fic; kismet
Title: Kismet
Pairing: Ryo/Shige
Rating: PG-13
Summary: They walk slowly, unrushed, taking all the time in the world and so much more, just the two of them and the darkening sky and the glittered snowflakes that fill in their footprints behind them.
Author’s Note: I have no idea what this is at all. But here, a holiday present for you all. :) Idk if it’s even worth being called a present because presents should be good and this is not. Uhm, slightly AU, in the futuristic sense. Post-NewS in which Shige’s a lawyer, and Ryo’s an actor. I just started writing a scene and these little pieces of this fic was born; I reordered it from the original to have some resemblance to an actual story. Though it’s still a little hard to see. Maybe if you squint? And tilt your head? I’m sorry. Brain=dead. Creativity=shot. Ignore me. I’m going to go hide now. Maybe you’ll like it. :)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE. ILU. ♥
They meet again in a corner coffee shop, one of those quaint, quiet places that lets them clear their heads. Ryo recognizes him almost instantly, how could he not? The man he’d worked with for over ten years, and now one of the most up and coming lawyers in Japan’s legal circle. He smiles, tries to remember how long it’d been since he last saw him; must have been just after NewS’ mutual breakup a few years ago. Downing the last of his drink, he heads over to the corner booth, knocks his knuckles against the younger man’s head.
“I see you got rid of that stupid haircut you always used to have,” he greets, and when Shige turns around to look at him, it’s with shock and excitement mixed in his eyes.
“Nishikido-kun!” he exclaims, jumping to his feet and greeting Ryo with a short quick hug and Ryo ignores the voice in his head that whines at how soon he let go.
“I’ve told you to call me Ryo a hundred times, Shige,” he says, slides into the booth across from Shige.
Shige smiles guility. “Old habits are hard to break,” he replies and grinning, looks Ryo up and down. “You look good! W-We haven’t talked for a long time, huh? How’ve you been?”
Ryo rests his chin in his palm, his elbow on the edge of the table, and meets Shige’s excited gaze with his own soft, warm one. “I’m great,” he answers. “Really great.”
And when Shige’s grins widens, lighting up his whole face, eyes shining and cheeks tainted pink, Ryo knows that if he wasn’t great five minutes ago, he most definitely was now.
*
Ryo jumps to his feet as Shige walks up to him, wipes his hands on the front of his jeans and forces the odd nervous lump in his throat down.
“Nishikido-kun, hi!” Shige greets him, grinning.
Instead of replying, Ryo punches him on the shoulder. “I’ve told you. It’s Ryo, okay?” he says.
Shige smiles softly. “Yeah, I know. You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Ryo shoves his hands into his coat pockets. “Of course I’m right,” he says, starts walking down the sidewalk, Shige catching up quickly and grabbing Ryo’s elbow to keep from being separated. Ryo stops and stares down at where Shige was holding him.
“Oh, sorry!” Shige exclaims, flustered, pulilng back and staring intently at a spot on the pavement.
Ryo chucklets, grabs Shige’s sleeve and pulls as he starts walking again. “Idiot,” he says affectionately. “Come on.”
“W-Where are we going?” Shige asks a little breathlessly.
Ryo shrugs. “I don’t know yet,” he says, fingers tightening on Shige’s sleeve. “Does that bother you?”
Shige shakes his head. “Not really.”
“Good.”
“But,” Shige starts, eyes bright as he glances at Ryo. “I am thirsty.”
“What, am I supposed to buy you some?”
“That’s usually how dates work, isn’t it?”
Ryo stops in his tracks, fingers slip from Shige’s sleeve, his eyes widening. “D-Date?”
Shige gives Ryo a sad look. “Has it been that long since you’ve been on a date, Ryo?” he teases, shaking his head solemnly. “Have you forgotten what it is?”
Ryo splutters indignantly. “I know what a date is, moron!”
“Then prove it,” Shige challenges, all mischief and toothy grin.
A smile tugs at Ryo’s lips, and he grabs Shige’s hand this time, squeezing it briefly as he leans in close, breath hot against Shige’s ear. “I’ll show you,” he says.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Shige replies, flicking his eyes to meet Ryo’s, grinning warmly, and Ryo forgets momentarily everything else in the world except Shige, and him, and this wonderful, wonderful moment with just the two of them.
*
“I like this one,” Shige says, presses a finger against the glass and smiling as he stares at the watch. “It’s nice, don’t you think?”
Ryo watches Shige instead, grinning amusedly, until Shige turns and looks up at him, pouting and standing his full height, his hand dropping from the glass, a small fingerprint smudge still visible in the light.
“What?” Shige demands and Ryo shrugs, shaking his head.
“Nothing,” he insists, then shoves rudely past Shige to examine the watch. “This one, you said?” He puts his finger in the exact same spot and peers at the expensive accessory.
