Strings of fate (Chapter 3/3)
Title: Strings of fate
Author: Me
Pairing: Masuda/Tegoshi
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance
Summary: The pianist started playing, a soft, sweet melody, and the boy started to sing. One phrase, and then Masuda was enchanted.
Notes: English is not my native language
Chapter 1 Chapter 2
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Masuda wasn’t used to waking up with someone by his side, but when he felt Tegoshi’s warm body next to his own, he happily admitted that it was a pleasant feeling. He combed his fingers through the boy’s hair and soon heard a small giggle coming from the younger. “Good morning, Massu.”
Masuda kissed his forehead. “Good morning. Have you slept well?” Tegoshi nodded and nuzzled Masuda’s neck. “Do you have university today?”
Tegoshi shook his head and leaned his head on Masuda’s chest, sighing happily. “I have to work tonight though.”
“It’s a shame that I have work today then.”
Tegoshi sighed ad placed a kiss on Masuda’s collarbone. “I would have wanted to spend the entire day together…”
Masuda laughed at Tegoshi’s utterly disappointed tone. “That would be nice, but I have to go to my job. But if you’re free all day, then we can eat lunch together.”
Tegoshi immediately shone up. “That sounds awesome. I guess I can spend the rest of my time studying or something.”
Masuda nodded and kissed Tegoshi’s hair. He had to resist the urge to stay in bed with him instead of getting up and go out in the cold weather, but in the end he still got up, despite Tegoshi’s whining. He found it incredibly cute though, the way Tegoshi clung on to him and asked him to stay.
Truth to be told, ever since Masuda had started dating Tegoshi for real, his life had gotten much brighter. His boring job somehow didn’t seem as boring anymore, and just by thinking about his lover, Masuda felt his heart flutter. It had been a while now, since that night Tegoshi had stayed over at his place and then been unable to resist the urge to tell Masuda about his feelings. And Masuda was so happy that it had ended up that way. Things just couldn’t get any more perfect now, and he hoped that everything would remain like this.
During lunch, Masuda went to a restaurant that was close to his job to meet up with Tegoshi as promised. He got surprised that the boy was late, and he got to wait for fifteen minutes before he showed up. When he finally arrived, Masuda could directly sense that something was wrong. Tegoshi’s smile never really reached his eyes, and his eyes were a bit red, as if he had been crying. Overall, the boy’s happiness seemed so faked, and Masuda was unsure whether he should ask if something had happened or if he shouldn’t, because Tegoshi would eventually tell him sooner or later anyway. He still couldn’t shake the feeling that something weren’t quite right off, and during the entire meal he tried to get hints that would make him understand what was wrong, if something was wrong.
When they had finished eating and were walking towards Masuda’s workplace, Masuda felt like he couldn’t hold his question inside anymore. If Tegoshi was feeling bad, Masuda wanted to help him, at least comfort him if he could. He touched the boy’s shoulder lightly, and Tegoshi turned his head and made a quiet “hmm?”-sound to ask if he wanted something.
Masuda looked at him with concerned eyes. “Have something happened? You seem kind of tense.”
Tegoshi bit his lip and faced the ground before he looked up again, smiling. “I have a bit of a headache, but I’m fine. You don’t have to worry, okay?”
Masuda nodded and squeezed his hand quickly before dropping it again. He still had the feeling that Tegoshi was hiding something from him, something important, and it made him feel concerned. But Tegoshi wouldn’t tell him no matter how much he would nag, so Masuda decided to let it be.
Tegoshi suddenly turned to him, smiling sweetly. “Do you want to see me tonight?”
“Didn’t you have work?”
Tegoshi shook his head. “It got cancelled. Can I come over later?”
Masuda nodded. “Sure.” Tegoshi smiled, but it still didn’t reach his eyes at all. Masuda maybe started to understand what have happened, but he didn’t want to ask Tegoshi if his theory was right. He hoped that it wasn’t, but when seeing Tegoshi’s sad expression, he was afraid that his guess was correct.
The more time passed, the more Masuda started to suspect that something had happened at Tegoshi’s part time-job. He didn’t seem to go there anymore, because he had much more time to see Masuda than before, and he didn’t even mention it anymore. Masuda found it strange that he would quit, because he knew Tegoshi liked the job. Sure, the audience wasn’t the most appreciating, but Tegoshi loved music and loved to perform. So why he would quit didn’t make sense.
Masuda still didn’t ask about it, he somehow felt like he would invade on privacy, but he still wanted to know. Tegoshi had been more down lately, the reason hidden from Masuda. It made him feel like a bad boyfriend, that couldn’t even comfort Tegoshi when he was feeling sad, whatever the reason was. But Tegoshi wouldn’t tell him, and somehow, Masuda didn’t have the courage to ask.
