Only one day late and half an hour later than I meant to go to bed, Reiaversary fic! It's not much, only a thousand words of fluff, but… I really love Jinguji and Reia's dynamic, and I wanted to capture it here. ♥ I hope it's enjoyable!
title: closer
rating: g
pairing: Jinguji Yuta/Nakamura Reia
word count: 1,062
beta:
yomimashouauthor's note: Set in February 2014. For my one-year Reiaversary! Jinguji and Reia have grown so much over the past few years ♥
summary: It's in moments like these that Reia thinks, a year ago might have been nice, what with all of the touching and cuddling in front of the other juniors and on TV, but maybe right now isn't so bad, either.
Reia has never had any problem with being called mushy or gross or lovey-dovey by any of their friends, has never felt embarrassment or shame for holding hands or kissing his boyfriend in rehearsal-- why should he, when he's not ashamed or embarrassed of the boy he's chosen to date?-- but at the same time, he's never really considered himself an overly touchy-feely person, either. He's not like Fu, who has to be attached to Kishi at the hip or else the world is ending, or Genki, who hangs off of Miyachika like he can't stand on his own… sure, he likes cuddles and hugs from his boyfriend as much as the next person, but it's not exactly the defining point of their relationship. Besides, he knows Jinguji gets embarrassed about too much PDA, and while it might make Reia roll his eyes at the best of times and frankly feel a little rejected at the worst, he agrees that being known as "the gross always-all-over-each-other ones" isn't really something he wants. At the end of the day, he knows Jinguji loves him; he doesn't have to have his hands all over Reia at all times to prove that.
Still, in the dead of February, when the chill permeates even the walls of Jinguji's fancy apartment, Reia doesn't mind in the slightest when Jinguji marches straight over to the sofa and sits down purposefully a little too close to Reia, casually slinging an arm around Reia's shoulders and pulling him a little closer still. They've changed into their pyjamas before putting on another movie-- they have a few weeks of relative freedom between the end of Johnny's World and when Sexy Zone's spring tour rehearsals will pick up and they're taking advantage of them-- and Reia can't help but grin when he notices the pyjamas that Jinguji has picked.
"We're wearing the same pyjamas from the Johnny's Junior Land filming last year," he comments quietly as Jinguji flips through the menu options on the Evangelion DVD he's chosen (Reia's seen them all now, not to mention the number of times Jinguji must have seen them, but he doesn't complain), pulling one sleeve of his leopard-print hoodie back up from where it's fallen from his slender shoulder.
"Hm? Jinguji responds, absorbed in the screen as he finally starts the movie, "I didn't notice."
There's a beat of silence, and Reia's about to let the whole thing drop for now (though maybe he'll tease Jinguji for his ridiculous taste in clothing later) when suddenly, Jinguji adds, still not looking at him, "…I can't believe that that was a year ago…" before going quiet again.
Reia can't quite believe it, either (can't believe that they've really been dating for a year and a half now), but at the same time, that filming, with all of its effervescent excitement and giddy, overflowing new love, feels almost as if it were yesterday at the same time. He can't exactly say what it was about that filming in particular, but somehow, after half a year of fighting about stupid things (and occasionally not-so-stupid things, too) somehow, it was that day that somehow, it felt like everything clicked into place. Reia is sure that it was all a process over time, that his memory has fogged it all in the past year, but somehow, it feels as if that episode was the start of everything really right between them, everything that's grown and blossomed into where they are right now.
And Reia can still remember how it felt to make eye contact with Jinguji, even while the cameras were on, and just feel the warmth and the bubbles swelling up inside of him, and he can still remember how it felt to touch Jinguji, even just the little feeling touches, like it was electricity shooting through his body, even more so than the static shock machine, and he can still remember, more than anything, the first time he ever heard the words I love you come out of Jinguji's mouth-- the only time for so, so long-- and he can remember as distinctly as if it were yesterday, thinking yes, this is it, this is the one.
He can't help but smile thinking about it now, about how unashamed Jinguji was to put his arm around Reia when they took the publicity photo after the filming, about how, in front of everyone, Jinguji pulled Reia into his lap with a grin on his face as if to say jealous? It's a fond memory, especially since these days, Jinguji has no time on camera for anyone but Genki, fake as the fanservice obviously is, and especially since for he past year or so, Jinguji's been far too embarrassed and shy to touch Reia much in front of anyone besides their close friends. But everything was so new and exciting back then, and it makes Reia smile, even as he leans into Jinguji's leopard-print shoulder, to think about it.
Still, as nice as it was to be so lovey-dovey for the world to see, Reia's mind is drawn back to the present as Jinguji pulls him a little closer, his arm tightening around Reia as he glances in Reia's direction with an inquisitive look. Reia smiles at him and snuggles a little closer, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek, as comfortable and easy as if they were meant to be together this way. And maybe they were, but it definitely wasn't so easy in the past, and so Reia takes great pleasure in leaning his head on Jinguji's shoulder and murmuring, "I love you~" even despite the fact that they're in the middle of a rather violent movie.
But as much as, a year ago, or maybe even a few months ago, Jinguji would have grumbled or called Reia weird or gotten uncomfortable, now, he only leans his head back on Reia's with a quiet, "Yeah," and it may not sound like much, but Reia knows just how much that little word, the little gesture means. And it's in moments like these that Reia thinks, a year ago might have been nice, what with all of the touching and cuddling in front of the other juniors and on TV, but maybe, as far as they've come, as close as they've grown, maybe right now isn't so bad, either.