[multichapter] baby blue: part 5: chapter 15
Title: Baby Blue: Part 5: Chapter 15
Pairing: JunDa
Rating: G
Word Count: 1153
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, and only the words are mine.
Summary: They knew that moving forward would be hard, but with each hurdle the happiness they deserve seems further and further away.
July 14th 2015
Taguchi breathed out a long sigh as he flopped down onto his sofa without even switching on the light. His apartment was warm, he’d barely spent any time here over the last few months so the air-conditioning hadn’t been on regularly and the mid-summer sun had heated the place to baking temperatures despite the late hour.
He knew he should get up and switch it on but he was so tired he didn’t have the energy to do even that and he just rolled onto his side and closed his eyes to enjoy the silence.
He hadn’t really noticed how noisy Ueda’s apartment was, just little noises but constant, the TV nearly always on or music, the sound of panting dogs and paws padding back and forth to the kitchen for water. And then there was Ueda himself, constantly worrying over this or nagging over that. It had been a busy few months and as much as Taguchi loved Ueda he was thankful for some peace and quiet.
They hadn’t made any kind of verbal agreement to go home separately but he knew that Ueda was feeling it as much as him, the cabin fever of being bundled up together day after day, just the two of them, in rehearsal rooms or recording studios, in mini-buses on the way to interviews or photoshoots where they’re all smiles, all draped over each other. They both needed a little space.
It would only get worse too. Their debut duet single was due out the next day and the promotions would only ramp up, and then after a week or two of those the rehearsals for KAT-TUN’s summer tour would be near constant.
Preparations for the summer tour were already complete, the costumes were in production, the set list finalised and choreographies were already decided without Taguchi even having any opportunity to work on them with the choreographers. Rehearsals had started too, but Taguchi and Ueda had theirs separate to the rest of the group for the time being due to scheduling conflicts.
There wasn’t time for much of anything outside of JunDa’s schedule in fact. They were called into the Jimusho nearly every day when they were finished with work to discuss some job that they weren’t getting or some nasty comment made by a newscaster or a show host. There were good things too, a quirky and eccentric director that was interested in making a movie about them when they had time to discuss it with his choice of screen-writer, and hundreds of letters from fans telling them how proud they are that they aren’t hiding their sexualities anymore.
Taguchi was just drifting off to sleep when his phone started ringing from his bag on the other side of the room. Reluctantly he pushed himself up from the sofa to retrieve it, and thought about ignoring it when he saw it was his mother calling.
They were supposed to go out and see her nearly two months ago, back when the poll results first came out but they just hadn’t had the time. Whatever time they did have away from work they wanted to spend together, to remind themselves what all of this extra work was for. At the end of June she’d taken matters into her own hands and got the train to Tokyo herself, but even then they barely had time to catch up by the time they’d finished work and got changed ready to meet her for dinner.
He pressed answer and paced the living room floor as they talked. He switched the light on the third time he passed it and looked longingly back at the sofa but he knew he’d fall asleep the moment he lay down. Instead he stayed on his feet and his mother must have heard how weary he was because she kept it relatively short and then they said goodbye and Taguchi switched the light back out and made his way along to the bedroom.
It was warmer in the bedroom than it was in the living room, but Taguchi just stripped down to his underwear and cracked open a window before flopping down onto the bed. It was kind of lonely, he thought as his hand reached out to the side on instinct and found just an empty side of the bed. He rolled over to face it anyway and decided he maybe didn’t need space after all.
As tired as he was, he just couldn’t fall asleep, his brain wired and his chest heavy as he lay awake for what felt like hours in the darkness. Sometime after midnight he heard the sound of a car outside, and it struck him as a little strange, but he didn’t think anything of it until he heard the door to his apartment unlocked and opened.
There was already a smile on his face by the time Ueda walked through the bedroom door and stripped down to his underwear, and when Ueda lay down beside him Taguchi shuffled closer.
“Get off.” Ueda huffed. “It’s too warm to cuddle, don’t you have air conditioning?” Taguchi just ignored him, snuggling in closer and drifting straight to sleep.
September 18th 2015
“To a successful tour.” Kame said, his glass raised over the table between them. “It’s been a hectic one, more so than usual, but we did it.”
Koki was already a little drunk and Taguchi nudged Ueda beside him when he caught Koki subtly dabbing at his eyes. Ueda chuckled and nudged Taguchi back before slipping his hand into Taguchi’s beneath the table.
They’d been fighting, a lot. Up until four hours ago they weren’t even really speaking but Ueda smiled at him and shook his head. “It’s been stressful for all of us, but it’s been worth it…”
“It’s been especially stressful for you two.” Nakamaru said with a warm smile and Taguchi knew that he knew just how hard it was for them, Ueda had been spending a lot of time with him between their concerts, complaining about JunDa’s workload no doubt.
“We couldn’t have done it without you guys…” Ueda answered him, and he squeezed Taguchi’s hand just a little tighter.
“We couldn’t have done any of it.” Taguchi conceded, and Koki sniffed a little harder and rubbed at his eyes again. It had Taguchi’s throat feeling tight as his lips curved into a wide smile. “You guys have helped us so much…not just over the summer and the tour, and with everything about going public, but before that too…for years.” They really did have the best friends, Taguchi thought, raising his glass to join Kame’s where it was still suspended between them. “To you guys…”
“To friends.” Ueda said, his glass joining them.
“To more than that.” Maru answered, raising his glass. “To members.”
Koki’s was the last glass to join them and his words were wobbly with tears. “To KAT-TUN”
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I'm really sorry that I missed last weekend too, things have been a bit hectic! Between going away, making a halloween costume and shiritori, I've been falling behind with baby blue! The next chapter is mostly written so fingers crossed that will be up next week. I'm sorry again for the infrequency of updates and thank you to those of you still sticking with this series!
