One-shot - Gluttony
Title: Gluttony
Pairing: Koyama/Shige (Gen)
Prompt: #028 - Toast
Words: ~3,000
Rating: PG
A/N: Written for je_prompts.
Summary: When Tegoshi finds out that Shige doesn't eat breakfast in the mornings, he collaborates with the other NEWS members to make sure that Shige gets his most important meal of the day. Shige is not impressed.
The life of an idol is a busy one, comprised of very little free time, and often fewer than five hours of sleep. The members of NEWS are accustomed to this by now, and have become experts at figuring out how to get a little more shuteye whenever the opportunity arises.
Shige, for example, knows that if he doesn’t eat breakfast, he can get approximately one more hour of sleep than if he does.
For him, it takes seven minutes to actually feel hungry after waking up, five minutes deciding what he wants, two minutes figuring out whether or not he has enough time to prepare and eat what he’s decided he wants, a possible four minutes spent re-deciding what he should have when he realizes he won’t have enough time to make it, 10 to 15 minutes cooking, 15 minutes eating, and 12 minutes cleaning up.
He used to have cereal because it was quick and easy, until the day he accidentally ate it with sour milk. Never could bring himself to eat cereal again after that.
The only problem is, now that Shige’s used to not eating breakfast, he doesn’t even do it when he does have the time.
Massu is probably the most appalled by this.
“But breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” He explains, sounding almost sad. “Your brain doesn’t work properly if you don’t eat it, and then your metabolism gets all screwed up and it’s just not good for you.”
“It’s probably why you can’t dance properly. Because you can't concentrate.” Ryo says, even though he has been known to skip breakfast on occasion himself.
“We should all take turns bringing a proper breakfast to work for Shige!” Tegoshi says, sounding enthusiastic, as though he’s just come up with a brilliant scheme. “Just to get him into the habit of eating it. I can start, if everyone’s okay with that.”
Shige scowls. “Wait, what if I’m not okay with that?” He says, at the same time that Massu tells him to go ahead, and Ryo says he has no complaints.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out whose reply Tegoshi chooses to hear.
“Okay, since there are no complaints, I’ll be the first bring Shige his breakfast. Starting tomorrow!”
Shige isn't pleased.
“Wait, wait, wait.” He says, feeling like he’s lost control of his own dietary habits. “This is stupid. Can’t I just pick up something from the convenience store before I arrive and eat it on the way? Do you really have to go to the trouble of bringing me something and making me sit down to eat it?”
Tegoshi looks at him blankly.
“Huh?” He sounds genuinely surprised by the opposition to his suggestion. “But Shige, don’t you know it takes three weeks to form a new habit? If we don’t help you, you might revert to your normal behaviour after a few days.”
“But when did I say I wanted to form a new--” Shige starts to say, but Tegoshi isn’t listening anymore.
“I’ll get up early and make something really great for Shige!” He says, almost too eagerly. “So I won’t lose to everyone else!”
Something about that sentence, and the way Ryo’s head snaps up as though he’s just been issued a challenge, gives Shige a bad feeling.
The next morning, Shige feels slightly more positive. There’s no way that the other members will be able to keep this stupid breakfast thing going for a whole three weeks. And Tegoshi, being the kind of person he is, will probably completely forget and come into work without any food, not even remembering the conversation they’d had the day before.
Yes, Shige thinks cheerfully as he strolls into work at his usual time. He’ll certainly be left alone by the other members, allowed to choose when and what to eat as he sees fit.
His optimism lasts until he notices a cheery Tegoshi waiting in their usual meeting room, looking suspiciously as though he’s ready to pounce on him.
“Shige!” He calls when Shige pretends not to see him. “I brought breakfast for you. You should eat it while we wait for everyone else to get here.”
Massu and Yamapi have already arrived - Massu is sitting there, looking as though he very much approves of what was going on, while Yamapi is looking over some sort of document - but Koyama and Ryo aren’t there yet.
Shige doesn’t see any way he can escape from the meal that is being forced on him.
“Come and see what I’ve made for you.” Tegoshi says, and even though he doesn’t sound demanding at all, Shige knows better than to disobey. One does not deny Tegoshi what he wants. The boy could probably get away with murder if he wanted to.
