"Language Barriers Do Not Apply" Chapter One
Title: Language Barriers Do Not Apply
Fandom: Arashi
Character(s), Pairing(s): Matsumoto Jun/Zac Efron
Rating: T
Warning(s): Language
Summary: What had been a one-time thing has turned into ... not a one-time thing. And they aren't the only ones involved.
Jun thinks American celebrities are spoiled.
Most of the world can speak English; speak it, or pick up on enough to direct people to important things like hotels, restrooms, and bars. When they travel, they can usually find a number of people who can understand them enough to get them around, and sometimes, at times like these, he wishes he had the same luxury. He also wishes he'd paid more attention to Sho's offers to teach him a few phrases before leaving- it would have made everything a lot easier.
There are bodies all around him, and he knows most of them- faces like Tom Cruise are well-known world over- but he can't talk to any of them. They sent him an interpreter, but Jun felt guilty eating in front of the man, so he sent him to the buffet to get a plate and hasn't seen him since. So he sits, twiddling his fork, noting the stars passing him, and finally decides to attempt to find the restroom on his own.
Apparently, not his best idea. The door he goes through was the exit, not the bathroom, and a blast of sticky-sweet Los Angeles air hits him square in the face. He turns and is ready to go back through when he notices a figure hunched by the bricks. Not someone he immediately recognizes, but the face is familiar- Zac something.
"Hey," Zac says, conversationally. Jun stares at him for a moment.
"Hey," he says back, slowly. He knows that much, at least. Zac eyes him, snaps his fingers, and says something. All Jun catches is "Hana Yori Dango", but it's better than nothing.
"Yes," he replies with a nod.
Zac leans back against the bricks, and Jun finally figures out where he knows him from.
"High School Musical?" he asks. Zac laughs and agrees. They fall silent again, and it's not uncomfortable; Jun gets the distinct feeling that Zac is outside to avoid something, and though he doesn't know who or what it is, he understands the need to escape. After awhile, the other man turns to him and motions towards the door. He says something, and Jun shakes his head- it was too quick.
"Drinks?" he finally understands, as Zac makes a drinking motion with his hand. "Liquor?"
"Ah," Jun says. "Okay."
------
Never let it be said that Americans can't make alcohol, he thinks. It's strong, and it burns, and after a number of shots, Jun can't quite remember what round they are on anymore. He's laughing, because they really can't communicate at all, and for some reason that just makes it all funnier, and getting through the majority of the conversation through pantomimes is far more entertaining when intoxicated. He forgets all about his interpreter, lost somewhere in the food line.
They slip away from the bar at one point, and Jun is just following Zac so he really doesn't know where they are going until his back is against one of the walls in the outer corridors. If he had been more coherent, he might have stopped it- but then again, he might not have. It's been awhile since he's done anything crazy, and it's not unwelcome.
And Zac is a hair away from his face, so close Jun can feel the hotness of his breath, and he's talking again, and there's no way Jun can understand anything he's saying with all the slurring. The other man keeps going, and going, and finally Jun just crosses the gap himself, pressing his mouth against the one that keeps moving.
Twenty minutes later, he's pretty certain that someone passed right by them, mumbling something, and Jun honestly couldn't care less.
------
There's a break in filming, and Corbin spies Zac off by his lonesome in a corner, staring mesmerized at his iPod screen.
"What's up?" he says, sitting down at Zac's side. "You going out later with-"
"Ssh!" Zac says angrily, pressing the pause button. "Corbin, come on, man."
Corbin looks over to see what Zac is watching. There's a young Asian man with puffy hair fighting what looks like a ninja in some large kitchen.
"What is this?" Corbin asks, rolling his eyes at Zac's irritation. "You're not watching that girl show again, are you?"
"It's not a girl show!" Zac argues back insistently, turning himself and his iPod screen away. "And besides, this is the special. It's a movie, and I'm trying to watch it!"
The last time Corbin had caught Zac watching the girl show, the puffy haired guy was wearing some weird leopard print coat while a girl was harassing him. The soft lighting and the Japanese pop music Corbin could hear even through Zac's headphones assured him that it was indeed a girl show.
"Did the guy with the hair and the girl hook up?"
"You're one to talk about hair," Zac snitted. "Would you go away?"
"Dude, you have a problem. Do we need to stage an intervention?"
Zac yanked the earbuds out and looked furious. "DOMYOUJI IS FIGHTING NOW GO AWAY!" He shoved the earbuds back in and pressed play. "Please."
