Fic: Moving Day
Title: Moving Day
Characters: Masuda x NEWS + Nakamaru (Gen)
Notes: For flipbookfrog, who wanted Massu x Everyone. Thank you (in advance) for making me a welcome fic/drabble :)
This was longer than intended but that's what happens when everyone's involved, lol, and might have turned out more like a NEWS fic rather than a Massu-centric piece, but please enjoy:) I'm pretty sure when you said 'Massu x Everyone', you meant something with a rating higher than PG :3 but alas, this is what I can come up with, I hope you still like it? ♥ (yeah, yeah, I'm working on working my way up the fic ratings! maybe XD)
Disclaimer: Not mine, not for profit, stories are fictional but the characters are not.
**********
"You're moving out?"
It's an early workday morning and Tegoshi and Massu are on their way to NEWS' dressing room when Massu casually mentions that he got himself his own apartment. Tegoshi pauses and looks at Massu, surprised. Almost all of NEWS have moved out of their family home, and while it's inevitable (to Tegoshi, at least), Massu seems the type to prefer living with his parents for as long as he can. "That's unexpected," Tegoshi adds.
Massu turns to Tegoshi and nods. "Yeah. I finally convinced my parents to let me find my own place. I'm set to move in next week."
"Where's this place? How come you never mentioned it before?"
"It's just a fifteen minute train ride from the jimusho, and it's really quiet," Massu replies, turning the knob on their dressing room door. "I told Shige about it, I think. I'm not sure."
"Even so, this is great, Massu, you're getting your own place!" Tegoshi exclaims, while Massu hastens to tell him, "It's kind of scary, actually. It might be hard to live away from home."
Yamapi overhears their conversation. "You're moving out?" He asks, looking up from his cellphone.
Tegoshi turns to their leader. "He is, Yamashita-kun. Isn't it great?"
Yamapi nods. "When are you moving in, Massu? Congratulations, ne."
"Ah, thanks. I'm moving in next week. I've been packing up stuff since yesterday," Massu replies. In fact, he's been packing and re-packing his personal belongings since last week. He's got a lot of stuff (mostly clothes), and he doesn't know which ones to bring, which ones to leave at home. It's the least of his worries, though, because the reason why he wants to move out and why he's anxious about living alone is the same: he's twenty-three years old.
He's already an adult, and he's got a well-paying job that's more than enough to support him, but the fact that he's lived nowhere else but his parents' home since he was a child is what worries him more. Even though he's twenty-three and can take proper care of himself, he's not sure he likes the idea of being responsible for every little thing.
Tegoshi snaps him out of his reverie and continues grilling him. "Is the area safe? Have you seen it yourself? Because if not there's available space near my apartment--"
"Tegoshi, it's fine. I'm actually looking forward to moving there."
"You're moving out?" from the other side of the room, Ryo emerges from a connecting door and looks curiously at Massu.
"Yes, I am. I was just telling Tegoshi that I'm moving out of my parents' house by next week." Massu says again, but before Ryo can say anything else Koyama wanders to the dressing room and overhears the conversation. "You're mov--"
"-YES, he's moving out. How many times does everyone have to say it?" Shige cuts in, shutting his textbook close with a snap.
"You're such a grinch in the morning, Shige," Koyama laments. "Aren't you excited for Massu?"
Shige makes a face at his best friend. "I was. I did look the place up for him, after all."
Tegoshi whips around to face Shige. "Eh?!? You knew about this all along?" He turns to Massu with a frown, "Hey, how come you told Shige, but not me? Or the rest of us, for that matter?"
Massu just smiles at him, and the other members, in general. "Well, now you all know, ne."
**********
Massu doesn't quite know why his move-in day is turning out like this, but as he opens the door to let in Koyama and Shige (who are both holding armfuls of bags), he supposes he shouldn't have been surprised.
"We're here to help you settle in!" Koyama says with a smile, or at least Massu thinks he's smiling, since all he can see of Koyama is his hair; the rest of his face is obscured by a rather large paper bag brimming with home cleaning supplies.
Massu sees Shige, or rather, the top of Shige's head, nod. "Since you've been bugging me to help you with everything, I figured I should bring reinforcements." He says, turning sideways so he can grin at Massu.
"Ah. Thank you, Shige. Come in, come in," Massu ushers them in, and have just closed the door when the bell rings again. A glance through the peephole makes Massu go "Whoa~" and he immediately opens the door. "Yamashita-kun! Nishikido-kun!"
"Hi Massu," Yamapi greets him with a wave. "We're here to help you move in."
Yamapi and Ryo shuffle in, both holding identical looking bags. Yamapi holds up his. "Housewarming present. Freshly made." He says, while Ryo just mutters, "Hmm."
"Not that I'm not happy to see you, but, I think Shige was the only one I bugged about this?" Massu asks, embarrassed ('You mean bullied!', Shige cries out from somewhere behind him).