Resigned to his fate, he does as he’s told and obediently walks over to take a look, despite the fact that he’s not the slightest bit hungry.
“Tada!” Tegoshi takes the lid off the enormous lunch box he’s brought the food in, unveiling the fruits of his morning labour. “I made you rolled omelette, salad, grilled fish, and brought pickled vegetables and a flask of miso soup.” He sings the last two words, and Shige tries not to roll his eyes. “And rice balls, since I couldn’t figure out how to keep a bowl of rice hot for you. But I knew Shige wouldn’t mind!”
“Um.” Is all Shige can muster, because he’s just realized just how not hungry he really is.
“It’s almost a perfect Japanese breakfast.” Tegoshi continues, obviously both immensely proud of himself and completely blind to Shige’s discomfort. “But next time I really need to figure out how to get you a hot bowl of rice. I wonder if I can use the facilities here. I’m sure you’re just as happy with the rice balls though, right?”
“Rice balls.” Shige repeats kind of idiotically, which Tegoshi assumes means ‘yes’, even though Shige himself isn’t sure what he meant by it.
He’s too busy trying to figure out how to tell Tegoshi that he isn’t hungry enough to eat half of this, let alone all of it, when Koyama walks through the door. Tegoshi immediately bounds in front of him to get his attention.
“Kei-chan, look at the breakfast I made for Shige. If Massu’s right then this should increase his brain performance and rehearsal should be better than ever.”
Koyama looks over to where he’s pointing and his eyes widen.
“Wow, amazing!” He says, “You made all of that by yourself? Shige must be so pleased.”
And somehow this comment leads to Shige eating everything in front of him while the rest of the members sit around talking about how nice it was of Tegoshi to go to so much trouble for him, and how lucky he is. Shige feels half sick and half like his stomach is about to explode.
Ryo walks in when he’s about half way finished, and eyes the meal intently. Then he nods to himself and says, “I’ll be in charge of tomorrow’s breakfast,” before going and sitting down next to Yamapi. Something about the way he looks so determined and sounds so serious makes Shige nervous.
That day, dance practice is worse than ever. Shige feels like his stomach is going to split open whenever he moves, and whenever he does a particularly vigorous step it makes him feel ill. Tegoshi sighs and shakes his head when they break for lunch.
“I guess the change in routine just hasn’t caught up with his brain yet.” He speculates. “Or maybe we just need to feed you more.”
When Shige sees Ryo nod at what Tegoshi has just said, it makes him want to cry.
Ryo is a busy man. Shige knows this. He barely has enough time to take care of his own needs, let alone those of his fellow members. However, he also knows that Ryo is competitive and focused, and so the chances of him forgetting or not being able to be bothered making breakfast for Shige tomorrow are slim.
And so it’s with a heavy heart that he goes into work the next day. Everyone but Ryo is there once he arrives, and Shige thinks that maybe he’ll have time to escape before he has to suffer a repeat of yesterday. Unfortunately, he barely gets a chance to start putting this idea into action when a harried looking Ryo appears in the doorway.
“Shigeaki.” He says, out of breath but sounding like a man on a mission. “I brought you your breakfast.”
Shige is so terrified by the intensity in his voice that he immediately sits down at the table and awaits his doom.
Ryo has made him a Western-style breakfast. Not only that, but it's an enormous Western-style breakfast. Shige isn't if it’s because Ryo is genuinely concerned for his well-being or if he just has a point to prove - See, I made more food than Tegoshi did, and it’s foreign food. Look at how worldly and knowledgeable I am - but he does know that if he’s forced to eat it all, he’ll surely die.
“Um, wow.” Shige says weakly. “This looks great. Why don’t I share it with everyone so they can try your cooking as well?”
“No.” Ryo says, in a tone that clearly states, ‘You will have it all, and you will fucking like it’. “I made it for you, so you’re the one who’s going to eat it.”
They postpone the beginning of work that day, solely because Tegoshi insists that Shige finish eating before they do anything. And so half an hour later, after he’s managed to cram every last bit of egg and bacon muffin, pancakes with maple syrup, ham sandwiches, yogurt, and hash browns down his throat, Shige realizes that if he stands up, he’s going to vomit.
He spends the next three hours on the couch wishing he was dead while Koyama fusses over him.
