I think this is my new OTP ._.
Up! Up! And Away!
Johnny's Entertainment
PG, cracky fluff
Characters/Pairings: Yamapi/Massu
Summary: Massuperman finds his Lois Lane. For this prompt on the Bunny Meme. Some day I will write serious non-cracky things again, I swear.
Most of the time, it isn’t easy to be a superhero. Massu knows this from years of experience. It’s doubly difficult when you’re also something of a superstar with plenty of obligations and a packed schedule.
At least it’s something of a blessing that his secret identity is, so far, quite safe.
It used to be his greatest worry, being found out, but then he had come up with quite possibly the biggest stroke of genius he’s ever had in his life (not counting purchasing the amazing tracksuit complete with glow-in-the-dark stars a few months back).
That stroke of genius was, of course, Masuperman. It was brilliant, really. No one would ever guess that Masuperman was real, and no one would ever take allegations that Massu was a superhero seriously. His plan had worked. Perhaps it even worked too well. People see him as this big smiley goofball, which is part of the point. (Although he wished they didn’t see him as a big smiley goofball all the time.) Still, it’s a false impression he’s willing to suffer if it means that he gets to keep his secret identity.
Although lately, it’s been getting more difficult to keep that secret identity, especially around his groupmates who see him more than most people outside of his family did.
Especially when he has to rescue them a lot. Most of them. Some of them.
Okay, just one person, really.
… … … …
Yamashita Tomohisa can definitely be a handful. Massu thinks it’s a miracle he’s managed to make it this far without Massu’s help. He has briefly wondered if maybe Yamapi has some form of superpower, too, like being indestructible. It’s the only thing that can explain how he’s survived living on his own given his degree of absent-mindedness and almost utter obliviousness.
So far, Massu has saved Yamapi from nearly getting run over twice, caught him from a fall off the stage three times, and whisked him away before a helicopter could land on him while he was filming Code Blue. There was also that one time he saved Yamapi from choking on a piece of squash, but he hadn’t used any of his superpowers for that.
Yamapi, oddly (or perhaps not so oddly, after all, it’s Yamapi) takes it all in stride and tells everybody that he has a guardian angel. One that likes to wear yellow t-shirts and always wears shorts and a mask over his eyes. (Massu doesn’t believe in that spandex bullshit - it makes it hard to pee.) Of course, Yamapi being Yamapi, people just assume it’s part of his normal behavior. “Normal” for him being “weird and just this side of insane” for everyone else.
Making sure that their leader is safe takes up a lot of Massu’s time, but it’s worth it to see Yamapi smiling happily at him in person or on TV. That, he thinks, listening as Yamapi talks about starting filming for a new movie in an early morning show, is a reward in itself.
… … … …
But Massu has recently been slacking off on keeping an eye on Yamapi. After days of not even a single food update or weather advisory, Massu gets worried and takes to the streets. Apart from keeping a look out for dangerous situations, Massu uses both super-hearing and X-ray vision to try to find where Yamapi might be and what he might be up to. His persistence pays off as, eventually, Massu locates him in a cramped underground room being pummeled by a seedy-looking guy.
Massu speeds into the room and throws Yamapi’s attacker off him, and the man promptly falls to the floor, unconscious.
“Hey! What did you do that for?!”
Yamapi’s outraged cry does not carry the expected tone of gratitude that Massu has come to expect, so he stops in the middle of super-speeding away and turns back. (Although, since he had been going really fast, he has to turn back two blocks.)
Yamapi is peeling back his erstwhile attacker’s eyelids and checking his head when Massu returns.
“What do you mean?” Massu asks with a frown. “He was beating you up!”
“This is my trainer! What kind of guardian angel are you?”
Massu opens his mouth but no sounds come out.
“He’d better not be hurt,” Yamapi says worriedly.
“Why would your trainer be beating you up?” Massu asks finally.
“It’s for my movie! Ashita no Joe? Haven’t you heard? Or maybe you haven’t, where you come from. You don’t have TV, do you?”
“But he was punching you for real!”
