Gift fic for shirofukurou
To: shirofukurou
From: ickle_fickle
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Title: Straight up is no way to be romantic
Pairings: Kusano/Shige, bitty Masuda/Tegoshi
Rating: PG-13
Notes: For shirofukurou! Kusano and Uchi are in NewS. The fic is longer than necessary and maybe a little unconventional, but I hope you find some parts you like. :) (I'm compensating quality with length. Now I know how one guy out of a thousand feels? Er. Honestly, it wouldn't stop. I had to force it to, so it kind of ends at a strange place.)
Summary: Everyone agrees that Kusano is “gayer” than Shige, even though Shige’s the one who actually is attracted to boys. Certain events test both theories.
Shige glared at his cellphone after the fourth ring. “For your own sake, I’m hoping this is important.”
“Yeah, I’m outside the door,” the voice replied.
Shige kicked off the sheets so that had been so comfortably wrapped around him, turned off his phone and opened the door for Kusano. “I hate you almost as much as I hate myself for always rooming with idiots who have no concept of keeping their keys.”
After delivering his welcoming speech, Shige headed back to his bed, leaving Kusano to lock the door and navigate through the darkness.
Crash!
That was never a good idea.
“Ow!” Kusano groaned slightly, having tripped over the edge of his own bed. “Who put that… bed there?”
“Shhhh,” a muffled voice pointedly instructed him.
“Sorry for waking you up, Shige,” Kusano apologized sincerely as he kicked off his shoes and got ready for bed.
“Shhhhhhhh.”
“Got it. ‘Night, Shige.”
“‘Night.”
Unfortunately, silence didn’t have a very permanent status in any room shared with Kusano. “Uh. Shige.”
“Please shut up,” Shige replied, his notoriously civil behavior compromised by sleepiness.
“Could you do me a favor? Please?”
“Another one?” Shige fairly growled.
“Yeah. Could you sleep next to me?”
“I am sleeping next to you.”
“I mean, over here.”
Shige groggily fixed an incredulous glare on his unpredictable friend. “Did you hit your head on the way to your bed?”
“I just have this thing. Like a disorder. I can’t sleep alone after.” Kusano cut himself off.
“After what?”
“Since you asked, after sex.”
Shige continued to stare, dumbfounded.
“I’d do it for you,” claimed Kusano. “I just have some psychological impairment sleeping alone after having sex.”
“So you had some one night stand in the middle of our concert tour, and this results in you wanting to cuddle?”
“Yes, although I really wish you wouldn’t put it like that. Come here. I’d go there, but it’s dark, and I don’t want to be sustaining injuries before dance practice tomorrow.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“It’s you or I pay somebody to do it,” Kusano snorted. “You probably have reservations about it, and I get that. But I just need somebody beside me, that’s all. Are you holding a grudge against me? Do you still hate me for telling everyone about how you spend Valentine’s Day with your mother? Shige, we were 14 then. I know it was kind of mean, but I thought-”
“No, no. Why are you even bringing that up? It’s me,” Shige said emphatically. “It’s about whether you would really want me to be in the same bed with you.”
Kusano immediately knew where Shige’s insecurity was coming from. “I don’t care if you’re into guys. I’d rather it was you than anyone else. Even Tegoshi, and you’ve got to admit that he’s cute, for all his faults.” Before trying the needy approach, Kusano went for iron hand. “Come sleep with me or I’m telling the staff that you need overtime at rehearsals tomorrow, I swear.”
“Great plan. ‘Please punish Shige for not giving in to my late-night snuggling whims.’”
Kusano went for plan B. “Please?” He patted his bed, pathetically motioning for Shige and having already moved to give him some space.
Shige groaned for the second time that night (or very early morning, as the case was) and managed to get to Kusano’s bed in one piece. Even though Kusano expressed no qualms about sharing a bed, Shige still made sure to face away from his friend.
“You made it! Safe and sound,” Kusano said this as he threw an arm around Shige.
Shocked, Shige almost jumped out of bed, but had a limb restraining him. “Are you literally going to cuddle with me?”
“Have I mentioned that you are, in fact, the greatest roommate?”
“I’m honored,” he replied dryly.
“Really.” Kusano was already yawning, needing to pull his face back so he didn’t end up with a mouthful of Shige’s hair. “You should be. How many men have been this desperate to get you into bed with them?”
The tension dissolved just like that, and Shige could slowly allow himself to get comfortable enough to sleep. If there was anything he deserved, he decided it was definitely sleep. “Only you.”
“See, I had a feeling.”
“Mm.” The next time the silence was broken, it was Shige’s fault. “So you think Tegoshi’s cute? I’m sure Massu will find that interesting when he finds out. Tomorrow.”
“He’ll agree with me-secretly, of course,” Kusano murmured. “Credit to where it’s due, is all I’m saying. Now leave it alone, your jealousy is showing.” Kusano wasn’t even trying to keep the conversation going, as was evident with his slurred speech.
“Sure. Then I’ll tell Yamapi you never even mentioned him in your best-person-to-cuddle-with speech. That’s sure to get you a lecture.”
“Shut up and share the blanket.”
“Bed hog.”
“Homo.”
“Spaz.”
+
Upon waking up, Kusano’s first words were “was last night good for you?” asked in a husky, deliberately sleazy voice.
“Like second-hand smoke,” Shige replied good-naturedly without turning around, as he was pulling out a jacket from his closet. And that was the end of that conversation. “I’m heading out. I’ll meet you during rehearsal. Don’t forget your keys.”
“Now? You aren’t going to take a bath? Gross.”
