You Are Something Different for Mikah!
Title: You are something different
Recipient: Mikah / bananayuki
Rating: T
Summary: When Fuji promises to help out a fellow photographer, he unexpectedly runs into an old friend.
"Good work today!" was something Fuji had only said to be polite when leaving the set in the early afternoon that day.
Normally, Fuji liked taking occasional breaks from his usual, more artistic work to do some commercial shoots - especially when it provided him with a chance to work with old friends from the tennis circuit. Taking their pictures for their promo materials was a good way to catch up with them every once in awhile.
Today had been one of those days. Fuji had been booked to photograph Echizen for an advertising campaign by a beverage brand he had a sponsorship deal with - a concept Fuji found sort of amusing. As it turned out though, this time the break from landscapes, architecture and the like hadn't been that refreshing. While Fuji considered himself pretty good at his work, he was not a magician. Echizen wasn't exactly bubbly under normal circumstances, and this time he was even less so after a recent loss to Sanada in a major tournament. Getting a smile even remotely natural out of him had been a challenge to say the least. Not that Fuji didn't like challenges, but if the other part wasn't willing to cooperate there was only so much he could do about it.
After a shoot that taxing, Fuji would have called it a day if he had the choice. Today he didn't. Just yesterday he had received word that unfortunately, a colleague from an earlier co-project had suddenly fallen ill, and Fuji had been asked to take a shoot booked for him. Not wanting to leave them in trouble, he had agreed and was currently heading to the appointed studio.
The taxi trip there provided Fuji with some time to go over the very limited details given to him by the colleague. He was to photograph an upcoming idol - which one, the mail didn't say, and to be honest Fuji probably wouldn't have been much wiser if it did as he hadn’t really been paying all that much attention to the entertainment business these days.
Normally he would have liked to do some reading on the person to be photographed, but since it wasn't possible given the available information and time, he consoled himself with his colleague's words.
'Should be an easy shoot. The model is expressive and easy-going, so doing your usual good job will be more than fine. The agency will take care of editing too, so just get some pretty shots and they will take care of the rest.'
That was some relief - after doing it a few times, Fuji had grown rather bored of doing the whole thing, complete with editing, for idol photography. Somehow it seemed like the agencies wanted everyone to look the same, and asked for all the quirks to be smoothed out. So if this time Fuji just needed to take the pictures and leave the rest to the agency to do what they wanted, that was fine with him.
Finally the taxi made it to Akihabara where the studio was located. After paying for the ride, Fuji headed in.
The idol-to-be's manager, called Kanda, was already there to greet him in the lobby. A nice seeming, well-dressed man in his thirties, he greeted Fuji politely and thanked him for coming to help them out. After exchanging pleasantries and making their way to the studio itself and setting his things down, Fuji was given a tour of the set they had put up. No big surprises there - basic studio backgrounds, and flowers, air-balloons - and a fake pistol for props. The last one was a bit of a surprise, but nothing he hadn't seen before.
After familiarizing Fuji with the set, the equipment and studio assistants, the manager pulled Fuji to the side to discuss the idol, who had so far been nowhere to be seen.
"I'm sorry it is like this, but I should warn you the star of the day seems to be having bit of a bad day. He's not always so good with changes, and was a little agitated to hear about changes to the crew today. Please don't take it personally if he says something about it, we are actually most grateful you are here to help us today on such a short notice - -"
‘Oh my’, thought Fuji and kept smiling as he listened to the worried looking man oscillating between warnings and reassurances. So much for an easy-going model, then. It sounded like he was in for another difficult shoot today.
It was a little disheartening, but there was no helping it. Just as Fuji was about to try and assure both himself and the manager they would probably be okay, a loud squeal took both him and Kanda by surprise.
"Oh my god, it's Fujiko-chan!"
Before Fuji quite knew what hit him, he was suddenly swallowed up in a tight hug by someone who smelled like hairspray and makeup. Someone who was a bit taller than him, someone whose red hair was brushing against his face.
Someone who used to call him by that name years ago.
"Eiji, is it you? No one told me - -"
"I can't believe this, it's actually Fujiko - -"
Talking on top of each other, they laughed when they pulled away from the hug to see each other for the first time in several years.
It really was Eiji. Seeing the familiar face with round eyes, updrawn eyebrows and bright skin Fuji was immediately hit with a warm feeling of nostalgia. Despite the years and makeup, with the widest of grins lighting up his face, Eiji looked almost exactly like he used to.
Before their get-together got any further, the manager who had been talking to Fuji earlier piped in.
"Oh, you know each other from before? This is unexpected!"
"We do!" Eiji told him excitedly, not even needing a minute to adjust to the situation, instantly throwing his arm over Fuji's shoulders. "We're really good friends, we used to play tennis together in the same team in middle school! Wow, it's been so long! But, Fujiko - um, Fuji, what are you doing here? Did you come to see me? I'm supposed to be photoshooting right now but maybe I should cancel it?"
"What, cancel? Kikumaru-kun, please don't say something like that!"
"No need to call it off, Eiji", Fuji said with a laugh, waving his hand at the panicky looking manager. "Actually I'm here to fill in for the photographer. Although I heard it's someone you usually work with, but maybe - -"
"Fuji is here to take my pictures? Why didn't anyone tell me! I was being annoyed and making you wait for nothing!”
“Now, now, Kikumaru-kun…” the manager tried to stop him from saying anymore, shooting an apologetic smile at Fuji. But Eiji wasn’t so easily silenced.
“Fuji”, he said, pulling him closer and grinning as if no years had passed between them since middle school. “Kanda here might be a little nervous since he doesn’t know you and he’s worked his ass off for me lately so he’s pretty stressed, you see? But I know if it’s you, we’ll have a great shoot. So what do you say we do this first and chat later? I wanna know what you’ve been up to so we seriously need to hang out after this!”
Glancing at the nervous manager and excited looking old friend in turns, Fuji smiled and nodded. “You’re reading my mind, Eiji.”
It seemed like this shoot was going to be a little easier than the one in the morning after all.
- -
So they got to work.
The first part was nothing unsurprising in itself - Eiji with flowers, Eiji with the balloons, just Eiji being himself.
Unlike the morning shoot with Echizen, this one flowed on without any trouble. Fuji didn’t exactly need to guide his subject to smile more, try to look more natural or give him different poses to try out. On the contrary, he could tell Eiji was already well trained in the industry and was familiar to being in front of the camera.
Though maybe it was not just that. It was probably that experience combined with the natural, boyish charm he had always had.
Not that Eiji was just boyish anymore. As the photographs accumulated, Fuji became increasingly aware of the little changes to what his former close friend used to look like. He was taller, his shoulders a little wider. His hair was a little more toned down - still red, but this time a little wavy instead of being flipped up at the ends, some of it falling on his temples and eyes.
The eyes where the same though. Looking at them through his camera, Fuji recognized a playful glint he had seen on the tennis courts they had shared before. It was a good look, one that would look great in the pictures.
They really concentrated on their work for now, even if there was a temptation to just run through it. After a couple of years with next-to-no contact, there was bound to be a lot to talk about, but that woudl have to wait for a while.
During that first set Eiji had changed t-shirts and cardigans a couple of times, but eventually it was a time for him to change everything and get his make-up refreshed. That meant a break for everyone else.
“Good work, Fuji-san!” said the manager, coming to sit down with Fuji with a tray loaded with cups of coffee, fruit and snacks. “How are we doing? Do you think we’ll get some good shots?”
“Oh, sure. Eiji is making the job easy for me, so I think we’ll be just fine,” Fuji answered, receiving the coffee handed to him with a smile.
“That’s a relief! But it’s true, I can tell Kikumaru-kun has been having a good day ever since he realized he would be working you today. We’re really grateful you were able to save us today!”