Fandom: Arashi
Character(s), Pairing(s): Matsumoto Jun/Zac Efron
Rating: T
Warning(s): Language
Summary: What had been a one-time thing has turned into ... not a one-time thing. And they aren't the only ones involved.
Jun thinks American celebrities are spoiled.
Most of the world can speak English; speak it, or pick up on enough to direct people to important things like hotels, restrooms, and bars. When they travel, they can usually find a number of people who can understand them enough to get them around, and sometimes, at times like these, he wishes he had the same luxury. He also wishes he'd paid more attention to Sho's offers to teach him a few phrases before leaving- it would have made everything a lot easier.
There are bodies all around him, and he knows most of them- faces like Tom Cruise are well-known world over- but he can't talk to any of them. They sent him an interpreter, but Jun felt guilty eating in front of the man, so he sent him to the buffet to get a plate and hasn't seen him since. So he sits, twiddling his fork, noting the stars passing him, and finally decides to attempt to find the restroom on his own.
Apparently, not his best idea. The door he goes through was the exit, not the bathroom, and a blast of sticky-sweet Los Angeles air hits him square in the face. He turns and is ready to go back through when he notices a figure hunched by the bricks. Not someone he immediately recognizes, but the face is familiar- Zac something.
"Hey," Zac says, conversationally. Jun stares at him for a moment.
"Hey," he says back, slowly. He knows that much, at least. Zac eyes him, snaps his fingers, and says something. All Jun catches is "Hana Yori Dango", but it's better than nothing.
"Yes," he replies with a nod.
Zac leans back against the bricks, and Jun finally figures out where he knows him from.
"High School Musical?" he asks. Zac laughs and agrees. They fall silent again, and it's not uncomfortable; Jun gets the distinct feeling that Zac is outside to avoid something, and though he doesn't know who or what it is, he understands the need to escape. After awhile, the other man turns to him and motions towards the door. He says something, and Jun shakes his head- it was too quick.
"Drinks?" he finally understands, as Zac makes a drinking motion with his hand. "Liquor?"
"Ah," Jun says. "Okay."
------
Never let it be said that Americans can't make alcohol, he thinks. It's strong, and it burns, and after a number of shots, Jun can't quite remember what round they are on anymore. He's laughing, because they really can't communicate at all, and for some reason that just makes it all funnier, and getting through the majority of the conversation through pantomimes is far more entertaining when intoxicated. He forgets all about his interpreter, lost somewhere in the food line.
They slip away from the bar at one point, and Jun is just following Zac so he really doesn't know where they are going until his back is against one of the walls in the outer corridors. If he had been more coherent, he might have stopped it- but then again, he might not have. It's been awhile since he's done anything crazy, and it's not unwelcome.
And Zac is a hair away from his face, so close Jun can feel the hotness of his breath, and he's talking again, and there's no way Jun can understand anything he's saying with all the slurring. The other man keeps going, and going, and finally Jun just crosses the gap himself, pressing his mouth against the one that keeps moving.
Twenty minutes later, he's pretty certain that someone passed right by them, mumbling something, and Jun honestly couldn't care less.
------
There's a break in filming, and Corbin spies Zac off by his lonesome in a corner, staring mesmerized at his iPod screen.
"What's up?" he says, sitting down at Zac's side. "You going out later with-"
"Ssh!" Zac says angrily, pressing the pause button. "Corbin, come on, man."
Corbin looks over to see what Zac is watching. There's a young Asian man with puffy hair fighting what looks like a ninja in some large kitchen.
"What is this?" Corbin asks, rolling his eyes at Zac's irritation. "You're not watching that girl show again, are you?"
"It's not a girl show!" Zac argues back insistently, turning himself and his iPod screen away. "And besides, this is the special. It's a movie, and I'm trying to watch it!"
The last time Corbin had caught Zac watching the girl show, the puffy haired guy was wearing some weird leopard print coat while a girl was harassing him. The soft lighting and the Japanese pop music Corbin could hear even through Zac's headphones assured him that it was indeed a girl show.
"Did the guy with the hair and the girl hook up?"
"You're one to talk about hair," Zac snitted. "Would you go away?"
"Dude, you have a problem. Do we need to stage an intervention?"
Zac yanked the earbuds out and looked furious. "DOMYOUJI IS FIGHTING NOW GO AWAY!" He shoved the earbuds back in and pressed play. "Please."