Mars Part 2
The next day comes rushing to them in waves, just like the sea outside the place they will call home for the time being. Both wakes up tired, like they weren’t able to sleep at all the previous night. Shige trudges out of his room with heavy steps to make breakfast but is surprised by the older man’s bright smile and a cup of coffee. The younger man accepts the cup with a silent ‘thank you’ then sits on the counter, watching Ryo move around the kitchen with skill, cooking their breakfast.
Shige gets so caught up in watching the man comfortably manoeuvring the kitchen that he failed to notice that he said “I could get used to this,” out loud until the older man dropped the spoon he was holding, making a clattering sound that startled the younger out of his reverie. He looks at the Osakan and sees him with wide, surprised eyes looking at him.
“What did you say?” Ryo asked the man in a small voice as he didn’t trust his own voice.
Shige merely lowered his head, an obvious blush creeping up his cheeks. Upon realizing that Shige wasn’t going to say anything anytime soon, Ryo walks over to the younger man, takes a hold of his chin, and raises the man’s head so they are eye-to-eye. He sees uncertainty mingles with something else in the man’s eyes. He studies Shige’s face and sees a blush covering the man’s cheeks. At that very moment, Ryo realizes that seeing this side of the man in front of him is something he will like to have every day of his life so he leans in, ever so slowly.
Seeing the older man leaning close very slowly, Shige just gets it done by meeting the older man halfway with a faster pace, devouring the man’s lips. Their kiss started soft, gentle, testing the waters. Shige moves his hands from the Ryo’s waist to his hair, burying his fingers into the older man’s soft hair. Ryo’s hands relocate from Shige’s face to his hips, holding tightly as if the younger man will run away. The gentle kiss turn into a battle for dominance as their tongues dance with each, savouring in each other’s warmth then finally breaks apart for much-needed air both panting heavily, both mirroring want in their eyes.
Shige is the first one to break the silence.
“You have morning breath,” Shige mutters, not grossed-out but merely saying something to fill the silence.
“You also have morning breath!” The Osakan exclaims loudly, effectively erasing any awkwardness in the air.
“So what does this mean?” Shige finally asks.
“I like you, that’s the truth,” Ryo tells the man honestly then goes back to cooking.
Shige remains silent, contemplating and basking in the comfort of having someone with him. Then with finality that went missing for two years, he jumps off the counter, starts to approach the older man. Once Shige is standing behind Ryo, he reaches out tentatively to turn the man but then decided against it. Once again, he reaches out to hug the older man from behind. He lays his head on the man’s shoulder, mouth directly in his ear.
“I love you.” It was muttered ever so quietly, only meant for the older man to hear, as of someone will hear them.
Ryo turns around and envelops the man in his arms, saying nothing but understanding everything at the same time. It is a new beginning, something to look forward to. Then with one more kiss, Ryo goes back to cooking then serving breakfast.
Days pass in blur of kisses and soft caresses, lost in their own paradise. It lasts a week, a week of not bringing up any serious matter. As they were lounging in the living room, something short of a memory of kisses, Ryo asks again.
“Why did you come here?”
This time, Shige is ready to answer.
“I wanted to think, to make a decision on what I want.”
“You have a job, isn’t that enough?” Ryo asks.
“You and I know very well that it’s not going to last. I’ve been away from the spotlight for far too long. It’s time to back down and find a more stable job.”
“Then what do you want to do?”
“I don’t know yet.” Shige turns away.
“You’re not telling me something,” Ryo states.
“I - I wanted to get away so that I would know if I am still important to you guys. It’s just that you’re all busy with your own activities. The last
I’ve seen you was countdown and that was six months ago. It’s all disconcerting, being left behind like this,” Shige finally burst out.
Ryo could only hug the man tighter, closer.
“If it’s any consolation, everyone has been asking where you’ve been, even Koyama’s ‘Member Ai’. His member-ai senses are tingling. You know him, his Shigeaki senses are also tingling,” Ryo tells the younger man in his arms.
