Spica chapter 2
Title: Spica.
Pairing: Tegoshi x Masuda (Main), Yamapi x Ryo
Rating: PG-13
Summary:
Chapter two.
He could see the vague glow of fluorescent tubelights glaring at him from above, and he flinched as the harsh light assaulted his unfocused eyes. He imagines the lights moving towards him, predatory, like a whacked out optical zoom, exactly the way that truck had sped toward towards him from the left that day, whirling and whirling and whirling and whirling as the fear and panic gripped his heart like a vice, like mercury flowing through his veins, freezing him solid before- he nearly lets himself scream- but then he feels the deadweight of the cast on his fractured arm and he remembers that it had already happened, realizes that the images behind his eyes are just a horrible, sadistic re-enactment. He shut his eyes quickly with a groan and brought the back of his palm to his eyelids, letting the cold of his skin sooth the pain. There too were the noises, as he recovered his senses slowly. He could hear the shuffling of feet, the whumpf of the refridgerator door closing, could sense the people moving around him.
"Earth to Masuda~ Earth to Masudaa~"
The voice was familiar- Yamashita, was it?- but then again Masuda isn't quite sure if he could consider someone he's known for a day as familiar. Still he tries to sit up as best he can, groaning again, loudly this time, uncontrolled as he felt the blood rush to his head. He leaned to the side, using the sofa -ah, he was on the couch- to support his weight. His head was positively pounding.
"Hey there buddy. You alright?" Yamashita asked, squatting down next to the well-worn sofa. Masuda nodded and tried opening his eyes again. This time he managed to keep them open, blinking to adjust to the light. He turned around slowly and put his feet on the ground, flinching at the cold. "What happened?"
“You blacked out and fell into Tegoshi’s arms, he drag-carried you to the couch and then ran upstairs and knocked on our door, interrupting something very, very important.” The teacher handed Masuda a glass of water and pouted. "Now Ryo-chan's a little mad, but he'll get over it."
Masuda took the water gratefully and downed it all at one go, looking around for the other two. "Where's Tegoshi?"
Yamashita shifted a little, sticking his legs under the comfy kotatsu and hitting the switch for the heater. "He's making you something to eat upstairs. Ryo-chan's probably sulking while having an extremely cold shower."
When it had finally hit Masuda as to what the very important event Tegoshi had interrupted was, he flushed a bright shade of red and opened his mouth to offer some sort of apology, but his stomach beat him to it and growled violently instead, loud as a thunderbolt in the still quiet of his new home. He pulled his knees to his chest and hugged them, trying the best he could to camouflage into the sofa.
"That's some stomach you've got there, Masuda-kun." Yamashita chuckled, reaching out to ruffle Masuda's mocha-coloured hair. "And star print sweat pants don't exactly blend in very well with black leather."
Masuda curled up defensively, burying his completely embarrassed face into his knees, letting out a squeak that sounded like a 'meeeep'. Yamashita hit him lightly on the head, getting up from under the kotatsu and plopping himself down on the empty space on the couch, whining.
"What are you, five? Stop being so terribly cute before I mistake you for one of the kids!" He laughed.
The younger male pouted and wiggled closer to the arm rest, away from Yamashita's outstretched arm. Masuda still found moving around a little awkward because of the cast, and it had been rather difficult to shower too, what with the soap and water trickling through the gaps whenever he tried washing his left side. It tickled his skin. He'd managed to keep his bad hand mostly dry though, holding it up and away from the water. As much as the cast annoyed him, he knew that it was necessary for healing, and bore with it, counting down the days till he could have it removed. He couldn't possibly go back to the hospital in Tokyo, but he'd figured he'd ask Yamashita or Nishikido about it in due time.
Yamashita was still trying to mess his hair again when a series of knocks from the doorway interrupted their childish banter, and the older of the two scrambled to the door to let in Masuda's visitors. Tegoshi was still dressed in his school-girl outfit, miniskirt swaying as he thread (rather quaintly) gracefully across the tiled floor, Kamen Rider tupperware and spoon in hand. Nishikido followed slightly behind, dragging his feet, a scowl on his face.
As the crossdressing boy and grumpy landlord approached them Masuda had jumped up quickly to apologise for causing them trouble, but the dizziness hit him in a sudden wave and he lost his balance, grabbing hastily at the sofa as he tried to steady himself. He could feel the sofa shift slightly as Tegoshi leaned against the armrest, handing Masuda the container of food and the shiny spoon with a kind smile.
"Here you go, Massu. It'll help ease the dizziness." His voice was soft and distinct, slightly cheeky, yet polite. Masuda nodded a small thank-you, peeling open the lid of the tupperware-
-and blanched at the weird yellow paste staring back at him.
"It's just bananas and sugarcubes with a bit of maple syrup. I mushed it up so it'd be easier to eat." Tegoshi grinned, with sparkly eyes, and Masuda blinked, holding the spoon lightly in his right hand. He was about to turn and give Yamashita a pleading look when Nishikido cut in, grabbing the tupperware and shoving it in his face.