"I remembered I didn't give a gift for Massu's birthday this year, so I might as well do this. I have a miraculously empty schedule today," Yamapi tells him before he saunters off to join Koyama and Shige in the living room.
Ryo pulls out his cellphone and shows Massu a text message. "The first time I receive a text from Massu's new number and this is what he tells me," Ryo says, as Massu looks at the message: Can you come help me move in tomorrow?? You can come help me move in tomorrow!! Yay!
Massu grins sheepishly at the older boy. "I swear I only sent that to Shige."
"Yeah right. You put off giving me your new number until now-- I say this was planned. I am here against my will, just so you know." Ryo grumbles, then walks around Massu to follow Yamapi. "We brought you your favorite food and a couple of beers and I'm putting all of them in the fridge!" Ryo adds loudly.
Massu trails after him with a smile. Lucky~, he thinks. "This is great! Everyone's come to see my new place!"
"Everyone? Is Tegoshi coming too? I thought he has work today," Koyama says just as an apron-clad Tegoshi emerges from one of the rooms, a paintbrush held in one hand.
"Tadaima!" Tegoshi calls out, paintbrush dangerously flicking bits of paint on the floor. "Welcome, everyone. Make yourselves at home,"
"It's not your apartment, Tegoshi." Shige snorts. "So that's why you called me up in the middle of the night, to ask for directions to this place."
"I wanted to make sure I had the correct address. I've been here the whole morning!"
"Won't your manager get mad at you? You have an important meeting today, right?" Koyama asks Tegoshi.
Tegoshi just smiles and brushes off the question. "I'll take care of it, ne. Anything for Massu." he says, which earns him a snort from Shige and a shoulder pat from Yamapi. Ryo is still standing off to the side, grumbling good-naturedly about manipulative coworkers and how he's supposed to be at his home relaxing instead of-- "What the hell is that thing on the couch?!?"
Yamapi leans and looks over the couch. "It's just Massu's hoodie, Ryo-chan." Yamapi says, picking up a garishly green and black furry hoodie and handing it back to Massu. "You shouldn't leave this out here, Massu. Here, hang it in your closet,"
"Are we going to start working, or are we just going to stand here and chat?" Shige cuts in.
Massu laughs and scratches his head, at a loss at what to do. "This feels like a NEWS meeting."
"Well, then," Koyama claps his hands and starts pulling out supplies from his enormous paper bag. "We better get started."
**********
Massu's new apartment has two rooms: his bedroom and a tiny guest room-slash-clothes room. There's nothing in the guest room but a single bed with a night stand, and a chest of drawers (already filled with Massu's clothes) next to a built-in closet (already half-full with Massu's clothes). Massu's bedroom is slightly bigger, with large windows looking out into a nearby community poolhouse. All the rooms are simply furnished. The only extravagant items are the big flat screen television and plush loveseat, along with two brightly colored beanbags, in the living room. The rest of the apartment is sparsely decorated, clean, orderly, and very much Massu-like.
The NEWS members also find out that the only thing they need to 'help' with is to paint one wall of Massu's room ('That's it? What am I going to do with all this stuff I brought?!?' Koyama had flailed). Apparently, Massu wants to paint that wall himself and use a part of it as his doodle wall-- the one and only part of the apartment that's allowed to look disorderly and be graffiti-ed to his heart's content.
"That corner's where I'm keeping all my fanletters and putting up pictures and stuff," Massu tells them. The wall is bare, and so far only a part of it has been painted-- haphazardly.
"It looks like Tegoshi's already started to make it look like a graffiti wall, certainly." Yamapi points out as him and the other members put on aprons.
**********
A couple of minutes into their work and it's mostly just Koyama and Massu who's actually painting. Shige is critically staring at Massu's wardrobe while Yamapi absently stirs a can of paint, both of them already getting bored. Tegoshi has excused himself to go the bathroom, and Ryo is in the kitchen, getting himself something to drink.
"Have you made friends with your neighbors yet?" Koyama asks him while they work.
"Nope."
"Do you know the schedule for garbage pick up? Where do you put out the trash?
"I don't know."
"Is the building equipped with security systems?"
"I guess."
"Ehhh, Massu? You need to know these things! You know, everyone's worried about you. Will you be alright living alone?" Koyama scans the apartment in anxiety. "I know you said you've wanted to do this for quite some time, but, are you ready to live by yourself?" He asks, and Massu doesn't know how to answer.
Shige stops his inspection of Massu's wardrobe and turns to their conversation as well. Yamapi pauses his paint-stirring and looks at his groupmate. "Yeah, Massu. How do you feel, having your own place?"
Massu looks down at his lap. "I don't know. Kinda scary, I guess. And maybe lonely." He admits. Last night was his first night here, and while his parents and sister helped bring his belongings and they celebrated over dinner, the moment they were gone Massu was instantly restless. He barely slept and was only too grateful when Tegoshi arrived quite early to keep him company. He looks up and realizes that Koyama, Shige, and Yamapi are all casting him worried looks so he smiles and shakes his head. "But it's okay. It's going to be alright, ne?"