“Well, I also had a chance to meet an old friend like this, so it’s probably me who should be thanking you.”
“Sometimes coincidences like these turn out really well, don’t you think? But really, even with this short time, I see you really work well together. It’s not everyday Kikumaru-kun puts in this level of effort.”
With that statement, Fuji’s curiosity was piqued. “Oh?”
“Well,” said Kanda, seemingly thinking of how to put it, “it's often wonderful how he is so energetic, that’s really essential in this business. But since you know him from before, maybe you know, he can be a little willful at times. And it can be good thing, too, but sometimes it takes a bit of work to make everything really click. But, it seems like everything is going really well today!”
Listening to the assistant’s description, Fuji’s memories of middle school times slowly startedto surface. They were happy memories - having shared a class with Eiji, he was the one team member and classmate Fuji had spent the most time with. The willfulness the assistant talked about was probably something all of the people in Seigaku tennis club had needed, to gain their place in the team that had made them grow so close. Thinking about it now, though, Fuji thought Eiji had probably done more than his part in building that group of people into a true team in the first place.
“I see your meaning. But I would also say it's often Eiji himself who helps everyone else find their place and purpose.”
“Oh, I definitely agree with that! He can really pull a group together. When he joined his current agency, it took literally no time for him to fit right in and make everyone feel at ease.”
Fuji laughed at that, as it sounded very much like the old Eiji.
“He always did have that talent.”
Gradually the conversation shifted back to matters more closely related to the work at hand - how long the next phase of the shoot would take, when Fuji would be able to send the pictures to the agency, was everything in order with the matter of compensation and so on.
The break ended when Eiji waltzed back into the set with a whole new outfit. Fuji had not known what was to come, so Eiji bouncing in with a “ta dah!” wasn’t the only thing to surprise him.
If the first part of the shoot was about getting a typical, fresh and boyish idol look, the second part was going to be something different. When Eiji stopped in front of Fuji and his manager, he was dressed in a dark blue, almost black suit with shiny dress shoes. He made a little twirl to show himself off.
“Well, what do you think? Do I look more mature now?”
“Yes, yes! This is good, Akira-san really found a fitting suit for you! I’m sure the agency will be very happy with this!”
From their exchange, Fuji recalled the manager saying earlier that they wanted to diversify Eiji’s image. Looking at this old friend, suddenly looking a little older and sharper in the new outfit when he stopped bouncing around to listen to his manager, Fuji could easily agree that diversity was what they would get.
When Eiji turned his eyes to look at Fuji, he couldn’t help noticing the blue of his eyes matching the colour of the suit.
“What about you, Fuji? Do you think I look good like this?"
It was the first time for Fuji to see Eiji look so formal. When he was younger he wasn't one for getting dressed up in that sense, complaining it was too constricting. But seeing him now, taller than he used to be and the red hair parted at the side, contrasting with the dark suit, he looked... aesthetically pleasing.
"You do.” He felt he needed to lighten that a bit. “Is that an Armani suit?”
“It is! But that’s good.” Eiji looked a little relieved and laughed. “I’m not really used to dressing like this so it feels pretty weird to me. But if you think this is good then maybe it looks okay!”
Smiling at the little blush on Eiji’s cheeks, Fuji got up and patted his friend on his arm.
“Well, maybe we should get back to work then. I’ll show you what it looks like to me.”
- -
Despite the change in atmosphere in favour of more concentration compared to the first part of the shoot - or maybe exactly because of it - the pictures were slower in piling up.
The first part had been about getting a fun and relaxed feeling, and that was something that came naturally in their cooperation and didn’t need much tweaking and thinking about. But now, while Eiji did look good in the suit, and it being a good quality one it really flattered him and seemed to fit him well, it did take some more effort to make sure everything was in the right place for all the different poses. Having spent some time at Yumiko’s company’s cocktail parties, Fuji was well aware of exactly how many centimeters the shirt sleeve was supposed to show from beneath the jacket, how to elegantly fold and place the pocket square and so on.
So even if it took some time, Fuji wanted to make sure details like that were made right. On top of that, he took a more active role in guiding Eiji’s poses and expressions.
They also took some pictures with the fake pistol that had been prepared for this setup. Eiji had some fun doing silly poses at first, prompting everyone to check out his agent 007 style and making them laugh at the overly serious faces he made. They did get back to taking proper pictures eventually, and Eiji did a good job looking like a young member of the yakuza. Somewhere in the background Fuji heard the makeup artist lamenting they hadn’t had the time to draw any tattoos on his neck to peek out from beneath the collar of the suit. It could have made the image even more striking.
At some point, when Fuji was helping Eiji fix the sleeves and the position of his wristwatch, he vaguely thought maybe the photoshoot with Echizen would have been easier, had he been given the chance to go for this type of look too instead of the smiley, happy image that they forced on him. Eiji in turn would have cleared that style with no problem in his stead.
“What’re you smiling about?”
“Oh, nothing in particular.” Fuji lifted his gaze to look Eiji in the eye now. “This is going well.”
Eiji looked back at him for a second, and then sighed. “You think so? I trust you but I’m still feeling a little weird in this.” he said, making a big gesture with his arms at the whole suit thing, and ended up messing up the sleeves again. They laughed about it, and fixed it again.
Before getting back behind his camera, Fuji thought of a suggestion.
“Would it help you get in the mood if you thought of some old issues? A particularly tough game in the Nationals, for example.”
“Huh. Maybe I’ll try that!”
When Fuji next saw Eiji through the camera, he had some pretty intense expressions to photograph.
- -
It took a while, but finally they were done. Before running off to get changed, Eiji had grabbed Fuji's arm and made his wishes clear.
"Fuji, you’re not busy now, right? We should totally go out today and talk! You know, let's get some food and drinks and everything!"
It had been a long day, but for once, Fuji didn't feel like hurrying home. They had really concentrated on getting the work done first and hadn’t had the time to chat much at all. So there he was, sitting in the lobby of the studio building waiting for Eiji to come down.
He really had been surprised to run into Eiji here. They hadn’t been keeping in contact, so he had never known that Eiji was working for the agency in question.
Thinking of the work they’d done today, Fuji quietly laughed at himself for asking Eiji to think of the old times for inspiration. Sure, it had done the trick for getting the kind of mood for the photos he wanted, but it was also asking Eiji to do the same thing he was doing himself.
It wasn’t a choice for him, though. Ever since he first saw Eiji today, he couldn't help the old memories gradually appearing again.
To Fuji, Eiji had not only been his closest school friend and teammate in terms of the time they had spent together. The truth was, during the years they had shared their daily life, Fuji had found himself drawn to him in a way that hadn’t really happened with anyone else in quite the same way.
It had probably started sometime during their second year when Fuji had had a bad day. One of his cacti was dying and there was trouble at home with Yuuta. Still, he wasn't one to show that in school and was careful to keep his thoughts to himself and a smile to his face.
Almost everyone bought that. It was just Eiji who asked if everything was okay.
Fuji hadn't immediately opened up to him - it simply wasn't in his nature - but somehow that might have been the beginning of his growing respect for Eiji. He already knew the fun-loving, easy-going side of him wasn't all there was to the red-headed acrobat, but after that, Fuji had started wondering about him.
It didn't seem like Eiji was ever faking or purposefully hiding something, though. That was another thing that Fuji was a little impressed with.
While slowly growing closer to Eiji, Fuji had found himself noticing nice things about him, both big and small. The affection he had for his whole big family despite complaining about the trouble of making breakfast for them in the morning. The way he picked at a corner of the band-aid on his cheek during a difficult tests and then tried to get it to stay on again after he realized what he was doing. How his writing turned round and airy when he was in an especially good mood, passing messages to Fuji during class.
