[FIC] The Next Step, akame
Title: The Next Step
Pairings: akame + kat-tun love (+ pikame if you squint)
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine :(
Summary: Five ways they get over it.
Notes: Thank you misao_duo for reading it as I wrote, lilmatchgirl007 for demanding the right to look it over, and lonelybusiness for editing! You'd think I would not need that much help for a paltry 1000 words. You would be wrong.
1.
When Kame walks in the next day he sees Jin listening quietly to Nakamaru, who speaks in soft low soothing tones and smiles cautiously. Jin tugs the sleeves of his sweatshirt over his hands and presses his face into cloth-covered palms while Nakamaru pauses and Ueda walks tentatively over, sits down next to Jin and puts his fingertips on Jin’s shoulder. When Jin looks up his eyes are dry and he lets Nakamaru and Ueda murmur at him for a long moment before he smiles, just slightly.
Koki bursts into the room, shouting good morning and grinning hugely; it only takes a second for him to read the atmosphere. He charges forward unrepentantly and asks if they’ve eaten yet. Kame has; he just got back from lunch with- he stops and just nods. Jin’s jaw locks and Nakamaru and Ueda exchange resigned looks. But Jin surprises them all: he looks up with a small quirk of the corner of his mouth, eyes still bitter brown but melting, and asks if Koki’s buying, lilt of his voice almost natural. Koki laughs, loud in the fragile quiet of the room. Everything seems to brighten when he says of course.
On their way out Nakamaru asks Kame, haltingly, if he’d like to come. Their eyes and Jin’s quiet tell Kame to say no. He’s full. Nakamaru nods and they move on, Koki talking excitedly about what Sakura-chan did today that was so adorable; they snag Taguchi in the hallway and herd him along.
Kame explains to their choreographer what happened and apologizes for all of them; he asks if it would be okay, just this once, if they delayed their lesson for an hour and reconvened then? He soothes their manager: they already know most of the choreography anyway. It’s good for the team dynamic to spend time together.
He’s ready when the manager asks, “Then why aren’t you with the rest of KAT-TUN?”
Kame thinks of Nobuta power and says, “Because I’m the leader.”
2.
Kame sits in silence for a moment, cell phone held to his ear. His cheek is getting hot; he’s been on the phone for too long.
“All you ever had to say was that. You didn’t have to go away for that,” he finally says.
“Are you kidding?” Jin laughs, slightly broken. “It took me an entire ocean just to call you.”
“Six months to actually say something,” Kame says, and Jin laughs again; better.
Kame waits a moment, then: “Say it again,” he asks quietly, and feels something start to ease in his chest when Jin murmurs, “I missed you.”
3.
Koki manages to keep it all in when they’re out in New York, brokering the most important deal of their lives. Jin looks too cocky, sitting across the table from him, quiet but smiling when Nakamaru and Ueda tease him about his long hair. Taguchi sits and laughs too loudly at everything everyone says - Koki thinks he’s either nervous or completely at ease. Kame sits next to Jin and just watches him like he’s afraid that if he glances away again, Jin will leave for good. Koki bites down the scowl; he’s not sure he even wants this to happen.
Jin meets his gaze. He nudges at Nakamaru to scoot over so he can get up; Kame follows his moves with furrowed eyebrows. Jin shuffles over to Koki and asks, “Can we talk?”
Koki just looks at him for a hard moment, arms crossed over his chest. “Now’s not a good time.”
“Now’s the, uh, best time,” Jin says. “It’s New York. No one can understand us.”
He stands and waits until Koki sighs and has to get up and follow Jin outside the restaurant to the busy night streets where they’re just anonymous annoying people who stand in the middle of the sidewalk. There’s already a couple going at it on the other side of the street, a girl shrieking hysterically at a boy who waves his hands calmingly and tries to shout over her. So Koki figures it’s okay to say, “You know, it wasn’t fair,” and then before he knows it he’s on a roll. He almost shouts, catches himself, and then thinks what the hell and does shout, and by the end it just fades into a quiet, “You left us.” Jin just stands there and takes it, nodding, distress lining his face and making his mouth tighten.
“I understand,” Jin says seriously at the very end, when Koki’s done and breathing hard, eyes a little wet. “I was lonely without you guys, too.”
He looks at Koki with an awkward barely-smile to try to make it okay and Koki wants to shout again because that’s not the point, you left us alone to deal with everything and you think the weight on your shoulders was a lonely feeling?