The other three look unconvinced but they nod, and Massu silently thanks them for not pushing the subject matter further. He gets up and brushes his hands on his pants. "I'm getting drinks, does anybody want anything? I only have orange juice and water though. But I think Nishikido-kun brought beer."
Koyama and Shige shake their head, while Yamapi says, "Ah, no thanks. I'll get something later."
Massu goes to the kitchen, opens his fridge and surveys the contents. He finds it funny that they all gave him the same thing for a housewarmiing present, there's five bags lined carefully at the bottom shelf and he figures those five bags will last maybe five days, a week if he doesn't crave it too much. He's about to reach for his carton of orange juice, only it's placed all the way at the back, behind a six pack of beer.
"Huh? Nishikido-kun must have put this here," Massu concludes, and switches the drinks before he shuts the fridge close. He's making his way back to his room when he overhears Ryo and Tegoshi just outside his apartment door.
"-You're scouting the space next door?!"
"I am not!" Tegoshi denies, laughter evident in his voice.
"Then why are you asking if it's available to rent? Don't tell me you're going to move in next to Massu,"
"I am not-"
"Come back inside, you mischief maker--"
Massu laughs to himself when he hears the sound of Ryo dragging Tegoshi back inside the apartment, sees them make playful banter as they make their way back to Massu's room. He's about to follow them when his phone rings, Nakamaru's name flashing in the caller id.
"Nakamaru-kun?"
"I'll be at your place in an hour, is that alright?"
"You're coming here?"
"Why are you asking that? You told me to help you move in today!" Nakamaru exclaims, and Massu lowers the phone from his head and finally checks his sent messages. It seems that he sent the same messages to Shige and Ryo (by accident, he swears), and Nakamaru too.
Koyama and Tegoshi peer out from Massu's bedroom and overhears his conversation. Tegoshi walks up to him and deftly snatches his phone. "Nakamaru-kun, you can come next week, today's NEWS' turn~ ♪"
"Hey! What-" Nakamaru starts to say, only to get cut off when Tegoshi flips the phone close.
Tegoshi and Koyama grin at each other. "Right. Let's get back to work, ne?"
Massu stares at them in disbelief. "Give me that," he grabs the phone back from Tegoshi. "I can't believe you hung up on Nakamaru." He laughs, calling his friend back.
Nakamaru picks up on the first ring. "--What was that all about?"
Massu tries to smother his giggles as Koyama and Tegoshi vigorously shake their heads, mouthing 'No other Johnnys allowed!' "Ah, sorry Nakamaru-kun, Koyama and Tegoshi are being annoying. But yeah, you don't have to come today, I'll just see you tomorrow."
"But I'm already on my way there!" Nakamaru protests.
"Well turn back, ok? See you tomorrow!" Massu replies with an air of finality, while on the background Koyama and Tegoshi chirp 'Bye~!'
"-HEY!"
"Right. There we go." Massu feels bad for leaving Nakamaru hanging like that, but he figures he'll just make it up to his friend the next time they meet each other.
**********
They work through lunch with Koyama volunteering to order for everyone, Yamapi picking up the tab. As Massu and Shige make their way to the kitchen to put away the leftovers, they find Ryo beside the fridge drinking from a water bottle.
"Massu, I've got a rug at home that I don't really use. Do you want it?" Ryo asks him.
"Sure. Thanks, Nishikido-kun." Massu beams at him, opening the fridge to get some orange juice when once again, he finds the carton pushed back behind a six pack of beer. He switches them once more when Ryo speaks up behind him. "Quit moving the drinks around, would you? We're drinking after all this fuss is over," Ryo barks before walking out of the kitchen.
From his place by the sink, Shige claps Massu on his shoulder and whispers, "Make sure you check that the rug's got no stains or sticky spots," he comments. "The rug he gave me before had a juice stain on it. I think he only wanted to get rid of it so he gave them to me."
"I heard that!"
**********
He's only gone to the bathroom for a couple of minutes but when he returns to his room, the sight that greets him stop him in his tracks. Massu stares at his partially yellow-painted wall, mouth agape. "What happened?"
Right smack in the middle is a big blob of baby blue paint, the bottom part dripping lines of more baby blue down the wall. Yamapi hurriedly stops the drip, but the damage has been done, and the overall effect looks like there's a baby blue stick figure painted on the wall.
"Massu, I'm sorry, but it was Koyama's fault." Yamapi apologizes profusely, and since it's Yamapi, Massu immediately excuses him and turns to look at the person standing next to him-- Koyama, who vehemently shakes his head. "Oi. It was Yamapi's fault. He tripped me!"
"It was an accident!" Yamapi replies, and goes to stand beside Massu, flinging an arm around his shoulders. "Look, Massu, we'll re-paint it, ok. Don't worry." He hastens to assure him, and the look of complete horror on Yamapi's face is enough to make Massu cave.
