fic; through the camera lenses | chapter nine
Title: Through the Camera Lenses | Chapter Nine
Pairing: RyoShige, KoyaShige, KoyaTego
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Photographer Kato Shigeaki’s never had to put up with a model like Nishikido Ryo.
Author’s Note: AU. Random plot bunny took over my brain. Instead of a fic with lawyer!Shige (which we see everywhere), how about fic with photographer!Shige. :)
Thanks to quiraikotsu and lizzfan for betaing. ♥
Chapter Nine
Shige knocked on the door before he could change his mind, bit his lip and waited impatiently until the door opened and Massu peeked his head out.
“Shige?” he asked, looking mildly surprised.
“Uhm, do you mind if I come in for a bit?” Shige said carefully. “If you’re busy it’s okay! Just-”
“Calm down, it’s fine,” Massu said and moved back to let Shige inside.
Shige sighed with relief to find Massu was alone and quickly sat down on the large armchair by the window.
“What’s wrong?” Massu asked as he took a seat upon his bed, looking directly at Shige with eyes of concern.
“I just, uhm, need to stay here for a while. I’ll leave soon, I promise, but-”
“Did something happen with Nishikido-san?” Massu ventured and when Shige stilled and refused to meet his gaze, his suspicions were confirmed. “What is it?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Shige answered eventually and he sighed again, closed his eyes, leaning back against the couch. Massu took the end-of-discussion hint with a shrug of his shoulders and returned to the television program he’d been watching.
A knock on the door startled them both and Massu looked surprised again, wondering who else it could be, while Shige quickly dashed for the bathroom.
“If it’s Ryo, please pretend I’m not here!” he hissed before locking himself inside.
Massu blinked after him a few times before answering the door. “Oh, hi, Nishikido-san,” he said quietly and heard something clatter from inside the bathroom.
“Is Shige here?” Ryo asked, trying to peer over Massu’s shoulder, but Massu kept the door as closed as he could.
“No, he’s not,” Massu said, cast an discreet glance at the bathroom door before turning back to face Ryo. “If he comes by, I’ll tell him you were looking for him.”
Ryo sighed and said thanks before heading back down the hall. Massu couldn’t help but notice he looked a bit depressed. He shut the door and knocked on the bathroom door, said, “Shige, he’s gone.”
There was another clatter and the door opened, Shige stepping out looking somewhere between flustered and frightened.
Massu raised a brow. “Are you okay?”
“Of-Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because you locked yourself in the bathroom and had me lie to Nishikido-san that you weren’t here. What happened?” Massu asked.
Shige bit his lip and looked at anything that wasn’t Massu’s scrutinizing gaze.
“I’m not going to tell anyone if that’s what you’re worried about,” Massu added as he sat back down on the bed.
“T-That’s not what I’m worried about,” Shige replied and collapsed at the foot of Massu’s bed. “Just. Something’s happened and I don’t know what to do.”
“What. Did Nishikido-san finally make a move on you or something?”
Shige fell off the bed in surprise and when he sat back up, Massu was smiling with amusement.
“So he did,” he said.
Shige gaped for a few moments before blurting out, “How did you know!”
“You’re a bit too obvious, Shige,” Massu said and Shige groaned. “So, tell me, what happened?”
Shige stared down at his lap and answered, “He kissed me.”
“Okay, and?”
“And, and I-” Shige sighed and gave Massu a pointed look.
“Oh. You ran away.”
“What else was I supposed to do?” Shige exclaimed. “I mean, he kissed me and I-I have Kei and-”
“Then what’s the problem?” Massu asked and Shige froze. “He kissed you, not the other way around. And you have Kei, like you said, so what’s got you so worked up?”
“I feel guilty,” Shige admitted and stared back down at his hands.
Massu stared at him for a long moment before he said, “You wouldn’t feel so guilty unless you, well, liked the kiss.”
And Shige almost fell off the bed again. Managing to steady himself, he stared wide-eyed at Massu who only gave him a look.
“Well, that’s the only thing that makes sense, isn’t it?” Massu said. “If it didn’t mean anything to you, you wouldn’t be here right now freaking out about it. If it wasn’t a big deal, you could call Kei and tell him without worrying over what he’ll say. But the fact that you are worrying about it obviously means that you enjoyed that kiss. Even just a little.”
