fic; escape
Title: Escape
Pairing: Yamapi/Koyama, lots of Ryo/Pi/Jin friendship
Rating: NC-17 (only for one scene, which you can skip, otherwise it’s pretty much PG for kissing).
Summary: Under the hot sun in Hawaii, with the waves rolling along the shore, Yamapi meets the one person that finally lets him escape.
Author’s Note: For the anonmeme, requested here. Prompt: It's Hawaii, the sun is high in the sky and the saturation of colors is almost blinding. Koyama tries to cheer Yamapi up (for whatever reason he has to angst over), only his poor English skills means that he winds up being employed by the hotel manager as the cabana/pool boy who likes pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.
9,459 words, omg my longest fic to date. D: Also, AU. Because it’s all I could do for this. Idk how much English Pi and Koyama actually know, so lets pretend they’re able to get away with the convos I have in the beginning. :Dv And the receptionist calls Koyama “Kei” because it’s America. First names over last, remember. (and because typing “Keiichiro” out would be annoying. I’m lazy). So that’s why it’s Kei throughout the fic, instead of Koyama which was really a bitch to do ergh.
…I felt the need to clarify that for some reason. >.>
Title of fic from the song Escape by Rupert Holmes, obviously. >.> And thanks to grunhilda for spazzing to me and telling me this was good despite my insecurities. Ilu bb. ♥
To whoever requested this, I’m sorry. :( It’s probably not what you were expecting, and erm, I apologize that it ended up being so unbelievably long. Also that the ending is like kind of abrupt. >.> Let’s ignore that, shall we? Also, ignore typos. :\
A;slasd I’m going to stop talking now, wtf is this long a/n. UHM. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I really really hope that you like it. Even just a little bit. ♥
Yamapi pulls off his sunglasses and stares up at the large hotel. He takes a deep breath and glances around the place, signing in relief when he sees no cameras around. Seems like word hasn’t gotten out yet. He smiles.
He grabs his duffel bag and carry-on from the cab and pays the driver, then heads inside. The bright ceiling lights almost blind him and he blinks for a moment before walking up to the front desk. The receptionest smiles and snaps her gum loudly and hands him his key with a “Enjoy your stay.”
Yamapi offers her a bright smile and she swoons, watching him walk towards the elevator and up to the seventh floor.
On purpose he didn’t request a suite. Too big for just himself and too easy to track. The single room fits his purposes perfectly well; one bed facing the TV, a bathroom on the right of the door, a closet adjacent to it. The window off to the far end, opened to a balcony that overlooks the blue oceans of Hawaii. The indoor pool is just a floor below and the outdoow was down the hall and all the way at the bottom.
Pleased with his arrangements, Yamapi drops his luggage onto the armchair beside the balcony. He pulls open the curtains and steps outside. The sunlight glows over him and he breathes in the salty smell of the sea. He pulls out his cellphone, finds five missed calls and three voicemails. He shuts it off. Right now, he isn’t going to be an idol.
*
He sleeps in until past noon the next day, the first time in years that he’s done so. He stretches, feeling wonderful, and pulls himself out of bed, opens the curtains to the balcony first thing, letting sunlight wash over the room. After a shower, he pulls on a pair of board shorts and a white t-shirt, grabs the room key and heads out. For the first time, his phone lies on the side table by the bed instead of in his back pocket.
He gets himself lunch from the hotel restaurant and takes it outside to the patio tables beneath large blue umbrellas that flutter in the wind. He finds an empty one and as he eats watches others leaving the hotel for the beach and the few people over at the outdoor pool. Even after he finishes, he stays there, people-watching; a role-reversal, he realizes with a smile. For once, he isn’t being constantly watched (or so he hopes) and instead, he’s doing the watching. It was interesting, seeing all sorts of people of various backgrounds here, on vacation, Yamapi guesses, like him. Except most of them probably know when they’re going home. Yamapi still wasn’t so sure yet.
It’s not like he never wants to go back, he just doesn’t want to force himself. He couldn’t put a deadline on a vacation like this, one where he just needed to get away. He can’t predict how long it’ll take for this to all go away. Whatever this was. Even that, he still wasn’t sure about either.
Yamapi doesn’t move from his spot until a couple come by asking if he was done. Yamapi apologizes, quick stilted English, and leaves, throwing his trash away and heading for the outdoor pool. He finds an empty chaise lounge chair and settles down against it, popping on his sunglasses and closing his eyes. With the sun warming him and the faint sounds of the waves in the distance rumbling in his ears, it’s only a few moments before he falls asleep.
*
Yamapi wakes to the feeling of being shaked, peering his eyes open quickly and finding another pair far too close. He screams and so does the other person, both scrambling backwards.
“I’m sorry!” the other exclaims in English, and Yamapi forces himself to his feet, staring at the man before him.
Tall, with flaxen hair that fell into his worried eyes, Yamapi recognizes him as the pool boy he’d seen briefly during lunch. “Oh,” he replies in English as well. “No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“It was getting late and you hadn’t moved and I just wanted to make sure you were okay!” he continues, biting his lip nervously.
Yamapi smiles. “It’s okay,” he insists. “Thank you for waking me. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep.”
The other smiles brightly. “That happens a lot.”
“I bet,” Yamapi says, and finally glances around him, the sky much darker than when he’d fallen asleep, streams of sunlight visible far in the distance. “What time is it?”
“Almost six.”
“Wow, I should go back inside,” he says. “Thanks again for waking me!” He gives the pool boy a grateful smile and quickly heads inside, not noticing how the other watches until he disappears from view.
As Yamapi lies in bed later that evening, flipping through TV channels, he briefly wishes he’d asked for the boy’s name.
*
The next morning he wakes extra early and takes a walk along the beach just as the sun rises. Oranges and yellows highlight the sky as he settles onto the cool sand and watches the sun peer over the waves, illuminating the water.
He pulls out his phone, which he’d taken with him by accident, and takes a photo. After much debate, he posts to his nikki.
7:11 a.m.
Konbachiwa!
As expected, I love the sea the best.
Everyone should visit the sea with someone they love!
Or the next time you see it, think of me!
Ah, that’s embarrassing, afterall.
He sighs as he shuts the phone off and puts it away. It really is impossible to fully escape the idol life, he thinks. But, at least the fans wouldn’t be too worried now.
*
It’s not like he’s lonely. He’d come here to be alone. But he missed actually talking with someone, and most everyone else on the island was there with friends, with family, with a significant other. It made him feel even more alone. Not that he was actually lonely, though. Of course not. He just wouldn’t mind having a bit of company.
It takes him two whole days to work up the courage. He can’t think of anything else, afterall, and even though he feels a little silly, he asks the receptionist about the pool boy.
“Oh, you mean, Kei?” she says. “He works here everyday, except weekends, and Fridays, when he works on the beach.”
“Is he working now?” Yamapi asks, hoping he doesn’t sound too eager.
She nods. “He should be at the outdoor pool now.”
Yamapi thanks her and heads outside. True to her word, he is out there, handing towels to a few girls who smile and flirt with him. He - Kei, Yamapi recalls the receptionist calling him that - grins and chats with them for awhile, doesn’t notice Yamapi walking over and taking the next empty chair.
Kei turns to him a few moments later, looking a little surprised, but quickly hiding it with a bright smile. “Planning on sleeping here again?” he asks.
“Actually,” Yamapi says, realizing suddenly exactly what he was doing and praying the other doesn’t think him insane. “I kind of wanted to talk with you. I know you are working, but-”
He waves a hand at him dismissively and beams. “No, it’s okay,” he says. “I’m Kei,” he adds, holds out a hand.
Yamapi shakes it and replies, “You can call me Yamapi.”
Kei blinks. “Is that Japanese?”
“Uhm, yes, sort of. It’s kind of a long story,” he says. “Wait, are you Japanese?”
Kei nods. “My family moved here a few years ago,” he says, in Japanese this time.
Yamapi feels a stong sense of nostalgia wash over him, grinning instinctively at hearing his native language. It had been hard getting the right English words on his own, and finding someone else who could speak Japanese was almost like a miracle.
“What’re you doing here?” Kei asks him.
“Vacation,” Yamapi replies after a moment.
“You don’t sound so sure about that.”
Yamapi smiles. “I’m not quite sure myself yet.”
“Well, I hope your stay here helps you figure it out.”
“They pay you to say that.”
“Maybe a little.”
Yamapi laughs heartily, the first time in a long time, feels warmth spreading all over his body. Kei gives him a bright smile and opens his mouth to say something, but at that moment is called by another customer.
Yamapi gives him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t keep you from work.”
Kei stands up and replies, “No worries. I’ll be back.”
“Really?” Yamapi says, a little surprised.
“Sure, if you want me to.”
“I want you to,” Yamapi insists immediately, looks a little embarrassed.
Kei only laughs and with a cheerful smile goes back to work.
Yamapi leans back against the lounge chair and pulls on his sunglasses only so it wouldn’t be obvious he was watching Kei as he worked. Yamapi wasn’t sure what it was, but something about Kei was already making him feel better than he had in a long time. He watches as Kei works, being strangely energized every moment he catches him smile, even if it wasn’t directed towards him.
It was easy to see that Kei loved his job, was a naturally cheerful person, what with the way he constantly smiles and laughs with the guests. He makes the children jump around, chatting about something, and he listens with apt attention, and he makes the even the angriest looking adults quirk their lips, clearly unable to be even a little affected. He flirts with the girls who giggle as he walks away and offeres more beers to the guys when he sees their glasses empty.
When he passes by Yamapi a few times, he winks and asks if he wants anything. Yamapi only shakes his head and says, “I’m fine,” and it surprises him how true it is. Because watching Kei really does make him feel like nothing else in the world is wrong.
Once it becomes the before-lunch rush, Yamapi leaves to let Kei work and not get distracted. He decides to go surf for awhile and heads for the beach. Yamapi likes surfing, the feeling of being one with the sea is something he really enjoyed, the experience of riding the waves is exhilarating and breathtaking. Surfing let him think about how the world is bigger, larger than anything, how he was just one tiny person in this grand scheme of fantastic creations; it let him think that there is more out there. More than just being an idol known across Japan as Yamapi or Yamashita Tomohisa, and let him, for once, just think about being more on his own, as just simply Tomohisa.
Yamapi spends as much time out there as he can, until the sky grows dark and it gets hard to see. Feeling lighthearted, he returns the surfboard and heads back to the hotel. He’s just about through the doors when a familiar voice calls his name, and he turns to find Kei running towards him.
A grin immediately spreads across his face and he greets, “Hey, still here?”
“Yeah, just leaving now,” he says. “Out in the beach?” he asks as they head inside, taking in Yamapi’s wet appearance.
“Surfing,” Yamapi replies and Kei nods, looks impressed.
“I’ve always wanted to try that,” he admits.
“I could teach you,” Yamapi says, then quickly adds, “I mean, if you want to learn, I wouldn’t mind…” He trails off seeing Kei’s amused face and looks down at his feet.
Kei smiles. “I’d love to, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t.”
“Great!” Kei says excitedly. “When are you free?”
Yamapi laughs. “I’m on vacation, remember?”
“Oh, right. Then, how about after my shift tomorrow? I get off at six.”
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Koyama nods happily. “Yup! Bye!”
Yamapi waves as he heads for the elevator, a grin still plastered across his face. That night he goes to sleep feeling the best he has in a very long time, looking forward to a tomorrow that seemed like it couldn’t come fast enough.
*
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Pi?”
Yamapi sighs, honestly regrest having answered his phone. “Ryo,” he starts, but Ryo cuts him off.
“The jimusho’s going ape shit because of you! What’re you trying to pull?”
“Ryo,” Yamapi says, louder.
“What.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Oh, you’re sorry. That’s great, Pi. That’s fucking great. I’m sure everything will be perfect now because you’re sorry,” Ryo says sarcastically. “Oh, shut up, Jin, I’ll tell him whatever I want to, no-I’m not done-Bakanishi, give me my phone!”
“Pi!” Jin’s cheerful voice greets Yamapi and Yamapi can’t help but smile as he hears Jin and Ryo fight in the background. “Fucker, don’t bite me!”
“Give me my phone, I’m not done telling him what an idiot he is.”
“You can talk in a second, let me say something first.” Jin pauses. “Pi? Are you there?”
“Yes, Jin.” He sighs. “Are you going to yell at me too?”
“‘Course not,” Jin says easily. “If you need to go away for awhile, then good for you. Fuck the jimusho and the old man, do what you want.”
Yamapi beams. “I knew you were my best friend for something.”
Jin cheers. “Hah! Take that, Ryo!” he exclaims while Ryo grumbles and calls them both idiots.
“So,” Jin continues when he’s done cheering. “Met any hot girls? What’ve you been doing? Wait. Where exactly are you?”