"If it's Yamashita-kun who did it, it's fine," Massu says with a smile ('Hey! That's unfair!', Koyama protests). Massu grabs a paintbrush and dips it in yellow paint, walks over to the blue blob and draws a smiley face inside. "There, see. Now Yamashita-kun can just write his name beside it and I'll have leader watching over me all the time."
Ryo rolls his eyes. "Suck up," he says, but picks up a brush too and draws his own smiley face beside Yamapi's. "Now you have two handsome idols watching over you." Ryo says, and Massu's inner fanboy flares and he gleefully utters a "Yatta~"
There's a chorus of "Hey!s" from Tegoshi, Shige and Koyama and pretty soon all three of them are crowding Massu's wall, drawing their own smiley faces. Yamapi turns to Massu with concern. "Is this alright, Massu?"
Massu shrugs. Well, it IS a doodle wall, after all, he thinks, then picks up his own brush and joins them.
Ten minutes and a can of baby blue paint later, all six of them look at their artwork. There's two smileys with permed heads, there's one shaped like the sole of a foot with a big nose, another one with a long nose and single eyelids, one with a fauxhawk and the last one with an impossibly wide smile and chinky eyes.
"It looks like us!" All six of them chorus as they break out in laughter.
**********
They haven't done much of anything except make idiotic smileys at Massu's doodle wall, but at the end of the day they're all happily exhausted. Koyama, Ryo, Yamapi, Tegoshi and Shige are slumped all over Massu's bedroom, laughed out, tired out, and low-tensioned. Leaning against the door jamb, Massu looks at the five of them, very very grateful that they're here to help him on his first day of living alone. He shifts his gaze towards the newly-painted wall, his special wall, and he cannot help the smile that breaks out on his face. At least later tonight when he starts feeling anxious, he can look over there and feel comforted.
"You look like an idiot standing there with a goofy look on your face." Shige, sitting on Massu's computer chair, peers at him.
Massu smiles wider, and walks inside, distributing cans of beer for everyone. "Here, Nishikido-kun brought these,"
There's a chorus of 'Thanks' and they all stay quiet, wordlessly finishing their drink. Massu takes a couple of sips before he speaks up. "Aren't you going to ask me how it feels to have my own place?"
"Did you forget? We asked you about it earlier."
"Ask me again, ne."
The goofy grin on Massu's face let the other members know that Massu's most likely going to answer something that's not really funny, but they indulge him nonetheless. "Alright," Yamapi looks at him fondly. "Massu, how does it feel to finally have your own place?"
"Hmm," Massu stands, picks up a brush and dips it into a can of paint before walking over to his Massu-smiley. When he's finished, the others see that he's changed the eyes into a pair of hearts, with NEWS spelled inside the mouth, exactly like the one he drew for their Pacific tour. Massu turns to the other members and bows low, to show thanks.
"It feels just like home."
END.
And, just because I wanted to add these in:
Missing Moment #1
After doing a brief tour of the apartment, all the members agree that it's a lovely place, except that it's missing one vital appliance.
"We know summer is over and the weather is getting cooler, but of all the things that you could possibly forget, you still haven't bought an air conditioner?!?"
Missing Moment #2
When Nakamaru visits the next day and Massu has proudly shown him all the rooms (and happily coerced the older boy to draw a stupid Nakamaru-smiley face at his doodle wall), Nakamaru congratulates his friend with two bags of presents.
"Wow. Your place looks real nice, Masuda." Nakamaru comments when Massu ends their tour of his apartment at the living room. "I was expecting it to look something weirder."
"...I'll take that as a compliment and," Massu says, grabbing the two bags Nakamaru is holding, "I'll take these for myself. It's mine, ne?" He asks with a smile.
Nakamaru rolls his eyes, pointing to one bag. "That's supposed to be my housewarming present for you. The gyoza would have tasted better yesterday, it was freshly made from your favorite shop!" He says while Massu opens the other bag and pulls out packets of closet freshener. "Clean linen and citrus scents! These were exactly what I wanted. Thank you, Nakamaru-kun!"
He takes the bag of gyoza and goes to the kitchen, Nakamaru following after him. Massu opens his fridge and kneels down to place the package alongside five identical bags, now six, including Nakamaru's.
Massu stands up and happily reveals the rest of the contents of his fridge. "Jaan! Fully-stocked!"
Nakamaru laughs when he sees everything that's inside. He looks at his fingers, stained with yellow and blue paint and pictures Massu's colorful wall. "It seems me and NEWS know exactly what makes you happy, ne?"