“I think he may be lactose intolerant.” Tegoshi concludes when Shige clutches his stomach and begins to moan softly in pain. "It must have been the yogurt." The other four members actually nod, as though taking this into account. Somehow, that little action makes Shige’s stomach ache worse.
Surprisingly, the work-logged Yamapi agrees to be the next to bring Shige’s breakfast for him. Shige is rather relieved when the decision is made, because he knows that their leader just doesn’t have enough time to go to the same lengths as Tegoshi and Ryo went to.
His hopes are proven correct when he arrives at work the next morning and Yamapi greets him with a rather serious expression.
“Shige.” He says sombrely, “I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to prepare you a proper breakfast this morning.”
“That’s totally fine.” Shige hurries to reassure him. “You really don’t need to go to such lengths for me. I mean, it’s not like I have to eat that much in the mornings…”
“But I prepared for this eventuality.” Yamapi continued. “Because I went out for dinner with my family last night, and we decided to get pizza. So I ordered an extra one for you to have for breakfast this morning. You don’t mind it cold, do you? I remember you sharing some cold pizza with Massu for lunch one time.”
Shige bites his lip, heart sinking as he’s presented with a whole pizza for him to eat all on his own.
“Uh, no. I don’t mind it cold at all.” He says, trying to sound optimistic.
It could be worse, Shige tells himself. He knows he can get through a pizza by himself, because he’s done it before. Granted, he hasn’t done it at breakfast time, but it’s a heck of a lot less than Ryo gave him yesterday, so he figures he’ll be alright.
“I’m glad.” Yamapi says. “Sorry about giving you such an inappropriate thing to eat in the morning.”
Shige goes to assure him that it’s okay when Yamapi interrupts.
“Oh, and I also brought you this.” He says, suddenly sounding suspiciously happier. “They had dessert pizzas at the place we went to. At first I didn’t think I’d like it because it seemed so weird, but then I tried it and it was seriously delicious! So I saved half of this apricot and crumble one for you.”
Shige tries to smile and thank him. It comes out sounding more like a sob.
When Shige doesn’t feel well that day either, Tegoshi decides that he’s not lactose intolerant after all.
“He must be carbohydrate intolerant.” He says.
Shige’s starting to think he’s just breakfast intolerant.
The next day is a day off for Shige and Koyama, while Yamapi and Ryo do respective solo work and Tegoshi and Masuda have TegoMassu activities. Shige is very happy because it means that he can sleep in, spend the entire day alone in his apartment, doing whatever he likes away from everyone - and more importantly, away from any form of breakfast item.
At first when he’s roused from his sleep early in the morning by the sound of his doorbell, Shige thinks that he must be hearing things. After all, there’s no reason for anyone to be coming to see him, especially not at 7:00 am in the morning. Satisfied with his logic, he closes his eyes and is about to drift off when he hears it again.
No, there’s definitely someone at his door, and Shige stumbles out of bed, and pulls on a pair of sweatpants along with yesterday’s T-shirt.
At first he thinks he’s hallucinating when he opens his door to find Tegoshi and Masuda standing there with a two big bags of groceries.
“What?” He says stupidly, rubbing his eyes. Tegoshi beams.
“Did you think we were just going to forget about you?” Tegoshi asks, patting him on the shoulder. “We’re your friends, Shige. We have to look out for you.”
He seems so earnest and oblivious that it kind of makes Shige want to kill him.
“I thought you guys had TegoMassu stuff to do today.” He says, hoping to deter them, with no such luck.
“We do.” Massu says, “But we don’t have to be there for a few hours, and it’s my turn to make you breakfast today, so…” He holds up one of the two shopping bags and Shige is almost overpowered by the urge to slam the door in their faces.
Instead he ends up sitting at his dining table, sipping at a cup of black coffee while Massu takes over his kitchen.
“You’re so lucky.” Tegoshi says, sitting next to him and swinging his legs. “Massu makes really nice breakfasts. And today you can finally have a hot cooked one since we’re at your house!”
Shige grips his coffee cup so hard that it’s a surprise it doesn’t shatter. Not for the first time in his life, he really wishes he was better at saying no.
Massu sings softly to himself as he works, and Shige is surprised to find that he actually feels a little hungry as he waits. The smell of the food cooking wakes his stomach up properly, and he thinks that perhaps he’ll be able to finish off whatever he’s given without any nausea or stomach pain for once.
