Fourth Avenue Café - Chapter 9
Title: Fourth Avenue Café
Pairings: Akame, slight Ryopi and T&T
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jin's a successful artist when a fight with his friends forces him to seek stress relief in a little café where he meets what he considers, the strangest people.
Chapter 1// Chapter 2// Chapter 3// Chapter 4// Chapter 5// Chapter 6// Chapter 7// Chapter 8
Chapter 9:
“Is this some kind of joke!?” He looked at the elder with a frown, “please tell me it’s a joke.” When the other didn’t reply, he could feel the frustration boiling inside him as he crumpled the card in his hand, “please tell me you forged this or something…”
This caused Ueda to look up sharply at him, “what?”
Jin gritted his teeth, not really hearing the other, “What the hell is this!? Don’t tell me it was just a game to him, after all this, I bought him presents and took him out-”
He was cut off when the waiter grabbed the front of his shirt, hissing vehemently, “don’t you dare talk about Kame like that. Ever. He never goes into a relationship halfheartedly. And don’t think your little store-bought gifts mean anything, he knows what the meaning of value is. Say one more thing about Kame and I will beat the crap out of you.”
The singer narrowed his eyes, “Are you threatening me!? I can sue your ass off-”
“Because you the famous idol Akanishi Jin, right!? Listen to yourself! You’re nothing more than a spoilt brat! I know your kind, with your superiority complexes and everything,” the other was seething, “just because you look down on people doesn’t mean you’re above them! Even though you don’t have an ounce of modesty or any sense of common courtesy, it doesn’t make you a deity! You’re still damn human so it’s about time you start acting like one! Kame deserves so much more than you!”
Jin stared at him in surprised, unable to think of anything to say to the outburst. “…did you say something to Kame?”
The elder frowned and spoke dangerously quietly, “Do you really think I would hurt someone as precious to me as Kame? He’s the only reason why I didn’t kick your ass on the first day I met you. I don’t understand why though…you’re nothing like what he made you out to be.”
He stood there, dumbfounded, trying to process everything that had just been thrown at him.
There was a pause between the two before Ueda sighed and let go of his shirt, “You know what? Before you start doubting others, why don’t you figure out your own feelings first? If you can lose your faith in Kame that quickly, I think the best thing for you to do right now is figure out what Kame is to you.”
With that said, he turned back to cleaning up the café, Jin continued standing there for a moment longer before heading out the door wordlessly, the other’s words still echoing in his head.
What Kame is to me…?
-------------------------
The waiter looked wearily over to the door as it opened, “Ueda, what’s taking you so long?”
“Nakamaru…” he sighed, “I completely blew up…”
The elder gave a slight frown, “Didn’t you promise Kame-”
“Yea, I promised him I’d try not to blow up in his face but I ended up blowing up anyways…”
“Well,” the other spoke reassuringly, “don’t worry too much about it. If it means enough to him, he’ll be back. Something like this won’t stop him. He’s not a bad kid actually…”
----------------------
The next day at work, he was twice as frustrated as before due to lack of sleep from being unable to answer the other’s question. He sat there in his change room with his best friends, fuming, “…and then he called me arrogant too! I swear, if I wasn’t so scared of him, I would’ve totally insulted him back!”
The two exchanged worried glances before Pi started gently, “Jin…maybe he’s right-”
He looked up, shocked, “what!? Are you siding with the crazy scary vampire bodyguard!? You back-stabbing, double-faced-”
“What I meant was, maybe you should calm down first. I mean, listen to yourself. You’re angry and you’re hurting, I understand, but you know you can’t think straight when you’re like this. Go calm down first and actually think about it because if you figure out that for whatever reason, he’s actually not that much to you, then there’s no point in getting so worked up over this, right?”
He paused, “I guess…?”
Ryo sighed, “Anyways, there are plenty of fish in the sea.”
Jin jutted his lips into pout, “But I don’t want fish, I want a turtle…”
“Now you’re just being a brat, it was a figure of speech.”
He looked over, “why am I still surprised at how comforting you’re not?”
The other rolled his eyes and got up, “whatever, listen to Pi and think about it.”
