Phosphorescent Lights: Chapter 16 [2]
Every secret has a price…
Title: Phosphorescent Lights
Summary: A photographer with no memories whose goal in life is to seek out what he has lost; a businessman who swore revenge for the death of his lover while desperately trying to escape his fixated reality. Two entirely different men with entirely different lives bound together by the threads of destiny. But little do the two know that they are bounded together by more than just simple destiny…
Genre: Romance/Drama
Pairings: Akame (primary), Ryoda (secondary) mentions of Jinda, Pin, Ryopi, Kokame, Kamaki
Other Characters: Jin, Kame, Ueda, Yamashita, Ryo, Koki, slight appearances from Taguchi, Nakamaru, Shige, Ayase, Tegoshi
Content: Romance, drama, AU [Alternate Universe]
Author: Nerd-san
Disclaimer: I am not in any way affiliated with Johnny Entertainment
…are they willing to pay it?
Phosphorescent Lights: Chapter 16 [2]
Shackles gone, the two made their way down to one of the police rooms the next morning, fully-clothed once again, Jin rubbed his soar backside. His searing, sore, furiously red backside.
Jin looked behind himself and at Kame who only embarrassedly turned away; face flooding with a pleasured guilt.
The word gentle had never been a big part of Kame’s vocabulary.
They sat down at the table facing the officers and retrieved their items. Jin watched as Kame’s face lit up like that of a child during Christmas as he reunited with his camera.
“Akanishi?” Kame asked quietly as he turned his head to the man beside him who had been picking up his various credits cards.
Kame didn’t ask why the man needed so many or what he did for a living, but instead asked “Wouldn’t it have been more appropriate to write ‘I hope you fill your life with new memories’ or something?”
Jin gave Kame a helpless look, “huh?” He placed the credit cards back into his newly-returned wallet and then placed the entire thing in his pocket.
“This engraving,” Kame pointed out, “why did you write this? Did I ask you to take me to Tokyo?”
Jin laughed heartedly and zipped up his jacket pocket. He felt a little down that Kame couldn’t even remember something as important as his need to come to Tokyo beforehand, but he settled with what he had. “It’s not going to be fun if I tell you.” He teased and Kame whined.
Even Jin needed a little revenge from last night’s events. He could hardly believe that he had screamed to the pitch wherein the police had to run in. Red from the remembrance, a part of Jin wished he could forget the officer’s faces and the awkward silence that followed.
“Akanishi!” Kame groaned, willing Jin for an answer.
“Stop calling me that - call me Jin!”
“Not until you tell me!” Kame rebutted heatedly.
Jin shook his head and folded his hands neatly across the table. “No!”
“Yes!”
“If the married couple is done…”
Both Jin and Kame bristled at the remark and turned their ears to the two police officers. They were uniformed and fairly aged as they threw down a file flooding with various papers. “There are the offences against Akanishi-san.” Jin’s eyes widened at the unhealthy amount of paper.
“You have failed to stay at the sight of a car crash, damaged public property, nearly killed several innocent civilians-”
Jin lost the man halfway through his speech, unable to continue listening to the several charges; what he had to pay for, what he didn’t have to pay for and so forth.
Kame on the other hand, listened to the charges against him fixedly and nodded every now and then, negotiating through the lecture. Jin continued to fiddle with his jacket; money was never and so long as he was president of Japan’s number one business, would never pose a problem for him.
“And how much does this sum up to…?” Kame trailed off uncertainly.
The officers looked back at each other before they turned back to the two men. “For Akanishi-san, it will be a total of ¥200,000 including his own car repairs.”
“For Kamenashi-san, the total damage on the taxi was a total of ¥500, 000…” the man with the bad hair-cut continued flipping through the pages, “…and including the bathroom repairs, that’ll be a total of ¥560, 000.”
Kame felt himself becoming a little lightheaded and ready to about pass out. It was as if his life was going back to go forward.
“¥560, 000?!” Kame yelled, exasperated. “Where the hell do you think I’m going to get that?!” Kame slumped back in his chair. It wasn’t only what Koki was going to think now, but also what was going to happen to him had he not made up the money.
Kame’s sadness had always been Jin’s saddens, so Jin looked at the weary Kame and placed an unhealthy number of bills on the table. He turned to Kame with a wink, “I’ll pay for you.”