“Not telling,” Yamapi replies.
“Jackass,” Jin snaps and then exclaims, “Stop punching me, Ryo!”
“Give me the phone!”
“Ryo-chan,” Yamapi says and the two stop squawking to listen. “I’m coming back, okay? I am.”
“When?” Ryo says.
“I don’t know yet.”
“Pi.”
“Ryo-chan.” He pauses. “I just really need this right now. I’ll deal with the consequences later. I’m sorry if the jimusho is hassling you about where I am-”
“That’s not the problem, Pi-”
“-but I will be back, okay? Just let me have this.”
There’s a long stretch of silence, and then a sigh. “I really don’t have a choice, do I?”
“Not really,” Yamapi says cheerfully.
“Fine. Fine. You fucking selfish bastard. Fine.”
Yamapi just laughs, all three of them knowing that Ryo doesn’t mean a word he says. “Thanks, Ryo-chan,” he replies.
“Just, tell me where you are.”
“He didn’t tell me. What makes you think he’ll tell you?”
“I’m in Hawaii,” Yamapi replies and Jin cries, “Hey!” while Ryo laughs loudly.
“Figures you’d be there,” Ryo says fondly. He sighs again and adds, “Pi, calls us-no, call me, Jin’s not capable of anything with real thought-”
“I hate you so much.”
“-if you need anything, okay? We’ll come visit. If you want.”
“Hell, yes! Hawaii, here we come!” Jin exclaims.
“No, I’ll be okay. Plus, I think the jimusho will go to hell if three of their best idols go missing.”
“I’m serious,” Ryo says. “Just call.”
Yamapi smiles, heart warm. “I know. Thanks, Ryo,” he says. “But now, I have a date to go to.”
“A date?” Jin shrieks.
Yamapi just cackles and hangs up.
*
“I think I may have made a mistake,” Kei says. He stares at the large waves rolling onto shore with wide eyes.
Yamapi laughs. “Surfing’s not that hard, really.”
“Yeah, and how long have you been doing it?”
“Okay, I see your point,” Yamapi says. “But don’t worry, I’ll be here to save you.”
“From what? Will I need saving?” Kei frets. “No, I don’t think I can do this.”
“It’s okay. You’re not even going out on the water yet. You have to learn the basics first and we do that on the beach.”
“Oh,” Kei says, looking slightly pacified. “Okay.”
“We don’t have to do this, you know,” Yamapi adds. “We can do something else instead.”
Kei finally turns his eyes away from the sea and gives Yamapi a hopeful look. “Like what?” he asks.
Yamapi shrugs, and then smiles. “This is your paradise. Why don’t you show me around?”
Kei beams. “Okay!” he says cheerfully, clearly approving of this change in plan. He grabs Yamapi’s wrist and drags him back up to the hotel, and Yamapi laughs as he follows along, if only to hide the sudden fluttering in his stomach at the warmth of Kei’s hand on his skin.
*
Kei takes him out into the city, the sun slowly setting and the streetlights popping on one by one. It’s warm and the sounds of the sea echo through the busy streets packed with mostly tourists. Yamapi’s been down these streets before on other vacations with Ryo and with Jin, but it’s different today because it’s a true tour. Kei tells him everything and anything, points out the little shops Yamapi would have otherwise missed, tells him stories about the people who work there. He waves and chats with anyone he knows and introduces Yamapi as a friend.
“A friend?” Yamapi asks him later, after the fifth time Kei’s said it. “We’ve hardly known each other for two days.”
“Well, why not?” Kei counters, smiling. “I like you, I think you’re fun. Why shouldn’t I be friends with you? ”
Yamapi flushes and says, “If you put it that way.”
Kei grins, pleased. “Good, I’m glad that’s settled now,” he says cheerfully and Yamapi only shakes his head, suppressing a smile.
They spend almost two hours out on the streets, stopping to get ice cream from this one place Kei loves. Yamapi’s is vanilla and drips down his cone, sticky on his hand, and Kei smiles and gives him his napkin. It’s aimless walking and talking; stopping in shops every once in awhile, catching a few right before they close. Yamapi buys one or two things for Jin and Ryo, knows the next time they call Jin will ask. Kei just stays by his side, a warm, continuously smiling presence that has Yamapi thinking that as long as Kei smiles, nothing in the world could ever go wrong.
*
“What do you do?” Kei asks him.
Yamapi looks up from the sand where he’s drawing a turtle with a stick. It’s a few days later, and right after Kei’s pool shift. They meet up everyday at that time, spend it in different ways; the day before they’d gotten dinner together, and today they were at the beach, laying in the hot sand and watching the sunset.
“What do you mean?” Yamapi asks.
“Back in Japan. What is it you do?”
“Oh.” Yamapi pauses in his drawing, stares hard at the sand, hesitating for awhile. “I’m a student,” he lies. “It’s our winter break, so I decided to come here.”
“On your own? That’s a little strange for a college student.”
Yamapi shrugs. “I like doing things on my own.”
“Yet you’re the one who came seeking my company,” Kei teases.
Yamapi smiles at him. “What can I say? I like you, you’re fun.”
Kei seems to blush to the tips of his ears, and he looks away quickly, focuses on what Yamapi’s been sketching in the sand. “What is that?” he questions, tilting his head to get a better look.
“A turtle!” Yamapi says, a little offended.
Kei bursts out laughing. “What? It looks like a blob with little legs! And a face that, oh my god, is that Doraemon?”
Yamapi glares. “It’s totally a turtle!” he insists.
But Kei only laughs harder, and after a moment of staring at him, a grin spreads over Yamapi’s face and he tackles Kei into the sand, a laughing, screaming mess of limbs. They laugh until their sides hurt and cheeks are flushed pink, until there’s sand in their hair and down their shirts, until the sun finally creeps beneath the horizon.
Yamapi leads them up to his room afterwards, insists Kei he can take a shower to get the sand out of his hair. Yamapi waits out on the balcony while Kei showers, not wanting to get sand all over the bedsheets; it’d be a pain in the ass to sleep in, and listens to the waves of the sea, eyes closed and all other sense turned off.
He jumps a bit when Kei comes up behind him, wet hair in his eyes and lips curved into a smile. His jeans are on, but he’s shirtless, towel hanging around his neck, and Yamapi’s eyes trail a bead of water from his hair along his jaw and throat, where it stops in the dip of his collarbone. And something triggers in the depths of Yamapi’s brain, his stomach stirring as he takes in Kei’s appearance, appreciating the tanned skin, the defined abs, the built biceps.
“Yamapi?” Kei eventually says, looking a little concered, and if he noticed Yamapi staring, he doesn’t mention it.
Yamapi snaps out of his thoughts, mumbles a choked, “Oh, right. Shower,” and rushes for the bathroom.
Under the cool streams of water, Yamapi lets out a breath, his heartrate decreasing, the knot in his stomach coming loose. He couldn’t be sure what just happened, but it was gone, for now, and he sighs in relief. He showers until his fingers prune and then shuts off the faucet, wrapping a towel around his waist. The second he opens the door, he sees Kei sitting on the bed (fully clothed this time) and the television on, and those same feelings he’d just managed to get rid of, come straight back.
Kei turns to him, hearing the door open, and promptly looks away, cheeks flushed.
Yamapi walks out, holding the towel secure at his hip, forcing his legs to stop feeling like lead, and says, “I thought you’d be gone.”
Kei bites his lower lip nervously. “I-I didn’t think you’d mind. I-I can go though, if you want me to-”
“No,” Yamapi interjects quickly. “It’s okay. Just, uhm, let me dress.”
Kei nods and Yamapi fishes clothing out of his duffel bag, quickly pulling it on. He grabs the towel and dries his hair, plopping down on the bed beside Kei. They don’t say a word, which only has Yamapi’s stomach twisting into tighter and tighter knots. He’s incredibly aware of how close they’re sitting beside each other, how their knees brush together when one of them moves, how their elbows bump every few minutes, how Kei keeps sucking that lower lip into his mouth, moist and hot and-
“I should go,” Kei says suddenly, jumping to his feet. He gives Yamapi a bright smile, but Yamapi can tell it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’ll see you later.”
He leaves before Yamapi gets the chance to speak, and Yamapi falls back onto the bed with a tremendous sigh. The television continues to play on, undaunted, and Yamapi waits until the knots in his belly untangle themselves before he finally moves to turn it off.
*
The following day, it’s still there, the second he sees Kei in the afternoon, the feelings bubble up inside him. Yamapi waves to him half-heartedly and then spends the rest of afternoon in his room and doesn’t go to meet him at the end of his shift. He thinks if Kei really wanted to see him, he could come up to his room.
Kei doesn’t. Yamapi doesn’t know whether to be grateful or disappointed.
He manages only three days. And then he can’t take it anymore. Like opposite ends on a magnet, he’s pulled back to him, the strange knots in his stomach tight and furious. As it’s Friday, Kei works down at the beach cabana, and at the end of Kei’s shift, Yamapi heads down to see him. Kei sees him immediately, eyes a little wide in surprise, then a frown lining his lips. Yamapi feels the knots twist.
“I thought you’d left,” he says, voice a little accusatory as they walk along the beach, waves rolling over their barefeet.
“No. I-I was still here.”
“So you’ve just been avoiding me, then,” Kei says and sounds hurt.
Yamapi can’t deny it, and stares at the sand. “I’m sorry,” he says.
Kei stops walking, looks up at Yamapi, eyes confused. “Did I do something? Are you angry with me? Because if I did, I’m really sorry.”
Yamapi shakes his head and slowly steps closer. Kei’s eyes widen as he closes the space between them.
“Yamapi?” he breathes, voice quickly carried off by the wind.
And Yamapi does the only thing he thinks makes any sense. He kisses him, soft and slow and short, pulling away after a few moments. Yamapi licks his lips, stares intently at Kei for his reaction, and when Kei leans back in and kisses him, the knots in his stomach fall apart.
*
The second the door closes, Yamapi pushes Kei against it, presses their mouths together again and sighs contently, lips curving into a smile. Kei laughs into his mouth as he hooks his fingers into the loops on Yamapi’s jeans and pulls him close, laughter turning into a pleased moan as their bodies meet. Yamapi threads his fingers through Kei’s hair and down to his cheek, fingers tracing the line of his jaw before he pulls away. Kei gasps for breath, eyes bright and dancing, and Yamapi grabs his hand, pulls him into the room, onto the bed.
Yamapi straddles his hips and fuses their mouths together, rocking his hips when Kei grabs his waist and moves his own. His head spinning from the suddenness, the exhilaration, the thrill of it all, Yamapi breaks the kiss and stares down at Kei for a few moments.
Kei grins at him. “You’re not going to ask me for a safeword, are you?” he teases and Yamapi laughs.
“Not unless you think you need one,” Yamapi replies.
Kei leans up on his elbows and kisses him, tongue sweeping into his mouth and licking along the roof. When he pulls back, Yamapi looks dazed, and Kei laughs. “I’m pretty sure it won’t be necessary.”
Yamapi nods and says into his mouth, “Good, because I don’t really think it’d have worked, anyway.”
Kei makes a happy noise as Yamapi kisses him, hands firm on Yamapi’s waist as he rolls his hips for more pressure, Yamapi responding just as enthusiastically. A few moments later, Yamapi sits back on his knees, catches his breath, and then reaches for the hem of Kei’s shirt, pulling it up and over his head. Kei does the same for him, eyes trailing along the curves of Yamapi’s chest and abs, fingers reaching out to flit across the skin.
Yamapi sucks in a breath at the touch, fingers white-hot as they move back to hold onto his hips. He rocks against Kei, delighting in the soft moans that escape the other’s throat, and grabs the buckle on Kei’s pants. He unfastens them slowly, enjoying watching the displeased, desperate look in Kei’s eyes and the way he moves his hips faster beneath him. Yamapi smirks a little, amused, and Kei glares, or glares as much as he can, which isn’t a lot, eyes dark with pleasure betraying his intentions.
Yamapi moves away to pull the rest of Kei’s clothes off and onto the floor, leaning in and pressing his mouth into the crook of his neck, sucking his way along the smooth expanse of skin. He drops a hand to reach between them, wrapping his fingers lightly around Kei’s erection, smiling against his collarbone as Kei immediately jerks his hips into the touch, gasping loudly. His hand curls into Yamapi’s hair, tugs just a little, a sign to get him to do something, and Yamapi obliges, tightens his fingers and strokes slowly from base to tip.
Kei whines incomprehensively as Yamapi works his hand faster, sliding his thumb over the slit with each stroke. It doesn’t take long for Yamapi to feel Kei get close, the rhythm of his movements shaky, and Yamapi pulls his hand away at the same time he detaches his mouth from Kei’s collar, pleased with his work, a dark mark stretching along the skin. Kei just writhes beneath him, fingernails dragging along Yamapi’s back to keep him close, frustrated he was so close, yet so far.