“And if you need anything, we’re always here to help, okay?”
He nodded, “You know, with everything he said about me, I’m surprised I even have friends right now.”
That earned him a hard hit to the side of the head, he stared at Ryo in shock, “Don’t be stupid Jin, now you’re just being a void of self-esteem. Oi, Pi, we’re going to be late for practice.”
Yamapi looked over at the shorter singer, “Should we give him a hug?”
Ryo shook his head and headed for the door, “No, we’re too manly for hugs.”
Pi gave him a hug anyways.
-------------------------
Later that day, Tackey walked in, “what’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing,” he muttered, glaring at the ground.
“Don’t give me that nothing crap, I know my kouhai well enough to know when something’s wrong. When you’re upset, you end up angry, Yamapi ends up zoned out and broods, and Nishikido just cries. And right now, not only do you look angry, you also looked like some huge ass dog from hell chewed you up and decided that you tasted like crap so spat you back out, then decided to kick some dirt on you just for the hell of it. Mysteriously attractive waiter problems?”
Jin looked over before sighing, “Yea…I got told off by his bodyguard, basically. He told me to figure out what Kame meant to me, but that probably won’t matter because he openly-not to mention violently hates my guts and will probably murder me the next time I see him.”
“Akanishi…” he took a seat next to him and slung an arm lazily around his shoulders, “he doesn’t hate you. Okay, maybe you made yourself look like a total ass in front of him, and okay, maybe you proved his points of you being a total ass, so what?”
He blinked slowly, “So he will kill me the next time he sees me?”
“Not what I meant. What does this mysteriously attractive waiter mean to you anyways?”
“Kame? That’s what I’m trying to figure out. What is the visually appealing dancer to you?”
The senior looked up in thought, “Tsubasa…well, he’s my best friend, my confidant, my drinking buddy, my pillow, he’s my everything basically. Don’t you dare copy my answer.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. I have goosebumps going down my arm right now.”
“The answer will come to you so don’t worry about it, alright? This bodyguard person will see it your way too…eventually…hopefully sometime in your lifetime.”
Jin looked over, “I really hope this isn’t your ‘comforting’, Tackey…if I was a junior, I probably would’ve pissed my pants by now.”
“Shut up…I can’t do this…this isn’t working at all,” he looked over at the door, “Tsubasa, a little help?”
Then the visually appealing dancer walked in, Jin gaped, “Wha-Tackey-you…oh my god, just publish a book on my problems and sell it to the world why don’t you!?”
Tackey shrugged, “I would, you know I would. But Tsubasa’s here because he’s better at this comforting thing than me, I’m better at yelling at people and belittling them, old habits die hard.”
Tsubasa walked over and kneeled in front of him, “Akanishi-kun, what Hide-kun was trying to say is that you haven’t showed your good side to this bodyguard, have you?” He shook his head, trying to ignore the shivers he got from how the dancer said ‘Hide-kun’ instead of Tackey. “What you should do now is go home and rest for awhile, until you’re feeling better, and show him that there’s more to you than just an angry pouty singer.”
He looked over at his senior, “…why is he so much better at this than you?”
His senior smacked his head, “shut up and listen.”
The dancer smiled, “if you show him your best, he’ll realize he was wrong about you and hopefully things will get better from there.”
“Yea, if I can’t hate you, he probably can’t either.”
Jin ignored him, “thank you, somehow, I’m getting used to the feeling of getting comforted and completely freaked out at the same time. But yea, you’re probably right, I’ll figure this out and…” he looked at the senior beside him with a frown, “Tackey, you’re awfully inconsiderate, did you know that? I’m heartbroken here and you’re sitting there blowing kisses at your visually appealing dancer. Go somewhere else to do that!”
“Fine, maybe I will,” he got up and ruffled the younger singer’s hair, “good luck Jinjin. You’re not a bad kid, I’m sure this bodyguard person will see that too.”
-------------------------
What is this whole thing to me?
When he was walking home later that day, there were groups of girls waiting outside the building, he rolled his eyes, “how annoying…out of all days…”
He took the back door out.
