[team three] clarity
i couldn't think of anything specific to write but i really liked the ending words so i just started writing and this is what happened. if you don't know, maika is shintaro's rumored girlfriend with whom he gets in trouble in school for being so cutesy together. she also played the main girl in 49. and she's still 16 for another month, sobs.
“Cheering for you is a full time job,” Maika teases as she switches her textbooks, preparing for the next class. “You’re everywhere!”
“Just like Visa,” Shintaro jokes, grinning while Maika just blinks in confusion. “Everywhere you want to be!”
Now Maika rolls her eyes. “Why do I like you, again?”
“I have absolutely no idea,” Shintaro replies, deflating as his mood turns solemn. “We’ve been dating over a year, and I still don’t know why you waste your time with me.”
“Because you’re so popular, of course,” Maika says seriously, poking his arm with the capped end of her pen. “Hey, don’t give me those eyes in public! We’re gonna get yelled at by sensei again.”
Shintaro just pouts, which has Maika nudging him with her notebook until they really do get reprimanded by the teacher for their next class. Thankfully the lecture is on something he can go back and read later, because he’s too distracted by his cute girlfriend sitting in front of him, staring at the back of her head still amazed that she agreed to go out with him last summer. More accurately, that she hasn’t broken up with him yet.
He’s not the best boyfriend in the world-he forgets dates, falls asleep without replying to mails, and says dumb things in front of her parents. The nature of his job means that they can’t be seen together outside of school, girls look at him all the time, and, as Maika had pointed out, he gets a lot of work. It’s lucky that she’s in the industry too and understands the demands of being an idol, even if she hasn’t been that busy for most of this year.
“Head out of the clouds, Morimoto!” Shouki roars, and Shintaro blinks to find four faces staring at him in various levels of amusement.
“You said we were taking a break!” Shintaro yells back, a little embarrassed at being caught daydreaming by these guys.
“Yeah, twenty minutes ago,” Hokuto scoffs, tossing Shintaro a bottle of water before parking right next to him. “So who is she?”
“She?” Shintaro repeats.
“Yes, she,” Hokuto emphasizes. “Unless you’re into guys now?”
“You wish,” Shintaro teases, earning a snort from Juri. “You know my girlfriend. Maika-chan?”
Taiga wrinkles his nose in disapproval. “Are you still with her? Hasn’t it been like two years or something?”
“I don’t know, maybe.” Shintaro shrugs. “I like her.”
“And for whatever reason, she likes you,” Shouki teases, leaning over the back of Shintaro’s chair to ruffle his hair. “Are you sure she’s okay in the head?”
Shouki makes a disgusted noise at the state of Shintaro’s hair and Shintaro just smirks. “Serves you right for talking shit on my girl.”
A sigh sounds from across the room and Juri aggressively swipes the display on his phone. “You can joke all you want, but he’s the only one of us getting steady ass.”
“Damn, that’s true,” Hokuto says, shaking his head. “Out-pimped by the baby.”
“One, I’m bigger than all of you,” Shintaro lists, counting off on his fingers. “Two, we’re not doing that. Three-”
“What do you mean you’re not doing that?!” Taiga exclaims, looking scandalized like Shintaro had just said he was trying to scam on Taiga’s mom. Hokuto’s jaw is practically on the floor, Juri looks smug, and a gasp from behind Shintaro tells him that Shouki is very likely covering his mouth with his eyes animatedly large.
“Three, mind your own business,” Shintaro picks up where he’d left off, stretching pointedly and hopping up from his seat. “Didn’t you say break’s over? Get back to work, slackers!”
Over the next couple days, the other guys keep trying to press him for more information, but he doesn’t budge and eventually they give up. Probably they chalk it up to his age, earning his ‘baby’ status much to his frustration, but he'll suffer if it keeps them from objectifying his girlfriend.
“What’s wrong?” Maika asks the next time they hang out. “You're all frowny emoji.”
“Nothing,” he rushes to reply, plastering a grin on his face. “Do you want to watch a movie or something?”
“You know you suck at fake smiling, right?” she asks, seeing right through him like always, and he sighs dejectedly. “You don’t have to tell me, but you should know that frowny emojis make me sad.”
She pouts and he really does frown. “Don’t do that…”
“Smile for real then,” she tells him, pouting even harder until he feels awful. “I’ll always listen to your worries, you know.”
