Danger View
Title: Danger View
Series: Kodomo no Omocha
Length: 1170 words
Genre: Drama, Romance
Pairing: Rei/Sana
Summary: He had no reason to be jealous of her Christmas Eve date, right?
Even holding the magazine, Rei couldn’t admit why he was so annoyed. Their smiling faces beamed back at him from the cover of GO Idol!!, framed by a heart, and a banner caption asked, “A Christmas Proposal for Nao and Sana?!?!”
Maybe it was the punctuation that annoyed him.
The real Sana stood before him in his living room, dressed incongruously in that ugly blue windbreaker and a red strapless cocktail dress. Behind them the television was replaying yesterday’s interview. With Naozumi. Again. Of course. The two of them were inseparable.
“So, any special Christmas Eve plans for you two?” the presenter was asking, eyes and mouth big in exaggerated curiosity. They were on the program to promote their latest film, but the topic always came back to their relationship.
Sana gave Naozumi a subtle glance and a secret smile. “Who can say?” she answered with a coy wink.
For his part, Naozumi looked embarrassed by the questions. The presenter jumped on that as evidence of something, and she and Sana shared girlish giggles at his “adorable” discomfort.
Rei had been there for the interview, when everything seemed innocent and businesslike, but now he saw what everyone at home would see. The overenthusiastic magazine cover alone wouldn’t convince anyone, but their interaction, those little looks and touches, their obvious closeness and coziness, certainly would add fuel to the speculative fire. “I’m just saying,” he said, turning away from the TV and back to the live Sana, “if there’s something between the two of you, as your manager, I should know.”
Sana rubbed her hands over her eyes, then quickly stopped before she ruined her makeup. “Geez, it’s danger view all over again,” she replied. “You know he’s my best friend. We play it up for the camera because it’s good publicity. It’s our job, and we’re damn good at it, if I may blow my own horn. I’d blow his horn, too, if he were here.”
“Have you been blowing his horn?”
Her nose crinkled in confusion. “What?”
“Nothing. I don’t know.”
She had smudged her mascara slightly, giving her eyes an almost wild look. Her makeup was otherwise natural and youthful but dressy enough for the evening. Gloss made her pouty lips shiny and inviting, and a delicate pink rouge implied a flush of happiness or excitement. Other than that stupid blue jacket she thought was a foolproof disguise, she looked like a woman ready for a Christmas Eve date. So was it really that much of a stretch to assume that was where she was going?
Sure, she’d stopped by here with gifts, a rectangle from her mother that must have been her new book, a tin from Shimura-san filled with cookies and other treats, and a beribboned box that Sana told him he wasn’t allowed to open until tomorrow. “Or I’ll take it back,” she’d mock-threatened with a wag of her finger.
Then she stood there, waiting, but he’d already given her his gift when he picked her up for the interview.
What else could she want? Was she killing time before her date, taking pity on him for spending Christmas Eve alone?
He didn’t want her pity. He just wanted her-
“Look, Rei,” she said with a sigh, absently pushing an artfully tousled curl behind her ear, “you know how this business is. We’re all trying to sell something. We’re selling ourselves and our talents, and they’re selling TV shows and magazines. People buy it, and that’s good for us, right?”
It was true, he knew that, and he’d been through this before. He’d fielded inquiries about the two of them back when they were children, and Asako had been a constant subject of celebrity romance talk. Such rumors would always bother him on some level, the invasion of privacy, but it came with the territory.
And when it came to his territory, he was… well, territorial. He was being protective, not jealous.
“People see me and Naozumi together and believe whatever they want,” she continued. “They think because we enjoy working together or because we knew each other as babies that we have some sort of deep destined love. I do love him like a brother, but that’s as far as it goes.”
He believed her, but that didn’t explain why she was dressed the way she was, with fuck-me hair and just enough cleavage to drive a man to distraction.
None of those words were supposed to be associated with Sana.