Yamapi quickly kicks himself out his clothes, his own erection straining against his stomach and before he moves back, he reaches into the side pocket of his duffle bag, pulls out a small tube. He positions himself between Kei’s legs, pops off the cap and coats his fingers with the lube. Unsure if Kei’s been in this situation before, he takes it a little slow, gently pressing in the first finger, eyes trained on Kei’s face for the first signs of discomfort. But Kei only moves against him, almost immediately, body almost aching for it and Yamapi’s previous question is answered. He pushes in another finger, watching with hypnotized eyes as Kei rolls his hips for more, and manages in one more, hits that spot which instantly has Kei arching and crying out.
Yamapi pulls his fingers out then and prepares himself hastily, hissing at the contact of the cool lotion against his skin. He meets Kei’s gaze as he slides himself in, watches as Kei’s eyes squeeze shut and his head pushes back against the pillow, hips straining and muscles tight around Yamapi’s cock. Yamapi forces himself to pause, to catch his breath, to not fucking come when they’ve just barely started. He waits until he feels Kei relax around him, waits until Kei’s fingers scramble along his shoulder blades, waits until Kei opens his eyes and meets his gaze again. And then he moves, pulling out and thrusting back in, groaning loudly at the wonderful, wonderful heat and the amazing tightness.
Kei pulls Yamapi down and kisses him, hot and wet, one hand threading through Yamapi’s hair again, the other trailing down his arm to tighten around Yamapi’s wrist where Yamapi’s holding onto Kei’s hip. They rock together, keeping a steady pace, Kei meeting each of Yamapi’s thrusts with his own jerk of the hips. Yamapi slides a hand between them to wrap around Kei’s cock again and Kei arches into the touch, the added sensations breaks him from the kiss, a loud cry ripping from his lips.
Yamapi presses his nose against the soft spot behind Kei’s ear, whispers, “Not so loud.”
Kei nods quickly, having realized the same thing, and puts a hand to his mouth, whimpering silently. Yamapi picks up his pace, his hand stroking in time with his thrusts, and he can feel the inevitable release tingling within his veins, his skin burning, shoulders shaking, the remains of his control slowly seeping away as Kei tightens around him.
Kei comes first, his cry muffled against his hand as he tenses and spills into Yamapi’s hand. He collapses, body trembling from the aftershock, eyes dazed and sated. Yamapi only manages to hold out a few more thrusts, muscles tight around his cock, and he finishes with a low groan that tremors throughout his whole body, the sensations sweeping from his toes to the very tips of his fingers.
Yamapi pulls out and with a happy sigh plops onto his side next to Kei, reaches out to brush Kei’s hair from his face. Kei smiles warmly at him, eyes already falling close, and Yamapi presses a soft kiss to his forehead before sleep claims them both.
*
Yamapi wakes the next morning to the sounds of the sea from the window and sunlight in a stream of gold along the floor. He smiles and stretches, turning around to reach for Kei, only to not find him in the bed. His heart plummets, thinking the worst of the worst, Kei had left, had regretted everything they’d done, but then the bathroom door clicks open and Kei walks out.
Yamapi sighs in relief and Kei smiles at him, says, “Oh, you’re awake.”
“Good morning,” Yamapi says happily, scooting over to the edge of the bed and kneeling to kiss him.
Kei grins when they pull apart, replies, “Good morning.”
“You don’t work today, right?” Yamapi asks.
Kei shakes his head.
“Good,” Yamapi replies, reaches down to intertwine their fingers.
Kei bites his lip, and says quietly, “Uhm, now what?”
Yamapi laughs and pats his stomach. “Breakfast.”
They go out into the city for breakfast, to a little place Kei says has really good pancakes. They sit by the window, watch as the city slowly wakes up, businesses opening their doors and tourists heading out from the hotels. Their knees brush beneath the table and they wear identical smiles across their faces. Yamapi doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to stop smiling, his heart warm and stomach fluttering, an inexplicable feeling of euphoria embedded in his veins, a feeling he never wants to lose. He can’t recall the last time he felt this way, no worries, no concerns, no need to be in ten places in one day. It’s calming, it’s freeing, it’s everything he needed from this trip, and when he meets Kei’s gaze, he knows that it’s also so much more.
“We must look so obvious,” Kei says suddenly. “Smiling like this.”
Yamapi grins. “Probably,” he replies. “But does it really matter?”
“It’s a little embarrassing,” Kei admits, obviously feeling self-conscious.
Due to his idol-life, being watched by others didn’t really bother Yamapi too much, it was something he could tune out when he wished. But he smiles at Kei, and says, “Let’s go for a walk? On the beach?”
Kei nods, thankful. “Okay!”
They finish up breakfast and head for the beach, the sky a low overcast now, the sun barely visible behind gray clouds. As it was still quite early, the beach was fairly empty and they roll up tht ends of their pants and walk side by side where the waves meet the shore. Kei leads most of the conversation, telling Yamapi stories about the other guests, about work, about the other people that work at the hotel, the ones Yamapi should avoid, the ones who would give him free food.
“Why not about you?” Yamapi says awhile later, cutting Kei off mid-sentence.
“Huh?” Kei says, confused.
“You talk about the guests and stuff, but I’d rather hear about you.”
Kei chuckles nervously. “I’m not that interesting. I don’t know what to say.”
Yamapi nudges his shoulder. “I think you’re interesting.”
Kei flushes, looks down at his feet, and they continue walking in silence for awhile. Then he looks up and says, “I have a cat?”
“What’s its name?” asks Yamapi, grinning.
“Nyanta,” Kei replies and then launches into a story about his cat that has them both laughing, and Yamapi offers his own stories about his dogs back at home.
They’re caught up in exchanging tales when it starts to rain, slow tiny drops falling from the dark sky. The few people out on the bed scramble to put their things away, rushing back up to the hotel as the raindrops increase, and Yamapi turns as well.
“Let’s go back,” he says.
But Kei just shakes his head and, grinning, replies, “No, this is fun!”
“What?” Yamapi exclaims and watches as Kei tilts his head back, eyes closed, arms spread wide, letting the rain fall upon him. Yamapi feels his heart swell at the sight, a smile creeping across his lips. He moves over to Kei, threads fingers into his hair, around to the back of his neck, and leans in to kiss him before Kei can open his eyes.
Their clothes are wet, hair sticking to their faces, when they finally pull apart. Yamapi draws his thumb along Kei’s jaw and presses their mouths together a last time. He grins when they break apart and leads the way back to the hotel.
*
Yamapi fumbles around in bed, almost falling off as he reaches for his phone, ringing loudly in the silence of the hotel room. Eyes still closed, he answers with a irritated, “What?”
“Pi?” says what is undoubtedly Ryo’s voice. “What hotel are you at?”
“Why do you want to know?” Yamapi questions, yawning.
“Because, Jin and I just landed at the airport and we’re coming to see you.”
Yamapi’s eyes snap open and he jumps to his feet. “What?” he shouts.
“What the hell, Pi? Don’t scream at me,” Ryo snaps. “Just tell me where you are.”
Yamapi doesn’t respond, just gapes wordlessly at the floor until Ryo yells at him to snap out of it and Yamapi doesn’t have a choice but to tell him.
“Awesome. We’ll be there in ten minutes.” Ryo hangs up.
Yamapi shuts his phone and mutters, “Fuck,” under his breath as he turns around and stares at Kei, still sleeping soundly beneath the covers.
*
The first thing Ryo does is grumble about the plane ride, while the first thing Jin does is tackle Yamapi in the middle of the hotel lobby.
“Nice to see you, too, Jin,” Yamapi says when they pull apart. He glances back and forth between Ryo and Jin and demands, “What’re you doing here? I told you that you didn’t need to come!”
Ryo punches him. “It’s your fault, you know. You don’t call us for almost a week, and when we call, you never answer!”
“We thought you’d died!” Jin adds, for effect.
Yamapi rolls his eyes, a little amused and a little irritated, but he’s smiling anyway. “I’m fine, idiots. See?”
“Yeah,” Jin agrees, peering at Yamapi suspiciously. “Almost too fine.” He stares harder. Then gasps. “Oh my god, you got laid!”
Yamapi forces himself not to blush, stares Jin down as hard as he can, and replies, “Did not.”
“Did too!” Jin exclaims, pointing accusatorily at Yamapi’s face. “That’s why you’ve been ignoring us! Who is it? Who? Who? Are we going to meet her? Or him?”
Yamapi splutters a little and squawks, “No.”
“So there is someone,” Ryo says sneakily and Yamapi flushes.
“No, I didn’t-fuck.”
Ryo smirks victoriously while Jin just continues to gape at him.
“We’re here for three days,” Ryo says. He pats Yamapi on the shoulder and adds, “And we better meet your new friend before we leave.”
Yamapi groans as he leads the two of them up to the room they booked, somehow just down the hall from his own. As they pass the desk, Yamapi turns to look back at Kei who’s standing there. He meets his gaze and smiles reassuredly at him, and Kei offers him a small smile and wave in return.
“Pi!” Jin calls and Yamapi quickly turns away.
“Coming!” he returns and heads off for the elevators, unaware of Kei’s careful gaze on his back.
*
“He doesn’t know anything about me being an idol. So don’t, for the love of god, tell him, okay?” Yamapi pleads that evening. It was almost six-thirty and Yamapi had promised Jin and Ryo he’d take them to meet Kei for dinner.
“Okay, okay,” Jin says, impatient, bouncing on the balls of his feet and looking over at the entrance of the hotel restaurant.
“Should we tell him we’re students too?” Ryo asks, voice clearly showing he disapproved of Yamapi’s lie.
“I don’t care. Be whatever you want to be-as long as it’s reasonable,” he adds, seeing Jin’s face light up.
“And be nice,” Yamapi says nervously.
Jin and Ryo stare at him. Then Jin says, eyes wide, “Oh, wow, you really like him!”
“What. No. It’s not like that-”
“Oh, save it, Pi,” Ryo cuts in, smirking deviously and Yamapi gets a sinking feeling in his gut. Maybe this was a bad idea, afterall, he thinks anxiously.
“Is that him?” Jin asks for the tenth time, pointing towards the entrance.
Yamapi turns and a smile instantly crosses his face, finding Kei glancing around the restaurant a little carefully. He waves at him when Kei turns their way and Kei grins brightly, quickly heads over to meet them.
Yamapi puts a hand on Kei’s back, which has both Ryo and Jin smirking at him, and says carefully, “Uhm, this is Kei. Kei, these are my friends, Ryo and Jin.”
“Best friends,” Jin adds, then grins. “Nice to meet you.”
“Same,” Ryo replies, sporting an identical grin.
Kei smiles nervously. “Yeah, it-it’s nice to meet you.”
“Okay, let’s eat,” Yamapi says quickly, leads Kei to the table and they all sit down around it, a waiter coming by shortly to get their orders.
Surprisingly, dinner goes by smoothly. Ryo explains he’s a friend of Yamapi’s from school, to which Yamapi gives him a grateful look, while Jin introduces himself as a professional soccer player.
“He means,” Ryo interjects, stepping on Jin’s foot. “He wishes he was. He’s a classmate too.”
“Right.” Jin winces. “Right. That’s what I meant.”
Kei only laughs and Yamapi quickly steers the conversation to safer territory. The food is delicious and they’re all enjoying themselves, and Yamapi doesn’t think he’s felt happier in a long while, nervousness washing away. Ryo keeps Jin in line mostly, stepping on his feet whenever Jin asks Kei dumb questions or almost gives the three of them away, and Yamapi thinks he’ll have to buy Ryo whatever he wants when this is over. He also thinks he’ll keep the souvenier he got Jin for himself.
Mostly, though, Yamapi’s glad that Kei seems to be having just as nice of a time, smiling and laughing along with everything, prompting Ryo and Jin for embarrassing stories about Yamapi which later has Yamapi taking back his gift for Ryo as well, who all to happily tells Kei all of his dark secrets.
After dinner, Ryo drags Jin away to go shopping, the two of them grinning and winking back at Yamapi, who flushes and can’t decide whether to kill them or thank them. He turns to Kei and says quietly, “I’m sorry about them.”
Kei shakes his head. “Don’t be. They’re nice friends. I can tell they care about you.”
Yamapi laughs. “Yeah, maybe too much. They’re acting parents, sometimes.”
“Well, did I get their approval, then?” Kei teases as they head out onto the beach where the sun is just disappearing.
“They left us alone pretty quickly,” Yamapi says. “Seems as though they like you.”
Kei beams and Yamapi smiles, squeezes his hand quickly before letting go. They stop at the beach cabana, order pina coladas before finding a few lounge chairs along the walk and settling down, watching the waves and the darkening sky.