“I am taking a bath. Just figured it wouldn’t hurt to remind you now.” Shige rolled his eyes as he shut the door to their bathroom from the inside, bringing his clothes with him. Shige always changed in the bathroom, thinking that doing otherwise would make Kusano uncomfortable.
Shige was a bit of a prude sometimes.
+
Along with Yokoo and Takeuchi and some members of NewS, they played was a quick game of basketball near their hotel, which nobody took too seriously due to fatigue. Dance rehearsal had been mostly uncomplicated, but grueling because of all the repetitions.
“The game was dirty,” Kusano professed when they decided to wrap it up. “Tegoshi flirting with Massu like that.”
“I was not flirting,” Tegoshi maintained. As an afterthought, he added, “With Massu, in particular.”
“And I did not think he was, therefore there was nothing to distract me,” Massu attempted to salvage his dignity.
Even Takeuchi, the perfectly tolerant one, rolled his eyes at the denial going back and forth between the duo. Sometimes he had to wonder how the two could remain the best of friends amidst all their semi-romantic history.
“I don’t plan to interfere with my friends’ personal lives,” Kusano said with a pretense of haughty importance-also, with complete disregard of reality.
“We weren’t”-Tegoshi remembered not to refer to Masuda and himself as TegoMass when it was uncalled for-“I mean, I wasn’t doing anything questionable.”
“It was a good game, at any rate. Too bad about that shot, Massu,” Koyama said supportively, clapping Massu on his shoulder. “You guys want to hang out at my room?”
“Sounds great!” Tegoshi enthused. “Except for the part about hanging out in your room.”
“It’s bigger than Shige’s and Kusano’s,” Koyama said, objectively.
“It’s also a hundred times messier.”
“I’ve never seen your room, but it’s getting a veto. I mean, if Tegoshi thinks it’s messy…” Masuda began.
“I’m not a slob; you’re obsessive compulsive.” Obviously, they’d had this conversation before.
Masuda raised his hands, a show of innocence. “I wasn’t the who brought up the ‘s’ word.”
“Anyway, since Tegoshi is appalled by my room, and his is probably in a similar condition, I say we just make do with Shige’s.”
“Oh, no can do,” Kusano said on behalf of Shige. “I’m going to have someone over tonight.”
“And when were you planning on telling me?” Shige was curious to know.
“This morning.” Kusano grinned sheepishly. “I was all set to tell you, but then I forgot because I had to remember my keys.”
“My place, then,” Yokoo volunteered. “It’s neat, and you can make all the noise you want. Kitayama can sleep through it all.”
“I have to go get ready for tonight. Can’t go smelling like this,” Kusano said as he started to walk off.
“Wait, Kusano, do I get to sleep in our room?” Shige called after him.
“Yeah, I’ll unlock the door when I’m ready for you!” Kusano replied cheerfully.
Koyama pursed his lips. “You’re right, Shige, I think he’s gayer than you.”
+
“Someone get up and open the door,” Koyama mumbled, fixated on the mind-numbingly strange foreign movie.
“I’ll get it,” Tegoshi offered, though he made no movement.
“Me too,” Masuda seconded him.
“I’ll go. Tegoshi and Massu can’t seem to extract themselves from one another.” Yokoo shook himself out of the movie-induced trance. “Hey,” he greeted the boy at the door.
Kusano looked past Yokoo’s shoulder and saw his friends in various states of still fascination. Except Kitayama, who, as predicted, was just still. “Are you all high? What the hell are you guys watching?” Kusano glanced at the screen wonderingly for a few seconds. “Hey, Shige. I’m taking you to our room now.”
Shige managed to pry his eyes away from the screen to glance at Kusano. “Huh? What?”
“Let’s go. I want to sleep.”
“Shhh! We’re missing the best part,” Tegoshi informed them. Even Kusano could see that nothing was actually happening during that part of the movie.
Kusano’s attention returned to Shige. “Seriously. Let’s go.”
“What? Where are we going?” The more complex parts of Shige’s brain were slowly waking up, and he was trying to adjust to being able to think clearly.
“Bed.”
And that was that. Kusano and Shige left the room and the other recovering idols.
Yokoo tilted his head. “Was it just me, or was it implied at some point that Kusano could not sleep without Shige in the same room?”
“Notti’s definitely the gayer one,” laughed Tegoshi.
Outside Yokoo and Kitayama’s room, Kusano steered the taller boy towards the room they shared. “The night went well,” Kusano said, as if by explanation.
“Oh.” Shige blinked as the environment around him blurred and transformed.
He felt Kusano closing a door behind them, then arms went around his chest and stomach as Kusano walked towards his bed, directing Shige towards the same thing.
“Wait, wait, hey!” Shige didn’t bother talking himself out of it, resigned to his position. “Let me brush my teeth first.”
“That’s not important.”
“Of course it is.” Shige shoved Kusano back.
“Hurry up,” Kusano whined.
Shige did not, in fact, hurry up, but that did little to relieve him of his obligations. He still ended up laying beside Kusano, looking disdainfully at his bed’s rumpled sheets. The shamelessness of that guy, really. He was back to placing his limbs wherever there was space for them, places not occupied by Kusano.
Much to his dismay, the intimate embrace didn’t take too long to be instigated. Sounds of pure creature comfort emitted into Shige’s hair via Kusano’s content mouth made the older boy want to shiver, and at the very most, run to the shower to wash off the dirty, icky, my-close-friend-is-making-pornographic-sounds-right-behind-me feelings. Of course, there were other reasons to want to run to the shower, such as…
Well. Shige shook the thoughts out of his head.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Thanks.”
Pause. “For what?” Shige grunted, unable to sound apathetic.
Kusano bumped Shige’s head with his nose. “For being my friend.”
