The Jewellery Exchange Challenge!
Pairing: JinxUchi (KAT-TUN and NEWS/Kanjani8, respectively)
Rating: PG-13
Condition: Just to explain why Ryo and Jin wear the same necklace in different photoshoots (seen here).
Additional Notes: Okay, so this creates some sort of time paradox, right? Well, er. Jin clearly has a time machine. (He borrowed it from Tackey. Wait, what?) The best part of writing this was, without a doubt, the ten minute conversation over what Uchi would taste like.
'A Change of Scenery', or, 'How Uchi Got His Groove Back'
"Jin?"
It had been quite a while since Jin had heard his name uttered with that particular inflection, the fluidity reserved for a native speaker of his own native language. As such, he should have realized that there was a rather limited number of people that could have been addressing him, but was still astonished when he turned to discover...
"Uchi!"
"Long time no see," the fair-haired boy observed.
"Y'can say that again!" Jin agreed emphatically. "What brings you to LA?"
Uchi shrugged, glancing about them. "Change of scenery, I guess," he replied ambiguously, punctuating the remark with an equally ambiguous cough. "Didn't expect to run into you, though."
"Yeah, but I totally saw it coming," Jin shot back with a sarcastic grin. "Hey, so how long have you been here? How long are you staying? Oh, hey! You didn't come alone, did you?" He paused. "Did Ryo come with you?" He sounded almost afraid, but then again, Ryo was a rather scary person.
"Hey, okay, slow down," Uchi commanded with a chuckle. "I've been here almost two weeks. I'm leaving Sunday. And stop panicking, Ryo's in Japan." He pretended not to notice when Jin sighed with relief. "I asked him if he wanted to take a break and come with me, but he said he was really busy with the bands and everything and just couldn't get away and..."
Jin watched the rambling boy's hand carefully as it rose to his neck and fingered the thin golden chain adorning it distractedly. Without warning, he leaned in, causing Uchi to jerk backward, and the glossy blue and gold orb at the end of the chain swung into view.
"Isn't that Ryo's necklace?" Jin inquired with an impish smile. He thought he'd recognized it.
Uchi's hand closed around the glassy ball. He pursed his lips as if he disapproved of the inquiry, but the burning red of the tips of his ears betrayed him. "Ryo's so stupid sometimes," he muttered. "He gave it to me and said that if I wore it while I was gone then he'd know I wouldn't forget him." He frowned as the flush that had been creeping in across his cheeks met at the bridge of his nose.
Jin gave a fangirlish "Awwwwwww!" and dodged a half-hearted punch. "Okay, okay," he laughed, "no more unnecessary violence, all right?"
"Says the boy who slaps people for 'nori' puns," Uchi scoffed, but he was smiling.
"Yeah, well. I'm a hypocrite," Jin dismissed, unconcerned. "So c'mon, how do you like LA? Have you been clubbing and that kind of stuff?"
Uchi shrugged awkwardly, his hand moving to his throat again. "I've been sight-seeing, stuff like that. Y'know. Went to the beach, that was nice..."
Jin laughed, loud and unrestrained, and Uchi twitched irritably in response. "God, you live such a white bread lifestyle," he taunted.
"I'm trying to behave myself," Uchi replied through his teeth in a voice like razor blades, his eyes narrowing to a glare.
Jin's eyes widened as the implications of his own words hit him, and he took a step back. "Jeez, man, I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean it like that--"
Uchi regarded him carefully for a long moment as if attempting to gauge his sincerity, and sighed, rubbing his eyes wearily. "I know you didn't," he conceded finally. "I just--"
"I know." And for a moment, Jin thought he might.
An awkward silence settled on the pair where they stood on the corner of that busy street, the sidewalk a river of white-noise people moving naturally around them like water around a rock. Jin wasn't so good with awkward silences.
"Hey," he said suddenly. "You got plans for tonight?"
"Oh. Well, actually, I--"
"Cancel them."
"What?"
"We're doing karaoke."
* * *
"Jin, you can't do your own song! That's cheating!"
"Who's making these rules? Fine, you sing it then!"
"Sorry, Jin, I don't sing bad songs."