And while he was muttering about how annoying life was, he remembered Ueda’s words.
“You don’t have an ounce of modesty or any sense of common courtesy…”
“Shut up!” He yelled at the sky, “I so have common courtesy…”
And just to prove it to himself, he helped an old lady cross the street on the way to the station.
It isn’t nothing, that’s for sure.
-------------------------
He stayed home the next day in attempt to properly thing about the situation.
-------------------------
“Where’s Jin?” Pi frowned and ran around the building with Ryo in tow. When they ran into their senior, he looked up and blinked, “Tackey, do you know what happened to Jin?”
“Akanishi? He said he was going to go drown in his tears of anguish.”
Ryo scoffed, “Liar.”
“Hm? How do you know?”
The younger singing raised a brow, “Because last time Jin heard the word ‘anguish’, he thought it was a Pokemon attack.”
-------------------------
The singer looked at the crumpled card in his hand with a sigh, then at the scattered pieces of paper, some torn up from anger that night. He blinked and picked up one, it was the one he showed Kame on their third date…
-------------------------
Jin gave a groan as he tried to write more lines down but there was a clog in his brain and nothing was going in or out. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t do this! It’s all in my head but I can’t get it on paper! I’m so close to finishing too!”
The waiter blinked and looked at the piece of paper, he put it back down with a smile, “this…this is already really good isn’t it? Don’t stress over it, the ending, it’ll come to you, but for now, this is really good.”
-------------------------
He grabbed a pen to write a title onto the page, he blinked and paused for a moment before scribbling down the question in his mind: LOVE or LIKE. Then he plopped down on top of the swamp of papers and onto his couch. “Kame…what are you to me?”
When he couldn’t figure out the answer to that, he decided to ask himself something else. “What am I without you…?”
After staring at the ceiling for another hour or so, he grabbed his jacket with a frustrated sigh and left the apartment, “this is going to drive me insane…”
-------------------------
The sun was still up when he reached the park they went to for their first date. Luckily for him, the swings were empty so he didn’t have to wait his turn. Kicking off, he began edging closer to the sky.
The closest to flying I’ll ever get.
He continued thinking as he swung higher and higher.
“You’re closer to flying than you think.”
Kame…to him…Kame was that strange little boy from his block, the one that became his best friend, the one that believed he could fly, the one that kept his first kiss safe, the one that didn’t ask for presents, the one that cried when he moved away. To him…Kame was…
Jin dug his heels into the ground and came to a halt, “I should’ve gone after him that night…” his fists clenched around the chains tightly, he held back the tears.
Then at least I’d be able to see his smile now.
-------------------------
Around four in the morning, the phone rang. Ryo gave an angry groan and picked it up, “I’m going to kill you.”
“Do that later. I think I’ve finally figured it out.”
-------------------------
So the four of them sat in Jin’s change room the next day and waited for the singer to arrive. Ryo crossed his arms, “I can’t believe he’s late even though he’s the one that called us up at four to tell us about his amazing discovery…”
Then the door opened and Jin walked in, his sleepless nights evident in his eyes and on his face. “I figured it out. After yelling and crying and being generally angry about it for hours, I figured it out. I think I figured out what Kame means to me.”
Ryo was about to say something but Tackey covered his mouth, “Shh…you’re going to miss the humorous revelation.”
“Kame,” Jin started, throwing a glare at his senior, “to me…is the hip rolls to my dance, god knows where I’d be without them.”
There was a long pause before the eldest singer gave a cough, “you’re not going to say this to the terrifying bodyguard that scares the crap out of you…are you?”
Tsubasa cleared his throat, “Akanishi-kun…I don’t think that’s the most appropriate thing to say to a person who doesn’t have the best image of you right now…”
He blinked, “Why?”
Pi stared at him, “The hip rolls to your dance are…suggestive, let’s just say.”
A moment later, he understood, “damn, have to think of better things, hm?” He gave a sigh, “that’s fine. I guess I’ll go think of something else, thanks for listening guys.”