*
“I can’t believe we have to leave already,” Jin complains two days later. They, along with Kei, are standing in the lobby of the hotel, Jin and Ryo’s duffle bags on the foor by their feet. “Why couldn’t you have gotten us a longer vacation?”
Ryo kicks him. “Be glad I got jimusho to even let you come along in the first place,” he retorts.
“I’m glad you came,” Yamapi tells them, smiling, feeling a little depressed they were leaving as well.
“We’re glad, too,” Ryo replies. “You seem good.” He glances at Kei, then back at Yamapi, grins. “Really good.”
“And we have Kei here to thank for that!” Jin exclaims, drops an arm around Kei’s shoulder. “You’re one of us, now!”
“Erm,” Kei says, torn between amused and a little unsure. “Thank you?”
Jin laughs. “We should pay you back for making Pi so happy.”
“Th-That’s not necessary, I didn’t really do anything,” Kei insists, eyes wide.
“You really did, though,” Ryo replies and Jin nods frantically by his side.
“Guys,” Yamapi intervenes. “Leave him alone.”
“Aw, you’re the protective boyfriend,” Jin coos and Yamapi punches him.
“Come on, Jin, or we’ll miss our plane,” Ryo says, kicking Jin again. He gives Kei a smiles, says, “It was nice meeting you. Watch over him, okay?”
A little surprised, Kei nods slowly, smiles as Yamapi gives Ryo and Jin hugs, then pulls back and watches them head for the exit. Just a few steps later, though, Jin turns around, and exclaims, “I’ve got it!”
“Got what?” Yamapi asks.
“How to pay Kei back,” he says, grinning. “It’s so obvious.” He smiles at Kei and continues, “We’ll get you tickets to one of Pi’s concerts!”
Yamapi’s eyes widen and his heart drops to his feet. Kei blinks curiously at Jin, not understanding, and stammers, “C-Concert?”
“Yeah,” Jin says gleefully, despite Ryo’s frantic attempts at pulling him away.
“Jin!” Yamapi cuts in, but Jin doesn’t seem to hear him.
“W-What do you mean, concert?” Kei asks, looking back and forth between Jin and Yamapi, and Yamapi can almost see everything they’d put together, the two of them, falling apart from the confusion, the betrayal, in Kei’s eyes.
“Jin,” Ryo snaps, voice loud and authorative and Jin finally turns to him.
“What?”
“Don’t you remember anything, you fucking idiot?” Ryo demands and Jin just stares at him for a few moments, before his eyes widen comically. “Now you remember?”
“Fuck.” Jin looks at Yamapi and swallows. He turns to Kei, then back to Yamapi. “I’m sorry,” he says and Yamapi just stares at him, eyes dark, and when Ryo pulls on his arm, Jin winces and turns away, the two of them quickly heading out the door and to their awaiting cab.
The second they’re gone, Kei turns to Yamapi and asks, “What did he mean? Concerts? What concerts?”
Yamapi sighs wearily, reaches for Kei’s hand and says, “Let’s go up to my room and I’ll tell you.”
Kei pulls his hand away from Yamapi’s and heads straight for the elevator. Yamapi clenches his fist, hand a little shaky, as he takes a deep breath and follows.
Kei is silent on the way up and down the hall to his room, waits for Yamapi, who’s walking much slower behind him, to open the door. The instant they’re inside, Kei looks at him, eyes hard and demanding answers.
“Sit down,” Yamapi says, motions for the bed.
“Yamapi,” Kei says, making no move to sit down. He stands his ground, facing Yamapi who won’t meet his gaze, staring hard at the floor. “W-What’s going on? What did he mean?”
“Kei, I-I haven’t exactly been honest with you,” Yamapi confesses, and flicks his eyes to Kei’s face, sees the surprise and the hurt. “I didn’t want to lie to you,” he continues after a moment. “But, I-I didn’t want to be who I am for awhile.”
“Be who?” Kei asks.
Yamapi hesitates, dropping his gaze back to the floor, his hands clenching into his jeans at his sides. “I-I’m an idol,” he finally says and braces himself for Kei’s reaction.
It doesn’t come. For long, tortorous moments the room is submerged in silence, the only thing Yamapi can hear is the erratic beating of his heart in his ears, waiting for Kei to say something, anything. When he can’t take the quiet anymore, he picks his gaze up, looks at Kei, hurt in his eyes, lips in a tight frown.
“Kei-”
“You lied to me,” Kei interjects. “And not only that, but you’re an idol?”
“Does that make a difference?” Yamapi asks.
“Yes!” Kei exclaims. “You’re an idol, and me, I-I’m a poolboy, we’re-we’re eons apart! If I’d have known you’re an idol, I-”
“What? You wouldn’t have done this?” Yamapi demands, hurt sweeping through him as well.
“Yes!” Kei says again. “Involved with an idol. W-What did you think was going to happen, Yamapi? When you left again for Japan? When you go back to being an idol and posing for magazines and holding concerts?”
“I-” Yamapi starts, but realizes he doesn’t know, that he never really thought about it at all until now.
“I’m pretty certain your company won’t allow something like this, if word ever got out. Especially with me,” Kei continues.
“I wasn’t going to break up with you,” Yamapi says because Kei could speak any further. “I wasn’t.”
“Maybe,” Kei says, meets Yamapi’s eyes, and gives him a sad smile. “But there’s no way we could’ve been together, either.”
Yamapi takes a step closer, thinks it’s a good sign when Kei doesn’t move back. “I’m sorry,” he breathes.
“Me, too,” Kei replies and without another word he leaves, the door falling shut behind him.
*
Yamapi spends the whole time of Kei’s work shift the next day on one of the lounge chairs, trying to get the other to talk to him. Kei, however, only gave him extra-polite smiles, offered him towels, and beverages, and otherwise ignored his entire existence. Yamapi continues trying, undeterred, for the next three days, but after the hundreth fake smiles and the thousandth time being ignored, Yamapi couldn’t take it anymore. The knots he hadn’t felt in so long had returned, coiling tightly in the pit of his stomach. It hurt not talking to Kei, hurt seeing him, hurt knowing how much he’d hurt him.
“Just give him time,” Jin tells him, clearly offering his best advice so Yamapi would forgive him for spilling the whole truth in the first place. “I don’t think he’s actually angry, just upset.”
“This is killing me,” Yamapi says, eyes clenched tight as he lies in bed.
“Come home, then,” Ryo says. “There’s not much else you can do, if he doesn’t want to talk to you. And, besides, you’ve been gone a few weeks now. Isn’t it time you come back?”
“Ryo’s just saying that because he misses you,” Jin singsongs. Then swears loudly, Ryo obviously having hit him.
“It’s just really irritating being around someone who has less than a quarter of a brain,” Ryo snaps.
“Pi,” Jin says, ignoring Ryo. “Just think about it. If he doesn’t come talk to you within the next few days it’ll be a whole week. You should just come home.”
Yamapi sighs, knows they’re both right, but not wanting to leave like this, in the middle of a fight with Kei. “Okay,” he says eventually. “I understand. I’ll come home this weekend.”
“You worry about Kei, I’ll book your flight,” Ryo says, and Yamapi smiles for the first time since the fight.
“Thanks, Ryo,” he says and then hangs up.
*
Yamapi zips up his duffle bag, then gets up to his feet, scanning the hotel room for anything he forgot to pack. The sounds of the sea rush in through the open balcony door, the curtains fluttering about it, and sunshine radiates within the room, bright and gold along the white bedsheets. Yamapi heaves a big sigh and grabs his things, heading out of the room and down to the front desk. He hands the gum-popping receptionist his key, and as she checks to make sure everything’s in order, he glances out the back door, the outdoor pool visible, and Kei is laughing and smiling brightly as he watches the guests.
Yamapi smiles, thinking that’s how it should be, and turns back to the desk when the receptionist taps his shoulder, asks him to sign a receipt. After she thanks him for his stay, he says quickly, a sudden idea forming in his head, “Can I have a little sheet of paper and a pen? I need to leave someone a note.”
She nods and hands him a post it and pencil and Yamapi quickly scribbles a few words in kanji.
Kei,
I’m sorry.
I love you.
Before losing his nerve, he folds it a few times, makes sure the writing isn’t visible, even though no one would be able to read it anyway, and then hands it back to the receptionist. “Can you make sure Kei gets this today before he leaves?” he tells her, and once she promises him, he gives her a bright smile and leaves behind the shining bright skies of Hawaii.
*
“I’m sorry, Pi,” Jin says, pats him on the back.
It’s a few weeks later now, and Yamapi’s back in the routine of things, after having been chewed out by the jimusho for up and disappearing, they bombarded him with a concert tour, photoshoots, and a new single. Yamapi, surprising, doesn’t mind so much, realizing just how much he did miss being an idol.
Yamapi shakes his head at Jin and takes a sip of his beer. “Nah, it’s okay. I should’ve been honest with him in the first place. And besides, he never came to talk to me. It was probably meant to be this way.”
“I still don’t understand how you didn’t give him your phone number,” Ryo says. “What day and age are you in?”
“I never needed to! We just met up in the lobby every morning or whatever,” Yamapi says, then sighs. “But you’re right.”
“Would he have called, do you think?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know if he really got my note. He probably doesn’t care. He probably threw it away. Probably found someone better who won’t lie to him.” Yamapi sinks into couch and swirls the beer around in his drink.
Ryo and Jin exchange a look, then Jin nudges Yamapi with an elbow. “I doubt he got over you so fast. It’s only bee a few weeks.”
Yamapi doesn’t say anything.
Ryo tries a different approach. “Cheer up, okay? Tomorrow, after your concert, we have a surprise for you.”
Yamapi glances up at the mention of a surprise. “Really?” he asks, a little suspicious.
“Yup. You’re going to love it,” Jin says, clearly excited.
Interested, Yamapi sits straight up, and for the rest of the night, hounds the two of them for hints. They don’t give, but Yamapi doesn’t really care, lets himself think about anything other than the oranges and yellows of Hawaii’s skies and the blues of the seas, of the way Kei’s eyes light up when he smiles, and of the sweet taste of his lips when they kiss.
*
The hall is full of screams and shouts and yells and applause and Yamapi feels his whole body tingling from the high of yet another successful concert. He makes his final waves and bows and thank-yous before heading backstage, passing by staff members, giving them grateful smiles and otsukaresamadeshitas. It had been a good concert, mostly because of Ryo and Jin’s surprise appearance during the MC, glad that their surprise hadn’t been something more scandalous or scary or whatever Jin was capable of thinking up.
Grinning, Yamapi heads for his dressing room, eager to meet up with Jin and Ryo and head off to get some drinks, but the instant he opens the door, he stops dead in his tracks, eyes going wide and heart sinking into his stomach.
Kei stands up from where he’s sitting on the couch, looking a little nervous, and offers Yamapi a small smile. “Hi,” he says, and Yamapi catches up to his brain just enough to walk inside and close the door.
Not trusting his voice, he just nods a little, aware he’s gaping, but not caring, and remembers Jin’s words to him the night before.
After your concert.
Those bastards.
“Y-Yamapi?” Kei says carefully, takes a few steps up to him, and Yamapi feels his stomach flutter at hearing his name from those lips.
Yamapi swallows down the lump in his throat, lets his eyes trace over every part of Kei before managing, “W-What’re you doing here?”
“Ryo called the hotel, asked for me,” Kei explains. “He told me you’re a mess, worse than before you visited Hawaii.”
“That doesn’t explain why you’re here,” Yamapi says.
“Because,” Kei starts, takes another step closer. “Because I heard that this idol I like was having a concert. I had a free ticket from his friend, you see.”
Yamapi slowly grins. “Oh, really. Is this idol anyone I know?”
“Depends.” Kei smiles. “Know someone who leaves a lame confession on a post-it?”
Yamapi’s grin fades and he rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “That was really lame, wasn’t it?”
“Probably not the best,” he admits. “One witnesses a lot of confessions in Hawaii.”
Yamapi sighs. “I was a little heartbroken when I wrote it,” he says. “See, the person I love ignored me for a week.”
This time Kei’s smile fades, and he gives Yamapi an apologetic look. “I’m sorry,” he breathes against Yamapi’s mouth as he closes the space between them.
“Me, too,” Yamapi replies, hands wrapping around Kei’s waist. He grins at Kei, swipes the hair from his face and kisses him once on the mouth.
Kei frowns. “I came all the way to Japan, that had better not be all I’m getting.”
Yamapi laughs, eyes shining. “Don’t worry,” he says as he interlaces their fingers, presses their palms together. “We’ve got plenty of time.”
end.
note; omgwtfidek. Sorry for lame ending. ;alsdknga I hope you like it? Maybe? ;alskdg :(((((
Pairing: Yamapi/Koyama, lots of Ryo/Pi/Jin friendship
Rating: NC-17 (only for one scene, which you can skip, otherwise it’s pretty much PG for kissing).