"Coulda fooled me!"
It hadn't taken much for Uchi to loosen up, just as Jin had thought. A couple songs, a couple beers, and he was swaying in time with the music, swaying along with Jin, smiling and laughing and not worrying any more than he really had to.
Neither boy could hold their liquor well, and as such were both quite sloshed rather quickly. Jin's judgement was never quite up to par with his peers', so, inebriated as he was, it was easy to understand how it never crossed his mind as he leaned in, laughing, and pressed his lips to Uchi's, that Uchi was completely unfamiliar with his overly-affectionate tendency to kiss whoever was around when he was drunk and particularly rambunctious, and in fact was thinking about the first time he'd kissed Ueda like that, and the boy had blushed deeply, and Koki and Maru had laughed, and Junno had rolled his eyes, and Kame had coughed, "Jin, you're such a slut," but had been smiling too, and suddenly he realized Uchi was kissing him back, awkwardly at first, but then more and more forcefully until Jin's back was against the wall and slender fingers were tangled in his hair and he jerked his head back and stared, and Uchi stared inquisitively back, and what he meant to say was, "Uchi, what the hell!" but what he really said was...
"Wanna get out of here?"
* * *
One thing about Kamenashi that Jin had always found annoying was how pissy he got whenever he smoked. Honestly, it wasn't like he did it often, and it wasn't as if the scrawny boy had no vices himself, but time after time he found himself leaving the room whenever he wanted a smoke.
Jin didn't know if Uchi minded him smoking, knew only that it didn't seem to do anything to wake the boy, but that might have been because he was smoking out the hotel room window. He didn't particularly like doing it, but he would rather brave the chill night air for a quick drag than risk Uchi waking and expressing disapproval over his bad habit.
Jin didn't know much about Uchi, he realized, but what he knew, he liked. He liked the boy's relaxed voice, his smile, he liked the gentle curves of his body against his skin and on the sheets and under his gaze from across the room.
Yes, he decided, he quite liked Uchi. He wouldn't have done what he had if he hadn't. Although the alcohol had helped. Reaching out the window to butt the cigarette stub against the bricks, he wondered if he might still be slightly drunk. Not that it really mattered.
Even after he had closed the window, Jin still felt the cold as it had settled into his skin. He shivered indulgently and paced back over to the bed, bare feet moving silently, sitting down on the edge carefully so as to not wake the sleeping boy. It was so tempting, though, the thought of creeping across the sheets and wrapping himself around that warm body...
Jin realized with a sickening jolt that he was indeed still slightly drunk, or at least he hoped he was, because he couldn't imagine any other reason he was allowing himself to acknowledge his underlying motivation for letting things go as far as they had. (Not that he regretted a single moment of it, of course.) He'd always disliked Ryo, possibly to the point of hating the arrogant boy, and possessing Uchi for the evening had felt like taking something from him. It felt like revenge. Uchi had tasted like caramel and sin, and Jin was inclined to believe that that was what was referred to as the sweet taste of revenge.
Lost in his own sense of retribution, Jin decided that having taken something from Ryo wasn't enough. Ryo had to know about it. Telling him outright wouldn't be enough -- that was too forward, and too arbitrary. It needed to be something subtler.
He paced the room silently, thinking it over as he retrieved his clothing from where it had been recklessly discarded. After dressing himself, he returned to his position on the bed, this time with his knees on the edge, leaning over Uchi.
Yes, that would do it...
With admirably deliberate movements, Jin carefully undid the clasp of the delicate golden chain that adorned the boy's neck. Uchi's eyelids fluttered softly and his hand groped at the place the gold and indigo orb had rested. His heart in his throat, Jin took Uchi's hand in his, squeezing his fingers gently. Uchi nuzzled into the pillow, a contented half-smile lighting on his lips, and he fell still again. Feeling the faintest tinge of guilt, Jin leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to the boy's temple. Reluctantly releasing his hand, he stepped off of the bed and headed for the exit. Just before reaching the door, he paused long enough to move the golden chain from his palm to his throat, twisting deliberately in the action to catch a parting glimpse of the naked boy sleeping so peacefully.
