fic for jin_only_one
Title: Easier Said Than Done
Author: paintasmile & inourwriteminds
Pairing: Jin/Kame with cameos from other members of KAT-TUN and Nishikido Ryo
Word count: 5700~
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Domestic violence.
Notes: jin_only_one, we hope you like this! :D Big thank you to the mods for their patience and our lovely beta♥
Summary: It was just like every other night Jin had, and Jin was comfortable in this familiarity. At least then he knew what to expect.
"Beer please," a quiet voice asked and Jin nearly missed it over the loud pounding music Taguchi was playing from the deejay stand not far off from the bar.
It'd been busy that night, a never ending flow of people of people streaming in, and Jin barely spared a glance at the young man as his hand reached for the beer tap in an automatic motion. "Coming right up!"
A hand on his shoulder had him jumping, the foam in the glass spilling a little. It was Koki, his own glass held tight in his hands as he leaned in to whisper, "He's new here."
The bar was generally a regular customer type joint. It was situated awkwardly between a clothing store and dry cleaners on a side-road off the main highway and needless to say, new customers were a rarity.
Jin closed the beer tap and placed the cup of beer in front of the customer as he quietly studied him with a subtlety that working behind the bar for years had given him.
"That'll be 600yen."
The man dug in his pocket and handed Jin a bill without so much of a glance, eyes glued to the counter. He was pretty, that was a given, and Jin's instinct to flirt was overbearing, but the glint of a ring on his finger had Jin biting his lip.
Taken. It figures, Jin thought as he went back to polishing his glass. It was hard enough to find a man as good looking as that, never mind one that was still single.
And by the looks of it, their sexualities weren't even in alignment. He smiled to himself, pulling out his phone and typing a quick message to Pi: "why’s my luck so fucking shitty :/"
"Cause it's you, Jin." Pi's reply came fairly quick and Jin rolled his eyes as he watched the man down his cup of beer slowly. He still had not said a single word other than his order and Jin did not think much about it - not everybody comes here to socialise after all.
The rest of the night passed in a fairly normal routine - serve, clear, wash, interspersed with smiles and odd little sentences about the weather - and Jin closed the bar like he always did before heading home.
It was just like every other night Jin had, and Jin was comfortable in this familiarity. At least then he knew what to expect.
-
The same customer arrived the very next day, at lunch time though and which was weird because they don’t normally get customers around this time.
“Beer please.” Jin noticed a small purple bruise around the customer’s neck as he sat down.
Behind him, Nakamaru gently pushed him away as he waved a hand towards the customer, “Hey!” The customer looked up from his glass and frowned a little, obviously confused. “I’m Nakamaru Yuichi, remember me?”
Jin didn’t know what was more shocking, the fact that Nakamaru knew this person or the fact that a look of recognition was on the customer’s face. This meant that what Nakamaru said was actually true - he really did know that person.
Amazingly enough, a smile began to appear on the man’s face and Jin couldn’t help but think that the man really should smile more. He looked absolutely stunning with that smile on his face.
“Yes, Yes I do remember you.” The man stood up as Nakamaru walked towards him. “It’s been how long? Almost ten years?”
“Yes it is.” Nakamaru gave a little laugh, obviously excited to be meeting his friend again after so long. “Boy, you’ve grown.”
Jin was lost. So very lost.
“Wait, how do you two know each other?”
Nakamaru smiled as Kame looped an arm over his shoulder. “We were friends in high school. This is Kamenashi Kazuya.”
The man named Kamenashi gave a deep bow as Nakamaru introduced him. “And that guy over there with the shaggy hairdo is called Akanishi Jin.”
Jin flipped Nakamaru off as he returned the bow and was a little surprised to hear Kamenashi laughing.
“Yuuchi, that’s rude.” Wait, they were on a first name basis already. Then again, they did know each other since High School, Jin thought, as he squelched the funny feeling growing in his chest.
Nakamaru pulled out a chair, motioning for the both of them to sit down as he ordered two pints of beer for the both of them. Looking back at the office at the back of the kitchen, Jin wondered if Maru had any other paper work to process.
In the next few hours and many pints of beer later, they have learned that Kamenashi had a boyfriend by the name of Nishikido and they had only started dating since a few years back, which was primarily why Nakamaru did not know about this Nishikido person.
But Jin noticed that Kame looked happy when he was telling Nakamaru about Nishikido. They must have a very happy relationship then, Jin smiled to himself, happy for Kamenashi even though they had only just been introduced to each other. The guy had been filling in Nakamaru so many details of the past few years of his life that Jin felt like he knew Kamenashi as a person already.
It was only when the night crowd starting coming in that Kamenashi stood up and gave Nakamaru a tight hug before waving goodbye to everybody else, Jin included. Promises for more visits were made and Kamenashi was gone.
-
It had been days and yet there was no Kamenashi in sight.
Behind him, Jin heard Nakamaru asking Koki if he thought Kamenashi was okay. Koki only patted Nakamaru’s shoulder as he tried to reassure the older that Kamenashi probably had a life of his own and was maybe too busy these few days to pop by.
He could hear Nakamaru release a sigh at that and said that Koki was probably right.
“Of course I am.” Koki said with a grin, which earned him a smack on the head from Nakamaru.
Jin, on the other hand, could not seem to let it rest. The images of the bruises on his neck kept circling around Jin’s head and he had to know what caused them.
A customer soon asked Jin for a pint of beer and he caught Koki’s eyes as the latter made his way back to the other side of the bar counter to serve more customers.
Pushing the image out of his head, Jin smiled and nodded at the customer as he pulled the lever of the beer tap, asking him mundane, ordinary questions about his day. It was expected of him after all.
Work was work; personal problems could wait till the last customer left and the doors to the bar were locked.
-
It took weeks before the door to the bar was once again opened in the afternoon. Not many customers came around then and Jin immediately looked up, something he had been doing for the past few weeks, to see Kamenashi strolling in.
The man was wearing a black turtleneck sweater which seemed to swallow him up and Jin could not help but wonder for the need to cover up so much.
“Kazuya!” Nakamaru shouted from the office and Jin nearly winced at the obvious sound of relief coming form that single word. “You’re back!”
Kamenashi beamed a soft smile back to his manager as he sat down right in front of Jin who, before Kamenashi could say anything, already had a glass of beer ready in front of him.
Bemused, Kamenashi raised an eyebrow at him and Jin turned away, concentrating on wiping the spotless glass in his hand.
“What took you so long?” Damn, he sounded defensive. Kame’s stare at him told him that the man thought so too.
Taking a small sip, Kame answered. “I was busy.”
Right. Maybe Koki was correct after all.
Jin turned back as Kame raised his glass to take a second sip. The sleeves of his sweater rode down a little and Jin froze as he saw little strips of red on Kame’s wrist, as if someone had gripped it so tightly that the marks were now engraved onto Kame’s skin.
Before he could think properly, Jin shot out a hand and grab Kamenashi’s wrist.
“What’s this?” He did not miss how Kamenashi gave a little wince, as if to dodge an attack.