Shige nods, glances at Ryo’s face, then turns and looks off into the rest of the mall. “But it’s not a big deal. We’ve got lots of shopping left to do. Oh, look, there’s that chocolate shop I’ve been looking for. Let’s go, Ryo.”
Ryo suppresses a laugh and as Shige heads over to the other shop, Ryo turns to an employee, points at the watch and says, “This one, please.”
*
“I’ve read about all of your cases,” Ryo confesses, jerking his hands to the right as he tries to bypass Shige’s cart on the screen.
“Really?” Shige says, tapping buttons hurriedly on the controllers to catch up.
“Yeah,” Ryo replies, a bit embarrassed. “You’ve been making quite a name of yourself, Lawyer Shige.”
Shige laughs. “I’ve only been doing my job,” he says easily.
“Is it hard?”
“Some days,” Shige admits. “But I really like it. It challenges me everyday and it’s never boring.”
“You look good. It seems like it was a good choice for you.”
Shige glances at Ryo from the side, stares just a moment too long and Ryo races right past him, crosses the finishing line.
“I win!” Ryo shouts, throwing his hands into the air, the controller flying and knocking over his can of beer all over the white carpet.
“You lose,” Shige amends, snickering as Ryo hastily runs to clean up the mess, shooting Shige a glare as he heads to the closet for a towel.
He comes back and starts rubbing at the stain, but Shige grabs the towel and says, “No, don’t do it like that. It won’t come off. Do you have any stain remover stuff?”
Ryo nods and runs back to the closet, returns with a bottle that Shige takes from him and sprays onto the stain. Ryo stares at him, says, “You don’t have to do this.”
Shige just laughs. “It’s no big deal. My last girlfriend was crazy about this kind of stuff.” He shrugs. “I learned how to take care of messes.”
Ryo stills, searches Shige’s face, then leans back against the foot of the couch and teases, “You have a girlfriend?”
Shige rolls his eyes, swats Ryo’s knee with the towel. “Yes. Well, had a girlfriend. We broke up earlier this year.” He scrubs harder on the stain.
“Why?” Ryo asks.
Shige shrugs again, glances up at Ryo and replies, “She wasn’t really what I was looking for, I guess. Besides, it’s hard to be in a relationship when your boyfriend spends all day having a love affair with the courtroom.”
Ryo chuckles. “Good point.”
“There,” Shige says, gives the carpet one final rub. “It’s gone.” He hands the supplies back to Ryo, who grabs them with a grin.
“Thank you, Cinderella,” he says, pats Shige on the head.
Laughing, Shige grabs his own beer and takes a sip. “If I’m Cinderella, that’d make you the evil Stepmother.”
Ryo makes a scandalized noise, slams the closet door shut and says with a highly mock-sophisticated voice, “I think of myself as Prince Charming.”
Shige snorts. “Nah, the evil Stepmother suits you better.”
Ryo smacks his head as he passes by, sits back down next to him and nudges Shige in the ribs with an elbow. “But if I were Prince Charming, and you were Cinderella, it might get kind of awkward.”
“Why’s that?” Shige asks, eyes on the screen as they start another game.
“Because then that’d require you to fall in love with me,” Ryo replies easily, swerving past Shige’s cart as the younger boy stills beside him.
Shige glances at Ryo from the corner of his eyes, then grinning, speeds up and races past Ryo’s cart. “That might not be so bad,” he says a few moments later and when Ryo’s cart slows down, Shige crosses the finishing line.
*
Shige reaches for the guitar in the corner of the room, lets his fingers strum the strings. “Do you still play?” he asks, turns around to Ryo who’s busy reading a script.
“Oh, yeah. All the time,” Ryo replies. “I play with Jin and Yasu sometimes.”
Shige nods, looks thoughtful. “Do you mind if I…”
“No, go ahead,” Ryo says, sets his script down to watch Shige pull the guitar out of its stand and place it on his lap, fingers carefully plucking at the strings, tense as they remember chords. “You haven’t been playing much, have you?”
Shige shakes his head guiltily. “Kind of hard with my schedule,” he says. “I wish I had more time to do it.” He plays a few chords, hands shaky as they work the instrument. A moment later he laughs and shakes his head again, this time in dismay. “Been too long, I can’t do this anymore.” He hands the guitar back to Ryo, grins, and adds, “Play something.”
Ryo’s eyes widen and he looks embarrassed. “N-No, that’s just, no, Shige.”
“Aw, come on, Ryo,” Shige says. “It’s not a big deal. Just play something. Anything. Have you written anything new? I want to hear.”