Shige stared back down at his lap and thought over Massu’s words. They made sense to him, they really did. He understood it all, but he just couldn’t accept it. There just wasn’t any way he actually could have liked a kiss with Ryo. Ryo who wasn’t Koyama, who could never be Koyama. Ryo who wasn’t his boyfriend, who was haughty and mean and selfish. Ryo who made Shige laugh, who made work bearable, who made Shige smile whenever he smiled. Ryo who-
“No!” Shige exclaimed, clutching his head and shaking it roughly. “No, no, no.”
“And the first step is denial,” Massu supplied unhelpfully and Shige jumped to his feet.
“No!” he shouted. “Don’t joke about this!”
“I’m not,” Massu replied. “Shige, what’s so wrong with liking Nishikido-san?”
“But I don’t. I like Kei, I love Kei,” Shige said.
“And Nishikido-san?”
Shige ran a hand through his short hair, looked at Massu with confused eyes. “I…I don’t know.”
*
“I thought you weren’t supposed to be home for two more days,” Yamapi questioned as he opened the trunk for Ryo to put in his duffle bag.
“Me too,” Ryo replied irritably and Yamapi looked him over, taking note of his slightly disheveled appearance.
“Should I even ask what happened?” Yamapi said.
“No. Just shut up and drive,” Ryo snapped and gets into the passenger seat, slamming the door shut a bit too loudly.
“Please don’t break my car, Ryo-chan,” Yamapi reprimands before shifting into gear and heading back into traffic.
Ryo mumbled a small apology but said nothing more, pulled out his cellphone instead and dialed a number. When no one answered, he hung up irritably, waited five minutes before calling again. Once more, the phone went to voicemail. Ryo growled under his breath and snapped the phone shut angrily, clutching it tightly in his hand.
“Shige-kun isn’t answering?” Yamapi asked.
“Who said I was calling him?” Ryo demanded.
“Because you don’t have many friends you care enough to call. I’m here with you, and you wouldn’t get that angry if Jin wasn’t answering. Therefore, it could only be Shige-kun.”
Ryo stared hard out of the windshield and said nothing.
“So, what happened?”
“None of your fucking business,” Ryo replied and with a sigh, leaned his head against the window, staring aimlessly out the glass.
Ryo wasn’t sure what to do anymore. He had never felt so many conflicted emotions at one time and he didn’t want to ignore them, wanted to make things better. After she had run out the night before, Ryo had gone after him, tried to find him but didn’t see him anywhere in the hotel. By the time he returned to his hotel room, Shige was already there, fast asleep and Ryo wanted to wake him up, wanted to talk to him, explain, something. But he couldn’t. He went to sleep and the that morning found out that Shige had ended the photoshoot early, had already left with Masuda, and that the rest of the crew was leaving at noon and Ryo could just get a ride with one of them.
Ryo wasn’t sure if should’ve been angry or depressed. In the end, anger won out. He couldn’t believe Shige had ended the photoshoot early without telling him, had escaped because of a little kiss that he wouldn’t even let Ryo explain.
“So, come on, Ryo-chan, tell me what happened,” Yamapi suddenly said, bringing Ryo back from his thougths. “I mean, you were uspposed to be back in two days. Did you finish your shoot early?”
“Not at all,” Ryo said.
“Then, what?”
“You should ask Shige,” Ryo answered irritably.
Yamapi glanced at him, waited for a moment. “Did you do something?”
Ryo dropped his phone and, grumbling, leaned over to pick it up, only to bang his head onto the dashboard. “Dammit,” he groaned, gave the dashboard a dark look.
“So you did,” Yamapi confirmed.
“Fine. I kissed him. He ran away. And this morning he left with a little fucking note saying the shoot was over. Now he won’t answer my calls.” Ryo shot Yamapi a dirty look. “Are you happy now?”
“Peachy.” Yamapi grinned. “You kissed him, huh? Have you finally come to terms with the fact that you do like him?”
“Yes,” Ryo grumbled.
“Ryo-chan, you really need to just-wait, you did? That’s great!” Yamapi reached over to pat Ryo’s shoulder and Ryo shouted, “Careful, idiot!”
Yamapi slammed on the breaks. “I knew that car was there.”
“Do you know what’ll happen if you kill me?”
“Yes, the world would all suffer. I know.” Yamapi rolled his eyes. “Now tell me about Shige.”
