[mini-series] Italian Rendezvous (part 2)
TITLE: Italian Rendezvous
AUTHOR: shojunniji
PAIRING: Sho/Jun, Sakumoto
GENRE: realistic, romance
RATING: PG-15
WORD COUNT: 2220
DISCLAIMERS: A work of fiction. I do not own Arashi.
SUMMARY: Sho and Jun are going on a trip to Rome
A/N: Inspired by an interview about soccer match trip here and a futsal invitation from Jun to Sho in another interview.
A sequel of Purple is The Sign, but it can be read independently, and please click here if you're interested in some backgrounds of ShoJun history I used in this fic. Enjoy ^^/
Reds are Sho's thoughts, purples are Jun's.
*****
(part 1)
Jun arrived at Narita departure terminal 15 minutes before 7 am. He wore casual outfit, denims, black knit sweater, and he disguised himself properly, cap and sunglasses, the standard ones. He only brought a small travel bag with him.
Yesterday night, he was so nervous when he left the ticket at Sho’s place. He was almost sure Sho would call him when he found it and considering how organized he was, Jun expected that Sho would ask such questions like, are you out of your mind? How could I leave so suddenly without preparations? Have you booked the hotels? What are we going to do there? And stuff like that.
The famous shita-shirabe-hanpa-nai (totally thorough in surveying everything) part of Sho that he sometimes hated would surely do that. Jun wanted this to be spontaneous, just forget about everything, for once. And he did check Sho’s planner. Sho should be free for 3 days. And Jun was now relatively free, not that he complained, he really enjoyed his free time.
But Sho didn’t call him, so the chances were, whether he was so mad at Jun for planning everything without telling and wouldn’t come at all, or he’d come. And even if Sho wasn’t coming, Jun would go anyway. He had traveled abroad alone before, a few times, so it didn’t matter. The first class tickets and hotel rooms would be wasted, but he could afford it.
Sho said at the interview he wanted to go to Italy with him, so Jun decided to go to Rome. Well, it was good if they could watch a soccer match, but adjusting Arashi and Sakurai Sho’s schedule was already almost impossible, let alone adjusting it with Italian Serie A season. So, Jun thought it could wait, or they would lose timing to travel together at all.
Travel together, he repeated, for the first time….if Sho came, of course
Jun entered the departure floor and headed for the check-in counters. He looked around for Sho. Although he kept telling himself not to expect too much, so that he could handle the disappointment if Sho wasn’t coming, still, he wished Sho would be there, with that weird habit of coming 15 minutes earlier and taking videos of people coming later than him, as usual.
And Sho really was there, taking Jun’s video with his handycam. Sho was sitting near the check-in counters, looking as fresh as peppermint in denims and long sleeve polo shirt, with cap deep covering most of his forehead, and a small suitcase sitting next to him.
Jun was too aware of the butterflies in his stomach, something that strangely hadn’t changed after so many years….the flutters he always had whenever Sho was around. Jun wanted to laugh, or cry, or both. He wondered if he could ever understand why this man always managed to make him feel like a schoolgirl on the first date with her first crush. And people say he was the DoS one, yeah right. Personally, Jun thought Aiko’s impression on him about being okute or coward in love was the closest to the truth….at least when it came to his love to Sho. This….first and might be the last love….or worse, probably the only love he would ever know.
He approached Sho.
“Morning” he greeted. Hi Prince Charming.
Sho was still taking the video but then stopped the handycam and put it inside his bag.
“Morning”, Sho replied, smiling. Hi Princess, I mean, you look great.
Their eyes met
You came.
I won’t miss it for the world.
“Everything set? Passport, ticket?” Jun asked
“Yeah, I’m ready”, Sho said
“Great, let’s go then”, Jun smiled.
*****
It was a pleasant flight. They talked, read, slept, during the flight, and arrived at the Fiumicino airport in the afternoon. Although they had been in other parts of Italy before, it was their first time in Rome. But with Sho scrutinizing guide books all the time, they had no problem at all in getting transportation. They went straight to the Termini Station by train and finally reached their hotel nearby the station.