“W-What?” Kame choked at the sheer amount of money Jin was throwing away. “Why?”
“You owe me.”
Kame growled at Jin’s words. Of course there would be a catch. The cops didn’t seem to care what the reason was as they accepted A. Jewelry’s president’s money and nodded at the two that they were free to go, although probably not from the media.
Kame ran out after Jin, grabbing on tightly to the man’s shirt sleeve. “A-Akanishi! Wait! I didn’t say I was going to let you-”
“You’re marrying me. It has to be by next month though; otherwise I’ll have to marry someone else. It was part of the contract with the Horikita’s Company so I’ll pay you off if you-”
“W…What?!” Kame gasped out loud. Really loud. Jin didn’t turn around but instead continued on his way out of the police station with the disheartened Kame in tow. “You never asked!” Kame yelled, “I never even agreed!”
“Never asked the first time, why should I ask the second time?” Jin said calmly as the two stopped in front of the door that would lead them outside and to the waiting paparazzi.
Kame didn’t know why, but he was sure that Jin couldn’t have been just anybody to have as much money as he did. If the man had to choose between Jin being an undercover mob leader and a businessman, he wasn’t certain which he would pick. Kame frowned irritably, latching himself onto Jin’s sleeve. “Asshole.”
Jin smiled and pulled Kame closer, aiming for a kiss to the mouth but Kame angrily turned to only give the man access to his cheek. Jin laughed. “So I’m taking that as another yes?”
“I hate you.”
“I love you too.”
They hadn’t ventured off too far from the police station when Kame heard his cell phone ring. The photographer threw Jin an apologetic look and Jin only nodded at the man to pick up. Reluctantly, Kame did so. “Hello?” he asked timidly. He shut his eyes awaiting the long lecture that was to follow.
“Kame?! Dear god Kame where the hell are you?!” Koki yelled, incensed. Kame could practically hear him breathing in frustration. “I called the Medical Department! Kame, you have to come back! Tokyo is not for you. It’ll only further hurt your mentality.”
Kame shook his head and even though he had figured the latter couldn’t see the action, he felt the need to do so anyway. “Koki. I’m staying. I found him. I found Akanishi Jin.” His voice was leveled and serious.
“Kame!” Koki sighed in his wearily warning tone. “I’ve booked a flight for tomorrow. I’ve also booked our return flight for later in the same day. Kame, you have to come back. You have another check-up tomorrow.”
Kame’s eyes widened. “NO!” He didn’t take notice to Jin’s concerned face as he covered the receiver and hunched away from the older man.
He couldn’t help it, he was whispering into the receiver now. “I’ll do anything. I’ll even go to my daily check ups. Honestly. Please, Koki. Please just let me stay.”
Kame could almost see Koki saddened face. “Kame, Tokyo is filled with painful things for you. As is Akanishi.”
“I’m sure that if the old me loved Akanishi, then I already know love is pain. But without hesitation, I chose him. Even for a second time. I’m marrying him, Koki.” Kame stated the words boldly; without hesitation, without doubt.
“Kame…” There was light scratching on the other side of the call and Kame was certain it was the man hacking away at the bride of his nose in anxiety. “Kame we’ll talk about this tomorrow, okay? Do you have a place to sleep?”
Kame looked back at Jin who was intently gazing up at the blue sky. “Yes.”
“Okay. I’ll be there by tomorrow. I’ll meet you at the airport. The flight back’s scheduled for five.”
Kame couldn’t believe to the extent his friend was going to bring him back. “Koki! Please! I’ve never been as serious of something as I have been of this!” Kame cried out desperately. He wanted more than anything to stay by this man’s side.
“Kame, we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
“Koki…”
“Kame, tomorrow. Bye.”
“Bye.” Kame muttered dully as he angrily hacked his phone back into his pocket.
Jin looked at him in surprise and his face mirrored some sort of disoriented hurt. But to rid Jin of his worries, Kame threw on a large grin and shook his head. “That was nothing. Just a friend checking up on me.”
Jin simply nodded, but Kame had figured that he didn’t believe him. They walked around aimlessly for a bit, Jin’s black suit dangling underneath his opened jacket as they continued on their way. Jin asked if Kame minded Jin bringing him to work, but Kame said that he didn’t and together, they headed off to A. Jewelry.