The four stared at him and his sudden maturity. Ryo leaned over and whispered to the youngest singer’s ear, “I think he’s going insane…maybe you should go slap him…”
-------------------------
It wasn’t until a week later that he found the courage and time to go visit the café again. He stood outside the door and took a deep breath. Then he took the plunge and walked inside. The bell twinkled and Taguchi looked over, “welcome, we’re almost closing…”
The two exchanged stares, Jin gave a small nod, “uhh…is…Ueda…san here?”
The taller man gave a nod and pointed over to where the waiter was, “Ueda…”
Ueda looked up and over, wiping his hands off, he walked over with a frown, “yes?”
“I need to talk to you…” he stated quietly then added quickly, “if you have time.”
The elder nodded and looked over at Taguchi who returned the gesture and walked towards the door, “you finish up here, I’ll go get the car.”
There was a moment of silence after the bell gave a soft farewell twinkle. Ueda pointed over to a table, “go take a seat and wait there, I’ll finish up here then we’ll talk.”
Jin dipped his head and walked over obediently, taking a seat, he watched as the other returned to his previous task. As time passed by, he began tapping his fingers on the table out of anxiousness. The feeling was similar to that of when he was in the waiting room for the audition. He looked up in shock when a cup of coffee was placed in front of him.
He must’ve looked confused because the waiter raised a brow, “you look like you need it, you’re not going to get any sleep tonight anyways, I’m assuming.”
“Thank you…” he took a sip gratefully, he could tell the other was making an effort to be nice to him for reasons beyond him. And he didn’t want to disappoint so he started, “I figured it out. What Kame is to me…”
Ueda shot him an interested look, “Hm?”
“To me, Kame is someone who’s very important and irreplaceable to me. I didn’t exactly find a word for what he is to me, but I can feel it whenever I think about him. He is the circle to my ring, without him, I’d be square. He’s the chocolate to my cookie, he’s the curry to my rice, he’s the lyrics to my songs and the song to my voice. I don’t know what I’d be without him, I mean I wouldn’t be nothing…I’d still be here and I’d still be Akanishi Jin, but I wouldn’t be me. When he isn’t around, I don’t know how or why, but all the songs in my head go from love songs to sad songs.
“For Kame…I’d wait for him for…a long time. I want to see him happy, I want to see him sad, and I want him to see me at my best and my worst.” Giving a soft laugh, he tightened his hold on his cup, “I’ve fallen in this crazy love and I don’t want out. Because…” he looked up seriously, “it won’t happen again, this crazy love.”
“…you know…” the waiter started a moment later, looking out the window absentmindedly, “I used to admire you…Kame was always talking about you when we were in school. For awhile, I think I was jealous of you because you were all Kame talked about, but then he told me that he wouldn’t be the person he was if he hadn’t met you, that you were his first friend. And then I thought, ‘wow, this person must be amazing…if Kame became this person in front of me now because of him…’”
He let out a quiet laugh, “Then you met me and all those thoughts went downhill?”
“More or less, but you made Kame happy…”
“Then why did he leave? I want to see him…”
Ueda shook his head, “I promised him I wouldn’t tell you.”
The singer sighed, “I understand…” then his eyes lit up as he suggested, “what about you answering a question for me every time I see you? I won’t ask specific things, and I’ll only ask one question every time, I promise! This way, I’ll at least know he’s still around and you won’t be breaking your promise!” The elder blinked wordlessly. He gave a nervous laugh, “I’m being an idiot…but I really want to see him, no matter how long it’ll take me, so…”
“I think Tat-chan would like Jin more when he’s being an idiot…he’s kinder that way.”
He gave a small smile, “I guess I’ll go along with your game…” he got up and ruffled the other’s hair, “you’re an okay kid.”
Jin sat there with a dazed, happy look on his face as the other washed the cup. A minute later, he got up and headed for the door, “I’m going to go now, thank you.”
On his way out, the other called after him, “oh, if you make another vampire comment on TV, I’m going to kill you.”
--------------------
A/N: Whoo typed up this chapter rather fast! 8D Quite proud of myself, moohahaha. Might not be able to update next week, I have qualifiers to go so yea... I saw the LIPS cover again...but it was unexpected so I ended up lmao-ing and hit my head rather hard >.> Anyways...enjoy!
