Same - Threadverse (Koyama/Shige)
Title: Same
Fandom: JE (NEWS, Kanjani8)
Pairing: Koyama/Shige, refs to Subaru/Yasu
Rating: PG
Word count: 1146
Note: Set some time after Threads in threadverse. Won't make any sense unless you're familiar with Threadverse.
For acchikocchi who donated money to help_haiti. Thanks Mer! ♥ (Please note that I promised words, not coherence.)
“Shigeaki-san,” Shibutani begins thoughtfully. “What was your first kiss like?”
Shige blinks. He feels the stutters burning at the tips of his tongue already, but he has known Shibutani long enough by now to smell the bait. It's a little game that Shibutani likes to play, and Shige would surely call him on it if he didn't have more important matters he wanted to discuss. Know how to pick your battles, they say. “What brought this on?” He asks instead, and he feels maybe a little proud of his own recovery.
*
It's not really a secret anymore - people do talk - but they're at least trying to remain discreet about their relationship. It's not proper, is what Shige says, but the truth is he just doesn't feel quite comfortable mixing his personal life with work. It might be the setting - it most definitely is - but it feels like the distinction is necessary. He may call to his credibility when arguing with Koyama over Koyama's tendency toward random displays of affection, but in the end it's his own sanity he's trying to preserve.
Here is not my life. Work is work and home is...
“Is Shige-sensei really all that different from Shige-chan?” Koyama asks.
“Of course!” Shige is quick to reply, firm in his certainty, maybe a little defensive.
“Ah.” Koyama considers him for a moment, then looks down.
“It's necessary, you know. I can't...” He trails off, reconsiders, grasps for some way to explain why it really is necessary, and shouldn't Koyama understand this? “We can't...”
“We're very different,” Koyama interrupts, and Shige would get more defensive except there's nothing condescending in Koyama's tone. It is Koyama after all. They are really different. “I would never question the way you do your job. I know how much you care. Shige-chan, though, I like him a lot, and sometimes I get a little scared of losing him.”
“I... Koyama,” Shige says, and he suddenly feels a little out of breath. His heart is beating fast.
Koyama tilts his head and smiles. “Let's get dinner?”
*
The first time Koyama kissed Shige, Shige was sitting in bed, sick and gross, textbooks scattered all around him, riding the thin line of insanity as he tried to ignore his fever in favour of cramming in some more information about psychopathology in view of an important exam. He might also have had rice stuck in his hair. Koyama brought him soup. Koyama tried to usher him to the shower. And when Shige resisted, Koyama smiled and leaned in, pressing cool lips to the corner of Shige’s mouth.
The moment of silence that followed is what Shige remembers best: a time freeze, the eye of a storm, a quiet instant of peace as even the buzz in Shige’s head seemed to take a break to catch its breath.
“Wh...?” Shige’s hand slowly raised to his mouth, fingers hovering over but not quite daring to touch the spot where he could still feel Koyama’s lips.
Koyama straightened up, letting out a short nervous laugh and rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. “For you not to lecture me about germs, Shige-chan must be feeling really sick, right?”
A fit of cough prevented Shige from answering - not that he had any idea what to say. After that, both of them seemed more than happy not to mention the kiss. That is, for a whole two weeks until Shige - not only healthy but sane again after completing his finals - pulled Koyama into a celebratory kiss.
*
Shibutani looks down at his hands, pulls at the edge of his sleeve, wraps it around his fingers.
“When you think about your first kiss, is nurse Koyama the first person that comes to your mind?”
Shige frowns. For all that Shibutani likes to play games with him, this feels different. Shibutani isn’t grinning or shooting Shige a knowing look from under his lashes as he brings up Koyama’s name. His expression is serious; his tone quiet. He’s trying to say something here.
*
Shige's first kiss was at age 15 with a girl named Hitomi. She had shortish hair and a cute nose. Shige remembers being quite infatuated with her at the time. Then again, his feelings back then were nothing compared to what he feels now for Koyama, and Shige is left to wonder about the meaning and nature of feelings. Should the intensity of his feelings for Koyama discredit whatever it was he felt for Hitomi?
