Reita/Nao - Proving It - Oneshot
Title: Proving It
Author: tsumetaikaze
Band/Pairing: Reita/Nao [GazettE/Kagrra,], mentions of Kai/Ruki
Genre: Humour, Romance, slightslightslight angst
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: overuse of the word ‘manly’, and a beating to Reita’s ego.
Disclaimer: Hah! Nice one. No.
Summary: Reita’s masculinity is questioned. He’s not happy about it. Neither is Nao. Sort of.
It all started when Ruki decided that Reita wasn’t ‘manly’ enough.
“You know, Reita,” the vocalist said slyly, scratching random images down on a scrap piece of paper he found lying around the room. “You’re not very manly underneath that macho front you put up.”
Reita could only raise an eyebrow in complete disbelief. “Yeah, right. And you are?”
Ruki nodded absently. “Yes.”
Reita couldn’t help the snort that escaped, and craned his neck to look across the room at his friend from his position stretched out on the couch. “Do explain.”
Ruki shrugged, poking his tongue out the tiniest bit as he concentrated. “Explain why I’m manly or why you’re not manly?”
“Why you seem to think I’m not manly.”
The short blonde sighed and put his pen down after a long pause to regard Reita with condescending eyes. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“No, actually, no it’s not. I am clearly the manliest out of this band and you all know it.”
A delicate eyebrow was raised in response. “Okay, you go ahead and think that.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” Ruki said exasperatedly, “that you are definitely not the manliest and we all know it. Though I do have to give you credit for trying.”
Reita scowled and sat up, propping himself up on his elbows as he stared at his band mate, not entirely sure he was hearing correctly.
Now, Reita knew he was masculine, yes he did. He had the deepest voice and the strongest instrument, did not strut around the stage and tease his band mates while the others decidedly did, he didn’t wear tight pants or skirts or have long hair or curly hair (which, thankfully, Ruki had now learned wasn’t the most brilliant of hairstyles), and he obviously took the most care of his body out of everyone. He rode a motorbike and wore rugged leather and chains and played sport. He didn’t dance and shake his hips like Aoi, he didn’t randomly kiss his band members like Uruha, he didn’t mother everyone and cook for them like Kai, and he didn’t giggle and change moods more than a woman PMSing like Ruki. Or squeal over shiny silver suits. Because that was just weird.
So yes, he was the manliest, and no, Ruki wasn’t going to tell him otherwise.
Reita put on his best ‘now see here’ face and glared at the smirking vocalist, looking for all the world like he’d just heard every single thought process that had run through the bassist’s head.
“I don’t have to try. I’m masculine by nature, unlike all you prancing fools.”
Ruki raised an eyebrow and countered, “Oh? How so?”
Reita rolled his eyes and waved his hand around absently. “Well… Okay, man, Aoi wears skirts and openly admits that he likes them. Seeing too much of Uruha’s legs has become a given. Kai is practically a housewife and such a girl it’s insane -“
Ruki interrupted him with a badly staged cough that sounded suspiciously like, “Well you obviously haven’t been looking properly1,” which Reita chose to pointedly ignore.
“- and I don’t even know what you do but I know it’s sure as hell not manly and involves a little too much public displays of self-affection.”
Ruki snorted. “You got a problem with that?”
“A little, yeah.”
“And that, my friend, is precisely why you’re not the masculine one.”
“What, because I don’t touch myself or my friends on stage, fuss over everyone, show my legs and wear skirts?”
“Yes.”
Reita failed to see how that connected, and Ruki took his obvious confusion as his cue to elaborate.
“Okay, here’s the thing.”
Reita folded his arms and raised an eyebrow, waiting for the enlightening explanation.
“You like tight muscle shirts.”
“That’s… so does Kai.”
“Kai wears them with elegant jackets. You spend at least three hours doing your hair every morning.”
“So do you!”
“No, no I don’t. Kai can vouch for me. You’re a bit too fond of your accessories.”
“Again, so are you.”
“Mine are classy accessories. You giggle a lot.”
“As if I do!”
“Oh, you do. You’re incredibly shy when it comes to your ‘manliness’ being questioned. Like now. Which makes you less manly.”
“Only when you molest me.”
