fic // you on the other line
you on the other line
okamori, g, au
dedicated to my kami oshi re_riko (bb hi i wrote two okamori fics ok, another one is still wip. and i will get on that hikachii soon too, but have this one in the mean time. >_< i tried making it fluffy, then angst, and it turned out this way. i hope you like it!)
“Who do you miss tonight?”
“You.”
Snickers. “Please stop, this is not a phone-sex line.”
Keito leans back on his bed. It’s always fun to tease the guy. “I’m being truthful, really, I did miss you.” He giggled at the end of the sentence.
The guy on the other line sighs loudly. “Okay, okay. It’s your money after all. I’m not the one burning money on a help hotline.” The guy chuckles, Keito can hear a rustle of paper through the receiver.
“Oh, come on. I know you like me calling you.” Keito teases again, it’s just something they do, every week, the same time, the same day. “Besides, you’re helping me by talking to me.”
It’s not a lie
This whole arrangement started a few weeks back, when he called the hotline on a bad night. It was around midnight; he still couldn’t sleep and opted to listen to the radio in hopes he’d be able to go to sleep later. As usual, the midnight song selections are a string of one lamenting love songs after another.
“Are you missing someone? Want to talk about it?”
It wasn’t a moment of revelation, hearing the hotline’s ad in the radio. But his fingers automatically dialed the number he written down and a few minutes afterwards, someone picked up, greeting him with a pseudo-cheerful voice that he can pick up through the line.
The first call ended uneventfully, but the next week he had the urge to call the hotline again. And the same guy picked up. Somehow everything seems normal for him, the guy recognized him (he said no one sounded as pathetic and bored at the same time as he did the previous week). Every week, they would banter on mindless things before he would start on being serious, asking Keito questions about his day, acting like the hotline operator he was paid to be but Keito didn’t mind it at all.
“So, what is it this time? How was your exam, by the way? The one you ranted on about for the whole hour last time.”
Oh, he remembers that. Keito stays quiet for a while, of course he remembers; he always does. “I think it went fine. The results won’t be out in a few more weeks though.”
“You cried.”
“Shut up! I have a lot at stake on that, okay,” he huffed, annoyed at being reminded that he cried at a total stranger. The guy just laughs.
“Are you a kid?”
Keito huffs again. He is far from a kid, compared this guy, with that voice. “I’ll have you know I’m 21 okay. How old are you?”
He makes a shushing sound. “Confidential. I’m not allowed to reveal anything about myself, remember?”
“That’s not fair. I told you mine.”
“Your own fault.” Keito can practically hear him sticking his tongue out at him through the receiver. “But I can tell you I’m younger than you.” Also add a smirk to that list.
“Okay, fine. I think I can estimate how old you are anyway.” He sticks his tongue out. “Btw, I’m sticking my tongue out to you right now.”
“Well, me too.” Keito burst out laughing at that. “On a more serious note, don’t you have people to hang out with? It’s Friday night after all. Go after some chicks or something.”
Keito stops laughing. Well, this is new. “I’m talking to you, hanging out on the phone,” he laughs, trying to make light of the situation. “Aren’t you my friend? I like talking to you.”
“Yeah, but I’m paid to do this. Not that I don’t like talking to you, but you never talk about other people other than your parents.”
Keito stays silent at that. “Why the sudden questions though?”
“I don’t know, maybe I should start being the help hotline I’m supposed to be?”
“I don’t want to talk about.”
“Maybe you should. I’m not gonna be here forever.”
Now Keito is irritated. What is he trying to imply? “Until that time, you’re just going to have to bear with me then.”
Then, the dreaded beep comes.
“Time’s almost up, any last words?” the way he said it makes Keito feels weird, even though that’s the same line he had been saying since they’ve started talking to each other.
This time, their time ended awkwardly, Keito feels. “Uh, yeah, I’ll call again next week?”
“Yeah, sure. Next week.” Keito doesn’t like the tone in his voice.
“Wait for me, okay?”
“Okay.”
-Click-
OOO
He wasn’t there the next week Keito called. Some girl picked it up. On impulse, Keito hanged up the call.
He called again, asking about him despite not knowing his name.
“Oh, you mean Morimoto-san? He quit a few days ago.”
He stopped working there.
OOO
It’s been two weeks since Keito last talked to him. It felt a little weird, not having to do anything Friday night. An empty slot in his night that is usually reserved for their conversations; it’s weird.
He passed his exams, quite well. The first thing he wanted to do was tell him, but then he remembers that he can’t anymore.
OOO
It’s lunch time; Keito usually would go off to the park or find some shade under the big trees on the campus ground, with his headphones on.
But today, is odd. He finds himself sitting in an empty classroom.