“There’s nothing to tell. Obviously he doesn’t want to talk to me. And obviously he’s angry enough about that kiss to have run away.”
“Well. You kissing him is complicated things. He does have a boyfriend.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Ryo exclaimed. “I do! I do know that. But-” He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. Just. Let’s not talk about this, okay?”
“Ryo-”
“Okay?” Ryo pleaded.
Yamapi’s eyes widened. “This. This is really bothering you, isn’t it?”
This time Ryo rolled his eyes. “Whatever gave that away?”
Yamapi smiled. “Okay. I won’t talk about it unless you want to.”
Ryo sighed and returned the smile. “Thanks, Pi.”
*
Koyama checked his watch and realized he’d rushed from work with no reason; he was still early to meet Tegoshi. He sighed and took a seat on a bench and watched for a while people passing by in the mall. Quickly getting bored, he pulled out his phone and called Shige, but Shige didn’t answer. With a frown, he left a short message, figured Shige was still working, but was a bit worried since Shige hadn’t answered the last few times he’d tried to call that day. Koyama was still anxious that Shige was away with Ryo and the last week had been completely agonizing wondering what might be happening between the two of them while they were away. But there was just one more day left; Shige would be coming home tomorrow and everything would be all right. Koyama just had to keep telling himself that.
He returned to people watching and it wasn’t long before he spotted someone familiar in the crowd. However, it wasn’t Tegoshi and, squinting his eyes, Koyama made out the face of a certain model.
Koyama shook his head. It couldn’t be Ryo; he was still away with Shige for the shoot. If they had returned early, Shige would have claled and told him, but Koyama hadn’t heard from him. So, it couldn’t be Ryo.
But the more Koyama watched, the more obvious it became that this man was indeed Ryo. Koyama pulled his phone out again and called Shige, only to get more confused as Shige still didn’t pick up.
Worried that perhaps something that happened to Shige, Koyama got to his feet to confront Ryo when Ryo spotted him and grinned (far too excitedly, Koyama couldn’t help but think).
“Koyama-kun, how nice to see you,” Ryo greeted with obvious falsetto.
“Sorry, but I can’t exactly say the same,” Koyama replied with a smile. “What are you doing here?”
Ryo blinked. “What’re you talking about? It’s a mall.”
“I mean, what’re you doing back early? Isn’t the shoot going on until tomorrow?”
“No, we ended early. Didn’t Shige tell you?” Ryo clarified, slightly confused.
“No. I-I haven’t talke to him for two days.”
Ryo’s eyes widened as if he’d realized something. He smirked and replied, “I see.”
“What happened?” Koyama demanded, glaring. “What did you do?”
“Oh, nothing,” Ryo said brightly. “Well, I see you’re second-boyfirend coming. I should go.”
“M-My what?”
“Bye, Koyama-kun.” And with a wave, Ryo took off before Koyama could stop him.
Koyama jumped when someone patted his shoulder and Tegoshi’s cheerful voice called, “Kei-chan?”
He turned around and gave Tegoshi a smile. “Oh, hi, Tegoshi.”
“Was that just Ryo-tan?” Tegoshi asked, peering over Koyama’s shoulder where Ryo had been standing. “I thought he wasn’t supposed to be back until tomorrow.”
“Yeah, me too,” Koyama said. “I’m sorry, Tegoshi. I don’t think we can go out tonight. I won’t be much company, I’m worried about Shige. He hasn’t called me and Nishikido-san said they finished work early.”
“Oh, now that you mention it, I thought I saw the lights on in the studio as I passed by on my way over here,” Tegoshi said quickly. “Maybe Shige’s there?”
“If he’s back, why didn’t he tell me?” Koyama asked.
Tegoshi just shrugged innocently and bounced on the balls of his feet. “You should go talk to him. It’s okay, we can hang out another day.”
“Thanks, Tegoshi.” Koyama smiled and patted the boy’s head. “I’ll call you later, okay?”
Tegoshi nodded and watched with a growing smirk as Koyama raced off towards the exit.
*
Shige jerked awake as his cellphone rang noisily beside him. Groaning, he lifted his head off the table from where he had been working and stretched his arms over his head. He glanced at the caller ID on the phone and sighed guility; it was at least the fifth time Koyama had called that day, but Shige couldn’t bear to answer the phone.