“Do you think it’s weird that we haven’t had sex yet?” Shintaro blurts out, glancing toward the open door as an afterthought. They’re in his room on a rare free afternoon after school and he has no idea if any of his family members are home-he’s never had to worry about it before.
Maika blinks. “Do you want to have sex?”
“I…” Shintaro swallows, his throat suddenly dry as an unfamiliar streak of anxiety courses through him despite being the one to bring up the topic. “I don’t know. I mean, I like you a lot, and I want it to be you…someday.”
He lowers his eyes, regretting even mentioning it until he feels her fingers in his hair, softly pushing it out of his face. “I’m glad.”
“You are?”
“Of course!” Maika exclaims, like it’s so obvious and Shintaro is a moron for not noticing, which would ordinarily irritate him to no end except that he’s usually a moron around her. “Most girls our age can’t keep boys out of their skirts and you haven’t tried once. I had to kiss you the first time, remember?”
Shintaro scratches his head sheepishly. “I was fifteen! I didn’t know what I was doing. I still don’t.”
“That is why I like you,” Maika says, taking his face in both hands. “As for sex, I figured we’d do it when it felt right. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes, yes,” Shintaro agrees, slinging an arm around Maika’s waist as he shakes with relief.
“But that’s not okay with your friends, is it?” Maika goes on, giving him a knowing look, and he doesn’t know why he bothers trying to keep things from her.
“They’re perverts,” Shintaro mutters. “I hope I’m not like them when I’m nineteen.”
“That’s a long ways away,” Maika points out. “One day at a time, yeah?”
Warmth floods Shintaro as he remembers her saying that exact same thing when they first decided to get together, neither having any idea of how this dating stuff worked. He may not know the exact date, but he’ll never forget how he felt when she confessed to him after drama filming wrapped up.
“Now you’re smiling like you know a secret,” she tells him, grinning as she rubs her nose against his jaw. That’s his cue to kiss her, but he sits up straight for a second, pleased that he seems to be able to make her so happy just by being himself.
“You’re my secret,” he says, and it sounds just as stupid out loud as it had in his head, but she just giggles and accepts his mouth on hers. For being so light and slow, their kisses feel strong and powerful, taking Shintaro to another world as he loses himself in soft, wet lips and warm breaths.
He’s forced back to reality when something smacks him on the side of his head, followed by the unmistakable sound of snickers from his doorway. “Fuck off, niichan,” he grumbles as he reluctantly pulls away.
“Let me know if you need more,” Ryuutaro says from the doorway, and Shintaro looks in horror to find two brightly colored foil packets scattered on his floor. “You might have some misfires your first time, if you know what I mean.”
“Good evening, Ryuutaro-kun,” Maika greets him, flashing her best fake smile. “Charming as always, I see.”
“It’s what keeps the ladies coming,” Ryuutaro says, leaning against Shintaro’s door frame like he was posing for a magazine. “If you ever want a real man, I’m just down the hall.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Maika says flatly.
Shintaro’s first instinct is to jump up and kick his brother’s ass, but Maika’s hand on his arm keeps him calm and still. “When you keep the same girl for more than two weeks, you can talk to me about being a man.”
“Whatever,” Ryuutaro snorts. “Enjoy your kiddie romance.”
He leaves then, and Shintaro doesn’t realize how hard he’s frowning until Maika pokes his cheeks. “You’re making the emoji face again.”
“I’m sorry,” Shintaro says, hanging his head. “Just somebody else pressuring me to have sex with you.”
“You can tell people we do, if it makes you feel better,” Maika offers. “It won’t bother me any.”
“I’m not going to do that!” Shintaro exclaims. “Even when we do, I’m not telling anyone. That’s our business.”
Maika looks like she wants to say something, but instead she reaches down for one of the foil packets and examines both sides. Shintaro feels that anxiety again at the sight of his girlfriend actually holding a condom, but then she turns to him and grins, whispering conspiratorially.
“Let’s fill them with water and make them fall on your brother’s head when he opens his door!”
“I love you,” Shintaro says clearly, and Maika leans up for a kiss before they get to work.
It doesn’t take long to set up the trap, painlessly easy due to the loud music booming from Ryuutaro’s room, and they stake out the closet down the hall, crouched down next to the vacuum cleaner to wait for the prank to unfold.
