Draw Something
Title: Draw Something
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Matsumoto Jun/Sakurai Sho
Summary: Tap here to guess Sakurai Sho's drawing!
Notes/Warnings: Yes, this is inspired by the drawing game available on your smartphone of choice. This story is mostly for r_1_ss_a who always encourages me. Sorry this story is so sappy LOL.
Jun grumbled his way out of his happy nap, his rare day of rest interrupted by the buzzing of his cell phone. Thinking it was probably his manager checking in with his schedule for the next few days, he dragged himself out of bed and slunk lazily across his bedroom floor to the outlet on the wall where he'd plugged in his phone charger. Keeping his cell phone on his bedside table was no longer an option - he'd flung too many of them against the wall in protest.
He crouched down, yanking the cord out of the phone and keying in his password. Instead of a mail message or voicemail from his manager, he had received a notification from a program called "ART ATTACK!" He frowned. Since when had he installed something with a name like that? Clarity came all too quickly - he'd been out with Toma a few nights back, drunker than drunk, and Toma had borrowed his phone to call them a cab. Perhaps his friend had downloaded the program in a drunken stupor.
He clicked on the icon for the game only to be greeted with a rather surprising message:
Sakurai Sho has invited you to play ART ATTACK!
Accept / Decline
Sho usually told everyone what stupid stuff he was playing on his phone. During filming for his recent drama, Kitagawa Keiko had gotten him hooked on Dress Up Girls, some stupid game where you bought clothes for a tiny little female avatar. Sho had been bragging about his skills at picking out cute outfits to no end, saying it was way more fun and less mentally taxing than a Mannequin Five special. And before Dress Up Girls it had been Grumpy Pigeons: Happy New Year! and before that Grumpy Pigeons: Happy Halloween!
Jun had things to do, at least now that he was awake, and none of them involved art. There were dishes to wash, clean clothes to return to drawers, and a frightening pile of mail on his table that required his attention. And yet Sho had specially invited him. Their schedules had been hectic for the first few months of the year with drama filming for them both. They hadn't had much free time to spend together, so maybe this was just Sho's way of trying to reach out. A relationship couldn't endure on sporadic gifts of scented candles alone.
He found himself pressing his finger on the "Accept" option. The screen exploded with a colorful ART ATTACK! logo, then a lengthy mobile advertisement for a car, and then another loading screen.
Tap here to guess Sakurai Sho's drawing!
Jun sat down, holding his phone in his hands. The name Art Attack should have given it away, he thought with a sigh. He tapped the phone screen obediently with his finger, cringing at what Sho's artistic skills had managed to create. He reminded himself that he was playing along because he missed Sho's company, that was all.
A blank screen loaded with hiragana and katakana options underneath so Jun could type in his guess. And then he watched in confusion as a drawing appeared on the smartphone screen.
He stared at it for a solid minute, bringing his phone up close to his face before pulling it back to see if it made any more sense from farther away. A blonde...woman? Or maybe it was a crossdresser? He honestly couldn't tell, though it was at least supposed to be a human. Blonde woman, he told himself. Blonde woman, blonde woman, blonde woman...a blonde woman with a stick in her hand?
He ignored the stick, typing in MADONNA. The screen went black and the phone made a little buzzing noise to let him know he was wrong.
Sorry! That's incorrect!
Sakurai Sho Drew: LADY GAGA
Tap here to send Sakurai Sho your own drawing!
He couldn't help snorting in laughter. It was quite possibly the worst looking Lady Gaga he'd ever seen. And Sho ought to have done better, considering that the two of them had seen her in concert. He shook his head, memories of that crazy night at the concert flooding his mind. He wondered if Sho had chosen Lady Gaga as his art subject for a reason, and the thought warmed him even as the drawing made him shudder.
He tapped the phone screen, and it gave him a few options to draw. He doubted he'd be that talented at drawing on the tiny screen, so he chose something simple, CAT, and got to work.
He sent the picture off to Sho before closing his phone and getting up to get some chores done. No more flinging birds around, no more dressing up cute teenage girls. Sho had a new obsession, and Jun had no choice but to deal with it.
--
A few days later, he found himself alone with Sho in the green room before VS Arashi taping. While Jun flipped through a book, Sho was concentrating very hard, smearing his finger across his phone screen. Jun couldn't help but stare, watching the way Sho's face lit up as he presumably played the stupid game, listening to Sho's soft little sighs as he created his next artistic masterpiece. It was something he'd always loved about Sho, his diligence. His hard work. Even when he was drawing the dumbest pictures ever.