Ryo clutches the guitar tightly in his hands and stares hard at Shige who’s eyes are shining in mischief and interest and Ryo sighs. “Fine,” he says, resigned. He positions the guitar properly on his lap, left hand moves into a few chords as the right strums. He plays a few notes then slides into a song, the melody familiar to them both, the music a little softer than normal that has the tension immediately dissipitating.
Shige laughs as he smacks Ryo playfully on the shoulder, slides down onto his side on the couch to watch Ryo play. “You always did have some obsession with Kakao,” Shige says, both amused and embarrassed.
Ryo grins at him, eyes teasing as he glances up at Shige, then back to focus on the chords. “What can I say?” Ryo replies after a moment. “It’s a good song.”
Shige just shakes his head and listens as Ryo finishes the song, blending the last few notes skillfully into the next piece that he starts up, a quieter melody that he recognizes immediately.
“That’s ordinary, isn’t it?” he asks as Ryo moves into the chorus.
“You remember it?” Ryo says, pleased.
“It’s a good song,” Shige replies easily, grinning, as he softly sings the words under his breath.
Ryo looks up at him, continues playing the song, fingers strumming harder, notes bouncing off the walls the only noise in the room. His smile slowly vanishes as his gaze follows along Shige’s face, taking in the slope of his cheeks, the curve of his lips moving along with the words, the intensity in his eyes when they meet Ryo’s. The notes he plays start to slow down, fingers falling limp against the guitar as he leans in close.
Shige stops singing. “R-Ryo?” he breathes.
Ryo kisses him, and even without the music playing in the background, the next words of the song play in his mind, his heart beating loudly in his chest.
Aishiteru. Aishiteru.
*
“Are you sure you want me here?” Ryo asks.
Shige laughs. “Ryo, you’ve asked me that over ten times now. The answer will always be yes.”
Ryo sighs. “But I just feel like I might be bothering you,” he says. “You’re working on an important case and I’m-”
“Keeping me sane,” Shige interrupts, putting his pencil down and looking up at Ryo. It’s dark outside and within the rest of the office, the only light from the lamps in Shige’s room. Ryo had stopped by to take Shige to dinner, but Shige had been too wrapped up in work to leave and instead, Ryo had stayed. “Seriously, Ryo,” Shige continues. “You’re not bothering me. You’ve got your script, you’ve been sitting and reading and it’s fine.”
“But-”
“No,” Shige interjects again, points his pencil at Ryo with a mock-glare. “I like having you here, okay? I want you here.” Embarrassed, he shrugs, lowers his pencil and draws a few lines on the corner of his notebook. “It must be some repressed feeling from being in NewS, you know. Working with you feels natural. Relaxing.”
Ryo stares at him, a strange pleasant feeling twists in his belly, and Shige sighs, rolls his eyes. “If you want to leave, then fine, I won’t stop you, but-”
“I-I didn’t say I wanted to leave,” Ryo says quickly and Shige grins.
“Then there’s no problem, is there?”
Ryo sighs, defeated. “No, there isn’t. I just didn’t want to disrupt you.”
“Ryo,” Shige says. “If you feel like you’re interfering, then here, go get me some coffee.”
“I am not your bitch,” Ryo replies, glaring, and Shige laughs.
“There, that sounds like you,” Shige says, smiling. “Are you going to stop being irritatingly concernd about me now? Read your script and memorize your lines. What’re you acting as now? Something better than a high school delinquent or a cop or a host this time right? Because those were okay roles but-”
“You’ve watched my dramas?” Ryo interrupts, smirking.
Shige flushes, drops his pencil. “I-I may have seen a few episodes of a couple of them.”
“I thought you didn’t have time to watch dramas,” Ryo questions, the smirk not fading.
“I-I don’t, that’s why I-I’ve only seen a few episodes-Okay, fine. I’ve watched your dramas, happy?”
“How many?”
“…A-All of them.”
Ryo’s smirk widens.
“Not because of you,” Shige says quickly, but they both know he’s lying. “You have good co-stars, too, you know.”
“If you wanted to see me act so badly, Shige, all you had to do was ask. I’d have been happy to show you how to use acting to spice up your unbelievably boring lawyer life and--ouch, did you just throw a pencil at me?”
Shige ignores him. “Maybe you should leave after all. I’m starting to get a migraine. It’s one of those things I don’t miss from being with NewS.”
“Oh, very funny,” Ryo replies, getting to his feet and walking up to Shige’s desk. He pokes Shige in the chest with the eraser end of the pencil, puts his free hand on the edge of the desk and leans in close. “I think you watched all of my dramas because you secretly like me.”
Shige smiles, pushes the pencil away. “And I think that’s the same reason you read about all of my cases.”
Ryo drops the pencil onto Shige’s notebook. “Touche,” he says, turns back to his seat and picking up his script. “And for your information, I’m a teacher this time.”