However, Shige practically dies from shock when Massu presents him with everything he’s cooked. There’s an enormous pile of fruit, along with eggs and bacon and sausages, not to mention rice, miso soup, fish and a tomato salad. Shige’s mouth opens and closes in horror.
“You… am I eating this all by myself?” He asks, almost not wanting to hear the answer.
Tegoshi and Massu look at one another and laugh.
“Of course not.” Tegoshi says around a chuckle. “If you ate all this by yourself, imagine how fat you’d get! Massu and I are going to eat breakfast with you today.”
Shige is relieved and actually enjoys the meal until Tegoshi and Massu suddenly stop when they’re two thirds of the way through.
“The rest is for you.” Massu says benevolently, and nods as though he’s making a big sacrifice. Shige is horrified.
“No, no, no,” He replies hastily, “Please have as much as you like. Don’t stop on my account.”
Masuda seems to be seriously considering his offer, but Tegoshi puts a hand on his shoulder.
“No, Shige.” He says with a big smile on his face, “That’s very generous, but we couldn’t do that to you. We have to make sure you eat properly.”
And they do, sitting there until he finishes up everything on the table. When they leave, Shige crawls to the bathroom and spends most of the rest of his day off wondering if he’s going to throw up.
After this treatment, Shige is seriously considering taking the next day off from work. After all, the person who's going to feed him today will be Koyama, and Koyama… well, Shige is his best friend and he knows him well enough to know what a mother hen he can be. At the start of this whole breakfast fiasco, if Shige had been asked to put money on who would go the most overboard, he would have placed his bets on Koyama.
But, he realizes, if he doesn’t go in today, Koyama will just try to feed him again tomorrow, possibly with whatever it is he's going to bring in today. Except by then it will be a day old, and Shige realizes that it’s probably better to face it now, and eat whatever it is while it’s fresh, than to put it off and run the risk of being forced to eat a pile of stale food.
And so it’s with a little hesitation and a lot of resignation that Shige walks into work that day. He briefly wonders, as he awaits his fate, if they’ll tone it down a bit if he starts to get fatter. It makes him want to stock up on candy and stop exercising for a while.
He's so engrossed in this plan that when he hears Koyama say his name, Shige actually flinches, expecting the worst.
“Good morning.” Koyama greets him, either not noticing or ignoring his pained expression. “I have your breakfast with me.”
“Great…” Shige replies, with absolutely no enthusiasm in his voice. He braces himself as Koyama puts it down on the table… and then his eyes widen in surprise.
“Is this all?” He asks, and Koyama nods, smiling slightly.
Waiting for Shige on the table is a bunch of apple and orange slices and two pieces of toast. Upon closer inspection, he finds that one of the pieces of toast has his name and a smiley face on it, written in honey. The other has been decorated with a slightly smeared, but still recognizable, jam heart. Shige’s cheeks flush a little, but he ignores it.
“This is… great.” He finally says. “Thanks, Koyama.”
Tegoshi, on the other hand, is appalled.
“Kei-chan! That’s not nearly enough for Shige. Haven’t you seen how much he needs to eat?”
Koyama chuckles. “If you feed Shige too much in the morning, he gets a stomach ache. Haven’t you noticed?”
Shige chokes on the bite of toast that's already halfway down his throat.
“Wait, what?” He asks. “You mean you could tell?”
Koyama nods. “Of course I could tell. You’re my best friend. I know these kinds of things.”
Shige starts to marvel at how perceptive Koyama is, but then he stops.
“Wait a second. If you knew that I was suffering from having to eat so much, why didn’t you just say something to stop them?”
Koyama thinks for a while, and then he laughs, sounding a little guilty. “Well, I guess it’s because you always made this really funny face whenever they put all that food in front of you. I kind of wanted to see how long it would be before you cracked.”
Koyama spends the rest of that day with a sticky face, even after he washes all the jam off, while Shige, for the first time in an entire working week, is actually a little hungry by lunch time.
---
I wrote this because I realized that recently, my fics haven't been as cheery and silly and light-hearted as some of the old KoyaShige fics I used to write. Though this one is more Shige-gen, I did manage to slip a bit of BFFery in at the end.