Sometimes Fuji had played a guessing game with himself, trying to predict which toothpaste flavour Eiji had used on a given day. It was something he could do, because inevitably, every morning in their third year Eiji would get close to him in morning practise or the first class, to greet him, ask to copy his homework or just to chat about whatever was on his mind each day.
At some point, Fuji had heard there were girls in their school who liked to think something was going on between them. And even if there was a part of him that was a little happy about that idea, ultimately, it served to make him more reserved about it all. Not because he minded someone saying that about them in itself, but because he thought it might disturb Eiji and their friendship. He had been careful not to cross any lines and to keep his attraction - which, by that point, he hadn't had the chance but to admit to himself - a secret.
In the end, contrary to the gossip, nothing happened between them. They won the Nationals with their team, graduated from Seigaku and went their own ways, promising to keep in contact.
Thinking back on it now, Fuji didn’t exactly feel regretful. Things had probably went the way that was for the best. Still, maybe there had been too much caution in his thinking during those days. Why else would he had let a best friend drift so far that they would only run into each other by a coincidence and be surprised to see each other now?
Finally, Fuji’s reminiscing was brought to an end when Eiji dashed out of the elevator, spotted him and came over saying “let’s go, let’s go!” with that bright smile that Fuji had been so used to seeing years ago. Seeing it again now it was easy to get up and smile back.
- -
Eiji knew a good Korean restaurant nearby, so that’s where they headed first. After a minute of chatting Eiji had the night planned out for them. First they’d get takeaway, then pick up something nice to drink, and then head to Fuji’s place (“I have to see where you live now!”).
While waiting for the food, Fuji already learned a lot about Eiji’s life as it had been recently. He talked about always being super excited but also tired after auditions, photoshoots, commercial recordings and so on. He liked his manager, the one who was at the photoshoot earlier - they didn’t always see eye to eye but he had arranged a lot of work for him. He lived close to where he usually went for work. He didn’t play tennis anymore. The agency had told him it wasn’t the best choice of exercise and suggested he just go to the gym instead. ‘How boring!’ he complained.
He asked a lot of questions as well. About what Fuji had been doing, if he had kept in contact with the others, if he was dating anyone. Fuji told him a little about the photography exhibitions he had been able to have in a couple of galleries that liked to welcome his work, but they ended up talking more about his less usual work, such as the promo shoots for old friends and rivals like Echizen and Sanada earlier that day. They agreed they should really organize a big get-together sometime so everyone could catch up with each other properly.
After getting the food and doing a little shopping for drinks and candy (Eiji wanted some despite his agency advising against that, too), they took a metro train to Edogawa where Fuji lived, not too far away from the Kasai Rinkai park.
The building was quite clearly nicer than Fuji would have afforded if it wasn’t for his family’s support - something he was suddenly a little self-conscious about when guiding Eiji through the elevators and hallways to his apartment. Moreover, he was not usually one to invite many people over, so Eiji making a visit suddenly like this was definitely out of ordinary.
Not that Eiji was doing anything himself to make him feel awkward. When Fuji let him in the apartment and they made their way into the main room with moderate colours, few carefully selected furniture, photographs on the walls and big windows, Eiji just laughed.
“Wow, this is so you!” he said, dropping his bag down and making his way to the window. “Haha, you’re still growing cacti! Are these the same ones you had before?”
Setting the food and everything else on the dining table, Fuji smiled. “Yeah, some of them. I’ve added a few new ones during the last couple of years though. See the one with white fur-like hairs?”
“Oh that, that’s cool. Is it hard to grow?”
“Not too hard.” Fuji knew better than to bore Eiji with the details. “Should we eat?”
“Yeah! I’m starving!”
While Fuji took out the plates and utensils, Eiji poured their drinks on glasses.
“Did you know we’re not supposed to eat much of anything on photoshoot days? So our tummies don’t show, haha! Sometimes I give a lot of trouble to Kanda because of that, because I become cranky if I don’t eat.”
“I can imagine that. But he was really complimenting you to me today.”
“Really? What did he say, tell me everything!”
“Well, he said you were energetic and good with people, among other things. Nothing I could dispute.”
“Heeh. I guess that’s me!”
When everything was ready and they got to sit by the table, Eiji kept talking among eating.
“But really, I’m pretty happy that I get to do what I do. I mean, some people I know have been having a hard time getting signed up or the agencies they’re in are pretty crappy. Like they don’t give them enough work or make them go to shows no-one watches. Mine just tells me to not eat too much candy and go to the gym so I don’t become fat. Like, that’s okay right?”
“I guess it is. As long as you’re happy.”
Listening to Eiji talking about his life and work, it did seem to Fuji he was doing well and was genuinely into it. It made him feel relaxed, too. He remembered talking with Ooishi once, sometime before they graduated, about Eiji. Ooishi had been worried about Eiji’s dream of becoming an idol, and asked Fuji for advice on how to talk with him about it. Fuji had thought it best to just support their friend. He didn’t know if Ooishi had had that talk about the insecurities and difficulties of show business with him in the end. In hindsight it was a little funny to think about that - as if any of them knew what kind of lives they were heading towards at that point.
They also talked about old friends. Eiji knew Ooishi was still working hard on medical school. Tezuka was living abroad, playing professional tennis - as was Echizen, though he was in Japan right now. Taka-san had taken more responsibility of his family’s restaurant. They didn't know too much about the rest.
After eating, Eiji stretched out his hands over his head and let out a big sigh.
“Wow, I’m so beat!”
Fuji smiled at that, feeling a little worn out after the long day himself.
“You do look quite tired.”
“Yeah”, Eiji said, running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t even wash out all this stuff from my head after leaving the set. You’d be still waiting for me if I did, haha!”
“So you’re still as slow as ever with that kind of thing.”
“Easy for you to say when your hair looks good even if you do nothing to it!”
Fuji took a while in coming up with an answer, so Eiji leaned closer over the table and continued.
“Hey. I’m probably being rude and pushy here, but. Do you mind if I stay over?”
That took Fuji by surprise. “Oh.”
“I mean, I’m pretty tired already and don’t feel like going out there anymore, and it’s a long time since I’ve last seen you. So I thought it would be fun to hang out a little more. If that’s okay with you.”
Fuji wondered if his sister would have been able to foresee this, had she taken the time to read his cards recently. He ended up smiling and nodding.
“Of course, you’re welcome to stay. It’s not everyday a chance like this occurs.”
“Right?” Eiji said, his blue eyes brightening up. “Yay, thank you! I’ll leave in the morning so I won’t bother you for long, but I’ll stay for tonight.”
After they cleaned the table Eiji asked for a permission to use the shower, and shut himself in the bathroom with some clothes he dug up from his bag.
Glancing at the bags Eiji had left on the floor, Fuji took a moment to adjust to the situation. He was glad Eiji was staying over - but at the same time felt a little dazed thinking about how just in the morning they had not been in contact in a couple of years.
But here they were, those lost years quickly losing their impact as they got to know what each of them had been up to during that time. And truthfully, being together again and talking, it felt like they were just picking things off from where they had been left.
And while that was very much a good thing in the sense of regaining a good friend, but the other side of the feelings Fuji had thought he had left in past was also reminding him of its existence.
With those kind of thoughts rising up again, Fuji in turn reminded himself to not go there right now. Just getting their friendship back should have been enough to feel good about. Mixing it with old feelings of attraction was probably not a good idea.
So Fuji decided to steer his attention to safer topics. As he expected Eiji to take a while, he decided he should use the opportunity to sit down for a bit and upload the pictures from earlier. With that in mind he settled into a sofa with his camera and laptop and started going through the photos.
There was a lot of them. He deleted the ones with blurry lines, taken between poses, that he knew the agency wouldn’t use anyway.