He still wasn’t sure what to do about everything, especially after running away from the shoot. And his conversation with Massu had only helped to make his problems worse. The truth was that Shige had sort of enjoyed that kiss with Ryo, but he didn’t want to, not when he had Koyama. Not when he didn’t understand why he could even think about enjoying a kiss with someone who wasn’t his boyfriend. Until he figured this out, Shige wasn’t sure how he could talk to Koyama without giving something away.
Shige didn’t want to bge caought between thse two different ends. He loved Kei; couldn’t imagine being without him. But, on the other hand, Ryo was…Ryo was enticing. Ryo was interesting, fun. Ryo evoked emotions in Shige that he didn’t remember having; that he had forgotten after so many years with Kei. He liked Ryo, he really did. And that was causing all the problems.
Shige groaned and ran a hand through his short hair. “God,” he mumbled. “I don’t even know what to-”
He stopped when the sudden sound of feet approaching form the other side of the door. His heart dropped out of his chest. There was only one other person with access ot the studio. If someone was really there, Shige already knew who it was, and it was one of the last people he wanted to see right now.
He jumped a the knock on the door, tried to catch his breath, and when the very obvious voice of his boyfriend called, “Are you there? Shige?” he knew the charade was over.
Trying to think of some kind of cover story, he quickly opened the door and acted surprised. “Kei! What-What’re you doing here?”
Koyama looked equally surprised, but his response was not what Shige was expecting. “So you were here, afterall.”
Shige blinked. “Wait, what?”
“I thought you weren’t supposed to be back until tomorrow.”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Shige confirmed. “But, wait, how did you know I was here?”
“That’s not the issue, Shige,” Koyama said and Shige was surprised to hear he sounded angry. “If you’re shoot ended early, why didn’t you come home? Why haven’t you answered any of my calls?”
“Kei, who told you the shoot ended early?”
Koyama glared. “Your favorite model.”
“You-You saw Ryo?”
“Yeah. Just now, at the mall. He said the shoot ended early.” Koyama’s eyes softened a bit. “Why didn’t you say so? Why didn’t you come back home? How long have you been here?”
Shige sighed and reached for Koyama’s hand. “Let’s sit and talk about this.”
But Koyama pulled his hand back and Shige’s eyes widened. He quickly shoved his hand into his pocket and looked at the floor. “Shige, just tell me what’s going on.”
“Look, Kei-”
“Did the shoot end early?”
Shige hesitated for a moment and replied, “Sort of.”
“What do you mean sort of?”
“Kei, I ended the shoot early. We weren’t supposed to though,” Shige explained. He looked up at Koyama’s confused expression, noticed the slight disappointment in them and bit his lip. In a split second decision, the words that flowed out of his mouth were in no way connected to his brain any longer. “It’s just that, Ryo wanted more photos, another entire shoot. But I didn’t want to stay and I felt we had enough shots already.”
Shige gave a short laugh when Koyama didn’t say anything. “So, I just left early and didn’t tell Ryo. That’s why it’s sort of.” He looked hopefully up at Koyama, tried not to squirm under his scrutinizing gaze.
After what felt like an eternity, Koyama said, “Is that really what happened?”
“Of course, Kei!” Shige pretended to look offended. “Would I ever lie to you?”
Koyama let out a small smile. “Okay, I understand.”
“And I’m sorry that I dind’t call you to let you know. I came right here after I left and started working on the photos. I stayed overnight because it got late.”
“Then why didn’t you at least answer my calls?” Koyama questioned.
“I leave my phone in here when I’m in the darkroom working on the photos, so I never hear it. And then I fell asleep,” Shige replied. “I really am sorry.”
Koyama shook his head. “It’s all right,” he said. “I’m just glad you’re back. This week was torture.”
Shige laughed and let Koyama kiss him, all the while trying not to think of the lies that he’d just told. When Koyama pulled back and threaded his fingers through Shige’s hair and down his cheek, Shige ignored the knife twisting unpleasantly in his stomach.
“I missed you,” Koyama said softly and kissed his forehead.
Shige wanted to say that he’d missed Koyama too, wanted to say that being away from him for a week had been just as tortorous as it had been for him, but the words wouldn’t come out, wouldn’t even form in his mind. Instead, he only managed a nod, and the knife in his stomach twisted sharply.