**********
P.S. I AM SO SO SORRY you had to wait more than a month for this ;_; (got distracted by... stuff XD) I'm not exactly satisfied giving this as a welcome fic because there is something off with this and I'm going nuts figuring out what it is. Also, the flow is all over the place and it's a bit (okay, a lot) choppy at parts but that's just how it ended up. I hope to edit this properly, soon ;_; *sigh*sigh*sigh*
Still, thank you for reading :)
Characters: Masuda x NEWS + Nakamaru (Gen)
Notes: For flipbookfrog, who wanted Massu x Everyone. Thank you (in advance) for making me a welcome fic/drabble :)
This was longer than intended but that's what happens when everyone's involved, lol, and might have turned out more like a NEWS fic rather than a Massu-centric piece, but please enjoy:) I'm pretty sure when you said 'Massu x Everyone', you meant something with a rating higher than PG :3 but alas, this is what I can come up with, I hope you still like it? ♥ (yeah, yeah, I'm working on working my way up the fic ratings! maybe XD)
Disclaimer: Not mine, not for profit, stories are fictional but the characters are not.
**********
"You're moving out?"
It's an early workday morning and Tegoshi and Massu are on their way to NEWS' dressing room when Massu casually mentions that he got himself his own apartment. Tegoshi pauses and looks at Massu, surprised. Almost all of NEWS have moved out of their family home, and while it's inevitable (to Tegoshi, at least), Massu seems the type to prefer living with his parents for as long as he can. "That's unexpected," Tegoshi adds.
Massu turns to Tegoshi and nods. "Yeah. I finally convinced my parents to let me find my own place. I'm set to move in next week."
"Where's this place? How come you never mentioned it before?"
"It's just a fifteen minute train ride from the jimusho, and it's really quiet," Massu replies, turning the knob on their dressing room door. "I told Shige about it, I think. I'm not sure."
"Even so, this is great, Massu, you're getting your own place!" Tegoshi exclaims, while Massu hastens to tell him, "It's kind of scary, actually. It might be hard to live away from home."
Yamapi overhears their conversation. "You're moving out?" He asks, looking up from his cellphone.
Tegoshi turns to their leader. "He is, Yamashita-kun. Isn't it great?"
Yamapi nods. "When are you moving in, Massu? Congratulations, ne."
"Ah, thanks. I'm moving in next week. I've been packing up stuff since yesterday," Massu replies. In fact, he's been packing and re-packing his personal belongings since last week. He's got a lot of stuff (mostly clothes), and he doesn't know which ones to bring, which ones to leave at home. It's the least of his worries, though, because the reason why he wants to move out and why he's anxious about living alone is the same: he's twenty-three years old.
He's already an adult, and he's got a well-paying job that's more than enough to support him, but the fact that he's lived nowhere else but his parents' home since he was a child is what worries him more. Even though he's twenty-three and can take proper care of himself, he's not sure he likes the idea of being responsible for every little thing.
Tegoshi snaps him out of his reverie and continues grilling him. "Is the area safe? Have you seen it yourself? Because if not there's available space near my apartment--"
"Tegoshi, it's fine. I'm actually looking forward to moving there."
"You're moving out?" from the other side of the room, Ryo emerges from a connecting door and looks curiously at Massu.
"Yes, I am. I was just telling Tegoshi that I'm moving out of my parents' house by next week." Massu says again, but before Ryo can say anything else Koyama wanders to the dressing room and overhears the conversation. "You're mov--"
"-YES, he's moving out. How many times does everyone have to say it?" Shige cuts in, shutting his textbook close with a snap.
"You're such a grinch in the morning, Shige," Koyama laments. "Aren't you excited for Massu?"
Shige makes a face at his best friend. "I was. I did look the place up for him, after all."
Tegoshi whips around to face Shige. "Eh?!? You knew about this all along?" He turns to Massu with a frown, "Hey, how come you told Shige, but not me? Or the rest of us, for that matter?"
Massu just smiles at him, and the other members, in general. "Well, now you all know, ne."
**********
Massu doesn't quite know why his move-in day is turning out like this, but as he opens the door to let in Koyama and Shige (who are both holding armfuls of bags), he supposes he shouldn't have been surprised.
"We're here to help you settle in!" Koyama says with a smile, or at least Massu thinks he's smiling, since all he can see of Koyama is his hair; the rest of his face is obscured by a rather large paper bag brimming with home cleaning supplies.
Massu sees Shige, or rather, the top of Shige's head, nod. "Since you've been bugging me to help you with everything, I figured I should bring reinforcements." He says, turning sideways so he can grin at Massu.
"Ah. Thank you, Shige. Come in, come in," Massu ushers them in, and have just closed the door when the bell rings again. A glance through the peephole makes Massu go "Whoa~" and he immediately opens the door. "Yamashita-kun! Nishikido-kun!"
"Hi Massu," Yamapi greets him with a wave. "We're here to help you move in."
Yamapi and Ryo shuffle in, both holding identical looking bags. Yamapi holds up his. "Housewarming present. Freshly made." He says, while Ryo just mutters, "Hmm."
"Not that I'm not happy to see you, but, I think Shige was the only one I bugged about this?" Massu asks, embarrassed ('You mean bullied!', Shige cries out from somewhere behind him).