Shige managed to contain a mocking snicker-boys will be boys, after all.
+
“Are you going to spend the evening moping, or are you actually going to get ready for an awesome night out with your cooler friend?” Kusano poked him once more.
As irritatingly charming Shige found Kusano, he also sometimes found the guy just plain irritating. Shige’s answer was to turn his back to Kusano.
“Hey!”
“I’m going to sleep. You will let me. I’m older than you.”
“I just want you to listen to me. Okay? Please? That’s all you need to do.”
“Fine. I’m listening.” It didn’t mean he had to face Kusano.
A long, thoughtful silence preceded their conversation. “Have you ever kissed a guy before?”
“What?” Shige furrowed his eyebrows.
“I mean, I know you’re gay and all, but…” Kusano shrugged. “Well, have you?”
Shige could’ve easily lied, but he found that he didn’t really want to make the effort. “No.”
“Really?” Kusano looked scandalized, having anticipated a different answer. “No way. What, are you saving yourself for Ryo or something? Hell, I’ve kissed a guy.”
“You have?!” Shige looked equally scandalized. He frowned. “I am not saving myself for anyone.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that I’ve kissed a guy and you haven’t. Great, I really am gayer than you.” Kusano made a face. “When I was, um, 16? We were all drunk, and someone dared me to plant one on Iida. I don’t remember it well, but the others were ragging on me about it. Man, I can’t believe no one told you about that.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about it?” Shige asked, without any accusation in his voice.
“I don’t know, maybe I wasn’t into the idea of bragging about kissing Iida. And I really can’t believe you’ve never kissed anyone.” Kusano looked as if he were amazed by the fact.
Shige was slightly irritated. “Not ‘anyone’, you asked about guys.”
“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Kusano said quickly, sensing that Shige was feeling affronted. “I just find it surprising, is all.”
“Why are we talking about this, anyway?” Shige tried to prod the conversation along towards its real goal.
“Nothing. I just want to bond, I guess.”
“Bond?” Shige repeated with exaggerated suspicion.
“Yeah. So?” Kusano appeared mildly hurt by Shige’s disbelief, but Shige couldn’t tell how much of it was sincere. “I didn’t think you’d be so judgmental.”
“I’m not…” Shige sighed, but kept his guard. “Sorry. Sorry, you’re right. A little ‘bonding’ never hurt anyone.”
“That’s more like it!” Kusano gave Shige one of his mischievous, wide grins. “Let’s spend the night together! It’s not late yet. The carnival, or the movie house, or just take a walk. What do you say?”
“What is up with you?” Shige all but snapped suddenly. “What do you really want to talk about? If you want to talk, I’ll listen. We don’t have to go to the carnival at some ungodly hour just for you to let it out. Kusano, just let it out, whatever it is.”
“There’s nothing to let out,” Kusano replied defensively. “I just want to go out and do something with you.”
Shige just shook his head and let his eyelids drop again.
“Okay, you know, you’re supposed to be brilliant, but really, you’re pathetically dense.”
“You’re not exactly easy to read, you know.”
“Pardon me for being so subtle,” Kusano said sarcastically. He got off his chair to sit down on Shige’s bed, hands on his own lap. And in an instant he was leaning down, brushing his lips lightly over Shige’s-cotton-soft, summer-warm, and with more meaning than any of the words he had been trying to assemble together just minutes ago.
“Did you get all of that, Mr. Genius?”
Shige’s eyes snapped open, like Kusano’s question was thunderous and deafening. “Kusano?” Shige was staring at him with barely concealed confusion, and maybe a little bit of fear. “You’re straight,” he said flatly.
“You guys always say I’m gayer than you.”
Shige glared his not-the-time-to-be-fooling-around(-and-being-cute) glare.
“Okay, maybe I’m somewhat straight,” Kusano conceded. “But not by very much if I made up the whole story about needing a cuddle buddy.”
“Kusano.” Shige sighed deeply, calming himself. “We’re friends. Really, really good friends. If you intend to keep me as a good friend, I suggest you take back what you said about setting me up like that.”
“But-”
“I mean it,” Shige said sternly. “You know I’d do just about anything for you, but I won’t let you practice falling in love with me. If this happened, no matter how casual you try to make it, someone’s going to end up hurt. So, do the right thing. Tell me you need psychiatric help; you need to sleep beside someone after you have sex. With a woman.”
Instead of doing as he was commanded, Kusano asked, “Are you in love with Kei-chan?”
“That has nothing to do with anything.”
“Are you in love with Kei-chan?” Kusano repeated firmly.
Shige matched his earnestness. “No.”
“Do you think you could be?”
“Kusano,” Shige began warningly, annoyed.
“Could you could fall in love with me?”
Shige didn’t say that he probably already was.
“If you think I want to be with you out of convenience-because I think you might like me back-then you probably don’t think very highly of me. What’s wrong if what I want is actually possible? Do you think that just because it could actually work out then my heart must not be in the right place?”
There was barely a second that passed before Kusano was grabbed by the collar and hauled down to the mattress. Shige’s shadow passed over Kusano’s and Kusano felt his heart growing wide in his chest although Shige was doing nothing but glaring down at him. He put his lips to Shige’s cheek-something he’d put a lot of thought into during recent nights-and kissed a path to Shige’s chin.
Despite all the tenderness, Shige was able to give him a very mean look. He really seemed angry.
“Aren’t you glad I unveiled my ingenious master plan?” Completely shameless.
“That’s redundant. And I’m not sure yet,” Shige confessed grudgingly.
That was as honest an answer that Kusano could have expected to received. “It won’t be perfect, but I’m game. I’m a hard-worker.” Kusano grinned excitedly, tucking Shige’s hair behind his ears.