Summary: Under the hot sun in Hawaii, with the waves rolling along the shore, Yamapi meets the one person that finally lets him escape.
Author’s Note: For the anonmeme, requested here. Prompt: It's Hawaii, the sun is high in the sky and the saturation of colors is almost blinding. Koyama tries to cheer Yamapi up (for whatever reason he has to angst over), only his poor English skills means that he winds up being employed by the hotel manager as the cabana/pool boy who likes pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.
9,459 words, omg my longest fic to date. D: Also, AU. Because it’s all I could do for this. Idk how much English Pi and Koyama actually know, so lets pretend they’re able to get away with the convos I have in the beginning. :Dv And the receptionist calls Koyama “Kei” because it’s America. First names over last, remember. (and because typing “Keiichiro” out would be annoying. I’m lazy). So that’s why it’s Kei throughout the fic, instead of Koyama which was really a bitch to do ergh.
…I felt the need to clarify that for some reason. >.>
Title of fic from the song Escape by Rupert Holmes, obviously. >.> And thanks to grunhilda for spazzing to me and telling me this was good despite my insecurities. Ilu bb. ♥
To whoever requested this, I’m sorry. :( It’s probably not what you were expecting, and erm, I apologize that it ended up being so unbelievably long. Also that the ending is like kind of abrupt. >.> Let’s ignore that, shall we? Also, ignore typos. :\
A;slasd I’m going to stop talking now, wtf is this long a/n. UHM. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I really really hope that you like it. Even just a little bit. ♥
Yamapi pulls off his sunglasses and stares up at the large hotel. He takes a deep breath and glances around the place, signing in relief when he sees no cameras around. Seems like word hasn’t gotten out yet. He smiles.
He grabs his duffel bag and carry-on from the cab and pays the driver, then heads inside. The bright ceiling lights almost blind him and he blinks for a moment before walking up to the front desk. The receptionest smiles and snaps her gum loudly and hands him his key with a “Enjoy your stay.”
Yamapi offers her a bright smile and she swoons, watching him walk towards the elevator and up to the seventh floor.
On purpose he didn’t request a suite. Too big for just himself and too easy to track. The single room fits his purposes perfectly well; one bed facing the TV, a bathroom on the right of the door, a closet adjacent to it. The window off to the far end, opened to a balcony that overlooks the blue oceans of Hawaii. The indoor pool is just a floor below and the outdoow was down the hall and all the way at the bottom.
Pleased with his arrangements, Yamapi drops his luggage onto the armchair beside the balcony. He pulls open the curtains and steps outside. The sunlight glows over him and he breathes in the salty smell of the sea. He pulls out his cellphone, finds five missed calls and three voicemails. He shuts it off. Right now, he isn’t going to be an idol.
*
He sleeps in until past noon the next day, the first time in years that he’s done so. He stretches, feeling wonderful, and pulls himself out of bed, opens the curtains to the balcony first thing, letting sunlight wash over the room. After a shower, he pulls on a pair of board shorts and a white t-shirt, grabs the room key and heads out. For the first time, his phone lies on the side table by the bed instead of in his back pocket.
He gets himself lunch from the hotel restaurant and takes it outside to the patio tables beneath large blue umbrellas that flutter in the wind. He finds an empty one and as he eats watches others leaving the hotel for the beach and the few people over at the outdoor pool. Even after he finishes, he stays there, people-watching; a role-reversal, he realizes with a smile. For once, he isn’t being constantly watched (or so he hopes) and instead, he’s doing the watching. It was interesting, seeing all sorts of people of various backgrounds here, on vacation, Yamapi guesses, like him. Except most of them probably know when they’re going home. Yamapi still wasn’t so sure yet.
It’s not like he never wants to go back, he just doesn’t want to force himself. He couldn’t put a deadline on a vacation like this, one where he just needed to get away. He can’t predict how long it’ll take for this to all go away. Whatever this was. Even that, he still wasn’t sure about either.
Yamapi doesn’t move from his spot until a couple come by asking if he was done. Yamapi apologizes, quick stilted English, and leaves, throwing his trash away and heading for the outdoor pool. He finds an empty chaise lounge chair and settles down against it, popping on his sunglasses and closing his eyes. With the sun warming him and the faint sounds of the waves in the distance rumbling in his ears, it’s only a few moments before he falls asleep.
*
Yamapi wakes to the feeling of being shaked, peering his eyes open quickly and finding another pair far too close. He screams and so does the other person, both scrambling backwards.
“I’m sorry!” the other exclaims in English, and Yamapi forces himself to his feet, staring at the man before him.
Tall, with flaxen hair that fell into his worried eyes, Yamapi recognizes him as the pool boy he’d seen briefly during lunch. “Oh,” he replies in English as well. “No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“It was getting late and you hadn’t moved and I just wanted to make sure you were okay!” he continues, biting his lip nervously.
Yamapi smiles. “It’s okay,” he insists. “Thank you for waking me. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep.”
The other smiles brightly. “That happens a lot.”
“I bet,” Yamapi says, and finally glances around him, the sky much darker than when he’d fallen asleep, streams of sunlight visible far in the distance. “What time is it?”
“Almost six.”
“Wow, I should go back inside,” he says. “Thanks again for waking me!” He gives the pool boy a grateful smile and quickly heads inside, not noticing how the other watches until he disappears from view.
As Yamapi lies in bed later that evening, flipping through TV channels, he briefly wishes he’d asked for the boy’s name.
*
The next morning he wakes extra early and takes a walk along the beach just as the sun rises. Oranges and yellows highlight the sky as he settles onto the cool sand and watches the sun peer over the waves, illuminating the water.
He pulls out his phone, which he’d taken with him by accident, and takes a photo. After much debate, he posts to his nikki.
7:11 a.m.
Konbachiwa!
As expected, I love the sea the best.
Everyone should visit the sea with someone they love!
Or the next time you see it, think of me!
Ah, that’s embarrassing, afterall.
He sighs as he shuts the phone off and puts it away. It really is impossible to fully escape the idol life, he thinks. But, at least the fans wouldn’t be too worried now.
*
It’s not like he’s lonely. He’d come here to be alone. But he missed actually talking with someone, and most everyone else on the island was there with friends, with family, with a significant other. It made him feel even more alone. Not that he was actually lonely, though. Of course not. He just wouldn’t mind having a bit of company.
It takes him two whole days to work up the courage. He can’t think of anything else, afterall, and even though he feels a little silly, he asks the receptionist about the pool boy.
“Oh, you mean, Kei?” she says. “He works here everyday, except weekends, and Fridays, when he works on the beach.”
“Is he working now?” Yamapi asks, hoping he doesn’t sound too eager.
She nods. “He should be at the outdoor pool now.”
Yamapi thanks her and heads outside. True to her word, he is out there, handing towels to a few girls who smile and flirt with him. He - Kei, Yamapi recalls the receptionist calling him that - grins and chats with them for awhile, doesn’t notice Yamapi walking over and taking the next empty chair.
Kei turns to him a few moments later, looking a little surprised, but quickly hiding it with a bright smile. “Planning on sleeping here again?” he asks.
“Actually,” Yamapi says, realizing suddenly exactly what he was doing and praying the other doesn’t think him insane. “I kind of wanted to talk with you. I know you are working, but-”
He waves a hand at him dismissively and beams. “No, it’s okay,” he says. “I’m Kei,” he adds, holds out a hand.
Yamapi shakes it and replies, “You can call me Yamapi.”
Kei blinks. “Is that Japanese?”
“Uhm, yes, sort of. It’s kind of a long story,” he says. “Wait, are you Japanese?”
Kei nods. “My family moved here a few years ago,” he says, in Japanese this time.
Yamapi feels a stong sense of nostalgia wash over him, grinning instinctively at hearing his native language. It had been hard getting the right English words on his own, and finding someone else who could speak Japanese was almost like a miracle.
“What’re you doing here?” Kei asks him.
“Vacation,” Yamapi replies after a moment.
“You don’t sound so sure about that.”
Yamapi smiles. “I’m not quite sure myself yet.”
“Well, I hope your stay here helps you figure it out.”
“They pay you to say that.”
“Maybe a little.”
Yamapi laughs heartily, the first time in a long time, feels warmth spreading all over his body. Kei gives him a bright smile and opens his mouth to say something, but at that moment is called by another customer.
Yamapi gives him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t keep you from work.”
Kei stands up and replies, “No worries. I’ll be back.”
“Really?” Yamapi says, a little surprised.
“Sure, if you want me to.”
“I want you to,” Yamapi insists immediately, looks a little embarrassed.
Kei only laughs and with a cheerful smile goes back to work.
Yamapi leans back against the lounge chair and pulls on his sunglasses only so it wouldn’t be obvious he was watching Kei as he worked. Yamapi wasn’t sure what it was, but something about Kei was already making him feel better than he had in a long time. He watches as Kei works, being strangely energized every moment he catches him smile, even if it wasn’t directed towards him.
It was easy to see that Kei loved his job, was a naturally cheerful person, what with the way he constantly smiles and laughs with the guests. He makes the children jump around, chatting about something, and he listens with apt attention, and he makes the even the angriest looking adults quirk their lips, clearly unable to be even a little affected. He flirts with the girls who giggle as he walks away and offeres more beers to the guys when he sees their glasses empty.
When he passes by Yamapi a few times, he winks and asks if he wants anything. Yamapi only shakes his head and says, “I’m fine,” and it surprises him how true it is. Because watching Kei really does make him feel like nothing else in the world is wrong.
Once it becomes the before-lunch rush, Yamapi leaves to let Kei work and not get distracted. He decides to go surf for awhile and heads for the beach. Yamapi likes surfing, the feeling of being one with the sea is something he really enjoyed, the experience of riding the waves is exhilarating and breathtaking. Surfing let him think about how the world is bigger, larger than anything, how he was just one tiny person in this grand scheme of fantastic creations; it let him think that there is more out there. More than just being an idol known across Japan as Yamapi or Yamashita Tomohisa, and let him, for once, just think about being more on his own, as just simply Tomohisa.
Yamapi spends as much time out there as he can, until the sky grows dark and it gets hard to see. Feeling lighthearted, he returns the surfboard and heads back to the hotel. He’s just about through the doors when a familiar voice calls his name, and he turns to find Kei running towards him.
A grin immediately spreads across his face and he greets, “Hey, still here?”
“Yeah, just leaving now,” he says. “Out in the beach?” he asks as they head inside, taking in Yamapi’s wet appearance.
“Surfing,” Yamapi replies and Kei nods, looks impressed.
“I’ve always wanted to try that,” he admits.
“I could teach you,” Yamapi says, then quickly adds, “I mean, if you want to learn, I wouldn’t mind…” He trails off seeing Kei’s amused face and looks down at his feet.
Kei smiles. “I’d love to, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t.”
“Great!” Kei says excitedly. “When are you free?”
Yamapi laughs. “I’m on vacation, remember?”
“Oh, right. Then, how about after my shift tomorrow? I get off at six.”
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Koyama nods happily. “Yup! Bye!”
Yamapi waves as he heads for the elevator, a grin still plastered across his face. That night he goes to sleep feeling the best he has in a very long time, looking forward to a tomorrow that seemed like it couldn’t come fast enough.
*
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Pi?”
Yamapi sighs, honestly regrest having answered his phone. “Ryo,” he starts, but Ryo cuts him off.
“The jimusho’s going ape shit because of you! What’re you trying to pull?”
“Ryo,” Yamapi says, louder.
“What.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Oh, you’re sorry. That’s great, Pi. That’s fucking great. I’m sure everything will be perfect now because you’re sorry,” Ryo says sarcastically. “Oh, shut up, Jin, I’ll tell him whatever I want to, no-I’m not done-Bakanishi, give me my phone!”
“Pi!” Jin’s cheerful voice greets Yamapi and Yamapi can’t help but smile as he hears Jin and Ryo fight in the background. “Fucker, don’t bite me!”
“Give me my phone, I’m not done telling him what an idiot he is.”
“You can talk in a second, let me say something first.” Jin pauses. “Pi? Are you there?”
“Yes, Jin.” He sighs. “Are you going to yell at me too?”
“‘Course not,” Jin says easily. “If you need to go away for awhile, then good for you. Fuck the jimusho and the old man, do what you want.”
Yamapi beams. “I knew you were my best friend for something.”
Jin cheers. “Hah! Take that, Ryo!” he exclaims while Ryo grumbles and calls them both idiots.
“So,” Jin continues when he’s done cheering. “Met any hot girls? What’ve you been doing? Wait. Where exactly are you?”