Pairings: Akame, slight Ryopi and T&T
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jin's a successful artist when a fight with his friends forces him to seek stress relief in a little café where he meets what he considers, the strangest people.
Chapter 1// Chapter 2// Chapter 3// Chapter 4// Chapter 5// Chapter 6// Chapter 7// Chapter 8
Chapter 9:
“Is this some kind of joke!?” He looked at the elder with a frown, “please tell me it’s a joke.” When the other didn’t reply, he could feel the frustration boiling inside him as he crumpled the card in his hand, “please tell me you forged this or something…”
This caused Ueda to look up sharply at him, “what?”
Jin gritted his teeth, not really hearing the other, “What the hell is this!? Don’t tell me it was just a game to him, after all this, I bought him presents and took him out-”
He was cut off when the waiter grabbed the front of his shirt, hissing vehemently, “don’t you dare talk about Kame like that. Ever. He never goes into a relationship halfheartedly. And don’t think your little store-bought gifts mean anything, he knows what the meaning of value is. Say one more thing about Kame and I will beat the crap out of you.”
The singer narrowed his eyes, “Are you threatening me!? I can sue your ass off-”
“Because you the famous idol Akanishi Jin, right!? Listen to yourself! You’re nothing more than a spoilt brat! I know your kind, with your superiority complexes and everything,” the other was seething, “just because you look down on people doesn’t mean you’re above them! Even though you don’t have an ounce of modesty or any sense of common courtesy, it doesn’t make you a deity! You’re still damn human so it’s about time you start acting like one! Kame deserves so much more than you!”
Jin stared at him in surprised, unable to think of anything to say to the outburst. “…did you say something to Kame?”
The elder frowned and spoke dangerously quietly, “Do you really think I would hurt someone as precious to me as Kame? He’s the only reason why I didn’t kick your ass on the first day I met you. I don’t understand why though…you’re nothing like what he made you out to be.”
He stood there, dumbfounded, trying to process everything that had just been thrown at him.
There was a pause between the two before Ueda sighed and let go of his shirt, “You know what? Before you start doubting others, why don’t you figure out your own feelings first? If you can lose your faith in Kame that quickly, I think the best thing for you to do right now is figure out what Kame is to you.”
With that said, he turned back to cleaning up the café, Jin continued standing there for a moment longer before heading out the door wordlessly, the other’s words still echoing in his head.
What Kame is to me…?
-------------------------
The waiter looked wearily over to the door as it opened, “Ueda, what’s taking you so long?”
“Nakamaru…” he sighed, “I completely blew up…”
The elder gave a slight frown, “Didn’t you promise Kame-”
“Yea, I promised him I’d try not to blow up in his face but I ended up blowing up anyways…”
“Well,” the other spoke reassuringly, “don’t worry too much about it. If it means enough to him, he’ll be back. Something like this won’t stop him. He’s not a bad kid actually…”
----------------------
The next day at work, he was twice as frustrated as before due to lack of sleep from being unable to answer the other’s question. He sat there in his change room with his best friends, fuming, “…and then he called me arrogant too! I swear, if I wasn’t so scared of him, I would’ve totally insulted him back!”
The two exchanged worried glances before Pi started gently, “Jin…maybe he’s right-”
He looked up, shocked, “what!? Are you siding with the crazy scary vampire bodyguard!? You back-stabbing, double-faced-”
“What I meant was, maybe you should calm down first. I mean, listen to yourself. You’re angry and you’re hurting, I understand, but you know you can’t think straight when you’re like this. Go calm down first and actually think about it because if you figure out that for whatever reason, he’s actually not that much to you, then there’s no point in getting so worked up over this, right?”
He paused, “I guess…?”
Ryo sighed, “Anyways, there are plenty of fish in the sea.”
Jin jutted his lips into pout, “But I don’t want fish, I want a turtle…”
“Now you’re just being a brat, it was a figure of speech.”
He looked over, “why am I still surprised at how comforting you’re not?”
The other rolled his eyes and got up, “whatever, listen to Pi and think about it.”