Sometimes he looked into her face and saw the little girl who’d saved his life. And sometimes she was an alluring mystery woman he couldn’t get out of his mind.
Fine, so he wasn’t asking as her manager. And he wasn’t asking as her friend, either. A friend wouldn’t feel this conflicted about the whole damn thing. A friend would only want her to be happy.
“But there is someone,” he said, hating himself for not having the right to ask but not being strong enough to stop.
“Yes,” she said. She shrugged out of her jacket and let it fall to the floor. Her creamy shoulders peeked through the waves of her hair like an actress peering through the curtain before heading on stage for her big debut. When she put her hands on her hips, her small yet lovely breasts thrust forward like they were daring him to look.
“Maybe it’s not very nice of me,” she continued, “but I let them think I’m out with Naozumi because I don’t want them knowing who I’m really spending Christmas Eve with. They don’t get to know this part of my life. I won’t have them tainting this with all their damn stalking and gossip.”
If she’d tell him, he could help. He could deflect their questions better, keep them off the track, provide alibis and excuses. Part of his job was to guard her privacy, wasn’t it?
Yeah, those weren’t the reasons at all.
He didn’t want to know, even though he had to know.
She smiled at him like an indulgent mother and shook her head. “I see I’m going to have to draw you a picture.” As she stepped closer, the smile was no longer motherly. “Or I can act it out for you.”
When she kissed him, he stopped breathing. His heart stopped beating. The entire world became her lips and the way they moved against his, then her tongue as it teased him, tempting his mouth to open and taste this forbidden fruit. Breath and blood began racing again, bringing him back to life so he could move his hands up to her shoulders, her hair, her face, so he could, for a moment, have the fantasy he’d refused to acknowledge in the daylight.
“Merry Christmas, Rei,” she whispered, and the eyes that looked into his promised things her younger self had joked about without understanding.
That little girl was nowhere to be seen. The woman in his arms knew exactly what she was offering.
Danger view indeed.
Series: Kodomo no Omocha
Length: 1170 words
Genre: Drama, Romance
Pairing: Rei/Sana
Summary: He had no reason to be jealous of her Christmas Eve date, right?
Even holding the magazine, Rei couldn’t admit why he was so annoyed. Their smiling faces beamed back at him from the cover of GO Idol!!, framed by a heart, and a banner caption asked, “A Christmas Proposal for Nao and Sana?!?!”
Maybe it was the punctuation that annoyed him.
The real Sana stood before him in his living room, dressed incongruously in that ugly blue windbreaker and a red strapless cocktail dress. Behind them the television was replaying yesterday’s interview. With Naozumi. Again. Of course. The two of them were inseparable.
“So, any special Christmas Eve plans for you two?” the presenter was asking, eyes and mouth big in exaggerated curiosity. They were on the program to promote their latest film, but the topic always came back to their relationship.
Sana gave Naozumi a subtle glance and a secret smile. “Who can say?” she answered with a coy wink.
For his part, Naozumi looked embarrassed by the questions. The presenter jumped on that as evidence of something, and she and Sana shared girlish giggles at his “adorable” discomfort.
Rei had been there for the interview, when everything seemed innocent and businesslike, but now he saw what everyone at home would see. The overenthusiastic magazine cover alone wouldn’t convince anyone, but their interaction, those little looks and touches, their obvious closeness and coziness, certainly would add fuel to the speculative fire. “I’m just saying,” he said, turning away from the TV and back to the live Sana, “if there’s something between the two of you, as your manager, I should know.”
Sana rubbed her hands over her eyes, then quickly stopped before she ruined her makeup. “Geez, it’s danger view all over again,” she replied. “You know he’s my best friend. We play it up for the camera because it’s good publicity. It’s our job, and we’re damn good at it, if I may blow my own horn. I’d blow his horn, too, if he were here.”
“Have you been blowing his horn?”