At any rate, I hope it was enjoyable. :)
Pairing: Koyama/Shige (Gen)
Prompt: #028 - Toast
Words: ~3,000
Rating: PG
A/N: Written for je_prompts.
Summary: When Tegoshi finds out that Shige doesn't eat breakfast in the mornings, he collaborates with the other NEWS members to make sure that Shige gets his most important meal of the day. Shige is not impressed.
The life of an idol is a busy one, comprised of very little free time, and often fewer than five hours of sleep. The members of NEWS are accustomed to this by now, and have become experts at figuring out how to get a little more shuteye whenever the opportunity arises.
Shige, for example, knows that if he doesn’t eat breakfast, he can get approximately one more hour of sleep than if he does.
For him, it takes seven minutes to actually feel hungry after waking up, five minutes deciding what he wants, two minutes figuring out whether or not he has enough time to prepare and eat what he’s decided he wants, a possible four minutes spent re-deciding what he should have when he realizes he won’t have enough time to make it, 10 to 15 minutes cooking, 15 minutes eating, and 12 minutes cleaning up.
He used to have cereal because it was quick and easy, until the day he accidentally ate it with sour milk. Never could bring himself to eat cereal again after that.
The only problem is, now that Shige’s used to not eating breakfast, he doesn’t even do it when he does have the time.
Massu is probably the most appalled by this.
“But breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” He explains, sounding almost sad. “Your brain doesn’t work properly if you don’t eat it, and then your metabolism gets all screwed up and it’s just not good for you.”
“It’s probably why you can’t dance properly. Because you can't concentrate.” Ryo says, even though he has been known to skip breakfast on occasion himself.
“We should all take turns bringing a proper breakfast to work for Shige!” Tegoshi says, sounding enthusiastic, as though he’s just come up with a brilliant scheme. “Just to get him into the habit of eating it. I can start, if everyone’s okay with that.”
Shige scowls. “Wait, what if I’m not okay with that?” He says, at the same time that Massu tells him to go ahead, and Ryo says he has no complaints.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out whose reply Tegoshi chooses to hear.
“Okay, since there are no complaints, I’ll be the first bring Shige his breakfast. Starting tomorrow!”
Shige isn't pleased.
“Wait, wait, wait.” He says, feeling like he’s lost control of his own dietary habits. “This is stupid. Can’t I just pick up something from the convenience store before I arrive and eat it on the way? Do you really have to go to the trouble of bringing me something and making me sit down to eat it?”
Tegoshi looks at him blankly.
“Huh?” He sounds genuinely surprised by the opposition to his suggestion. “But Shige, don’t you know it takes three weeks to form a new habit? If we don’t help you, you might revert to your normal behaviour after a few days.”
“But when did I say I wanted to form a new--” Shige starts to say, but Tegoshi isn’t listening anymore.
“I’ll get up early and make something really great for Shige!” He says, almost too eagerly. “So I won’t lose to everyone else!”
Something about that sentence, and the way Ryo’s head snaps up as though he’s just been issued a challenge, gives Shige a bad feeling.
The next morning, Shige feels slightly more positive. There’s no way that the other members will be able to keep this stupid breakfast thing going for a whole three weeks. And Tegoshi, being the kind of person he is, will probably completely forget and come into work without any food, not even remembering the conversation they’d had the day before.
Yes, Shige thinks cheerfully as he strolls into work at his usual time. He’ll certainly be left alone by the other members, allowed to choose when and what to eat as he sees fit.
His optimism lasts until he notices a cheery Tegoshi waiting in their usual meeting room, looking suspiciously as though he’s ready to pounce on him.
“Shige!” He calls when Shige pretends not to see him. “I brought breakfast for you. You should eat it while we wait for everyone else to get here.”
Massu and Yamapi have already arrived - Massu is sitting there, looking as though he very much approves of what was going on, while Yamapi is looking over some sort of document - but Koyama and Ryo aren’t there yet.
Shige doesn’t see any way he can escape from the meal that is being forced on him.
“Come and see what I’ve made for you.” Tegoshi says, and even though he doesn’t sound demanding at all, Shige knows better than to disobey. One does not deny Tegoshi what he wants. The boy could probably get away with murder if he wanted to.
Resigned to his fate, he does as he’s told and obediently walks over to take a look, despite the fact that he’s not the slightest bit hungry.