"Here are the keys to your rooms", the man at the front desk gave them the keys.
Rooms?
"Thank you", said Jun as he took the keys "Our rooms would be on the 4th floor, next to each other, great", Jun was already excited when Sho looked somehow disappointed.
"Hey, let's go and see the Colosseum, I heard it's beautiful at night, and we can have dinner at ristorante around there after that, well, if you're not tired, of course", Jun said to Sho.
"I'm not tired, okay, let's go", Sho agreed, finally feeling excited as well. And he wasn't tired at all, jetlag was not that hard if one left Tokyo to the west, but would be hard the other way around.
They bought the Roma Pass and took the double-decker tourist bus from the Termini central station. They sat on the upper deck of the open bus. The bus departed and they left the Termini station to Piazza Della Republica city square. The bus passed through Via Nazionale before making a turn to the left and soon they could see the Colosseo.
The weather was really nice, it was early spring, and the air was cool. The sun was about to set, but the ancient buildings were already lit up, making the city even more surreal.
As they passed the streets of Rome, Jun couldn’t believe the ancient capital was still the capital of Italy. And he was amazed on how some of the streets were still using the old stones from god knows when. And as they passed the streets, it was clear that the people of modern Rome co-existed with history. One could see very unique sights where symbols of modern lives, such as famous designer boutiques co-existed with archaeological excavation sites right next to them, or people living in apartment buildings adjacent to beautiful fountains from the medieval ages, or having dinner at a restaurant only meters away from the Pantheon, and many more unique views, at least to Jun. If it was Japan, probably people would be prohibited living in Rome for the sake of preservation of historical ancient sites, he thought.
Rome was so different from Tokyo. Tokyo was like, modern, organized, neat, clean, but, one could not feel the history or the root of the metropolitan city. Well, maybe the war was to blame for eliminating old buildings in Tokyo, but Rome was more than old, it was ancient, and yet at the same time, the city was full of new life and spirits, and also beautiful, exotic, and hypnotizing.
Jun was busy taking pictures with his semi-professional camera while Sho was taking the video of everything he could catch. They both were like two college students, bestfriends, on their graduation trip. At that moment, they forgot that they were the megapopular Japanese boyband Arashi, and really enjoyed the trip.
They passed the Foro Romano, the Roman Forum, where Rome administration located in ancient era, and finally arriving near the Colosseum. They got off at the bus stop. Sho put on his cap again. Jun was not disguising at all.
“Do you think we’ll be recognized here?” asked Jun
“Maybe, many Japanese tourists come to Rome in April”, Sho shrugged.
Jun looked around and Sho was right, he saw some Japanese tourists taking pictures of the Colosseo. But still he didn’t feel like wearing his cap. He walked toward the Colosseo, followed by Sho, and he was already in awe of its grandness.
“This building has been standing here for more than 2000 years, can you believe that?” Sho said to Jun, he was again busy checking his guide book.
“Absolutely beautiful….” Jun thought of how small his own history, compared to the history of this grand amphitheater. The Colosseo had seen the history of hundreds of thousands, probably millions of people, and it was still standing strong.
“They say as long as the Colosseo is standing, then Rome will stand too….” Sho said.
“You know Sho, when we have these kinds of colossal ancient buildings in front of our eyes, we’d feel humble wouldn’t we?” Jun said to Sho who was standing next to him.
“Just imagine, people thousands of years ago already capable of building this grand structure….what are we compared to them? Who would remember us? say, 2000 years after we’re gone?”, Jun’s eyes were glowing of excitement, the one he had whenever he proposed something for their concerts. He was so cute Sho felt like holding him tight right there.
They were then engrossed in taking pictures and videos. The Colosseo was closed at night, so they just walked around it, admiring its grandness and beauty. Jun was still busy taking pictures when a group of pretty girls came to them.
“Hi there? Are you Japanese?” they said to Jun.
“You are so cute, what’s your name?” asked one of them, giggling.