Kamenashi’s eyes widened a little before they narrowed into little slits as he stared at Jin.
By then, Nakamaru and Koki had overheard him asking Kamenashi and had walked over to see for themselves. Kame turned to Nakamaru and then to Koki and looked away, snatching his arm from Jin as he gently rubbed it.
“It’s nothing; I accidentally tied my wrist band too tightly.” Out of the corner of his eye, Jin could see Nakamaru giving a slight frown at his friend’s answer.
“Like anybody would believe that,” Koki scoffed and Kamenashi shot him a look, silently challenging him to repeat that sentence. Koki took a step forward but stopped when Nakamaru placed a warning hand on his shoulder. He sneered and walked off to serve the customers, muttering under his breath about rude customers and how they are not welcome in their bar.
Just as Jin wanted to apologise for grabbing Kamenashi’s wrist all of a sudden, Kamenashi stood up abruptly and walked off, leaving his half empty glass of beer on the table.
“H-Hey…” Jin tried calling out to him but the door closed shut before he could even finish his sentence. Beside him, he heard Nakamaru heave a deep sigh as he turned to make his way back into his office.
“What’s going on?” Jin asked to no one in particular.
“That’s what I would like to know.” Ueda, their bouncer who was normally stationed outside the bar, drawled as he leaned against the doors to the kitchen. It was before the night crowd was due in so Ueda still had some free time to take a short break before he started his job.
“You were listening, then.”
“Couldn’t help but overhear, but try to keep your volume down next time - I was trying to catch a nap.” Jin smiled and nodded to Ueda as the latter gave a loud yawn and made his way back to the storeroom which, with the extra bed Nakamaru placed there, doubled up as a place for them to rest if they got too tired.
Well, back to work.
-
Jin stared from the small stub Nakamaru had passed him during work to the apartment door in front of him. He had asked Nakamaru to pass him Kamenashi’s address and while Nakamaru kept asking him why, he still wrote down Kame’s address on a small stub of paper that was supposed to be their receipt.
On his way here, he had passed by a pharmacy and had bought a few creams for Kamenashi to apply on his bruises.
This is it. Jin steeled himself and pressed the doorbell, not quite sure what to expect.
The door clicked open and Jin bowed to greet Kamenashi, and also to apologise for stopping by unannounced.
“I am so sorry but I just wanted to check if you were okay,” Jin said whilst still bowing.
There was an unsettling silence that followed his greeting.
“Who are you?” An unfamiliar voice asked him and Jin wondered if he had perhaps really gone to the wrong apartment.
Looking up, he saw a man holding the door for him, looking extremely annoyed. Behind him stood Kamenashi with his jaw lightly slack and eyes opened a little too wide; he was keeping a tight grip on the kitchen chair beside him.
“Ah! Kamenashi!” Jin shouted before he could help himself.
The man by the door, cocked his head to the side and asked Kame without turning back. “Friend of yours, Kazu?”
Jin did not know if he was imagining it or not but he could have sworn he saw something akin to fear flash through Kamenashi’s eyes.
He slowly studied the man holding the door for him and only then did it dawn on him that this had to be Nishikido - who else would be standing shirtless in Kamenashi’s apartment?
Gulping a little, Kamenashi vehemently shook his head and Jin was confused for a moment there. Why was Kamenashi denying the fact that he knew him?
Jin raised the plastic bag holding the cream, “I brought some cream for your bruises.”
“But Kazu, it seems like he knows you.” Jin noticed that Kame’s hands on the chair were shivering, but it was not cold out today. In fact, it was pretty darn hot.
Jin continued standing by the door like an idiot as he saw Kame stalk across the room. Taking the door in his hand, he said Ryo through gritted teeth, “I do not know him.” And promptly closed the door in his face.
Well, that sure went well, Jin thought as he hesitated a little before placing the bag on Kamenashi's doorstep before making his way back to the bar.
-
It took another few months for Kamenashi to pay another visit and even then, Jin still got ignored by him.
Kamenashi even started interacting with Koki more who confessed to Jin after Kamenashi left that they guy wasn’t so bad after all. Jin scoffed as he recalled Kamenashi slamming the door in his face.
Jin decided that he didn’t care. Kamenashi could be friends with everyone in the universe for all he cared.
-
“Jin,” Nakamaru asked Jin as he was helping the guy carry a box of paper work to the shredder.
“Do you think Kame’s wounds are really ‘cause he hurts himself or is there something more?”
Jin’s immediate reaction was to snort at the question. Kamenashi made his stand on Jin bothering about him pretty clear, he should respect it. “He’s none of my business. Why should I care?” Like he said, respect.
“But it’s weird, the wounds Kame is getting and he always gets them at the weirdest places. Like, I saw one whip-like mark across his neck once.”
“Maybe he and his boyfriend are just into that sort of stuff,” Jin replied but despite everything, he still could not help wondering about Kamenashi’s bruises too.
Really though, how did he get them?
-
“Yuuchi!” Kamenashi waved as he made his way to his usual seat by the counter. Jin heard Nakamaru give a small shout, and he was probably waving back. Behind the counter, Jin stood unmoving and refused to make Kamenashi his pint of beer when the man motioned for a glass. He knew was childish but Jin was still a little hurt by Kamenashi’s actions two weeks back.
He could see Kamenashi roll his eyes and waved to Koki to order his beer which the man gladly did.
That traitor, Koki was supposed to be on his side. Then again, he had not really told anybody, save for Nakamaru, about what had happened two weeks ago.
The next few minutes were relatively normal. Koki and Kamenashi gossiping like the girls they were, Nakamaru groaning whenever Kamenashi teased him about his pretty fingers or soft earlobes. Taguchi, their deejay, was still sleeping in the storeroom and Ueda hadn’t arrived yet to work.
All of a sudden, the door burst open and in strode a man Jin had only seen once before - at Kamenashi’s apartment. He stalked over to the bar counter in a calm manner that belied the anger Jin could see from his eyes. He was making his way to Kamenashi, who as soon as Nishikido burst in, froze and shifted his gaze to the marbled floors.
“Really Kazu, I leave you for a little while and this is where you go to?” Nishikido smirked as he leaned against the counter.
Nakamaru, Jin noticed, was standing by the kitchen door, watching the scene in front of him with a look of wary caution on his face. As if ready to step in at any moment should things get bad.
Kamenashi gave a little cough to clear his throat as he kept his gaze on the ground and answered in a voice so meek, Jin raised an eyebrow in surprise, “I just needed some fresh air. Really Ryo, I can’t even have that?”
Jin watched as Nishikido’s face twisted as the smirk morphed into a snarl and he shot out a hand to grab onto Kamenashi’s.
Kamenashi winced as he tried to shake Nishikido, who was dragging him to the door, off his wrist.
Little puzzle pieces started falling into place - the bruises Kamenashi was always sporting, the way Kamenashi winced when all Jin wanted to do was take his wrist, how Nishikido is handling Kamenashi right now. It finally dawned onto Jin what was going on and by the looks of things, the rest of them realized it too.