“Do you think he’ll be mad?” Maika asks, playing with her fingers like she does when she’s nervous.
“Don’t worry,” Shintaro says, putting his arm around her and leaning his head against hers. “I’ll properly protect you.”
“This isn’t your Gamushara self-promotion video,” she hisses, and even in the dark he can see her rolling her eyes.
“It worked on you, didn’t it?” he teases.
“I don’t remember the part where you emerge from the ocean and shake the water out of your hair when you couldn’t even look me in the face on set.”
“Mean,” Shintaro mutters.
“You can play the sexy idol all you want for your fans,” Maika goes on, reaching for his hand to lace their fingers together. “I know the truth.”
Shintaro just stifles a laugh and they fall into a comfortable silence, Maika laying against Shintaro while they both watch Ryuutaro’s door for movement. They’re cramped but somehow it works; it feels good to be close to her like this, hidden away from view, giving Shintaro a thrill like they were doing something worse.
“Mmm,” Maika hums, leaning back into Shintaro’s embrace. “This is nice.”
“Yeah.” He wraps his arms around her more tightly, burying his nose in the back of her neck. Her hair smells nice, fruity, and it’s easy to brush his lips along her hairline, feeling her resulting shiver. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she says, tilting her head to the side to give him all the access in the world. “I like it.”
Something in the back of Shintaro’s mind is trying to get his attention, but he’s too preoccupied with Maika’s scent and how well her small body fits in his arms as he presses kisses wherever he can, dragging his lips as far as he can down her jaw and throat. She even tastes enticing, nothing that Shintaro can identify but enough to leave his lips tingling.
Then she twists around and her mouth is on his, this kiss already different from any of their previous ones. Her hands slide up around his neck, fingers playing with his own hairline and it makes him kiss her harder, deeper, forgetting anything and everything but her, his girl, who likes him for who he is and happily accepts what affection he can give her.
A loud crash and Ryuutaro’s swearing has them breaking apart, both breathing heavily and laughing as Ryuutaro rubs his head and looks at the two very full purple latex balloons bouncing on the ground next to the empty bucket.
“Hey, they didn’t burst!” Maika whispers, pouting at their failed prank, and Shintaro grins at her actually being more innocent than him. Even he knows that defeats the purpose of condoms.
→ luna_truths
“Cheering for you is a full time job,” Maika teases as she switches her textbooks, preparing for the next class. “You’re everywhere!”
“Just like Visa,” Shintaro jokes, grinning while Maika just blinks in confusion. “Everywhere you want to be!”
Now Maika rolls her eyes. “Why do I like you, again?”
“I have absolutely no idea,” Shintaro replies, deflating as his mood turns solemn. “We’ve been dating over a year, and I still don’t know why you waste your time with me.”
“Because you’re so popular, of course,” Maika says seriously, poking his arm with the capped end of her pen. “Hey, don’t give me those eyes in public! We’re gonna get yelled at by sensei again.”
Shintaro just pouts, which has Maika nudging him with her notebook until they really do get reprimanded by the teacher for their next class. Thankfully the lecture is on something he can go back and read later, because he’s too distracted by his cute girlfriend sitting in front of him, staring at the back of her head still amazed that she agreed to go out with him last summer. More accurately, that she hasn’t broken up with him yet.
He’s not the best boyfriend in the world-he forgets dates, falls asleep without replying to mails, and says dumb things in front of her parents. The nature of his job means that they can’t be seen together outside of school, girls look at him all the time, and, as Maika had pointed out, he gets a lot of work. It’s lucky that she’s in the industry too and understands the demands of being an idol, even if she hasn’t been that busy for most of this year.
“Head out of the clouds, Morimoto!” Shouki roars, and Shintaro blinks to find four faces staring at him in various levels of amusement.
“You said we were taking a break!” Shintaro yells back, a little embarrassed at being caught daydreaming by these guys.
“Yeah, twenty minutes ago,” Hokuto scoffs, tossing Shintaro a bottle of water before parking right next to him. “So who is she?”
“She?” Shintaro repeats.
“Yes, she,” Hokuto emphasizes. “Unless you’re into guys now?”
“You wish,” Shintaro teases, earning a snort from Juri. “You know my girlfriend. Maika-chan?”
Taiga wrinkles his nose in disapproval. “Are you still with her? Hasn’t it been like two years or something?”