“Tada!” Tegoshi takes the lid off the enormous lunch box he’s brought the food in, unveiling the fruits of his morning labour. “I made you rolled omelette, salad, grilled fish, and brought pickled vegetables and a flask of miso soup.” He sings the last two words, and Shige tries not to roll his eyes. “And rice balls, since I couldn’t figure out how to keep a bowl of rice hot for you. But I knew Shige wouldn’t mind!”
“Um.” Is all Shige can muster, because he’s just realized just how not hungry he really is.
“It’s almost a perfect Japanese breakfast.” Tegoshi continues, obviously both immensely proud of himself and completely blind to Shige’s discomfort. “But next time I really need to figure out how to get you a hot bowl of rice. I wonder if I can use the facilities here. I’m sure you’re just as happy with the rice balls though, right?”
“Rice balls.” Shige repeats kind of idiotically, which Tegoshi assumes means ‘yes’, even though Shige himself isn’t sure what he meant by it.
He’s too busy trying to figure out how to tell Tegoshi that he isn’t hungry enough to eat half of this, let alone all of it, when Koyama walks through the door. Tegoshi immediately bounds in front of him to get his attention.
“Kei-chan, look at the breakfast I made for Shige. If Massu’s right then this should increase his brain performance and rehearsal should be better than ever.”
Koyama looks over to where he’s pointing and his eyes widen.
“Wow, amazing!” He says, “You made all of that by yourself? Shige must be so pleased.”
And somehow this comment leads to Shige eating everything in front of him while the rest of the members sit around talking about how nice it was of Tegoshi to go to so much trouble for him, and how lucky he is. Shige feels half sick and half like his stomach is about to explode.
Ryo walks in when he’s about half way finished, and eyes the meal intently. Then he nods to himself and says, “I’ll be in charge of tomorrow’s breakfast,” before going and sitting down next to Yamapi. Something about the way he looks so determined and sounds so serious makes Shige nervous.
That day, dance practice is worse than ever. Shige feels like his stomach is going to split open whenever he moves, and whenever he does a particularly vigorous step it makes him feel ill. Tegoshi sighs and shakes his head when they break for lunch.
“I guess the change in routine just hasn’t caught up with his brain yet.” He speculates. “Or maybe we just need to feed you more.”
When Shige sees Ryo nod at what Tegoshi has just said, it makes him want to cry.
Ryo is a busy man. Shige knows this. He barely has enough time to take care of his own needs, let alone those of his fellow members. However, he also knows that Ryo is competitive and focused, and so the chances of him forgetting or not being able to be bothered making breakfast for Shige tomorrow are slim.
And so it’s with a heavy heart that he goes into work the next day. Everyone but Ryo is there once he arrives, and Shige thinks that maybe he’ll have time to escape before he has to suffer a repeat of yesterday. Unfortunately, he barely gets a chance to start putting this idea into action when a harried looking Ryo appears in the doorway.
“Shigeaki.” He says, out of breath but sounding like a man on a mission. “I brought you your breakfast.”
Shige is so terrified by the intensity in his voice that he immediately sits down at the table and awaits his doom.
Ryo has made him a Western-style breakfast. Not only that, but it's an enormous Western-style breakfast. Shige isn't if it’s because Ryo is genuinely concerned for his well-being or if he just has a point to prove - See, I made more food than Tegoshi did, and it’s foreign food. Look at how worldly and knowledgeable I am - but he does know that if he’s forced to eat it all, he’ll surely die.
“Um, wow.” Shige says weakly. “This looks great. Why don’t I share it with everyone so they can try your cooking as well?”
“No.” Ryo says, in a tone that clearly states, ‘You will have it all, and you will fucking like it’. “I made it for you, so you’re the one who’s going to eat it.”
They postpone the beginning of work that day, solely because Tegoshi insists that Shige finish eating before they do anything. And so half an hour later, after he’s managed to cram every last bit of egg and bacon muffin, pancakes with maple syrup, ham sandwiches, yogurt, and hash browns down his throat, Shige realizes that if he stands up, he’s going to vomit.
He spends the next three hours on the couch wishing he was dead while Koyama fusses over him.