With a vague sound of showering from the bathroom in the background, Fuji smiled looking at Eiji smiling in the photos. Despite his idea of concentrating on other kind of feelings for now, he could still see why it was that he had had a crush on Eiji years back. It wasn’t just about the pretty smile and bright eyes that were still the same as they had used to be. It was about a sense of authenticity that was still there. Fuji knew quite well how looks could be deceiving, and that was something photographers could use and work with. With Eiji, there was nothing false in his smile.
Then again, the more serious pictures were just as real. Skimming through the pictures of the second part of the shoot, Fuji wondered if Eiji’s manager and agency were able to tell. For Fuji himself, the expressions Eiji gave him were something familiar from their days of playing tennis. He wondered which games Eiji had thought of to inspire that serious concentration that made him look so sharp, dressed in the suit. Maybe the one against Kai from Higa, or matches against Rikkai, or against Shishido and Ootori from Hyoutei?
Fuji was still deep in thought when he heard Eiji coming back. He hadn’t dried his hair yet, and had a towel draped over his shoulders, wearing a t-shirt and jeans from the shoot.
“Hey, I didn’t find a hair-blower yet… oh, are you looking at the pictures from today? Let me see, let me see!”
Fuji turned the laptop placed on his legs a little to let Eiji see the screen better, while he came to sit right next to him and threw an arm over his shoulder to lean in closer.
“Your manager asked me to send these to your agency as they are, but I think I’ll do some preliminary picking and editing myself before that, after all”, he said as Eiji quieted down and looked at a picture of himself wearing a suit, looking straight into the camera.
Eiji wasn’t immediately saying anything, and Fuji realized he was again doing something out of the ordinary. He didn’t usually show his photos before choosing and editing them to anyone, especially to the model themself if he was working with people. There was something private about it.
He didn’t say anything. Eiji kept lightly leaning on him and going through the pictures. After a while he skipped back to the photos from the beginning.
Eventually he stopped. He leaned back a bit to look at Fuji, his arm still over his shoulder.
“Is that what I look like to you?”
The tone of his voice was one of genuine question. Fuji was a little taken aback by it, but he remembered he had promised to show that to Eiji.
“Yes.” He wondered if Eiji didn’t like the pictures - sometimes that happened when the model thought they had been captured in a way that wasn’t flattering for them. “Although not everything that makes a person appear as they do to other people can be captured on a film."
Eiji seemed to think about that for a bit, before asking. “Like their aura or something?”
Fuji smiled. Even Eiji had been made to listen to things like that years ago when Yumiko had been especially interested in that type of thing.
“Maybe. Or the relationship between the people in question, or their memories. Because they don’t only see what’s there right now, but the past as well.”
“Oh.”
Fuji watched Eiji’s eyes drift back to the screen and a photo of himself for a while, and then back to him.
“I wonder if that’s why I look so different in your photos. I mean, don’t ask me how, but you said you can’t capture everything, but I can see these are different from other people’s shots of me. And I wondered why it was like that.”
So even that hadn’t changed. Eiji was still the perceptive person he used to be. The fact that he couldn’t have placed his finger on the actual technical or artistic choices that made the end result different wasn’t relevant. The important thing was that he noticed and sensed it. Exactly how much he realized, Fuji didn’t know. And even if his initial instinct was to play it off, to laugh about it to keep his thoughts safe, he thought maybe he should have grown past that instinct by now.
So he said: “Maybe it is because of that shared past, that makes me see you in a different way than the others.”
Eiji didn’t immediately reply to that, apart from a little hum that left him looking thoughtful.
They were quiet for a while, sitting there with Eiji still pressed pretty close to him for looking at the PC screen. Fuji wondered what he was thinking about, but didn’t want to press for it and took in the moment instead. Eiji didn’t smell like hairspray and makeup anymore, but like Fuji’s own shampoo. He felt familiar like that, not dressed up for anything and easily touching despite the years of no contact just behind them.
Fuji could feel him breathing as his upper body expanded and drew back slightly, pressed against Fuji’s arm.
Until, without any warning, Eiji drew his arm out from where it had been on Fuji’s shoulder, grabbed his laptop and bent down to place it on the floor.
“Eiji..?” was all Fuji had the time to say before he turned back to him, crossing his legs to face him straight on and looking serious all of a sudden.
“Fuji, sorry, but listen to me for a bit. I need to get something off my chest and it might be a bit weird but don’t be mad at me, okay?”
Not being able to break the suddenly intense eye contact or say anything, Fuji breathed in a little deeper. Had Eiji realized something? Did he see through Fuji and what he (used to?) feel? Was he about to tell him that he didn’t appreciate that kind of - -
“Okay, so. This is probably silly, because we just met again and everything, and I have like no idea what you’re going to think about this, but. I just don’t want to have any regrets anymore, so, um. About that past you were talking about. You know I always liked being with you before, and now I’m just like, yeah, why would it be any different now. So I was wondering if we could… I mean, I know you’re probably pretty busy with your work and everything, and I guess I’m too, but I was thinking I want to keep seeing you after today.”
Despite his gaze wandering a little along with his words, in the end Eiji was again looking straight into Fuji’s eyes.
There was nothing that was weird about what Eiji was saying in itself. Yet still, listening to it, and looking at him, Fuji’s heartbeat was speeding up with a vague realization, or maybe just an hopeful intuition, that there was something there he hadn’t realized to anticipate.
If it hadn’t been for the uncharacteristically careful tone of Eiji’s voice, and the nervous fidgeting of his fingers, Fuji would have thought he was talking about things like meeting every once in awhile, maybe playing a few friendly games of tennis occasionally - just generally getting back to being friends again, wanting to make sure they didn’t drift apart again. But with those gestures, and the initial request to hear him out, Fuji wasn’t sure.
He suddenly felt like some things were on the verge of changing.
He had to make sure.
“When you say that, you…”
Eiji stopped chewing his lips at that and left out a big sigh.
“Okay, I’ll just say it. I mean, I would like all this”, he waved a hand between them, “stuff back, like hanging out and everything, but, um… Maybe not just as friends?”
Eiji’s cheeks were turning a little red and his eyes drifted away again. Fuji’s lips parted but he kept listening.
“Like… I don’t know what you meant by what you said earlier, about you seeing me in a way that’s different, but that’s what I’ve been thinking about you. Like, today, and earlier. But ahh, I’m saying way too much, now you say something before I embarrass myself even more!”
So, there it was. Despite Eiji asking for an response, Fuji needed a few breaths and lowered his eyes.
There was something between them.
What exactly it was, Fuji wasn’t sure. He couldn’t know if they even had a same idea about it - how could he, when he had just been trying to move his own vague feelings to the background.
But maybe the background wasn’t the right place for them anymore.
Maybe what Eiji was talking about, and what Fuji himself had been thinking about, wasn’t exactly the same. Maybe it was. Maybe it was something a similar to what they already used to have, years ago, without him having realized it. But maybe it was something different as well.
Either way, it was something. Fuji thought he wanted to know more about it. Find out if it was something that might be good.
He moved a little closer, their knees touching lightly as they now faced each other. Fuji lifted his eyes again to meet Eiji’s nervous ones, and suddenly felt a little less unsure.
“I think… I think I understand.”
Eiji blinked at that, and then asked.
“You do?”
Fuji nodded. “Yes.”
“And you... don’t think I’m being stupid?”
“I don’t. So I think you’re right, we should… spend some time together, and - - oh!”
In the blink of an eye, Fuji found himself looking at the roof through stray strands of red hair. There was a warm weight pressed on top of him - Eiji hugging him tightly, maybe mumbling something like ‘I’m so happy’ near his neck. Fuji couldn’t make out the words clear enough to be sure.
Lying there like that, close, felt both familiar and new. Wrapping his own arms around his friend’s back and closing his eyes, Fuji decided that for now, he liked both of those feelings.