“Not telling,” Yamapi replies.
“Jackass,” Jin snaps and then exclaims, “Stop punching me, Ryo!”
“Give me the phone!”
“Ryo-chan,” Yamapi says and the two stop squawking to listen. “I’m coming back, okay? I am.”
“When?” Ryo says.
“I don’t know yet.”
“Pi.”
“Ryo-chan.” He pauses. “I just really need this right now. I’ll deal with the consequences later. I’m sorry if the jimusho is hassling you about where I am-”
“That’s not the problem, Pi-”
“-but I will be back, okay? Just let me have this.”
There’s a long stretch of silence, and then a sigh. “I really don’t have a choice, do I?”
“Not really,” Yamapi says cheerfully.
“Fine. Fine. You fucking selfish bastard. Fine.”
Yamapi just laughs, all three of them knowing that Ryo doesn’t mean a word he says. “Thanks, Ryo-chan,” he replies.
“Just, tell me where you are.”
“He didn’t tell me. What makes you think he’ll tell you?”
“I’m in Hawaii,” Yamapi replies and Jin cries, “Hey!” while Ryo laughs loudly.
“Figures you’d be there,” Ryo says fondly. He sighs again and adds, “Pi, calls us-no, call me, Jin’s not capable of anything with real thought-”
“I hate you so much.”
“-if you need anything, okay? We’ll come visit. If you want.”
“Hell, yes! Hawaii, here we come!” Jin exclaims.
“No, I’ll be okay. Plus, I think the jimusho will go to hell if three of their best idols go missing.”
“I’m serious,” Ryo says. “Just call.”
Yamapi smiles, heart warm. “I know. Thanks, Ryo,” he says. “But now, I have a date to go to.”
“A date?” Jin shrieks.
Yamapi just cackles and hangs up.
*
“I think I may have made a mistake,” Kei says. He stares at the large waves rolling onto shore with wide eyes.
Yamapi laughs. “Surfing’s not that hard, really.”
“Yeah, and how long have you been doing it?”
“Okay, I see your point,” Yamapi says. “But don’t worry, I’ll be here to save you.”
“From what? Will I need saving?” Kei frets. “No, I don’t think I can do this.”
“It’s okay. You’re not even going out on the water yet. You have to learn the basics first and we do that on the beach.”
“Oh,” Kei says, looking slightly pacified. “Okay.”
“We don’t have to do this, you know,” Yamapi adds. “We can do something else instead.”
Kei finally turns his eyes away from the sea and gives Yamapi a hopeful look. “Like what?” he asks.
Yamapi shrugs, and then smiles. “This is your paradise. Why don’t you show me around?”
Kei beams. “Okay!” he says cheerfully, clearly approving of this change in plan. He grabs Yamapi’s wrist and drags him back up to the hotel, and Yamapi laughs as he follows along, if only to hide the sudden fluttering in his stomach at the warmth of Kei’s hand on his skin.
*
Kei takes him out into the city, the sun slowly setting and the streetlights popping on one by one. It’s warm and the sounds of the sea echo through the busy streets packed with mostly tourists. Yamapi’s been down these streets before on other vacations with Ryo and with Jin, but it’s different today because it’s a true tour. Kei tells him everything and anything, points out the little shops Yamapi would have otherwise missed, tells him stories about the people who work there. He waves and chats with anyone he knows and introduces Yamapi as a friend.
“A friend?” Yamapi asks him later, after the fifth time Kei’s said it. “We’ve hardly known each other for two days.”
“Well, why not?” Kei counters, smiling. “I like you, I think you’re fun. Why shouldn’t I be friends with you? ”
Yamapi flushes and says, “If you put it that way.”
Kei grins, pleased. “Good, I’m glad that’s settled now,” he says cheerfully and Yamapi only shakes his head, suppressing a smile.
They spend almost two hours out on the streets, stopping to get ice cream from this one place Kei loves. Yamapi’s is vanilla and drips down his cone, sticky on his hand, and Kei smiles and gives him his napkin. It’s aimless walking and talking; stopping in shops every once in awhile, catching a few right before they close. Yamapi buys one or two things for Jin and Ryo, knows the next time they call Jin will ask. Kei just stays by his side, a warm, continuously smiling presence that has Yamapi thinking that as long as Kei smiles, nothing in the world could ever go wrong.
*
“What do you do?” Kei asks him.
Yamapi looks up from the sand where he’s drawing a turtle with a stick. It’s a few days later, and right after Kei’s pool shift. They meet up everyday at that time, spend it in different ways; the day before they’d gotten dinner together, and today they were at the beach, laying in the hot sand and watching the sunset.
“What do you mean?” Yamapi asks.
“Back in Japan. What is it you do?”
“Oh.” Yamapi pauses in his drawing, stares hard at the sand, hesitating for awhile. “I’m a student,” he lies. “It’s our winter break, so I decided to come here.”
“On your own? That’s a little strange for a college student.”
Yamapi shrugs. “I like doing things on my own.”
“Yet you’re the one who came seeking my company,” Kei teases.
Yamapi smiles at him. “What can I say? I like you, you’re fun.”
Kei seems to blush to the tips of his ears, and he looks away quickly, focuses on what Yamapi’s been sketching in the sand. “What is that?” he questions, tilting his head to get a better look.
“A turtle!” Yamapi says, a little offended.
Kei bursts out laughing. “What? It looks like a blob with little legs! And a face that, oh my god, is that Doraemon?”
Yamapi glares. “It’s totally a turtle!” he insists.
But Kei only laughs harder, and after a moment of staring at him, a grin spreads over Yamapi’s face and he tackles Kei into the sand, a laughing, screaming mess of limbs. They laugh until their sides hurt and cheeks are flushed pink, until there’s sand in their hair and down their shirts, until the sun finally creeps beneath the horizon.
Yamapi leads them up to his room afterwards, insists Kei he can take a shower to get the sand out of his hair. Yamapi waits out on the balcony while Kei showers, not wanting to get sand all over the bedsheets; it’d be a pain in the ass to sleep in, and listens to the waves of the sea, eyes closed and all other sense turned off.
He jumps a bit when Kei comes up behind him, wet hair in his eyes and lips curved into a smile. His jeans are on, but he’s shirtless, towel hanging around his neck, and Yamapi’s eyes trail a bead of water from his hair along his jaw and throat, where it stops in the dip of his collarbone. And something triggers in the depths of Yamapi’s brain, his stomach stirring as he takes in Kei’s appearance, appreciating the tanned skin, the defined abs, the built biceps.
“Yamapi?” Kei eventually says, looking a little concered, and if he noticed Yamapi staring, he doesn’t mention it.
Yamapi snaps out of his thoughts, mumbles a choked, “Oh, right. Shower,” and rushes for the bathroom.
Under the cool streams of water, Yamapi lets out a breath, his heartrate decreasing, the knot in his stomach coming loose. He couldn’t be sure what just happened, but it was gone, for now, and he sighs in relief. He showers until his fingers prune and then shuts off the faucet, wrapping a towel around his waist. The second he opens the door, he sees Kei sitting on the bed (fully clothed this time) and the television on, and those same feelings he’d just managed to get rid of, come straight back.
Kei turns to him, hearing the door open, and promptly looks away, cheeks flushed.
Yamapi walks out, holding the towel secure at his hip, forcing his legs to stop feeling like lead, and says, “I thought you’d be gone.”
Kei bites his lower lip nervously. “I-I didn’t think you’d mind. I-I can go though, if you want me to-”
“No,” Yamapi interjects quickly. “It’s okay. Just, uhm, let me dress.”
Kei nods and Yamapi fishes clothing out of his duffel bag, quickly pulling it on. He grabs the towel and dries his hair, plopping down on the bed beside Kei. They don’t say a word, which only has Yamapi’s stomach twisting into tighter and tighter knots. He’s incredibly aware of how close they’re sitting beside each other, how their knees brush together when one of them moves, how their elbows bump every few minutes, how Kei keeps sucking that lower lip into his mouth, moist and hot and-
“I should go,” Kei says suddenly, jumping to his feet. He gives Yamapi a bright smile, but Yamapi can tell it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’ll see you later.”
He leaves before Yamapi gets the chance to speak, and Yamapi falls back onto the bed with a tremendous sigh. The television continues to play on, undaunted, and Yamapi waits until the knots in his belly untangle themselves before he finally moves to turn it off.
*
The following day, it’s still there, the second he sees Kei in the afternoon, the feelings bubble up inside him. Yamapi waves to him half-heartedly and then spends the rest of afternoon in his room and doesn’t go to meet him at the end of his shift. He thinks if Kei really wanted to see him, he could come up to his room.
Kei doesn’t. Yamapi doesn’t know whether to be grateful or disappointed.
He manages only three days. And then he can’t take it anymore. Like opposite ends on a magnet, he’s pulled back to him, the strange knots in his stomach tight and furious. As it’s Friday, Kei works down at the beach cabana, and at the end of Kei’s shift, Yamapi heads down to see him. Kei sees him immediately, eyes a little wide in surprise, then a frown lining his lips. Yamapi feels the knots twist.
“I thought you’d left,” he says, voice a little accusatory as they walk along the beach, waves rolling over their barefeet.
“No. I-I was still here.”
“So you’ve just been avoiding me, then,” Kei says and sounds hurt.
Yamapi can’t deny it, and stares at the sand. “I’m sorry,” he says.
Kei stops walking, looks up at Yamapi, eyes confused. “Did I do something? Are you angry with me? Because if I did, I’m really sorry.”
Yamapi shakes his head and slowly steps closer. Kei’s eyes widen as he closes the space between them.
“Yamapi?” he breathes, voice quickly carried off by the wind.
And Yamapi does the only thing he thinks makes any sense. He kisses him, soft and slow and short, pulling away after a few moments. Yamapi licks his lips, stares intently at Kei for his reaction, and when Kei leans back in and kisses him, the knots in his stomach fall apart.
*
The second the door closes, Yamapi pushes Kei against it, presses their mouths together again and sighs contently, lips curving into a smile. Kei laughs into his mouth as he hooks his fingers into the loops on Yamapi’s jeans and pulls him close, laughter turning into a pleased moan as their bodies meet. Yamapi threads his fingers through Kei’s hair and down to his cheek, fingers tracing the line of his jaw before he pulls away. Kei gasps for breath, eyes bright and dancing, and Yamapi grabs his hand, pulls him into the room, onto the bed.
Yamapi straddles his hips and fuses their mouths together, rocking his hips when Kei grabs his waist and moves his own. His head spinning from the suddenness, the exhilaration, the thrill of it all, Yamapi breaks the kiss and stares down at Kei for a few moments.
Kei grins at him. “You’re not going to ask me for a safeword, are you?” he teases and Yamapi laughs.
“Not unless you think you need one,” Yamapi replies.
Kei leans up on his elbows and kisses him, tongue sweeping into his mouth and licking along the roof. When he pulls back, Yamapi looks dazed, and Kei laughs. “I’m pretty sure it won’t be necessary.”
Yamapi nods and says into his mouth, “Good, because I don’t really think it’d have worked, anyway.”
Kei makes a happy noise as Yamapi kisses him, hands firm on Yamapi’s waist as he rolls his hips for more pressure, Yamapi responding just as enthusiastically. A few moments later, Yamapi sits back on his knees, catches his breath, and then reaches for the hem of Kei’s shirt, pulling it up and over his head. Kei does the same for him, eyes trailing along the curves of Yamapi’s chest and abs, fingers reaching out to flit across the skin.
Yamapi sucks in a breath at the touch, fingers white-hot as they move back to hold onto his hips. He rocks against Kei, delighting in the soft moans that escape the other’s throat, and grabs the buckle on Kei’s pants. He unfastens them slowly, enjoying watching the displeased, desperate look in Kei’s eyes and the way he moves his hips faster beneath him. Yamapi smirks a little, amused, and Kei glares, or glares as much as he can, which isn’t a lot, eyes dark with pleasure betraying his intentions.
Yamapi moves away to pull the rest of Kei’s clothes off and onto the floor, leaning in and pressing his mouth into the crook of his neck, sucking his way along the smooth expanse of skin. He drops a hand to reach between them, wrapping his fingers lightly around Kei’s erection, smiling against his collarbone as Kei immediately jerks his hips into the touch, gasping loudly. His hand curls into Yamapi’s hair, tugs just a little, a sign to get him to do something, and Yamapi obliges, tightens his fingers and strokes slowly from base to tip.
Kei whines incomprehensively as Yamapi works his hand faster, sliding his thumb over the slit with each stroke. It doesn’t take long for Yamapi to feel Kei get close, the rhythm of his movements shaky, and Yamapi pulls his hand away at the same time he detaches his mouth from Kei’s collar, pleased with his work, a dark mark stretching along the skin. Kei just writhes beneath him, fingernails dragging along Yamapi’s back to keep him close, frustrated he was so close, yet so far.