→ Chapter ten.
Pairing: RyoShige, KoyaShige, KoyaTego
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Photographer Kato Shigeaki’s never had to put up with a model like Nishikido Ryo.
Author’s Note: AU. Random plot bunny took over my brain. Instead of a fic with lawyer!Shige (which we see everywhere), how about fic with photographer!Shige. :)
Thanks to quiraikotsu and lizzfan for betaing. ♥
Chapter Nine
Shige knocked on the door before he could change his mind, bit his lip and waited impatiently until the door opened and Massu peeked his head out.
“Shige?” he asked, looking mildly surprised.
“Uhm, do you mind if I come in for a bit?” Shige said carefully. “If you’re busy it’s okay! Just-”
“Calm down, it’s fine,” Massu said and moved back to let Shige inside.
Shige sighed with relief to find Massu was alone and quickly sat down on the large armchair by the window.
“What’s wrong?” Massu asked as he took a seat upon his bed, looking directly at Shige with eyes of concern.
“I just, uhm, need to stay here for a while. I’ll leave soon, I promise, but-”
“Did something happen with Nishikido-san?” Massu ventured and when Shige stilled and refused to meet his gaze, his suspicions were confirmed. “What is it?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Shige answered eventually and he sighed again, closed his eyes, leaning back against the couch. Massu took the end-of-discussion hint with a shrug of his shoulders and returned to the television program he’d been watching.
A knock on the door startled them both and Massu looked surprised again, wondering who else it could be, while Shige quickly dashed for the bathroom.
“If it’s Ryo, please pretend I’m not here!” he hissed before locking himself inside.
Massu blinked after him a few times before answering the door. “Oh, hi, Nishikido-san,” he said quietly and heard something clatter from inside the bathroom.
“Is Shige here?” Ryo asked, trying to peer over Massu’s shoulder, but Massu kept the door as closed as he could.
“No, he’s not,” Massu said, cast an discreet glance at the bathroom door before turning back to face Ryo. “If he comes by, I’ll tell him you were looking for him.”
Ryo sighed and said thanks before heading back down the hall. Massu couldn’t help but notice he looked a bit depressed. He shut the door and knocked on the bathroom door, said, “Shige, he’s gone.”
There was another clatter and the door opened, Shige stepping out looking somewhere between flustered and frightened.
Massu raised a brow. “Are you okay?”
“Of-Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because you locked yourself in the bathroom and had me lie to Nishikido-san that you weren’t here. What happened?” Massu asked.
Shige bit his lip and looked at anything that wasn’t Massu’s scrutinizing gaze.
“I’m not going to tell anyone if that’s what you’re worried about,” Massu added as he sat back down on the bed.
“T-That’s not what I’m worried about,” Shige replied and collapsed at the foot of Massu’s bed. “Just. Something’s happened and I don’t know what to do.”
“What. Did Nishikido-san finally make a move on you or something?”
Shige fell off the bed in surprise and when he sat back up, Massu was smiling with amusement.
“So he did,” he said.
Shige gaped for a few moments before blurting out, “How did you know!”
“You’re a bit too obvious, Shige,” Massu said and Shige groaned. “So, tell me, what happened?”
Shige stared down at his lap and answered, “He kissed me.”
“Okay, and?”
“And, and I-” Shige sighed and gave Massu a pointed look.
“Oh. You ran away.”
“What else was I supposed to do?” Shige exclaimed. “I mean, he kissed me and I-I have Kei and-”
“Then what’s the problem?” Massu asked and Shige froze. “He kissed you, not the other way around. And you have Kei, like you said, so what’s got you so worked up?”
“I feel guilty,” Shige admitted and stared back down at his hands.
Massu stared at him for a long moment before he said, “You wouldn’t feel so guilty unless you, well, liked the kiss.”
And Shige almost fell off the bed again. Managing to steady himself, he stared wide-eyed at Massu who only gave him a look.
“Well, that’s the only thing that makes sense, isn’t it?” Massu said. “If it didn’t mean anything to you, you wouldn’t be here right now freaking out about it. If it wasn’t a big deal, you could call Kei and tell him without worrying over what he’ll say. But the fact that you are worrying about it obviously means that you enjoyed that kiss. Even just a little.”