“What are you smirking about? You realize I haven’t given you an answer?”
“That’s only because I haven’t really asked,” Kusano said. He brought his hands to cup Shige’s face and made sure to look as serious as he felt. “Shige, go out with me.”
Shige actually laughed. “You have a very poor grasp of what a question actually is.”
+
“Notti, hurry up. We’re meeting Kei-chan and Shige in-in fifteen minutes ago.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Kusano waved him off distractedly. He was holding up a ring to his eyes, watching it shimmer as he played with it under the light.
“What’s that?” Tegoshi chirped, looking over Kusano’s shoulder.
“A ring,” Kusano replied rather dryly. He was almost successfully able to hide it in his pocket when Tegoshi stole it. “Tegoshi!”
Uchi wrinkled his nose. “You can’t give that to Shige. It’s hideous.”
With a straight face, Kusano replied, “It’s not for Shige, it’s for my mom.”
Ryo stole it from Tegoshi, then noticed the inscription inside the band. “‘You have my heart.’ I know you’re the gayer one, but you’ve got to be kidding me.”
“This is Shige we’re talking about,” Yamapi reminded him. “Kusano recited poetry to him so he’d stop being a prude.”
“Ah. True.”
Kusano’s mouth hung agape. “Not true! Stop making up weird stories!”
“It’s for your mother, eh?” Uchi teased, but really, who was Uchi to be cracking mom jokes?
“Either you and your mom have a very close relationship or you consider Shige your mother,” Masuda said.
“More importantly, do you guys really think the ring’s tacky?” Kusano questioned them.
“What’s tacky? Hi, Kusano.”
Kusano jumped slightly, turning to see Koyama and Shige walking behind them. “Hey, guys.” Koyama received a round of enthusiastic hello’s.
“Nothing, nothing’s tacky,” Kusano said to Shige with a wild grin. “Hi, how are you, you smell nice.”
“Shige, Kusano thinks you’re his mother,” Yamapi informed him.
Shige frowned, confused. “What?”
“Look!” Kusano yelped. “For you.” He snatched the ring back from Ryo and shoved it into Shige’s hands.
“Why?” Shige eyed the object warily.
“Is this Kusano not being considerate enough?” Koyama queried teasingly.
“What? I’m not-” Kusano gaped at Shige. He turned to Koyama. “Shige said that?” He turned to Shige again.
Shige looked at the ring in his palm, ignoring Kusano’s protests. He hid a smile as he read the inscription. “It’s nice. Not the ring itself, though.”
“Aw, what’s wrong with the ring?”
Shige snickered slightly. “It’s practically yellow.”
“Don’t blame me for your abnormal taste in accessories. You still like it, right?”
“I love it,” Shige assured him.
Nobody missed the way Kusano breathed in sharply. “You… love. It.”
“Yeah.”
They exchanged half-shy smiles, making the others want to look away. “How about taking your subtext somewhere else?” Ryo suggested, his face distorted in disgust.
“I think we will take my subtext somewhere else,” Kusano replied.
+
“You really like the ring?”
“Yes. No. I mean, I do like the gesture.” Shige emphasized the latter part.
“Well, I’m glad,” Kusano said. He did nothing but smile at Shige for a few minutes. It eventually melted into a severe scowl. “You’re running off to Kei and telling him that I’m not romantic?”
“The word was considerate, not romantic. And I was kidding,” Shige explained with a sigh. “You know, he likes to tease me about our-about you and me. I was playing along.”
“No, you weren’t.”
“I wasn’t,” Shige agreed. He hung his head guiltily. “I’m sorry. I take it back, if that’s any consolation.”
“To Kei?” Kusano seemed exceptionally irate.
“He’s my best friend. Other than you,” Shige amended quickly, seeing the beginnings of a pout form on Kusano’s face.
“Koyama Keiichiro.”
With a silent sigh, Shige decided to address the issue. “You can’t be jealous.”
Kusano turned very, very red. “I can’t be.”
“Good.”
“Because I’m not.”
“Okay. Good.”
“Though I wish your ‘other best friend’ wasn’t someone you spent majority of your waking hours with.”
“Kusano,” Shige chided him testily.
“I can’t believe you.”
“What?”
“I really-!” Kusano took a deep breath. “I really like you.” Kusano pointed to the ring, almost discreetly. “That’s why…”
“Marking your territory?”
“For crying out loud, is it so difficult not to find ulterior motives in everything?”
“Sorry.” Shige peered at Kusano, with a contrite half-smile.
“It wasn’t to broadcast to everyone that I like you,” Kusano spat out. “Only part of it is. Sorry, okay, I don’t know how to handle this. I don’t date much, but I liked having girlfriends and everything. I like exclusivity, when someone I like is my girl, and…”
“I get it,” Shige said. “And you will never get to call me your girl.”
Kusano laughed. “Fair enough.”
“I know it’s confusing.” Shige’s hand drifted towards Kusano’s, and Kusano laced their fingers together, without hesitation. “What do you want?”
“I don’t know,” Kusano said again. “I want to be able to do things like buy you gifts, and I want to call you cheesy pet names. I want the cheesy stuff even if you’re going to laugh at me for it.” Kusano put his hand on Shige’s hip, keeping his touch light. “I want to be your boyfriend.”
“You kind have been, for the past few weeks,” Shige pointed out. “And I hate pet names, Kusano.”
“So, I’m your boyfriend now.”
Shige nodded. “Well, yeah. If you have to call it that.”
“You. You do not get to call me unromantic, ever.” Kusano wasn’t as infuriated as he could’ve been, and it was evident in his irrepressible grin.