“Teaching what? How to overcome height issues?” Shige laughs until Ryo’s script hits him in the head.
*
“It’s snowing!” Shige exclaims, rushing out onto the balcony, hands clasping the railing and peering out at the soft crystal flakes that dot the sky.
“You are such a girl,” Ryo remarks, joining him and dropping Shige’s sweater over his head. “Don’t catch a cold.”
Shige just smiles at him, pulls the sweater on and stares at the snow for awhile longer. Then he turns to Ryo and asks, “When do you have to be at work?”
Ryo glances at his watch. “In two hours.”
Shige grabs his hand. “Take a walk with me?”
Ryo stares at him and says, “Sure.”
It’s cold outside, but they walk close together, shoulders touching, feeling the heat from each other, enough to keep warm. The streets are empty, slowly being enveloped by a thin later of snow. They walk slowly, unrushed, taking all the time in the world and so much more, just the two of them and the darkening sky and the glittered snowflakes that fill in their footprints behind them.
They make their way through the nearby park, void of any other presence, the snow a sheet of shimmering ivory under the lampposts. Shige takes off a head of Ryo, staring up at the heavens with a bright smile that has Ryo’s entire body warm just from watching. He’s so entranced that the first hit doesn’t even register and it’s only when the second snowball goes right for his cheek does he jump back to reality, facing a laughing Shige dusting snow off this gloves.
“Bastard,” Ryo exclaims. “That was cold!”
Shige just laughs good-naturedly, then shrieks as Ryo chases after him, snow in his hand and preparing to aim. He gets Shige square in the back, then ducks as Shige retaliates. Shige starts running again when Ryo grabs another handful of snow and catches up, pulling Shige by the elbow and about to shove the snow down the back of his coat when they both simultaneously slip on an ice patch and fall upon the grass.
“Dammit, Ryo, you’re heavy,” Shige’s saying between uncontrollable giggles and all Ryo can do is nudge his side in response, laughing as well and unable to stop.
As their laughter dies down Ryo brushes the hair from Shige’s eyes, dusts the snow away. He grins at him, leaning up on his knees, and says, “Come on, you’re definitely going to catch a cold if you keep laying in the snow.”
He makes to stand, but Shige grabs his hand, pulls him back down, and Ryo notices the sudden seriousness in his eyes. “What?” he asks, concerned, but then Shige shakes his head and smiles.
“I think I might be in love with you,” Shige breathes then.
Ryo laughs. “You think?”
“I’m still waiting for the sane half of my brain to come tell me I’m-”
Shige makes a soft surprised noise as Ryo kisses him, right there in snow, in the middle of the park. The lamp posts cast a bright glow upon them, snowflakes falling slowly about them, shimmering against the dark sky, and they stay there until their teeth start to chatter and kissing becomes impossible, and laughing, Ryo drags Shige up to his feet, brushes the snow off his back.
As they head back to Ryo’s apartment, Shige stammers, “Let’s never do that again.”
“What? The snow or the kissing?” Ryo teases, already knows the answer.
“The kissing in the snow,” Shige clarifies.
“Yes, most definitely not one your better ideas.”
“Mine?” Shige says. “You kissed me!”
Ryo waves a hand in dismissal. “Mere technicalities,” he says as he unlocks the door to the apartment.
Shige rolls his eyes, pulls off his shoes. He turns to Ryo and asks, “How much time do you have now?”
“Enough time,” Ryo replies, grabbing Shige by the hips and pulling him close. He grins. “I think I have the perfect way for us to get warm, Shige,” he says brightly.
Shige merely shakes his head, wraps his arms around Ryo’s waist, fingers clutching Ryo’s back, and says into Ryo’s mouth, “I bet you do.”
*
He wakes and is welcomed by early morning haze, simmering sunlight that tickles his eyelashes and warms his cheeks. Unable to stop the soft smile that spreads across his lips, Ryo turns and stretches his limbs the length of the bed, feels his body waking up to the movements and sighs contently as he recoils. Settling onto his side, his smile widens as he peers down at the fluttering eyes of the person beside him, peaking out from beneath sheets pulled up to his nose.
Ryo leans in a presses a kiss to the other’s forehead, brushes his hair from his face. “Good morning,” he says, voice like hot chocolate.
Shige returns his smile, tilts his head into Ryo’s touch as the other traces his fingers along Shige’s cheeks. “Morning,” he replies.
“What, not a good morning?” Ryo questions, sinking into the sheets, resting his head on the pillow just perfectly so he can look straight into Shige’s eyes.
Shige shakes his head, glances away and Ryo can tell he’s embarrassed. “No, it’s a great, spectacular, wonderful morning.” He shifts his gaze back to Ryo. “But that doesn’t roll off the tongue nearly as well.”
Laughing, Ryo pulls Shige close and kisses him full on the mouth.
end.