“Shit. This place’s big.” Kame gaped up at the tall building he and Jin stood in front of. Jin chuckled and nodded as he walked up to the front doors and held them open until Kame walked through.
“President, good morning!”
“Good morning, sir.”
A couple bustling workers walked by and greeted the man and Kame looked sideways in awe. He made a thin line with his lips, “the people here are friendly. Talking to everyone so freely.”
Kame didn’t understand how far off the mark he had been, but Jin didn’t disregard the option, instead only shrugged. “First time someone’s said that.” Because it had been. But Jin liked Kame’s naïve point of view. It was refreshing for a place like A. Jewelry.
They didn’t make it far past the front doors as Kame saw another man, slightly shorter than he with darker hair running up to Jin. His mind stung for a bit, blankly trying to name the figure without much success. “Jin!” they shouted irritably at the man beside him.
“You made the front pages, Jin. Congratulations.” Ryo thrust the morning paper at Jin and Jin only picked it up and tried his best to remain stone-faced at the picture taken of him and Kame, hand-in-hand fleeing the scene. “Do you know what the company-”
“I don’t care for the company, Ryo. Not anymore. I have Kame now.” Jin said delicately, making note of the man beside him. “Kame’s all I need. He’s always been.”
“Jin.” Ryo turned towards Kame, who gave the man a clumsy bow. Ryo bit his lips a little and bowed a little as well. “Jin…” after all the years - how was it that the two managed to come together once more?
Ryo had figured that one day Jin would come in with Kame. One day out of the blue perhaps and tell him what he was telling him now. But then again, he assumed that maybe that the thought was just the more active part of his imagination.
Seeing it now, seeing the two hand in hand, Ryo couldn’t help but to think that perhaps there was a force stronger than luck behind the two. Countless blue skies would always be here for them. Always.
“Jin, there are other things to think about, too. You’re president and that’s what comes first right now. Not to mention that if you’re not married by the end of next month…and Tegoshi quit.” Ryo sighed and dug a letter from his file folder.
“Here, Tatsuya gave it to me.” Ryo held out his hand for Jin and Jin took the neatly folded letter in his hands.
Kame remained quiet, sort of feeling out of place as he and Jin attracted more stares than an abandoned child would have. “Resignation letter,” he heard Ryo say.
President Akanishi,
Has A. Jewelry always been this dark? Has it always made this many people cower in fear? In a life without happiness, I can’t live. In a place like A. Jewelry, I can’t work. I can’t fire those employees, sir. They have families. I’m sure that you, more than anyone else, can understand the meaning of family. What I’m trying to say is that I’ve decided to retire as your personal secretary. I’m sorry. A place as dark and evil as this is not where humans should be. I hope that you too, can understand this one day, sir.
- Tegoshi Yuya
“Don’t let it get you down.” Kame said gently as the two walked towards Jin’s house. After taking the rest of the day off, Jin couldn’t bring himself to enjoy his time with Kame even if it was what he should have been enjoying more than all else.
Jin opened the front door leaving Kame to awe at the palace of a house. “How can’t I?! I’ve been a monster! I’m no better than my father.” Jin stopped at the fact that the word sounded so awkward in his mouth. He corrected himself, “step-father.”
“You’re being too hard on yourself,” Kame said as-a-matter-of-factly as he took out his camera and snapped a picture of Jin. “You’re really ugly when you’re sad. So smile or else I won’t marry you.”
Jin couldn’t help it. Despite his inner turmoil, he cracked a smile. If he were to draw his love for Kame on a paper airplane and throw it into the endless sky, for sure, for sure, the harsh wind would pick it up and blow it off course.
Not being able to see where it had landed, he could only assume that it was in a far away river, floating away on the surface. Nothing will happen, Jin thought, unless I do something. He was going to do something about A. Jewelry.
“Kame…” Jin sighed once they were inside the house and wandering about. Jin caught the smaller man off guard and grabbed his waist from behind. The businessman swooped down and took his lips with his own but Kame didn’t mind. They kissed until they could no longer breathe but finally, Kame had to pull back.