Recipient: Mikah / bananayuki
Rating: T
Summary: When Fuji promises to help out a fellow photographer, he unexpectedly runs into an old friend.
"Good work today!" was something Fuji had only said to be polite when leaving the set in the early afternoon that day.
Normally, Fuji liked taking occasional breaks from his usual, more artistic work to do some commercial shoots - especially when it provided him with a chance to work with old friends from the tennis circuit. Taking their pictures for their promo materials was a good way to catch up with them every once in awhile.
Today had been one of those days. Fuji had been booked to photograph Echizen for an advertising campaign by a beverage brand he had a sponsorship deal with - a concept Fuji found sort of amusing. As it turned out though, this time the break from landscapes, architecture and the like hadn't been that refreshing. While Fuji considered himself pretty good at his work, he was not a magician. Echizen wasn't exactly bubbly under normal circumstances, and this time he was even less so after a recent loss to Sanada in a major tournament. Getting a smile even remotely natural out of him had been a challenge to say the least. Not that Fuji didn't like challenges, but if the other part wasn't willing to cooperate there was only so much he could do about it.
After a shoot that taxing, Fuji would have called it a day if he had the choice. Today he didn't. Just yesterday he had received word that unfortunately, a colleague from an earlier co-project had suddenly fallen ill, and Fuji had been asked to take a shoot booked for him. Not wanting to leave them in trouble, he had agreed and was currently heading to the appointed studio.
The taxi trip there provided Fuji with some time to go over the very limited details given to him by the colleague. He was to photograph an upcoming idol - which one, the mail didn't say, and to be honest Fuji probably wouldn't have been much wiser if it did as he hadn’t really been paying all that much attention to the entertainment business these days.
Normally he would have liked to do some reading on the person to be photographed, but since it wasn't possible given the available information and time, he consoled himself with his colleague's words.
'Should be an easy shoot. The model is expressive and easy-going, so doing your usual good job will be more than fine. The agency will take care of editing too, so just get some pretty shots and they will take care of the rest.'
That was some relief - after doing it a few times, Fuji had grown rather bored of doing the whole thing, complete with editing, for idol photography. Somehow it seemed like the agencies wanted everyone to look the same, and asked for all the quirks to be smoothed out. So if this time Fuji just needed to take the pictures and leave the rest to the agency to do what they wanted, that was fine with him.
Finally the taxi made it to Akihabara where the studio was located. After paying for the ride, Fuji headed in.
The idol-to-be's manager, called Kanda, was already there to greet him in the lobby. A nice seeming, well-dressed man in his thirties, he greeted Fuji politely and thanked him for coming to help them out. After exchanging pleasantries and making their way to the studio itself and setting his things down, Fuji was given a tour of the set they had put up. No big surprises there - basic studio backgrounds, and flowers, air-balloons - and a fake pistol for props. The last one was a bit of a surprise, but nothing he hadn't seen before.
After familiarizing Fuji with the set, the equipment and studio assistants, the manager pulled Fuji to the side to discuss the idol, who had so far been nowhere to be seen.
"I'm sorry it is like this, but I should warn you the star of the day seems to be having bit of a bad day. He's not always so good with changes, and was a little agitated to hear about changes to the crew today. Please don't take it personally if he says something about it, we are actually most grateful you are here to help us today on such a short notice - -"
‘Oh my’, thought Fuji and kept smiling as he listened to the worried looking man oscillating between warnings and reassurances. So much for an easy-going model, then. It sounded like he was in for another difficult shoot today.
It was a little disheartening, but there was no helping it. Just as Fuji was about to try and assure both himself and the manager they would probably be okay, a loud squeal took both him and Kanda by surprise.
"Oh my god, it's Fujiko-chan!"
Before Fuji quite knew what hit him, he was suddenly swallowed up in a tight hug by someone who smelled like hairspray and makeup. Someone who was a bit taller than him, someone whose red hair was brushing against his face.
Someone who used to call him by that name years ago.
"Eiji, is it you? No one told me - -"
"I can't believe this, it's actually Fujiko - -"
Talking on top of each other, they laughed when they pulled away from the hug to see each other for the first time in several years.
It really was Eiji. Seeing the familiar face with round eyes, updrawn eyebrows and bright skin Fuji was immediately hit with a warm feeling of nostalgia. Despite the years and makeup, with the widest of grins lighting up his face, Eiji looked almost exactly like he used to.
Before their get-together got any further, the manager who had been talking to Fuji earlier piped in.
"Oh, you know each other from before? This is unexpected!"
"We do!" Eiji told him excitedly, not even needing a minute to adjust to the situation, instantly throwing his arm over Fuji's shoulders. "We're really good friends, we used to play tennis together in the same team in middle school! Wow, it's been so long! But, Fujiko - um, Fuji, what are you doing here? Did you come to see me? I'm supposed to be photoshooting right now but maybe I should cancel it?"
"What, cancel? Kikumaru-kun, please don't say something like that!"
"No need to call it off, Eiji", Fuji said with a laugh, waving his hand at the panicky looking manager. "Actually I'm here to fill in for the photographer. Although I heard it's someone you usually work with, but maybe - -"
"Fuji is here to take my pictures? Why didn't anyone tell me! I was being annoyed and making you wait for nothing!”
“Now, now, Kikumaru-kun…” the manager tried to stop him from saying anymore, shooting an apologetic smile at Fuji. But Eiji wasn’t so easily silenced.
“Fuji”, he said, pulling him closer and grinning as if no years had passed between them since middle school. “Kanda here might be a little nervous since he doesn’t know you and he’s worked his ass off for me lately so he’s pretty stressed, you see? But I know if it’s you, we’ll have a great shoot. So what do you say we do this first and chat later? I wanna know what you’ve been up to so we seriously need to hang out after this!”
Glancing at the nervous manager and excited looking old friend in turns, Fuji smiled and nodded. “You’re reading my mind, Eiji.”
It seemed like this shoot was going to be a little easier than the one in the morning after all.
- -
So they got to work.
The first part was nothing unsurprising in itself - Eiji with flowers, Eiji with the balloons, just Eiji being himself.
Unlike the morning shoot with Echizen, this one flowed on without any trouble. Fuji didn’t exactly need to guide his subject to smile more, try to look more natural or give him different poses to try out. On the contrary, he could tell Eiji was already well trained in the industry and was familiar to being in front of the camera.
Though maybe it was not just that. It was probably that experience combined with the natural, boyish charm he had always had.
Not that Eiji was just boyish anymore. As the photographs accumulated, Fuji became increasingly aware of the little changes to what his former close friend used to look like. He was taller, his shoulders a little wider. His hair was a little more toned down - still red, but this time a little wavy instead of being flipped up at the ends, some of it falling on his temples and eyes.
The eyes where the same though. Looking at them through his camera, Fuji recognized a playful glint he had seen on the tennis courts they had shared before. It was a good look, one that would look great in the pictures.
They really concentrated on their work for now, even if there was a temptation to just run through it. After a couple of years with next-to-no contact, there was bound to be a lot to talk about, but that woudl have to wait for a while.
During that first set Eiji had changed t-shirts and cardigans a couple of times, but eventually it was a time for him to change everything and get his make-up refreshed. That meant a break for everyone else.
“Good work, Fuji-san!” said the manager, coming to sit down with Fuji with a tray loaded with cups of coffee, fruit and snacks. “How are we doing? Do you think we’ll get some good shots?”
“Oh, sure. Eiji is making the job easy for me, so I think we’ll be just fine,” Fuji answered, receiving the coffee handed to him with a smile.
“That’s a relief! But it’s true, I can tell Kikumaru-kun has been having a good day ever since he realized he would be working you today. We’re really grateful you were able to save us today!”