“Of course it was for real! Oh, man. He can’t be passed out like this. We don’t have time. I have a tight schedule!”
Massu is horrified. He’s made a mistake, and now Yamapi’s schedule - often planned to the millisecond - is in danger of being ruined.
“I’m sorry,” Massu says quietly.
Yamapi gives him a glance that’s part irritation and part disappointment. “It’s fine. Never mind. You can go back to guarding other people now.”
Massu hesitates for a moment, but Yamapi won’t even look at him, and as he turns around and leaves, he realizes the words had hurt, like a wrench in the gut. Or like the last gyoza falling off his chopsticks and rolling across the floor.
… … … …
For a while, Massu leaves Yamapi alone. There are plenty of people that need saving, anyway. But old habits are hard to break and Massu quickly finds himself flying (very low) over Tokyo keeping his eyes peeled for any kind of criminal activity or accident, but also for any sight of Yamapi.
Cruising the club district one night, slightly worried because he hasn’t heard from Yamapi in days and the latter has stopped updating his nikki again, Massu finally spots him leaving a bar alone and quite drunk. Not so drunk that he can’t walk straight, but drunk enough to be unaware that he’s just turned into an alley where a street gang is idling.
For a moment, Massu optimistically hopes they’ll let him through. But then they block Yamapi’s path, brandishing baseball bats, and it’s pretty clear what their intentions are.
Massu swoops in just in time to hear Yamapi say “Ow!” when one of them punches him in the face, and Massu quickly sets to work, flinging two of the biggest thugs down the alley (including the one that had punched Yamapi) before chasing off the rest.
“You saved my life!” Yamapi exclaims, and Massu puffs out his chest.
“It’s just what I do,” Massu says humbly. “Please be careful, Yamashita-kun.”
“Wait!”
Massu stops.
“Can’t you tell me your name? Do guardian angels have names?”
“I’m not actually an angel, you know.”
“Eh? Then what are you?”
Massu stares at him. “Um. Well…”
Yamapi’s eyes grow wide. “Oh, are you some kind of superhero?”
“I guess I am.”
“Are you an alien?!”
Massu thinks about this. “I don’t think so?”
Yamapi looks vaguely disappointed by this news.
“But maybe I am and I just don’t know,” Massu says hastily, just to get him to stop pouting like that because it’s too distracting.
“Hmmm.”
“I guess I’ll see you around-”
“Hey! I haven’t even thanked you yet,” Yamapi protests, and Massu is surprised by how fast Yamapi can actually move, covering the distance between them in quick, long strides.
Massu opens his mouth to say that no thanks are necessary, but then realizes that was a bad-or maybe a good-idea. Because Yamapi is suddenly kissing him. On the lips.
Massu is frozen in shock, his eyes wide. Yamapi’s own eyes are closed, long eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks. And when he gently sweeps his tongue inside Massu’s mouth, Massu makes a sound that’s halfway between a moan and a whimper.
Yamapi breaks the kiss first, stepping back with a faintly smug expression on his face. “Thank you,” he says casually, as if he hasn’t just been kissing Massu.
Massu nods, not trusting himself to speak, and speeds off into the night.
… … … …
Yamapi gets yelled at the following day for showing up to the photoshoot with a bruised cheek, but he seems unfazed. “Photoshop,” he shrugs, when their manager pauses to draw a breath.
Their manager sighs heavily, throws up his arms, and walks out.
“I think it adds character,” Tegoshi says uselessly. “It looks manly.”
Ryo snorts. “They didn’t hit you hard enough to rearrange your face,” he tells Yamapi. “You still look like a girl.”
“Yeah, well, I’m still taller than you, Ryo-chan.”
Personally, Massu prefers the unbruised Yamapi, but he says nothing and just keeps on eating his gyoza, his mind still preoccupied with yesterday’s kiss and what it could possibly mean.
… … … …
Massu knows he’s got it bad when he realizes he’s been flying through the same street over and over again because it’s got one of Yamapi’s Toshiba billboards at the corner. He groans, forces himself to change his route, and this time finds himself covering the same part of Roppongi as last night.