“I don’t know, maybe.” Shintaro shrugs. “I like her.”
“And for whatever reason, she likes you,” Shouki teases, leaning over the back of Shintaro’s chair to ruffle his hair. “Are you sure she’s okay in the head?”
Shouki makes a disgusted noise at the state of Shintaro’s hair and Shintaro just smirks. “Serves you right for talking shit on my girl.”
A sigh sounds from across the room and Juri aggressively swipes the display on his phone. “You can joke all you want, but he’s the only one of us getting steady ass.”
“Damn, that’s true,” Hokuto says, shaking his head. “Out-pimped by the baby.”
“One, I’m bigger than all of you,” Shintaro lists, counting off on his fingers. “Two, we’re not doing that. Three-”
“What do you mean you’re not doing that?!” Taiga exclaims, looking scandalized like Shintaro had just said he was trying to scam on Taiga’s mom. Hokuto’s jaw is practically on the floor, Juri looks smug, and a gasp from behind Shintaro tells him that Shouki is very likely covering his mouth with his eyes animatedly large.
“Three, mind your own business,” Shintaro picks up where he’d left off, stretching pointedly and hopping up from his seat. “Didn’t you say break’s over? Get back to work, slackers!”
Over the next couple days, the other guys keep trying to press him for more information, but he doesn’t budge and eventually they give up. Probably they chalk it up to his age, earning his ‘baby’ status much to his frustration, but he'll suffer if it keeps them from objectifying his girlfriend.
“What’s wrong?” Maika asks the next time they hang out. “You're all frowny emoji.”
“Nothing,” he rushes to reply, plastering a grin on his face. “Do you want to watch a movie or something?”
“You know you suck at fake smiling, right?” she asks, seeing right through him like always, and he sighs dejectedly. “You don’t have to tell me, but you should know that frowny emojis make me sad.”
She pouts and he really does frown. “Don’t do that…”
“Smile for real then,” she tells him, pouting even harder until he feels awful. “I’ll always listen to your worries, you know.”
“Do you think it’s weird that we haven’t had sex yet?” Shintaro blurts out, glancing toward the open door as an afterthought. They’re in his room on a rare free afternoon after school and he has no idea if any of his family members are home-he’s never had to worry about it before.
Maika blinks. “Do you want to have sex?”
“I…” Shintaro swallows, his throat suddenly dry as an unfamiliar streak of anxiety courses through him despite being the one to bring up the topic. “I don’t know. I mean, I like you a lot, and I want it to be you…someday.”
He lowers his eyes, regretting even mentioning it until he feels her fingers in his hair, softly pushing it out of his face. “I’m glad.”
“You are?”
“Of course!” Maika exclaims, like it’s so obvious and Shintaro is a moron for not noticing, which would ordinarily irritate him to no end except that he’s usually a moron around her. “Most girls our age can’t keep boys out of their skirts and you haven’t tried once. I had to kiss you the first time, remember?”
Shintaro scratches his head sheepishly. “I was fifteen! I didn’t know what I was doing. I still don’t.”
“That is why I like you,” Maika says, taking his face in both hands. “As for sex, I figured we’d do it when it felt right. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes, yes,” Shintaro agrees, slinging an arm around Maika’s waist as he shakes with relief.
“But that’s not okay with your friends, is it?” Maika goes on, giving him a knowing look, and he doesn’t know why he bothers trying to keep things from her.
“They’re perverts,” Shintaro mutters. “I hope I’m not like them when I’m nineteen.”
“That’s a long ways away,” Maika points out. “One day at a time, yeah?”
Warmth floods Shintaro as he remembers her saying that exact same thing when they first decided to get together, neither having any idea of how this dating stuff worked. He may not know the exact date, but he’ll never forget how he felt when she confessed to him after drama filming wrapped up.
“Now you’re smiling like you know a secret,” she tells him, grinning as she rubs her nose against his jaw. That’s his cue to kiss her, but he sits up straight for a second, pleased that he seems to be able to make her so happy just by being himself.
“You’re my secret,” he says, and it sounds just as stupid out loud as it had in his head, but she just giggles and accepts his mouth on hers. For being so light and slow, their kisses feel strong and powerful, taking Shintaro to another world as he loses himself in soft, wet lips and warm breaths.