“No, Jin, wait.” He muttered between kisses, but Jin’s hunger refused to become satisfied that easily. He kissed Kame again until they both fell onto his couch and their hands began to roam all over each other. “Tomorrow I have to go to the airport.”
Jin pulled away from Kame in shock. “W-What?! Why?”
“We’re being rash,” Kame’s rationally was returning and he straightened himself and his clothes. “I can’t just come and stay here.”
“Why not?!” Jin argued, “no one else lives here!”
Kame wondered if he and Jin had ever gone to the beach. If they had ever built sandcastles with one another. Had Kame ever angrily kicked away the water to keep what they had safe? Did the waves wash them away anyway?
“Jin. I’m not leaving you.” Kame finally settled on. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, dummy.” He gave Jin a weary grin as he fell back onto the plush couch.
Jin frowned for a second. “I have to get married before the end of next month. We’re getting married next month, okay?”
“It was a marriage that’s been prolonged for too long now anyway.” Kame said, joshing his earring and then running his fingers across Jin’s.
“Koki’s coming to get you?” Jin asked, tackling the man onto his back and undoing the front buttons on his shirt.
“Yeah.” No matter what else, all Kame could see was Jin. His heart was beginning to grow hot with love and his courage began to skyrocket. Even in the times where he was lost and stumbled on his way to where he was meant to be, as long as he realized that where he was supposed to be was in Jin’s arms, he could continue walking.
“How did you-”
Jin shook his head.
The next morning dragged on slowly, Jin didn’t go to work and neither did Ryo. In fact, the man came by with someone else that Kame hadn’t recognized. Ueda Tatsuya was his name and apparently was the boyfriend of Ryo. They seemed no better than he and Jin when it came to quarrelling but the two never failed to make the excited Kame laugh.
It was a subject no one liked to bring up, but each of the four men knew that they were inwardly counting away the hours until it was time to head off to the airport. Their efforts weren’t in vain and Kame decided that even if they were, he and Jin would never give up.
Something like what they had only came around once in a lifetime. So long as he believed that they would live happily ever after, they would. Even when Jin was alone and anxious, he was sure his presence would be enveloping him.
That was why when it was time to go, Kame felt himself sighing deeply. He would return of course, there were so many things left unsaid, unread and unwritten between them. This wouldn’t be their end because the two would never end.
No matter how far apart they were or how close they were, they would always be waiting for each other. Even if there weren’t any memories left to sparkle in the sun; they loved each other. Kame anxiously fidgeted in Ryo’s car.
For the past three years he had cried so much because of Jin and yet, he couldn’t bring himself to hate him. Even after all their arguments - he could never hate Jin. Because he loved Jin. Even if there had been forgotten promises between the two, they were still there somewhere, only waiting to be remembered.
Surely enough Koki too had been at the airport and surely, waiting for Kame. They had agreed that for one month Kame would return to Okinawa to clear his old life, his job, everything that was left of his life and then return to Jin; so long as it was okay by his doctors.
Still, Kame didn’t like it. He wanted to be with Jin now.
“Kame, look at me; it’s just one month.” Jin said in the most assuring tone he could assemble with his vocal cord range. Kame, however, didn’t seem convinced and only shook his head angrily at Jin’s decision.
Things like why was Jin giving up after so long and why was he simply allowing Kame to go back to Okinawa ran though his hot mind, but he couldn’t voice either opinion.
Koki chuckled at the sight as he waited for his friend behind the departure gates with their luggage. Jin, too, smiled at Kame’s unusually childish behavior.
The way the man pursed his lower lip in hysteria or the way he averted his gaze from Jin’s made Jin hold down his chortle in fear of offending the younger man’s antics.
Some things may have stayed the same between them, but Jin was sure that there were going to be a few inevitable changes as well.
Kame’s personality had changed; not a lot and not enough for it to be noticeable to most, but Jin had caught the little alters in the man. He didn’t mind it, though. Kame was still Kame.
Jin couldn’t help himself and threw himself towards the man and wrapped his arms around him, giving him a tight, tight hug. Any tighter and Kame was sure that his breathing would be cut off altogether. But he didn’t say anything about it. He liked it.
“We’ll be together for the rest of our lives afterwards.” That was true, Kame thought. And that was what probably caught him off guard as he let a few tears silently slip through his eye slits.