=
From: ickle_fickle
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Title: Straight up is no way to be romantic
Pairings: Kusano/Shige, bitty Masuda/Tegoshi
Rating: PG-13
Notes: For shirofukurou! Kusano and Uchi are in NewS. The fic is longer than necessary and maybe a little unconventional, but I hope you find some parts you like. :) (I'm compensating quality with length. Now I know how one guy out of a thousand feels? Er. Honestly, it wouldn't stop. I had to force it to, so it kind of ends at a strange place.)
Summary: Everyone agrees that Kusano is “gayer” than Shige, even though Shige’s the one who actually is attracted to boys. Certain events test both theories.
Shige glared at his cellphone after the fourth ring. “For your own sake, I’m hoping this is important.”
“Yeah, I’m outside the door,” the voice replied.
Shige kicked off the sheets so that had been so comfortably wrapped around him, turned off his phone and opened the door for Kusano. “I hate you almost as much as I hate myself for always rooming with idiots who have no concept of keeping their keys.”
After delivering his welcoming speech, Shige headed back to his bed, leaving Kusano to lock the door and navigate through the darkness.
Crash!
That was never a good idea.
“Ow!” Kusano groaned slightly, having tripped over the edge of his own bed. “Who put that… bed there?”
“Shhhh,” a muffled voice pointedly instructed him.
“Sorry for waking you up, Shige,” Kusano apologized sincerely as he kicked off his shoes and got ready for bed.
“Shhhhhhhh.”
“Got it. ‘Night, Shige.”
“‘Night.”
Unfortunately, silence didn’t have a very permanent status in any room shared with Kusano. “Uh. Shige.”
“Please shut up,” Shige replied, his notoriously civil behavior compromised by sleepiness.
“Could you do me a favor? Please?”
“Another one?” Shige fairly growled.
“Yeah. Could you sleep next to me?”
“I am sleeping next to you.”
“I mean, over here.”
Shige groggily fixed an incredulous glare on his unpredictable friend. “Did you hit your head on the way to your bed?”
“I just have this thing. Like a disorder. I can’t sleep alone after.” Kusano cut himself off.
“After what?”
“Since you asked, after sex.”
Shige continued to stare, dumbfounded.
“I’d do it for you,” claimed Kusano. “I just have some psychological impairment sleeping alone after having sex.”
“So you had some one night stand in the middle of our concert tour, and this results in you wanting to cuddle?”
“Yes, although I really wish you wouldn’t put it like that. Come here. I’d go there, but it’s dark, and I don’t want to be sustaining injuries before dance practice tomorrow.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“It’s you or I pay somebody to do it,” Kusano snorted. “You probably have reservations about it, and I get that. But I just need somebody beside me, that’s all. Are you holding a grudge against me? Do you still hate me for telling everyone about how you spend Valentine’s Day with your mother? Shige, we were 14 then. I know it was kind of mean, but I thought-”
“No, no. Why are you even bringing that up? It’s me,” Shige said emphatically. “It’s about whether you would really want me to be in the same bed with you.”
Kusano immediately knew where Shige’s insecurity was coming from. “I don’t care if you’re into guys. I’d rather it was you than anyone else. Even Tegoshi, and you’ve got to admit that he’s cute, for all his faults.” Before trying the needy approach, Kusano went for iron hand. “Come sleep with me or I’m telling the staff that you need overtime at rehearsals tomorrow, I swear.”
“Great plan. ‘Please punish Shige for not giving in to my late-night snuggling whims.’”
Kusano went for plan B. “Please?” He patted his bed, pathetically motioning for Shige and having already moved to give him some space.
Shige groaned for the second time that night (or very early morning, as the case was) and managed to get to Kusano’s bed in one piece. Even though Kusano expressed no qualms about sharing a bed, Shige still made sure to face away from his friend.
“You made it! Safe and sound,” Kusano said this as he threw an arm around Shige.
Shocked, Shige almost jumped out of bed, but had a limb restraining him. “Are you literally going to cuddle with me?”
“Have I mentioned that you are, in fact, the greatest roommate?”
“I’m honored,” he replied dryly.
“Really.” Kusano was already yawning, needing to pull his face back so he didn’t end up with a mouthful of Shige’s hair. “You should be. How many men have been this desperate to get you into bed with them?”
The tension dissolved just like that, and Shige could slowly allow himself to get comfortable enough to sleep. If there was anything he deserved, he decided it was definitely sleep. “Only you.”
“See, I had a feeling.”
“Mm.” The next time the silence was broken, it was Shige’s fault. “So you think Tegoshi’s cute? I’m sure Massu will find that interesting when he finds out. Tomorrow.”
“He’ll agree with me-secretly, of course,” Kusano murmured. “Credit to where it’s due, is all I’m saying. Now leave it alone, your jealousy is showing.” Kusano wasn’t even trying to keep the conversation going, as was evident with his slurred speech.
“Sure. Then I’ll tell Yamapi you never even mentioned him in your best-person-to-cuddle-with speech. That’s sure to get you a lecture.”
“Shut up and share the blanket.”
“Bed hog.”
“Homo.”
“Spaz.”
+
Upon waking up, Kusano’s first words were “was last night good for you?” asked in a husky, deliberately sleazy voice.
“Like second-hand smoke,” Shige replied good-naturedly without turning around, as he was pulling out a jacket from his closet. And that was the end of that conversation. “I’m heading out. I’ll meet you during rehearsal. Don’t forget your keys.”
“Now? You aren’t going to take a bath? Gross.”
