[multi-part- What The Doctor Ordered: Part 2
Title: What The Doctor Ordered: Part 2
Pairing: JunDa
Rating: PG-15 (swearing and mentions of sexual situations)
Word Count: 5558
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anything
Summary: Ueda-sensei, the PE instructor, is good but he's clumsy. He used to prefer self-medication but with the new doctor, he doesn't mind going to the clinic.
A/N: This is the rather late sequel to this fic. This has been sitting on my computer three quarters of the way done for some time, but I decided to get it finished off and posted in celebration of quaint_stories's birthday! Once again thank you not only for introducing me to fanfiction but for being my friend for these past few years too! I hope you have a lovely day!
As it turned out, Doctors were just as hard to argue with as best friends, and so less than half an hour later, Ueda found himself sitting in the hospital waiting room yet again, luckily this time thanks to a certain connection at the hospital, he got bumped up the list a little, and having already had an initial diagnosis he got straight in to see a radiographer.
It was as Taguchi had predicted, his wrist was broken. He rolled his eyes as the doctor lead him down yet another corridor and into another room where he would have a cast set. In all honesty he was a little scared, but having Taguchi by his side was surprisingly soothing.
Then all too soon he was back in Taguchi's car as the other man drove him home. He was too nervous to speak, even after spending the last two hours practically clinging to the doctor's arm, but the blush spreading across Taguchi's cheeks made him feel a little less silly.
Taguchi pulled into the parking lot of his building and then after helping Ueda out of the car, went to retrieve the excited dog from the back seat. Together they walked around to the front of the building and there they were greeted with a very angry looking Kame.
“Where the hell have you been?” Kame shouted, and then he gasped as he saw the cast on Ueda's arm “What have you done now?”
Ueda's eyes narrowed but there was light laughter coming from beside him, and it was Taguchi that spoke first “It's nothing too serious, it is broken but it's a nice, clean break so it should heal up perfectly fine. Just try and make sure he doesn't get into any more accidents until this one has healed up, OK?”
Kame was laughing too “How did it happen?”
“Eri...” Ueda grumbled “She ran after a bike...”
Kame nodded knowingly “I told you didn't I? I warned you that if you wrapped her lead around your wrist like that she'd end up hurting you...”
“Yes, fine, you were right” Ueda muttered sourly.
“Well, you're lucky that it will heal nicely...just try not to exert yourself too much OK? And you won't be able to use your right hand for a while, so anything you use that for you'll need to get help with until you can use your left” Taguchi smiled, but then he hurriedly added “Like writing...or something...if you're right-handed...”
But Kame had already burst out laughing “Not to worry sensei, I'm sure it won't take him any time at all to get accustomed to his left hand.” and Ueda nudged him sharply with an elbow as his cheeks lit up red.
“Anyway” Taguchi said, clearing his throat “I'll, erm...good luck, with your wrist” and he passed the dog lead to Kame as he bowed a quick goodbye and turned to walk away.
Ueda watched as he left and then turned back to Kame, whose face was alight with a knowing smirk.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
He was back at the hospital again in two weeks time for a check-up, and he was thoroughly hating the experience. Kame was still at work and he'd been too embarrassed to request an appointment with Taguchi-sensei, so he was on his own, in some strange doctor's office, having his tender arm prodded and poked all too roughly by the strange man.
It seemed like he was doing OK though, and as soon as the doctor gave him the all clear he fled from the room and out into the hospital grounds where he bumped straight into someone. He could feel himself falling in slow motion and automatically tried to hold out his hands to catch himself, only arms around his waist prevented him from reaching the ground.
With a relieved puff of air he turned his face up to see who his saviour was, and his cheeks flushed immediately at the silly grin he was greeted with.
“I thought I told you not to go getting into any more accidents?” and he couldn't help laughing along with Taguchi as he helped him get his balance again on his feet.
“Thank you” Ueda said, barely above a whisper as he noticed they were standing just a little too close, Taguchi's hands still resting lightly on his hips, and then Taguchi noticed too, pulling away quickly as he cleared his throat.
“I...ano...I have a little while before my shift starts, if you wanted to get a cup of coffee or something?” he stuttered and Ueda nodded shyly.
“Thanks, I'd like that”
Once they were seated in the cafeteria, some hot coffee and muffin in front of each of them, Taguchi cleared his throat again “The other week...I hope your boyfriend didn't think anything...”
“Boyfriend?” Ueda cut in startled, and then when Taguchi's expression turned to confusion “Kame?” and he started shaking his head quickly “No, no Kame isn't my boyfriend”
Taguchi's face looked some mixture of elated and disappointed “Oh, I'm sorry, just how you two are always together...I just assumed...”