His eyes automatically try to seek out a familiar figure, and he finds it, in the very same alley as the day before.
Massu wonders why Yamapi would be standing in a dark street by himself and realizes that he’s waiting. For him.
Massu hesitates for a moment, thinks it might not be a good idea to talk to him. But it’s dangerous in the alley, and Yamapi’s already been hurt.
He sighes and lands just a few feet away from him and clears his throat. “Yamashita-kun?”
Yamapi looks up. “You came! I was wondering how I was going to contact you.”
“It’s dangerous here,” Massu says, trying to sound stern. Which is kind of hard to do when Yamapi’s staring at him like that.
“I know. I just wanted to see you again.”
“I have work to do,” Massu says loftily, even though his heart sort of aches when Yamapi’s face falls.
“But I want to talk to you!”
“We shouldn’t,” Massu says, then turns and speeds away.
He stops once he’s gone a few blocks because something feels off. Something feels funny.
“That was kind of fun,” a voice rumbles against his back.
Massu jumps and turns his head to find Yamapi clinging to him, piggyback. “Hey!”
“Sorry,” Yamapi grins, not sounding very sorry. “I didn’t want you to go so I grabbed you, but then you ran and took me with you.”
“Why?” Massu manages to say.
Yamapi cocks his head to one side. “Why was I waiting for you?”
He nods.
“You tasted kind of familiar.”
“W-what?”
Yamapi lets him go, only to back him against a wall. “You tasted kind of familiar,” he repeats. “When I kissed you like this-”
And then he’s kissing Massu again, and Massu feels strange. He’s not used to feeling weak and powerless, but that’s precisely what he is at that moment. Part of his mind tells him that he should make Yamapi stop, but his body refuses to obey.
A low rumble issues from Massu’s chest when Yamapi’s mouth leaves his, only to move on to his neck, gently sucking on his exposed throat.
He feels Yamapi’s left hand slide down his chest, down to his stomach, down to his hips, and stops.
“Y-Yamashita-kun?”
Yamapi steps away. “You know who I am. But I don’t know who you are,” he says, as if the realization has just hit him.
Massu kind of wants to cry and almost tells him that he does.
“It shouldn’t be like this,” Yamapi continues. “At least tell me your name.”
“I-I can’t!” Massu wails, and then turns and flies away before Yamapi can stop him. He can hear the other’s cry of “Wait!” but Massu steels his heart and zooms on.
… … … …
For the first time ever, Massu is grateful that NEWS doesn’t have all that many activities together. He goes without having to be in the same room as Yamapi for a while, has watched him only from a distance either from the sky or through the TV. So he’s really unprepared when he sees Yamapi up close and in person again at work.
He’s lost a lot of weight, and he looks sort of miserable, and Massu feels a weird pain in his chest.
Yamapi is quiet in the dressing room, and everyone leaves him alone, casting worried glances in his direction. The atmosphere in the room becomes heavy and strained. Until Yamapi jumps to his feet. “Goddamn it! I just want some yakitori! Why can’t I have yakitori?!” he yells, and all the members jump at least three feet into the air.
Then Yamapi sits down again and opens a magazine as if he hadn’t just almost upended the table. He looks deceptively calm again, only the nervous flexing of his jaw indicating that he really isn’t as he keeps shooting dark glances in Massu’s direction.
Koyama rushes over and hurriedly yanks Massu’s yakitori bento out of his hands, covers it up, and shoves it under the couch.
“That’s not fair!”
“Ssh!”
Massu glares at Yamapi. He might be in love with his leader (he’s pretty sure that’s why his stomach does funny little backflips every time Yamapi looks at him), but that doesn’t mean he can’t hate him just a little.
… … … …
But Yamapi continues being miserable all afternoon, his large eyes looking more and more forlorn as time goes by, until they turn dull and hopeless and Massu can’t take it anymore. Yamapi’s existence is bothering him in all possible ways at this point, so he feels something should be done.
He approaches the other man when he thinks no one is paying attention and pokes him in the side.