“I am taking a bath. Just figured it wouldn’t hurt to remind you now.” Shige rolled his eyes as he shut the door to their bathroom from the inside, bringing his clothes with him. Shige always changed in the bathroom, thinking that doing otherwise would make Kusano uncomfortable.
Shige was a bit of a prude sometimes.
+
Along with Yokoo and Takeuchi and some members of NewS, they played was a quick game of basketball near their hotel, which nobody took too seriously due to fatigue. Dance rehearsal had been mostly uncomplicated, but grueling because of all the repetitions.
“The game was dirty,” Kusano professed when they decided to wrap it up. “Tegoshi flirting with Massu like that.”
“I was not flirting,” Tegoshi maintained. As an afterthought, he added, “With Massu, in particular.”
“And I did not think he was, therefore there was nothing to distract me,” Massu attempted to salvage his dignity.
Even Takeuchi, the perfectly tolerant one, rolled his eyes at the denial going back and forth between the duo. Sometimes he had to wonder how the two could remain the best of friends amidst all their semi-romantic history.
“I don’t plan to interfere with my friends’ personal lives,” Kusano said with a pretense of haughty importance-also, with complete disregard of reality.
“We weren’t”-Tegoshi remembered not to refer to Masuda and himself as TegoMass when it was uncalled for-“I mean, I wasn’t doing anything questionable.”
“It was a good game, at any rate. Too bad about that shot, Massu,” Koyama said supportively, clapping Massu on his shoulder. “You guys want to hang out at my room?”
“Sounds great!” Tegoshi enthused. “Except for the part about hanging out in your room.”
“It’s bigger than Shige’s and Kusano’s,” Koyama said, objectively.
“It’s also a hundred times messier.”
“I’ve never seen your room, but it’s getting a veto. I mean, if Tegoshi thinks it’s messy…” Masuda began.
“I’m not a slob; you’re obsessive compulsive.” Obviously, they’d had this conversation before.
Masuda raised his hands, a show of innocence. “I wasn’t the who brought up the ‘s’ word.”
“Anyway, since Tegoshi is appalled by my room, and his is probably in a similar condition, I say we just make do with Shige’s.”
“Oh, no can do,” Kusano said on behalf of Shige. “I’m going to have someone over tonight.”
“And when were you planning on telling me?” Shige was curious to know.
“This morning.” Kusano grinned sheepishly. “I was all set to tell you, but then I forgot because I had to remember my keys.”
“My place, then,” Yokoo volunteered. “It’s neat, and you can make all the noise you want. Kitayama can sleep through it all.”
“I have to go get ready for tonight. Can’t go smelling like this,” Kusano said as he started to walk off.
“Wait, Kusano, do I get to sleep in our room?” Shige called after him.
“Yeah, I’ll unlock the door when I’m ready for you!” Kusano replied cheerfully.
Koyama pursed his lips. “You’re right, Shige, I think he’s gayer than you.”
+
“Someone get up and open the door,” Koyama mumbled, fixated on the mind-numbingly strange foreign movie.
“I’ll get it,” Tegoshi offered, though he made no movement.
“Me too,” Masuda seconded him.
“I’ll go. Tegoshi and Massu can’t seem to extract themselves from one another.” Yokoo shook himself out of the movie-induced trance. “Hey,” he greeted the boy at the door.
Kusano looked past Yokoo’s shoulder and saw his friends in various states of still fascination. Except Kitayama, who, as predicted, was just still. “Are you all high? What the hell are you guys watching?” Kusano glanced at the screen wonderingly for a few seconds. “Hey, Shige. I’m taking you to our room now.”
Shige managed to pry his eyes away from the screen to glance at Kusano. “Huh? What?”
“Let’s go. I want to sleep.”
“Shhh! We’re missing the best part,” Tegoshi informed them. Even Kusano could see that nothing was actually happening during that part of the movie.
Kusano’s attention returned to Shige. “Seriously. Let’s go.”
“What? Where are we going?” The more complex parts of Shige’s brain were slowly waking up, and he was trying to adjust to being able to think clearly.
“Bed.”
And that was that. Kusano and Shige left the room and the other recovering idols.
Yokoo tilted his head. “Was it just me, or was it implied at some point that Kusano could not sleep without Shige in the same room?”
“Notti’s definitely the gayer one,” laughed Tegoshi.
Outside Yokoo and Kitayama’s room, Kusano steered the taller boy towards the room they shared. “The night went well,” Kusano said, as if by explanation.
“Oh.” Shige blinked as the environment around him blurred and transformed.
He felt Kusano closing a door behind them, then arms went around his chest and stomach as Kusano walked towards his bed, directing Shige towards the same thing.
“Wait, wait, hey!” Shige didn’t bother talking himself out of it, resigned to his position. “Let me brush my teeth first.”
“That’s not important.”
“Of course it is.” Shige shoved Kusano back.
“Hurry up,” Kusano whined.
Shige did not, in fact, hurry up, but that did little to relieve him of his obligations. He still ended up laying beside Kusano, looking disdainfully at his bed’s rumpled sheets. The shamelessness of that guy, really. He was back to placing his limbs wherever there was space for them, places not occupied by Kusano.
Much to his dismay, the intimate embrace didn’t take too long to be instigated. Sounds of pure creature comfort emitted into Shige’s hair via Kusano’s content mouth made the older boy want to shiver, and at the very most, run to the shower to wash off the dirty, icky, my-close-friend-is-making-pornographic-sounds-right-behind-me feelings. Of course, there were other reasons to want to run to the shower, such as…
Well. Shige shook the thoughts out of his head.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Thanks.”
Pause. “For what?” Shige grunted, unable to sound apathetic.
Kusano bumped Shige’s head with his nose. “For being my friend.”
