Fanfiction: Pasta + Chaahan (Chinese-style fried rice) = Venus Ramen? (one-shot)
Pairing: Takizawa Hideaki x Imai Tsubasa
Genre: Romance, fluff
Rating: G
Summary: When two yummilicious chefs get together, it's sugar and spice and all things nice.
Disclaimer: I own TxT and all Johnnys! Of course, I own a highly delusional mind too.
Summary: Déjà vu and double TxT love.
Tsubasa looked on indifferently. The shop across the street had changed hands. As long as it’s not another Italian pasta restaurant like his, he was cool with it.
….
Tsubasa looked on with mild concern. The shop seemed to be taking on an Edo style décor. Not very flattering, he thought, since the entire street was known to be trendy and swanky. It would just stick out like a sore thumb.
….
Tsubasa looked on with annoyance. The shop had finally opened its doors. And its official opening ceremony was a loud and messy affair, with its traditional Japanese wine barrel breaking ceremony (Kagami-wari) witnessed by the press, on top of friends, well-wishers and a whole lot of crowd.
The fanfare meant that Tsubasa lost his regular parking spot, and had to scout for an available spot for his beloved Mustang much further away.
….
Tsubasa looked on with alarm - the jaw-mopping-floor kind. He saw his favourite customer, Domoto-san dining at that shop.
Thankfully, impeccably manners did not give way to boiling blood and raising temper. He only quietly cursed 殿Tono Chaahan, the shop across the street.
….
And so Operation Size-up-your-competitor began. Tsubasa just had to find out more about his rival.
Straining his eyes to their left, he very slowly, and as casually as he could muster, strolled past Tono. As he inched across the full-length windows in slow motion, he did not notice anything that made it stand out from the usual traditional Japanese restaurants. Also, the décor: low dark wooden tables on heightened tatami floors, calligraphy and ikebana lining the walls and large paper lanterns, were a tad too traditional for his liking. Just as he was about to leave, something or more accurately, someone stopped him in his tracks.
‘Damn, that guy’s got looks that rival mine!’ Tsubasa felt slightly wounded. But more than that, something bugged him about that guy. He thought he had seen him somewhere else before.
Although their area had no short of good-looking young bosses, Tsubasa had not felt so threatened before. Kamenashi-kun and Akanishi-kun, co-owners of a restaurant and Ueda-kun of a boxing club may be turn-ons but he deemed them too girly. Whereas Yamashita-kun of the boutique next door, was just too boyish. None of them posed any serious competition, until 'he' came along.
Later, Tsubasa learned that that heartthrob was the owner cum chef of Tono, Takki, as everyone affectionately calls him.
‘Why of all names?’ Tsubasa pouted.
....
Although he would like to attribute Tono’s success to the owner/chef, Takki’s good looks and it being the-new-kid-on-the-block, it was hard to ignore the rave reviews from the press, and even, Domoto-san himself.
‘His signature fried rice was created when he was just 17, and an amateur. And it actually won him a competition against renowned chefs his senior. It’s really quite something, you should try it sometime,’ Domoto-san declared.
Tolerating his fave customer lapping praises on his competitor didn’t sit well with Tsubasa. Seething disapproval snowballed. And everyday, Tsubasa would look across the street to find more things he finds contemptuous in Takki.
….
‘Does he own anything else other than track suits?’ Tsubasa looked on incredulously, critiquing Takki’s sloppy dress sense.
…..
‘Oh, yes he does! Arghhh….golden Birkenstock sandals accompanied with a golden handbag?! Someone call the fashion police!’ Tsubasa laughed so uncontrollably at Takki’s lack of dress sense that he was gasping for air.
Across the street….
As if sensing the evil aura emitting from the shop across the street, Takki started to take note of the shop opposite his, 283 Pasta.
‘So his name is Tsubasa.’ Takki liked the name the instant he heard it.
He couldn’t quite tell when he started paying attention to Tsubasa. Maybe it was the time, Mr Moustache appeared outside his shop’s window.
Strangely enough, it was not the moustache he was wearing or his suspicious behaviour that drew Takki’s attention.
‘What’s with the big backpack?’ Takki thought, eyeing the stranger for the first time.
It was an innocent enough beginning but was it developing into something more?
Takki found out that he liked many things about Tsubasa, from his name to the way he moves. Tsubasa moved with the grace and confidence of a dancer, something shy and awkward Takki knew nothing about.
So everyday, every so often, Takki too would glance at the shop across the street.
….
‘That’s the third time I’ve seen him wearing a different leather jacket this week. Just how many does he own?’ Takki wondered.
…..
‘He wears a lot of black, doesn’t he? But he sure looks good in them, in everything, in fact. Maybe, even better without,’ he mused before smacking himself on the forehead.
‘Naughty, naughty…’ Takki chided himself, as he fought to suppress the redness creeping up his face.
….
September 11
Scrutinising himself in the mirror, Tsubasa made sure he was looked decent enough for the one year anniversary of his dear friend’s ramen shop, 滝翼拉面. Tsubasa was not sure how he got so attached to this friend despite the wide age gap. Probably because they share the same name, Tsubasa.
Tsubasa senior was about 61 but had aged gracefully. Standing beside him, they had often been mistaken for siblings. Tsubasa felt honoured to be mistaken as the brother of Imai Tsubasa, one half of the hugely popular Tackey and Tsubasa. The famous duo had just held the last show of their farewell concert on the same day, last year. It was amazing how their wildly successful showbiz career spanned decades in this fickle entertainment industry. The last of their 40 Japan-wide concerts, was held at a bursting Yokohama Arena, packed with screaming obaasans, ojiisans and their kids and grandkids.