Yamapi quickly kicks himself out his clothes, his own erection straining against his stomach and before he moves back, he reaches into the side pocket of his duffle bag, pulls out a small tube. He positions himself between Kei’s legs, pops off the cap and coats his fingers with the lube. Unsure if Kei’s been in this situation before, he takes it a little slow, gently pressing in the first finger, eyes trained on Kei’s face for the first signs of discomfort. But Kei only moves against him, almost immediately, body almost aching for it and Yamapi’s previous question is answered. He pushes in another finger, watching with hypnotized eyes as Kei rolls his hips for more, and manages in one more, hits that spot which instantly has Kei arching and crying out.
Yamapi pulls his fingers out then and prepares himself hastily, hissing at the contact of the cool lotion against his skin. He meets Kei’s gaze as he slides himself in, watches as Kei’s eyes squeeze shut and his head pushes back against the pillow, hips straining and muscles tight around Yamapi’s cock. Yamapi forces himself to pause, to catch his breath, to not fucking come when they’ve just barely started. He waits until he feels Kei relax around him, waits until Kei’s fingers scramble along his shoulder blades, waits until Kei opens his eyes and meets his gaze again. And then he moves, pulling out and thrusting back in, groaning loudly at the wonderful, wonderful heat and the amazing tightness.
Kei pulls Yamapi down and kisses him, hot and wet, one hand threading through Yamapi’s hair again, the other trailing down his arm to tighten around Yamapi’s wrist where Yamapi’s holding onto Kei’s hip. They rock together, keeping a steady pace, Kei meeting each of Yamapi’s thrusts with his own jerk of the hips. Yamapi slides a hand between them to wrap around Kei’s cock again and Kei arches into the touch, the added sensations breaks him from the kiss, a loud cry ripping from his lips.
Yamapi presses his nose against the soft spot behind Kei’s ear, whispers, “Not so loud.”
Kei nods quickly, having realized the same thing, and puts a hand to his mouth, whimpering silently. Yamapi picks up his pace, his hand stroking in time with his thrusts, and he can feel the inevitable release tingling within his veins, his skin burning, shoulders shaking, the remains of his control slowly seeping away as Kei tightens around him.
Kei comes first, his cry muffled against his hand as he tenses and spills into Yamapi’s hand. He collapses, body trembling from the aftershock, eyes dazed and sated. Yamapi only manages to hold out a few more thrusts, muscles tight around his cock, and he finishes with a low groan that tremors throughout his whole body, the sensations sweeping from his toes to the very tips of his fingers.
Yamapi pulls out and with a happy sigh plops onto his side next to Kei, reaches out to brush Kei’s hair from his face. Kei smiles warmly at him, eyes already falling close, and Yamapi presses a soft kiss to his forehead before sleep claims them both.
*
Yamapi wakes the next morning to the sounds of the sea from the window and sunlight in a stream of gold along the floor. He smiles and stretches, turning around to reach for Kei, only to not find him in the bed. His heart plummets, thinking the worst of the worst, Kei had left, had regretted everything they’d done, but then the bathroom door clicks open and Kei walks out.
Yamapi sighs in relief and Kei smiles at him, says, “Oh, you’re awake.”
“Good morning,” Yamapi says happily, scooting over to the edge of the bed and kneeling to kiss him.
Kei grins when they pull apart, replies, “Good morning.”
“You don’t work today, right?” Yamapi asks.
Kei shakes his head.
“Good,” Yamapi replies, reaches down to intertwine their fingers.
Kei bites his lip, and says quietly, “Uhm, now what?”
Yamapi laughs and pats his stomach. “Breakfast.”
They go out into the city for breakfast, to a little place Kei says has really good pancakes. They sit by the window, watch as the city slowly wakes up, businesses opening their doors and tourists heading out from the hotels. Their knees brush beneath the table and they wear identical smiles across their faces. Yamapi doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to stop smiling, his heart warm and stomach fluttering, an inexplicable feeling of euphoria embedded in his veins, a feeling he never wants to lose. He can’t recall the last time he felt this way, no worries, no concerns, no need to be in ten places in one day. It’s calming, it’s freeing, it’s everything he needed from this trip, and when he meets Kei’s gaze, he knows that it’s also so much more.
“We must look so obvious,” Kei says suddenly. “Smiling like this.”
Yamapi grins. “Probably,” he replies. “But does it really matter?”
“It’s a little embarrassing,” Kei admits, obviously feeling self-conscious.
Due to his idol-life, being watched by others didn’t really bother Yamapi too much, it was something he could tune out when he wished. But he smiles at Kei, and says, “Let’s go for a walk? On the beach?”
Kei nods, thankful. “Okay!”
They finish up breakfast and head for the beach, the sky a low overcast now, the sun barely visible behind gray clouds. As it was still quite early, the beach was fairly empty and they roll up tht ends of their pants and walk side by side where the waves meet the shore. Kei leads most of the conversation, telling Yamapi stories about the other guests, about work, about the other people that work at the hotel, the ones Yamapi should avoid, the ones who would give him free food.
“Why not about you?” Yamapi says awhile later, cutting Kei off mid-sentence.
“Huh?” Kei says, confused.
“You talk about the guests and stuff, but I’d rather hear about you.”
Kei chuckles nervously. “I’m not that interesting. I don’t know what to say.”
Yamapi nudges his shoulder. “I think you’re interesting.”
Kei flushes, looks down at his feet, and they continue walking in silence for awhile. Then he looks up and says, “I have a cat?”
“What’s its name?” asks Yamapi, grinning.
“Nyanta,” Kei replies and then launches into a story about his cat that has them both laughing, and Yamapi offers his own stories about his dogs back at home.
They’re caught up in exchanging tales when it starts to rain, slow tiny drops falling from the dark sky. The few people out on the bed scramble to put their things away, rushing back up to the hotel as the raindrops increase, and Yamapi turns as well.
“Let’s go back,” he says.
But Kei just shakes his head and, grinning, replies, “No, this is fun!”
“What?” Yamapi exclaims and watches as Kei tilts his head back, eyes closed, arms spread wide, letting the rain fall upon him. Yamapi feels his heart swell at the sight, a smile creeping across his lips. He moves over to Kei, threads fingers into his hair, around to the back of his neck, and leans in to kiss him before Kei can open his eyes.
Their clothes are wet, hair sticking to their faces, when they finally pull apart. Yamapi draws his thumb along Kei’s jaw and presses their mouths together a last time. He grins when they break apart and leads the way back to the hotel.
*
Yamapi fumbles around in bed, almost falling off as he reaches for his phone, ringing loudly in the silence of the hotel room. Eyes still closed, he answers with a irritated, “What?”
“Pi?” says what is undoubtedly Ryo’s voice. “What hotel are you at?”
“Why do you want to know?” Yamapi questions, yawning.
“Because, Jin and I just landed at the airport and we’re coming to see you.”
Yamapi’s eyes snap open and he jumps to his feet. “What?” he shouts.
“What the hell, Pi? Don’t scream at me,” Ryo snaps. “Just tell me where you are.”
Yamapi doesn’t respond, just gapes wordlessly at the floor until Ryo yells at him to snap out of it and Yamapi doesn’t have a choice but to tell him.
“Awesome. We’ll be there in ten minutes.” Ryo hangs up.
Yamapi shuts his phone and mutters, “Fuck,” under his breath as he turns around and stares at Kei, still sleeping soundly beneath the covers.
*
The first thing Ryo does is grumble about the plane ride, while the first thing Jin does is tackle Yamapi in the middle of the hotel lobby.
“Nice to see you, too, Jin,” Yamapi says when they pull apart. He glances back and forth between Ryo and Jin and demands, “What’re you doing here? I told you that you didn’t need to come!”
Ryo punches him. “It’s your fault, you know. You don’t call us for almost a week, and when we call, you never answer!”
“We thought you’d died!” Jin adds, for effect.
Yamapi rolls his eyes, a little amused and a little irritated, but he’s smiling anyway. “I’m fine, idiots. See?”
“Yeah,” Jin agrees, peering at Yamapi suspiciously. “Almost too fine.” He stares harder. Then gasps. “Oh my god, you got laid!”
Yamapi forces himself not to blush, stares Jin down as hard as he can, and replies, “Did not.”
“Did too!” Jin exclaims, pointing accusatorily at Yamapi’s face. “That’s why you’ve been ignoring us! Who is it? Who? Who? Are we going to meet her? Or him?”
Yamapi splutters a little and squawks, “No.”
“So there is someone,” Ryo says sneakily and Yamapi flushes.
“No, I didn’t-fuck.”
Ryo smirks victoriously while Jin just continues to gape at him.
“We’re here for three days,” Ryo says. He pats Yamapi on the shoulder and adds, “And we better meet your new friend before we leave.”
Yamapi groans as he leads the two of them up to the room they booked, somehow just down the hall from his own. As they pass the desk, Yamapi turns to look back at Kei who’s standing there. He meets his gaze and smiles reassuredly at him, and Kei offers him a small smile and wave in return.
“Pi!” Jin calls and Yamapi quickly turns away.
“Coming!” he returns and heads off for the elevators, unaware of Kei’s careful gaze on his back.
*
“He doesn’t know anything about me being an idol. So don’t, for the love of god, tell him, okay?” Yamapi pleads that evening. It was almost six-thirty and Yamapi had promised Jin and Ryo he’d take them to meet Kei for dinner.
“Okay, okay,” Jin says, impatient, bouncing on the balls of his feet and looking over at the entrance of the hotel restaurant.
“Should we tell him we’re students too?” Ryo asks, voice clearly showing he disapproved of Yamapi’s lie.
“I don’t care. Be whatever you want to be-as long as it’s reasonable,” he adds, seeing Jin’s face light up.
“And be nice,” Yamapi says nervously.
Jin and Ryo stare at him. Then Jin says, eyes wide, “Oh, wow, you really like him!”
“What. No. It’s not like that-”
“Oh, save it, Pi,” Ryo cuts in, smirking deviously and Yamapi gets a sinking feeling in his gut. Maybe this was a bad idea, afterall, he thinks anxiously.
“Is that him?” Jin asks for the tenth time, pointing towards the entrance.
Yamapi turns and a smile instantly crosses his face, finding Kei glancing around the restaurant a little carefully. He waves at him when Kei turns their way and Kei grins brightly, quickly heads over to meet them.
Yamapi puts a hand on Kei’s back, which has both Ryo and Jin smirking at him, and says carefully, “Uhm, this is Kei. Kei, these are my friends, Ryo and Jin.”
“Best friends,” Jin adds, then grins. “Nice to meet you.”
“Same,” Ryo replies, sporting an identical grin.
Kei smiles nervously. “Yeah, it-it’s nice to meet you.”
“Okay, let’s eat,” Yamapi says quickly, leads Kei to the table and they all sit down around it, a waiter coming by shortly to get their orders.
Surprisingly, dinner goes by smoothly. Ryo explains he’s a friend of Yamapi’s from school, to which Yamapi gives him a grateful look, while Jin introduces himself as a professional soccer player.
“He means,” Ryo interjects, stepping on Jin’s foot. “He wishes he was. He’s a classmate too.”
“Right.” Jin winces. “Right. That’s what I meant.”
Kei only laughs and Yamapi quickly steers the conversation to safer territory. The food is delicious and they’re all enjoying themselves, and Yamapi doesn’t think he’s felt happier in a long while, nervousness washing away. Ryo keeps Jin in line mostly, stepping on his feet whenever Jin asks Kei dumb questions or almost gives the three of them away, and Yamapi thinks he’ll have to buy Ryo whatever he wants when this is over. He also thinks he’ll keep the souvenier he got Jin for himself.
Mostly, though, Yamapi’s glad that Kei seems to be having just as nice of a time, smiling and laughing along with everything, prompting Ryo and Jin for embarrassing stories about Yamapi which later has Yamapi taking back his gift for Ryo as well, who all to happily tells Kei all of his dark secrets.
After dinner, Ryo drags Jin away to go shopping, the two of them grinning and winking back at Yamapi, who flushes and can’t decide whether to kill them or thank them. He turns to Kei and says quietly, “I’m sorry about them.”
Kei shakes his head. “Don’t be. They’re nice friends. I can tell they care about you.”
Yamapi laughs. “Yeah, maybe too much. They’re acting parents, sometimes.”
“Well, did I get their approval, then?” Kei teases as they head out onto the beach where the sun is just disappearing.
“They left us alone pretty quickly,” Yamapi says. “Seems as though they like you.”
Kei beams and Yamapi smiles, squeezes his hand quickly before letting go. They stop at the beach cabana, order pina coladas before finding a few lounge chairs along the walk and settling down, watching the waves and the darkening sky.