Shige managed to contain a mocking snicker-boys will be boys, after all.
+
“Are you going to spend the evening moping, or are you actually going to get ready for an awesome night out with your cooler friend?” Kusano poked him once more.
As irritatingly charming Shige found Kusano, he also sometimes found the guy just plain irritating. Shige’s answer was to turn his back to Kusano.
“Hey!”
“I’m going to sleep. You will let me. I’m older than you.”
“I just want you to listen to me. Okay? Please? That’s all you need to do.”
“Fine. I’m listening.” It didn’t mean he had to face Kusano.
A long, thoughtful silence preceded their conversation. “Have you ever kissed a guy before?”
“What?” Shige furrowed his eyebrows.
“I mean, I know you’re gay and all, but…” Kusano shrugged. “Well, have you?”
Shige could’ve easily lied, but he found that he didn’t really want to make the effort. “No.”
“Really?” Kusano looked scandalized, having anticipated a different answer. “No way. What, are you saving yourself for Ryo or something? Hell, I’ve kissed a guy.”
“You have?!” Shige looked equally scandalized. He frowned. “I am not saving myself for anyone.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that I’ve kissed a guy and you haven’t. Great, I really am gayer than you.” Kusano made a face. “When I was, um, 16? We were all drunk, and someone dared me to plant one on Iida. I don’t remember it well, but the others were ragging on me about it. Man, I can’t believe no one told you about that.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about it?” Shige asked, without any accusation in his voice.
“I don’t know, maybe I wasn’t into the idea of bragging about kissing Iida. And I really can’t believe you’ve never kissed anyone.” Kusano looked as if he were amazed by the fact.
Shige was slightly irritated. “Not ‘anyone’, you asked about guys.”
“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Kusano said quickly, sensing that Shige was feeling affronted. “I just find it surprising, is all.”
“Why are we talking about this, anyway?” Shige tried to prod the conversation along towards its real goal.
“Nothing. I just want to bond, I guess.”
“Bond?” Shige repeated with exaggerated suspicion.
“Yeah. So?” Kusano appeared mildly hurt by Shige’s disbelief, but Shige couldn’t tell how much of it was sincere. “I didn’t think you’d be so judgmental.”
“I’m not…” Shige sighed, but kept his guard. “Sorry. Sorry, you’re right. A little ‘bonding’ never hurt anyone.”
“That’s more like it!” Kusano gave Shige one of his mischievous, wide grins. “Let’s spend the night together! It’s not late yet. The carnival, or the movie house, or just take a walk. What do you say?”
“What is up with you?” Shige all but snapped suddenly. “What do you really want to talk about? If you want to talk, I’ll listen. We don’t have to go to the carnival at some ungodly hour just for you to let it out. Kusano, just let it out, whatever it is.”
“There’s nothing to let out,” Kusano replied defensively. “I just want to go out and do something with you.”
Shige just shook his head and let his eyelids drop again.
“Okay, you know, you’re supposed to be brilliant, but really, you’re pathetically dense.”
“You’re not exactly easy to read, you know.”
“Pardon me for being so subtle,” Kusano said sarcastically. He got off his chair to sit down on Shige’s bed, hands on his own lap. And in an instant he was leaning down, brushing his lips lightly over Shige’s-cotton-soft, summer-warm, and with more meaning than any of the words he had been trying to assemble together just minutes ago.
“Did you get all of that, Mr. Genius?”
Shige’s eyes snapped open, like Kusano’s question was thunderous and deafening. “Kusano?” Shige was staring at him with barely concealed confusion, and maybe a little bit of fear. “You’re straight,” he said flatly.
“You guys always say I’m gayer than you.”
Shige glared his not-the-time-to-be-fooling-around(-and-being-cute) glare.
“Okay, maybe I’m somewhat straight,” Kusano conceded. “But not by very much if I made up the whole story about needing a cuddle buddy.”
“Kusano.” Shige sighed deeply, calming himself. “We’re friends. Really, really good friends. If you intend to keep me as a good friend, I suggest you take back what you said about setting me up like that.”
“But-”
“I mean it,” Shige said sternly. “You know I’d do just about anything for you, but I won’t let you practice falling in love with me. If this happened, no matter how casual you try to make it, someone’s going to end up hurt. So, do the right thing. Tell me you need psychiatric help; you need to sleep beside someone after you have sex. With a woman.”
Instead of doing as he was commanded, Kusano asked, “Are you in love with Kei-chan?”
“That has nothing to do with anything.”
“Are you in love with Kei-chan?” Kusano repeated firmly.
Shige matched his earnestness. “No.”
“Do you think you could be?”
“Kusano,” Shige began warningly, annoyed.
“Could you could fall in love with me?”
Shige didn’t say that he probably already was.
“If you think I want to be with you out of convenience-because I think you might like me back-then you probably don’t think very highly of me. What’s wrong if what I want is actually possible? Do you think that just because it could actually work out then my heart must not be in the right place?”
There was barely a second that passed before Kusano was grabbed by the collar and hauled down to the mattress. Shige’s shadow passed over Kusano’s and Kusano felt his heart growing wide in his chest although Shige was doing nothing but glaring down at him. He put his lips to Shige’s cheek-something he’d put a lot of thought into during recent nights-and kissed a path to Shige’s chin.
Despite all the tenderness, Shige was able to give him a very mean look. He really seemed angry.
“Aren’t you glad I unveiled my ingenious master plan?” Completely shameless.
“That’s redundant. And I’m not sure yet,” Shige confessed grudgingly.
That was as honest an answer that Kusano could have expected to received. “It won’t be perfect, but I’m game. I’m a hard-worker.” Kusano grinned excitedly, tucking Shige’s hair behind his ears.