“Do you have anyone you miss today?” the voice on the intercom starts. Keito sits up a little straighter at the words, waiting for it to continue. “It’s a normal thing to miss someone, isn’t it? Even if it’s someone you’ve never met before.”
He knows that voice. He knows it.
Immediately, he grabs his bag and runs out of the class, straight to the recording room.
OOO
The guy talking on the radio is nothing he expected. To be honest, he never really thought of how his personal therapist would look like, never really thought he’d meet him outside the phone calls they’ve had.
Right now, he’s staring at the guy in the recording room. He’s tall, even sitting down, his hair covering his eyes.
He waits a while until the session is done. Keito fidgets in his place; he has no reason to feel nervous. They’re friends, right? At least, he thinks they are.
The door opens, and the person he’s been waiting for looks a little shocked, seeing him. “Hi?”
He stares at him for a while; he’s young as he said before. “Morimoto-san?” The other nods in return, he looks a little confused.
“You-you said you’d wait for my call.” Keito’s voice cracks a little.
Morimoto furrows his eyebrows. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”
“I told you to wait for my call, like usual, Friday night, after you told me to get friends-“ that’s when his eyes widen in surprise.
“Oh.”
Both of them are not looking at each other. “I’m-I quit afterwards, sorry-“ Morimoto’s words was cut off by Keito.
“I know.” He’s starting to feel impatient and he’s not quite sure why.
Morimoto chuckles. “This is awkward.” Then he starts to laugh, like how he used to during one of their conversations, Keito notes.
He can’t help but laugh too. “I know right. And weird.” That went on for a while before Keito starts again. “I passed my exams, by the way. You know, the exam I cried for that you wouldn’t let me forget.” There’s a feeling of satisfaction having said that.
“Congratulations!” he looks really nice when he smiles, Keito thinks. “Did you cry again?” not so much when he’s teasing him in person.
“I did not!”
After that, the most obvious thing comes across his mind. “Uh- I don’t know your name.” says Keito sheepishly. “I’m Okamoto Keito.”
“You know my last name already.” “Well, I’d like to call you by your first name too, please.”
“It’s Ryutaro. Morimoto Ryutaro.” He holds out his hand.
OOO
“Hey, Ryutaro.”
“Hmm?”
“Let’s exchange numbers?”
“Why?”
“So now I can call you every night instead of every week.”
okamori, g, au
dedicated to my kami oshi re_riko (bb hi i wrote two okamori fics ok, another one is still wip. and i will get on that hikachii soon too, but have this one in the mean time. >_< i tried making it fluffy, then angst, and it turned out this way. i hope you like it!)
“Who do you miss tonight?”
“You.”
Snickers. “Please stop, this is not a phone-sex line.”
Keito leans back on his bed. It’s always fun to tease the guy. “I’m being truthful, really, I did miss you.” He giggled at the end of the sentence.
The guy on the other line sighs loudly. “Okay, okay. It’s your money after all. I’m not the one burning money on a help hotline.” The guy chuckles, Keito can hear a rustle of paper through the receiver.
“Oh, come on. I know you like me calling you.” Keito teases again, it’s just something they do, every week, the same time, the same day. “Besides, you’re helping me by talking to me.”
It’s not a lie
This whole arrangement started a few weeks back, when he called the hotline on a bad night. It was around midnight; he still couldn’t sleep and opted to listen to the radio in hopes he’d be able to go to sleep later. As usual, the midnight song selections are a string of one lamenting love songs after another.
“Are you missing someone? Want to talk about it?”
It wasn’t a moment of revelation, hearing the hotline’s ad in the radio. But his fingers automatically dialed the number he written down and a few minutes afterwards, someone picked up, greeting him with a pseudo-cheerful voice that he can pick up through the line.
The first call ended uneventfully, but the next week he had the urge to call the hotline again. And the same guy picked up. Somehow everything seems normal for him, the guy recognized him (he said no one sounded as pathetic and bored at the same time as he did the previous week). Every week, they would banter on mindless things before he would start on being serious, asking Keito questions about his day, acting like the hotline operator he was paid to be but Keito didn’t mind it at all.
“So, what is it this time? How was your exam, by the way? The one you ranted on about for the whole hour last time.”
Oh, he remembers that. Keito stays quiet for a while, of course he remembers; he always does. “I think it went fine. The results won’t be out in a few more weeks though.”
“You cried.”
“Shut up! I have a lot at stake on that, okay,” he huffed, annoyed at being reminded that he cried at a total stranger. The guy just laughs.
“Are you a kid?”
Keito huffs again. He is far from a kid, compared this guy, with that voice. “I’ll have you know I’m 21 okay. How old are you?”