Pairing: JunDa
Rating: G
Word Count: 1153
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, and only the words are mine.
Summary: They knew that moving forward would be hard, but with each hurdle the happiness they deserve seems further and further away.
July 14th 2015
Taguchi breathed out a long sigh as he flopped down onto his sofa without even switching on the light. His apartment was warm, he’d barely spent any time here over the last few months so the air-conditioning hadn’t been on regularly and the mid-summer sun had heated the place to baking temperatures despite the late hour.
He knew he should get up and switch it on but he was so tired he didn’t have the energy to do even that and he just rolled onto his side and closed his eyes to enjoy the silence.
He hadn’t really noticed how noisy Ueda’s apartment was, just little noises but constant, the TV nearly always on or music, the sound of panting dogs and paws padding back and forth to the kitchen for water. And then there was Ueda himself, constantly worrying over this or nagging over that. It had been a busy few months and as much as Taguchi loved Ueda he was thankful for some peace and quiet.
They hadn’t made any kind of verbal agreement to go home separately but he knew that Ueda was feeling it as much as him, the cabin fever of being bundled up together day after day, just the two of them, in rehearsal rooms or recording studios, in mini-buses on the way to interviews or photoshoots where they’re all smiles, all draped over each other. They both needed a little space.
It would only get worse too. Their debut duet single was due out the next day and the promotions would only ramp up, and then after a week or two of those the rehearsals for KAT-TUN’s summer tour would be near constant.
Preparations for the summer tour were already complete, the costumes were in production, the set list finalised and choreographies were already decided without Taguchi even having any opportunity to work on them with the choreographers. Rehearsals had started too, but Taguchi and Ueda had theirs separate to the rest of the group for the time being due to scheduling conflicts.
There wasn’t time for much of anything outside of JunDa’s schedule in fact. They were called into the Jimusho nearly every day when they were finished with work to discuss some job that they weren’t getting or some nasty comment made by a newscaster or a show host. There were good things too, a quirky and eccentric director that was interested in making a movie about them when they had time to discuss it with his choice of screen-writer, and hundreds of letters from fans telling them how proud they are that they aren’t hiding their sexualities anymore.
Taguchi was just drifting off to sleep when his phone started ringing from his bag on the other side of the room. Reluctantly he pushed himself up from the sofa to retrieve it, and thought about ignoring it when he saw it was his mother calling.
They were supposed to go out and see her nearly two months ago, back when the poll results first came out but they just hadn’t had the time. Whatever time they did have away from work they wanted to spend together, to remind themselves what all of this extra work was for. At the end of June she’d taken matters into her own hands and got the train to Tokyo herself, but even then they barely had time to catch up by the time they’d finished work and got changed ready to meet her for dinner.
He pressed answer and paced the living room floor as they talked. He switched the light on the third time he passed it and looked longingly back at the sofa but he knew he’d fall asleep the moment he lay down. Instead he stayed on his feet and his mother must have heard how weary he was because she kept it relatively short and then they said goodbye and Taguchi switched the light back out and made his way along to the bedroom.
It was warmer in the bedroom than it was in the living room, but Taguchi just stripped down to his underwear and cracked open a window before flopping down onto the bed. It was kind of lonely, he thought as his hand reached out to the side on instinct and found just an empty side of the bed. He rolled over to face it anyway and decided he maybe didn’t need space after all.
As tired as he was, he just couldn’t fall asleep, his brain wired and his chest heavy as he lay awake for what felt like hours in the darkness. Sometime after midnight he heard the sound of a car outside, and it struck him as a little strange, but he didn’t think anything of it until he heard the door to his apartment unlocked and opened.
There was already a smile on his face by the time Ueda walked through the bedroom door and stripped down to his underwear, and when Ueda lay down beside him Taguchi shuffled closer.
“Get off.” Ueda huffed. “It’s too warm to cuddle, don’t you have air conditioning?” Taguchi just ignored him, snuggling in closer and drifting straight to sleep.
September 18th 2015
“To a successful tour.” Kame said, his glass raised over the table between them. “It’s been a hectic one, more so than usual, but we did it.”
Koki was already a little drunk and Taguchi nudged Ueda beside him when he caught Koki subtly dabbing at his eyes. Ueda chuckled and nudged Taguchi back before slipping his hand into Taguchi’s beneath the table.
They’d been fighting, a lot. Up until four hours ago they weren’t even really speaking but Ueda smiled at him and shook his head. “It’s been stressful for all of us, but it’s been worth it…”
“It’s been especially stressful for you two.” Nakamaru said with a warm smile and Taguchi knew that he knew just how hard it was for them, Ueda had been spending a lot of time with him between their concerts, complaining about JunDa’s workload no doubt.
“We couldn’t have done it without you guys…” Ueda answered him, and he squeezed Taguchi’s hand just a little tighter.
“We couldn’t have done any of it.” Taguchi conceded, and Koki sniffed a little harder and rubbed at his eyes again. It had Taguchi’s throat feeling tight as his lips curved into a wide smile. “You guys have helped us so much…not just over the summer and the tour, and with everything about going public, but before that too…for years.” They really did have the best friends, Taguchi thought, raising his glass to join Kame’s where it was still suspended between them. “To you guys…”
“To friends.” Ueda said, his glass joining them.
“To more than that.” Maru answered, raising his glass. “To members.”
Koki’s was the last glass to join them and his words were wobbly with tears. “To KAT-TUN”
-------------------------------------------------
I'm really sorry that I missed last weekend too, things have been a bit hectic! Between going away, making a halloween costume and shiritori, I've been falling behind with baby blue! The next chapter is mostly written so fingers crossed that will be up next week. I'm sorry again for the infrequency of updates and thank you to those of you still sticking with this series!