“What are you smirking about? You realize I haven’t given you an answer?”
“That’s only because I haven’t really asked,” Kusano said. He brought his hands to cup Shige’s face and made sure to look as serious as he felt. “Shige, go out with me.”
Shige actually laughed. “You have a very poor grasp of what a question actually is.”
+
“Notti, hurry up. We’re meeting Kei-chan and Shige in-in fifteen minutes ago.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Kusano waved him off distractedly. He was holding up a ring to his eyes, watching it shimmer as he played with it under the light.
“What’s that?” Tegoshi chirped, looking over Kusano’s shoulder.
“A ring,” Kusano replied rather dryly. He was almost successfully able to hide it in his pocket when Tegoshi stole it. “Tegoshi!”
Uchi wrinkled his nose. “You can’t give that to Shige. It’s hideous.”
With a straight face, Kusano replied, “It’s not for Shige, it’s for my mom.”
Ryo stole it from Tegoshi, then noticed the inscription inside the band. “‘You have my heart.’ I know you’re the gayer one, but you’ve got to be kidding me.”
“This is Shige we’re talking about,” Yamapi reminded him. “Kusano recited poetry to him so he’d stop being a prude.”
“Ah. True.”
Kusano’s mouth hung agape. “Not true! Stop making up weird stories!”
“It’s for your mother, eh?” Uchi teased, but really, who was Uchi to be cracking mom jokes?
“Either you and your mom have a very close relationship or you consider Shige your mother,” Masuda said.
“More importantly, do you guys really think the ring’s tacky?” Kusano questioned them.
“What’s tacky? Hi, Kusano.”
Kusano jumped slightly, turning to see Koyama and Shige walking behind them. “Hey, guys.” Koyama received a round of enthusiastic hello’s.
“Nothing, nothing’s tacky,” Kusano said to Shige with a wild grin. “Hi, how are you, you smell nice.”
“Shige, Kusano thinks you’re his mother,” Yamapi informed him.
Shige frowned, confused. “What?”
“Look!” Kusano yelped. “For you.” He snatched the ring back from Ryo and shoved it into Shige’s hands.
“Why?” Shige eyed the object warily.
“Is this Kusano not being considerate enough?” Koyama queried teasingly.
“What? I’m not-” Kusano gaped at Shige. He turned to Koyama. “Shige said that?” He turned to Shige again.
Shige looked at the ring in his palm, ignoring Kusano’s protests. He hid a smile as he read the inscription. “It’s nice. Not the ring itself, though.”
“Aw, what’s wrong with the ring?”
Shige snickered slightly. “It’s practically yellow.”
“Don’t blame me for your abnormal taste in accessories. You still like it, right?”
“I love it,” Shige assured him.
Nobody missed the way Kusano breathed in sharply. “You… love. It.”
“Yeah.”
They exchanged half-shy smiles, making the others want to look away. “How about taking your subtext somewhere else?” Ryo suggested, his face distorted in disgust.
“I think we will take my subtext somewhere else,” Kusano replied.
+
“You really like the ring?”
“Yes. No. I mean, I do like the gesture.” Shige emphasized the latter part.
“Well, I’m glad,” Kusano said. He did nothing but smile at Shige for a few minutes. It eventually melted into a severe scowl. “You’re running off to Kei and telling him that I’m not romantic?”
“The word was considerate, not romantic. And I was kidding,” Shige explained with a sigh. “You know, he likes to tease me about our-about you and me. I was playing along.”
“No, you weren’t.”
“I wasn’t,” Shige agreed. He hung his head guiltily. “I’m sorry. I take it back, if that’s any consolation.”
“To Kei?” Kusano seemed exceptionally irate.
“He’s my best friend. Other than you,” Shige amended quickly, seeing the beginnings of a pout form on Kusano’s face.
“Koyama Keiichiro.”
With a silent sigh, Shige decided to address the issue. “You can’t be jealous.”
Kusano turned very, very red. “I can’t be.”
“Good.”
“Because I’m not.”
“Okay. Good.”
“Though I wish your ‘other best friend’ wasn’t someone you spent majority of your waking hours with.”
“Kusano,” Shige chided him testily.
“I can’t believe you.”
“What?”
“I really-!” Kusano took a deep breath. “I really like you.” Kusano pointed to the ring, almost discreetly. “That’s why…”
“Marking your territory?”
“For crying out loud, is it so difficult not to find ulterior motives in everything?”
“Sorry.” Shige peered at Kusano, with a contrite half-smile.
“It wasn’t to broadcast to everyone that I like you,” Kusano spat out. “Only part of it is. Sorry, okay, I don’t know how to handle this. I don’t date much, but I liked having girlfriends and everything. I like exclusivity, when someone I like is my girl, and…”
“I get it,” Shige said. “And you will never get to call me your girl.”
Kusano laughed. “Fair enough.”
“I know it’s confusing.” Shige’s hand drifted towards Kusano’s, and Kusano laced their fingers together, without hesitation. “What do you want?”
“I don’t know,” Kusano said again. “I want to be able to do things like buy you gifts, and I want to call you cheesy pet names. I want the cheesy stuff even if you’re going to laugh at me for it.” Kusano put his hand on Shige’s hip, keeping his touch light. “I want to be your boyfriend.”
“You kind have been, for the past few weeks,” Shige pointed out. “And I hate pet names, Kusano.”
“So, I’m your boyfriend now.”
Shige nodded. “Well, yeah. If you have to call it that.”
“You. You do not get to call me unromantic, ever.” Kusano wasn’t as infuriated as he could’ve been, and it was evident in his irrepressible grin.
=