"I remembered I didn't give a gift for Massu's birthday this year, so I might as well do this. I have a miraculously empty schedule today," Yamapi tells him before he saunters off to join Koyama and Shige in the living room.
Ryo pulls out his cellphone and shows Massu a text message. "The first time I receive a text from Massu's new number and this is what he tells me," Ryo says, as Massu looks at the message: Can you come help me move in tomorrow?? You can come help me move in tomorrow!! Yay!
Massu grins sheepishly at the older boy. "I swear I only sent that to Shige."
"Yeah right. You put off giving me your new number until now-- I say this was planned. I am here against my will, just so you know." Ryo grumbles, then walks around Massu to follow Yamapi. "We brought you your favorite food and a couple of beers and I'm putting all of them in the fridge!" Ryo adds loudly.
Massu trails after him with a smile. Lucky~, he thinks. "This is great! Everyone's come to see my new place!"
"Everyone? Is Tegoshi coming too? I thought he has work today," Koyama says just as an apron-clad Tegoshi emerges from one of the rooms, a paintbrush held in one hand.
"Tadaima!" Tegoshi calls out, paintbrush dangerously flicking bits of paint on the floor. "Welcome, everyone. Make yourselves at home,"
"It's not your apartment, Tegoshi." Shige snorts. "So that's why you called me up in the middle of the night, to ask for directions to this place."
"I wanted to make sure I had the correct address. I've been here the whole morning!"
"Won't your manager get mad at you? You have an important meeting today, right?" Koyama asks Tegoshi.
Tegoshi just smiles and brushes off the question. "I'll take care of it, ne. Anything for Massu." he says, which earns him a snort from Shige and a shoulder pat from Yamapi. Ryo is still standing off to the side, grumbling good-naturedly about manipulative coworkers and how he's supposed to be at his home relaxing instead of-- "What the hell is that thing on the couch?!?"
Yamapi leans and looks over the couch. "It's just Massu's hoodie, Ryo-chan." Yamapi says, picking up a garishly green and black furry hoodie and handing it back to Massu. "You shouldn't leave this out here, Massu. Here, hang it in your closet,"
"Are we going to start working, or are we just going to stand here and chat?" Shige cuts in.
Massu laughs and scratches his head, at a loss at what to do. "This feels like a NEWS meeting."
"Well, then," Koyama claps his hands and starts pulling out supplies from his enormous paper bag. "We better get started."
**********
Massu's new apartment has two rooms: his bedroom and a tiny guest room-slash-clothes room. There's nothing in the guest room but a single bed with a night stand, and a chest of drawers (already filled with Massu's clothes) next to a built-in closet (already half-full with Massu's clothes). Massu's bedroom is slightly bigger, with large windows looking out into a nearby community poolhouse. All the rooms are simply furnished. The only extravagant items are the big flat screen television and plush loveseat, along with two brightly colored beanbags, in the living room. The rest of the apartment is sparsely decorated, clean, orderly, and very much Massu-like.
The NEWS members also find out that the only thing they need to 'help' with is to paint one wall of Massu's room ('That's it? What am I going to do with all this stuff I brought?!?' Koyama had flailed). Apparently, Massu wants to paint that wall himself and use a part of it as his doodle wall-- the one and only part of the apartment that's allowed to look disorderly and be graffiti-ed to his heart's content.
"That corner's where I'm keeping all my fanletters and putting up pictures and stuff," Massu tells them. The wall is bare, and so far only a part of it has been painted-- haphazardly.
"It looks like Tegoshi's already started to make it look like a graffiti wall, certainly." Yamapi points out as him and the other members put on aprons.
**********
A couple of minutes into their work and it's mostly just Koyama and Massu who's actually painting. Shige is critically staring at Massu's wardrobe while Yamapi absently stirs a can of paint, both of them already getting bored. Tegoshi has excused himself to go the bathroom, and Ryo is in the kitchen, getting himself something to drink.
"Have you made friends with your neighbors yet?" Koyama asks him while they work.
"Nope."
"Do you know the schedule for garbage pick up? Where do you put out the trash?
"I don't know."
"Is the building equipped with security systems?"
"I guess."
"Ehhh, Massu? You need to know these things! You know, everyone's worried about you. Will you be alright living alone?" Koyama scans the apartment in anxiety. "I know you said you've wanted to do this for quite some time, but, are you ready to live by yourself?" He asks, and Massu doesn't know how to answer.
Shige stops his inspection of Massu's wardrobe and turns to their conversation as well. Yamapi pauses his paint-stirring and looks at his groupmate. "Yeah, Massu. How do you feel, having your own place?"
Massu looks down at his lap. "I don't know. Kinda scary, I guess. And maybe lonely." He admits. Last night was his first night here, and while his parents and sister helped bring his belongings and they celebrated over dinner, the moment they were gone Massu was instantly restless. He barely slept and was only too grateful when Tegoshi arrived quite early to keep him company. He looks up and realizes that Koyama, Shige, and Yamapi are all casting him worried looks so he smiles and shakes his head. "But it's okay. It's going to be alright, ne?"