“Ahh, I guess we are around each other a lot, we're best friends, and we work together too...but we're not...Kame isn't even gay.” his cheeks flushed a little realising he'd just outed himself to the cute doctor, but if anything it seemed his statement made the other man happy, and so Ueda changed the subject before he even had chance to try and figure out what that meant. “The muffins are really good, are they made by the kitchen staff...?”
Taguchi laughed and shook his head a little, but he went with it “Yeah, I heard they're made fresh every morning.” and Ueda nodded as he took another bite. “How are you doing? With your arm I mean?”
“Not too bad, I have a few weeks off work which is always nice, and I can make instant noodles by myself now so I won't starve.” he laughed “but I still need Kame's help with some other stuff...like writing” he amended, and he could feel his cheeks burning again.
Taguchi-sensei's cheeks had turned a little red too and the other man was looking pointedly down at his own half eaten muffin. “So are you here for a check up today?”
Ueda nodded quickly, happy for the distraction. “Yeah, the doctor says everything looks fine. It itches like a bitch and my fingers always feel cold but he said that's pretty normal...”
Taguchi let out a little laugh at his words but nodded. “Yeah, keep an eye on the cold thing, if your fingers feel numb then that's not good...as for the itching, I know it's bad but unfortunately there's not much you can do...”
“Have you ever broken a wrist Taguchi-sensei?” Ueda asked without really thinking.
“Twice” Taguchi replied with a short laugh. “When I was really little...” he paused for a moment but Ueda looked at him as encouragingly as he could manage and the doctor spoke up again “I grew up in Kanagawa, pretty near to the ocean, I was always clambering about on the rocks and stuff, or climbing trees in the park, my second broken wrist I got from trying to climb onto the roof of my house.”
“What about the first time?” Ueda asked with raised eyebrows.
“That one was from the rocks, I was trying to climb up after my big brother, but he was ten years older than me and a lot better at climbing. I broke my arm in three places, my foot in two and gave myself concussion...”
Ueda was shocked but he had to laugh a little. “And then you later decided it would be a good idea to climb onto the roof of your house? Didn't you take anything from that experience?”
Taguchi shrugged lightly. “Well I think it was a big contributor in me being left-handed...anyway you're one to talk.” he teased. “I've been here six weeks and seen you in here four times...I was an adventurer, what's your excuse?”
“I'm just clumsy.” Ueda answered honestly. “Clumsy and P.E teacher don't go too well together.”
“You're a teacher?” Taguchi asked seriously, his tone a little shocked.
“Does that surprise you? Ueda teased.
“No...I just...” Taguchi stuttered, seeming lost for words. “I mean I think teachers are really important in society...to see someone so young and attractive taking an interest in teaching...”
“Says the young and attractive doctor...” Ueda countered.
Taguchi looked startled for a moment but then his face flushed a little and that reminded Ueda of his words, they'd both called each other attractive. Ueda looked down and concentrated on his muffin but just as he looked up, Taguchi reached to look at his watch. “I'm sorry, I have to go...”
Ueda nodded “Sure. Thanks...this was...” he cleared his throat as Taguchi finished his coffee and stood up, taking the rest of his muffin with him. “It was nice chatting to you.”
“Yeah, you too” Taguchi smiled. “I would say I hope I see you again soon but...” he looked around, implying the hospital.
Ueda laughed “Yeah, still, I imagine it won't be too long.”
Taguchi smiled and nodded. “Well take care of yourself.” He took a few steps away but then paused and turned back, smiling before closing the distance again. “This is kind of...” he started, then fished into his pocket and pulled out a business card. “Here's my card...if you have any questions, or if you're worried about something and you don't want to come all the way down here, I actually don't live that far away from you...if I'm not at work, I can...” his cheeks flushed a little as his words trailed off and he handed the card to Ueda.
It was a business card, for work purposes, but still it gave Ueda a little tremor of excitement as he took it, to think that Taguchi was giving him his phone number.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
He wanted to call, he really did but there was just no reason for him to. Four weeks had passed since their coffee together and Ueda's wrist was healing fine. Even after having gone back to work, though granted he couldn't actually lead any lessons, and was more there to make an appearance and supervise, he hadn't found any reason to call the doctor.
“What's this?” Kame demanded one evening as he prepared to cook Ueda a proper dinner for a change.
Ueda froze, he'd been looking at it again, turning it over in his hand as he tried to think of a reason. “He gave me it a few weeks ago...in case I was worried about anything with my arm...”
“And...” Kame pushed.
“And what?” Ueda asked, confused.