Pairing: Ryo/Shige
Rating: PG-13
Summary: They walk slowly, unrushed, taking all the time in the world and so much more, just the two of them and the darkening sky and the glittered snowflakes that fill in their footprints behind them.
Author’s Note: I have no idea what this is at all. But here, a holiday present for you all. :) Idk if it’s even worth being called a present because presents should be good and this is not. Uhm, slightly AU, in the futuristic sense. Post-NewS in which Shige’s a lawyer, and Ryo’s an actor. I just started writing a scene and these little pieces of this fic was born; I reordered it from the original to have some resemblance to an actual story. Though it’s still a little hard to see. Maybe if you squint? And tilt your head? I’m sorry. Brain=dead. Creativity=shot. Ignore me. I’m going to go hide now. Maybe you’ll like it. :)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE. ILU. ♥
They meet again in a corner coffee shop, one of those quaint, quiet places that lets them clear their heads. Ryo recognizes him almost instantly, how could he not? The man he’d worked with for over ten years, and now one of the most up and coming lawyers in Japan’s legal circle. He smiles, tries to remember how long it’d been since he last saw him; must have been just after NewS’ mutual breakup a few years ago. Downing the last of his drink, he heads over to the corner booth, knocks his knuckles against the younger man’s head.
“I see you got rid of that stupid haircut you always used to have,” he greets, and when Shige turns around to look at him, it’s with shock and excitement mixed in his eyes.
“Nishikido-kun!” he exclaims, jumping to his feet and greeting Ryo with a short quick hug and Ryo ignores the voice in his head that whines at how soon he let go.
“I’ve told you to call me Ryo a hundred times, Shige,” he says, slides into the booth across from Shige.
Shige smiles guility. “Old habits are hard to break,” he replies and grinning, looks Ryo up and down. “You look good! W-We haven’t talked for a long time, huh? How’ve you been?”
Ryo rests his chin in his palm, his elbow on the edge of the table, and meets Shige’s excited gaze with his own soft, warm one. “I’m great,” he answers. “Really great.”
And when Shige’s grins widens, lighting up his whole face, eyes shining and cheeks tainted pink, Ryo knows that if he wasn’t great five minutes ago, he most definitely was now.
*
Ryo jumps to his feet as Shige walks up to him, wipes his hands on the front of his jeans and forces the odd nervous lump in his throat down.
“Nishikido-kun, hi!” Shige greets him, grinning.
Instead of replying, Ryo punches him on the shoulder. “I’ve told you. It’s Ryo, okay?” he says.
Shige smiles softly. “Yeah, I know. You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Ryo shoves his hands into his coat pockets. “Of course I’m right,” he says, starts walking down the sidewalk, Shige catching up quickly and grabbing Ryo’s elbow to keep from being separated. Ryo stops and stares down at where Shige was holding him.
“Oh, sorry!” Shige exclaims, flustered, pulilng back and staring intently at a spot on the pavement.
Ryo chucklets, grabs Shige’s sleeve and pulls as he starts walking again. “Idiot,” he says affectionately. “Come on.”
“W-Where are we going?” Shige asks a little breathlessly.
Ryo shrugs. “I don’t know yet,” he says, fingers tightening on Shige’s sleeve. “Does that bother you?”
Shige shakes his head. “Not really.”
“Good.”
“But,” Shige starts, eyes bright as he glances at Ryo. “I am thirsty.”
“What, am I supposed to buy you some?”
“That’s usually how dates work, isn’t it?”
Ryo stops in his tracks, fingers slip from Shige’s sleeve, his eyes widening. “D-Date?”
Shige gives Ryo a sad look. “Has it been that long since you’ve been on a date, Ryo?” he teases, shaking his head solemnly. “Have you forgotten what it is?”
Ryo splutters indignantly. “I know what a date is, moron!”
“Then prove it,” Shige challenges, all mischief and toothy grin.
A smile tugs at Ryo’s lips, and he grabs Shige’s hand this time, squeezing it briefly as he leans in close, breath hot against Shige’s ear. “I’ll show you,” he says.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Shige replies, flicking his eyes to meet Ryo’s, grinning warmly, and Ryo forgets momentarily everything else in the world except Shige, and him, and this wonderful, wonderful moment with just the two of them.
*
“I like this one,” Shige says, presses a finger against the glass and smiling as he stares at the watch. “It’s nice, don’t you think?”
Ryo watches Shige instead, grinning amusedly, until Shige turns and looks up at him, pouting and standing his full height, his hand dropping from the glass, a small fingerprint smudge still visible in the light.
“What?” Shige demands and Ryo shrugs, shaking his head.
“Nothing,” he insists, then shoves rudely past Shige to examine the watch. “This one, you said?” He puts his finger in the exact same spot and peers at the expensive accessory.