Sho finally looked up a moment later. "Oh," he said with a start, "Matsujun, I didn't even know you were here."
He scowled. "I've been sitting here for ten minutes reading. I even greeted you when I came in, and you said hello."
"I did?" Sho said, scratching his head.
"You did."
Sho closed his phone and set it aside, pointing at him. "I can't believe you didn't get Lady Gaga right," Sho accused him.
"It looked like a drag queen," Jun replied.
"I worked hard on that! Her hair was perfect!"
"Why was she holding a stick though?"
"A...a stick?!" Sho squealed, getting up from his chair and wandering over to the couch where Jun had parked himself. "What do you mean a stick? That was a microphone!"
Jun laughed. "You really suck at this."
His phone buzzed, and Sho looked rather proud of himself. "Well, this one's much better anyway. You'll guess it right away, I know it."
Jun pulled his phone from his pocket, setting his book down. "Oh really?" He opened his phone, Sho taking the liberty of sitting down on the couch cushion next to him.
Tap here to guess Sakurai Sho's drawing!
Sho was sitting awfully close, breathing down his neck. Jun tried to elbow him. "Go away, you're creepy."
"I want to see how your mind works," Sho said, fingers almost touching Jun's thigh as he tried to look over onto Jun's screen. "I want to see the look on your face when you see artistic genius."
"If I wanted artistic genius," he said, heart racing, "I'd play this game against Leader."
Sho pouted, and Jun kind of wanted to forget Art Attack altogether now that they had a moment alone, but sometimes his desire to make fun of Sho outweighed his desire to kiss the hell out of him. He tapped the screen, feeling Sho's hot breath on his skin.
He felt Sho's arm wrap around his shoulders. He was being uncharacteristically touchy-feely, given how easily someone could open the door and walk in. "Come on, Matsujun," Sho whispered, his voice low in Jun's ear. "This is so simple. A child could guess it."
Were his phone not in his hand with an even worse Sho drawing on it, he'd shove his bandmate until he was on his back with Jun's hands pinning his wrists down. They'd lose themselves in the moment, giving in to temptation after so many weeks apart. To Jun it would feel like coming home, just as it always did with the two of them. Maybe this time around, they'd make it work. He'd let Sho know he wasn't just in it to fulfill a physical need, that Sho meant way more to him than that.
But he was too distracted...seriously, what the hell had Sho drawn?
Sho's mouth was still at his ear. "Come on. Guess. You know this."
A man...and...some creature?
"Macchan, do you need a hint? Are you stupid?"
He turned to give Sho a dirty look. "This is the worst drawing I have ever seen in my life."
"What?!" Sho backed off, looking genuinely hurt, and to Jun's dismay, they were no longer in physical contact.
"I literally do not know who this is supposed to be," he said honestly.
Sho crossed his arms in a huff. He'd obviously been planning to give Jun some sort of sexual reward for stroking his artistic ego, but his plot had backfired. And Jun was too stubborn to give in and patronize him.
"Not even with the dog?" Sho mumbled.
"That's a dog?"
Sho got off the couch. "We'll be filming soon, and I have Cliff Climb today. I'm going to go stretch."
"Sho-kun..." Jun said, but Sho could be awfully ridiculous when he was upset, especially about stupid things. When Sho left the room, he sighed, staring at the picture again. Sho was trying to get closer to him through the medium of art...bad art, and Jun had refused to take the bait. But now what if the opportunity never came again?
Nino came in soon thereafter, seeing Jun squinting at his phone desperately.
"Ah, Sho-chan's playing you in Art Attack."
Jun looked up from the picture. "How can you tell?"
Nino smiled and wandered over, sitting on the couch where Sho had been moments earlier. "That's the same face I make when he tries to get me to play against him. He's awful, isn't he? What the hell is that?"
Jun shrugged. "A man and a dog?"
"A man and a dog," Nino repeated, shaking his head. "I have a guess, but it's not my place."
"If you know what it is, you're way ahead of me, you know."
Nino smiled when the green room door opened. "Let's ask the Sakurai expert," he said as Aiba came in. Aiba's knowledge of the way Sho's mind worked always wowed them.
Aiba grinned. "Art Attack?"
Jun rolled his eyes. "Is he playing against everybody?"
Aiba laughed, coming over to lean against the arm of the couch. "Oh!"
Nino and Jun stared up at him. "Sensei, can you interpret this masterpiece for us?" Nino asked him.
"Of course!" Aiba said proudly. "That's Saigo Takamori!"