He makes a shushing sound. “Confidential. I’m not allowed to reveal anything about myself, remember?”
“That’s not fair. I told you mine.”
“Your own fault.” Keito can practically hear him sticking his tongue out at him through the receiver. “But I can tell you I’m younger than you.” Also add a smirk to that list.
“Okay, fine. I think I can estimate how old you are anyway.” He sticks his tongue out. “Btw, I’m sticking my tongue out to you right now.”
“Well, me too.” Keito burst out laughing at that. “On a more serious note, don’t you have people to hang out with? It’s Friday night after all. Go after some chicks or something.”
Keito stops laughing. Well, this is new. “I’m talking to you, hanging out on the phone,” he laughs, trying to make light of the situation. “Aren’t you my friend? I like talking to you.”
“Yeah, but I’m paid to do this. Not that I don’t like talking to you, but you never talk about other people other than your parents.”
Keito stays silent at that. “Why the sudden questions though?”
“I don’t know, maybe I should start being the help hotline I’m supposed to be?”
“I don’t want to talk about.”
“Maybe you should. I’m not gonna be here forever.”
Now Keito is irritated. What is he trying to imply? “Until that time, you’re just going to have to bear with me then.”
Then, the dreaded beep comes.
“Time’s almost up, any last words?” the way he said it makes Keito feels weird, even though that’s the same line he had been saying since they’ve started talking to each other.
This time, their time ended awkwardly, Keito feels. “Uh, yeah, I’ll call again next week?”
“Yeah, sure. Next week.” Keito doesn’t like the tone in his voice.
“Wait for me, okay?”
“Okay.”
-Click-
OOO
He wasn’t there the next week Keito called. Some girl picked it up. On impulse, Keito hanged up the call.
He called again, asking about him despite not knowing his name.
“Oh, you mean Morimoto-san? He quit a few days ago.”
He stopped working there.
OOO
It’s been two weeks since Keito last talked to him. It felt a little weird, not having to do anything Friday night. An empty slot in his night that is usually reserved for their conversations; it’s weird.
He passed his exams, quite well. The first thing he wanted to do was tell him, but then he remembers that he can’t anymore.
OOO
It’s lunch time; Keito usually would go off to the park or find some shade under the big trees on the campus ground, with his headphones on.
But today, is odd. He finds himself sitting in an empty classroom.
“Do you have anyone you miss today?” the voice on the intercom starts. Keito sits up a little straighter at the words, waiting for it to continue. “It’s a normal thing to miss someone, isn’t it? Even if it’s someone you’ve never met before.”
He knows that voice. He knows it.
Immediately, he grabs his bag and runs out of the class, straight to the recording room.
OOO
The guy talking on the radio is nothing he expected. To be honest, he never really thought of how his personal therapist would look like, never really thought he’d meet him outside the phone calls they’ve had.
Right now, he’s staring at the guy in the recording room. He’s tall, even sitting down, his hair covering his eyes.
He waits a while until the session is done. Keito fidgets in his place; he has no reason to feel nervous. They’re friends, right? At least, he thinks they are.
The door opens, and the person he’s been waiting for looks a little shocked, seeing him. “Hi?”
He stares at him for a while; he’s young as he said before. “Morimoto-san?” The other nods in return, he looks a little confused.
“You-you said you’d wait for my call.” Keito’s voice cracks a little.
Morimoto furrows his eyebrows. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”
“I told you to wait for my call, like usual, Friday night, after you told me to get friends-“ that’s when his eyes widen in surprise.
“Oh.”
Both of them are not looking at each other. “I’m-I quit afterwards, sorry-“ Morimoto’s words was cut off by Keito.
“I know.” He’s starting to feel impatient and he’s not quite sure why.
Morimoto chuckles. “This is awkward.” Then he starts to laugh, like how he used to during one of their conversations, Keito notes.
He can’t help but laugh too. “I know right. And weird.” That went on for a while before Keito starts again. “I passed my exams, by the way. You know, the exam I cried for that you wouldn’t let me forget.” There’s a feeling of satisfaction having said that.
“Congratulations!” he looks really nice when he smiles, Keito thinks. “Did you cry again?” not so much when he’s teasing him in person.
“I did not!”
After that, the most obvious thing comes across his mind. “Uh- I don’t know your name.” says Keito sheepishly. “I’m Okamoto Keito.”
“You know my last name already.” “Well, I’d like to call you by your first name too, please.”
“It’s Ryutaro. Morimoto Ryutaro.” He holds out his hand.
OOO
“Hey, Ryutaro.”
“Hmm?”
“Let’s exchange numbers?”
“Why?”
“So now I can call you every night instead of every week.”