Except that that sort of is the point, and Koki’s still angry but not as much anymore, and the couple across the street is making up as well so Koki thinks what the hell again and hugs Jin. Jin stands stiffly, still unused to people touching him spontaneously in public, but after a moment he laughs and hugs Koki back.
“American teddy bears weren’t the same,” Jin says when he pulls away. He opens his mouth and laughs loudly when Koki swats the back of his head and shoves him back towards the entrance of the restaurant.
4.
Jin’s not surprised when he steps off the plane and he sees Pi in a ridiculous hat and huge shades, holding a sloppy sign that says “BAKANISHI’S HOME!!!” in pink marker with the last few characters squished thin because he ran out of room. Pi throws an arm around him and grins while the cameras flash around them and their bodyguards squeeze between them and a gathering crowd.
“You idiot,” Jin hisses while they’re walking fast to the car, “why did you write my name so big? Now people know who we are!”
“I wrote it in English,” Pi says, proud and mysterious. He pauses and then says, “Uh, didn’t you notice?”
Jin hadn’t. He’s not surprised; now things come to him in a mix of English and Japanese. Sometimes he has to concentrate a little to make sure the words don’t all run into each other and come out strangely. He stumbles in his Japanese enough already.
“Backseat,” Pi says when they move out the VIP exit and Pi’s car is parked on the empty exit driveway.
“Eh, why?” Jin asks, thrown for a moment. “Just because I was gone for six months doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t get to ride shotgun-”
“L.A. didn’t make you smarter,” Pi interrupts as he opens the back door.
Jin is surprised when Kame peeks out uncertainly, his hair perfect and his arms too skinny when Jin scrambles in and cups his face and kisses him.
5.
They’re all still grinning when they bow one last time and run offstage, their fans screaming for more. Kame’s face hurts from smiling so much. He still hasn’t let go of Jin’s hand from when he’d taken it for their group bow.
Jin looks over at him, sweaty and exhausted and excited and happy, looking just like the rest of them. Looking just like one of them.
“You’re never leaving again,” Kame says when they step into their dressing room, which feels loudly silent while he still has the roar of the crowd lingering in his ears. He means to say it jokingly but it comes out too quiet, vehement. The others glance over and wait, smiles fading.
Jin just laughs and says, “If I do, you’re coming with me.”
Pairings: akame + kat-tun love (+ pikame if you squint)
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine :(
Summary: Five ways they get over it.
Notes: Thank you misao_duo for reading it as I wrote, lilmatchgirl007 for demanding the right to look it over, and lonelybusiness for editing! You'd think I would not need that much help for a paltry 1000 words. You would be wrong.
1.
When Kame walks in the next day he sees Jin listening quietly to Nakamaru, who speaks in soft low soothing tones and smiles cautiously. Jin tugs the sleeves of his sweatshirt over his hands and presses his face into cloth-covered palms while Nakamaru pauses and Ueda walks tentatively over, sits down next to Jin and puts his fingertips on Jin’s shoulder. When Jin looks up his eyes are dry and he lets Nakamaru and Ueda murmur at him for a long moment before he smiles, just slightly.
Koki bursts into the room, shouting good morning and grinning hugely; it only takes a second for him to read the atmosphere. He charges forward unrepentantly and asks if they’ve eaten yet. Kame has; he just got back from lunch with- he stops and just nods. Jin’s jaw locks and Nakamaru and Ueda exchange resigned looks. But Jin surprises them all: he looks up with a small quirk of the corner of his mouth, eyes still bitter brown but melting, and asks if Koki’s buying, lilt of his voice almost natural. Koki laughs, loud in the fragile quiet of the room. Everything seems to brighten when he says of course.
On their way out Nakamaru asks Kame, haltingly, if he’d like to come. Their eyes and Jin’s quiet tell Kame to say no. He’s full. Nakamaru nods and they move on, Koki talking excitedly about what Sakura-chan did today that was so adorable; they snag Taguchi in the hallway and herd him along.
Kame explains to their choreographer what happened and apologizes for all of them; he asks if it would be okay, just this once, if they delayed their lesson for an hour and reconvened then? He soothes their manager: they already know most of the choreography anyway. It’s good for the team dynamic to spend time together.
He’s ready when the manager asks, “Then why aren’t you with the rest of KAT-TUN?”
Kame thinks of Nobuta power and says, “Because I’m the leader.”
2.
Kame sits in silence for a moment, cell phone held to his ear. His cheek is getting hot; he’s been on the phone for too long.
