"Language Barriers Do Not Apply" Chapter Two
Title: Language Barriers Don't Apply
Chapter: 2/12
Fandom: Arashi
Character, Pairing(s): Matsumoto Jun/Zac Efron, Sho --> Jun
Rating: T
Warnings: 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.
Sho was exhausted. It had been another long shoot for VS Arashi. He could swear that he'd pulled something, which was not good since they'd be learning some new choreography bright and early the next day. He sighed as he headed out the studio door, muscles tense and eyes barely open.
He was just hailing a cab to take him home when he heard shouting from behind him. “Wait, wait for me!”
The air was chilly from an earlier rain shower, so Sho rationalized that the goose pimples rising on his arms were from that and not from Jun running up, waving for him to hold on. He was just shoving his contact case in his bag and grabbing his glasses from another compartment. “I'm heading the same way. Let's split, okay?”
“Sure,” Sho replied as agreeably as he could. Jun had been acting differently the past few days, as if he was expecting something. Or someone. But Sho couldn't put his finger on it.
Jun slid into the backseat of the cab beside him, their fingers accidentally brushing. Sho pulled away, and Jun was too busy going through emails on his phone to notice. The driver didn't seem to notice or care that there were two idols in his cab, simply mumbling for directions. Jun shouted out some address about a mile from the studio, probably some bar from Sho's knowledge of the area.
The driver took off, and Sho leaned back to close his eyes. He jumped seconds later as Jun elbowed him. “How would I say 'I will be there in five minutes' in English?”
Sho saw Jun was trying to send a text message, but who was he texting in English anyway? “You can just put 'see you in 5' and I'm sure they'll get the idea.” It seemed Sho had sounded it out well enough as Jun nodded and started his texting again. There was the slightest pleased quirk to Jun's lips, and Sho couldn't avoid the twinge of jealousy.
He was tired. He should never have let Aiba be his partner for Cliff Climb. He shouldn't care who Jun was meeting in his free time.
He should just go home.
The cab pulled over again, and Jun handed Sho a neat handful of money for the cab fare. “See you tomorrow. Get some sleep, Sho-san.” And just like that, he was gone. Sho shoved the money in his pocket.
He watched Jun disappear into a nondescript bar in between two decent looking restaurants. In his glasses and in his haste to enter the bar, no paparazzi could have seen him. Besides, this wasn't one of the more popular meet-up neighborhoods. Was he meeting some American producer? Did Johnny know?
The driver cleared his throat, obviously impatient and hoping to collect his fare. Sho was really exhausted. He'd be stumbling over his choreography in the morning, but that wasn't altogether unexpected, was it?
“Just...drop me at the next block,” he blurted out before his mind had a chance to catch up with mouth. Was he really going to do this? Was Jun's mystery meeting that strange? Sho had drinks with friends, and Jun was no different. But he couldn't stop himself. The driver left him off at the next corner, and Sho overpaid the fare by quite a bit.
He sighed, pulling up his hood. This was one of the more ridiculous decisions he'd made lately. His legs ached as he headed back toward the bar Jun had vanished into. Go home, he thought with each step. Just go home. Don't be a stalker. He reached the outside and peeked through the windows, pretending to be checking messages on his phone.
Jun was seated in a booth to the back alone, his phone on the table. Nobody was approaching him, asking for autographs. Sho turned to head for the nearest taxi stand when someone came rushing by, bumping into him. American from the low muttered “I'm sorry” in English and the sheepish smile. He was a few years younger, with sunglasses despite the time of night, scruffy facial hair and a dark denim jacket. Sho waved the young man off, offering an “I'm sorry” of his own. The American seemed taken aback by his reply but only smiled again as he hurried into the bar.
Sho was startled to discover that this young man was the one Jun was meeting, the person Jun had needed help texting. He was even more surprised as Jun rose from the booth, embracing the American man. Well, Sho thought, even someone who lived as public a life as they did could keep some secrets.
Who was this guy? Sho balled his fist and headed into the bar. If he sat at the table on the other side of the divider, neither Jun or his friend would notice him. This really was stalking, but if Jun was sneaking around with American guys at night, it could be a scandal. Yeah right, Sho told himself. You're just looking out for him. Sure.
He quietly ordered a beer. It was easy to overhear Jun and his guest since they were the only ones having a stumbling conversation that was mostly broken English. “Movie...premiere here?” Jun was asking in English.