It was an ordinary night, and Tegoshi was staying over at Masuda’s place. He seemed a little cheerier than he usually had lately, and that fact alone made Masuda feel better as well. Time had passed so quickly, and it was now half a year since Masuda had seen Tegoshi performing at that dull restaurant for the first time. It made him a bit nostalgic to think about it, the way Tegoshi already at that time enchanted him. That feeling hadn’t dulled at all since then, only grown stronger. But it made Masuda wonder even more what had happened to that job that Tegoshi had. “Hey, Yuya…” They had started calling each other by first-name a while ago, and it still made Masuda’s heart flutter a bit every time he said it. Tegoshi moved his gaze from the TV and looked at Masuda. “Yeah?”
Masuda swallowed. “What happened to that part time-job of yours? You haven’t gone there for a while. You haven’t quit, have you?”
Tegoshi looked away, showing Masuda a smile that was only faked. He laughed quietly. “I got fired.”
Masuda stared at him. “Fired? Why?”
Tegoshi shrugged. “They found someone that in their opinion was better I guess. But it’s a good thing, isn’t it? I can focus on my studies and see you more.” The boy forced a smile that only made Masuda’s heart ache, and he knew that the words Tegoshi just had spoken was a lie. “But…you love to perform. Why don’t you try to find somewhere else to work?”
Tegoshi shook his head hopelessly. “It’s best if I give up on music already. I won’t succeed in that world; I don’t have the talent, or the contacts.”
“But you…” Masuda felt how Tegoshi covered his lips with his pointing finger, kissing his cheek softly. “It’s fine, Taka. I can still play for fun. I just have to give up on ever being able to live on my music.” He turned away, as if his eyes wouldn’t make his lie trustworthy. “So I’m fine.”
No you’re not. Masuda wanted to say something, once again give Tegoshi the courage and confidence back. But what could he do? He didn’t have ay contacts that could help Tegoshi or anything, all he could do was to be there for the younger, trying to comfort him at least. But for Masuda, that wasn’t enough. He wanted to help Tegoshi, not just be there to lick his wounds. And when looking at Tegoshi’s face, into his sorrowful eyes, Masuda knew that the boy was far from fine. No matter how much he tried to hide it, Masuda could see the disappointment he felt, and he hated that he couldn’t do anything to ease his pain.
****
Somehow, Masuda couldn’t let go of the fact that Tegoshi was going to give up on his dream. In Masuda’s mind, the boy was definitely talented enough to make it in the major label, but whenever he tried to discuss it with Tegoshi, he chanced topic or turned Masuda down. Masuda started to get frustrated, because he didn’t want his boyfriend’s talent to get wasted, and when he met up with Koyama and Shige one day during lunch, he just had to discuss the matter.
“Tegoshi is going to give up on his music.”
Shige looked at Masuda, Koyama did too. “Your boyfriend?” Masuda nodded.
“He got fired from his part time-job. You have heard him, he sang in that bar we visited quite some time ago now.”
Shige shone up. “Ohh, that’s right. He’s really talented.” Masuda agreed. “It’s a shame that he’s going to give up, he has a voice that is good enough for debuting.”
“I know.” Masuda sighed. “But he has lost the fire in it. I wish that I could do something, but there isn’t. I don’t have any contacts in that business or anything that could help him.”
“I guess contacts with someone on a record company would help him a lot.” Koyama sighed, but then he suddenly grabbed Masuda’s shoulder, smiling widely. “My uncle works at a record company.”
Masuda felt how his lips turned into a wide grin. “Seriously?” Koyama nodded. “Can you do something to help?”
Koyama tried to look serious, but he was still smiling widely. “I can’t promise that I’ll succeed in anything, but I will talk to him.”
****
“Taka, where are we going?” Tegoshi sounded rather confused as he walked behind Masuda, guitar-case hanging from his shoulder. Masuda turned his head and smiled towards the boy.
“It’s a secret.”
Tegoshi rolled his eyes and sighed. “And why do I have to take my guitar with me? It’s heavy.”
Masuda just smiled. “You’ll see.” Tegoshi sighed deeply and followed him. The boy didn’t seem to be in a good mood at all, and Masuda started to get nervous. Maybe this wasn’t a good plan at all after all. But it was too late to turn back now, and this was Tegoshi’s big chance. But Masuda was still afraid that Tegoshi would put up a fight when he got to know where they were headed. And that would be soon, Masuda could already see the big building in front of them, the record company where Koyama’s uncle worked. Tegoshi seemed to understand now, because Masuda could hear how his footsteps stopped.
“Here?” Masuda turned around and met Tegoshi’s frustrated and shocked gaze. The boy pointed at the big building in front of them. “That’s were we’re going?”
Masuda nodded, and Tegoshi sighed. “Why?”
“I don’t want you to give up on your dream yet.”