Shige looks at him, lost, confused, eyes brimming with tears.
“I think it’s time to go home,” Ryo finally says, taking Shige’s hands and dragging him back to their room to pack.
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The plane ride back is more relaxed than the ride going to the Philippines, holding hands and not thinking about what others will say.
Shige rides a cab back to his house, his home, while Ryo rides another cab back to his apartment. Upon stepping inside the house, Shige takes in everything. He left the place merely one week before but he feels like a completely different person. The first thing he does is check his phone and almost a hundred messages were there, almost fifty voicemails from the usual “Let’s go out to dinner” to the frantic “Shige, where are you?!?” most of which was from Koyama.
He immediately calls his parents to inform them that he is back, then Johnny-san, who was honestly surprised that Shige came back almost immediately.
Then he goes to the hard part, calling Koyama. As expected, he slightly shouts when he answered the phone, frantically berating him for his absence then proceeds to ask if he was okay and if he is not, he’s coming over right now. Shige tells Koyama to call the rest of NEWS to have dinner at his house, he’ll cook. Before his self-proclaimed best friend could answer, he hangs up.
After hanging up, he gets his car keys and drives to Aoyama, he is a man with a mission after all.
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Ryo comes over a few hours later, claiming his place as Shige’s boyfriend and helps the younger man to cook. While cooking, Ryo caught something in his peripheral vision, a stack of paper on the dining table. He looks over his lover to make sure that he’s busy before quietly sauntering over to the table to pick up the stack. His eyes widen and he suddenly break out into a huge grin then proceeds to tackle Shige into a hug, showering his face with kisses. They finish cooking quietly after that, welcomes the rest of the group to the house, tells them the news about their relationship with everyone hugging Shige first because he has been missing.
As Shige sits back into the couch, Ryo’s head on his lap, the rest of NEWS talking animatedly, he felt at peace, something he haven’t felt for a long time.
On the counter lies a stack of papers, brochures containing one thing:
Graduate School of Law
He didn’t need to go to Mars to know that he’s important, all he ever have to do is look at the men around him to know that he’s far more important here on Earth than he will ever be in Mars.
Shige gets so caught up in watching the man comfortably manoeuvring the kitchen that he failed to notice that he said “I could get used to this,” out loud until the older man dropped the spoon he was holding, making a clattering sound that startled the younger out of his reverie. He looks at the Osakan and sees him with wide, surprised eyes looking at him.
“What did you say?” Ryo asked the man in a small voice as he didn’t trust his own voice.
Shige merely lowered his head, an obvious blush creeping up his cheeks. Upon realizing that Shige wasn’t going to say anything anytime soon, Ryo walks over to the younger man, takes a hold of his chin, and raises the man’s head so they are eye-to-eye. He sees uncertainty mingles with something else in the man’s eyes. He studies Shige’s face and sees a blush covering the man’s cheeks. At that very moment, Ryo realizes that seeing this side of the man in front of him is something he will like to have every day of his life so he leans in, ever so slowly.
Seeing the older man leaning close very slowly, Shige just gets it done by meeting the older man halfway with a faster pace, devouring the man’s lips. Their kiss started soft, gentle, testing the waters. Shige moves his hands from the Ryo’s waist to his hair, burying his fingers into the older man’s soft hair. Ryo’s hands relocate from Shige’s face to his hips, holding tightly as if the younger man will run away. The gentle kiss turn into a battle for dominance as their tongues dance with each, savouring in each other’s warmth then finally breaks apart for much-needed air both panting heavily, both mirroring want in their eyes.
Shige is the first one to break the silence.
“You have morning breath,” Shige mutters, not grossed-out but merely saying something to fill the silence.
“You also have morning breath!” The Osakan exclaims loudly, effectively erasing any awkwardness in the air.
“So what does this mean?” Shige finally asks.
“I like you, that’s the truth,” Ryo tells the man honestly then goes back to cooking.