“I do it because you’re hilarious when you squirm and Kai’s fantastic in bed when he’s jealous. You play video games more than is healthy.”
“So?”
“You still hate vegetables.”
“I got over that!”
“You’re gay.”
Reita scowled. “Now you’re just playing nasty.”
“Oh but it’s true.”
“Only… only for Nao!”
“You’re still gay.”
“Not completely.”
“And a taken gay man in denial is never manly.”
“Well - well - you’re not so manly yourself!”
“No, but I’ve come to terms with it and have learned to use it to my advantage while you, continue to carry it around on your shoulders for the world to see when all we really see is the blushing bassist beneath. I think it’s time you gave it up, Reita. For your own good. Really.”
And that was when things started to go a little downhill.
What had started out as a relatively good day, laughing at how Ruki tried and failed to beat him at various games, ended up with Reita in a very sour mood, trying to cope with a severely beaten ego and Uruha doing nothing to help.
“Aaw, what’s wrong, Rei?”
Reita glared up at the grinning guitarist and stabbed his chopsticks rudely into his plate as he made to stand up. “Nothing.”
Uruha laughed. “That time of the month, is it?”
Reita froze, one hand on the table as he made to push himself up but stopped halfway through the motion. Uruha couldn’t have known how close that was to the point of his bad mood. Not that Reita did - because, ew - but it was pretty much what Ruki had been saying only in a more directly insulting way and basically, it did what it set out to do and got Reita all offended and huffy.
“No, it’s not,” he ground out through gritted teeth, pushing himself up all the way and stalking out of the dining room to the kitchen, half-eaten meal in hand.
Much to his dismay, Uruha followed him, watching with a goofy grin as Reita threw his bowl harshly into the sink. “Well what is it then? Did you break a nail? Get a stain on your noseband? Get a photo taken with your makeup smudged?”
Reita took a deep breath. He was just being annoying. He did this all the time. He didn’t actually know what -
“Aha! Ruki finally told you the truth, didn’t he?! I bet that’s what it is. Am I right or am I right?”
Reita bit back a growl, turned on his heel, shot Uruha a death glare on his way out and grabbed his coat from the door. He would not dignify that with a response. Or the “I am right!” that followed him out of the apartment before he could close the door on it.
He had to go to Nao’s.
He tried not to think the whole way there, but really, he was a little too annoyed to not think about it. Of course he was manly. Ruki just... he didn’t know what he was saying! He was being stupid and trying to tick him off, because he got kicks out of things like that, and there was absolutely no grounds behind anything he said. His logic didn’t even make sense! How could everyone else in their band be oh-so-manly with their skirts and shiny suits and stupid haircuts when Reita wasn’t? That just didn’t work in Reita’s mind.
And what the hell did vegetables and video games have to do with anything?!
Nevertheless, he pulled up to Nao’s place and couldn’t wipe away the severe frown as he climbed the stairs, let himself in and closed the door a little too harshly behind him, feeling like he should apologise for the loud noise but he couldn’t really bring himself to care that much. He threw his jacket on the arm of the couch on his way past, and headed into the room he knew Nao would be in.
He opened up the door of the study, half-smiling to himself at the sight of the bassist in a beanie despite the heating system, and an oversized jacket, body bent over his instrument and a large pair of headphones over his ears. He leaned against the door frame and listened to him playing, gradually feeling the annoyance slip away every time Nao missed a note and made that “Agh!” noise as he flexed his fingers. It was kinda cute.
But of course, just when Reita thought that today might not be too bad after all, and that he could have a quiet night in with Nao to forget about Ruki’s senseless accusations, Nao said loudly, “I know I’m gorgeous, but staring for that long is kinda weird, even in my books.”
Reita chuckled and stepped forwards as Nao put his bass down to rest gently against the wall. The brunette looked up at him as Reita put his hands on his shoulders from behind, and gave him a wide grin.
“What were you playing?” Reita asked.
Nao shrugged. “Eh. Just some thoughts.”
Reita nodded, pursing his lips without even meaning to.
Nao frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Reita looked down, a little started, and removed his hands from Nao’s shoulders as the other turned around to look at him properly and accusingly. He faltered for a moment, before shrugging it off and muttering, “Nothing, really.”