A figure shot out from behind him and Jin realized that it was Nakamaru, taking big strides towards where Nishikido was. Kamenashi, on the other hand, was doing a pretty good job of pushing Nishikido off.
“Excuse me sir, I would kindly ask you to release that man at once or the cops will be called.” Nakamaru said in such an authoritative way Jin had never seen him use before. He was actually worried for the Nishikido guy; if he had any sense at all, he should be letting go of Kamenashi right now.
Sadly, Nishikido did not appear to have any sense and cocked an eyebrow at their manager, challenging him to go through with his threat.
Just then, Nishikido was spun around and given a tight punch in the face which had him sprawling to the ground unconscious. Ueda rubbed his knuckles as he turned to stare at each of them.
“Really, it’s no use wasting words on guys like him. I prefer to use my fist.” Koki snorted as he returned to the bar to assure the other customers who were there that there was nothing to worry about. For once, Jin was grateful that they had an ex-professional boxer working for them.
He frowned as he saw Kamenashi crawling over to the unconscious Nishikido and cradled him on his lap. The guy was gently pushing hair off Nishikido’s forehead and he tried to see if his boyfriend was alright.
Nakamaru walked over to where Kamenashi was sitting on the floor with Nishikido in his lap, “Do you need me to call the cops?”
Kamenashi gave a wry smile as he shook his head.
“No, it’s alright. I just need a lift home.”
-
Jin wondered exactly what Kamenashi saw in Nishikido. The latter was being propped up by Taguchi, who was called awake just to help carry him to Nakamaru’s car.
Jin opened his mouth to ask Kamenashi as he walked past him to grab his bag but closed it at the look Kamenashi shot him.
Right, it’s none of his business.
But Nakamaru gets to help, it’s not fair, Jin wanted to whine as the door to the bar closed and the sound of an engine whirring came through as Nakamaru sped off the driveway with Kamenashi and his boyfriend.
The rest of the afternoon was spent in a rather somber mood, with Koki still mad at how Nishikido had treated his new found friend, Ueda outside on guard duty , and not even the busy night crowd could chase away the images of Nishikido dragging Kamenashi on the floor out of his head.
As he topped up more glasses with beer, Jin thought of ways to help Kamenashi, even if the guy didn’t want him to.
-
The next few months flew by with no Kamenashi in sight.
None of them questioned it, not even Nakamaru, and Jin left it at that.
-
The next time Kamenashi appeared, he was sporting a short sleeved tank top and Jin actually stared a little before he caught himself. The man definitely worked out, judging by the muscles on his arm.
And, Jin noticed, most of his bruises were gone as well.
“Hey Kame,” Jin bit his tongue before he commented on how casual Koki was with that guy. “You’ve finally decided to drop by.”
Kamenashi actually laughed before he accepted the beer Jin offered and answered Koki with a cheeky smile, “Miss me?”
Koki scoffed as he raised a hand to ruffle Kamenashi’s hair (Hey, stop it! The hair’s precious.) and Jin had to admit that he was glad Kamenashi finally decided to drop by after so long.
“Feeling better Kame?” Nakamaru asked as he came out to give his friend a tight hug. Kamenashi nodded against Nakamaru’s shoulder and Nakamaru tightened his hug slightly before releasing him.
“We’ve had a talk. Our first one ever since we’ve got into this relationship actually, and we both decided that we want this to work. So he’s been giving me a lot more breathing space ever since then, and he promised not to use violence on me anymore.” Kamenashi smiled as he took a sip from his glass.
He does look happier, Jin figured.
But there is that small part of him that wondered how long it could last but he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to burst Kamenashi’s bubble.
-
“Nakamaru!” Taguchi gasped, bursting through the door and bending over to catch his breath.
He saw Nakamaru run out, paper and pen still in his hand as he went over to Taguchi who was still trying to catch his breath; it seemed like he had ran quite a distance.
“What is it?”
“I-Kazuya… He-” Why did it seem like everybody else was close to Kamenashi but him? Taguchi stopped to take a deep breath before he continued. “We were on our way to buy ingredients for the bar like you asked us too.” Nakamaru nodded, face solemn, silently asking Taguchi to continue.
“Well, we were on our way to the supermarket when we bumped into Nishikido.” Their bar had been serving lunch and dinner ever since Kamenashi volunteered to help cook. “And I was just nudging Kamenashi, asking him to introduce us formally but Nishikido suddenly lashed out and punched Kamenashi.” Jin froze, so much for Nishikido’s promise.
The tiny part of Jin that was skeptical about the whole deal was gloating but he squelched it as he continued listening to Taguchi’s speech.
“… so Kamenashi punched him back and told me to run away first. I decided to come here and get help.”
Koki threw down his towel as he motioned for Jin to man the bar. “I’ll go and I’ll bring Ueda along as well.”
Nakamaru nodded as he watched Koki run out of the bar. Jin’s eyes moved from Taguchi’s to his and he knew they were all thinking the same thing.
This had to stop.
-
“I’m fine.” He pouted to Nakamaru as the elder patted him to check if he was okay. Ueda and Koki had arrived just in time and this time, Nishikido had the good sense to run away before Ueda gave him another punch.
“Kame,” Maru sighed and Jin could see Kamenashi stiffen at the tone Nakamaru was using, “This has to stop and you know it.”
Bending his head down, Kamenashi started picking out at the lint in his shirt. Heaving a deep sigh of his own, he replied softly, “It’s… It’s easier said than done.”
Nakamaru frowned and Kamenashi looked up, staring at Nakamaru forlornly like a person lost out at sea.
“What if I don’t want this to stop?”
-
Jin winced at the chair Koki just kicked in anger at Kamenashi’s answer.
The latter had left not long ago, after Nakamaru was convinced that he was really alright and that it was safe to go home - It was only after Kamenashi told him that Nishikido was not living in his apartment anymore that Nakamaru finally complied.
“He can’t be serious,” Koki groaned as he looked at Ueda who only shrugged his shoulders.
Nakamaru shrugged his shoulders too, lost for ideas, when Koki turned to look at him. Koki groaned as he combed his fingers through his hair and sat down on his chair again.
Taguchi piped up, “How about we pay more visits to him, to make sure that Nishikido hasn’t been hurting Kame?”
“But won’t that just make matters worse?” Jin asked.
“We’ll only visit once Nishikido leaves the apartment so he won’t catch us there.” Taguchi suggested and Nakamaru nodded.
It was a plan.
-
As they all could notjust leave the bar alone, they decided to each visit Kamenashi on a certain day.
Jin pressed the doorbell of Kamenashi’s house; he had already made sure that Nishikido was gone - the man had left hours ago for his job - and Kamenashi opened the door on the second buzz.
The others had already visited him for the past few days so Kamenashi should know what Jin is here for.
“Come right in.” Kamenashi opened the doors wider for Jin as he offered to take the jacket Jin was wearing and hung it on the coatrack by the door.
He motioned for Jin to sit down as he went to prepare tea for the both of them.
The next few minutes were spent in a painfully awkward silence and Jin searched his mind for a topic they could talk about.
“So…” Jin said the exact same moment Kamenashi said it and they both gave an awkward laugh as Kamenashi coughed and downed more of his tea.