He had a feeling it would be a while before he could sleep that peacefully himself.
Rating: PG-13
Condition: Just to explain why Ryo and Jin wear the same necklace in different photoshoots (seen here).
Additional Notes: Okay, so this creates some sort of time paradox, right? Well, er. Jin clearly has a time machine. (He borrowed it from Tackey. Wait, what?) The best part of writing this was, without a doubt, the ten minute conversation over what Uchi would taste like.
'A Change of Scenery', or, 'How Uchi Got His Groove Back'
"Jin?"
It had been quite a while since Jin had heard his name uttered with that particular inflection, the fluidity reserved for a native speaker of his own native language. As such, he should have realized that there was a rather limited number of people that could have been addressing him, but was still astonished when he turned to discover...
"Uchi!"
"Long time no see," the fair-haired boy observed.
"Y'can say that again!" Jin agreed emphatically. "What brings you to LA?"
Uchi shrugged, glancing about them. "Change of scenery, I guess," he replied ambiguously, punctuating the remark with an equally ambiguous cough. "Didn't expect to run into you, though."
"Yeah, but I totally saw it coming," Jin shot back with a sarcastic grin. "Hey, so how long have you been here? How long are you staying? Oh, hey! You didn't come alone, did you?" He paused. "Did Ryo come with you?" He sounded almost afraid, but then again, Ryo was a rather scary person.
"Hey, okay, slow down," Uchi commanded with a chuckle. "I've been here almost two weeks. I'm leaving Sunday. And stop panicking, Ryo's in Japan." He pretended not to notice when Jin sighed with relief. "I asked him if he wanted to take a break and come with me, but he said he was really busy with the bands and everything and just couldn't get away and..."
Jin watched the rambling boy's hand carefully as it rose to his neck and fingered the thin golden chain adorning it distractedly. Without warning, he leaned in, causing Uchi to jerk backward, and the glossy blue and gold orb at the end of the chain swung into view.
"Isn't that Ryo's necklace?" Jin inquired with an impish smile. He thought he'd recognized it.
Uchi's hand closed around the glassy ball. He pursed his lips as if he disapproved of the inquiry, but the burning red of the tips of his ears betrayed him. "Ryo's so stupid sometimes," he muttered. "He gave it to me and said that if I wore it while I was gone then he'd know I wouldn't forget him." He frowned as the flush that had been creeping in across his cheeks met at the bridge of his nose.
Jin gave a fangirlish "Awwwwwww!" and dodged a half-hearted punch. "Okay, okay," he laughed, "no more unnecessary violence, all right?"
"Says the boy who slaps people for 'nori' puns," Uchi scoffed, but he was smiling.
"Yeah, well. I'm a hypocrite," Jin dismissed, unconcerned. "So c'mon, how do you like LA? Have you been clubbing and that kind of stuff?"
Uchi shrugged awkwardly, his hand moving to his throat again. "I've been sight-seeing, stuff like that. Y'know. Went to the beach, that was nice..."
Jin laughed, loud and unrestrained, and Uchi twitched irritably in response. "God, you live such a white bread lifestyle," he taunted.
"I'm trying to behave myself," Uchi replied through his teeth in a voice like razor blades, his eyes narrowing to a glare.
Jin's eyes widened as the implications of his own words hit him, and he took a step back. "Jeez, man, I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean it like that--"
Uchi regarded him carefully for a long moment as if attempting to gauge his sincerity, and sighed, rubbing his eyes wearily. "I know you didn't," he conceded finally. "I just--"
"I know." And for a moment, Jin thought he might.
An awkward silence settled on the pair where they stood on the corner of that busy street, the sidewalk a river of white-noise people moving naturally around them like water around a rock. Jin wasn't so good with awkward silences.
"Hey," he said suddenly. "You got plans for tonight?"
"Oh. Well, actually, I--"
"Cancel them."
"What?"
"We're doing karaoke."
* * *
"Jin, you can't do your own song! That's cheating!"
"Who's making these rules? Fine, you sing it then!"
"Sorry, Jin, I don't sing bad songs."
"Coulda fooled me!"