The other three look unconvinced but they nod, and Massu silently thanks them for not pushing the subject matter further. He gets up and brushes his hands on his pants. "I'm getting drinks, does anybody want anything? I only have orange juice and water though. But I think Nishikido-kun brought beer."
Koyama and Shige shake their head, while Yamapi says, "Ah, no thanks. I'll get something later."
Massu goes to the kitchen, opens his fridge and surveys the contents. He finds it funny that they all gave him the same thing for a housewarmiing present, there's five bags lined carefully at the bottom shelf and he figures those five bags will last maybe five days, a week if he doesn't crave it too much. He's about to reach for his carton of orange juice, only it's placed all the way at the back, behind a six pack of beer.
"Huh? Nishikido-kun must have put this here," Massu concludes, and switches the drinks before he shuts the fridge close. He's making his way back to his room when he overhears Ryo and Tegoshi just outside his apartment door.
"-You're scouting the space next door?!"
"I am not!" Tegoshi denies, laughter evident in his voice.
"Then why are you asking if it's available to rent? Don't tell me you're going to move in next to Massu,"
"I am not-"
"Come back inside, you mischief maker--"
Massu laughs to himself when he hears the sound of Ryo dragging Tegoshi back inside the apartment, sees them make playful banter as they make their way back to Massu's room. He's about to follow them when his phone rings, Nakamaru's name flashing in the caller id.
"Nakamaru-kun?"
"I'll be at your place in an hour, is that alright?"
"You're coming here?"
"Why are you asking that? You told me to help you move in today!" Nakamaru exclaims, and Massu lowers the phone from his head and finally checks his sent messages. It seems that he sent the same messages to Shige and Ryo (by accident, he swears), and Nakamaru too.
Koyama and Tegoshi peer out from Massu's bedroom and overhears his conversation. Tegoshi walks up to him and deftly snatches his phone. "Nakamaru-kun, you can come next week, today's NEWS' turn~ ♪"
"Hey! What-" Nakamaru starts to say, only to get cut off when Tegoshi flips the phone close.
Tegoshi and Koyama grin at each other. "Right. Let's get back to work, ne?"
Massu stares at them in disbelief. "Give me that," he grabs the phone back from Tegoshi. "I can't believe you hung up on Nakamaru." He laughs, calling his friend back.
Nakamaru picks up on the first ring. "--What was that all about?"
Massu tries to smother his giggles as Koyama and Tegoshi vigorously shake their heads, mouthing 'No other Johnnys allowed!' "Ah, sorry Nakamaru-kun, Koyama and Tegoshi are being annoying. But yeah, you don't have to come today, I'll just see you tomorrow."
"But I'm already on my way there!" Nakamaru protests.
"Well turn back, ok? See you tomorrow!" Massu replies with an air of finality, while on the background Koyama and Tegoshi chirp 'Bye~!'
"-HEY!"
"Right. There we go." Massu feels bad for leaving Nakamaru hanging like that, but he figures he'll just make it up to his friend the next time they meet each other.
**********
They work through lunch with Koyama volunteering to order for everyone, Yamapi picking up the tab. As Massu and Shige make their way to the kitchen to put away the leftovers, they find Ryo beside the fridge drinking from a water bottle.
"Massu, I've got a rug at home that I don't really use. Do you want it?" Ryo asks him.
"Sure. Thanks, Nishikido-kun." Massu beams at him, opening the fridge to get some orange juice when once again, he finds the carton pushed back behind a six pack of beer. He switches them once more when Ryo speaks up behind him. "Quit moving the drinks around, would you? We're drinking after all this fuss is over," Ryo barks before walking out of the kitchen.
From his place by the sink, Shige claps Massu on his shoulder and whispers, "Make sure you check that the rug's got no stains or sticky spots," he comments. "The rug he gave me before had a juice stain on it. I think he only wanted to get rid of it so he gave them to me."
"I heard that!"
**********
He's only gone to the bathroom for a couple of minutes but when he returns to his room, the sight that greets him stop him in his tracks. Massu stares at his partially yellow-painted wall, mouth agape. "What happened?"
Right smack in the middle is a big blob of baby blue paint, the bottom part dripping lines of more baby blue down the wall. Yamapi hurriedly stops the drip, but the damage has been done, and the overall effect looks like there's a baby blue stick figure painted on the wall.
"Massu, I'm sorry, but it was Koyama's fault." Yamapi apologizes profusely, and since it's Yamapi, Massu immediately excuses him and turns to look at the person standing next to him-- Koyama, who vehemently shakes his head. "Oi. It was Yamapi's fault. He tripped me!"
"It was an accident!" Yamapi replies, and goes to stand beside Massu, flinging an arm around his shoulders. "Look, Massu, we'll re-paint it, ok. Don't worry." He hastens to assure him, and the look of complete horror on Yamapi's face is enough to make Massu cave.