"Eat it. It looks like crap but I promise you it tastes pretty good." Nishikido took the spoon from Masuda's grip and stuck it into the off-yellow mush. "As is the case with most of Tego-nyan's cooking."
Tegoshi had folded his arms and looked away, outright indignance plastered on his face. "Stop sulking, it's not my fault that you have zero art sense."
"-But!"
"-I did say that your cooking tasted good, brat."
"Fine." Tegoshi smirked, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. He turned around to grin enthusiastically at Masuda, and the older one felt an odd wave of sparkliness hit him. Kira Kira.★
“Now eat!”
Masuda picked up the spoon gingerly and nibbled a bit of the so called home-made remedy, somehow unable go against his neighbour’s orders. He’d expected it to taste as bad as it looked, icky and completely unappetizing but the odd sweetness of the sugar and maple syrup blended rather well with the fruit, and he gulped down spoonful after spoonful of the stuff, much to Tegoshi’s delight.
He was about to swallow the last spoonful when his stomach growled loudly again, and Nishikido stared at him in mild amusement as the other two burst into a giggling fit.
“Have you been starving yourself, dieting, trying to lose weight or something?” Nishikido raised an eyebrow at him and Masuda flushed red, pouting. “Of course not. I love food! I just didn’t have any money…”
The landlord was sitting rather snugly on Yamashita’s lap, and Masuda tried his best not to stare. “Did you eat anything at all today?”
Masuda nodded and turned away, staring at his feet instead.
“I had Onigiri…”
“How many?”
“…One.”
“The day before?”
“Hospital food.”
“And before that?”
“Hospital food.”
Ryo sighed.
“Now obviously we know why you collapsed.”
*
Yamashita and Nishikido had left soon after, with the older trying to pick up Nishikido’s small frame with an “Up we go, Ryo-chan~!”. He got his foot stomped on instead.
Tegoshi had taken the purple Tupperware and dumped it into Masuda’s kitchen sink, peeking into the fridge and letting himself into all of the rooms, going ‘oooh’ and ‘ahh’ as he fiddled with the light switches, the apartment’s habitant trailing behind him, now able to move around with ease. Masuda had to admit, Tegoshi’s strange concoction had worked.
His neighbour was obviously stalling, but Masuda didn’t mind, the dubious amount of sugar he had consumed had chased away any drowsiness he felt before. When they’d made one complete tour of Masuda’s apartment, Tegoshi grinned at him guiltily and bowed slightly.
“I left my keys at work and I can’t get them until the afternoon and I didn’t dare tell Ryo-tan about it because he said he’d kill me if I locked myself out again and I can’t possibly stay over at his place because Yamapi’s there and you know what they do, so I was wondering if it wouldn’t be too much of a bother to let me stay here just for tonight and I promise i’ll be no trouble at all!” The younger one blurted out at one go, looking up at Masuda hopefully.
“Sure.” Masuda smiled, he owed Tegoshi a favour anyway. “Do you want the bed or the couch?”
Tegoshi grinned and almost hugged Masuda, stopping himself before they touched, not wanting to appear impolite. “Thank you! Can I have the kotatsu?”
“Go ahead.” Masuda had felt the Kira Kira ★ hit him again when Tegoshi beamed at him, all bright pearly teeth and grins, skipping to the kotatsu, his skirt flipping up dangerously as he moved.
"You can change out in the bathroom if you want." Masuda coughed, digging out his toothbrush and pink pig plushie from his backpack, leaving the squishy plushtoy on the couch. (He had had limited space in his backpack, but how could he leave his precious Buta-chan behind?)
"It's okay, i'll just change out here. I have shorts on." The younger one shook his head lazily, already settled comfortably under the kotatsu. He wiggled out of his skirt under the red blanket, taking his cellphone, wallet, a packet of copeito and preserved seaweed, oddly enough, out of the pockets before folding the pleated thing neatly and placing it next to him on the floor. Masuda all but squeaked and dashed to the bathroom when Tegoshi removed his blazer and reached under his shirt to take the fake boobs off.
“Don’t change in front of me!” Masuda yelped, slamming the bathroom door shut as fast as he could. Tegoshi looked up, slightly confused, but he shrugged and continued with what he was doing, inhaling deeply when he could finally breathe properly again. He hid the silicon things under his skirt and stretched his arms slowly, yawning widely before curling up under the warmth of the kotatsu.
“How do girls live with those heavy things? Seriously…my back hurts…”
*
When Masuda had gotten back to the living room, Tegoshi was already sleeping peacefully, head and shoulders sticking out from beneath the red blanket. Masuda had grabbed two pillows from the cupboard in the bedroom and left one next to Tegoshi’s head. If his neighbour really wanted a pillow, he’d probably be able to grab for one in his sleep, he reasoned. He was holding Buta-Chan’s paw/hoof/trotter when he saw the neon yellow post-it stuck to the white kotatsu tabletop, and picked it up, trying to decipher the slanted script.