*
“I love you,” Shige says, head bent as if he were speaking to the noodles in his bowl, tone almost too quiet for Koyama to hear.
“The food here really is good, isn’t it?” Koyama replies.
Shige’s head shoots up. “I mean...” But Koyama is grinning teasingly.
“Just because you don’t say it a lot or as often as I do doesn’t mean I don’t know.”
Shige swallows and feels the tension leave his shoulders. “I love you,” he says again, clearer, with more confidence this time.
Something softens in Koyama’s smile.
*
“When I think about my first kiss, Yasu is the only person I want to think of,” Shibutani declares. “I’ve had other kisses before, tons of them, but they all mean nothing to me now.”
Shige’s throat feels a little dry. “Why is that?” He asks.
The look Shibutani give him is nothing if not fierce. “Isn’t it obvious? Yasu is the most important person to me. If this is love, then the rest was nothing.”
Shige looks down at his notepad thoughtfully. “But,” he begins slowly, “are those other experiences not what made today possible?”
Shibutani seems unconvinced. Shige taps his pen against the edge of his notepad.
“I like the ramen Koyama’s mom makes the best. Nowadays, they’re pretty much the only ramen I want to eat. But back when I first had ramen, it was at a little shop in Asahi-ku and I remember liking it a lot. If Koya-mama’s ramen are the best, does that mean that those ramen I had all the way back then were bad?”
There is a short moment of silence, then Shibutani snorts. “That is the most ridiculous metaphor I’ve ever heard,” he says. Shige is about to protest, fight to regain some sort of credibility, but Shibutani adds, “but I get your point. Would I love Yasu the same if I didn’t have those other experiences? I want to think I would, but maybe those experiences were important in bringing me where I am right now.”
Shige tries to hide his surprise. “Right,” he agrees slowly, and he may sound a bit uncertain, but in reality he is just a little too stunned by this sudden development. Shibutani seems to notice this as the corner of his lips start lifting up into a playful grin.
“I like this version of you better. Shigeaki-san really is cute when he isn’t playing the stuck-up doctor.”
Fandom: JE (NEWS, Kanjani8)
Pairing: Koyama/Shige, refs to Subaru/Yasu
Rating: PG
Word count: 1146
Note: Set some time after Threads in threadverse. Won't make any sense unless you're familiar with Threadverse.
For acchikocchi who donated money to help_haiti. Thanks Mer! ♥ (Please note that I promised words, not coherence.)
“Shigeaki-san,” Shibutani begins thoughtfully. “What was your first kiss like?”
Shige blinks. He feels the stutters burning at the tips of his tongue already, but he has known Shibutani long enough by now to smell the bait. It's a little game that Shibutani likes to play, and Shige would surely call him on it if he didn't have more important matters he wanted to discuss. Know how to pick your battles, they say. “What brought this on?” He asks instead, and he feels maybe a little proud of his own recovery.
*
It's not really a secret anymore - people do talk - but they're at least trying to remain discreet about their relationship. It's not proper, is what Shige says, but the truth is he just doesn't feel quite comfortable mixing his personal life with work. It might be the setting - it most definitely is - but it feels like the distinction is necessary. He may call to his credibility when arguing with Koyama over Koyama's tendency toward random displays of affection, but in the end it's his own sanity he's trying to preserve.
Here is not my life. Work is work and home is...
“Is Shige-sensei really all that different from Shige-chan?” Koyama asks.
“Of course!” Shige is quick to reply, firm in his certainty, maybe a little defensive.
“Ah.” Koyama considers him for a moment, then looks down.
“It's necessary, you know. I can't...” He trails off, reconsiders, grasps for some way to explain why it really is necessary, and shouldn't Koyama understand this? “We can't...”
“We're very different,” Koyama interrupts, and Shige would get more defensive except there's nothing condescending in Koyama's tone. It is Koyama after all. They are really different. “I would never question the way you do your job. I know how much you care. Shige-chan, though, I like him a lot, and sometimes I get a little scared of losing him.”
“I... Koyama,” Shige says, and he suddenly feels a little out of breath. His heart is beating fast.