“I think he may be lactose intolerant.” Tegoshi concludes when Shige clutches his stomach and begins to moan softly in pain. "It must have been the yogurt." The other four members actually nod, as though taking this into account. Somehow, that little action makes Shige’s stomach ache worse.
Surprisingly, the work-logged Yamapi agrees to be the next to bring Shige’s breakfast for him. Shige is rather relieved when the decision is made, because he knows that their leader just doesn’t have enough time to go to the same lengths as Tegoshi and Ryo went to.
His hopes are proven correct when he arrives at work the next morning and Yamapi greets him with a rather serious expression.
“Shige.” He says sombrely, “I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to prepare you a proper breakfast this morning.”
“That’s totally fine.” Shige hurries to reassure him. “You really don’t need to go to such lengths for me. I mean, it’s not like I have to eat that much in the mornings…”
“But I prepared for this eventuality.” Yamapi continued. “Because I went out for dinner with my family last night, and we decided to get pizza. So I ordered an extra one for you to have for breakfast this morning. You don’t mind it cold, do you? I remember you sharing some cold pizza with Massu for lunch one time.”
Shige bites his lip, heart sinking as he’s presented with a whole pizza for him to eat all on his own.
“Uh, no. I don’t mind it cold at all.” He says, trying to sound optimistic.
It could be worse, Shige tells himself. He knows he can get through a pizza by himself, because he’s done it before. Granted, he hasn’t done it at breakfast time, but it’s a heck of a lot less than Ryo gave him yesterday, so he figures he’ll be alright.
“I’m glad.” Yamapi says. “Sorry about giving you such an inappropriate thing to eat in the morning.”
Shige goes to assure him that it’s okay when Yamapi interrupts.
“Oh, and I also brought you this.” He says, suddenly sounding suspiciously happier. “They had dessert pizzas at the place we went to. At first I didn’t think I’d like it because it seemed so weird, but then I tried it and it was seriously delicious! So I saved half of this apricot and crumble one for you.”
Shige tries to smile and thank him. It comes out sounding more like a sob.
When Shige doesn’t feel well that day either, Tegoshi decides that he’s not lactose intolerant after all.
“He must be carbohydrate intolerant.” He says.
Shige’s starting to think he’s just breakfast intolerant.
The next day is a day off for Shige and Koyama, while Yamapi and Ryo do respective solo work and Tegoshi and Masuda have TegoMassu activities. Shige is very happy because it means that he can sleep in, spend the entire day alone in his apartment, doing whatever he likes away from everyone - and more importantly, away from any form of breakfast item.
At first when he’s roused from his sleep early in the morning by the sound of his doorbell, Shige thinks that he must be hearing things. After all, there’s no reason for anyone to be coming to see him, especially not at 7:00 am in the morning. Satisfied with his logic, he closes his eyes and is about to drift off when he hears it again.
No, there’s definitely someone at his door, and Shige stumbles out of bed, and pulls on a pair of sweatpants along with yesterday’s T-shirt.
At first he thinks he’s hallucinating when he opens his door to find Tegoshi and Masuda standing there with a two big bags of groceries.
“What?” He says stupidly, rubbing his eyes. Tegoshi beams.
“Did you think we were just going to forget about you?” Tegoshi asks, patting him on the shoulder. “We’re your friends, Shige. We have to look out for you.”
He seems so earnest and oblivious that it kind of makes Shige want to kill him.
“I thought you guys had TegoMassu stuff to do today.” He says, hoping to deter them, with no such luck.
“We do.” Massu says, “But we don’t have to be there for a few hours, and it’s my turn to make you breakfast today, so…” He holds up one of the two shopping bags and Shige is almost overpowered by the urge to slam the door in their faces.
Instead he ends up sitting at his dining table, sipping at a cup of black coffee while Massu takes over his kitchen.
“You’re so lucky.” Tegoshi says, sitting next to him and swinging his legs. “Massu makes really nice breakfasts. And today you can finally have a hot cooked one since we’re at your house!”
Shige grips his coffee cup so hard that it’s a surprise it doesn’t shatter. Not for the first time in his life, he really wishes he was better at saying no.
Massu sings softly to himself as he works, and Shige is surprised to find that he actually feels a little hungry as he waits. The smell of the food cooking wakes his stomach up properly, and he thinks that perhaps he’ll be able to finish off whatever he’s given without any nausea or stomach pain for once.