Wake me up at two pm.~\(^______^)/
Masuda snorted and stuck the post-it on his bubbly neighbour’s forehead, laughing lightly when Tegoshi tried to swat his hand away in his sleep.
“No trouble at all my ass.”
*
Tegoshi had slept like a rock, completely unmoving, the pillow still where Masuda had left it the night before. He’d fallen asleep eventually, hugging his plushie, tracing the lines above him with his eyes, following the tracks and wrinkles in the worn leather of the couch. He’d been expecting Yamashita, Nishikido or even Tegoshi to probe into the reason as to why he was hospitalized and had a broken arm, or why he had run away from Tokyo, but none of them had asked and Masuda was deeply grateful for that, that his new friends -if he could be courageous enough to call them that- had accepted him for who he was presently. He could tell that the three of them were close, closer than most friends would normally be, but just as they had not forced their way into his past, Masuda promised himself that he wouldn’t pry into theirs either.
He had slept in til a quarter past one in the afternoon, washing up quickly in the bathroom before changing into a clean set of clothes, folding and stacking his sleeping attire neatly in the corner of the bathroom. He made a mental note to ask Tegoshi about where he could get his laundry done and set the kettle to boil. Then he grabbed his phone from the kitchen counter and settled back down on the couch to reply his sister's early morning texts. Yes, he was alive. No, he's not in trouble. Yes, he's found a job and somewhere to stay. Will he tell her where he is? Maybe.
Would he be coming back anytime soon? No answer.
Masuda shut his phone and glanced at the digital clock on its small LCD display, moving to wake Tegoshi, jumping back in shock instead when his sleeping neighbour’s phone had started blasting music, colourful LED lights dancing about in a blurry rainbow.
‘ASHITA KARA MATA NICHI GETSU KA-‘
Masuda watched in wide-eyed amusement as the younger boy groped about for his phone, still asleep, and tossed it halfway across the room before snuggling back under the blanket of the kotatsu.
‘--HORA SUI MOKU MAWATTE KIN DOU-‘
The poor cellphone skidded once, twice, sliding a little before bumping into the wall, still playing the song.
‘-NICHI YO YUME NO HIBI WO DAIJI NI IKIMASHOU MOU ICCH---‘
Masuda picked it up and turned off the alarm before walking over to the kotatsu to shake Tegoshi’s shoulders, lifting the table and carrying it away when sleeping boy refused to budge.
“Mmmmppffff…What are you doing?” Tegoshi glared at him from the floor, pouting as the addictively warm device was taken away from him.
“Waking you up at two pm.” Masuda smirked.
*
“Saturday is grocery day and Tuesday is trash day,” Tegoshi recited as Masuda followed him down the stairs, wallet in hand. “Recyclables go into the yellow bags and the biodegradables go into the black ones. Bring them down and leave them out back."
“Why Saturday?” Masuda asked, curious.
“They restock the seaweed and sweets every Saturday.” Tegoshi grinned at him. “Ryo-tan and Yamapi go whenever they need something, but you can follow me since I have a discount card.”
"Okay." Masuda nodded again, watching as Tegoshi skipped down the stairs.
“Where can I get laundry done?” He asked, taking the steps three at a time to keep up with his energetic neighbour.
“Oh, yes that. Don’t go to the Laundromat, the machines there suck your wallet dry. It’s best to get your own.” Tegoshi stopped abruptly and spun around. He was wearing his skirt again, having complained that it was way too cold to be walking around outside in shorts. “You can use mine for now, if you don't mind sharing.”
“I have one condition though.” He looked at Masuda, a mischievous glint in his eyes and the older one panicked, taking a tentative step back. “Please help me iron my clothes.”
Masuda blinked at him, still a little stunned, before agreeing. “Okay.”
He was used to doing housework anyway.
"Yatta~!" Tegoshi jumped happily, laughing. "I haven't had properly ironed clothes since I moved out of Ryo's place."
*
They had agreed to drop by Tegoshi’s workplace to collect his keys before heading over to the big Lawsons near Ryo’s building. It was chilly out, most of the trees were bare, a sign that winter was fast settling in. Tegoshi walked happily along, humming to himself as Masuda fell comfortably into step beside him. Soon enough they had arrived in front of a Host Club. It had a huge blinking Sakura flower on it with the word OURAN written in equally pink font. Neon pink lights outlined the words, blinking in random patterns He’d seen his fair share of Host clubs while walking around Ginza and Shinjuku, but he’d never been in one before. He’d also read about Host club scandals in the papers was rather afraid of them.