"If it's Yamashita-kun who did it, it's fine," Massu says with a smile ('Hey! That's unfair!', Koyama protests). Massu grabs a paintbrush and dips it in yellow paint, walks over to the blue blob and draws a smiley face inside. "There, see. Now Yamashita-kun can just write his name beside it and I'll have leader watching over me all the time."
Ryo rolls his eyes. "Suck up," he says, but picks up a brush too and draws his own smiley face beside Yamapi's. "Now you have two handsome idols watching over you." Ryo says, and Massu's inner fanboy flares and he gleefully utters a "Yatta~"
There's a chorus of "Hey!s" from Tegoshi, Shige and Koyama and pretty soon all three of them are crowding Massu's wall, drawing their own smiley faces. Yamapi turns to Massu with concern. "Is this alright, Massu?"
Massu shrugs. Well, it IS a doodle wall, after all, he thinks, then picks up his own brush and joins them.
Ten minutes and a can of baby blue paint later, all six of them look at their artwork. There's two smileys with permed heads, there's one shaped like the sole of a foot with a big nose, another one with a long nose and single eyelids, one with a fauxhawk and the last one with an impossibly wide smile and chinky eyes.
"It looks like us!" All six of them chorus as they break out in laughter.
**********
They haven't done much of anything except make idiotic smileys at Massu's doodle wall, but at the end of the day they're all happily exhausted. Koyama, Ryo, Yamapi, Tegoshi and Shige are slumped all over Massu's bedroom, laughed out, tired out, and low-tensioned. Leaning against the door jamb, Massu looks at the five of them, very very grateful that they're here to help him on his first day of living alone. He shifts his gaze towards the newly-painted wall, his special wall, and he cannot help the smile that breaks out on his face. At least later tonight when he starts feeling anxious, he can look over there and feel comforted.
"You look like an idiot standing there with a goofy look on your face." Shige, sitting on Massu's computer chair, peers at him.
Massu smiles wider, and walks inside, distributing cans of beer for everyone. "Here, Nishikido-kun brought these,"
There's a chorus of 'Thanks' and they all stay quiet, wordlessly finishing their drink. Massu takes a couple of sips before he speaks up. "Aren't you going to ask me how it feels to have my own place?"
"Did you forget? We asked you about it earlier."
"Ask me again, ne."
The goofy grin on Massu's face let the other members know that Massu's most likely going to answer something that's not really funny, but they indulge him nonetheless. "Alright," Yamapi looks at him fondly. "Massu, how does it feel to finally have your own place?"
"Hmm," Massu stands, picks up a brush and dips it into a can of paint before walking over to his Massu-smiley. When he's finished, the others see that he's changed the eyes into a pair of hearts, with NEWS spelled inside the mouth, exactly like the one he drew for their Pacific tour. Massu turns to the other members and bows low, to show thanks.
"It feels just like home."
END.
And, just because I wanted to add these in:
Missing Moment #1
After doing a brief tour of the apartment, all the members agree that it's a lovely place, except that it's missing one vital appliance.
"We know summer is over and the weather is getting cooler, but of all the things that you could possibly forget, you still haven't bought an air conditioner?!?"
Missing Moment #2
When Nakamaru visits the next day and Massu has proudly shown him all the rooms (and happily coerced the older boy to draw a stupid Nakamaru-smiley face at his doodle wall), Nakamaru congratulates his friend with two bags of presents.
"Wow. Your place looks real nice, Masuda." Nakamaru comments when Massu ends their tour of his apartment at the living room. "I was expecting it to look something weirder."
"...I'll take that as a compliment and," Massu says, grabbing the two bags Nakamaru is holding, "I'll take these for myself. It's mine, ne?" He asks with a smile.
Nakamaru rolls his eyes, pointing to one bag. "That's supposed to be my housewarming present for you. The gyoza would have tasted better yesterday, it was freshly made from your favorite shop!" He says while Massu opens the other bag and pulls out packets of closet freshener. "Clean linen and citrus scents! These were exactly what I wanted. Thank you, Nakamaru-kun!"
He takes the bag of gyoza and goes to the kitchen, Nakamaru following after him. Massu opens his fridge and kneels down to place the package alongside five identical bags, now six, including Nakamaru's.
Massu stands up and happily reveals the rest of the contents of his fridge. "Jaan! Fully-stocked!"
Nakamaru laughs when he sees everything that's inside. He looks at his fingers, stained with yellow and blue paint and pictures Massu's colorful wall. "It seems me and NEWS know exactly what makes you happy, ne?"
**********
P.S. I AM SO SO SORRY you had to wait more than a month for this ;_; (got distracted by... stuff XD) I'm not exactly satisfied giving this as a welcome fic because there is something off with this and I'm going nuts figuring out what it is. Also, the flow is all over the place and it's a bit (okay, a lot) choppy at parts but that's just how it ended up. I hope to edit this properly, soon ;_; *sigh*sigh*sigh*
Still, thank you for reading :)