“Yeah,” the American said. “17 Again.”
“Good...luck.”
“Thank you...very much,” the American, an actor obviously, replied in halting Japanese. Sho was able to use the mirrored surface of a beer sign on the wall to watch them. He bit his lip as Jun reached over to grab the actor's hand.
“Your Japanese is getting better,” Jun said slowly.
“Thank you.” Sho watched the other man pull his cell phone from his jacket pocket with his free hand. He spoke in English again. “Hard to read. Trying to learn numbers.”
Jun wasn't following. “Trying to...?”
The actor squeezed Jun's hand and smiled, a bright smile, one of those brighter than humanly possible Hollywood smiles that Nino often joked about. It reminded Sho of Jun's own impossible smile. “Numbers. I learn one, two, three.” With each number, the actor tapped his finger on top of their joined hands.
Jun grinned back in acknowledgment as Sho's beer arrived. He drank it quickly, a knot growing in his stomach. It was becoming pretty obvious that Jun and this actor had something more than friendship in mind here. He ignored the rest of the stumbling conversation. So what if Jun and this kid had some connection? He was an American and wasn't exactly in Japan regularly. It meant nothing. People were just drawn to Jun, even if they could barely communicate with him.
And why communicate with words, Sho thought, watching the glass from the corner of his eye. The actor's other hand had already disappeared under the table, and Sho set the empty glass down and stood. He didn't care how ridiculous he looked as he made his way out of the bar, nearly knocking over a tray set up by another table.
He hailed a cab with the last bit of willpower he had, getting in alone. This was Jun's business. And Jun's business would never be his own.
-
The next morning, Jun looked different as they all arrived to learn the choreography for their new single. He looked relaxed, calm. Not the antsy way he'd been behaving for the last week or so. And Sho was the only one who had a clue as to why.
“Good morning,” Jun said as they stretched and warmed up.
“Good morning.”
“Thanks for your help with the texting,” he continued, giving Sho a friendly squeeze on the shoulder. “You really saved me.”
Sho nodded. “Great. No problem.”
Jun smiled, the same bright, unreal smile his American friend had, and this time, Sho had to look away.
-----
Ashley had just been running in for a quick latte- 4 AM was too early, no matter what you were filming- when she noticed a figure she recognized, hunched over a couple of books and a notebook in the far corner of the cafe. For a long moment, she debated what to do; she'd spent a number of nights in Vanessa's bedroom, listening to the girl cry as she mourned the loss of the three-year relationship he'd broken off without much of a tangible reason, but Zac was her friend, and she hadn't seen him since the break-up. She ended up grabbing her coffee with a smile and tapping her fingers on the chair opposite him to get his attention.
He looked up, confused, until recognition flooded his features.
"Oh, hey," he said, pulling his books back to make room for her cup on the tabletop.
"Busy?" Ashley asked, sitting. "Oh, are you studying for exams? Did you start taking classes at USC?"
"Uh, no," Zac said. "No, nothing like that."
"For a role then?" Ashley continued. She cocked her head to one side to read the spine of one of the books nearest to her- Beginner's Guide to Speaking and Writing Japanese. She glanced back up at Zac with raised eyebrows. "I don't think you'll be cast for an Asian part."
"No, no," he replied. His cheeks looked a bit pink, but it could have been the light- dawn often played tricks on her vision. "Just- for fun."
"Fun?" Ashley repeated. She had the strangest urge to reach forward and put her hand against his forehead.
"Yeah," he laughed. It sounded strained. "It's- ah, nothing. Just something I thought about doing."
"You get the oddest urges," she informed him. As she took a sip of her latte, his phone went off, and she didn't recognize the song. In fact, she didn't even think she could understand what they were saying in the song. She glanced down at the language books again, and then back up as Zac flipped open the device with a slight smile.
"Hey, sorry," he said, looking up at her, thumb poised over the "accept" button. "It's a really important call. I'll catch up with you soon, okay?"
"Okay," she said, slowly, rising to her feet. She deliberately loitered with gathering her purse from the ground, so she could hear Zac answer the call. He did so with a "moshi-mosh" or something equally bizarre. She stared at him, watching as he grinned into the phone, turned towards the window and gazing somewhere far past it- and all at once she was both confused and intrigued.
As she left the cafe, she glanced in once more through the large windows. Zac still had that smile on his face.