However, Shige practically dies from shock when Massu presents him with everything he’s cooked. There’s an enormous pile of fruit, along with eggs and bacon and sausages, not to mention rice, miso soup, fish and a tomato salad. Shige’s mouth opens and closes in horror.
“You… am I eating this all by myself?” He asks, almost not wanting to hear the answer.
Tegoshi and Massu look at one another and laugh.
“Of course not.” Tegoshi says around a chuckle. “If you ate all this by yourself, imagine how fat you’d get! Massu and I are going to eat breakfast with you today.”
Shige is relieved and actually enjoys the meal until Tegoshi and Massu suddenly stop when they’re two thirds of the way through.
“The rest is for you.” Massu says benevolently, and nods as though he’s making a big sacrifice. Shige is horrified.
“No, no, no,” He replies hastily, “Please have as much as you like. Don’t stop on my account.”
Masuda seems to be seriously considering his offer, but Tegoshi puts a hand on his shoulder.
“No, Shige.” He says with a big smile on his face, “That’s very generous, but we couldn’t do that to you. We have to make sure you eat properly.”
And they do, sitting there until he finishes up everything on the table. When they leave, Shige crawls to the bathroom and spends most of the rest of his day off wondering if he’s going to throw up.
After this treatment, Shige is seriously considering taking the next day off from work. After all, the person who's going to feed him today will be Koyama, and Koyama… well, Shige is his best friend and he knows him well enough to know what a mother hen he can be. At the start of this whole breakfast fiasco, if Shige had been asked to put money on who would go the most overboard, he would have placed his bets on Koyama.
But, he realizes, if he doesn’t go in today, Koyama will just try to feed him again tomorrow, possibly with whatever it is he's going to bring in today. Except by then it will be a day old, and Shige realizes that it’s probably better to face it now, and eat whatever it is while it’s fresh, than to put it off and run the risk of being forced to eat a pile of stale food.
And so it’s with a little hesitation and a lot of resignation that Shige walks into work that day. He briefly wonders, as he awaits his fate, if they’ll tone it down a bit if he starts to get fatter. It makes him want to stock up on candy and stop exercising for a while.
He's so engrossed in this plan that when he hears Koyama say his name, Shige actually flinches, expecting the worst.
“Good morning.” Koyama greets him, either not noticing or ignoring his pained expression. “I have your breakfast with me.”
“Great…” Shige replies, with absolutely no enthusiasm in his voice. He braces himself as Koyama puts it down on the table… and then his eyes widen in surprise.
“Is this all?” He asks, and Koyama nods, smiling slightly.
Waiting for Shige on the table is a bunch of apple and orange slices and two pieces of toast. Upon closer inspection, he finds that one of the pieces of toast has his name and a smiley face on it, written in honey. The other has been decorated with a slightly smeared, but still recognizable, jam heart. Shige’s cheeks flush a little, but he ignores it.
“This is… great.” He finally says. “Thanks, Koyama.”
Tegoshi, on the other hand, is appalled.
“Kei-chan! That’s not nearly enough for Shige. Haven’t you seen how much he needs to eat?”
Koyama chuckles. “If you feed Shige too much in the morning, he gets a stomach ache. Haven’t you noticed?”
Shige chokes on the bite of toast that's already halfway down his throat.
“Wait, what?” He asks. “You mean you could tell?”
Koyama nods. “Of course I could tell. You’re my best friend. I know these kinds of things.”
Shige starts to marvel at how perceptive Koyama is, but then he stops.
“Wait a second. If you knew that I was suffering from having to eat so much, why didn’t you just say something to stop them?”
Koyama thinks for a while, and then he laughs, sounding a little guilty. “Well, I guess it’s because you always made this really funny face whenever they put all that food in front of you. I kind of wanted to see how long it would be before you cracked.”
Koyama spends the rest of that day with a sticky face, even after he washes all the jam off, while Shige, for the first time in an entire working week, is actually a little hungry by lunch time.
---
I wrote this because I realized that recently, my fics haven't been as cheery and silly and light-hearted as some of the old KoyaShige fics I used to write. Though this one is more Shige-gen, I did manage to slip a bit of BFFery in at the end.
At any rate, I hope it was enjoyable. :)