“Can I take your picture?” asked another, also laughing.
“Where are you staying?”, asked another one, already touching Jun’s arm.
Sho was panicking,
“Excuse me…” Sho said politely in English.
“You’re a friend of him?” asked another one.
How many are they?
“You are gorgeous too, are all Japanese boys as gorgeous as you two? Said the one who asked Jun’s name, still laughing.
Jun still hadn’t said anything, but somehow he was amused.
“Let’s hang out together…We’re students, from Paris”, said one of them
“Paris? I love Paris, another beautiful city”, Jun replied, smiling.
“Will you visit Paris then? You can come with us” they said, still laughing
We should get out of here.
One of the girls seemed seriously interested in Jun, she was about to touch Jun’s arm, but Sho pulled Jun closer to himself before she could reach Jun.
“I’m sorry ladies, but we really should go now, good night and enjoy your trip in Rome”, he walked away and dragged Jun along with him. Jun waved goodbye to the girls before he could argue with Sho.
“Wait Sho, I still want to take some pictures”
“We’re leaving Jun, they are dangerous”,
Jun chuckled. Dangerous? are you jealous?
No…well, yes..
Sho pouted
“Besides, I’m hungry, the bus will come soon, let’s go back and have dinner at the hotel, okay? We still have two more days for sightseeing”, he added.
Jun agreed and nodded. And he only noticed then that Sho’s right arm was wrapped around his waist. It seemed it never left there since Sho dragged and “saved” him from the pretty girls at the Colosseo. And Sho didn’t show any signs of letting him go now either. Jun decided to let it be.
The bus came and they climbed to the upper deck. It was deserted except for a couple of middle aged women at the back. They sat down and the bus drove off.
Sho was surprised on how he got jealous because of trivial things. Maybe because it was somewhere else, not in Japan where he was in control of everything, including his own feelings. Here, he felt so relaxed, and the real him, surfaced.
Jun was sitting on his right, looking at the beautiful scenery outside. Sho reached for Jun’s left hand, and held it tight.
Jun felt the butterflies in his stomach fluttered wildly. He slowly turned to Sho. Sho was looking at him.
“Sho, I…”, Jun couldn’t finish his words.
Sho leaned over to him and kissed his lips, gently. Jun was startled, and wondered what the ladies behind them would think of them, but he didn’t care.
“I love you, you know that, don’t you?” Sho whispered in his ears.
Jun felt the butterflies suddenly stopped moving in his stomach, but it moved to his heart which was pounding so hard now. He could only stare back at Sho. Did Sho ever confess before? Or it was always him who confessed, and Sho was sort of accepting his feelings, but never confessed?
“What did you say?”
Sho took a deep breath, “I said I love you, I want you to know that”.
Jun wondered if he was waiting for those words, if that what made him holding back, although he knew Sho felt the same. But he wanted to be sure, because he couldn’t get hurt again, not by the same person.
Sho kissed him again and this time Jun was certain he wasn’t dreaming. He kissed him back, forgetting the ladies behind them and probably the people below who could see them. They were kissing passionately, lips and tongues fought to devour each other more and more. All of the wonderful feelings in the world, all the years of heartbreaks, longing, admiration, affection….all of the indescribable, complicated feelings they had for each other for so long…..it all accumulated and exploded right here in Rome.
Their foreheads are pressed together now, tears rolling down their cheeks, smiles on their faces. They looked into each other's eyes and knew there was no point of running away from the truth anymore.
Then they hugged, and kissed, and caressed each other, again and again, witnessed by the ancient beautiful buildings showered in lights from the lamps below and the moon above. They ran passed them as the bus drove along the narrow streets of Rome. It went through the walls of old Rome, passed by Castel S. Angelo to the Vatican City and Basilica St. Pietro, until it turned around to the center of Rome and back to the Termini station.
They climbed down the bus, holding each other’s hands tightly, and Jun knew this was the only love he had ever known.