She didn't know quite what to make of it.
Chapter: 2/12
Fandom: Arashi
Character, Pairing(s): Matsumoto Jun/Zac Efron, Sho --> Jun
Rating: T
Warnings: 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.
Sho was exhausted. It had been another long shoot for VS Arashi. He could swear that he'd pulled something, which was not good since they'd be learning some new choreography bright and early the next day. He sighed as he headed out the studio door, muscles tense and eyes barely open.
He was just hailing a cab to take him home when he heard shouting from behind him. “Wait, wait for me!”
The air was chilly from an earlier rain shower, so Sho rationalized that the goose pimples rising on his arms were from that and not from Jun running up, waving for him to hold on. He was just shoving his contact case in his bag and grabbing his glasses from another compartment. “I'm heading the same way. Let's split, okay?”
“Sure,” Sho replied as agreeably as he could. Jun had been acting differently the past few days, as if he was expecting something. Or someone. But Sho couldn't put his finger on it.
Jun slid into the backseat of the cab beside him, their fingers accidentally brushing. Sho pulled away, and Jun was too busy going through emails on his phone to notice. The driver didn't seem to notice or care that there were two idols in his cab, simply mumbling for directions. Jun shouted out some address about a mile from the studio, probably some bar from Sho's knowledge of the area.
The driver took off, and Sho leaned back to close his eyes. He jumped seconds later as Jun elbowed him. “How would I say 'I will be there in five minutes' in English?”
Sho saw Jun was trying to send a text message, but who was he texting in English anyway? “You can just put 'see you in 5' and I'm sure they'll get the idea.” It seemed Sho had sounded it out well enough as Jun nodded and started his texting again. There was the slightest pleased quirk to Jun's lips, and Sho couldn't avoid the twinge of jealousy.
He was tired. He should never have let Aiba be his partner for Cliff Climb. He shouldn't care who Jun was meeting in his free time.
He should just go home.
The cab pulled over again, and Jun handed Sho a neat handful of money for the cab fare. “See you tomorrow. Get some sleep, Sho-san.” And just like that, he was gone. Sho shoved the money in his pocket.
He watched Jun disappear into a nondescript bar in between two decent looking restaurants. In his glasses and in his haste to enter the bar, no paparazzi could have seen him. Besides, this wasn't one of the more popular meet-up neighborhoods. Was he meeting some American producer? Did Johnny know?
The driver cleared his throat, obviously impatient and hoping to collect his fare. Sho was really exhausted. He'd be stumbling over his choreography in the morning, but that wasn't altogether unexpected, was it?
“Just...drop me at the next block,” he blurted out before his mind had a chance to catch up with mouth. Was he really going to do this? Was Jun's mystery meeting that strange? Sho had drinks with friends, and Jun was no different. But he couldn't stop himself. The driver left him off at the next corner, and Sho overpaid the fare by quite a bit.
He sighed, pulling up his hood. This was one of the more ridiculous decisions he'd made lately. His legs ached as he headed back toward the bar Jun had vanished into. Go home, he thought with each step. Just go home. Don't be a stalker. He reached the outside and peeked through the windows, pretending to be checking messages on his phone.
Jun was seated in a booth to the back alone, his phone on the table. Nobody was approaching him, asking for autographs. Sho turned to head for the nearest taxi stand when someone came rushing by, bumping into him. American from the low muttered “I'm sorry” in English and the sheepish smile. He was a few years younger, with sunglasses despite the time of night, scruffy facial hair and a dark denim jacket. Sho waved the young man off, offering an “I'm sorry” of his own. The American seemed taken aback by his reply but only smiled again as he hurried into the bar.
Sho was startled to discover that this young man was the one Jun was meeting, the person Jun had needed help texting. He was even more surprised as Jun rose from the booth, embracing the American man. Well, Sho thought, even someone who lived as public a life as they did could keep some secrets.
Who was this guy? Sho balled his fist and headed into the bar. If he sat at the table on the other side of the divider, neither Jun or his friend would notice him. This really was stalking, but if Jun was sneaking around with American guys at night, it could be a scandal. Yeah right, Sho told himself. You're just looking out for him. Sure.
He quietly ordered a beer. It was easy to overhear Jun and his guest since they were the only ones having a stumbling conversation that was mostly broken English. “Movie...premiere here?” Jun was asking in English.