It hadn't taken much for Uchi to loosen up, just as Jin had thought. A couple songs, a couple beers, and he was swaying in time with the music, swaying along with Jin, smiling and laughing and not worrying any more than he really had to.
Neither boy could hold their liquor well, and as such were both quite sloshed rather quickly. Jin's judgement was never quite up to par with his peers', so, inebriated as he was, it was easy to understand how it never crossed his mind as he leaned in, laughing, and pressed his lips to Uchi's, that Uchi was completely unfamiliar with his overly-affectionate tendency to kiss whoever was around when he was drunk and particularly rambunctious, and in fact was thinking about the first time he'd kissed Ueda like that, and the boy had blushed deeply, and Koki and Maru had laughed, and Junno had rolled his eyes, and Kame had coughed, "Jin, you're such a slut," but had been smiling too, and suddenly he realized Uchi was kissing him back, awkwardly at first, but then more and more forcefully until Jin's back was against the wall and slender fingers were tangled in his hair and he jerked his head back and stared, and Uchi stared inquisitively back, and what he meant to say was, "Uchi, what the hell!" but what he really said was...
"Wanna get out of here?"
* * *
One thing about Kamenashi that Jin had always found annoying was how pissy he got whenever he smoked. Honestly, it wasn't like he did it often, and it wasn't as if the scrawny boy had no vices himself, but time after time he found himself leaving the room whenever he wanted a smoke.
Jin didn't know if Uchi minded him smoking, knew only that it didn't seem to do anything to wake the boy, but that might have been because he was smoking out the hotel room window. He didn't particularly like doing it, but he would rather brave the chill night air for a quick drag than risk Uchi waking and expressing disapproval over his bad habit.
Jin didn't know much about Uchi, he realized, but what he knew, he liked. He liked the boy's relaxed voice, his smile, he liked the gentle curves of his body against his skin and on the sheets and under his gaze from across the room.
Yes, he decided, he quite liked Uchi. He wouldn't have done what he had if he hadn't. Although the alcohol had helped. Reaching out the window to butt the cigarette stub against the bricks, he wondered if he might still be slightly drunk. Not that it really mattered.
Even after he had closed the window, Jin still felt the cold as it had settled into his skin. He shivered indulgently and paced back over to the bed, bare feet moving silently, sitting down on the edge carefully so as to not wake the sleeping boy. It was so tempting, though, the thought of creeping across the sheets and wrapping himself around that warm body...
Jin realized with a sickening jolt that he was indeed still slightly drunk, or at least he hoped he was, because he couldn't imagine any other reason he was allowing himself to acknowledge his underlying motivation for letting things go as far as they had. (Not that he regretted a single moment of it, of course.) He'd always disliked Ryo, possibly to the point of hating the arrogant boy, and possessing Uchi for the evening had felt like taking something from him. It felt like revenge. Uchi had tasted like caramel and sin, and Jin was inclined to believe that that was what was referred to as the sweet taste of revenge.
Lost in his own sense of retribution, Jin decided that having taken something from Ryo wasn't enough. Ryo had to know about it. Telling him outright wouldn't be enough -- that was too forward, and too arbitrary. It needed to be something subtler.
He paced the room silently, thinking it over as he retrieved his clothing from where it had been recklessly discarded. After dressing himself, he returned to his position on the bed, this time with his knees on the edge, leaning over Uchi.
Yes, that would do it...
With admirably deliberate movements, Jin carefully undid the clasp of the delicate golden chain that adorned the boy's neck. Uchi's eyelids fluttered softly and his hand groped at the place the gold and indigo orb had rested. His heart in his throat, Jin took Uchi's hand in his, squeezing his fingers gently. Uchi nuzzled into the pillow, a contented half-smile lighting on his lips, and he fell still again. Feeling the faintest tinge of guilt, Jin leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to the boy's temple. Reluctantly releasing his hand, he stepped off of the bed and headed for the exit. Just before reaching the door, he paused long enough to move the golden chain from his palm to his throat, twisting deliberately in the action to catch a parting glimpse of the naked boy sleeping so peacefully.
He had a feeling it would be a while before he could sleep that peacefully himself.