Nino and Jun looked down at the phone screen, then back at Aiba, then back at the phone screen. "Saigo Takamori?" they repeated in confusion.
"Because of the dog!" Aiba said as if they were both idiots. "That's a huge hint! Oh, and they told me to come get you both. They're ready for us in wardrobe."
Nino could only laugh at Sho's interpretation of one of Japan's most famous historical figures, following Aiba out of the room. Despite the need to get moving, Jun kept staring at the picture, trying to imagine the statue in Ueno Park. He groaned. "Sho-kun, you put the dog on the wrong side, you idiot."
He typed in SAIGO TAKAMORI and the game beeped its approval.
Great job! You got it!
Sakurai Sho Drew: SAIGO TAKAMORI
Tap here to send Sakurai Sho your own drawing!
He'd known Sho for half of his life. This was just not a part of him he'd ever understand. He hurriedly sent a picture in return before heading off for the taping.
--
A week had gone by, and Sho hadn't sent him a new drawing yet. Had he really hurt his feelings? Sho had always been terrible at art so what made this any different? He tried talking to him in between filming, but Sho avoided him. He tried sending Sho mail messages, inviting him for dinner or over to his place. Jun wasn't normally the type to apologize for things as insignificant as cell phone games, but he didn't want to lose any chance of spending some quality time with Sho now that their schedules had freed up a bit. It had been months, after all, between his stage play and Lucky Seven and Sho's own drama commitments.
Leader stopped by one evening during Jun's miserable week of Sho Silence, fresh from several hours of drama filming. Jun grabbed Ohno a beer, and they settled down in front of Jun's TV. If there was anyone who could help, it would be Ohno. Mostly because unlike Aiba and Nino, he never teased in situations like these.
"Has Sho-kun said anything about me lately?" he asked, seeing Ohno just about to drift away into sleep after his long day.
"Sho-kun?" Ohno replied, rubbing his eyes.
"I know this sounds ridiculous, but he's playing a game against me on the phone. You draw stuff, and I insulted his picture of Saigo Takamori and told him it was the worst drawing I'd ever seen and now he's not talking to me." Jun decided it was best to leave out the part about Sho attempting to seduce him at the same time - there were things the rest of Arashi didn't need to know.
"Oh, Art Attack," Ohno said cheerfully. "He's gotten better at drawing, I think."
Jun sighed. "No, he hasn't."
"But he has," Ohno insisted, digging around in his pocket for his phone. "Look, I saved the one he sent me the other day."
He opened up the game and showed Jun his phone.
"What the hell is that?" Jun asked.
"A turtle, obviously," Ohno said.
"I would leave the 'obviously' bit out," Jun said. "Whether he's better or not, I don't want him to be angry with me. Has he said anything about me?"
Ohno sipped his beer, looking thoughtful. "When he's drunk, he always tells me how much he likes you."
Jun felt the tips of his ears start to burn in embarrassment. "I meant recently. Since he's been upset with me. He won't answer any of my messages."
"Have you sent him any drawings?"
"No, not in the last week."
"Send him a drawing. Another one. Keep sending them. It'll show that you still want to play against him, and he'll get over whatever's bugging him."
"And you're sure that will work?"
"I think he just wants you to praise him," Ohno explained. "He wants to impress you. Like a puppy rolling over. But don't tell him I called him a puppy."
Jun shook his head in irritation. "But he's already kind of impressive. Look at everything he's accomplished, how he balances every crazy thing in his life. He knows I respect him, he'd have to be blind not to know that. But I'm not going to tell him his shitty drawings are good when they're not. I love...I care about him too much to lie to him, is that so wrong?"
Ohno's head fell to Jun's shoulder, his breathing growing heavier. "...you two are weird."
While Ohno dozed, Jun decided to give in to Sho's childish behavior, sending over a dozen game requests to prove his feelings. He drew Tokyo Tower and a zebra and a tricycle and a kappa and the Hanshin Tigers logo and an airplane. And even when his finger started cramping, he drew one more.
"There," he said to his sleeping Leader, who didn't even budge. "Take that, Sho-kun."
--
Instead of a reply to his game requests, he received a mail message from Sho the following day, written in oddly formal style requesting that Jun meet him at his apartment that evening for a meal.
When he arrived, Sho opened the door, dressed down in a t-shirt and sweats. "I ordered in some Thai food. Don't worry, nothing too spicy."
Jun could already tell that Sho had no malicious intent, if the lack of spicy food was any indication. He entered the apartment, shrugging off his shoes and following Sho into the living room where he'd already nicely portioned out the various noodle and vegetable dishes onto plates. If there was anything Sho liked to do, it was order food that would please his guests.