Jin decided to talk before they descended into another whole minute of silence. “So what did the others do while they were here?”
Kamenashi hummed as he thought about it. “Well, I found out on Monday that Ueda likes to read One Piece too so we pretty much spent the whole day talking about it. Koki brought his pet ferret over on Tuesday and I had some fun playing with it. Junno and Yuuchi brought over their video games and although they pretty much thrashed me, we had fun.”
Jin silently cursed himself for not bringing anything with him when he left home.
“I’ll bring something over next time.” Jin mumbled as he took a huge sip of his tea and nearly choked as it went down the wrong way.
Forcing down a laugh, Kamenashi gently patted him on his back, “You guys never give up do you?”
When he finally stopped coughing, Jin looked up and answered, “I don’t know about the others, but I don’t give up on those I care about Kamenashi.”
Jin caught Kamenashi’s eyes, and was starting to feel a little overwhelmed by his stare when Kamenashi smiled a smile that made his eyes disappear, and it was a smile Jin had only see him use on everybody but him. Till now.
“Thank you. And you can just call me Kame, you know?”
-
The very next Friday when Jin went to visit Kame, he found the door unlocked and frowned as he opened it, after apologizing to Kame. His eyes widened when he found Kame sprawled on the floor, his lips bleeding and a purple bruise already blooming on his face.
“What happened?” Jin asked as he touched Kame’s cheek and saw the guy wince away from his touch.
“It’s nothing.” Kame’s voice was cold, and it was as if Kame did not know him at all. As if Kame had gone back to being Kamenashi only a week after being Kame to Jin. Jin did not like it one bit. “It’s none of your business.”
“Kame, I’m your friend. This makes it my business.” Jin tried to get up but was stopped by Kame gripping tightly on his wrist.
“Listen to me. Get. Out.” All Jin could see were Kame’s eyes begging for him to leave. “This is none of your business and I don’t want you here. Go away.”
Jin snapped at that. If Kame - no, Kamenashi - did not want him around, so be it.
“I hope you have a nice day then, ” Jin snarled as he stood up and walked over to the door, taking note to slam it as he left.
-
Jin could feel Koki’s stares behind his back as he went through his day. Work is as per usual and although they have all stopped visiting Kamenashi at his request, they all still call him to checkup regularly on him.
Everyone save for Jin.
Jin missed Kame, but it would be Kamenashi answering the phone should he call to check on him.
The door to the bar was pushed open and in walked a guy Jin really did not wish to see right then.
Nishikido grinned as he strolled over to the bar counter and sat down, his order for a glass of beer was initially ignored by both Koki and Jin before Nakamaru came out and ordered the both of them to behave.
“Now, I thought I’ve told Kazu to stop interacting with you guys. But I see that you’ve still been calling him.” Nishikido’s frowns were returned by Nakamaru who walked up to where Nishikido stood to reply.
“We’re his friends. I don’t see why we can’t call him.”
Nishikido rolled his eyes at that as he finished his beer and ordered another one. “Thing is, I just don’t like it. Kazu’s mine you see.”
“So share.” Jin raised an eyebrow, impressed to see his manager stand up to Nishikido.
“I’m afraid I can’t bear to.”
Jin scoffed, “Why? Afraid that Kamenashi would run away? You have that little faith in your boyfriend, I see.”
He watched as Nishikido’s face turned an ugly shade of red.
“Why you -” Nishikido took a small step forward, only to be stopped by Ueda who silently challenged him to take another step. That guy really had a knack for appearing at the most opportune times.
Ryo glared at all of them, Jin most of all. Realising that he should leave things as it was, he turned to leave but not before warning them, “Just you wait, I’ll be back.”
The door clicked shut and Taguchi laughed from the storeroom he was resting in, “He must have been watching too many Terminator reruns.”
Ueda gave a small laugh too as he pushed past Taguchi to lie down on the bed much to Taguchi’s whining (Hey, I was sleeping there first!).
Nakamaru laughed at the both of them as he went back to his office. Jin silently placed his cloth on the table and caught Koki’s eye. He nodded as if he knew what Jin wanted to say and Jin knew he did.
Running out of the bar, Jin made his way to Kame’s apartment. He had something he wanted to ask the man.
-
It was the fifth time he was knocking on the door and Jin frowned as he knocked again.
Was something wrong?
Just then the door clicked open and Jin could see a wary looking Kamenashi staring at him from behind the door.
“What d’ you want?”
“Nishikido paid us a visit.” Kamenashi’s eyes widened at that and Jin could have sworn he heard him curse a little.
“What did he say?”
“Something about him asking you to stop meeting us.” Kamenashi immediately shifted his gaze when he said that and he somehow knew that there was more.
“What is it Kame?” Jin decided to chance it, and hopefully it was Kame that answered. Not Kamenashi.
Kamenashi gulped, “He mentioned something about hurting you guys as well, if I did not stop meeting up with you guys.” Jin guessed that Kame was back after all.
“You forgot that we have Ueda! What’s there to worry about?” Jin gave a tentative smile, hoping to ease the tension between them.
Kame saw that and smiled back, “Yeah, I guess I didn’t think of that.”
Jin gently pushed the door wider and stepped in. Turning to Kame, he said, “So please, don’t try anything like that ever again.”
Kame gazed up at him, “Why do you care so much? I barely know you.”
Jin replied by giving Kame a tight hug, “I care because I care. Not everything is as complicated as you make it out to be.”
-
Kame did not visit the bar anymore and had stopped contacting them altogether, but Jin did not worry as much as he used to.
When the others asked him what had happened that afternoon, he only smiled and continued filling glasses of beer.
-
A year later, the door to the bar is once again pushed open in the afternoon and Jin looks up, ready to greet the customer, only to see someone he almost could not recognize.
In that one year he had not seen him, Kame had gone on to gain some weight and he did look healthier than he did before, although his hair was a little on the long side. He also looked happier in general and Jin felt pride in his heart at how much Kame had changed.
“Beer please,” Kame ordered with a bright grin.
“Coming right up!” Jin replied with a smile that was equally bright, if not brighter.
Just as Jin placed Kame’s pint of beer in front of him, he felt Koki push him aside to pull Kame up in a tight hug.
“Oh my god, it’s really you!” Koki said, astonished, as he pulled Kame in for another hug. Kame laughed and patted his friend on the back.
Ueda walked up to Kame and asked, “So what happened while you were gone?”
Kame’s smile turned wistful as he fingered the handle of the glass, “I decided to break up with Ryo. He did not take it easily but I’ve somehow managed. Then I spent the other part of the year healing. It’s not easy, being single again after dating for so long and despite what you guys think, Ryo’s honestly good to me.”
“So you’ve really left him for good?” Jin asked.
Kame nodded, “Yes, yes I have.”
“If so, then are you free -”
“No, sorry, ” Kame replied and smiled apologetically at the look of hurt Jin must be sporting on his face. “But ask me again in another year and I just might say yes.”
Jin smiled, resigned, “Okay then, wait for me.”