Although Tsubasa was not a fan, preferring Spanish music and dance, he was aware that surviving showbiz was hard. But perhaps harder was sticking together through thick and thin, and that was what Tsubasa admired most of the duo. They stuck together.
…..
Walking into the fusion ramen shop, Tsubasa immediately felt invigorated. The décor was a blend of traditional and modern elements, bringing together the two owners’ conflicting styles into a complementary refreshing look.
Today, love was in the air. Regular customers, friends, well-wishers, fans and all crowded in the ramen shop to celebrate another milestone in TxT’s lives.
Tsubasa worked his way to Tsubasa senior and presented with him a hearty bear hug. No words were needed, besides the adoring crowd needs attention too. So Tsubasa moved on Takki senior.
Dumbfounded, Tsubasa stalled in the middle of the packed room.
Takki senior was talking to Takki, from the shop across the street. Because he was not close to Takki senior, it only struck him now that Takki and Takki senior looked so alike. Surprise but also relief swept over him. Now the question of why Takki looked familiar could finally stop haunting him.
Although Takki senior was over twice the age of Takki-kun, he was still strikingly breathtaking. Just like Takki-kun. Tsubasa almost instantaneously mentally bashed his head for thinking that.
Overcoming momentary insanity, Tsubasa managed to shake hands with the elderly gentleman and congratulate him. Takki senior, of course, eagerly introduced the younger copy of himself.
‘So, just friends like Tsubasa-san and I. God must be recycling his mould one time too often,’ Tsubasa thought as he smiled uneasily at the young Takki.
He could no longer ignore his rival, unlike when their eyes made connection across glass panels and the street. While they could pretend not to have seen each other then, and continue to punish their windows, this time they were face to face. Up close and personal.
Takki did what he always did when he wanted to hide his shyness, he overcompensated for it. He knew he was making a fool out of himself, flailing his arms about, enthusiastically talking about nothing much at all. He couldn’t help it. The silence between them was too much to bear. On the other hand, Tsubasa found the whole spectacle too much to bear.
Embarrassing as it was, Takki thought Tsubasa left too soon. Tsubasa thought he couldn’t leave soon enough.
…..
So the younger duo were back to nursing their growing adoration and disdain from their individual shops from across the street.
…..
A week after attending the anniversary of their mutual friends, TxT’s ramen shop, they were both invited down to the shop to sample their latest creation, Venus Ramen.
Tsubasa senior and Takki senior couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong with it and so they sought the expert opinion of their two chef friends.
‘It lacks a certain something,’ Takki senior offered, trying to help, but only earning a smack on the back of the head from Tsubasa senior.
As the two youngsters tasted the ramen carefully, the two elderly lovers went about their business. Tsubasa senior worked the kitchen while Takki senior took care of the customers.
While busy sampling Venus Ramen, Tsubasa couldn't help stealing glances at the duo. They were a heartwarming pair. Despite their age, they were still occasionally sneaking up a kiss or stealing a hug from the back, unable to keep their hands off each other.
Turning his attention back to the food, Tsubasa noticed that Takki had poured soy sauce for him to dip the accompanying gyozas (fried dumplings). Takki was very quiet this time round, letting his thoughtfulness speak volume.
Tsubasa was slightly taken back. This time, he had nothing to disapprove. The quiet company of Takki was actually quite pleasant.
The only remarkable thing Takki said the whole encounter was to ask him for his number.
‘Ano… since our shop are so close by, maybe we could exchange numbers so that we can contact each other in case of emergency.’ Takki said as be blinked nervously and fidgeted with his shirt.
‘The only emergency I can think of is if you were to create mass hysteria with the fashion disaster you walk about in,’ Tsubasa amazed himself at his restraint for not saying it out loud. But he gave his number anyway.
….
‘Perhaps, I’ve been too harsh on him. He actually looks very good in white,’ Tsubasa stared.
Lost in that thought, Tsubasa only snapped out of it when he realized the other awkwardly waving at him. Tsubasa gave a brief smile and a nod before quickly returning to what he was pretending to do earlier.
It wasn’t long before Tsubasa questioned if the younger man was ever going to call him.
…..
And call he did, finally.
‘Ano…Tsubasa-kun, would you like to work with me? I want to create a Venus Ramen that Takki-san and Tsubasa-san can be proud of.’
It was Tsubasa’s turn to be speechless. But anyone looking at the shyly smiling figures in the shops on the opposite sides of the street would know that something beautiful was happening.
Note:
I tried to incorporate as much little details of what I know about TxT into this story. Do look out for them. Also, Takki actually did win that fried rice challenge. See it at http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XOTAyMDMwMzI=.html.
Also, to answer Takki, Tsubasa has 40 leather jackets and counting.
For those who prefer seeing the younger duo as girls:
. More at http://asianfanatics.net/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t189115.html, just keep scrolling down.
Pleas:
I'm out of ideas but would still like to write. So if you think I'm not too bad, please share your ideas with me. The more detailed the better. Long live TxT fanfics! Next up, 'No. You Can't Have Him.'
Of course, comments are much appreciated. Even just so as to prove that I'm not alone. *Rewarding with yummy Venus Ramen
.*