He had waited awkwardly in the arabian carpeted corridor while Tegoshi ran back into the changing rooms to get his keys. When the younger one re-emerged, he had changed out of the uniform into a pair of jeans and a loose-fitting long sleeved shirt, removing his make-up with a face wipe while he walked. Tegoshi didn’t look much different without the make-up, Masuda thought. He still had the same soft features, bright round eyes.
“You work here?” He blurted out as they continued on their way, unable to hold back his curiosity.
“Part-time. Thursdays and Fridays.” They turned the corner and passed the Manga café Masuda had gone to the previous day. “I’m still in university, so the job helps cover a lot of costs.”
"Ah." Masuda nodded, as they walked further down the street, past a playground and furniture shop before arriving at Lawsons. They pushed open the heavy glass doors of the store, stepping into the air conditioned building.
"Grocery time~"
*
Tegoshi had gone straight for the seaweed and snack section before reappearing with a basket full of various microwave and TV dinners, bread, fruit and can food. Masuda had filled his own basket with the basic necessities: toothpaste, soap, shampoo, juice, water, bread, gyoza, eggs, potatoes, instant ramen. He had grabbed some fruit and can food as well, placing them carefully next to the bread, trying not to squish the eggs. He had a problem though, when it came to the rice.
Simply put, he didn't have a rice cooker.
Masuda looked from the bag of white rice in his hands to Tegoshi, and then back. It would not hurt to try his luck, he figured.
“Tegoshi?” He waved, calling him over from the magazine stand.
“Yes, Massu?” The younger one replied, walking over to Masuda’s side, swinging his basket.
“If I teach you how to cook properly, will you please let me borrow your rice cooker?” He pleaded, flinching a little when Tegoshi pouted at him with a frown.
"I can cook perfectly well." The younger boy glared, turning to walk away. Masuda grabbed his sleeve, bracing himself for the hurt look Tegoshi would give him. "You know you can't."
They stood there in the aisle, stubbornly staring each other down, the air turning thick around them. Masuda was about to apologise, the guilt eating at him, when Tegoshi chewed his bottom lip nervously and looked away. "Massu's really honest, ne."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." The older one let go of Tegoshi's sleeve, fumbling with the pack of rice with his good hand, having trouble balancing everything on one side. He felt like the biggest jerk in the world when the younger boy took the rice gently from him and placed it in his own basket, pulling him towards the checkout counters.
"It's alright." Tegoshi shook his head. "Honesty is good."
If it was possible, Masuda felt like an ever bigger jerk than before, berating himself for having been so rude.
"I'm really, really sorry." He tried to bow in apology, but Tegoshi had stopped him, pushing his shoulders back upright. "Stop apologizing, Massu."
"But I-"
"Treat me to ice cream instead, ne. I've been wanting to try this new melon flavoured one." Tegoshi grinned at him as he tugged on his wrist, and Masuda wished a ditch would appear to swallow him whole.
*
They'd gotten soft-serve cones from the little ice cream shop hidden behind Lawsons. Tegoshi was a frequent customer, Masuda guessed, from the way the old man behind the counter had greeted him. They'd chatted lightheartedly as Masuda paid for both their cones, smiling awkwardly as Tegoshi introduced him as his neighbour and friend.
Tegoshi had insisted that they stop by the playground on the way back, waving merrily to the shopkeeper as they left the store. He'd grabbed Masuda's wrist excitedly and pulled him most of the way there, dumping his grocery bags on a nearby bench before running straight to the swings. Masuda had followed behind Tegoshi, who'd kicked off his sandals before plopping himself down on one of the seats. Masuda kept his shoes on, walking carefully in the sandy area, settling down in the seat beside his neighbour.
They sat in a strangely comfortable silence, moving back and forth leisurely until Tegoshi spoke up.
"I don't really have friends." Masuda could hear a twinge of pain in his voice, and it surprised him. Tegoshi looked down at the ground, nudging the sand with his feet. "But Massu is really nice, i'm glad you're my neighbour."
Masuda smiled sincerely. "I’m glad Tegoshi's my neighbour too.”
“Massu?”
“Hmm?”
“Let’s be good friends, ne?” Tegoshi looked at him warmly, head tilted, brown eyes sparkling.
“Okay.”
Masuda pedalled backward before leaning forward in his seat, laughing happily as his momentum threw him into the air. Watching the pale-blue sky rush by before his eyes, feeling the cool winter air blowing through his hair, a sense of peace settled over him as he giggled childishly, competing with Tegoshi to see who could fly further, higher, up and away into the clouds.
He’s glad he chose this town, he thought, as he watched the ground fall away beneath his feet.
Kira Kira. ★
*
A/N. DISCLAIMER: Please do not trust anything i say about food. Particularly tegoshi's recipes. I make them all up in my head.
Horrible Procrastinator is Horrible D: I'm sorry this still sucks D: I hope the length made up for it D: And please forgive the referencing everywhereeeeeeeeeeeee~~~~~~~
13 days to the TEGOMASS DVD :D
Thanks for reading~~~~
Pairing: Tegoshi x Masuda (Main), Yamapi x Ryo
Rating: PG-13
Summary:
Chapter two.