“And if you need anything, we’re always here to help, okay?”
He nodded, “You know, with everything he said about me, I’m surprised I even have friends right now.”
That earned him a hard hit to the side of the head, he stared at Ryo in shock, “Don’t be stupid Jin, now you’re just being a void of self-esteem. Oi, Pi, we’re going to be late for practice.”
Yamapi looked over at the shorter singer, “Should we give him a hug?”
Ryo shook his head and headed for the door, “No, we’re too manly for hugs.”
Pi gave him a hug anyways.
-------------------------
Later that day, Tackey walked in, “what’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing,” he muttered, glaring at the ground.
“Don’t give me that nothing crap, I know my kouhai well enough to know when something’s wrong. When you’re upset, you end up angry, Yamapi ends up zoned out and broods, and Nishikido just cries. And right now, not only do you look angry, you also looked like some huge ass dog from hell chewed you up and decided that you tasted like crap so spat you back out, then decided to kick some dirt on you just for the hell of it. Mysteriously attractive waiter problems?”
Jin looked over before sighing, “Yea…I got told off by his bodyguard, basically. He told me to figure out what Kame meant to me, but that probably won’t matter because he openly-not to mention violently hates my guts and will probably murder me the next time I see him.”
“Akanishi…” he took a seat next to him and slung an arm lazily around his shoulders, “he doesn’t hate you. Okay, maybe you made yourself look like a total ass in front of him, and okay, maybe you proved his points of you being a total ass, so what?”
He blinked slowly, “So he will kill me the next time he sees me?”
“Not what I meant. What does this mysteriously attractive waiter mean to you anyways?”
“Kame? That’s what I’m trying to figure out. What is the visually appealing dancer to you?”
The senior looked up in thought, “Tsubasa…well, he’s my best friend, my confidant, my drinking buddy, my pillow, he’s my everything basically. Don’t you dare copy my answer.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. I have goosebumps going down my arm right now.”
“The answer will come to you so don’t worry about it, alright? This bodyguard person will see it your way too…eventually…hopefully sometime in your lifetime.”
Jin looked over, “I really hope this isn’t your ‘comforting’, Tackey…if I was a junior, I probably would’ve pissed my pants by now.”
“Shut up…I can’t do this…this isn’t working at all,” he looked over at the door, “Tsubasa, a little help?”
Then the visually appealing dancer walked in, Jin gaped, “Wha-Tackey-you…oh my god, just publish a book on my problems and sell it to the world why don’t you!?”
Tackey shrugged, “I would, you know I would. But Tsubasa’s here because he’s better at this comforting thing than me, I’m better at yelling at people and belittling them, old habits die hard.”
Tsubasa walked over and kneeled in front of him, “Akanishi-kun, what Hide-kun was trying to say is that you haven’t showed your good side to this bodyguard, have you?” He shook his head, trying to ignore the shivers he got from how the dancer said ‘Hide-kun’ instead of Tackey. “What you should do now is go home and rest for awhile, until you’re feeling better, and show him that there’s more to you than just an angry pouty singer.”
He looked over at his senior, “…why is he so much better at this than you?”
His senior smacked his head, “shut up and listen.”
The dancer smiled, “if you show him your best, he’ll realize he was wrong about you and hopefully things will get better from there.”
“Yea, if I can’t hate you, he probably can’t either.”
Jin ignored him, “thank you, somehow, I’m getting used to the feeling of getting comforted and completely freaked out at the same time. But yea, you’re probably right, I’ll figure this out and…” he looked at the senior beside him with a frown, “Tackey, you’re awfully inconsiderate, did you know that? I’m heartbroken here and you’re sitting there blowing kisses at your visually appealing dancer. Go somewhere else to do that!”
“Fine, maybe I will,” he got up and ruffled the younger singer’s hair, “good luck Jinjin. You’re not a bad kid, I’m sure this bodyguard person will see that too.”
-------------------------
What is this whole thing to me?
When he was walking home later that day, there were groups of girls waiting outside the building, he rolled his eyes, “how annoying…out of all days…”
He took the back door out.
And while he was muttering about how annoying life was, he remembered Ueda’s words.