They ate their dinner with the television on, chatting amiably enough about Arashi activities, about the other members' dramas and work, anything and everything that didn't involve Art Attack. Jun wasn't sure if Sho would say anything, so he decided to wait. The comfortable dinner was already a step in the right direction, a sign of Sho's forgiveness.
Sho smiled, gathering up the plates. "I'll go put these in the fridge. You can take some home in the morning."
"In the morning?" Jun asked him, feeling all his blood rush south.
Sho blushed. "I meant later tonight. When you leave." He laughed awkwardly and hurried off to the kitchen.
Sakurai was feeling ambitious, was he? Jun moved away from the table, moving to sit on Sho's sofa. He didn't have any commitments until the following afternoon, and spending the night was an enticing offer. And, he realized, nothing would make him happier.
Eventually the sounds of Sho putting things away in his kitchen died down, and he hadn't come back yet. "Sho-kun, can I help with anything?"
"No, no, it's fine..."
"You sure?"
"Very sure."
Sho returned a few moments later with beer for each of them, settling at the opposite end of the couch looking nervous. Just as Jun was about to speak up, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He ignored it, and Sho blushed again.
"You gonna get that?" he asked, and Jun sighed.
"I'm here with you. I can call them back."
Sho shook his head. "No, no, I'm sure it's important."
Jun narrowed his eyes. "You were drawing in the kitchen."
Sho cracked open his can of beer, taking a long sip. "Maybe."
He slid his phone out of his pocket.
Tap here to guess Sakurai Sho's drawing!
"Thanks," Sho mumbled, "for still playing, I mean."
He shrugged. "I still don't think that was Saigo Takamori, but I...I've missed you, so..."
Sho nodded, grinning a bit. "Well, your Mario wasn't much better. I'd say we're even."
Well, Jun didn't think they were really even, given the obvious differences in quality between the drawings he sent and the drawings he received, but he was in Sho's apartment with a hinted invitation to spend the night. He'd play along and swallow his pride.
He tapped his phone screen...
...and immediately decided to cough his pride right back up.
"What the hell is this? You drew me? This is what I look like to you?"
Sho's face fell. "It looks just like you..."
He closed his phone, shutting his eyes to keep calm. The eyebrows, the round face with a solemn expression...Sho hadn't even tried to make it flattering. "Sho-kun...you cheated, writing my name on here. You're not supposed to give away the word!"
"I didn't!" Sho insisted. "Your name's not the answer!"
"But what else could it be?"
"Fine. Fine, let me try again," Sho begged him desperately, yanking his phone out and hurriedly starting to swish his finger across the screen. The next few minutes passed painfully slowly, Jun fuming while Sho tried to rectify his obvious mistake. His phone finally vibrated again, and Sho looked about ready to vomit, he was so worried.
Jun took that into consideration as he opened Art Attack again.
Tap here to guess Sakurai Sho's drawing!
He took a deep breath and tapped the screen.
"What...?"
"Just think about it," Sho said nervously. "Please?"
His face, his name, and hearts. "This is a picture of me."
"Correct."
"But the answer isn't me."
"Correct."
"There are hearts."
"Correct."
"Hearts next to my face."
"Correct."
He shut his eyes, trying to channel his best inner Aiba Masaki. It was a scary place for his mind to go, but he didn't want the night to end on a sour note. Aiba would know what the drawing meant. Aiba understood Sho's brain so what would Aiba guess?
"Macchan, it's okay if you really don't know..."
Jun's eyes flew open, as though Aiba had just slapped him in the head. He looked at the picture one last time before typing in his guess.
Great job! You got it!
Jun looked up, seeing Sho's embarrassment grow, and he couldn't help laughing.
Sakurai Sho Drew: LOVE
Tap here to send Sakurai Sho your own drawing!
"Disgusting!" he said, closing his phone. "That's too disgusting!"
"Yeah, I know." Even Sho's ears were bright red. "I couldn't help it..."
Jun felt happiness flooding through him, from the tips of his fingers to the tips of his toes. Disgusting it may have been and an odd way to confess, but the romantic sap in Jun couldn't help but adore the cheesiness of it. Sho wanted this as much as Jun did. Despite their schedules, despite everything, Sho wanted something more, too.
"Aren't you going to send one back?" Sho asked.
Jun answered him by shaking his head and tossing his phone on the table. Sho barely got his beer safely onto the table and out of the way before Jun was pinning him down and letting him know just how impressed he was with his drawing.