He’s forced back to reality when something smacks him on the side of his head, followed by the unmistakable sound of snickers from his doorway. “Fuck off, niichan,” he grumbles as he reluctantly pulls away.
“Let me know if you need more,” Ryuutaro says from the doorway, and Shintaro looks in horror to find two brightly colored foil packets scattered on his floor. “You might have some misfires your first time, if you know what I mean.”
“Good evening, Ryuutaro-kun,” Maika greets him, flashing her best fake smile. “Charming as always, I see.”
“It’s what keeps the ladies coming,” Ryuutaro says, leaning against Shintaro’s door frame like he was posing for a magazine. “If you ever want a real man, I’m just down the hall.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Maika says flatly.
Shintaro’s first instinct is to jump up and kick his brother’s ass, but Maika’s hand on his arm keeps him calm and still. “When you keep the same girl for more than two weeks, you can talk to me about being a man.”
“Whatever,” Ryuutaro snorts. “Enjoy your kiddie romance.”
He leaves then, and Shintaro doesn’t realize how hard he’s frowning until Maika pokes his cheeks. “You’re making the emoji face again.”
“I’m sorry,” Shintaro says, hanging his head. “Just somebody else pressuring me to have sex with you.”
“You can tell people we do, if it makes you feel better,” Maika offers. “It won’t bother me any.”
“I’m not going to do that!” Shintaro exclaims. “Even when we do, I’m not telling anyone. That’s our business.”
Maika looks like she wants to say something, but instead she reaches down for one of the foil packets and examines both sides. Shintaro feels that anxiety again at the sight of his girlfriend actually holding a condom, but then she turns to him and grins, whispering conspiratorially.
“Let’s fill them with water and make them fall on your brother’s head when he opens his door!”
“I love you,” Shintaro says clearly, and Maika leans up for a kiss before they get to work.
It doesn’t take long to set up the trap, painlessly easy due to the loud music booming from Ryuutaro’s room, and they stake out the closet down the hall, crouched down next to the vacuum cleaner to wait for the prank to unfold.
“Do you think he’ll be mad?” Maika asks, playing with her fingers like she does when she’s nervous.
“Don’t worry,” Shintaro says, putting his arm around her and leaning his head against hers. “I’ll properly protect you.”
“This isn’t your Gamushara self-promotion video,” she hisses, and even in the dark he can see her rolling her eyes.
“It worked on you, didn’t it?” he teases.
“I don’t remember the part where you emerge from the ocean and shake the water out of your hair when you couldn’t even look me in the face on set.”
“Mean,” Shintaro mutters.
“You can play the sexy idol all you want for your fans,” Maika goes on, reaching for his hand to lace their fingers together. “I know the truth.”
Shintaro just stifles a laugh and they fall into a comfortable silence, Maika laying against Shintaro while they both watch Ryuutaro’s door for movement. They’re cramped but somehow it works; it feels good to be close to her like this, hidden away from view, giving Shintaro a thrill like they were doing something worse.
“Mmm,” Maika hums, leaning back into Shintaro’s embrace. “This is nice.”
“Yeah.” He wraps his arms around her more tightly, burying his nose in the back of her neck. Her hair smells nice, fruity, and it’s easy to brush his lips along her hairline, feeling her resulting shiver. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she says, tilting her head to the side to give him all the access in the world. “I like it.”
Something in the back of Shintaro’s mind is trying to get his attention, but he’s too preoccupied with Maika’s scent and how well her small body fits in his arms as he presses kisses wherever he can, dragging his lips as far as he can down her jaw and throat. She even tastes enticing, nothing that Shintaro can identify but enough to leave his lips tingling.
Then she twists around and her mouth is on his, this kiss already different from any of their previous ones. Her hands slide up around his neck, fingers playing with his own hairline and it makes him kiss her harder, deeper, forgetting anything and everything but her, his girl, who likes him for who he is and happily accepts what affection he can give her.
A loud crash and Ryuutaro’s swearing has them breaking apart, both breathing heavily and laughing as Ryuutaro rubs his head and looks at the two very full purple latex balloons bouncing on the ground next to the empty bucket.
“Hey, they didn’t burst!” Maika whispers, pouting at their failed prank, and Shintaro grins at her actually being more innocent than him. Even he knows that defeats the purpose of condoms.
→ luna_truths