“Of course, I’ll be right here waiting.”
Author: paintasmile & inourwriteminds
Pairing: Jin/Kame with cameos from other members of KAT-TUN and Nishikido Ryo
Word count: 5700~
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Domestic violence.
Notes: jin_only_one, we hope you like this! :D Big thank you to the mods for their patience and our lovely beta♥
Summary: It was just like every other night Jin had, and Jin was comfortable in this familiarity. At least then he knew what to expect.
"Beer please," a quiet voice asked and Jin nearly missed it over the loud pounding music Taguchi was playing from the deejay stand not far off from the bar.
It'd been busy that night, a never ending flow of people of people streaming in, and Jin barely spared a glance at the young man as his hand reached for the beer tap in an automatic motion. "Coming right up!"
A hand on his shoulder had him jumping, the foam in the glass spilling a little. It was Koki, his own glass held tight in his hands as he leaned in to whisper, "He's new here."
The bar was generally a regular customer type joint. It was situated awkwardly between a clothing store and dry cleaners on a side-road off the main highway and needless to say, new customers were a rarity.
Jin closed the beer tap and placed the cup of beer in front of the customer as he quietly studied him with a subtlety that working behind the bar for years had given him.
"That'll be 600yen."
The man dug in his pocket and handed Jin a bill without so much of a glance, eyes glued to the counter. He was pretty, that was a given, and Jin's instinct to flirt was overbearing, but the glint of a ring on his finger had Jin biting his lip.
Taken. It figures, Jin thought as he went back to polishing his glass. It was hard enough to find a man as good looking as that, never mind one that was still single.
And by the looks of it, their sexualities weren't even in alignment. He smiled to himself, pulling out his phone and typing a quick message to Pi: "why’s my luck so fucking shitty :/"
"Cause it's you, Jin." Pi's reply came fairly quick and Jin rolled his eyes as he watched the man down his cup of beer slowly. He still had not said a single word other than his order and Jin did not think much about it - not everybody comes here to socialise after all.
The rest of the night passed in a fairly normal routine - serve, clear, wash, interspersed with smiles and odd little sentences about the weather - and Jin closed the bar like he always did before heading home.
It was just like every other night Jin had, and Jin was comfortable in this familiarity. At least then he knew what to expect.
-
The same customer arrived the very next day, at lunch time though and which was weird because they don’t normally get customers around this time.
“Beer please.” Jin noticed a small purple bruise around the customer’s neck as he sat down.
Behind him, Nakamaru gently pushed him away as he waved a hand towards the customer, “Hey!” The customer looked up from his glass and frowned a little, obviously confused. “I’m Nakamaru Yuichi, remember me?”
Jin didn’t know what was more shocking, the fact that Nakamaru knew this person or the fact that a look of recognition was on the customer’s face. This meant that what Nakamaru said was actually true - he really did know that person.
Amazingly enough, a smile began to appear on the man’s face and Jin couldn’t help but think that the man really should smile more. He looked absolutely stunning with that smile on his face.
“Yes, Yes I do remember you.” The man stood up as Nakamaru walked towards him. “It’s been how long? Almost ten years?”
“Yes it is.” Nakamaru gave a little laugh, obviously excited to be meeting his friend again after so long. “Boy, you’ve grown.”
Jin was lost. So very lost.
“Wait, how do you two know each other?”
Nakamaru smiled as Kame looped an arm over his shoulder. “We were friends in high school. This is Kamenashi Kazuya.”
The man named Kamenashi gave a deep bow as Nakamaru introduced him. “And that guy over there with the shaggy hairdo is called Akanishi Jin.”
Jin flipped Nakamaru off as he returned the bow and was a little surprised to hear Kamenashi laughing.
“Yuuchi, that’s rude.” Wait, they were on a first name basis already. Then again, they did know each other since High School, Jin thought, as he squelched the funny feeling growing in his chest.
Nakamaru pulled out a chair, motioning for the both of them to sit down as he ordered two pints of beer for the both of them. Looking back at the office at the back of the kitchen, Jin wondered if Maru had any other paper work to process.
In the next few hours and many pints of beer later, they have learned that Kamenashi had a boyfriend by the name of Nishikido and they had only started dating since a few years back, which was primarily why Nakamaru did not know about this Nishikido person.
But Jin noticed that Kame looked happy when he was telling Nakamaru about Nishikido. They must have a very happy relationship then, Jin smiled to himself, happy for Kamenashi even though they had only just been introduced to each other. The guy had been filling in Nakamaru so many details of the past few years of his life that Jin felt like he knew Kamenashi as a person already.
It was only when the night crowd starting coming in that Kamenashi stood up and gave Nakamaru a tight hug before waving goodbye to everybody else, Jin included. Promises for more visits were made and Kamenashi was gone.
-
It had been days and yet there was no Kamenashi in sight.
Behind him, Jin heard Nakamaru asking Koki if he thought Kamenashi was okay. Koki only patted Nakamaru’s shoulder as he tried to reassure the older that Kamenashi probably had a life of his own and was maybe too busy these few days to pop by.
He could hear Nakamaru release a sigh at that and said that Koki was probably right.
“Of course I am.” Koki said with a grin, which earned him a smack on the head from Nakamaru.
Jin, on the other hand, could not seem to let it rest. The images of the bruises on his neck kept circling around Jin’s head and he had to know what caused them.
A customer soon asked Jin for a pint of beer and he caught Koki’s eyes as the latter made his way back to the other side of the bar counter to serve more customers.
Pushing the image out of his head, Jin smiled and nodded at the customer as he pulled the lever of the beer tap, asking him mundane, ordinary questions about his day. It was expected of him after all.
Work was work; personal problems could wait till the last customer left and the doors to the bar were locked.
-
It took weeks before the door to the bar was once again opened in the afternoon. Not many customers came around then and Jin immediately looked up, something he had been doing for the past few weeks, to see Kamenashi strolling in.
The man was wearing a black turtleneck sweater which seemed to swallow him up and Jin could not help but wonder for the need to cover up so much.
“Kazuya!” Nakamaru shouted from the office and Jin nearly winced at the obvious sound of relief coming form that single word. “You’re back!”
Kamenashi beamed a soft smile back to his manager as he sat down right in front of Jin who, before Kamenashi could say anything, already had a glass of beer ready in front of him.
Bemused, Kamenashi raised an eyebrow at him and Jin turned away, concentrating on wiping the spotless glass in his hand.
“What took you so long?” Damn, he sounded defensive. Kame’s stare at him told him that the man thought so too.
Taking a small sip, Kame answered. “I was busy.”
Right. Maybe Koki was correct after all.
Jin turned back as Kame raised his glass to take a second sip. The sleeves of his sweater rode down a little and Jin froze as he saw little strips of red on Kame’s wrist, as if someone had gripped it so tightly that the marks were now engraved onto Kame’s skin.
Before he could think properly, Jin shot out a hand and grab Kamenashi’s wrist.
“What’s this?” He did not miss how Kamenashi gave a little wince, as if to dodge an attack.
Kamenashi’s eyes widened a little before they narrowed into little slits as he stared at Jin.