Shige nods, glances at Ryo’s face, then turns and looks off into the rest of the mall. “But it’s not a big deal. We’ve got lots of shopping left to do. Oh, look, there’s that chocolate shop I’ve been looking for. Let’s go, Ryo.”
Ryo suppresses a laugh and as Shige heads over to the other shop, Ryo turns to an employee, points at the watch and says, “This one, please.”
*
“I’ve read about all of your cases,” Ryo confesses, jerking his hands to the right as he tries to bypass Shige’s cart on the screen.
“Really?” Shige says, tapping buttons hurriedly on the controllers to catch up.
“Yeah,” Ryo replies, a bit embarrassed. “You’ve been making quite a name of yourself, Lawyer Shige.”
Shige laughs. “I’ve only been doing my job,” he says easily.
“Is it hard?”
“Some days,” Shige admits. “But I really like it. It challenges me everyday and it’s never boring.”
“You look good. It seems like it was a good choice for you.”
Shige glances at Ryo from the side, stares just a moment too long and Ryo races right past him, crosses the finishing line.
“I win!” Ryo shouts, throwing his hands into the air, the controller flying and knocking over his can of beer all over the white carpet.
“You lose,” Shige amends, snickering as Ryo hastily runs to clean up the mess, shooting Shige a glare as he heads to the closet for a towel.
He comes back and starts rubbing at the stain, but Shige grabs the towel and says, “No, don’t do it like that. It won’t come off. Do you have any stain remover stuff?”
Ryo nods and runs back to the closet, returns with a bottle that Shige takes from him and sprays onto the stain. Ryo stares at him, says, “You don’t have to do this.”
Shige just laughs. “It’s no big deal. My last girlfriend was crazy about this kind of stuff.” He shrugs. “I learned how to take care of messes.”
Ryo stills, searches Shige’s face, then leans back against the foot of the couch and teases, “You have a girlfriend?”
Shige rolls his eyes, swats Ryo’s knee with the towel. “Yes. Well, had a girlfriend. We broke up earlier this year.” He scrubs harder on the stain.
“Why?” Ryo asks.
Shige shrugs again, glances up at Ryo and replies, “She wasn’t really what I was looking for, I guess. Besides, it’s hard to be in a relationship when your boyfriend spends all day having a love affair with the courtroom.”
Ryo chuckles. “Good point.”
“There,” Shige says, gives the carpet one final rub. “It’s gone.” He hands the supplies back to Ryo, who grabs them with a grin.
“Thank you, Cinderella,” he says, pats Shige on the head.
Laughing, Shige grabs his own beer and takes a sip. “If I’m Cinderella, that’d make you the evil Stepmother.”
Ryo makes a scandalized noise, slams the closet door shut and says with a highly mock-sophisticated voice, “I think of myself as Prince Charming.”
Shige snorts. “Nah, the evil Stepmother suits you better.”
Ryo smacks his head as he passes by, sits back down next to him and nudges Shige in the ribs with an elbow. “But if I were Prince Charming, and you were Cinderella, it might get kind of awkward.”
“Why’s that?” Shige asks, eyes on the screen as they start another game.
“Because then that’d require you to fall in love with me,” Ryo replies easily, swerving past Shige’s cart as the younger boy stills beside him.
Shige glances at Ryo from the corner of his eyes, then grinning, speeds up and races past Ryo’s cart. “That might not be so bad,” he says a few moments later and when Ryo’s cart slows down, Shige crosses the finishing line.
*
Shige reaches for the guitar in the corner of the room, lets his fingers strum the strings. “Do you still play?” he asks, turns around to Ryo who’s busy reading a script.
“Oh, yeah. All the time,” Ryo replies. “I play with Jin and Yasu sometimes.”
Shige nods, looks thoughtful. “Do you mind if I…”
“No, go ahead,” Ryo says, sets his script down to watch Shige pull the guitar out of its stand and place it on his lap, fingers carefully plucking at the strings, tense as they remember chords. “You haven’t been playing much, have you?”
Shige shakes his head guiltily. “Kind of hard with my schedule,” he says. “I wish I had more time to do it.” He plays a few chords, hands shaky as they work the instrument. A moment later he laughs and shakes his head again, this time in dismay. “Been too long, I can’t do this anymore.” He hands the guitar back to Ryo, grins, and adds, “Play something.”
Ryo’s eyes widen and he looks embarrassed. “N-No, that’s just, no, Shige.”
“Aw, come on, Ryo,” Shige says. “It’s not a big deal. Just play something. Anything. Have you written anything new? I want to hear.”