“And...you've called him right?”
“No.” Ueda replied with a frown. “I couldn't think of anything I needed to ask him.”
“Idiot.” Kame snorted, whacking him around the head with the tea towel in his hand. “He gave you his number weeks ago and you haven't called?”
“Well...it was for medical reasons...” Ueda argued.
“Bullshit. He fancies you just as much as you fancy him.” Ueda opened his mouth to protest but Kame cut him off. “And don't even try to deny either of those, you're like blushing fucking virgins when you're around each other!.”
Ueda rolled his eyes. “You know I'm no....”
“Seriously?” Kame interrupted with a huff of breath, “Do I have to invite him over here myself?”
For a moment Ueda was too surprised to respond. “Kame, don't you...” but the rest of his words were cut off when Kame turned to him, the pan of cold water he'd just filled in his hands and slowly he tipped it up down Ueda's front. “Kame you asshole.” he shrieked and then he noticed water running down the side of his cast. “Shit, I'm not supposed to get it wet...what do I do?”
Kame shrugged, far too calmly for Ueda's liking. “How would I know...I'm not a doctor.”
Without a word he scowled at Kame and turned to pick up his phone and then reached for the business card on the sideboard beside Kame. His fingers were trembling a little as he dialled the number, though later he'd swear it was in anger at Kame, and then he held his breath as he waited for Taguchi to answer.
“Hello?” Taguchi's voice said as he answered “This is Taguchi.”
All the anger and tension seemed to seep out of Ueda's body at the gentle voice and he flopped down onto the sofa as he tried to formulate words. “Hi...Taguchi-sensei, I'm sorry to bother you...it's Ueda.”
“Ah, Ueda-san” Taguchi responded cheerily. “How are you?”
“I'm OK...and you?” he stuttered back.
“I'm good. I haven't seen you around the hospital lately, so I assume you've had no more accidents?” Taguchi answered with a light chuckle.
“Nothing major, though there's not much room for accidents between sitting on my sofa and reserve bench at work. But that's actually...it's kind of why I'm calling though.”
“Is everything OK?” Taguchi asked, his tone a little more serious.
“Oh yeah, just...Kame spilled some water on me...and my cast got wet...”
“Oh dear...how wet are we talking?”
Ueda laughed a little “I don't know...on a scale of one to ten?”
Taguchi laughed in return “Yeah, I guess that's a pretty hard question.”
“It's not like, soaked through, but it is wet all down one side of it.” Ueda clarified, examining the extent of the damage for the first time.
“If you'd like, I can come over and take a look?”
“Would you mind...I don't want you to go out of your way...just, I'm impressed I've managed not to screw it up already, it would be a shame to mess up when it's so close to healed.
He could hear the smile in Taguchi's voice. “No, it's no bother at all. I can be there in ten to fifteen minutes.”
“That's great, thank you.” Ueda beamed, before hanging up. When he looked up Kame was standing in the doorway, looking at him expectantly. “Shut up. That was still a really mean thing to do.” he started, but his face spread into a grin. “He'll be here in about ten minutes.”
“Well...go get changed then.” Ueda wanted to argue but he could hardly let Taguchi show up and find him in soaked sweatpants. “And don't you dare put sweatpants on.” Kame called after him. “Wear those dark blue jeans you have and do the tank top and shirt thing.”
When he returned to the living room a just under ten minutes later in cargo three quarters and a tank top with a hoodie over the top, Kame just tutted at him. “What? He knows you spilled water all over me so he'll know that I've just got changed...how desperate would I look if he turned up and I'm wearing skin tight jeans? Really, who wears those around the house unless there's someone there that they're trying to impress.”
“Well maybe he would be impressed knowing you got all dressed up for him?” Kame countered.
“Kame...you were there when I met him right? He touched my sweaty feet...and he still bought me coffee a few weeks after that...besides I'm not confident I could even pull those jeans up with my hand in a cast.”
“I could have helped you pull them up...then with any luck Taguchi-sensei would help you get them back off again.”
Ueda is torn between arguing back and smacking Kame when he phone starts ringing behind him. He hadn't saved the number but he recognises it from when he dialled it. “Hello.”
“Hi” Taguchi answered cheerily. “I'm outside your building, I don't know what number you live at...”
“I'll buzz you in, come up to the third floor and I'll stick my head out.”
He was thankful at least that Kame had been coming over regularly to clean up for him while his wrist was broken, so when Taguchi arrived at his door he only felt a little self-conscious as he invited the man inside.
He held a breath as Taguchi stepped in and glanced quickly around, probably taking in the plain furniture and rather bland decoration. “Where's your dog?” Taguchi asked eventually, and Ueda couldn't help laughing a little.