Yamapi looks up at him. “Oh. What is it, Massu?”
Massu checks again, confirms that no one is looking, and holds out a small lunch box, it’s lid partly open, and whispers hurriedly “Take one.”
Yamapi eyes the gyoza with a longing verging on scandalous. “No. No, I can’t eat meat.”
“It’s just one! I won’t tell anybody!”
“I’m on a diet for work,” Yamapi says weakly.
“You know you want it, Yamashita-kun.”
Yampi’s breath catches. “Just one.”
“Just one.”
Quickly, Yamapi picks up a single gyoza and stuffs it in his mouth whole. Massu watches him as he chews - just in case he chokes again - and swallows.
Yamapi looks at him thoughtfully.
“Was it good?”
“It was good,” Yamapi says slowly. “But-”
“It’ll be our secret, okay?” Massu smiles.
“…Okay.”
And with that Massu returns to his seat, feeling accomplished. Being a superhero means keeping other people happy, and he’s glad that he can do that even without using any of his superpowers.
… … … …
The next time Massu saves Yamapi’s life happens only three days after the yakitori tantrum and it’s in the same alley as before.
Massu has seen Yamapi hanging around it ever since their last kiss, but he has never gone down to talk to him. He usually just flew over and around it to make sure that Yamapi’s safe.
But now there’s a new street gang that has taken over it, and Yamapi - silly, occasionally stupid, and eternally oblivious Yamapi - has walked into their den.
This time Massu swoops in before anyone can punch him and once again throws a few of them around and scares the rest off.
“Thank y-”
Massu jumps into the air before Yamapi can finish saying his thanks, because Yamapi’s thank-yous are kind of dangerous.
“Can’t you fly any higher?”
Massu stalls in mid-air and looks over his shoulder, finally feeling the arms and legs wrapped tight around him as Yamapi clings to him from behind. “What are you doing?!”
“You should know by now that you can’t get away from me that easily.”
“This is dangerous! You could fall!”
“But you won’t let me actually hit the ground, will you?”
“No, but-”
“See?” Yamapi’s arms tighten around Massu. “Come on. Let’s fly again!”
Massu sighs but does as he’s told. “I’ll just take you home, okay?”
Yamapi’s arms around him tighten, and Massu thinks Yamapi has buried his face in the crook of his shoulder. He sighs and veers left, in the direction of Yamapi’s neighborhood.
They reach Yamapi’s place several minutes later and Massu shrugs him off on the balcony.
Yamapi smiles at him. “That was fun.”
Massu frowns in response.
“Thanks for taking me home, Massu!”
“Goodnight, Ya-What did you call me?”
“Massu.”
Massu gapes at him. “But how-”
“Gyoza. You taste of gyoza.”
“I brush my teeth!”
“Gyoza and toothpaste,” Yamapi corrects himself. Then he smiles. “It’s okay. I kind of like it.”
Massu isn’t sure what to do or say. Should he just leave now? Avoid Yamapi as much as possible? Hit him over the head and pray he forgets Massu’s secret identity?
Yamapi’s hands are moving towards his face, gently pulling his mask off and tossing it aside. “That’s much better.”
“Yamashita-kun-”
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. It can be our secret, too.”
Massu nods jerkily.
Yamapi leans in, and Massu knows what’s coming next. This time he meets him halfway. He feels Yamapi’s lips curve into a small smile against his own, feels them part for Massu, and if he tastes like gyoza to Yamapi, Yamapi tastes kind of sweet and at the same time spicy to Massu. Like peppermint candy.
Yamapi’s hands grip Massu’s shoulders, pulling him closer, until Massu stops thinking entirely.
“I’m glad it’s you,” Yamapi murmurs, his breath warm against Massu’s cheek and his hands wrinkling the front of Massu’s favorite yellow star-patterned t-shirt.
“W-why?”
“Because I’ve always liked Massu,” he says simply.
And while Massu hates heights and he doesn’t fly very often, his heart suddenly soars. Higher than Yamapi’s expensive apartment building. Higher even than the clouds.