Ryo clutches the guitar tightly in his hands and stares hard at Shige who’s eyes are shining in mischief and interest and Ryo sighs. “Fine,” he says, resigned. He positions the guitar properly on his lap, left hand moves into a few chords as the right strums. He plays a few notes then slides into a song, the melody familiar to them both, the music a little softer than normal that has the tension immediately dissipitating.
Shige laughs as he smacks Ryo playfully on the shoulder, slides down onto his side on the couch to watch Ryo play. “You always did have some obsession with Kakao,” Shige says, both amused and embarrassed.
Ryo grins at him, eyes teasing as he glances up at Shige, then back to focus on the chords. “What can I say?” Ryo replies after a moment. “It’s a good song.”
Shige just shakes his head and listens as Ryo finishes the song, blending the last few notes skillfully into the next piece that he starts up, a quieter melody that he recognizes immediately.
“That’s ordinary, isn’t it?” he asks as Ryo moves into the chorus.
“You remember it?” Ryo says, pleased.
“It’s a good song,” Shige replies easily, grinning, as he softly sings the words under his breath.
Ryo looks up at him, continues playing the song, fingers strumming harder, notes bouncing off the walls the only noise in the room. His smile slowly vanishes as his gaze follows along Shige’s face, taking in the slope of his cheeks, the curve of his lips moving along with the words, the intensity in his eyes when they meet Ryo’s. The notes he plays start to slow down, fingers falling limp against the guitar as he leans in close.
Shige stops singing. “R-Ryo?” he breathes.
Ryo kisses him, and even without the music playing in the background, the next words of the song play in his mind, his heart beating loudly in his chest.
Aishiteru. Aishiteru.
*
“Are you sure you want me here?” Ryo asks.
Shige laughs. “Ryo, you’ve asked me that over ten times now. The answer will always be yes.”
Ryo sighs. “But I just feel like I might be bothering you,” he says. “You’re working on an important case and I’m-”
“Keeping me sane,” Shige interrupts, putting his pencil down and looking up at Ryo. It’s dark outside and within the rest of the office, the only light from the lamps in Shige’s room. Ryo had stopped by to take Shige to dinner, but Shige had been too wrapped up in work to leave and instead, Ryo had stayed. “Seriously, Ryo,” Shige continues. “You’re not bothering me. You’ve got your script, you’ve been sitting and reading and it’s fine.”
“But-”
“No,” Shige interjects again, points his pencil at Ryo with a mock-glare. “I like having you here, okay? I want you here.” Embarrassed, he shrugs, lowers his pencil and draws a few lines on the corner of his notebook. “It must be some repressed feeling from being in NewS, you know. Working with you feels natural. Relaxing.”
Ryo stares at him, a strange pleasant feeling twists in his belly, and Shige sighs, rolls his eyes. “If you want to leave, then fine, I won’t stop you, but-”
“I-I didn’t say I wanted to leave,” Ryo says quickly and Shige grins.
“Then there’s no problem, is there?”
Ryo sighs, defeated. “No, there isn’t. I just didn’t want to disrupt you.”
“Ryo,” Shige says. “If you feel like you’re interfering, then here, go get me some coffee.”
“I am not your bitch,” Ryo replies, glaring, and Shige laughs.
“There, that sounds like you,” Shige says, smiling. “Are you going to stop being irritatingly concernd about me now? Read your script and memorize your lines. What’re you acting as now? Something better than a high school delinquent or a cop or a host this time right? Because those were okay roles but-”
“You’ve watched my dramas?” Ryo interrupts, smirking.
Shige flushes, drops his pencil. “I-I may have seen a few episodes of a couple of them.”
“I thought you didn’t have time to watch dramas,” Ryo questions, the smirk not fading.
“I-I don’t, that’s why I-I’ve only seen a few episodes-Okay, fine. I’ve watched your dramas, happy?”
“How many?”
“…A-All of them.”
Ryo’s smirk widens.
“Not because of you,” Shige says quickly, but they both know he’s lying. “You have good co-stars, too, you know.”
“If you wanted to see me act so badly, Shige, all you had to do was ask. I’d have been happy to show you how to use acting to spice up your unbelievably boring lawyer life and--ouch, did you just throw a pencil at me?”
Shige ignores him. “Maybe you should leave after all. I’m starting to get a migraine. It’s one of those things I don’t miss from being with NewS.”
“Oh, very funny,” Ryo replies, getting to his feet and walking up to Shige’s desk. He pokes Shige in the chest with the eraser end of the pencil, puts his free hand on the edge of the desk and leans in close. “I think you watched all of my dramas because you secretly like me.”
Shige smiles, pushes the pencil away. “And I think that’s the same reason you read about all of my cases.”
Ryo drops the pencil onto Shige’s notebook. “Touche,” he says, turns back to his seat and picking up his script. “And for your information, I’m a teacher this time.”
“Teaching what? How to overcome height issues?” Shige laughs until Ryo’s script hits him in the head.