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Matsumoto Jun/Sakurai Sho
Summary: Tap here to guess Sakurai Sho's drawing!
Notes/Warnings: Yes, this is inspired by the drawing game available on your smartphone of choice. This story is mostly for r_1_ss_a who always encourages me. Sorry this story is so sappy LOL.
Jun grumbled his way out of his happy nap, his rare day of rest interrupted by the buzzing of his cell phone. Thinking it was probably his manager checking in with his schedule for the next few days, he dragged himself out of bed and slunk lazily across his bedroom floor to the outlet on the wall where he'd plugged in his phone charger. Keeping his cell phone on his bedside table was no longer an option - he'd flung too many of them against the wall in protest.
He crouched down, yanking the cord out of the phone and keying in his password. Instead of a mail message or voicemail from his manager, he had received a notification from a program called "ART ATTACK!" He frowned. Since when had he installed something with a name like that? Clarity came all too quickly - he'd been out with Toma a few nights back, drunker than drunk, and Toma had borrowed his phone to call them a cab. Perhaps his friend had downloaded the program in a drunken stupor.
He clicked on the icon for the game only to be greeted with a rather surprising message:
Sakurai Sho has invited you to play ART ATTACK!
Accept / Decline
Sho usually told everyone what stupid stuff he was playing on his phone. During filming for his recent drama, Kitagawa Keiko had gotten him hooked on Dress Up Girls, some stupid game where you bought clothes for a tiny little female avatar. Sho had been bragging about his skills at picking out cute outfits to no end, saying it was way more fun and less mentally taxing than a Mannequin Five special. And before Dress Up Girls it had been Grumpy Pigeons: Happy New Year! and before that Grumpy Pigeons: Happy Halloween!
Jun had things to do, at least now that he was awake, and none of them involved art. There were dishes to wash, clean clothes to return to drawers, and a frightening pile of mail on his table that required his attention. And yet Sho had specially invited him. Their schedules had been hectic for the first few months of the year with drama filming for them both. They hadn't had much free time to spend together, so maybe this was just Sho's way of trying to reach out. A relationship couldn't endure on sporadic gifts of scented candles alone.
He found himself pressing his finger on the "Accept" option. The screen exploded with a colorful ART ATTACK! logo, then a lengthy mobile advertisement for a car, and then another loading screen.
Tap here to guess Sakurai Sho's drawing!
Jun sat down, holding his phone in his hands. The name Art Attack should have given it away, he thought with a sigh. He tapped the phone screen obediently with his finger, cringing at what Sho's artistic skills had managed to create. He reminded himself that he was playing along because he missed Sho's company, that was all.
A blank screen loaded with hiragana and katakana options underneath so Jun could type in his guess. And then he watched in confusion as a drawing appeared on the smartphone screen.
He stared at it for a solid minute, bringing his phone up close to his face before pulling it back to see if it made any more sense from farther away. A blonde...woman? Or maybe it was a crossdresser? He honestly couldn't tell, though it was at least supposed to be a human. Blonde woman, he told himself. Blonde woman, blonde woman, blonde woman...a blonde woman with a stick in her hand?
He ignored the stick, typing in MADONNA. The screen went black and the phone made a little buzzing noise to let him know he was wrong.
Sorry! That's incorrect!
Sakurai Sho Drew: LADY GAGA
Tap here to send Sakurai Sho your own drawing!
He couldn't help snorting in laughter. It was quite possibly the worst looking Lady Gaga he'd ever seen. And Sho ought to have done better, considering that the two of them had seen her in concert. He shook his head, memories of that crazy night at the concert flooding his mind. He wondered if Sho had chosen Lady Gaga as his art subject for a reason, and the thought warmed him even as the drawing made him shudder.
He tapped the phone screen, and it gave him a few options to draw. He doubted he'd be that talented at drawing on the tiny screen, so he chose something simple, CAT, and got to work.
He sent the picture off to Sho before closing his phone and getting up to get some chores done. No more flinging birds around, no more dressing up cute teenage girls. Sho had a new obsession, and Jun had no choice but to deal with it.
--
A few days later, he found himself alone with Sho in the green room before VS Arashi taping. While Jun flipped through a book, Sho was concentrating very hard, smearing his finger across his phone screen. Jun couldn't help but stare, watching the way Sho's face lit up as he presumably played the stupid game, listening to Sho's soft little sighs as he created his next artistic masterpiece. It was something he'd always loved about Sho, his diligence. His hard work. Even when he was drawing the dumbest pictures ever.