“All you ever had to say was that. You didn’t have to go away for that,” he finally says.
“Are you kidding?” Jin laughs, slightly broken. “It took me an entire ocean just to call you.”
“Six months to actually say something,” Kame says, and Jin laughs again; better.
Kame waits a moment, then: “Say it again,” he asks quietly, and feels something start to ease in his chest when Jin murmurs, “I missed you.”
3.
Koki manages to keep it all in when they’re out in New York, brokering the most important deal of their lives. Jin looks too cocky, sitting across the table from him, quiet but smiling when Nakamaru and Ueda tease him about his long hair. Taguchi sits and laughs too loudly at everything everyone says - Koki thinks he’s either nervous or completely at ease. Kame sits next to Jin and just watches him like he’s afraid that if he glances away again, Jin will leave for good. Koki bites down the scowl; he’s not sure he even wants this to happen.
Jin meets his gaze. He nudges at Nakamaru to scoot over so he can get up; Kame follows his moves with furrowed eyebrows. Jin shuffles over to Koki and asks, “Can we talk?”
Koki just looks at him for a hard moment, arms crossed over his chest. “Now’s not a good time.”
“Now’s the, uh, best time,” Jin says. “It’s New York. No one can understand us.”
He stands and waits until Koki sighs and has to get up and follow Jin outside the restaurant to the busy night streets where they’re just anonymous annoying people who stand in the middle of the sidewalk. There’s already a couple going at it on the other side of the street, a girl shrieking hysterically at a boy who waves his hands calmingly and tries to shout over her. So Koki figures it’s okay to say, “You know, it wasn’t fair,” and then before he knows it he’s on a roll. He almost shouts, catches himself, and then thinks what the hell and does shout, and by the end it just fades into a quiet, “You left us.” Jin just stands there and takes it, nodding, distress lining his face and making his mouth tighten.
“I understand,” Jin says seriously at the very end, when Koki’s done and breathing hard, eyes a little wet. “I was lonely without you guys, too.”
He looks at Koki with an awkward barely-smile to try to make it okay and Koki wants to shout again because that’s not the point, you left us alone to deal with everything and you think the weight on your shoulders was a lonely feeling?
Except that that sort of is the point, and Koki’s still angry but not as much anymore, and the couple across the street is making up as well so Koki thinks what the hell again and hugs Jin. Jin stands stiffly, still unused to people touching him spontaneously in public, but after a moment he laughs and hugs Koki back.
“American teddy bears weren’t the same,” Jin says when he pulls away. He opens his mouth and laughs loudly when Koki swats the back of his head and shoves him back towards the entrance of the restaurant.
4.
Jin’s not surprised when he steps off the plane and he sees Pi in a ridiculous hat and huge shades, holding a sloppy sign that says “BAKANISHI’S HOME!!!” in pink marker with the last few characters squished thin because he ran out of room. Pi throws an arm around him and grins while the cameras flash around them and their bodyguards squeeze between them and a gathering crowd.
“You idiot,” Jin hisses while they’re walking fast to the car, “why did you write my name so big? Now people know who we are!”
“I wrote it in English,” Pi says, proud and mysterious. He pauses and then says, “Uh, didn’t you notice?”
Jin hadn’t. He’s not surprised; now things come to him in a mix of English and Japanese. Sometimes he has to concentrate a little to make sure the words don’t all run into each other and come out strangely. He stumbles in his Japanese enough already.
“Backseat,” Pi says when they move out the VIP exit and Pi’s car is parked on the empty exit driveway.
“Eh, why?” Jin asks, thrown for a moment. “Just because I was gone for six months doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t get to ride shotgun-”
“L.A. didn’t make you smarter,” Pi interrupts as he opens the back door.
Jin is surprised when Kame peeks out uncertainly, his hair perfect and his arms too skinny when Jin scrambles in and cups his face and kisses him.
5.
They’re all still grinning when they bow one last time and run offstage, their fans screaming for more. Kame’s face hurts from smiling so much. He still hasn’t let go of Jin’s hand from when he’d taken it for their group bow.
Jin looks over at him, sweaty and exhausted and excited and happy, looking just like the rest of them. Looking just like one of them.
“You’re never leaving again,” Kame says when they step into their dressing room, which feels loudly silent while he still has the roar of the crowd lingering in his ears. He means to say it jokingly but it comes out too quiet, vehement. The others glance over and wait, smiles fading.
Jin just laughs and says, “If I do, you’re coming with me.”