*
“It’s snowing!” Shige exclaims, rushing out onto the balcony, hands clasping the railing and peering out at the soft crystal flakes that dot the sky.
“You are such a girl,” Ryo remarks, joining him and dropping Shige’s sweater over his head. “Don’t catch a cold.”
Shige just smiles at him, pulls the sweater on and stares at the snow for awhile longer. Then he turns to Ryo and asks, “When do you have to be at work?”
Ryo glances at his watch. “In two hours.”
Shige grabs his hand. “Take a walk with me?”
Ryo stares at him and says, “Sure.”
It’s cold outside, but they walk close together, shoulders touching, feeling the heat from each other, enough to keep warm. The streets are empty, slowly being enveloped by a thin later of snow. They walk slowly, unrushed, taking all the time in the world and so much more, just the two of them and the darkening sky and the glittered snowflakes that fill in their footprints behind them.
They make their way through the nearby park, void of any other presence, the snow a sheet of shimmering ivory under the lampposts. Shige takes off a head of Ryo, staring up at the heavens with a bright smile that has Ryo’s entire body warm just from watching. He’s so entranced that the first hit doesn’t even register and it’s only when the second snowball goes right for his cheek does he jump back to reality, facing a laughing Shige dusting snow off this gloves.
“Bastard,” Ryo exclaims. “That was cold!”
Shige just laughs good-naturedly, then shrieks as Ryo chases after him, snow in his hand and preparing to aim. He gets Shige square in the back, then ducks as Shige retaliates. Shige starts running again when Ryo grabs another handful of snow and catches up, pulling Shige by the elbow and about to shove the snow down the back of his coat when they both simultaneously slip on an ice patch and fall upon the grass.
“Dammit, Ryo, you’re heavy,” Shige’s saying between uncontrollable giggles and all Ryo can do is nudge his side in response, laughing as well and unable to stop.
As their laughter dies down Ryo brushes the hair from Shige’s eyes, dusts the snow away. He grins at him, leaning up on his knees, and says, “Come on, you’re definitely going to catch a cold if you keep laying in the snow.”
He makes to stand, but Shige grabs his hand, pulls him back down, and Ryo notices the sudden seriousness in his eyes. “What?” he asks, concerned, but then Shige shakes his head and smiles.
“I think I might be in love with you,” Shige breathes then.
Ryo laughs. “You think?”
“I’m still waiting for the sane half of my brain to come tell me I’m-”
Shige makes a soft surprised noise as Ryo kisses him, right there in snow, in the middle of the park. The lamp posts cast a bright glow upon them, snowflakes falling slowly about them, shimmering against the dark sky, and they stay there until their teeth start to chatter and kissing becomes impossible, and laughing, Ryo drags Shige up to his feet, brushes the snow off his back.
As they head back to Ryo’s apartment, Shige stammers, “Let’s never do that again.”
“What? The snow or the kissing?” Ryo teases, already knows the answer.
“The kissing in the snow,” Shige clarifies.
“Yes, most definitely not one your better ideas.”
“Mine?” Shige says. “You kissed me!”
Ryo waves a hand in dismissal. “Mere technicalities,” he says as he unlocks the door to the apartment.
Shige rolls his eyes, pulls off his shoes. He turns to Ryo and asks, “How much time do you have now?”
“Enough time,” Ryo replies, grabbing Shige by the hips and pulling him close. He grins. “I think I have the perfect way for us to get warm, Shige,” he says brightly.
Shige merely shakes his head, wraps his arms around Ryo’s waist, fingers clutching Ryo’s back, and says into Ryo’s mouth, “I bet you do.”
*
He wakes and is welcomed by early morning haze, simmering sunlight that tickles his eyelashes and warms his cheeks. Unable to stop the soft smile that spreads across his lips, Ryo turns and stretches his limbs the length of the bed, feels his body waking up to the movements and sighs contently as he recoils. Settling onto his side, his smile widens as he peers down at the fluttering eyes of the person beside him, peaking out from beneath sheets pulled up to his nose.
Ryo leans in a presses a kiss to the other’s forehead, brushes his hair from his face. “Good morning,” he says, voice like hot chocolate.
Shige returns his smile, tilts his head into Ryo’s touch as the other traces his fingers along Shige’s cheeks. “Morning,” he replies.
“What, not a good morning?” Ryo questions, sinking into the sheets, resting his head on the pillow just perfectly so he can look straight into Shige’s eyes.
Shige shakes his head, glances away and Ryo can tell he’s embarrassed. “No, it’s a great, spectacular, wonderful morning.” He shifts his gaze back to Ryo. “But that doesn’t roll off the tongue nearly as well.”
Laughing, Ryo pulls Shige close and kisses him full on the mouth.
end.