Sho finally looked up a moment later. "Oh," he said with a start, "Matsujun, I didn't even know you were here."
He scowled. "I've been sitting here for ten minutes reading. I even greeted you when I came in, and you said hello."
"I did?" Sho said, scratching his head.
"You did."
Sho closed his phone and set it aside, pointing at him. "I can't believe you didn't get Lady Gaga right," Sho accused him.
"It looked like a drag queen," Jun replied.
"I worked hard on that! Her hair was perfect!"
"Why was she holding a stick though?"
"A...a stick?!" Sho squealed, getting up from his chair and wandering over to the couch where Jun had parked himself. "What do you mean a stick? That was a microphone!"
Jun laughed. "You really suck at this."
His phone buzzed, and Sho looked rather proud of himself. "Well, this one's much better anyway. You'll guess it right away, I know it."
Jun pulled his phone from his pocket, setting his book down. "Oh really?" He opened his phone, Sho taking the liberty of sitting down on the couch cushion next to him.
Tap here to guess Sakurai Sho's drawing!
Sho was sitting awfully close, breathing down his neck. Jun tried to elbow him. "Go away, you're creepy."
"I want to see how your mind works," Sho said, fingers almost touching Jun's thigh as he tried to look over onto Jun's screen. "I want to see the look on your face when you see artistic genius."
"If I wanted artistic genius," he said, heart racing, "I'd play this game against Leader."
Sho pouted, and Jun kind of wanted to forget Art Attack altogether now that they had a moment alone, but sometimes his desire to make fun of Sho outweighed his desire to kiss the hell out of him. He tapped the screen, feeling Sho's hot breath on his skin.
He felt Sho's arm wrap around his shoulders. He was being uncharacteristically touchy-feely, given how easily someone could open the door and walk in. "Come on, Matsujun," Sho whispered, his voice low in Jun's ear. "This is so simple. A child could guess it."
Were his phone not in his hand with an even worse Sho drawing on it, he'd shove his bandmate until he was on his back with Jun's hands pinning his wrists down. They'd lose themselves in the moment, giving in to temptation after so many weeks apart. To Jun it would feel like coming home, just as it always did with the two of them. Maybe this time around, they'd make it work. He'd let Sho know he wasn't just in it to fulfill a physical need, that Sho meant way more to him than that.
But he was too distracted...seriously, what the hell had Sho drawn?
Sho's mouth was still at his ear. "Come on. Guess. You know this."
A man...and...some creature?
"Macchan, do you need a hint? Are you stupid?"
He turned to give Sho a dirty look. "This is the worst drawing I have ever seen in my life."
"What?!" Sho backed off, looking genuinely hurt, and to Jun's dismay, they were no longer in physical contact.
"I literally do not know who this is supposed to be," he said honestly.
Sho crossed his arms in a huff. He'd obviously been planning to give Jun some sort of sexual reward for stroking his artistic ego, but his plot had backfired. And Jun was too stubborn to give in and patronize him.
"Not even with the dog?" Sho mumbled.
"That's a dog?"
Sho got off the couch. "We'll be filming soon, and I have Cliff Climb today. I'm going to go stretch."
"Sho-kun..." Jun said, but Sho could be awfully ridiculous when he was upset, especially about stupid things. When Sho left the room, he sighed, staring at the picture again. Sho was trying to get closer to him through the medium of art...bad art, and Jun had refused to take the bait. But now what if the opportunity never came again?
Nino came in soon thereafter, seeing Jun squinting at his phone desperately.
"Ah, Sho-chan's playing you in Art Attack."
Jun looked up from the picture. "How can you tell?"
Nino smiled and wandered over, sitting on the couch where Sho had been moments earlier. "That's the same face I make when he tries to get me to play against him. He's awful, isn't he? What the hell is that?"
Jun shrugged. "A man and a dog?"
"A man and a dog," Nino repeated, shaking his head. "I have a guess, but it's not my place."
"If you know what it is, you're way ahead of me, you know."
Nino smiled when the green room door opened. "Let's ask the Sakurai expert," he said as Aiba came in. Aiba's knowledge of the way Sho's mind worked always wowed them.
Aiba grinned. "Art Attack?"
Jun rolled his eyes. "Is he playing against everybody?"
Aiba laughed, coming over to lean against the arm of the couch. "Oh!"
Nino and Jun stared up at him. "Sensei, can you interpret this masterpiece for us?" Nino asked him.
"Of course!" Aiba said proudly. "That's Saigo Takamori!"