“Well, I also had a chance to meet an old friend like this, so it’s probably me who should be thanking you.”
“Sometimes coincidences like these turn out really well, don’t you think? But really, even with this short time, I see you really work well together. It’s not everyday Kikumaru-kun puts in this level of effort.”
With that statement, Fuji’s curiosity was piqued. “Oh?”
“Well,” said Kanda, seemingly thinking of how to put it, “it's often wonderful how he is so energetic, that’s really essential in this business. But since you know him from before, maybe you know, he can be a little willful at times. And it can be good thing, too, but sometimes it takes a bit of work to make everything really click. But, it seems like everything is going really well today!”
Listening to the assistant’s description, Fuji’s memories of middle school times slowly startedto surface. They were happy memories - having shared a class with Eiji, he was the one team member and classmate Fuji had spent the most time with. The willfulness the assistant talked about was probably something all of the people in Seigaku tennis club had needed, to gain their place in the team that had made them grow so close. Thinking about it now, though, Fuji thought Eiji had probably done more than his part in building that group of people into a true team in the first place.
“I see your meaning. But I would also say it's often Eiji himself who helps everyone else find their place and purpose.”
“Oh, I definitely agree with that! He can really pull a group together. When he joined his current agency, it took literally no time for him to fit right in and make everyone feel at ease.”
Fuji laughed at that, as it sounded very much like the old Eiji.
“He always did have that talent.”
Gradually the conversation shifted back to matters more closely related to the work at hand - how long the next phase of the shoot would take, when Fuji would be able to send the pictures to the agency, was everything in order with the matter of compensation and so on.
The break ended when Eiji waltzed back into the set with a whole new outfit. Fuji had not known what was to come, so Eiji bouncing in with a “ta dah!” wasn’t the only thing to surprise him.
If the first part of the shoot was about getting a typical, fresh and boyish idol look, the second part was going to be something different. When Eiji stopped in front of Fuji and his manager, he was dressed in a dark blue, almost black suit with shiny dress shoes. He made a little twirl to show himself off.
“Well, what do you think? Do I look more mature now?”
“Yes, yes! This is good, Akira-san really found a fitting suit for you! I’m sure the agency will be very happy with this!”
From their exchange, Fuji recalled the manager saying earlier that they wanted to diversify Eiji’s image. Looking at this old friend, suddenly looking a little older and sharper in the new outfit when he stopped bouncing around to listen to his manager, Fuji could easily agree that diversity was what they would get.
When Eiji turned his eyes to look at Fuji, he couldn’t help noticing the blue of his eyes matching the colour of the suit.
“What about you, Fuji? Do you think I look good like this?"
It was the first time for Fuji to see Eiji look so formal. When he was younger he wasn't one for getting dressed up in that sense, complaining it was too constricting. But seeing him now, taller than he used to be and the red hair parted at the side, contrasting with the dark suit, he looked... aesthetically pleasing.
"You do.” He felt he needed to lighten that a bit. “Is that an Armani suit?”
“It is! But that’s good.” Eiji looked a little relieved and laughed. “I’m not really used to dressing like this so it feels pretty weird to me. But if you think this is good then maybe it looks okay!”
Smiling at the little blush on Eiji’s cheeks, Fuji got up and patted his friend on his arm.
“Well, maybe we should get back to work then. I’ll show you what it looks like to me.”
- -
Despite the change in atmosphere in favour of more concentration compared to the first part of the shoot - or maybe exactly because of it - the pictures were slower in piling up.
The first part had been about getting a fun and relaxed feeling, and that was something that came naturally in their cooperation and didn’t need much tweaking and thinking about. But now, while Eiji did look good in the suit, and it being a good quality one it really flattered him and seemed to fit him well, it did take some more effort to make sure everything was in the right place for all the different poses. Having spent some time at Yumiko’s company’s cocktail parties, Fuji was well aware of exactly how many centimeters the shirt sleeve was supposed to show from beneath the jacket, how to elegantly fold and place the pocket square and so on.
So even if it took some time, Fuji wanted to make sure details like that were made right. On top of that, he took a more active role in guiding Eiji’s poses and expressions.
They also took some pictures with the fake pistol that had been prepared for this setup. Eiji had some fun doing silly poses at first, prompting everyone to check out his agent 007 style and making them laugh at the overly serious faces he made. They did get back to taking proper pictures eventually, and Eiji did a good job looking like a young member of the yakuza. Somewhere in the background Fuji heard the makeup artist lamenting they hadn’t had the time to draw any tattoos on his neck to peek out from beneath the collar of the suit. It could have made the image even more striking.
At some point, when Fuji was helping Eiji fix the sleeves and the position of his wristwatch, he vaguely thought maybe the photoshoot with Echizen would have been easier, had he been given the chance to go for this type of look too instead of the smiley, happy image that they forced on him. Eiji in turn would have cleared that style with no problem in his stead.
“What’re you smiling about?”
“Oh, nothing in particular.” Fuji lifted his gaze to look Eiji in the eye now. “This is going well.”
Eiji looked back at him for a second, and then sighed. “You think so? I trust you but I’m still feeling a little weird in this.” he said, making a big gesture with his arms at the whole suit thing, and ended up messing up the sleeves again. They laughed about it, and fixed it again.
Before getting back behind his camera, Fuji thought of a suggestion.
“Would it help you get in the mood if you thought of some old issues? A particularly tough game in the Nationals, for example.”
“Huh. Maybe I’ll try that!”
When Fuji next saw Eiji through the camera, he had some pretty intense expressions to photograph.
- -
It took a while, but finally they were done. Before running off to get changed, Eiji had grabbed Fuji's arm and made his wishes clear.
"Fuji, you’re not busy now, right? We should totally go out today and talk! You know, let's get some food and drinks and everything!"
It had been a long day, but for once, Fuji didn't feel like hurrying home. They had really concentrated on getting the work done first and hadn’t had the time to chat much at all. So there he was, sitting in the lobby of the studio building waiting for Eiji to come down.
He really had been surprised to run into Eiji here. They hadn’t been keeping in contact, so he had never known that Eiji was working for the agency in question.
Thinking of the work they’d done today, Fuji quietly laughed at himself for asking Eiji to think of the old times for inspiration. Sure, it had done the trick for getting the kind of mood for the photos he wanted, but it was also asking Eiji to do the same thing he was doing himself.
It wasn’t a choice for him, though. Ever since he first saw Eiji today, he couldn't help the old memories gradually appearing again.
To Fuji, Eiji had not only been his closest school friend and teammate in terms of the time they had spent together. The truth was, during the years they had shared their daily life, Fuji had found himself drawn to him in a way that hadn’t really happened with anyone else in quite the same way.
It had probably started sometime during their second year when Fuji had had a bad day. One of his cacti was dying and there was trouble at home with Yuuta. Still, he wasn't one to show that in school and was careful to keep his thoughts to himself and a smile to his face.
Almost everyone bought that. It was just Eiji who asked if everything was okay.
Fuji hadn't immediately opened up to him - it simply wasn't in his nature - but somehow that might have been the beginning of his growing respect for Eiji. He already knew the fun-loving, easy-going side of him wasn't all there was to the red-headed acrobat, but after that, Fuji had started wondering about him.
It didn't seem like Eiji was ever faking or purposefully hiding something, though. That was another thing that Fuji was a little impressed with.
While slowly growing closer to Eiji, Fuji had found himself noticing nice things about him, both big and small. The affection he had for his whole big family despite complaining about the trouble of making breakfast for them in the morning. The way he picked at a corner of the band-aid on his cheek during a difficult tests and then tried to get it to stay on again after he realized what he was doing. How his writing turned round and airy when he was in an especially good mood, passing messages to Fuji during class.