By then, Nakamaru and Koki had overheard him asking Kamenashi and had walked over to see for themselves. Kame turned to Nakamaru and then to Koki and looked away, snatching his arm from Jin as he gently rubbed it.
“It’s nothing; I accidentally tied my wrist band too tightly.” Out of the corner of his eye, Jin could see Nakamaru giving a slight frown at his friend’s answer.
“Like anybody would believe that,” Koki scoffed and Kamenashi shot him a look, silently challenging him to repeat that sentence. Koki took a step forward but stopped when Nakamaru placed a warning hand on his shoulder. He sneered and walked off to serve the customers, muttering under his breath about rude customers and how they are not welcome in their bar.
Just as Jin wanted to apologise for grabbing Kamenashi’s wrist all of a sudden, Kamenashi stood up abruptly and walked off, leaving his half empty glass of beer on the table.
“H-Hey…” Jin tried calling out to him but the door closed shut before he could even finish his sentence. Beside him, he heard Nakamaru heave a deep sigh as he turned to make his way back into his office.
“What’s going on?” Jin asked to no one in particular.
“That’s what I would like to know.” Ueda, their bouncer who was normally stationed outside the bar, drawled as he leaned against the doors to the kitchen. It was before the night crowd was due in so Ueda still had some free time to take a short break before he started his job.
“You were listening, then.”
“Couldn’t help but overhear, but try to keep your volume down next time - I was trying to catch a nap.” Jin smiled and nodded to Ueda as the latter gave a loud yawn and made his way back to the storeroom which, with the extra bed Nakamaru placed there, doubled up as a place for them to rest if they got too tired.
Well, back to work.
-
Jin stared from the small stub Nakamaru had passed him during work to the apartment door in front of him. He had asked Nakamaru to pass him Kamenashi’s address and while Nakamaru kept asking him why, he still wrote down Kame’s address on a small stub of paper that was supposed to be their receipt.
On his way here, he had passed by a pharmacy and had bought a few creams for Kamenashi to apply on his bruises.
This is it. Jin steeled himself and pressed the doorbell, not quite sure what to expect.
The door clicked open and Jin bowed to greet Kamenashi, and also to apologise for stopping by unannounced.
“I am so sorry but I just wanted to check if you were okay,” Jin said whilst still bowing.
There was an unsettling silence that followed his greeting.
“Who are you?” An unfamiliar voice asked him and Jin wondered if he had perhaps really gone to the wrong apartment.
Looking up, he saw a man holding the door for him, looking extremely annoyed. Behind him stood Kamenashi with his jaw lightly slack and eyes opened a little too wide; he was keeping a tight grip on the kitchen chair beside him.
“Ah! Kamenashi!” Jin shouted before he could help himself.
The man by the door, cocked his head to the side and asked Kame without turning back. “Friend of yours, Kazu?”
Jin did not know if he was imagining it or not but he could have sworn he saw something akin to fear flash through Kamenashi’s eyes.
He slowly studied the man holding the door for him and only then did it dawn on him that this had to be Nishikido - who else would be standing shirtless in Kamenashi’s apartment?
Gulping a little, Kamenashi vehemently shook his head and Jin was confused for a moment there. Why was Kamenashi denying the fact that he knew him?
Jin raised the plastic bag holding the cream, “I brought some cream for your bruises.”
“But Kazu, it seems like he knows you.” Jin noticed that Kame’s hands on the chair were shivering, but it was not cold out today. In fact, it was pretty darn hot.
Jin continued standing by the door like an idiot as he saw Kame stalk across the room. Taking the door in his hand, he said Ryo through gritted teeth, “I do not know him.” And promptly closed the door in his face.
Well, that sure went well, Jin thought as he hesitated a little before placing the bag on Kamenashi's doorstep before making his way back to the bar.
-
It took another few months for Kamenashi to pay another visit and even then, Jin still got ignored by him.
Kamenashi even started interacting with Koki more who confessed to Jin after Kamenashi left that they guy wasn’t so bad after all. Jin scoffed as he recalled Kamenashi slamming the door in his face.
Jin decided that he didn’t care. Kamenashi could be friends with everyone in the universe for all he cared.
-
“Jin,” Nakamaru asked Jin as he was helping the guy carry a box of paper work to the shredder.
“Do you think Kame’s wounds are really ‘cause he hurts himself or is there something more?”
Jin’s immediate reaction was to snort at the question. Kamenashi made his stand on Jin bothering about him pretty clear, he should respect it. “He’s none of my business. Why should I care?” Like he said, respect.
“But it’s weird, the wounds Kame is getting and he always gets them at the weirdest places. Like, I saw one whip-like mark across his neck once.”
“Maybe he and his boyfriend are just into that sort of stuff,” Jin replied but despite everything, he still could not help wondering about Kamenashi’s bruises too.
Really though, how did he get them?
-
“Yuuchi!” Kamenashi waved as he made his way to his usual seat by the counter. Jin heard Nakamaru give a small shout, and he was probably waving back. Behind the counter, Jin stood unmoving and refused to make Kamenashi his pint of beer when the man motioned for a glass. He knew was childish but Jin was still a little hurt by Kamenashi’s actions two weeks back.
He could see Kamenashi roll his eyes and waved to Koki to order his beer which the man gladly did.
That traitor, Koki was supposed to be on his side. Then again, he had not really told anybody, save for Nakamaru, about what had happened two weeks ago.
The next few minutes were relatively normal. Koki and Kamenashi gossiping like the girls they were, Nakamaru groaning whenever Kamenashi teased him about his pretty fingers or soft earlobes. Taguchi, their deejay, was still sleeping in the storeroom and Ueda hadn’t arrived yet to work.
All of a sudden, the door burst open and in strode a man Jin had only seen once before - at Kamenashi’s apartment. He stalked over to the bar counter in a calm manner that belied the anger Jin could see from his eyes. He was making his way to Kamenashi, who as soon as Nishikido burst in, froze and shifted his gaze to the marbled floors.
“Really Kazu, I leave you for a little while and this is where you go to?” Nishikido smirked as he leaned against the counter.
Nakamaru, Jin noticed, was standing by the kitchen door, watching the scene in front of him with a look of wary caution on his face. As if ready to step in at any moment should things get bad.
Kamenashi gave a little cough to clear his throat as he kept his gaze on the ground and answered in a voice so meek, Jin raised an eyebrow in surprise, “I just needed some fresh air. Really Ryo, I can’t even have that?”
Jin watched as Nishikido’s face twisted as the smirk morphed into a snarl and he shot out a hand to grab onto Kamenashi’s.
Kamenashi winced as he tried to shake Nishikido, who was dragging him to the door, off his wrist.
Little puzzle pieces started falling into place - the bruises Kamenashi was always sporting, the way Kamenashi winced when all Jin wanted to do was take his wrist, how Nishikido is handling Kamenashi right now. It finally dawned onto Jin what was going on and by the looks of things, the rest of them realized it too.
A figure shot out from behind him and Jin realized that it was Nakamaru, taking big strides towards where Nishikido was. Kamenashi, on the other hand, was doing a pretty good job of pushing Nishikido off.