Tegoshi crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. “I won’t go in there. Why would they even listen to me singing?”
Masuda took a step forward and smiled. “A friend of mine knows one of the owners, and they have arranged an audition for you.”
For a brief moment, Masuda thought he saw a trace of hope in Tegoshi’s eyes, but then he made that stubborn face again. “I don’t want to sing for them. They will think that I’m trash, and it will just be really humiliating.”
Masuda touched the boy’s shoulder lightly and looked him deeply in the eyes. “I know that you don’t want to give up on this dream yet, Yuya. And this is your chance. Please take it, just try.” Tegoshi’s expression remained unchanged, but Masuda continued. “I wanted to give you this chance, because I believe in you, even if you don’t. So please, just try. For me.”
Tegoshi looked down when hearing these words, and bit his lip. “Fine, I’ll try. But don’t expect anything.”
Masuda grabbed Tegoshi’s hand and squeezed it. “I only expect you to do your best.”
Tegoshi smiled slightly and squeezed Masuda’s hand back. “I will.”
They started to walk towards the building and the closer they got, the more nervous Tegoshi looked. Masuda understood him, if he had been in this situation he would have preferred going back because of restlessness. But Tegoshi had a big talent, and Masuda believed in him.
When they entered the building, Masuda could immediately see Koyama, waving happily towards them. Masuda glanced at Tegoshi, who at the moment looked like he would faint, or at least vomit any second. Masuda squeezed his shoulder and smiled towards him. Koyama walked towards them and held his hand forward, smiling towards Tegoshi. “I’m Koyama Keiichiro. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you.” Tegoshi’s voice was trembling, and so was his hand as he shook Koyama’s. Koyama seemed to understand that Tegoshi was just very, very nervous, and just smiled. “My uncle is waiting for you in that room.” He pointed towards a door a few meters away. “Good luck.”
Tegoshi mumbled a barely audible ‘thank you’, before he turned to Masuda, swallowing. Masuda wrapped his arms around the boy and whispered comfortingly in his ear. “You’ll do fine. Just go in there and show them how awesome you are.” He loosened his grip around the younger so he could look him in the eyes. “Okay?”
Tegoshi smiled. “Okay.”
He somehow seemed more confident than before, and the smile that crossed his lips seemed to be a genuine one. The boy took a deep breath before he started to walk towards the door, opening it with shaky hands and then closing it behind him. Masuda bit hit lip and started to fiddle with one of his sleeves. He hoped everything would go well for Tegoshi, the boy deserved it. All he could hope for now was that the persons behind that door also would think that.
It took several minutes before the door opened, and Masuda felt his hear beating faster when he saw how Tegoshi was running towards him, the biggest smile ever on his face. “Massu, I did it!”
The boy threw his arms around Masuda and kissed his cheek, totally not caring that they actually were in public. “I did it.” Masuda could hear the boy sob softly, and bury his face in Masuda’s neck. “I did it, Massu.”
Masuda wrapped his arms around the boy and kissed his hair. “I knew you would make it, Yuya. I believed in you all the time.”
Tegoshi pulled back, and the wide grin on his lips made Masuda feel all warm inside. “They will send me to a voice-coach for training. They thought I had a lot of potential, and want to help me to publish my songs. Can you believe it, Massu? They actually thought that I was good…they said that I was one of the most talented voices they had ever heard.” Tegoshi suddenly laughed quietly. “I can’t believe it…Massu, pinch me, and prove that this isn’t just a dream.”
Masuda decided to catch Tegoshi’s lips in a kiss instead, and the boy was, if possible, smiling even wider when they parted. “This is real, Yuya. And you deserve it.”
Tegoshi just smiled, and kissed Masuda’s cheek. “Thanks for this, Massu. If it weren’t for you, I would still be sitting at home, sighing over a dream I had given up on. Thanks for giving me my hope back, again.”
Masuda shook his head. “It’s mostly thanks to Koyama; he’s the one who arranged this.”
“But you’re the one who convinced me that I should at least give it a try. I wouldn’t have been able to go in there if you hadn’t believed in me.”
Masuda smiled. “Remember that I fell in love with you when I first heard you play. I didn’t want that talent you have get wasted. But if you’ll become a celebrity soon, maybe even more people will fall in love with you…”
Tegoshi laughed and pecked Masuda’s lips. “Lucky for you that I won’t ever fall for anyone else then.”
*~*~*~*~*~*
And that’s the end of this story~ Once again, hugs, cupcakes and thousands of thanks to all of you who have read and commented <3 Every single little word makes me very happy!
Sadly enough, I don’t have ay ideas for new fics at the moment, and school will probably keep me awfully busy…But I may get some ideas for short, silly drabbles, and I will probably be able to write these down!
Once again, thanks for reading! I hope you liked the ending <3