*
“I can’t believe we have to leave already,” Jin complains two days later. They, along with Kei, are standing in the lobby of the hotel, Jin and Ryo’s duffle bags on the foor by their feet. “Why couldn’t you have gotten us a longer vacation?”
Ryo kicks him. “Be glad I got jimusho to even let you come along in the first place,” he retorts.
“I’m glad you came,” Yamapi tells them, smiling, feeling a little depressed they were leaving as well.
“We’re glad, too,” Ryo replies. “You seem good.” He glances at Kei, then back at Yamapi, grins. “Really good.”
“And we have Kei here to thank for that!” Jin exclaims, drops an arm around Kei’s shoulder. “You’re one of us, now!”
“Erm,” Kei says, torn between amused and a little unsure. “Thank you?”
Jin laughs. “We should pay you back for making Pi so happy.”
“Th-That’s not necessary, I didn’t really do anything,” Kei insists, eyes wide.
“You really did, though,” Ryo replies and Jin nods frantically by his side.
“Guys,” Yamapi intervenes. “Leave him alone.”
“Aw, you’re the protective boyfriend,” Jin coos and Yamapi punches him.
“Come on, Jin, or we’ll miss our plane,” Ryo says, kicking Jin again. He gives Kei a smiles, says, “It was nice meeting you. Watch over him, okay?”
A little surprised, Kei nods slowly, smiles as Yamapi gives Ryo and Jin hugs, then pulls back and watches them head for the exit. Just a few steps later, though, Jin turns around, and exclaims, “I’ve got it!”
“Got what?” Yamapi asks.
“How to pay Kei back,” he says, grinning. “It’s so obvious.” He smiles at Kei and continues, “We’ll get you tickets to one of Pi’s concerts!”
Yamapi’s eyes widen and his heart drops to his feet. Kei blinks curiously at Jin, not understanding, and stammers, “C-Concert?”
“Yeah,” Jin says gleefully, despite Ryo’s frantic attempts at pulling him away.
“Jin!” Yamapi cuts in, but Jin doesn’t seem to hear him.
“W-What do you mean, concert?” Kei asks, looking back and forth between Jin and Yamapi, and Yamapi can almost see everything they’d put together, the two of them, falling apart from the confusion, the betrayal, in Kei’s eyes.
“Jin,” Ryo snaps, voice loud and authorative and Jin finally turns to him.
“What?”
“Don’t you remember anything, you fucking idiot?” Ryo demands and Jin just stares at him for a few moments, before his eyes widen comically. “Now you remember?”
“Fuck.” Jin looks at Yamapi and swallows. He turns to Kei, then back to Yamapi. “I’m sorry,” he says and Yamapi just stares at him, eyes dark, and when Ryo pulls on his arm, Jin winces and turns away, the two of them quickly heading out the door and to their awaiting cab.
The second they’re gone, Kei turns to Yamapi and asks, “What did he mean? Concerts? What concerts?”
Yamapi sighs wearily, reaches for Kei’s hand and says, “Let’s go up to my room and I’ll tell you.”
Kei pulls his hand away from Yamapi’s and heads straight for the elevator. Yamapi clenches his fist, hand a little shaky, as he takes a deep breath and follows.
Kei is silent on the way up and down the hall to his room, waits for Yamapi, who’s walking much slower behind him, to open the door. The instant they’re inside, Kei looks at him, eyes hard and demanding answers.
“Sit down,” Yamapi says, motions for the bed.
“Yamapi,” Kei says, making no move to sit down. He stands his ground, facing Yamapi who won’t meet his gaze, staring hard at the floor. “W-What’s going on? What did he mean?”
“Kei, I-I haven’t exactly been honest with you,” Yamapi confesses, and flicks his eyes to Kei’s face, sees the surprise and the hurt. “I didn’t want to lie to you,” he continues after a moment. “But, I-I didn’t want to be who I am for awhile.”
“Be who?” Kei asks.
Yamapi hesitates, dropping his gaze back to the floor, his hands clenching into his jeans at his sides. “I-I’m an idol,” he finally says and braces himself for Kei’s reaction.
It doesn’t come. For long, tortorous moments the room is submerged in silence, the only thing Yamapi can hear is the erratic beating of his heart in his ears, waiting for Kei to say something, anything. When he can’t take the quiet anymore, he picks his gaze up, looks at Kei, hurt in his eyes, lips in a tight frown.
“Kei-”
“You lied to me,” Kei interjects. “And not only that, but you’re an idol?”
“Does that make a difference?” Yamapi asks.
“Yes!” Kei exclaims. “You’re an idol, and me, I-I’m a poolboy, we’re-we’re eons apart! If I’d have known you’re an idol, I-”
“What? You wouldn’t have done this?” Yamapi demands, hurt sweeping through him as well.
“Yes!” Kei says again. “Involved with an idol. W-What did you think was going to happen, Yamapi? When you left again for Japan? When you go back to being an idol and posing for magazines and holding concerts?”
“I-” Yamapi starts, but realizes he doesn’t know, that he never really thought about it at all until now.
“I’m pretty certain your company won’t allow something like this, if word ever got out. Especially with me,” Kei continues.
“I wasn’t going to break up with you,” Yamapi says because Kei could speak any further. “I wasn’t.”
“Maybe,” Kei says, meets Yamapi’s eyes, and gives him a sad smile. “But there’s no way we could’ve been together, either.”
Yamapi takes a step closer, thinks it’s a good sign when Kei doesn’t move back. “I’m sorry,” he breathes.
“Me, too,” Kei replies and without another word he leaves, the door falling shut behind him.
*
Yamapi spends the whole time of Kei’s work shift the next day on one of the lounge chairs, trying to get the other to talk to him. Kei, however, only gave him extra-polite smiles, offered him towels, and beverages, and otherwise ignored his entire existence. Yamapi continues trying, undeterred, for the next three days, but after the hundreth fake smiles and the thousandth time being ignored, Yamapi couldn’t take it anymore. The knots he hadn’t felt in so long had returned, coiling tightly in the pit of his stomach. It hurt not talking to Kei, hurt seeing him, hurt knowing how much he’d hurt him.
“Just give him time,” Jin tells him, clearly offering his best advice so Yamapi would forgive him for spilling the whole truth in the first place. “I don’t think he’s actually angry, just upset.”
“This is killing me,” Yamapi says, eyes clenched tight as he lies in bed.
“Come home, then,” Ryo says. “There’s not much else you can do, if he doesn’t want to talk to you. And, besides, you’ve been gone a few weeks now. Isn’t it time you come back?”
“Ryo’s just saying that because he misses you,” Jin singsongs. Then swears loudly, Ryo obviously having hit him.
“It’s just really irritating being around someone who has less than a quarter of a brain,” Ryo snaps.
“Pi,” Jin says, ignoring Ryo. “Just think about it. If he doesn’t come talk to you within the next few days it’ll be a whole week. You should just come home.”
Yamapi sighs, knows they’re both right, but not wanting to leave like this, in the middle of a fight with Kei. “Okay,” he says eventually. “I understand. I’ll come home this weekend.”
“You worry about Kei, I’ll book your flight,” Ryo says, and Yamapi smiles for the first time since the fight.
“Thanks, Ryo,” he says and then hangs up.
*
Yamapi zips up his duffle bag, then gets up to his feet, scanning the hotel room for anything he forgot to pack. The sounds of the sea rush in through the open balcony door, the curtains fluttering about it, and sunshine radiates within the room, bright and gold along the white bedsheets. Yamapi heaves a big sigh and grabs his things, heading out of the room and down to the front desk. He hands the gum-popping receptionist his key, and as she checks to make sure everything’s in order, he glances out the back door, the outdoor pool visible, and Kei is laughing and smiling brightly as he watches the guests.
Yamapi smiles, thinking that’s how it should be, and turns back to the desk when the receptionist taps his shoulder, asks him to sign a receipt. After she thanks him for his stay, he says quickly, a sudden idea forming in his head, “Can I have a little sheet of paper and a pen? I need to leave someone a note.”
She nods and hands him a post it and pencil and Yamapi quickly scribbles a few words in kanji.
Kei,
I’m sorry.
I love you.
Before losing his nerve, he folds it a few times, makes sure the writing isn’t visible, even though no one would be able to read it anyway, and then hands it back to the receptionist. “Can you make sure Kei gets this today before he leaves?” he tells her, and once she promises him, he gives her a bright smile and leaves behind the shining bright skies of Hawaii.
*
“I’m sorry, Pi,” Jin says, pats him on the back.
It’s a few weeks later now, and Yamapi’s back in the routine of things, after having been chewed out by the jimusho for up and disappearing, they bombarded him with a concert tour, photoshoots, and a new single. Yamapi, surprising, doesn’t mind so much, realizing just how much he did miss being an idol.
Yamapi shakes his head at Jin and takes a sip of his beer. “Nah, it’s okay. I should’ve been honest with him in the first place. And besides, he never came to talk to me. It was probably meant to be this way.”
“I still don’t understand how you didn’t give him your phone number,” Ryo says. “What day and age are you in?”
“I never needed to! We just met up in the lobby every morning or whatever,” Yamapi says, then sighs. “But you’re right.”
“Would he have called, do you think?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know if he really got my note. He probably doesn’t care. He probably threw it away. Probably found someone better who won’t lie to him.” Yamapi sinks into couch and swirls the beer around in his drink.
Ryo and Jin exchange a look, then Jin nudges Yamapi with an elbow. “I doubt he got over you so fast. It’s only bee a few weeks.”
Yamapi doesn’t say anything.
Ryo tries a different approach. “Cheer up, okay? Tomorrow, after your concert, we have a surprise for you.”
Yamapi glances up at the mention of a surprise. “Really?” he asks, a little suspicious.
“Yup. You’re going to love it,” Jin says, clearly excited.
Interested, Yamapi sits straight up, and for the rest of the night, hounds the two of them for hints. They don’t give, but Yamapi doesn’t really care, lets himself think about anything other than the oranges and yellows of Hawaii’s skies and the blues of the seas, of the way Kei’s eyes light up when he smiles, and of the sweet taste of his lips when they kiss.
*
The hall is full of screams and shouts and yells and applause and Yamapi feels his whole body tingling from the high of yet another successful concert. He makes his final waves and bows and thank-yous before heading backstage, passing by staff members, giving them grateful smiles and otsukaresamadeshitas. It had been a good concert, mostly because of Ryo and Jin’s surprise appearance during the MC, glad that their surprise hadn’t been something more scandalous or scary or whatever Jin was capable of thinking up.
Grinning, Yamapi heads for his dressing room, eager to meet up with Jin and Ryo and head off to get some drinks, but the instant he opens the door, he stops dead in his tracks, eyes going wide and heart sinking into his stomach.
Kei stands up from where he’s sitting on the couch, looking a little nervous, and offers Yamapi a small smile. “Hi,” he says, and Yamapi catches up to his brain just enough to walk inside and close the door.
Not trusting his voice, he just nods a little, aware he’s gaping, but not caring, and remembers Jin’s words to him the night before.
After your concert.
Those bastards.
“Y-Yamapi?” Kei says carefully, takes a few steps up to him, and Yamapi feels his stomach flutter at hearing his name from those lips.
Yamapi swallows down the lump in his throat, lets his eyes trace over every part of Kei before managing, “W-What’re you doing here?”
“Ryo called the hotel, asked for me,” Kei explains. “He told me you’re a mess, worse than before you visited Hawaii.”
“That doesn’t explain why you’re here,” Yamapi says.
“Because,” Kei starts, takes another step closer. “Because I heard that this idol I like was having a concert. I had a free ticket from his friend, you see.”
Yamapi slowly grins. “Oh, really. Is this idol anyone I know?”
“Depends.” Kei smiles. “Know someone who leaves a lame confession on a post-it?”
Yamapi’s grin fades and he rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “That was really lame, wasn’t it?”
“Probably not the best,” he admits. “One witnesses a lot of confessions in Hawaii.”
Yamapi sighs. “I was a little heartbroken when I wrote it,” he says. “See, the person I love ignored me for a week.”
This time Kei’s smile fades, and he gives Yamapi an apologetic look. “I’m sorry,” he breathes against Yamapi’s mouth as he closes the space between them.
“Me, too,” Yamapi replies, hands wrapping around Kei’s waist. He grins at Kei, swipes the hair from his face and kisses him once on the mouth.
Kei frowns. “I came all the way to Japan, that had better not be all I’m getting.”
Yamapi laughs, eyes shining. “Don’t worry,” he says as he interlaces their fingers, presses their palms together. “We’ve got plenty of time.”
end.
note; omgwtfidek. Sorry for lame ending. ;alsdknga I hope you like it? Maybe? ;alskdg :(((((