Johnny's Entertainment
PG, cracky fluff
Characters/Pairings: Yamapi/Massu
Summary: Massuperman finds his Lois Lane. For this prompt on the Bunny Meme. Some day I will write serious non-cracky things again, I swear.
Most of the time, it isn’t easy to be a superhero. Massu knows this from years of experience. It’s doubly difficult when you’re also something of a superstar with plenty of obligations and a packed schedule.
At least it’s something of a blessing that his secret identity is, so far, quite safe.
It used to be his greatest worry, being found out, but then he had come up with quite possibly the biggest stroke of genius he’s ever had in his life (not counting purchasing the amazing tracksuit complete with glow-in-the-dark stars a few months back).
That stroke of genius was, of course, Masuperman. It was brilliant, really. No one would ever guess that Masuperman was real, and no one would ever take allegations that Massu was a superhero seriously. His plan had worked. Perhaps it even worked too well. People see him as this big smiley goofball, which is part of the point. (Although he wished they didn’t see him as a big smiley goofball all the time.) Still, it’s a false impression he’s willing to suffer if it means that he gets to keep his secret identity.
Although lately, it’s been getting more difficult to keep that secret identity, especially around his groupmates who see him more than most people outside of his family did.
Especially when he has to rescue them a lot. Most of them. Some of them.
Okay, just one person, really.
… … … …
Yamashita Tomohisa can definitely be a handful. Massu thinks it’s a miracle he’s managed to make it this far without Massu’s help. He has briefly wondered if maybe Yamapi has some form of superpower, too, like being indestructible. It’s the only thing that can explain how he’s survived living on his own given his degree of absent-mindedness and almost utter obliviousness.
So far, Massu has saved Yamapi from nearly getting run over twice, caught him from a fall off the stage three times, and whisked him away before a helicopter could land on him while he was filming Code Blue. There was also that one time he saved Yamapi from choking on a piece of squash, but he hadn’t used any of his superpowers for that.
Yamapi, oddly (or perhaps not so oddly, after all, it’s Yamapi) takes it all in stride and tells everybody that he has a guardian angel. One that likes to wear yellow t-shirts and always wears shorts and a mask over his eyes. (Massu doesn’t believe in that spandex bullshit - it makes it hard to pee.) Of course, Yamapi being Yamapi, people just assume it’s part of his normal behavior. “Normal” for him being “weird and just this side of insane” for everyone else.
Making sure that their leader is safe takes up a lot of Massu’s time, but it’s worth it to see Yamapi smiling happily at him in person or on TV. That, he thinks, listening as Yamapi talks about starting filming for a new movie in an early morning show, is a reward in itself.
… … … …
But Massu has recently been slacking off on keeping an eye on Yamapi. After days of not even a single food update or weather advisory, Massu gets worried and takes to the streets. Apart from keeping a look out for dangerous situations, Massu uses both super-hearing and X-ray vision to try to find where Yamapi might be and what he might be up to. His persistence pays off as, eventually, Massu locates him in a cramped underground room being pummeled by a seedy-looking guy.
Massu speeds into the room and throws Yamapi’s attacker off him, and the man promptly falls to the floor, unconscious.
“Hey! What did you do that for?!”
Yamapi’s outraged cry does not carry the expected tone of gratitude that Massu has come to expect, so he stops in the middle of super-speeding away and turns back. (Although, since he had been going really fast, he has to turn back two blocks.)
Yamapi is peeling back his erstwhile attacker’s eyelids and checking his head when Massu returns.
“What do you mean?” Massu asks with a frown. “He was beating you up!”
“This is my trainer! What kind of guardian angel are you?”
Massu opens his mouth but no sounds come out.
“He’d better not be hurt,” Yamapi says worriedly.
“Why would your trainer be beating you up?” Massu asks finally.
“It’s for my movie! Ashita no Joe? Haven’t you heard? Or maybe you haven’t, where you come from. You don’t have TV, do you?”
“But he was punching you for real!”