Nino and Jun looked down at the phone screen, then back at Aiba, then back at the phone screen. "Saigo Takamori?" they repeated in confusion.
"Because of the dog!" Aiba said as if they were both idiots. "That's a huge hint! Oh, and they told me to come get you both. They're ready for us in wardrobe."
Nino could only laugh at Sho's interpretation of one of Japan's most famous historical figures, following Aiba out of the room. Despite the need to get moving, Jun kept staring at the picture, trying to imagine the statue in Ueno Park. He groaned. "Sho-kun, you put the dog on the wrong side, you idiot."
He typed in SAIGO TAKAMORI and the game beeped its approval.
Great job! You got it!
Sakurai Sho Drew: SAIGO TAKAMORI
Tap here to send Sakurai Sho your own drawing!
He'd known Sho for half of his life. This was just not a part of him he'd ever understand. He hurriedly sent a picture in return before heading off for the taping.
--
A week had gone by, and Sho hadn't sent him a new drawing yet. Had he really hurt his feelings? Sho had always been terrible at art so what made this any different? He tried talking to him in between filming, but Sho avoided him. He tried sending Sho mail messages, inviting him for dinner or over to his place. Jun wasn't normally the type to apologize for things as insignificant as cell phone games, but he didn't want to lose any chance of spending some quality time with Sho now that their schedules had freed up a bit. It had been months, after all, between his stage play and Lucky Seven and Sho's own drama commitments.
Leader stopped by one evening during Jun's miserable week of Sho Silence, fresh from several hours of drama filming. Jun grabbed Ohno a beer, and they settled down in front of Jun's TV. If there was anyone who could help, it would be Ohno. Mostly because unlike Aiba and Nino, he never teased in situations like these.
"Has Sho-kun said anything about me lately?" he asked, seeing Ohno just about to drift away into sleep after his long day.
"Sho-kun?" Ohno replied, rubbing his eyes.
"I know this sounds ridiculous, but he's playing a game against me on the phone. You draw stuff, and I insulted his picture of Saigo Takamori and told him it was the worst drawing I'd ever seen and now he's not talking to me." Jun decided it was best to leave out the part about Sho attempting to seduce him at the same time - there were things the rest of Arashi didn't need to know.
"Oh, Art Attack," Ohno said cheerfully. "He's gotten better at drawing, I think."
Jun sighed. "No, he hasn't."
"But he has," Ohno insisted, digging around in his pocket for his phone. "Look, I saved the one he sent me the other day."
He opened up the game and showed Jun his phone.
"What the hell is that?" Jun asked.
"A turtle, obviously," Ohno said.
"I would leave the 'obviously' bit out," Jun said. "Whether he's better or not, I don't want him to be angry with me. Has he said anything about me?"
Ohno sipped his beer, looking thoughtful. "When he's drunk, he always tells me how much he likes you."
Jun felt the tips of his ears start to burn in embarrassment. "I meant recently. Since he's been upset with me. He won't answer any of my messages."
"Have you sent him any drawings?"
"No, not in the last week."
"Send him a drawing. Another one. Keep sending them. It'll show that you still want to play against him, and he'll get over whatever's bugging him."
"And you're sure that will work?"
"I think he just wants you to praise him," Ohno explained. "He wants to impress you. Like a puppy rolling over. But don't tell him I called him a puppy."
Jun shook his head in irritation. "But he's already kind of impressive. Look at everything he's accomplished, how he balances every crazy thing in his life. He knows I respect him, he'd have to be blind not to know that. But I'm not going to tell him his shitty drawings are good when they're not. I love...I care about him too much to lie to him, is that so wrong?"
Ohno's head fell to Jun's shoulder, his breathing growing heavier. "...you two are weird."
While Ohno dozed, Jun decided to give in to Sho's childish behavior, sending over a dozen game requests to prove his feelings. He drew Tokyo Tower and a zebra and a tricycle and a kappa and the Hanshin Tigers logo and an airplane. And even when his finger started cramping, he drew one more.
"There," he said to his sleeping Leader, who didn't even budge. "Take that, Sho-kun."
--
Instead of a reply to his game requests, he received a mail message from Sho the following day, written in oddly formal style requesting that Jun meet him at his apartment that evening for a meal.
When he arrived, Sho opened the door, dressed down in a t-shirt and sweats. "I ordered in some Thai food. Don't worry, nothing too spicy."
Jun could already tell that Sho had no malicious intent, if the lack of spicy food was any indication. He entered the apartment, shrugging off his shoes and following Sho into the living room where he'd already nicely portioned out the various noodle and vegetable dishes onto plates. If there was anything Sho liked to do, it was order food that would please his guests.