Shige stared back down at his lap and thought over Massu’s words. They made sense to him, they really did. He understood it all, but he just couldn’t accept it. There just wasn’t any way he actually could have liked a kiss with Ryo. Ryo who wasn’t Koyama, who could never be Koyama. Ryo who wasn’t his boyfriend, who was haughty and mean and selfish. Ryo who made Shige laugh, who made work bearable, who made Shige smile whenever he smiled. Ryo who-
“No!” Shige exclaimed, clutching his head and shaking it roughly. “No, no, no.”
“And the first step is denial,” Massu supplied unhelpfully and Shige jumped to his feet.
“No!” he shouted. “Don’t joke about this!”
“I’m not,” Massu replied. “Shige, what’s so wrong with liking Nishikido-san?”
“But I don’t. I like Kei, I love Kei,” Shige said.
“And Nishikido-san?”
Shige ran a hand through his short hair, looked at Massu with confused eyes. “I…I don’t know.”
*
“I thought you weren’t supposed to be home for two more days,” Yamapi questioned as he opened the trunk for Ryo to put in his duffle bag.
“Me too,” Ryo replied irritably and Yamapi looked him over, taking note of his slightly disheveled appearance.
“Should I even ask what happened?” Yamapi said.
“No. Just shut up and drive,” Ryo snapped and gets into the passenger seat, slamming the door shut a bit too loudly.
“Please don’t break my car, Ryo-chan,” Yamapi reprimands before shifting into gear and heading back into traffic.
Ryo mumbled a small apology but said nothing more, pulled out his cellphone instead and dialed a number. When no one answered, he hung up irritably, waited five minutes before calling again. Once more, the phone went to voicemail. Ryo growled under his breath and snapped the phone shut angrily, clutching it tightly in his hand.
“Shige-kun isn’t answering?” Yamapi asked.
“Who said I was calling him?” Ryo demanded.
“Because you don’t have many friends you care enough to call. I’m here with you, and you wouldn’t get that angry if Jin wasn’t answering. Therefore, it could only be Shige-kun.”
Ryo stared hard out of the windshield and said nothing.
“So, what happened?”
“None of your fucking business,” Ryo replied and with a sigh, leaned his head against the window, staring aimlessly out the glass.
Ryo wasn’t sure what to do anymore. He had never felt so many conflicted emotions at one time and he didn’t want to ignore them, wanted to make things better. After she had run out the night before, Ryo had gone after him, tried to find him but didn’t see him anywhere in the hotel. By the time he returned to his hotel room, Shige was already there, fast asleep and Ryo wanted to wake him up, wanted to talk to him, explain, something. But he couldn’t. He went to sleep and the that morning found out that Shige had ended the photoshoot early, had already left with Masuda, and that the rest of the crew was leaving at noon and Ryo could just get a ride with one of them.
Ryo wasn’t sure if should’ve been angry or depressed. In the end, anger won out. He couldn’t believe Shige had ended the photoshoot early without telling him, had escaped because of a little kiss that he wouldn’t even let Ryo explain.
“So, come on, Ryo-chan, tell me what happened,” Yamapi suddenly said, bringing Ryo back from his thougths. “I mean, you were uspposed to be back in two days. Did you finish your shoot early?”
“Not at all,” Ryo said.
“Then, what?”
“You should ask Shige,” Ryo answered irritably.
Yamapi glanced at him, waited for a moment. “Did you do something?”
Ryo dropped his phone and, grumbling, leaned over to pick it up, only to bang his head onto the dashboard. “Dammit,” he groaned, gave the dashboard a dark look.
“So you did,” Yamapi confirmed.
“Fine. I kissed him. He ran away. And this morning he left with a little fucking note saying the shoot was over. Now he won’t answer my calls.” Ryo shot Yamapi a dirty look. “Are you happy now?”
“Peachy.” Yamapi grinned. “You kissed him, huh? Have you finally come to terms with the fact that you do like him?”
“Yes,” Ryo grumbled.
“Ryo-chan, you really need to just-wait, you did? That’s great!” Yamapi reached over to pat Ryo’s shoulder and Ryo shouted, “Careful, idiot!”
Yamapi slammed on the breaks. “I knew that car was there.”
“Do you know what’ll happen if you kill me?”
“Yes, the world would all suffer. I know.” Yamapi rolled his eyes. “Now tell me about Shige.”