Her nose crinkled in confusion. “What?”
“Nothing. I don’t know.”
She had smudged her mascara slightly, giving her eyes an almost wild look. Her makeup was otherwise natural and youthful but dressy enough for the evening. Gloss made her pouty lips shiny and inviting, and a delicate pink rouge implied a flush of happiness or excitement. Other than that stupid blue jacket she thought was a foolproof disguise, she looked like a woman ready for a Christmas Eve date. So was it really that much of a stretch to assume that was where she was going?
Sure, she’d stopped by here with gifts, a rectangle from her mother that must have been her new book, a tin from Shimura-san filled with cookies and other treats, and a beribboned box that Sana told him he wasn’t allowed to open until tomorrow. “Or I’ll take it back,” she’d mock-threatened with a wag of her finger.
Then she stood there, waiting, but he’d already given her his gift when he picked her up for the interview.
What else could she want? Was she killing time before her date, taking pity on him for spending Christmas Eve alone?
He didn’t want her pity. He just wanted her-
“Look, Rei,” she said with a sigh, absently pushing an artfully tousled curl behind her ear, “you know how this business is. We’re all trying to sell something. We’re selling ourselves and our talents, and they’re selling TV shows and magazines. People buy it, and that’s good for us, right?”
It was true, he knew that, and he’d been through this before. He’d fielded inquiries about the two of them back when they were children, and Asako had been a constant subject of celebrity romance talk. Such rumors would always bother him on some level, the invasion of privacy, but it came with the territory.
And when it came to his territory, he was… well, territorial. He was being protective, not jealous.
“People see me and Naozumi together and believe whatever they want,” she continued. “They think because we enjoy working together or because we knew each other as babies that we have some sort of deep destined love. I do love him like a brother, but that’s as far as it goes.”
He believed her, but that didn’t explain why she was dressed the way she was, with fuck-me hair and just enough cleavage to drive a man to distraction.
None of those words were supposed to be associated with Sana.
Sometimes he looked into her face and saw the little girl who’d saved his life. And sometimes she was an alluring mystery woman he couldn’t get out of his mind.
Fine, so he wasn’t asking as her manager. And he wasn’t asking as her friend, either. A friend wouldn’t feel this conflicted about the whole damn thing. A friend would only want her to be happy.
“But there is someone,” he said, hating himself for not having the right to ask but not being strong enough to stop.
“Yes,” she said. She shrugged out of her jacket and let it fall to the floor. Her creamy shoulders peeked through the waves of her hair like an actress peering through the curtain before heading on stage for her big debut. When she put her hands on her hips, her small yet lovely breasts thrust forward like they were daring him to look.
“Maybe it’s not very nice of me,” she continued, “but I let them think I’m out with Naozumi because I don’t want them knowing who I’m really spending Christmas Eve with. They don’t get to know this part of my life. I won’t have them tainting this with all their damn stalking and gossip.”
If she’d tell him, he could help. He could deflect their questions better, keep them off the track, provide alibis and excuses. Part of his job was to guard her privacy, wasn’t it?
Yeah, those weren’t the reasons at all.
He didn’t want to know, even though he had to know.
She smiled at him like an indulgent mother and shook her head. “I see I’m going to have to draw you a picture.” As she stepped closer, the smile was no longer motherly. “Or I can act it out for you.”
When she kissed him, he stopped breathing. His heart stopped beating. The entire world became her lips and the way they moved against his, then her tongue as it teased him, tempting his mouth to open and taste this forbidden fruit. Breath and blood began racing again, bringing him back to life so he could move his hands up to her shoulders, her hair, her face, so he could, for a moment, have the fantasy he’d refused to acknowledge in the daylight.
“Merry Christmas, Rei,” she whispered, and the eyes that looked into his promised things her younger self had joked about without understanding.
That little girl was nowhere to be seen. The woman in his arms knew exactly what she was offering.
Danger view indeed.