“Yeah,” the American said. “17 Again.”
“Good...luck.”
“Thank you...very much,” the American, an actor obviously, replied in halting Japanese. Sho was able to use the mirrored surface of a beer sign on the wall to watch them. He bit his lip as Jun reached over to grab the actor's hand.
“Your Japanese is getting better,” Jun said slowly.
“Thank you.” Sho watched the other man pull his cell phone from his jacket pocket with his free hand. He spoke in English again. “Hard to read. Trying to learn numbers.”
Jun wasn't following. “Trying to...?”
The actor squeezed Jun's hand and smiled, a bright smile, one of those brighter than humanly possible Hollywood smiles that Nino often joked about. It reminded Sho of Jun's own impossible smile. “Numbers. I learn one, two, three.” With each number, the actor tapped his finger on top of their joined hands.
Jun grinned back in acknowledgment as Sho's beer arrived. He drank it quickly, a knot growing in his stomach. It was becoming pretty obvious that Jun and this actor had something more than friendship in mind here. He ignored the rest of the stumbling conversation. So what if Jun and this kid had some connection? He was an American and wasn't exactly in Japan regularly. It meant nothing. People were just drawn to Jun, even if they could barely communicate with him.
And why communicate with words, Sho thought, watching the glass from the corner of his eye. The actor's other hand had already disappeared under the table, and Sho set the empty glass down and stood. He didn't care how ridiculous he looked as he made his way out of the bar, nearly knocking over a tray set up by another table.
He hailed a cab with the last bit of willpower he had, getting in alone. This was Jun's business. And Jun's business would never be his own.
-
The next morning, Jun looked different as they all arrived to learn the choreography for their new single. He looked relaxed, calm. Not the antsy way he'd been behaving for the last week or so. And Sho was the only one who had a clue as to why.
“Good morning,” Jun said as they stretched and warmed up.
“Good morning.”
“Thanks for your help with the texting,” he continued, giving Sho a friendly squeeze on the shoulder. “You really saved me.”
Sho nodded. “Great. No problem.”
Jun smiled, the same bright, unreal smile his American friend had, and this time, Sho had to look away.
-----
Ashley had just been running in for a quick latte- 4 AM was too early, no matter what you were filming- when she noticed a figure she recognized, hunched over a couple of books and a notebook in the far corner of the cafe. For a long moment, she debated what to do; she'd spent a number of nights in Vanessa's bedroom, listening to the girl cry as she mourned the loss of the three-year relationship he'd broken off without much of a tangible reason, but Zac was her friend, and she hadn't seen him since the break-up. She ended up grabbing her coffee with a smile and tapping her fingers on the chair opposite him to get his attention.
He looked up, confused, until recognition flooded his features.
"Oh, hey," he said, pulling his books back to make room for her cup on the tabletop.
"Busy?" Ashley asked, sitting. "Oh, are you studying for exams? Did you start taking classes at USC?"
"Uh, no," Zac said. "No, nothing like that."
"For a role then?" Ashley continued. She cocked her head to one side to read the spine of one of the books nearest to her- Beginner's Guide to Speaking and Writing Japanese. She glanced back up at Zac with raised eyebrows. "I don't think you'll be cast for an Asian part."
"No, no," he replied. His cheeks looked a bit pink, but it could have been the light- dawn often played tricks on her vision. "Just- for fun."
"Fun?" Ashley repeated. She had the strangest urge to reach forward and put her hand against his forehead.
"Yeah," he laughed. It sounded strained. "It's- ah, nothing. Just something I thought about doing."
"You get the oddest urges," she informed him. As she took a sip of her latte, his phone went off, and she didn't recognize the song. In fact, she didn't even think she could understand what they were saying in the song. She glanced down at the language books again, and then back up as Zac flipped open the device with a slight smile.
"Hey, sorry," he said, looking up at her, thumb poised over the "accept" button. "It's a really important call. I'll catch up with you soon, okay?"
"Okay," she said, slowly, rising to her feet. She deliberately loitered with gathering her purse from the ground, so she could hear Zac answer the call. He did so with a "moshi-mosh" or something equally bizarre. She stared at him, watching as he grinned into the phone, turned towards the window and gazing somewhere far past it- and all at once she was both confused and intrigued.
As she left the cafe, she glanced in once more through the large windows. Zac still had that smile on his face.
She didn't know quite what to make of it.