Nao couldn’t have looked more unconvinced. “Uh-huh. Sure it is.”
“Really, it’s nothing.”
“Okay! Do you want some coffee, then? I’m dying for one.”
Reita blinked as he watched Nao stand up and make his way out of the room, following him down the short hallway and around the corner to the kitchen. “Wait, don’t you want to know?”
Nao scoffed as he flicked the kettle on to boil. "I thought it was 'nothing'."
Reita shuffled. "Well..."
“Of course I want to know. I just figured you wouldn’t tell me unless I totally pestered you into it, so I’d fake disinterest until you got so frustrated you would have to tell me.” He flashed Reita another wide grin. “It all makes sense, you see.”
Reita could only raise an eyebrow. “Or you could have pestered me until I was frustrated and told you anyway.”
Nao wrinkled his nose, reaching out to ruffle Reita’s hair before turning to rummage in the upper shelves of the pantry. “Yeah, but I’ve already done that before. It’s lost its novelty, you know? This way is like, making you tell me without actually making you.”
Reita didn’t even bother answering that, having long given up on Nao's sense of logical thought, and figured he should take the opportunity given to him and tell him the reason for that god awful frown while Nao’s back was turned so he didn’t have to look him in the eye when he was laughed at. Because it was inevitable, really.
“Ruki came round for a while today...” he began, kicking himself for sounding so small and gir- not girly.
“Mmm...?” was all Nao said, back still turned as he looked behind various jars and containers and all sorts of things one kept in the pantry.
“And... he said... stuff.”
Nao huffed. “Get to the po- Aha! - the point.” He turned around triumphantly with the coffee container in his hand, giving Reita an expectantly impatient look.
Oh, great. Now he’d have to actually look at Nao while he explained the torture his ego had gone through today and how it was now drastically low thanks to a midget vocalist whose logic was completely shot. Brilliant.
He crossed his arms across his chest and stood up a little straighter from his position leaning against the kitchen counter, and said in a defiant tone, “Ruki said I was the least manliest out of us all.”
There was a long pause while Nao just raised an eyebrow very slowly, staring at Reita with unreadable eyes. Reita shifted uncomfortably. He’d expected Nao to suddenly burst out laughing, not... stare...
“Ruki said what now?”
Oh so now he had to repeat it? Fantastic.
“He practically called me a girl.”
Nao snorted. Reita frowned. The laughter would follow any second now. But Nao just put down the container he was holding and sauntered over to Reita to slip both arms around his waist and grin at him.
“So you’ve come here to get me to fix your bruised and battered ego, have you?”
Reita scowled. “More like stabbed and left for dead ego.”
Nao laughed, his eyes glinting with a level of amusement that Reita didn’t quite approve of. “Well then what did he say?” He took in Reita’s sceptical expression and added, “I won’t laugh. I promise” He still looked unsure. Nao sighed. “I only laughed before because I couldn’t believe Ruki, of all people, said you were a girl.”
“Well he didn’t say I was a girl - he just... strongly implied it.”
Nao nodded knowingly. “Aah, yes, I see. And what was his reasoning for such a ridiculous accusation?”
Reita pressed his lips together, not really sure how much he wanted to disclose, but figured he’d come this far, and if he couldn’t trust Nao then who could he trust? He ‘hmm’ed to himself for a moment before taking the plunge.
“He said I wasn’t manly because I like tight shirts.”
“That’s hardly a reason, and so does Kai.”
“Apparently he wears them with ‘elegant jackets’.”
Nao scoffed. “Oh, please. He’s such a girl.”
“That’s what I said. But Ruki said I took hours to do my hair -“
“Says him.”
“- and that I ‘giggle a lot’ -“
“So does he!”
"- and all this crap about video games and vegetables -"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"I don't know! And - and then he picked on me for being gay.”
Nao’s eyes narrowed. “Now that’s just playing nasty.”
“Again, that’s what I said.”
“This is coming from a man who is gay himself, molests you regularly -“
“He said it was because I’m ‘hilarious when I squirm’ and that it proves I’m not manly because I’m apparently shy about it.”
Nao blinked and shook his head quickly. “Whatever - his logic doesn’t make sense. The point is, he wears shiny suits, dyes his hair regularly because he’s so appearance-obsessed, likes men - or at least Kai - dude! He had a perm!”