“Of course it was for real! Oh, man. He can’t be passed out like this. We don’t have time. I have a tight schedule!”
Massu is horrified. He’s made a mistake, and now Yamapi’s schedule - often planned to the millisecond - is in danger of being ruined.
“I’m sorry,” Massu says quietly.
Yamapi gives him a glance that’s part irritation and part disappointment. “It’s fine. Never mind. You can go back to guarding other people now.”
Massu hesitates for a moment, but Yamapi won’t even look at him, and as he turns around and leaves, he realizes the words had hurt, like a wrench in the gut. Or like the last gyoza falling off his chopsticks and rolling across the floor.
… … … …
For a while, Massu leaves Yamapi alone. There are plenty of people that need saving, anyway. But old habits are hard to break and Massu quickly finds himself flying (very low) over Tokyo keeping his eyes peeled for any kind of criminal activity or accident, but also for any sight of Yamapi.
Cruising the club district one night, slightly worried because he hasn’t heard from Yamapi in days and the latter has stopped updating his nikki again, Massu finally spots him leaving a bar alone and quite drunk. Not so drunk that he can’t walk straight, but drunk enough to be unaware that he’s just turned into an alley where a street gang is idling.
For a moment, Massu optimistically hopes they’ll let him through. But then they block Yamapi’s path, brandishing baseball bats, and it’s pretty clear what their intentions are.
Massu swoops in just in time to hear Yamapi say “Ow!” when one of them punches him in the face, and Massu quickly sets to work, flinging two of the biggest thugs down the alley (including the one that had punched Yamapi) before chasing off the rest.
“You saved my life!” Yamapi exclaims, and Massu puffs out his chest.
“It’s just what I do,” Massu says humbly. “Please be careful, Yamashita-kun.”
“Wait!”
Massu stops.
“Can’t you tell me your name? Do guardian angels have names?”
“I’m not actually an angel, you know.”
“Eh? Then what are you?”
Massu stares at him. “Um. Well…”
Yamapi’s eyes grow wide. “Oh, are you some kind of superhero?”
“I guess I am.”
“Are you an alien?!”
Massu thinks about this. “I don’t think so?”
Yamapi looks vaguely disappointed by this news.
“But maybe I am and I just don’t know,” Massu says hastily, just to get him to stop pouting like that because it’s too distracting.
“Hmmm.”
“I guess I’ll see you around-”
“Hey! I haven’t even thanked you yet,” Yamapi protests, and Massu is surprised by how fast Yamapi can actually move, covering the distance between them in quick, long strides.
Massu opens his mouth to say that no thanks are necessary, but then realizes that was a bad-or maybe a good-idea. Because Yamapi is suddenly kissing him. On the lips.
Massu is frozen in shock, his eyes wide. Yamapi’s own eyes are closed, long eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks. And when he gently sweeps his tongue inside Massu’s mouth, Massu makes a sound that’s halfway between a moan and a whimper.
Yamapi breaks the kiss first, stepping back with a faintly smug expression on his face. “Thank you,” he says casually, as if he hasn’t just been kissing Massu.
Massu nods, not trusting himself to speak, and speeds off into the night.
… … … …
Yamapi gets yelled at the following day for showing up to the photoshoot with a bruised cheek, but he seems unfazed. “Photoshop,” he shrugs, when their manager pauses to draw a breath.
Their manager sighs heavily, throws up his arms, and walks out.
“I think it adds character,” Tegoshi says uselessly. “It looks manly.”
Ryo snorts. “They didn’t hit you hard enough to rearrange your face,” he tells Yamapi. “You still look like a girl.”
“Yeah, well, I’m still taller than you, Ryo-chan.”
Personally, Massu prefers the unbruised Yamapi, but he says nothing and just keeps on eating his gyoza, his mind still preoccupied with yesterday’s kiss and what it could possibly mean.
… … … …
Massu knows he’s got it bad when he realizes he’s been flying through the same street over and over again because it’s got one of Yamapi’s Toshiba billboards at the corner. He groans, forces himself to change his route, and this time finds himself covering the same part of Roppongi as last night.