Shige remains silent, contemplating and basking in the comfort of having someone with him. Then with finality that went missing for two years, he jumps off the counter, starts to approach the older man. Once Shige is standing behind Ryo, he reaches out tentatively to turn the man but then decided against it. Once again, he reaches out to hug the older man from behind. He lays his head on the man’s shoulder, mouth directly in his ear.
“I love you.” It was muttered ever so quietly, only meant for the older man to hear, as of someone will hear them.
Ryo turns around and envelops the man in his arms, saying nothing but understanding everything at the same time. It is a new beginning, something to look forward to. Then with one more kiss, Ryo goes back to cooking then serving breakfast.
Days pass in blur of kisses and soft caresses, lost in their own paradise. It lasts a week, a week of not bringing up any serious matter. As they were lounging in the living room, something short of a memory of kisses, Ryo asks again.
“Why did you come here?”
This time, Shige is ready to answer.
“I wanted to think, to make a decision on what I want.”
“You have a job, isn’t that enough?” Ryo asks.
“You and I know very well that it’s not going to last. I’ve been away from the spotlight for far too long. It’s time to back down and find a more stable job.”
“Then what do you want to do?”
“I don’t know yet.” Shige turns away.
“You’re not telling me something,” Ryo states.
“I - I wanted to get away so that I would know if I am still important to you guys. It’s just that you’re all busy with your own activities. The last
I’ve seen you was countdown and that was six months ago. It’s all disconcerting, being left behind like this,” Shige finally burst out.
Ryo could only hug the man tighter, closer.
“If it’s any consolation, everyone has been asking where you’ve been, even Koyama’s ‘Member Ai’. His member-ai senses are tingling. You know him, his Shigeaki senses are also tingling,” Ryo tells the younger man in his arms.
Shige looks at him, lost, confused, eyes brimming with tears.
“I think it’s time to go home,” Ryo finally says, taking Shige’s hands and dragging him back to their room to pack.
---------------------------
The plane ride back is more relaxed than the ride going to the Philippines, holding hands and not thinking about what others will say.
Shige rides a cab back to his house, his home, while Ryo rides another cab back to his apartment. Upon stepping inside the house, Shige takes in everything. He left the place merely one week before but he feels like a completely different person. The first thing he does is check his phone and almost a hundred messages were there, almost fifty voicemails from the usual “Let’s go out to dinner” to the frantic “Shige, where are you?!?” most of which was from Koyama.
He immediately calls his parents to inform them that he is back, then Johnny-san, who was honestly surprised that Shige came back almost immediately.
Then he goes to the hard part, calling Koyama. As expected, he slightly shouts when he answered the phone, frantically berating him for his absence then proceeds to ask if he was okay and if he is not, he’s coming over right now. Shige tells Koyama to call the rest of NEWS to have dinner at his house, he’ll cook. Before his self-proclaimed best friend could answer, he hangs up.
After hanging up, he gets his car keys and drives to Aoyama, he is a man with a mission after all.
---------------------------
Ryo comes over a few hours later, claiming his place as Shige’s boyfriend and helps the younger man to cook. While cooking, Ryo caught something in his peripheral vision, a stack of paper on the dining table. He looks over his lover to make sure that he’s busy before quietly sauntering over to the table to pick up the stack. His eyes widen and he suddenly break out into a huge grin then proceeds to tackle Shige into a hug, showering his face with kisses. They finish cooking quietly after that, welcomes the rest of the group to the house, tells them the news about their relationship with everyone hugging Shige first because he has been missing.
As Shige sits back into the couch, Ryo’s head on his lap, the rest of NEWS talking animatedly, he felt at peace, something he haven’t felt for a long time.
On the counter lies a stack of papers, brochures containing one thing:
Graduate School of Law
He didn’t need to go to Mars to know that he’s important, all he ever have to do is look at the men around him to know that he’s far more important here on Earth than he will ever be in Mars.