“Exactly!”
“And as for the rest of them - Aoi wears skirts, Uruha wears mini-short and dances like a girl with whoever he pleases, and Kai... don’t even get me started on Kai.”
“Thank you!” Reita cried.
Nao grinned and rolled his eyes. “Ruki just doesn’t know what he’s saying. Maybe you should give him a mirror.”
Reita returned the grin and finally unfolded his arms to rest both hands on Nao’s hips, and said almost thoughtfully, “Maybe I will, but then he'd probably be even later to practice.”
Nao laughed, and as always Reita found himself grateful for the way Nao always managed to see the lighter side of the situation. “And if it’s any consolation for the midget’s sudden lapse in plausible thought, I think you’re very masculine.”
Reita schooled his face into a mock serious expression as he tugged Nao closer. “Thank you, Nao.”
The brunette winked at him. “We’ll prove your manliness later - now where does Ruki live?”
Reita tilted his head and said slowly, “Other side of town... why?”
Nao thought for a moment. “No... He’d be at - where does Kai live?”
Reita waved a hand in the vague direction of Nao’s lounge room. “Somewhere over that way. Nao -“
But the other bassist just grinned and cut him off with a quick kiss and a, “I’ll ask Uruha then, seeing as you’re so vague. I have a singer to confront.”
Reita blinked, suddenly feeling his stomach drop as he gripped Nao tighter, preventing him from going anywhere. “Yep, okay. Confidence gone.”
Nao looked up at him in confusion and surprise. “Sorry?”
Reita huffed. “Think about what you just said.”
Nao’s expression didn’t change. “... Eh?”
Reita fidgeted, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his head, vaguely registering the absence of his noseband and feeling somewhat uncomfortable without it. “Well - you’re... you’re...”
Nao’s eyes narrowed. “I’m what?”
Reita floundered for a moment before forcing out, “Having you stick up for me sort of... well... it doesn’t really help my argument, you know...”
“Why not?”
“Ah...”
“Are you saying you’re embarrassed at having me stick up for you?” His eyes were wide with shock, but the amusement Reita could still see in them made him awkward.
“Uh -“
“Are you saying I’m not man enough to take Ruki on?”
“No, but -“
“Because I’ll have you know that I’m plenty manly, thank you very much.”
Reita gave him a lopsided grin. “Well, you - compare yourself to Isshi and Izumi and Shin -“
Nao suddenly raised both hands to push them against Reita’s chest, shaking his head as he said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, don’t even go there.”
Reita raised an eyebrow.
“I am so manlier than Shin.”
“How?”
Nao looked genuinely surprised now, a little offended, wrinkling his nose as he explained. “How am I not? He’s like - short, and... and small, and he’s all shy and giggly and emotional and... and - come on, he is so the bitch in his and Aoi’s relationship. No doubt about it.”
Reita bit back a laugh, unable to resist taking the bait. “And you’re not?”
“Hell no!”
He raised both eyebrows this time, leaning closer and looking Nao straight in the eye. “Oh really?”
Nao frowned and squirmed as Reita forced them closer together. “Yes really. Now let me go attack Ruki for you.”
Reita laughed and ducked that little bit further to whisper into Nao’s ear, “I have a better idea.”
He smirked as he felt Nao stop squirming immediately, and heard his breath hitch as he asked, “You - you do?”
Reita nodded as he pushed Nao’s open jacket out the way and slipped the tips of his fingers beneath his t-shirt. “Mhmm. I think you should forget about throttling Ruki, and prove your manliness.”
He didn’t have to look to know Nao had his eyes closed and his head tilted to the side as he mumbled, “Or... Uh... you could prove it to me first and - and -
Reita really couldn’t hold back that quiet snort of laughter as he kissed Nao’s cheek softly. “And you say you're not the bitch.”
Nao pulled away to punch him in the arm before grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the kitchen and towards his bedroom at the back of the apartment, grumbling all the while. “Yeah well I don’t see you complaining.”
------
1Okay, Kai has an impressive crotch. And don’t call me a pervert, you were all looking too.
This is the result of my friend and I reading far too much into things and cackling like crazies for far too long... Sorry?
Hope you enjoyed it! Comments are always <3