“There’s nothing to tell. Obviously he doesn’t want to talk to me. And obviously he’s angry enough about that kiss to have run away.”
“Well. You kissing him is complicated things. He does have a boyfriend.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Ryo exclaimed. “I do! I do know that. But-” He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. Just. Let’s not talk about this, okay?”
“Ryo-”
“Okay?” Ryo pleaded.
Yamapi’s eyes widened. “This. This is really bothering you, isn’t it?”
This time Ryo rolled his eyes. “Whatever gave that away?”
Yamapi smiled. “Okay. I won’t talk about it unless you want to.”
Ryo sighed and returned the smile. “Thanks, Pi.”
*
Koyama checked his watch and realized he’d rushed from work with no reason; he was still early to meet Tegoshi. He sighed and took a seat on a bench and watched for a while people passing by in the mall. Quickly getting bored, he pulled out his phone and called Shige, but Shige didn’t answer. With a frown, he left a short message, figured Shige was still working, but was a bit worried since Shige hadn’t answered the last few times he’d tried to call that day. Koyama was still anxious that Shige was away with Ryo and the last week had been completely agonizing wondering what might be happening between the two of them while they were away. But there was just one more day left; Shige would be coming home tomorrow and everything would be all right. Koyama just had to keep telling himself that.
He returned to people watching and it wasn’t long before he spotted someone familiar in the crowd. However, it wasn’t Tegoshi and, squinting his eyes, Koyama made out the face of a certain model.
Koyama shook his head. It couldn’t be Ryo; he was still away with Shige for the shoot. If they had returned early, Shige would have claled and told him, but Koyama hadn’t heard from him. So, it couldn’t be Ryo.
But the more Koyama watched, the more obvious it became that this man was indeed Ryo. Koyama pulled his phone out again and called Shige, only to get more confused as Shige still didn’t pick up.
Worried that perhaps something that happened to Shige, Koyama got to his feet to confront Ryo when Ryo spotted him and grinned (far too excitedly, Koyama couldn’t help but think).
“Koyama-kun, how nice to see you,” Ryo greeted with obvious falsetto.
“Sorry, but I can’t exactly say the same,” Koyama replied with a smile. “What are you doing here?”
Ryo blinked. “What’re you talking about? It’s a mall.”
“I mean, what’re you doing back early? Isn’t the shoot going on until tomorrow?”
“No, we ended early. Didn’t Shige tell you?” Ryo clarified, slightly confused.
“No. I-I haven’t talke to him for two days.”
Ryo’s eyes widened as if he’d realized something. He smirked and replied, “I see.”
“What happened?” Koyama demanded, glaring. “What did you do?”
“Oh, nothing,” Ryo said brightly. “Well, I see you’re second-boyfirend coming. I should go.”
“M-My what?”
“Bye, Koyama-kun.” And with a wave, Ryo took off before Koyama could stop him.
Koyama jumped when someone patted his shoulder and Tegoshi’s cheerful voice called, “Kei-chan?”
He turned around and gave Tegoshi a smile. “Oh, hi, Tegoshi.”
“Was that just Ryo-tan?” Tegoshi asked, peering over Koyama’s shoulder where Ryo had been standing. “I thought he wasn’t supposed to be back until tomorrow.”
“Yeah, me too,” Koyama said. “I’m sorry, Tegoshi. I don’t think we can go out tonight. I won’t be much company, I’m worried about Shige. He hasn’t called me and Nishikido-san said they finished work early.”
“Oh, now that you mention it, I thought I saw the lights on in the studio as I passed by on my way over here,” Tegoshi said quickly. “Maybe Shige’s there?”
“If he’s back, why didn’t he tell me?” Koyama asked.
Tegoshi just shrugged innocently and bounced on the balls of his feet. “You should go talk to him. It’s okay, we can hang out another day.”
“Thanks, Tegoshi.” Koyama smiled and patted the boy’s head. “I’ll call you later, okay?”
Tegoshi nodded and watched with a growing smirk as Koyama raced off towards the exit.
*
Shige jerked awake as his cellphone rang noisily beside him. Groaning, he lifted his head off the table from where he had been working and stretched his arms over his head. He glanced at the caller ID on the phone and sighed guility; it was at least the fifth time Koyama had called that day, but Shige couldn’t bear to answer the phone.