“You don’t have an ounce of modesty or any sense of common courtesy…”
“Shut up!” He yelled at the sky, “I so have common courtesy…”
And just to prove it to himself, he helped an old lady cross the street on the way to the station.
It isn’t nothing, that’s for sure.
-------------------------
He stayed home the next day in attempt to properly thing about the situation.
-------------------------
“Where’s Jin?” Pi frowned and ran around the building with Ryo in tow. When they ran into their senior, he looked up and blinked, “Tackey, do you know what happened to Jin?”
“Akanishi? He said he was going to go drown in his tears of anguish.”
Ryo scoffed, “Liar.”
“Hm? How do you know?”
The younger singing raised a brow, “Because last time Jin heard the word ‘anguish’, he thought it was a Pokemon attack.”
-------------------------
The singer looked at the crumpled card in his hand with a sigh, then at the scattered pieces of paper, some torn up from anger that night. He blinked and picked up one, it was the one he showed Kame on their third date…
-------------------------
Jin gave a groan as he tried to write more lines down but there was a clog in his brain and nothing was going in or out. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t do this! It’s all in my head but I can’t get it on paper! I’m so close to finishing too!”
The waiter blinked and looked at the piece of paper, he put it back down with a smile, “this…this is already really good isn’t it? Don’t stress over it, the ending, it’ll come to you, but for now, this is really good.”
-------------------------
He grabbed a pen to write a title onto the page, he blinked and paused for a moment before scribbling down the question in his mind: LOVE or LIKE. Then he plopped down on top of the swamp of papers and onto his couch. “Kame…what are you to me?”
When he couldn’t figure out the answer to that, he decided to ask himself something else. “What am I without you…?”
After staring at the ceiling for another hour or so, he grabbed his jacket with a frustrated sigh and left the apartment, “this is going to drive me insane…”
-------------------------
The sun was still up when he reached the park they went to for their first date. Luckily for him, the swings were empty so he didn’t have to wait his turn. Kicking off, he began edging closer to the sky.
The closest to flying I’ll ever get.
He continued thinking as he swung higher and higher.
“You’re closer to flying than you think.”
Kame…to him…Kame was that strange little boy from his block, the one that became his best friend, the one that believed he could fly, the one that kept his first kiss safe, the one that didn’t ask for presents, the one that cried when he moved away. To him…Kame was…
Jin dug his heels into the ground and came to a halt, “I should’ve gone after him that night…” his fists clenched around the chains tightly, he held back the tears.
Then at least I’d be able to see his smile now.
-------------------------
Around four in the morning, the phone rang. Ryo gave an angry groan and picked it up, “I’m going to kill you.”
“Do that later. I think I’ve finally figured it out.”
-------------------------
So the four of them sat in Jin’s change room the next day and waited for the singer to arrive. Ryo crossed his arms, “I can’t believe he’s late even though he’s the one that called us up at four to tell us about his amazing discovery…”
Then the door opened and Jin walked in, his sleepless nights evident in his eyes and on his face. “I figured it out. After yelling and crying and being generally angry about it for hours, I figured it out. I think I figured out what Kame means to me.”
Ryo was about to say something but Tackey covered his mouth, “Shh…you’re going to miss the humorous revelation.”
“Kame,” Jin started, throwing a glare at his senior, “to me…is the hip rolls to my dance, god knows where I’d be without them.”
There was a long pause before the eldest singer gave a cough, “you’re not going to say this to the terrifying bodyguard that scares the crap out of you…are you?”
Tsubasa cleared his throat, “Akanishi-kun…I don’t think that’s the most appropriate thing to say to a person who doesn’t have the best image of you right now…”
He blinked, “Why?”
Pi stared at him, “The hip rolls to your dance are…suggestive, let’s just say.”
A moment later, he understood, “damn, have to think of better things, hm?” He gave a sigh, “that’s fine. I guess I’ll go think of something else, thanks for listening guys.”