“Excuse me sir, I would kindly ask you to release that man at once or the cops will be called.” Nakamaru said in such an authoritative way Jin had never seen him use before. He was actually worried for the Nishikido guy; if he had any sense at all, he should be letting go of Kamenashi right now.
Sadly, Nishikido did not appear to have any sense and cocked an eyebrow at their manager, challenging him to go through with his threat.
Just then, Nishikido was spun around and given a tight punch in the face which had him sprawling to the ground unconscious. Ueda rubbed his knuckles as he turned to stare at each of them.
“Really, it’s no use wasting words on guys like him. I prefer to use my fist.” Koki snorted as he returned to the bar to assure the other customers who were there that there was nothing to worry about. For once, Jin was grateful that they had an ex-professional boxer working for them.
He frowned as he saw Kamenashi crawling over to the unconscious Nishikido and cradled him on his lap. The guy was gently pushing hair off Nishikido’s forehead and he tried to see if his boyfriend was alright.
Nakamaru walked over to where Kamenashi was sitting on the floor with Nishikido in his lap, “Do you need me to call the cops?”
Kamenashi gave a wry smile as he shook his head.
“No, it’s alright. I just need a lift home.”
-
Jin wondered exactly what Kamenashi saw in Nishikido. The latter was being propped up by Taguchi, who was called awake just to help carry him to Nakamaru’s car.
Jin opened his mouth to ask Kamenashi as he walked past him to grab his bag but closed it at the look Kamenashi shot him.
Right, it’s none of his business.
But Nakamaru gets to help, it’s not fair, Jin wanted to whine as the door to the bar closed and the sound of an engine whirring came through as Nakamaru sped off the driveway with Kamenashi and his boyfriend.
The rest of the afternoon was spent in a rather somber mood, with Koki still mad at how Nishikido had treated his new found friend, Ueda outside on guard duty , and not even the busy night crowd could chase away the images of Nishikido dragging Kamenashi on the floor out of his head.
As he topped up more glasses with beer, Jin thought of ways to help Kamenashi, even if the guy didn’t want him to.
-
The next few months flew by with no Kamenashi in sight.
None of them questioned it, not even Nakamaru, and Jin left it at that.
-
The next time Kamenashi appeared, he was sporting a short sleeved tank top and Jin actually stared a little before he caught himself. The man definitely worked out, judging by the muscles on his arm.
And, Jin noticed, most of his bruises were gone as well.
“Hey Kame,” Jin bit his tongue before he commented on how casual Koki was with that guy. “You’ve finally decided to drop by.”
Kamenashi actually laughed before he accepted the beer Jin offered and answered Koki with a cheeky smile, “Miss me?”
Koki scoffed as he raised a hand to ruffle Kamenashi’s hair (Hey, stop it! The hair’s precious.) and Jin had to admit that he was glad Kamenashi finally decided to drop by after so long.
“Feeling better Kame?” Nakamaru asked as he came out to give his friend a tight hug. Kamenashi nodded against Nakamaru’s shoulder and Nakamaru tightened his hug slightly before releasing him.
“We’ve had a talk. Our first one ever since we’ve got into this relationship actually, and we both decided that we want this to work. So he’s been giving me a lot more breathing space ever since then, and he promised not to use violence on me anymore.” Kamenashi smiled as he took a sip from his glass.
He does look happier, Jin figured.
But there is that small part of him that wondered how long it could last but he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to burst Kamenashi’s bubble.
-
“Nakamaru!” Taguchi gasped, bursting through the door and bending over to catch his breath.
He saw Nakamaru run out, paper and pen still in his hand as he went over to Taguchi who was still trying to catch his breath; it seemed like he had ran quite a distance.
“What is it?”
“I-Kazuya… He-” Why did it seem like everybody else was close to Kamenashi but him? Taguchi stopped to take a deep breath before he continued. “We were on our way to buy ingredients for the bar like you asked us too.” Nakamaru nodded, face solemn, silently asking Taguchi to continue.
“Well, we were on our way to the supermarket when we bumped into Nishikido.” Their bar had been serving lunch and dinner ever since Kamenashi volunteered to help cook. “And I was just nudging Kamenashi, asking him to introduce us formally but Nishikido suddenly lashed out and punched Kamenashi.” Jin froze, so much for Nishikido’s promise.
The tiny part of Jin that was skeptical about the whole deal was gloating but he squelched it as he continued listening to Taguchi’s speech.
“… so Kamenashi punched him back and told me to run away first. I decided to come here and get help.”
Koki threw down his towel as he motioned for Jin to man the bar. “I’ll go and I’ll bring Ueda along as well.”
Nakamaru nodded as he watched Koki run out of the bar. Jin’s eyes moved from Taguchi’s to his and he knew they were all thinking the same thing.
This had to stop.
-
“I’m fine.” He pouted to Nakamaru as the elder patted him to check if he was okay. Ueda and Koki had arrived just in time and this time, Nishikido had the good sense to run away before Ueda gave him another punch.
“Kame,” Maru sighed and Jin could see Kamenashi stiffen at the tone Nakamaru was using, “This has to stop and you know it.”
Bending his head down, Kamenashi started picking out at the lint in his shirt. Heaving a deep sigh of his own, he replied softly, “It’s… It’s easier said than done.”
Nakamaru frowned and Kamenashi looked up, staring at Nakamaru forlornly like a person lost out at sea.
“What if I don’t want this to stop?”
-
Jin winced at the chair Koki just kicked in anger at Kamenashi’s answer.
The latter had left not long ago, after Nakamaru was convinced that he was really alright and that it was safe to go home - It was only after Kamenashi told him that Nishikido was not living in his apartment anymore that Nakamaru finally complied.
“He can’t be serious,” Koki groaned as he looked at Ueda who only shrugged his shoulders.
Nakamaru shrugged his shoulders too, lost for ideas, when Koki turned to look at him. Koki groaned as he combed his fingers through his hair and sat down on his chair again.
Taguchi piped up, “How about we pay more visits to him, to make sure that Nishikido hasn’t been hurting Kame?”
“But won’t that just make matters worse?” Jin asked.
“We’ll only visit once Nishikido leaves the apartment so he won’t catch us there.” Taguchi suggested and Nakamaru nodded.
It was a plan.
-
As they all could notjust leave the bar alone, they decided to each visit Kamenashi on a certain day.
Jin pressed the doorbell of Kamenashi’s house; he had already made sure that Nishikido was gone - the man had left hours ago for his job - and Kamenashi opened the door on the second buzz.
The others had already visited him for the past few days so Kamenashi should know what Jin is here for.
“Come right in.” Kamenashi opened the doors wider for Jin as he offered to take the jacket Jin was wearing and hung it on the coatrack by the door.
He motioned for Jin to sit down as he went to prepare tea for the both of them.
The next few minutes were spent in a painfully awkward silence and Jin searched his mind for a topic they could talk about.
“So…” Jin said the exact same moment Kamenashi said it and they both gave an awkward laugh as Kamenashi coughed and downed more of his tea.