He still wasn’t sure what to do about everything, especially after running away from the shoot. And his conversation with Massu had only helped to make his problems worse. The truth was that Shige had sort of enjoyed that kiss with Ryo, but he didn’t want to, not when he had Koyama. Not when he didn’t understand why he could even think about enjoying a kiss with someone who wasn’t his boyfriend. Until he figured this out, Shige wasn’t sure how he could talk to Koyama without giving something away.
Shige didn’t want to bge caought between thse two different ends. He loved Kei; couldn’t imagine being without him. But, on the other hand, Ryo was…Ryo was enticing. Ryo was interesting, fun. Ryo evoked emotions in Shige that he didn’t remember having; that he had forgotten after so many years with Kei. He liked Ryo, he really did. And that was causing all the problems.
Shige groaned and ran a hand through his short hair. “God,” he mumbled. “I don’t even know what to-”
He stopped when the sudden sound of feet approaching form the other side of the door. His heart dropped out of his chest. There was only one other person with access ot the studio. If someone was really there, Shige already knew who it was, and it was one of the last people he wanted to see right now.
He jumped a the knock on the door, tried to catch his breath, and when the very obvious voice of his boyfriend called, “Are you there? Shige?” he knew the charade was over.
Trying to think of some kind of cover story, he quickly opened the door and acted surprised. “Kei! What-What’re you doing here?”
Koyama looked equally surprised, but his response was not what Shige was expecting. “So you were here, afterall.”
Shige blinked. “Wait, what?”
“I thought you weren’t supposed to be back until tomorrow.”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Shige confirmed. “But, wait, how did you know I was here?”
“That’s not the issue, Shige,” Koyama said and Shige was surprised to hear he sounded angry. “If you’re shoot ended early, why didn’t you come home? Why haven’t you answered any of my calls?”
“Kei, who told you the shoot ended early?”
Koyama glared. “Your favorite model.”
“You-You saw Ryo?”
“Yeah. Just now, at the mall. He said the shoot ended early.” Koyama’s eyes softened a bit. “Why didn’t you say so? Why didn’t you come back home? How long have you been here?”
Shige sighed and reached for Koyama’s hand. “Let’s sit and talk about this.”
But Koyama pulled his hand back and Shige’s eyes widened. He quickly shoved his hand into his pocket and looked at the floor. “Shige, just tell me what’s going on.”
“Look, Kei-”
“Did the shoot end early?”
Shige hesitated for a moment and replied, “Sort of.”
“What do you mean sort of?”
“Kei, I ended the shoot early. We weren’t supposed to though,” Shige explained. He looked up at Koyama’s confused expression, noticed the slight disappointment in them and bit his lip. In a split second decision, the words that flowed out of his mouth were in no way connected to his brain any longer. “It’s just that, Ryo wanted more photos, another entire shoot. But I didn’t want to stay and I felt we had enough shots already.”
Shige gave a short laugh when Koyama didn’t say anything. “So, I just left early and didn’t tell Ryo. That’s why it’s sort of.” He looked hopefully up at Koyama, tried not to squirm under his scrutinizing gaze.
After what felt like an eternity, Koyama said, “Is that really what happened?”
“Of course, Kei!” Shige pretended to look offended. “Would I ever lie to you?”
Koyama let out a small smile. “Okay, I understand.”
“And I’m sorry that I dind’t call you to let you know. I came right here after I left and started working on the photos. I stayed overnight because it got late.”
“Then why didn’t you at least answer my calls?” Koyama questioned.
“I leave my phone in here when I’m in the darkroom working on the photos, so I never hear it. And then I fell asleep,” Shige replied. “I really am sorry.”
Koyama shook his head. “It’s all right,” he said. “I’m just glad you’re back. This week was torture.”
Shige laughed and let Koyama kiss him, all the while trying not to think of the lies that he’d just told. When Koyama pulled back and threaded his fingers through Shige’s hair and down his cheek, Shige ignored the knife twisting unpleasantly in his stomach.
“I missed you,” Koyama said softly and kissed his forehead.
Shige wanted to say that he’d missed Koyama too, wanted to say that being away from him for a week had been just as tortorous as it had been for him, but the words wouldn’t come out, wouldn’t even form in his mind. Instead, he only managed a nod, and the knife in his stomach twisted sharply.
→ Chapter ten.