Sometimes Fuji had played a guessing game with himself, trying to predict which toothpaste flavour Eiji had used on a given day. It was something he could do, because inevitably, every morning in their third year Eiji would get close to him in morning practise or the first class, to greet him, ask to copy his homework or just to chat about whatever was on his mind each day.
At some point, Fuji had heard there were girls in their school who liked to think something was going on between them. And even if there was a part of him that was a little happy about that idea, ultimately, it served to make him more reserved about it all. Not because he minded someone saying that about them in itself, but because he thought it might disturb Eiji and their friendship. He had been careful not to cross any lines and to keep his attraction - which, by that point, he hadn't had the chance but to admit to himself - a secret.
In the end, contrary to the gossip, nothing happened between them. They won the Nationals with their team, graduated from Seigaku and went their own ways, promising to keep in contact.
Thinking back on it now, Fuji didn’t exactly feel regretful. Things had probably went the way that was for the best. Still, maybe there had been too much caution in his thinking during those days. Why else would he had let a best friend drift so far that they would only run into each other by a coincidence and be surprised to see each other now?
Finally, Fuji’s reminiscing was brought to an end when Eiji dashed out of the elevator, spotted him and came over saying “let’s go, let’s go!” with that bright smile that Fuji had been so used to seeing years ago. Seeing it again now it was easy to get up and smile back.
- -
Eiji knew a good Korean restaurant nearby, so that’s where they headed first. After a minute of chatting Eiji had the night planned out for them. First they’d get takeaway, then pick up something nice to drink, and then head to Fuji’s place (“I have to see where you live now!”).
While waiting for the food, Fuji already learned a lot about Eiji’s life as it had been recently. He talked about always being super excited but also tired after auditions, photoshoots, commercial recordings and so on. He liked his manager, the one who was at the photoshoot earlier - they didn’t always see eye to eye but he had arranged a lot of work for him. He lived close to where he usually went for work. He didn’t play tennis anymore. The agency had told him it wasn’t the best choice of exercise and suggested he just go to the gym instead. ‘How boring!’ he complained.
He asked a lot of questions as well. About what Fuji had been doing, if he had kept in contact with the others, if he was dating anyone. Fuji told him a little about the photography exhibitions he had been able to have in a couple of galleries that liked to welcome his work, but they ended up talking more about his less usual work, such as the promo shoots for old friends and rivals like Echizen and Sanada earlier that day. They agreed they should really organize a big get-together sometime so everyone could catch up with each other properly.
After getting the food and doing a little shopping for drinks and candy (Eiji wanted some despite his agency advising against that, too), they took a metro train to Edogawa where Fuji lived, not too far away from the Kasai Rinkai park.
The building was quite clearly nicer than Fuji would have afforded if it wasn’t for his family’s support - something he was suddenly a little self-conscious about when guiding Eiji through the elevators and hallways to his apartment. Moreover, he was not usually one to invite many people over, so Eiji making a visit suddenly like this was definitely out of ordinary.
Not that Eiji was doing anything himself to make him feel awkward. When Fuji let him in the apartment and they made their way into the main room with moderate colours, few carefully selected furniture, photographs on the walls and big windows, Eiji just laughed.
“Wow, this is so you!” he said, dropping his bag down and making his way to the window. “Haha, you’re still growing cacti! Are these the same ones you had before?”
Setting the food and everything else on the dining table, Fuji smiled. “Yeah, some of them. I’ve added a few new ones during the last couple of years though. See the one with white fur-like hairs?”
“Oh that, that’s cool. Is it hard to grow?”
“Not too hard.” Fuji knew better than to bore Eiji with the details. “Should we eat?”
“Yeah! I’m starving!”
While Fuji took out the plates and utensils, Eiji poured their drinks on glasses.
“Did you know we’re not supposed to eat much of anything on photoshoot days? So our tummies don’t show, haha! Sometimes I give a lot of trouble to Kanda because of that, because I become cranky if I don’t eat.”
“I can imagine that. But he was really complimenting you to me today.”
“Really? What did he say, tell me everything!”
“Well, he said you were energetic and good with people, among other things. Nothing I could dispute.”
“Heeh. I guess that’s me!”
When everything was ready and they got to sit by the table, Eiji kept talking among eating.
“But really, I’m pretty happy that I get to do what I do. I mean, some people I know have been having a hard time getting signed up or the agencies they’re in are pretty crappy. Like they don’t give them enough work or make them go to shows no-one watches. Mine just tells me to not eat too much candy and go to the gym so I don’t become fat. Like, that’s okay right?”
“I guess it is. As long as you’re happy.”
Listening to Eiji talking about his life and work, it did seem to Fuji he was doing well and was genuinely into it. It made him feel relaxed, too. He remembered talking with Ooishi once, sometime before they graduated, about Eiji. Ooishi had been worried about Eiji’s dream of becoming an idol, and asked Fuji for advice on how to talk with him about it. Fuji had thought it best to just support their friend. He didn’t know if Ooishi had had that talk about the insecurities and difficulties of show business with him in the end. In hindsight it was a little funny to think about that - as if any of them knew what kind of lives they were heading towards at that point.
They also talked about old friends. Eiji knew Ooishi was still working hard on medical school. Tezuka was living abroad, playing professional tennis - as was Echizen, though he was in Japan right now. Taka-san had taken more responsibility of his family’s restaurant. They didn't know too much about the rest.
After eating, Eiji stretched out his hands over his head and let out a big sigh.
“Wow, I’m so beat!”
Fuji smiled at that, feeling a little worn out after the long day himself.
“You do look quite tired.”
“Yeah”, Eiji said, running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t even wash out all this stuff from my head after leaving the set. You’d be still waiting for me if I did, haha!”
“So you’re still as slow as ever with that kind of thing.”
“Easy for you to say when your hair looks good even if you do nothing to it!”
Fuji took a while in coming up with an answer, so Eiji leaned closer over the table and continued.
“Hey. I’m probably being rude and pushy here, but. Do you mind if I stay over?”
That took Fuji by surprise. “Oh.”
“I mean, I’m pretty tired already and don’t feel like going out there anymore, and it’s a long time since I’ve last seen you. So I thought it would be fun to hang out a little more. If that’s okay with you.”
Fuji wondered if his sister would have been able to foresee this, had she taken the time to read his cards recently. He ended up smiling and nodding.
“Of course, you’re welcome to stay. It’s not everyday a chance like this occurs.”
“Right?” Eiji said, his blue eyes brightening up. “Yay, thank you! I’ll leave in the morning so I won’t bother you for long, but I’ll stay for tonight.”
After they cleaned the table Eiji asked for a permission to use the shower, and shut himself in the bathroom with some clothes he dug up from his bag.
Glancing at the bags Eiji had left on the floor, Fuji took a moment to adjust to the situation. He was glad Eiji was staying over - but at the same time felt a little dazed thinking about how just in the morning they had not been in contact in a couple of years.
But here they were, those lost years quickly losing their impact as they got to know what each of them had been up to during that time. And truthfully, being together again and talking, it felt like they were just picking things off from where they had been left.
And while that was very much a good thing in the sense of regaining a good friend, but the other side of the feelings Fuji had thought he had left in past was also reminding him of its existence.
With those kind of thoughts rising up again, Fuji in turn reminded himself to not go there right now. Just getting their friendship back should have been enough to feel good about. Mixing it with old feelings of attraction was probably not a good idea.
So Fuji decided to steer his attention to safer topics. As he expected Eiji to take a while, he decided he should use the opportunity to sit down for a bit and upload the pictures from earlier. With that in mind he settled into a sofa with his camera and laptop and started going through the photos.
There was a lot of them. He deleted the ones with blurry lines, taken between poses, that he knew the agency wouldn’t use anyway.