He tried to wipe them away without Jin seeing, but it was too late for that. Jin brought a finger to Kame’s eyes and wiped away the tears. “Shhh, don’t cry.”
“I’m not crying! Why would I cry for you?!” Kame continued to wipe away the stray tears, angry with himself for looking weak in front of the one person he didn’t want to look defenseless in front of. “Damn it,” he muttered, burying his face into Jin’s chest, “I want to be with you now.”
“Patience. We have the rest of our lives to look forward to.” If it had been three years earlier, Jin wasn’t sure who would be saying what he just had. With his impatience and demanding nature, a gut feeling told him that it would most likely not be him. But, oh, how time changed a person.
Kame closed his eyes and inhaled Jin’s familiar scent, tightening his grasp in an almost snappy manner. “I don’t want to let go of you again.” and Kame meant it.
Perhaps they couldn’t go back to that time they had spent alone; that time Jin could still picture, but they could at least be together. Impulsive actions and smiles and all the little things they did together, even if Kame couldn’t remember them, they could do them again. And again and again until Kame grew tired.
“You’re not going to let go of me.” Jin said as he dropped his head on top of Kame’s and began to rub his back reassuringly.
Kame jumped up a little at the sudden motion, eliciting laughter from the other three men. He would have turned back to give Koki a sharp shut-it-now-or-you’ll-regret-it look had he not wanted to simply stare at Jin and keep his face buried where it was.
“It’s just one month until I settle this with the company and the Horikita family.” Jin closed his eyes and allowed his imagination to transport him and Kame to another place altogether. A place away from reality where they could be together even now.
“Plus, not to mention I’d have to make room for you to move into. And you’re going to need a new photography job in Tokyo.” Kame could feel himself become more disheartened at the lengthy list. Instead, he settled for listening to Jin’s current words instead of contemplating on the ones that have already been passed.
“There are a lot of things we have to do before we finish what we’ve begun three years ago, Kame.” Jin laughed at the ludicrousness. “And I used to be the idealistic one. What happened?” he joked, lifting his head from Kame’s and straightening himself.
Kame knew what was coming. Jin was going to detach himself from Kame and then send him off to Okinawa with Koki.
Against the idea, Kame shook his head furiously and grabbed back onto the retreating body. This was the warmth he had been missing in the morning; he wasn’t about to let go. “I can’t think rationally around you. Jerk.”
Koki smiled from his spot, and as much as he hated to be the one to ask Kame to leave, he was without a choice. “Kame, come on the plane leaves at five.”
Jin ruffled Kame’s hair, “call me once you land, okay?”
“I don’t want to go.”
Jin narrowed his eyes mockingly. “Kame.”
“Fine, fine!” Kame huffed and turned back from Jin and towards the departure gates.
“Kamenashi-san.” Ryo called before Kame could leave.
“Ah, yes Nishikido-san?”
Ryo couldn’t help but to frown a little in regret. The man he had wanted to kill had turned out to be the same man that he owed Yamashita’s life to. And even though Kame could remember none of that now, Ryo held out his hand for the younger man. Without hesitation, Kame took it.
“When you get back, take care of that idiot, okay?” Ryo, Ueda and even Kame laughed at his choice of wording but Jin only pouted in the background.
Kame jerked his thumb up towards Ryo in a positive manner. “Will do,” he chuckled.
“Stop treating me like you’re giving away a little girl to get married!” Jin whined and Ueda only scoffed the man to act his age, which caused even Koki to join in on the taunting jokes.
“Not too far from the truth…” Ryo sighed melodramatically.
“Chibi!” Jin shot back.
“Bakanishi!”
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Kamenashi-san.” Ueda turned from his immature boyfriend and Jin’s rants and to Kame. Kame nodded, telling Ueda it was a pleasure to meet him as well. “We’ll both be attending the wedding.” Ueda informed with a large grin at Kame’s blush.
“T-Thank you.”
“Kame, we have four minutes!” Koki informed, looking down at his watch. Kame nodded and then tore his gaze from Ueda and back to Jin.
Under the orange-stained sky they once took pictures of, Kame was sure that there was a time his hand may have gently brushed against Jin and without saying anything in return, all they did was hold hands. Did they get a little closer to each other afterwards?