He could see the vague glow of fluorescent tubelights glaring at him from above, and he flinched as the harsh light assaulted his unfocused eyes. He imagines the lights moving towards him, predatory, like a whacked out optical zoom, exactly the way that truck had sped toward towards him from the left that day, whirling and whirling and whirling and whirling as the fear and panic gripped his heart like a vice, like mercury flowing through his veins, freezing him solid before- he nearly lets himself scream- but then he feels the deadweight of the cast on his fractured arm and he remembers that it had already happened, realizes that the images behind his eyes are just a horrible, sadistic re-enactment. He shut his eyes quickly with a groan and brought the back of his palm to his eyelids, letting the cold of his skin sooth the pain. There too were the noises, as he recovered his senses slowly. He could hear the shuffling of feet, the whumpf of the refridgerator door closing, could sense the people moving around him.
"Earth to Masuda~ Earth to Masudaa~"
The voice was familiar- Yamashita, was it?- but then again Masuda isn't quite sure if he could consider someone he's known for a day as familiar. Still he tries to sit up as best he can, groaning again, loudly this time, uncontrolled as he felt the blood rush to his head. He leaned to the side, using the sofa -ah, he was on the couch- to support his weight. His head was positively pounding.
"Hey there buddy. You alright?" Yamashita asked, squatting down next to the well-worn sofa. Masuda nodded and tried opening his eyes again. This time he managed to keep them open, blinking to adjust to the light. He turned around slowly and put his feet on the ground, flinching at the cold. "What happened?"
“You blacked out and fell into Tegoshi’s arms, he drag-carried you to the couch and then ran upstairs and knocked on our door, interrupting something very, very important.” The teacher handed Masuda a glass of water and pouted. "Now Ryo-chan's a little mad, but he'll get over it."
Masuda took the water gratefully and downed it all at one go, looking around for the other two. "Where's Tegoshi?"
Yamashita shifted a little, sticking his legs under the comfy kotatsu and hitting the switch for the heater. "He's making you something to eat upstairs. Ryo-chan's probably sulking while having an extremely cold shower."
When it had finally hit Masuda as to what the very important event Tegoshi had interrupted was, he flushed a bright shade of red and opened his mouth to offer some sort of apology, but his stomach beat him to it and growled violently instead, loud as a thunderbolt in the still quiet of his new home. He pulled his knees to his chest and hugged them, trying the best he could to camouflage into the sofa.
"That's some stomach you've got there, Masuda-kun." Yamashita chuckled, reaching out to ruffle Masuda's mocha-coloured hair. "And star print sweat pants don't exactly blend in very well with black leather."
Masuda curled up defensively, burying his completely embarrassed face into his knees, letting out a squeak that sounded like a 'meeeep'. Yamashita hit him lightly on the head, getting up from under the kotatsu and plopping himself down on the empty space on the couch, whining.
"What are you, five? Stop being so terribly cute before I mistake you for one of the kids!" He laughed.
The younger male pouted and wiggled closer to the arm rest, away from Yamashita's outstretched arm. Masuda still found moving around a little awkward because of the cast, and it had been rather difficult to shower too, what with the soap and water trickling through the gaps whenever he tried washing his left side. It tickled his skin. He'd managed to keep his bad hand mostly dry though, holding it up and away from the water. As much as the cast annoyed him, he knew that it was necessary for healing, and bore with it, counting down the days till he could have it removed. He couldn't possibly go back to the hospital in Tokyo, but he'd figured he'd ask Yamashita or Nishikido about it in due time.
Yamashita was still trying to mess his hair again when a series of knocks from the doorway interrupted their childish banter, and the older of the two scrambled to the door to let in Masuda's visitors. Tegoshi was still dressed in his school-girl outfit, miniskirt swaying as he thread (rather quaintly) gracefully across the tiled floor, Kamen Rider tupperware and spoon in hand. Nishikido followed slightly behind, dragging his feet, a scowl on his face.
As the crossdressing boy and grumpy landlord approached them Masuda had jumped up quickly to apologise for causing them trouble, but the dizziness hit him in a sudden wave and he lost his balance, grabbing hastily at the sofa as he tried to steady himself. He could feel the sofa shift slightly as Tegoshi leaned against the armrest, handing Masuda the container of food and the shiny spoon with a kind smile.
"Here you go, Massu. It'll help ease the dizziness." His voice was soft and distinct, slightly cheeky, yet polite. Masuda nodded a small thank-you, peeling open the lid of the tupperware-
-and blanched at the weird yellow paste staring back at him.
"It's just bananas and sugarcubes with a bit of maple syrup. I mushed it up so it'd be easier to eat." Tegoshi grinned, with sparkly eyes, and Masuda blinked, holding the spoon lightly in his right hand. He was about to turn and give Yamashita a pleading look when Nishikido cut in, grabbing the tupperware and shoving it in his face.