His eyes automatically try to seek out a familiar figure, and he finds it, in the very same alley as the day before.
Massu wonders why Yamapi would be standing in a dark street by himself and realizes that he’s waiting. For him.
Massu hesitates for a moment, thinks it might not be a good idea to talk to him. But it’s dangerous in the alley, and Yamapi’s already been hurt.
He sighes and lands just a few feet away from him and clears his throat. “Yamashita-kun?”
Yamapi looks up. “You came! I was wondering how I was going to contact you.”
“It’s dangerous here,” Massu says, trying to sound stern. Which is kind of hard to do when Yamapi’s staring at him like that.
“I know. I just wanted to see you again.”
“I have work to do,” Massu says loftily, even though his heart sort of aches when Yamapi’s face falls.
“But I want to talk to you!”
“We shouldn’t,” Massu says, then turns and speeds away.
He stops once he’s gone a few blocks because something feels off. Something feels funny.
“That was kind of fun,” a voice rumbles against his back.
Massu jumps and turns his head to find Yamapi clinging to him, piggyback. “Hey!”
“Sorry,” Yamapi grins, not sounding very sorry. “I didn’t want you to go so I grabbed you, but then you ran and took me with you.”
“Why?” Massu manages to say.
Yamapi cocks his head to one side. “Why was I waiting for you?”
He nods.
“You tasted kind of familiar.”
“W-what?”
Yamapi lets him go, only to back him against a wall. “You tasted kind of familiar,” he repeats. “When I kissed you like this-”
And then he’s kissing Massu again, and Massu feels strange. He’s not used to feeling weak and powerless, but that’s precisely what he is at that moment. Part of his mind tells him that he should make Yamapi stop, but his body refuses to obey.
A low rumble issues from Massu’s chest when Yamapi’s mouth leaves his, only to move on to his neck, gently sucking on his exposed throat.
He feels Yamapi’s left hand slide down his chest, down to his stomach, down to his hips, and stops.
“Y-Yamashita-kun?”
Yamapi steps away. “You know who I am. But I don’t know who you are,” he says, as if the realization has just hit him.
Massu kind of wants to cry and almost tells him that he does.
“It shouldn’t be like this,” Yamapi continues. “At least tell me your name.”
“I-I can’t!” Massu wails, and then turns and flies away before Yamapi can stop him. He can hear the other’s cry of “Wait!” but Massu steels his heart and zooms on.
… … … …
For the first time ever, Massu is grateful that NEWS doesn’t have all that many activities together. He goes without having to be in the same room as Yamapi for a while, has watched him only from a distance either from the sky or through the TV. So he’s really unprepared when he sees Yamapi up close and in person again at work.
He’s lost a lot of weight, and he looks sort of miserable, and Massu feels a weird pain in his chest.
Yamapi is quiet in the dressing room, and everyone leaves him alone, casting worried glances in his direction. The atmosphere in the room becomes heavy and strained. Until Yamapi jumps to his feet. “Goddamn it! I just want some yakitori! Why can’t I have yakitori?!” he yells, and all the members jump at least three feet into the air.
Then Yamapi sits down again and opens a magazine as if he hadn’t just almost upended the table. He looks deceptively calm again, only the nervous flexing of his jaw indicating that he really isn’t as he keeps shooting dark glances in Massu’s direction.
Koyama rushes over and hurriedly yanks Massu’s yakitori bento out of his hands, covers it up, and shoves it under the couch.
“That’s not fair!”
“Ssh!”
Massu glares at Yamapi. He might be in love with his leader (he’s pretty sure that’s why his stomach does funny little backflips every time Yamapi looks at him), but that doesn’t mean he can’t hate him just a little.
… … … …
But Yamapi continues being miserable all afternoon, his large eyes looking more and more forlorn as time goes by, until they turn dull and hopeless and Massu can’t take it anymore. Yamapi’s existence is bothering him in all possible ways at this point, so he feels something should be done.
He approaches the other man when he thinks no one is paying attention and pokes him in the side.