With a vague sound of showering from the bathroom in the background, Fuji smiled looking at Eiji smiling in the photos. Despite his idea of concentrating on other kind of feelings for now, he could still see why it was that he had had a crush on Eiji years back. It wasn’t just about the pretty smile and bright eyes that were still the same as they had used to be. It was about a sense of authenticity that was still there. Fuji knew quite well how looks could be deceiving, and that was something photographers could use and work with. With Eiji, there was nothing false in his smile.
Then again, the more serious pictures were just as real. Skimming through the pictures of the second part of the shoot, Fuji wondered if Eiji’s manager and agency were able to tell. For Fuji himself, the expressions Eiji gave him were something familiar from their days of playing tennis. He wondered which games Eiji had thought of to inspire that serious concentration that made him look so sharp, dressed in the suit. Maybe the one against Kai from Higa, or matches against Rikkai, or against Shishido and Ootori from Hyoutei?
Fuji was still deep in thought when he heard Eiji coming back. He hadn’t dried his hair yet, and had a towel draped over his shoulders, wearing a t-shirt and jeans from the shoot.
“Hey, I didn’t find a hair-blower yet… oh, are you looking at the pictures from today? Let me see, let me see!”
Fuji turned the laptop placed on his legs a little to let Eiji see the screen better, while he came to sit right next to him and threw an arm over his shoulder to lean in closer.
“Your manager asked me to send these to your agency as they are, but I think I’ll do some preliminary picking and editing myself before that, after all”, he said as Eiji quieted down and looked at a picture of himself wearing a suit, looking straight into the camera.
Eiji wasn’t immediately saying anything, and Fuji realized he was again doing something out of the ordinary. He didn’t usually show his photos before choosing and editing them to anyone, especially to the model themself if he was working with people. There was something private about it.
He didn’t say anything. Eiji kept lightly leaning on him and going through the pictures. After a while he skipped back to the photos from the beginning.
Eventually he stopped. He leaned back a bit to look at Fuji, his arm still over his shoulder.
“Is that what I look like to you?”
The tone of his voice was one of genuine question. Fuji was a little taken aback by it, but he remembered he had promised to show that to Eiji.
“Yes.” He wondered if Eiji didn’t like the pictures - sometimes that happened when the model thought they had been captured in a way that wasn’t flattering for them. “Although not everything that makes a person appear as they do to other people can be captured on a film."
Eiji seemed to think about that for a bit, before asking. “Like their aura or something?”
Fuji smiled. Even Eiji had been made to listen to things like that years ago when Yumiko had been especially interested in that type of thing.
“Maybe. Or the relationship between the people in question, or their memories. Because they don’t only see what’s there right now, but the past as well.”
“Oh.”
Fuji watched Eiji’s eyes drift back to the screen and a photo of himself for a while, and then back to him.
“I wonder if that’s why I look so different in your photos. I mean, don’t ask me how, but you said you can’t capture everything, but I can see these are different from other people’s shots of me. And I wondered why it was like that.”
So even that hadn’t changed. Eiji was still the perceptive person he used to be. The fact that he couldn’t have placed his finger on the actual technical or artistic choices that made the end result different wasn’t relevant. The important thing was that he noticed and sensed it. Exactly how much he realized, Fuji didn’t know. And even if his initial instinct was to play it off, to laugh about it to keep his thoughts safe, he thought maybe he should have grown past that instinct by now.
So he said: “Maybe it is because of that shared past, that makes me see you in a different way than the others.”
Eiji didn’t immediately reply to that, apart from a little hum that left him looking thoughtful.
They were quiet for a while, sitting there with Eiji still pressed pretty close to him for looking at the PC screen. Fuji wondered what he was thinking about, but didn’t want to press for it and took in the moment instead. Eiji didn’t smell like hairspray and makeup anymore, but like Fuji’s own shampoo. He felt familiar like that, not dressed up for anything and easily touching despite the years of no contact just behind them.
Fuji could feel him breathing as his upper body expanded and drew back slightly, pressed against Fuji’s arm.
Until, without any warning, Eiji drew his arm out from where it had been on Fuji’s shoulder, grabbed his laptop and bent down to place it on the floor.
“Eiji..?” was all Fuji had the time to say before he turned back to him, crossing his legs to face him straight on and looking serious all of a sudden.
“Fuji, sorry, but listen to me for a bit. I need to get something off my chest and it might be a bit weird but don’t be mad at me, okay?”
Not being able to break the suddenly intense eye contact or say anything, Fuji breathed in a little deeper. Had Eiji realized something? Did he see through Fuji and what he (used to?) feel? Was he about to tell him that he didn’t appreciate that kind of - -
“Okay, so. This is probably silly, because we just met again and everything, and I have like no idea what you’re going to think about this, but. I just don’t want to have any regrets anymore, so, um. About that past you were talking about. You know I always liked being with you before, and now I’m just like, yeah, why would it be any different now. So I was wondering if we could… I mean, I know you’re probably pretty busy with your work and everything, and I guess I’m too, but I was thinking I want to keep seeing you after today.”
Despite his gaze wandering a little along with his words, in the end Eiji was again looking straight into Fuji’s eyes.
There was nothing that was weird about what Eiji was saying in itself. Yet still, listening to it, and looking at him, Fuji’s heartbeat was speeding up with a vague realization, or maybe just an hopeful intuition, that there was something there he hadn’t realized to anticipate.
If it hadn’t been for the uncharacteristically careful tone of Eiji’s voice, and the nervous fidgeting of his fingers, Fuji would have thought he was talking about things like meeting every once in awhile, maybe playing a few friendly games of tennis occasionally - just generally getting back to being friends again, wanting to make sure they didn’t drift apart again. But with those gestures, and the initial request to hear him out, Fuji wasn’t sure.
He suddenly felt like some things were on the verge of changing.
He had to make sure.
“When you say that, you…”
Eiji stopped chewing his lips at that and left out a big sigh.
“Okay, I’ll just say it. I mean, I would like all this”, he waved a hand between them, “stuff back, like hanging out and everything, but, um… Maybe not just as friends?”
Eiji’s cheeks were turning a little red and his eyes drifted away again. Fuji’s lips parted but he kept listening.
“Like… I don’t know what you meant by what you said earlier, about you seeing me in a way that’s different, but that’s what I’ve been thinking about you. Like, today, and earlier. But ahh, I’m saying way too much, now you say something before I embarrass myself even more!”
So, there it was. Despite Eiji asking for an response, Fuji needed a few breaths and lowered his eyes.
There was something between them.
What exactly it was, Fuji wasn’t sure. He couldn’t know if they even had a same idea about it - how could he, when he had just been trying to move his own vague feelings to the background.
But maybe the background wasn’t the right place for them anymore.
Maybe what Eiji was talking about, and what Fuji himself had been thinking about, wasn’t exactly the same. Maybe it was. Maybe it was something a similar to what they already used to have, years ago, without him having realized it. But maybe it was something different as well.
Either way, it was something. Fuji thought he wanted to know more about it. Find out if it was something that might be good.
He moved a little closer, their knees touching lightly as they now faced each other. Fuji lifted his eyes again to meet Eiji’s nervous ones, and suddenly felt a little less unsure.
“I think… I think I understand.”
Eiji blinked at that, and then asked.
“You do?”
Fuji nodded. “Yes.”
“And you... don’t think I’m being stupid?”
“I don’t. So I think you’re right, we should… spend some time together, and - - oh!”
In the blink of an eye, Fuji found himself looking at the roof through stray strands of red hair. There was a warm weight pressed on top of him - Eiji hugging him tightly, maybe mumbling something like ‘I’m so happy’ near his neck. Fuji couldn’t make out the words clear enough to be sure.
Lying there like that, close, felt both familiar and new. Wrapping his own arms around his friend’s back and closing his eyes, Fuji decided that for now, he liked both of those feelings.