*****
(part1)(part 3)
A/N: A little bit emotional writing this, I actually cried, omg. I hope you liked it, and comments are so loved:)
AUTHOR: shojunniji
PAIRING: Sho/Jun, Sakumoto
GENRE: realistic, romance
RATING: PG-15
WORD COUNT: 2220
DISCLAIMERS: A work of fiction. I do not own Arashi.
SUMMARY: Sho and Jun are going on a trip to Rome
A/N: Inspired by an interview about soccer match trip here and a futsal invitation from Jun to Sho in another interview.
A sequel of Purple is The Sign, but it can be read independently, and please click here if you're interested in some backgrounds of ShoJun history I used in this fic. Enjoy ^^/
Reds are Sho's thoughts, purples are Jun's.
*****
(part 1)
Jun arrived at Narita departure terminal 15 minutes before 7 am. He wore casual outfit, denims, black knit sweater, and he disguised himself properly, cap and sunglasses, the standard ones. He only brought a small travel bag with him.
Yesterday night, he was so nervous when he left the ticket at Sho’s place. He was almost sure Sho would call him when he found it and considering how organized he was, Jun expected that Sho would ask such questions like, are you out of your mind? How could I leave so suddenly without preparations? Have you booked the hotels? What are we going to do there? And stuff like that.
The famous shita-shirabe-hanpa-nai (totally thorough in surveying everything) part of Sho that he sometimes hated would surely do that. Jun wanted this to be spontaneous, just forget about everything, for once. And he did check Sho’s planner. Sho should be free for 3 days. And Jun was now relatively free, not that he complained, he really enjoyed his free time.
But Sho didn’t call him, so the chances were, whether he was so mad at Jun for planning everything without telling and wouldn’t come at all, or he’d come. And even if Sho wasn’t coming, Jun would go anyway. He had traveled abroad alone before, a few times, so it didn’t matter. The first class tickets and hotel rooms would be wasted, but he could afford it.
Sho said at the interview he wanted to go to Italy with him, so Jun decided to go to Rome. Well, it was good if they could watch a soccer match, but adjusting Arashi and Sakurai Sho’s schedule was already almost impossible, let alone adjusting it with Italian Serie A season. So, Jun thought it could wait, or they would lose timing to travel together at all.
Travel together, he repeated, for the first time….if Sho came, of course
Jun entered the departure floor and headed for the check-in counters. He looked around for Sho. Although he kept telling himself not to expect too much, so that he could handle the disappointment if Sho wasn’t coming, still, he wished Sho would be there, with that weird habit of coming 15 minutes earlier and taking videos of people coming later than him, as usual.
And Sho really was there, taking Jun’s video with his handycam. Sho was sitting near the check-in counters, looking as fresh as peppermint in denims and long sleeve polo shirt, with cap deep covering most of his forehead, and a small suitcase sitting next to him.
Jun was too aware of the butterflies in his stomach, something that strangely hadn’t changed after so many years….the flutters he always had whenever Sho was around. Jun wanted to laugh, or cry, or both. He wondered if he could ever understand why this man always managed to make him feel like a schoolgirl on the first date with her first crush. And people say he was the DoS one, yeah right. Personally, Jun thought Aiko’s impression on him about being okute or coward in love was the closest to the truth….at least when it came to his love to Sho. This….first and might be the last love….or worse, probably the only love he would ever know.
He approached Sho.
“Morning” he greeted. Hi Prince Charming.
Sho was still taking the video but then stopped the handycam and put it inside his bag.
“Morning”, Sho replied, smiling. Hi Princess, I mean, you look great.
Their eyes met
You came.
I won’t miss it for the world.
“Everything set? Passport, ticket?” Jun asked
“Yeah, I’m ready”, Sho said
“Great, let’s go then”, Jun smiled.
*****
It was a pleasant flight. They talked, read, slept, during the flight, and arrived at the Fiumicino airport in the afternoon. Although they had been in other parts of Italy before, it was their first time in Rome. But with Sho scrutinizing guide books all the time, they had no problem at all in getting transportation. They went straight to the Termini Station by train and finally reached their hotel nearby the station.