Yamapi looks up at him. “Oh. What is it, Massu?”
Massu checks again, confirms that no one is looking, and holds out a small lunch box, it’s lid partly open, and whispers hurriedly “Take one.”
Yamapi eyes the gyoza with a longing verging on scandalous. “No. No, I can’t eat meat.”
“It’s just one! I won’t tell anybody!”
“I’m on a diet for work,” Yamapi says weakly.
“You know you want it, Yamashita-kun.”
Yampi’s breath catches. “Just one.”
“Just one.”
Quickly, Yamapi picks up a single gyoza and stuffs it in his mouth whole. Massu watches him as he chews - just in case he chokes again - and swallows.
Yamapi looks at him thoughtfully.
“Was it good?”
“It was good,” Yamapi says slowly. “But-”
“It’ll be our secret, okay?” Massu smiles.
“…Okay.”
And with that Massu returns to his seat, feeling accomplished. Being a superhero means keeping other people happy, and he’s glad that he can do that even without using any of his superpowers.
… … … …
The next time Massu saves Yamapi’s life happens only three days after the yakitori tantrum and it’s in the same alley as before.
Massu has seen Yamapi hanging around it ever since their last kiss, but he has never gone down to talk to him. He usually just flew over and around it to make sure that Yamapi’s safe.
But now there’s a new street gang that has taken over it, and Yamapi - silly, occasionally stupid, and eternally oblivious Yamapi - has walked into their den.
This time Massu swoops in before anyone can punch him and once again throws a few of them around and scares the rest off.
“Thank y-”
Massu jumps into the air before Yamapi can finish saying his thanks, because Yamapi’s thank-yous are kind of dangerous.
“Can’t you fly any higher?”
Massu stalls in mid-air and looks over his shoulder, finally feeling the arms and legs wrapped tight around him as Yamapi clings to him from behind. “What are you doing?!”
“You should know by now that you can’t get away from me that easily.”
“This is dangerous! You could fall!”
“But you won’t let me actually hit the ground, will you?”
“No, but-”
“See?” Yamapi’s arms tighten around Massu. “Come on. Let’s fly again!”
Massu sighs but does as he’s told. “I’ll just take you home, okay?”
Yamapi’s arms around him tighten, and Massu thinks Yamapi has buried his face in the crook of his shoulder. He sighs and veers left, in the direction of Yamapi’s neighborhood.
They reach Yamapi’s place several minutes later and Massu shrugs him off on the balcony.
Yamapi smiles at him. “That was fun.”
Massu frowns in response.
“Thanks for taking me home, Massu!”
“Goodnight, Ya-What did you call me?”
“Massu.”
Massu gapes at him. “But how-”
“Gyoza. You taste of gyoza.”
“I brush my teeth!”
“Gyoza and toothpaste,” Yamapi corrects himself. Then he smiles. “It’s okay. I kind of like it.”
Massu isn’t sure what to do or say. Should he just leave now? Avoid Yamapi as much as possible? Hit him over the head and pray he forgets Massu’s secret identity?
Yamapi’s hands are moving towards his face, gently pulling his mask off and tossing it aside. “That’s much better.”
“Yamashita-kun-”
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. It can be our secret, too.”
Massu nods jerkily.
Yamapi leans in, and Massu knows what’s coming next. This time he meets him halfway. He feels Yamapi’s lips curve into a small smile against his own, feels them part for Massu, and if he tastes like gyoza to Yamapi, Yamapi tastes kind of sweet and at the same time spicy to Massu. Like peppermint candy.
Yamapi’s hands grip Massu’s shoulders, pulling him closer, until Massu stops thinking entirely.
“I’m glad it’s you,” Yamapi murmurs, his breath warm against Massu’s cheek and his hands wrinkling the front of Massu’s favorite yellow star-patterned t-shirt.
“W-why?”
“Because I’ve always liked Massu,” he says simply.
And while Massu hates heights and he doesn’t fly very often, his heart suddenly soars. Higher than Yamapi’s expensive apartment building. Higher even than the clouds.