The four stared at him and his sudden maturity. Ryo leaned over and whispered to the youngest singer’s ear, “I think he’s going insane…maybe you should go slap him…”
-------------------------
It wasn’t until a week later that he found the courage and time to go visit the café again. He stood outside the door and took a deep breath. Then he took the plunge and walked inside. The bell twinkled and Taguchi looked over, “welcome, we’re almost closing…”
The two exchanged stares, Jin gave a small nod, “uhh…is…Ueda…san here?”
The taller man gave a nod and pointed over to where the waiter was, “Ueda…”
Ueda looked up and over, wiping his hands off, he walked over with a frown, “yes?”
“I need to talk to you…” he stated quietly then added quickly, “if you have time.”
The elder nodded and looked over at Taguchi who returned the gesture and walked towards the door, “you finish up here, I’ll go get the car.”
There was a moment of silence after the bell gave a soft farewell twinkle. Ueda pointed over to a table, “go take a seat and wait there, I’ll finish up here then we’ll talk.”
Jin dipped his head and walked over obediently, taking a seat, he watched as the other returned to his previous task. As time passed by, he began tapping his fingers on the table out of anxiousness. The feeling was similar to that of when he was in the waiting room for the audition. He looked up in shock when a cup of coffee was placed in front of him.
He must’ve looked confused because the waiter raised a brow, “you look like you need it, you’re not going to get any sleep tonight anyways, I’m assuming.”
“Thank you…” he took a sip gratefully, he could tell the other was making an effort to be nice to him for reasons beyond him. And he didn’t want to disappoint so he started, “I figured it out. What Kame is to me…”
Ueda shot him an interested look, “Hm?”
“To me, Kame is someone who’s very important and irreplaceable to me. I didn’t exactly find a word for what he is to me, but I can feel it whenever I think about him. He is the circle to my ring, without him, I’d be square. He’s the chocolate to my cookie, he’s the curry to my rice, he’s the lyrics to my songs and the song to my voice. I don’t know what I’d be without him, I mean I wouldn’t be nothing…I’d still be here and I’d still be Akanishi Jin, but I wouldn’t be me. When he isn’t around, I don’t know how or why, but all the songs in my head go from love songs to sad songs.
“For Kame…I’d wait for him for…a long time. I want to see him happy, I want to see him sad, and I want him to see me at my best and my worst.” Giving a soft laugh, he tightened his hold on his cup, “I’ve fallen in this crazy love and I don’t want out. Because…” he looked up seriously, “it won’t happen again, this crazy love.”
“…you know…” the waiter started a moment later, looking out the window absentmindedly, “I used to admire you…Kame was always talking about you when we were in school. For awhile, I think I was jealous of you because you were all Kame talked about, but then he told me that he wouldn’t be the person he was if he hadn’t met you, that you were his first friend. And then I thought, ‘wow, this person must be amazing…if Kame became this person in front of me now because of him…’”
He let out a quiet laugh, “Then you met me and all those thoughts went downhill?”
“More or less, but you made Kame happy…”
“Then why did he leave? I want to see him…”
Ueda shook his head, “I promised him I wouldn’t tell you.”
The singer sighed, “I understand…” then his eyes lit up as he suggested, “what about you answering a question for me every time I see you? I won’t ask specific things, and I’ll only ask one question every time, I promise! This way, I’ll at least know he’s still around and you won’t be breaking your promise!” The elder blinked wordlessly. He gave a nervous laugh, “I’m being an idiot…but I really want to see him, no matter how long it’ll take me, so…”
“I think Tat-chan would like Jin more when he’s being an idiot…he’s kinder that way.”
He gave a small smile, “I guess I’ll go along with your game…” he got up and ruffled the other’s hair, “you’re an okay kid.”
Jin sat there with a dazed, happy look on his face as the other washed the cup. A minute later, he got up and headed for the door, “I’m going to go now, thank you.”
On his way out, the other called after him, “oh, if you make another vampire comment on TV, I’m going to kill you.”
--------------------
A/N: Whoo typed up this chapter rather fast! 8D Quite proud of myself, moohahaha. Might not be able to update next week, I have qualifiers to go so yea... I saw the LIPS cover again...but it was unexpected so I ended up lmao-ing and hit my head rather hard >.> Anyways...enjoy!