"Eat it. It looks like crap but I promise you it tastes pretty good." Nishikido took the spoon from Masuda's grip and stuck it into the off-yellow mush. "As is the case with most of Tego-nyan's cooking."
Tegoshi had folded his arms and looked away, outright indignance plastered on his face. "Stop sulking, it's not my fault that you have zero art sense."
"-But!"
"-I did say that your cooking tasted good, brat."
"Fine." Tegoshi smirked, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. He turned around to grin enthusiastically at Masuda, and the older one felt an odd wave of sparkliness hit him. Kira Kira.★
“Now eat!”
Masuda picked up the spoon gingerly and nibbled a bit of the so called home-made remedy, somehow unable go against his neighbour’s orders. He’d expected it to taste as bad as it looked, icky and completely unappetizing but the odd sweetness of the sugar and maple syrup blended rather well with the fruit, and he gulped down spoonful after spoonful of the stuff, much to Tegoshi’s delight.
He was about to swallow the last spoonful when his stomach growled loudly again, and Nishikido stared at him in mild amusement as the other two burst into a giggling fit.
“Have you been starving yourself, dieting, trying to lose weight or something?” Nishikido raised an eyebrow at him and Masuda flushed red, pouting. “Of course not. I love food! I just didn’t have any money…”
The landlord was sitting rather snugly on Yamashita’s lap, and Masuda tried his best not to stare. “Did you eat anything at all today?”
Masuda nodded and turned away, staring at his feet instead.
“I had Onigiri…”
“How many?”
“…One.”
“The day before?”
“Hospital food.”
“And before that?”
“Hospital food.”
Ryo sighed.
“Now obviously we know why you collapsed.”
*
Yamashita and Nishikido had left soon after, with the older trying to pick up Nishikido’s small frame with an “Up we go, Ryo-chan~!”. He got his foot stomped on instead.
Tegoshi had taken the purple Tupperware and dumped it into Masuda’s kitchen sink, peeking into the fridge and letting himself into all of the rooms, going ‘oooh’ and ‘ahh’ as he fiddled with the light switches, the apartment’s habitant trailing behind him, now able to move around with ease. Masuda had to admit, Tegoshi’s strange concoction had worked.
His neighbour was obviously stalling, but Masuda didn’t mind, the dubious amount of sugar he had consumed had chased away any drowsiness he felt before. When they’d made one complete tour of Masuda’s apartment, Tegoshi grinned at him guiltily and bowed slightly.
“I left my keys at work and I can’t get them until the afternoon and I didn’t dare tell Ryo-tan about it because he said he’d kill me if I locked myself out again and I can’t possibly stay over at his place because Yamapi’s there and you know what they do, so I was wondering if it wouldn’t be too much of a bother to let me stay here just for tonight and I promise i’ll be no trouble at all!” The younger one blurted out at one go, looking up at Masuda hopefully.
“Sure.” Masuda smiled, he owed Tegoshi a favour anyway. “Do you want the bed or the couch?”
Tegoshi grinned and almost hugged Masuda, stopping himself before they touched, not wanting to appear impolite. “Thank you! Can I have the kotatsu?”
“Go ahead.” Masuda had felt the Kira Kira ★ hit him again when Tegoshi beamed at him, all bright pearly teeth and grins, skipping to the kotatsu, his skirt flipping up dangerously as he moved.
"You can change out in the bathroom if you want." Masuda coughed, digging out his toothbrush and pink pig plushie from his backpack, leaving the squishy plushtoy on the couch. (He had had limited space in his backpack, but how could he leave his precious Buta-chan behind?)
"It's okay, i'll just change out here. I have shorts on." The younger one shook his head lazily, already settled comfortably under the kotatsu. He wiggled out of his skirt under the red blanket, taking his cellphone, wallet, a packet of copeito and preserved seaweed, oddly enough, out of the pockets before folding the pleated thing neatly and placing it next to him on the floor. Masuda all but squeaked and dashed to the bathroom when Tegoshi removed his blazer and reached under his shirt to take the fake boobs off.
“Don’t change in front of me!” Masuda yelped, slamming the bathroom door shut as fast as he could. Tegoshi looked up, slightly confused, but he shrugged and continued with what he was doing, inhaling deeply when he could finally breathe properly again. He hid the silicon things under his skirt and stretched his arms slowly, yawning widely before curling up under the warmth of the kotatsu.
“How do girls live with those heavy things? Seriously…my back hurts…”
*
When Masuda had gotten back to the living room, Tegoshi was already sleeping peacefully, head and shoulders sticking out from beneath the red blanket. Masuda had grabbed two pillows from the cupboard in the bedroom and left one next to Tegoshi’s head. If his neighbour really wanted a pillow, he’d probably be able to grab for one in his sleep, he reasoned. He was holding Buta-Chan’s paw/hoof/trotter when he saw the neon yellow post-it stuck to the white kotatsu tabletop, and picked it up, trying to decipher the slanted script.