Koyama tilts his head and smiles. “Let's get dinner?”
*
The first time Koyama kissed Shige, Shige was sitting in bed, sick and gross, textbooks scattered all around him, riding the thin line of insanity as he tried to ignore his fever in favour of cramming in some more information about psychopathology in view of an important exam. He might also have had rice stuck in his hair. Koyama brought him soup. Koyama tried to usher him to the shower. And when Shige resisted, Koyama smiled and leaned in, pressing cool lips to the corner of Shige’s mouth.
The moment of silence that followed is what Shige remembers best: a time freeze, the eye of a storm, a quiet instant of peace as even the buzz in Shige’s head seemed to take a break to catch its breath.
“Wh...?” Shige’s hand slowly raised to his mouth, fingers hovering over but not quite daring to touch the spot where he could still feel Koyama’s lips.
Koyama straightened up, letting out a short nervous laugh and rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. “For you not to lecture me about germs, Shige-chan must be feeling really sick, right?”
A fit of cough prevented Shige from answering - not that he had any idea what to say. After that, both of them seemed more than happy not to mention the kiss. That is, for a whole two weeks until Shige - not only healthy but sane again after completing his finals - pulled Koyama into a celebratory kiss.
*
Shibutani looks down at his hands, pulls at the edge of his sleeve, wraps it around his fingers.
“When you think about your first kiss, is nurse Koyama the first person that comes to your mind?”
Shige frowns. For all that Shibutani likes to play games with him, this feels different. Shibutani isn’t grinning or shooting Shige a knowing look from under his lashes as he brings up Koyama’s name. His expression is serious; his tone quiet. He’s trying to say something here.
*
Shige's first kiss was at age 15 with a girl named Hitomi. She had shortish hair and a cute nose. Shige remembers being quite infatuated with her at the time. Then again, his feelings back then were nothing compared to what he feels now for Koyama, and Shige is left to wonder about the meaning and nature of feelings. Should the intensity of his feelings for Koyama discredit whatever it was he felt for Hitomi?
*
“I love you,” Shige says, head bent as if he were speaking to the noodles in his bowl, tone almost too quiet for Koyama to hear.
“The food here really is good, isn’t it?” Koyama replies.
Shige’s head shoots up. “I mean...” But Koyama is grinning teasingly.
“Just because you don’t say it a lot or as often as I do doesn’t mean I don’t know.”
Shige swallows and feels the tension leave his shoulders. “I love you,” he says again, clearer, with more confidence this time.
Something softens in Koyama’s smile.
*
“When I think about my first kiss, Yasu is the only person I want to think of,” Shibutani declares. “I’ve had other kisses before, tons of them, but they all mean nothing to me now.”
Shige’s throat feels a little dry. “Why is that?” He asks.
The look Shibutani give him is nothing if not fierce. “Isn’t it obvious? Yasu is the most important person to me. If this is love, then the rest was nothing.”
Shige looks down at his notepad thoughtfully. “But,” he begins slowly, “are those other experiences not what made today possible?”
Shibutani seems unconvinced. Shige taps his pen against the edge of his notepad.
“I like the ramen Koyama’s mom makes the best. Nowadays, they’re pretty much the only ramen I want to eat. But back when I first had ramen, it was at a little shop in Asahi-ku and I remember liking it a lot. If Koya-mama’s ramen are the best, does that mean that those ramen I had all the way back then were bad?”
There is a short moment of silence, then Shibutani snorts. “That is the most ridiculous metaphor I’ve ever heard,” he says. Shige is about to protest, fight to regain some sort of credibility, but Shibutani adds, “but I get your point. Would I love Yasu the same if I didn’t have those other experiences? I want to think I would, but maybe those experiences were important in bringing me where I am right now.”
Shige tries to hide his surprise. “Right,” he agrees slowly, and he may sound a bit uncertain, but in reality he is just a little too stunned by this sudden development. Shibutani seems to notice this as the corner of his lips start lifting up into a playful grin.
“I like this version of you better. Shigeaki-san really is cute when he isn’t playing the stuck-up doctor.”