something else.”
Yamapi groaned and covered his face with his palms. “Do whatever you want, my friend, as long as I don’t hear about it on the school news again.” They both laughed.
---
“You sure you don’t want to join us?” Jin asked, two girls hanging off his arms at the end of the night.
Yamapi shook his head and patted his friend on the shoulder, “Good night.” He walked back into the restaurant to find Ryo cleaning tables. He grabbed a rag and started wiping as well.
“You don’t have to do that, Yama-pi,” Ryo said as he took the rag from him.
Yamapi lowered his head, smiling. “I’m glad you finally stopped calling me ‘Yamashita,’ that was getting weird at school.”
“Yea, well, we don’t exactly hang with the same crowd, so I went with the safer bet.”
“Come on, we’ve known each other way longer than any of those people, and you know that.” Yamapi grabbed the rag back and started wiping the table again.
Ryo smiled and asked, “You don’t really have a History question, do you?”
“Busted,” he laughed a bit nervously. “I actually wanted to give you something.”
“Wow, and you skipped out on a date with those girls for me?” Ryo said in a mockingly sweet voice.
“Oh I see, now the real you comes out. Late at night, when no one else is around to see that the scrawny kid at school has got this sarcastic sense of humor.”
Ryo turned around and said under his breath, “Only with you.”
“What was that?” Yamapi asked, stepping a bit closer.
“Nothing,” he answered hastily. “What’s this thing you wanted to give me?”
“Right!” He ran to get the bunch of roses he had stashed in the trunk of his car and checked to make sure they didn’t look dry or messed up from the ride over. As he went to open the door again, his heart was pounding and drowned out everything, his thoughts and his doubts about how this was going to turn out. He had already gone through the scenario in his head, how he was going to hand the roses over, tell him how there were extras at home and thought that it’d be nice to give them to someone he cared about, and let Ryo decide the flow of conversation from there. That way, there would be no real confession of particular feelings if he didn’t seem to accept the roses.
He took a deep breath and pushed forward.
Instead of finding Ryo still busy with cleaning, Yamapi found him waiting by the door, holding something in his hands.
They stood awkwardly at the entrance for a moment until Yamapi basically threw the flowers at Ryo, blurted out his explanation at super speed, and then waited for his response.
Ryo couldn’t help but to laugh. “That makes me feel a bit better,” he said as he handed his package to Yamapi.
Yamapi opened up the bag to find a bunch of roses. He looked up with a look of confusion, and maybe a bit of hope, on his face.
“I don’t really have a fancy explanation why I’m giving this to you. I guess it took me awhile to figure out that…uh…I like you. So, yea.”
Yamapi didn’t know what the best way to react would have been, but he decided to go with his gut, and his gut was telling him to take this chance and run with it.
He pulled Ryo in for a hug and held him close, close enough to feel the steady pounding of his heart. “I like you too.”