"Here are the keys to your rooms", the man at the front desk gave them the keys.
Rooms?
"Thank you", said Jun as he took the keys "Our rooms would be on the 4th floor, next to each other, great", Jun was already excited when Sho looked somehow disappointed.
"Hey, let's go and see the Colosseum, I heard it's beautiful at night, and we can have dinner at ristorante around there after that, well, if you're not tired, of course", Jun said to Sho.
"I'm not tired, okay, let's go", Sho agreed, finally feeling excited as well. And he wasn't tired at all, jetlag was not that hard if one left Tokyo to the west, but would be hard the other way around.
They bought the Roma Pass and took the double-decker tourist bus from the Termini central station. They sat on the upper deck of the open bus. The bus departed and they left the Termini station to Piazza Della Republica city square. The bus passed through Via Nazionale before making a turn to the left and soon they could see the Colosseo.
The weather was really nice, it was early spring, and the air was cool. The sun was about to set, but the ancient buildings were already lit up, making the city even more surreal.
As they passed the streets of Rome, Jun couldn’t believe the ancient capital was still the capital of Italy. And he was amazed on how some of the streets were still using the old stones from god knows when. And as they passed the streets, it was clear that the people of modern Rome co-existed with history. One could see very unique sights where symbols of modern lives, such as famous designer boutiques co-existed with archaeological excavation sites right next to them, or people living in apartment buildings adjacent to beautiful fountains from the medieval ages, or having dinner at a restaurant only meters away from the Pantheon, and many more unique views, at least to Jun. If it was Japan, probably people would be prohibited living in Rome for the sake of preservation of historical ancient sites, he thought.
Rome was so different from Tokyo. Tokyo was like, modern, organized, neat, clean, but, one could not feel the history or the root of the metropolitan city. Well, maybe the war was to blame for eliminating old buildings in Tokyo, but Rome was more than old, it was ancient, and yet at the same time, the city was full of new life and spirits, and also beautiful, exotic, and hypnotizing.
Jun was busy taking pictures with his semi-professional camera while Sho was taking the video of everything he could catch. They both were like two college students, bestfriends, on their graduation trip. At that moment, they forgot that they were the megapopular Japanese boyband Arashi, and really enjoyed the trip.
They passed the Foro Romano, the Roman Forum, where Rome administration located in ancient era, and finally arriving near the Colosseum. They got off at the bus stop. Sho put on his cap again. Jun was not disguising at all.
“Do you think we’ll be recognized here?” asked Jun
“Maybe, many Japanese tourists come to Rome in April”, Sho shrugged.
Jun looked around and Sho was right, he saw some Japanese tourists taking pictures of the Colosseo. But still he didn’t feel like wearing his cap. He walked toward the Colosseo, followed by Sho, and he was already in awe of its grandness.
“This building has been standing here for more than 2000 years, can you believe that?” Sho said to Jun, he was again busy checking his guide book.
“Absolutely beautiful….” Jun thought of how small his own history, compared to the history of this grand amphitheater. The Colosseo had seen the history of hundreds of thousands, probably millions of people, and it was still standing strong.
“They say as long as the Colosseo is standing, then Rome will stand too….” Sho said.
“You know Sho, when we have these kinds of colossal ancient buildings in front of our eyes, we’d feel humble wouldn’t we?” Jun said to Sho who was standing next to him.
“Just imagine, people thousands of years ago already capable of building this grand structure….what are we compared to them? Who would remember us? say, 2000 years after we’re gone?”, Jun’s eyes were glowing of excitement, the one he had whenever he proposed something for their concerts. He was so cute Sho felt like holding him tight right there.
They were then engrossed in taking pictures and videos. The Colosseo was closed at night, so they just walked around it, admiring its grandness and beauty. Jun was still busy taking pictures when a group of pretty girls came to them.
“Hi there? Are you Japanese?” they said to Jun.
“You are so cute, what’s your name?” asked one of them, giggling.
“Can I take your picture?” asked another, also laughing.