Jin decided to talk before they descended into another whole minute of silence. “So what did the others do while they were here?”
Kamenashi hummed as he thought about it. “Well, I found out on Monday that Ueda likes to read One Piece too so we pretty much spent the whole day talking about it. Koki brought his pet ferret over on Tuesday and I had some fun playing with it. Junno and Yuuchi brought over their video games and although they pretty much thrashed me, we had fun.”
Jin silently cursed himself for not bringing anything with him when he left home.
“I’ll bring something over next time.” Jin mumbled as he took a huge sip of his tea and nearly choked as it went down the wrong way.
Forcing down a laugh, Kamenashi gently patted him on his back, “You guys never give up do you?”
When he finally stopped coughing, Jin looked up and answered, “I don’t know about the others, but I don’t give up on those I care about Kamenashi.”
Jin caught Kamenashi’s eyes, and was starting to feel a little overwhelmed by his stare when Kamenashi smiled a smile that made his eyes disappear, and it was a smile Jin had only see him use on everybody but him. Till now.
“Thank you. And you can just call me Kame, you know?”
-
The very next Friday when Jin went to visit Kame, he found the door unlocked and frowned as he opened it, after apologizing to Kame. His eyes widened when he found Kame sprawled on the floor, his lips bleeding and a purple bruise already blooming on his face.
“What happened?” Jin asked as he touched Kame’s cheek and saw the guy wince away from his touch.
“It’s nothing.” Kame’s voice was cold, and it was as if Kame did not know him at all. As if Kame had gone back to being Kamenashi only a week after being Kame to Jin. Jin did not like it one bit. “It’s none of your business.”
“Kame, I’m your friend. This makes it my business.” Jin tried to get up but was stopped by Kame gripping tightly on his wrist.
“Listen to me. Get. Out.” All Jin could see were Kame’s eyes begging for him to leave. “This is none of your business and I don’t want you here. Go away.”
Jin snapped at that. If Kame - no, Kamenashi - did not want him around, so be it.
“I hope you have a nice day then, ” Jin snarled as he stood up and walked over to the door, taking note to slam it as he left.
-
Jin could feel Koki’s stares behind his back as he went through his day. Work is as per usual and although they have all stopped visiting Kamenashi at his request, they all still call him to checkup regularly on him.
Everyone save for Jin.
Jin missed Kame, but it would be Kamenashi answering the phone should he call to check on him.
The door to the bar was pushed open and in walked a guy Jin really did not wish to see right then.
Nishikido grinned as he strolled over to the bar counter and sat down, his order for a glass of beer was initially ignored by both Koki and Jin before Nakamaru came out and ordered the both of them to behave.
“Now, I thought I’ve told Kazu to stop interacting with you guys. But I see that you’ve still been calling him.” Nishikido’s frowns were returned by Nakamaru who walked up to where Nishikido stood to reply.
“We’re his friends. I don’t see why we can’t call him.”
Nishikido rolled his eyes at that as he finished his beer and ordered another one. “Thing is, I just don’t like it. Kazu’s mine you see.”
“So share.” Jin raised an eyebrow, impressed to see his manager stand up to Nishikido.
“I’m afraid I can’t bear to.”
Jin scoffed, “Why? Afraid that Kamenashi would run away? You have that little faith in your boyfriend, I see.”
He watched as Nishikido’s face turned an ugly shade of red.
“Why you -” Nishikido took a small step forward, only to be stopped by Ueda who silently challenged him to take another step. That guy really had a knack for appearing at the most opportune times.
Ryo glared at all of them, Jin most of all. Realising that he should leave things as it was, he turned to leave but not before warning them, “Just you wait, I’ll be back.”
The door clicked shut and Taguchi laughed from the storeroom he was resting in, “He must have been watching too many Terminator reruns.”
Ueda gave a small laugh too as he pushed past Taguchi to lie down on the bed much to Taguchi’s whining (Hey, I was sleeping there first!).
Nakamaru laughed at the both of them as he went back to his office. Jin silently placed his cloth on the table and caught Koki’s eye. He nodded as if he knew what Jin wanted to say and Jin knew he did.
Running out of the bar, Jin made his way to Kame’s apartment. He had something he wanted to ask the man.
-
It was the fifth time he was knocking on the door and Jin frowned as he knocked again.
Was something wrong?
Just then the door clicked open and Jin could see a wary looking Kamenashi staring at him from behind the door.
“What d’ you want?”
“Nishikido paid us a visit.” Kamenashi’s eyes widened at that and Jin could have sworn he heard him curse a little.
“What did he say?”
“Something about him asking you to stop meeting us.” Kamenashi immediately shifted his gaze when he said that and he somehow knew that there was more.
“What is it Kame?” Jin decided to chance it, and hopefully it was Kame that answered. Not Kamenashi.
Kamenashi gulped, “He mentioned something about hurting you guys as well, if I did not stop meeting up with you guys.” Jin guessed that Kame was back after all.
“You forgot that we have Ueda! What’s there to worry about?” Jin gave a tentative smile, hoping to ease the tension between them.
Kame saw that and smiled back, “Yeah, I guess I didn’t think of that.”
Jin gently pushed the door wider and stepped in. Turning to Kame, he said, “So please, don’t try anything like that ever again.”
Kame gazed up at him, “Why do you care so much? I barely know you.”
Jin replied by giving Kame a tight hug, “I care because I care. Not everything is as complicated as you make it out to be.”
-
Kame did not visit the bar anymore and had stopped contacting them altogether, but Jin did not worry as much as he used to.
When the others asked him what had happened that afternoon, he only smiled and continued filling glasses of beer.
-
A year later, the door to the bar is once again pushed open in the afternoon and Jin looks up, ready to greet the customer, only to see someone he almost could not recognize.
In that one year he had not seen him, Kame had gone on to gain some weight and he did look healthier than he did before, although his hair was a little on the long side. He also looked happier in general and Jin felt pride in his heart at how much Kame had changed.
“Beer please,” Kame ordered with a bright grin.
“Coming right up!” Jin replied with a smile that was equally bright, if not brighter.
Just as Jin placed Kame’s pint of beer in front of him, he felt Koki push him aside to pull Kame up in a tight hug.
“Oh my god, it’s really you!” Koki said, astonished, as he pulled Kame in for another hug. Kame laughed and patted his friend on the back.
Ueda walked up to Kame and asked, “So what happened while you were gone?”
Kame’s smile turned wistful as he fingered the handle of the glass, “I decided to break up with Ryo. He did not take it easily but I’ve somehow managed. Then I spent the other part of the year healing. It’s not easy, being single again after dating for so long and despite what you guys think, Ryo’s honestly good to me.”
“So you’ve really left him for good?” Jin asked.
Kame nodded, “Yes, yes I have.”
“If so, then are you free -”
“No, sorry, ” Kame replied and smiled apologetically at the look of hurt Jin must be sporting on his face. “But ask me again in another year and I just might say yes.”
Jin smiled, resigned, “Okay then, wait for me.”
“Of course, I’ll be right here waiting.”