Wake me up at two pm.~\(^______^)/
Masuda snorted and stuck the post-it on his bubbly neighbour’s forehead, laughing lightly when Tegoshi tried to swat his hand away in his sleep.
“No trouble at all my ass.”
*
Tegoshi had slept like a rock, completely unmoving, the pillow still where Masuda had left it the night before. He’d fallen asleep eventually, hugging his plushie, tracing the lines above him with his eyes, following the tracks and wrinkles in the worn leather of the couch. He’d been expecting Yamashita, Nishikido or even Tegoshi to probe into the reason as to why he was hospitalized and had a broken arm, or why he had run away from Tokyo, but none of them had asked and Masuda was deeply grateful for that, that his new friends -if he could be courageous enough to call them that- had accepted him for who he was presently. He could tell that the three of them were close, closer than most friends would normally be, but just as they had not forced their way into his past, Masuda promised himself that he wouldn’t pry into theirs either.
He had slept in til a quarter past one in the afternoon, washing up quickly in the bathroom before changing into a clean set of clothes, folding and stacking his sleeping attire neatly in the corner of the bathroom. He made a mental note to ask Tegoshi about where he could get his laundry done and set the kettle to boil. Then he grabbed his phone from the kitchen counter and settled back down on the couch to reply his sister's early morning texts. Yes, he was alive. No, he's not in trouble. Yes, he's found a job and somewhere to stay. Will he tell her where he is? Maybe.
Would he be coming back anytime soon? No answer.
Masuda shut his phone and glanced at the digital clock on its small LCD display, moving to wake Tegoshi, jumping back in shock instead when his sleeping neighbour’s phone had started blasting music, colourful LED lights dancing about in a blurry rainbow.
‘ASHITA KARA MATA NICHI GETSU KA-‘
Masuda watched in wide-eyed amusement as the younger boy groped about for his phone, still asleep, and tossed it halfway across the room before snuggling back under the blanket of the kotatsu.
‘--HORA SUI MOKU MAWATTE KIN DOU-‘
The poor cellphone skidded once, twice, sliding a little before bumping into the wall, still playing the song.
‘-NICHI YO YUME NO HIBI WO DAIJI NI IKIMASHOU MOU ICCH---‘
Masuda picked it up and turned off the alarm before walking over to the kotatsu to shake Tegoshi’s shoulders, lifting the table and carrying it away when sleeping boy refused to budge.
“Mmmmppffff…What are you doing?” Tegoshi glared at him from the floor, pouting as the addictively warm device was taken away from him.
“Waking you up at two pm.” Masuda smirked.
*
“Saturday is grocery day and Tuesday is trash day,” Tegoshi recited as Masuda followed him down the stairs, wallet in hand. “Recyclables go into the yellow bags and the biodegradables go into the black ones. Bring them down and leave them out back."
“Why Saturday?” Masuda asked, curious.
“They restock the seaweed and sweets every Saturday.” Tegoshi grinned at him. “Ryo-tan and Yamapi go whenever they need something, but you can follow me since I have a discount card.”
"Okay." Masuda nodded again, watching as Tegoshi skipped down the stairs.
“Where can I get laundry done?” He asked, taking the steps three at a time to keep up with his energetic neighbour.
“Oh, yes that. Don’t go to the Laundromat, the machines there suck your wallet dry. It’s best to get your own.” Tegoshi stopped abruptly and spun around. He was wearing his skirt again, having complained that it was way too cold to be walking around outside in shorts. “You can use mine for now, if you don't mind sharing.”
“I have one condition though.” He looked at Masuda, a mischievous glint in his eyes and the older one panicked, taking a tentative step back. “Please help me iron my clothes.”
Masuda blinked at him, still a little stunned, before agreeing. “Okay.”
He was used to doing housework anyway.
"Yatta~!" Tegoshi jumped happily, laughing. "I haven't had properly ironed clothes since I moved out of Ryo's place."
*
They had agreed to drop by Tegoshi’s workplace to collect his keys before heading over to the big Lawsons near Ryo’s building. It was chilly out, most of the trees were bare, a sign that winter was fast settling in. Tegoshi walked happily along, humming to himself as Masuda fell comfortably into step beside him. Soon enough they had arrived in front of a Host Club. It had a huge blinking Sakura flower on it with the word OURAN written in equally pink font. Neon pink lights outlined the words, blinking in random patterns He’d seen his fair share of Host clubs while walking around Ginza and Shinjuku, but he’d never been in one before. He’d also read about Host club scandals in the papers was rather afraid of them.