“Where are you staying?”, asked another one, already touching Jun’s arm.
Sho was panicking,
“Excuse me…” Sho said politely in English.
“You’re a friend of him?” asked another one.
How many are they?
“You are gorgeous too, are all Japanese boys as gorgeous as you two? Said the one who asked Jun’s name, still laughing.
Jun still hadn’t said anything, but somehow he was amused.
“Let’s hang out together…We’re students, from Paris”, said one of them
“Paris? I love Paris, another beautiful city”, Jun replied, smiling.
“Will you visit Paris then? You can come with us” they said, still laughing
We should get out of here.
One of the girls seemed seriously interested in Jun, she was about to touch Jun’s arm, but Sho pulled Jun closer to himself before she could reach Jun.
“I’m sorry ladies, but we really should go now, good night and enjoy your trip in Rome”, he walked away and dragged Jun along with him. Jun waved goodbye to the girls before he could argue with Sho.
“Wait Sho, I still want to take some pictures”
“We’re leaving Jun, they are dangerous”,
Jun chuckled. Dangerous? are you jealous?
No…well, yes..
Sho pouted
“Besides, I’m hungry, the bus will come soon, let’s go back and have dinner at the hotel, okay? We still have two more days for sightseeing”, he added.
Jun agreed and nodded. And he only noticed then that Sho’s right arm was wrapped around his waist. It seemed it never left there since Sho dragged and “saved” him from the pretty girls at the Colosseo. And Sho didn’t show any signs of letting him go now either. Jun decided to let it be.
The bus came and they climbed to the upper deck. It was deserted except for a couple of middle aged women at the back. They sat down and the bus drove off.
Sho was surprised on how he got jealous because of trivial things. Maybe because it was somewhere else, not in Japan where he was in control of everything, including his own feelings. Here, he felt so relaxed, and the real him, surfaced.
Jun was sitting on his right, looking at the beautiful scenery outside. Sho reached for Jun’s left hand, and held it tight.
Jun felt the butterflies in his stomach fluttered wildly. He slowly turned to Sho. Sho was looking at him.
“Sho, I…”, Jun couldn’t finish his words.
Sho leaned over to him and kissed his lips, gently. Jun was startled, and wondered what the ladies behind them would think of them, but he didn’t care.
“I love you, you know that, don’t you?” Sho whispered in his ears.
Jun felt the butterflies suddenly stopped moving in his stomach, but it moved to his heart which was pounding so hard now. He could only stare back at Sho. Did Sho ever confess before? Or it was always him who confessed, and Sho was sort of accepting his feelings, but never confessed?
“What did you say?”
Sho took a deep breath, “I said I love you, I want you to know that”.
Jun wondered if he was waiting for those words, if that what made him holding back, although he knew Sho felt the same. But he wanted to be sure, because he couldn’t get hurt again, not by the same person.
Sho kissed him again and this time Jun was certain he wasn’t dreaming. He kissed him back, forgetting the ladies behind them and probably the people below who could see them. They were kissing passionately, lips and tongues fought to devour each other more and more. All of the wonderful feelings in the world, all the years of heartbreaks, longing, admiration, affection….all of the indescribable, complicated feelings they had for each other for so long…..it all accumulated and exploded right here in Rome.
Their foreheads are pressed together now, tears rolling down their cheeks, smiles on their faces. They looked into each other's eyes and knew there was no point of running away from the truth anymore.
Then they hugged, and kissed, and caressed each other, again and again, witnessed by the ancient beautiful buildings showered in lights from the lamps below and the moon above. They ran passed them as the bus drove along the narrow streets of Rome. It went through the walls of old Rome, passed by Castel S. Angelo to the Vatican City and Basilica St. Pietro, until it turned around to the center of Rome and back to the Termini station.
They climbed down the bus, holding each other’s hands tightly, and Jun knew this was the only love he had ever known.
*****
(part1)(part 3)
A/N: A little bit emotional writing this, I actually cried, omg. I hope you liked it, and comments are so loved:)