They ate their dinner with the television on, chatting amiably enough about Arashi activities, about the other members' dramas and work, anything and everything that didn't involve Art Attack. Jun wasn't sure if Sho would say anything, so he decided to wait. The comfortable dinner was already a step in the right direction, a sign of Sho's forgiveness.
Sho smiled, gathering up the plates. "I'll go put these in the fridge. You can take some home in the morning."
"In the morning?" Jun asked him, feeling all his blood rush south.
Sho blushed. "I meant later tonight. When you leave." He laughed awkwardly and hurried off to the kitchen.
Sakurai was feeling ambitious, was he? Jun moved away from the table, moving to sit on Sho's sofa. He didn't have any commitments until the following afternoon, and spending the night was an enticing offer. And, he realized, nothing would make him happier.
Eventually the sounds of Sho putting things away in his kitchen died down, and he hadn't come back yet. "Sho-kun, can I help with anything?"
"No, no, it's fine..."
"You sure?"
"Very sure."
Sho returned a few moments later with beer for each of them, settling at the opposite end of the couch looking nervous. Just as Jun was about to speak up, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He ignored it, and Sho blushed again.
"You gonna get that?" he asked, and Jun sighed.
"I'm here with you. I can call them back."
Sho shook his head. "No, no, I'm sure it's important."
Jun narrowed his eyes. "You were drawing in the kitchen."
Sho cracked open his can of beer, taking a long sip. "Maybe."
He slid his phone out of his pocket.
Tap here to guess Sakurai Sho's drawing!
"Thanks," Sho mumbled, "for still playing, I mean."
He shrugged. "I still don't think that was Saigo Takamori, but I...I've missed you, so..."
Sho nodded, grinning a bit. "Well, your Mario wasn't much better. I'd say we're even."
Well, Jun didn't think they were really even, given the obvious differences in quality between the drawings he sent and the drawings he received, but he was in Sho's apartment with a hinted invitation to spend the night. He'd play along and swallow his pride.
He tapped his phone screen...
...and immediately decided to cough his pride right back up.
"What the hell is this? You drew me? This is what I look like to you?"
Sho's face fell. "It looks just like you..."
He closed his phone, shutting his eyes to keep calm. The eyebrows, the round face with a solemn expression...Sho hadn't even tried to make it flattering. "Sho-kun...you cheated, writing my name on here. You're not supposed to give away the word!"
"I didn't!" Sho insisted. "Your name's not the answer!"
"But what else could it be?"
"Fine. Fine, let me try again," Sho begged him desperately, yanking his phone out and hurriedly starting to swish his finger across the screen. The next few minutes passed painfully slowly, Jun fuming while Sho tried to rectify his obvious mistake. His phone finally vibrated again, and Sho looked about ready to vomit, he was so worried.
Jun took that into consideration as he opened Art Attack again.
Tap here to guess Sakurai Sho's drawing!
He took a deep breath and tapped the screen.
"What...?"
"Just think about it," Sho said nervously. "Please?"
His face, his name, and hearts. "This is a picture of me."
"Correct."
"But the answer isn't me."
"Correct."
"There are hearts."
"Correct."
"Hearts next to my face."
"Correct."
He shut his eyes, trying to channel his best inner Aiba Masaki. It was a scary place for his mind to go, but he didn't want the night to end on a sour note. Aiba would know what the drawing meant. Aiba understood Sho's brain so what would Aiba guess?
"Macchan, it's okay if you really don't know..."
Jun's eyes flew open, as though Aiba had just slapped him in the head. He looked at the picture one last time before typing in his guess.
Great job! You got it!
Jun looked up, seeing Sho's embarrassment grow, and he couldn't help laughing.
Sakurai Sho Drew: LOVE
Tap here to send Sakurai Sho your own drawing!
"Disgusting!" he said, closing his phone. "That's too disgusting!"
"Yeah, I know." Even Sho's ears were bright red. "I couldn't help it..."
Jun felt happiness flooding through him, from the tips of his fingers to the tips of his toes. Disgusting it may have been and an odd way to confess, but the romantic sap in Jun couldn't help but adore the cheesiness of it. Sho wanted this as much as Jun did. Despite their schedules, despite everything, Sho wanted something more, too.
"Aren't you going to send one back?" Sho asked.
Jun answered him by shaking his head and tossing his phone on the table. Sho barely got his beer safely onto the table and out of the way before Jun was pinning him down and letting him know just how impressed he was with his drawing.