He had waited awkwardly in the arabian carpeted corridor while Tegoshi ran back into the changing rooms to get his keys. When the younger one re-emerged, he had changed out of the uniform into a pair of jeans and a loose-fitting long sleeved shirt, removing his make-up with a face wipe while he walked. Tegoshi didn’t look much different without the make-up, Masuda thought. He still had the same soft features, bright round eyes.
“You work here?” He blurted out as they continued on their way, unable to hold back his curiosity.
“Part-time. Thursdays and Fridays.” They turned the corner and passed the Manga café Masuda had gone to the previous day. “I’m still in university, so the job helps cover a lot of costs.”
"Ah." Masuda nodded, as they walked further down the street, past a playground and furniture shop before arriving at Lawsons. They pushed open the heavy glass doors of the store, stepping into the air conditioned building.
"Grocery time~"
*
Tegoshi had gone straight for the seaweed and snack section before reappearing with a basket full of various microwave and TV dinners, bread, fruit and can food. Masuda had filled his own basket with the basic necessities: toothpaste, soap, shampoo, juice, water, bread, gyoza, eggs, potatoes, instant ramen. He had grabbed some fruit and can food as well, placing them carefully next to the bread, trying not to squish the eggs. He had a problem though, when it came to the rice.
Simply put, he didn't have a rice cooker.
Masuda looked from the bag of white rice in his hands to Tegoshi, and then back. It would not hurt to try his luck, he figured.
“Tegoshi?” He waved, calling him over from the magazine stand.
“Yes, Massu?” The younger one replied, walking over to Masuda’s side, swinging his basket.
“If I teach you how to cook properly, will you please let me borrow your rice cooker?” He pleaded, flinching a little when Tegoshi pouted at him with a frown.
"I can cook perfectly well." The younger boy glared, turning to walk away. Masuda grabbed his sleeve, bracing himself for the hurt look Tegoshi would give him. "You know you can't."
They stood there in the aisle, stubbornly staring each other down, the air turning thick around them. Masuda was about to apologise, the guilt eating at him, when Tegoshi chewed his bottom lip nervously and looked away. "Massu's really honest, ne."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." The older one let go of Tegoshi's sleeve, fumbling with the pack of rice with his good hand, having trouble balancing everything on one side. He felt like the biggest jerk in the world when the younger boy took the rice gently from him and placed it in his own basket, pulling him towards the checkout counters.
"It's alright." Tegoshi shook his head. "Honesty is good."
If it was possible, Masuda felt like an ever bigger jerk than before, berating himself for having been so rude.
"I'm really, really sorry." He tried to bow in apology, but Tegoshi had stopped him, pushing his shoulders back upright. "Stop apologizing, Massu."
"But I-"
"Treat me to ice cream instead, ne. I've been wanting to try this new melon flavoured one." Tegoshi grinned at him as he tugged on his wrist, and Masuda wished a ditch would appear to swallow him whole.
*
They'd gotten soft-serve cones from the little ice cream shop hidden behind Lawsons. Tegoshi was a frequent customer, Masuda guessed, from the way the old man behind the counter had greeted him. They'd chatted lightheartedly as Masuda paid for both their cones, smiling awkwardly as Tegoshi introduced him as his neighbour and friend.
Tegoshi had insisted that they stop by the playground on the way back, waving merrily to the shopkeeper as they left the store. He'd grabbed Masuda's wrist excitedly and pulled him most of the way there, dumping his grocery bags on a nearby bench before running straight to the swings. Masuda had followed behind Tegoshi, who'd kicked off his sandals before plopping himself down on one of the seats. Masuda kept his shoes on, walking carefully in the sandy area, settling down in the seat beside his neighbour.
They sat in a strangely comfortable silence, moving back and forth leisurely until Tegoshi spoke up.
"I don't really have friends." Masuda could hear a twinge of pain in his voice, and it surprised him. Tegoshi looked down at the ground, nudging the sand with his feet. "But Massu is really nice, i'm glad you're my neighbour."
Masuda smiled sincerely. "I’m glad Tegoshi's my neighbour too.”
“Massu?”
“Hmm?”
“Let’s be good friends, ne?” Tegoshi looked at him warmly, head tilted, brown eyes sparkling.
“Okay.”
Masuda pedalled backward before leaning forward in his seat, laughing happily as his momentum threw him into the air. Watching the pale-blue sky rush by before his eyes, feeling the cool winter air blowing through his hair, a sense of peace settled over him as he giggled childishly, competing with Tegoshi to see who could fly further, higher, up and away into the clouds.
He’s glad he chose this town, he thought, as he watched the ground fall away beneath his feet.
Kira Kira. ★
*
A/N. DISCLAIMER: Please do not trust anything i say about food. Particularly tegoshi's recipes. I make them all up in my head.
Horrible Procrastinator is Horrible D: I'm sorry this still sucks D: I hope the length made up for it D: And please forgive the referencing everywhereeeeeeeeeeeee~~~~~~~
13 days to the TEGOMASS DVD :D
Thanks for reading~~~~