On his way home during sunset, all Kame could think about was Jin. He figured turning back to actually wave at the man goodbye would be much more painful so Kame just left. On his way home, he thought about Jin.
Being up in the clouds felt surreal and even the old scenery looked new. His heart felt fulfilled if not a little lonely, but at least Jin was under the same sky, waiting for him. A sudden flashed occurred in Kame’s mind, but still the picture was too fast to capture properly.
A month from now, he hoped that he could look at Jin and smile with all his heart even if his love was already so bright. The feeling was intangible and the feelings were something he couldn’t erase. He wanted, more than anything, to tell Jin one more time that he loved him.
There was no reason to feel sad, Kame reasoned with himself. Because they were together all the time and they had finally said goodbye didn’t mean that they weren’t going to see each other again. Once Kame had landed, he and Koki stepped foot back into Okinawa and out of the airport, Kame couldn’t help but to notice how beautiful the sky was.
He took out his phone and smiled as he dialed the long-distance number. He said nothing as he and Koki continued walking and only waited for the voice on the other line to answer. “Kame?”
“I landed. I’m outside the airport in Okinawa now with Koki.”
“Kame, it’s only a month.” Jin said instead as if sensing Kame’s inner worry. Why was it that the man felt so far away if they were merely an hour and a half away by plane?
“Stop treating me like a baby.” Kame bleated and heard Koki laugh at his antics.
Jin paused for a moment, and he had known that more than anything what Kame wanted to do right now was cry. “I’m not treating you like a baby,” he said to lift the tension; “I’m treating you like the stubborn wife that you are.”
“Excuse me?!” Kame’s jaw dropped in agony. “Wife?! When did I ever agree to become the wife in this relationship?!”
“You told me three years ago!” Jin cleared his throat and his voice became very high-pitched for a second in a sort of mocking tone. “‘Jin-Jin, let me be your pwetty wife, pwease!’”
Kame gasped. “I would never!” After the initial laughter had passed, Kame fell silent once again.
Jin licked his lower lips thoughtfully. “Kame, I’ll come to you the minute you get lonely.”
Kame felt the tears prickling at the corner of his eyes. “Then get your ass over here,” he said in all seriousness.
“Don’t sound so down. As soon as you get back you’ll see so much of me that you’ll regret ever sounding like that!”
“I won’t.”
“Kame,” Jin paused for a second, thinking over his words. “I love you,” he said at last.
Kame smiled genuinely at the words. Although he had known it all along, he liked it better like this. “Now that I think about it I feel like I’ve been watching you forever,” he confessed. “My heart aches as it overflows with a feeling that knows no bounds…I think I love you too.”
“Think?”
“Know.” Kame corrected himself. “Jin…I’ll see you soon, right?”
“Our crazy lives together began in handcuffs… it was only rightful that our story was going to end in handcuffs. Meeting you was definitely not a coincidence.”
“Kame, you make my heart tremble that sometimes I can’t even say I love you even though I love you so much. Back then I tried my best to love you, but in my own clumsy way. They’re just three words but in front of you I can’t find them.”
“Our love…it’s a love that came too fast. The way I fell in love with you, it was the extreme speed of love. I…gosh, what am I trying to say?”
Jin felt flushed and embarrassed but he continued nonetheless. The people around him might have thought he had been going crazy right now, but Jin didn’t care.
“Kame, I love you and the next time we see each other, we’ll have a right to argue as the married couple people have always been telling us that we are.”
Kame laughed as he held his camera to his eyes. The night sky was beautiful, truly beautiful for the first time in a long time.
It was true after all; the sky was always clearer once the storm had passed. How long has it been since he had first decided he would wait for Akanishi Jin? He couldn’t remember. But what he could remember was that ever since that day, his life was filled with nothing but tears.
But looking up at the sky now, not even a single tear fell, even if he wasn’t with Jin. Because Jin wasn’t about to let go of his hand.
The love that had handcuffed together wouldn’t allow it. And Kame decided that he wasn’t going to feel alone. Because, after all, he could still be in all of the same memories.
Kame laughed a little at Jin’s words as he took the picture. “I’ll hold you to that.”
It was a beautiful sky indeed.
The End