“She's a little too boisterous for me right now.” He answered waving his cast in explanation. “My parents are taking care of her until I can have her back.”
Taguchi nodded understandingly “That's probably a good idea.”
“He does get pretty lonely hanging around here on his own though...if I lived closer I'd keep him company more often but I have my own dogs to take care of...” Kame hinted, coming out of the kitchen.
“Ah, Taguchi-sensei, you remember my friend, Kamenashi.” Ueda introduced, shooting said friend a glare.
“Call me Kame, everyone does.” Kame insisted, shaking Taguchi's hand. “Say, sensei do you have plans tonight? I'm in the middle of making dinner, there's plenty if you'd like to join us?” Ueda could see the hesitation in Taguchi's expression, though he couldn't be sure whether it was because he was trying to be polite or because he genuinely didn't want to. “You can think of it as hospital fees for coming out here to see Tacchan's wrist, if that makes you feel more comfortable.”
“I wouldn't want to impose...and besides, there's no need for payment of any kind, honestly, it's no trouble.” Taguchi replied politely.
Kame just wafted his hand in the air. “You wouldn't be imposing, it'd be nice to have some different company around here.”
“Well, thank you then, if it's not too much trouble.” Taguchi conceded with a slight bow.
“None at all.” Kame smiled, and then satisfied, he returned to the kitchen.
“I'm sorry about him.” Ueda apologised once Kame was out of the room “Once he sets his mind on something...”
Taguchi shook his head “Not at all...I just hope I won't be in your way.”
Ueda shook his head in response, a genuine smile creeping up on his face. “No...I'm glad you're going to stay.”
Taguchi cleared his throat gently “So...I should take a look at your cast.”
“Of course.” Ueda's cheeks flushed a little as he led Taguchi over to the sofa, “is this OK, here?”
Taguchi smiled and nodded before pulling a box of nitrile gloves from his bag and slipping on a pair. When he took hold of Ueda's arm his hands were as soft as ever, one of them holding his arm up while the fingers of the other pressed firmly against the wet patches of his cast. “How does your arm feel?” Taguchi asked eventually “Does it hurt when you wiggle your fingers, or do you have any trouble moving them?”
“No” Ueda answered honestly, wiggling them for good measure. “They gave me a load of exercises to do and they really helped.”
Taguchi smiled up at him and the brightness of it momentarily took Ueda's breath away. “I'm glad you stuck at them, it seems silly but they really do help with recovery time, especially once the cast comes off and you have to start using the wrist again.”
“How is it going in here?” Kame asked, sticking his head back through into the living room. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”
“We're good.” Taguchi called back to him before turning his attention back to Ueda. “There's not too much water damage, it doesn't feel like it's soaked all the way through. If it were a new cast I would recommend replacing it anyway, but since your wrist is almost healed I don't think you need to worry about it, it'll still give you enough stability for a few weeks.”
Ueda nodded, “Thank you. I really do appreciate you coming out...”
Taguchi shook his head “I'm...I'm glad that you called.”
Ueda spent the next twenty minutes thinking about that as they washed up for dinner and then sat down at the table to dig into Kame's home made spaghetti. He knew Kame had done it to annoy him, as much as Ueda loved Kame's spaghetti, he still had trouble eating spaghetti and noodles left-handed.
“Wine?” Kame asked, getting back up as though on second thought.
Ueda waited long enough for Taguchi to answer first. “Not for me, thank you. I'm on call tonight.”
Kame shrugged. “I guess there's no point opening a bottle for the two of us, orange juice then?”
He struggled through his meal slowly, splashing spaghetti sauce everywhere and casting furtive glares at Kame when the other man smiled brightly at him.
“Shit.” Kame exclaimed suddenly, putting down his fork on his almost finished meal. “Tacchan, I'm sorry I forgot I was supposed to pick up my suit from the dry cleaners.” He glanced at his watch for effect and stood up. “If I dash I might just catch them before they close.” and darted out to retrieve his coat. Just as he was shrugging it on he stuck his head back into the kitchen “Please excuse me Taguchi-sensei, it's really rude for me to run off like this and just leave the pots in the sink Tacchan, I'll come and wash them tomorrow.” and just like that he was dashing from the apartment.
Ueda sighed and Taguchi turned to him surprised. “I hope he makes it in time...I hope I wasn't too much of a distraction.”
Ueda shook his head and snorted. “I'm sure he'll make it in time.” Like Kame even owned a suit, he made a mental note to remind him next time to at least pick a believable excuse.
Taguchi waited patiently until Ueda had finished struggling with his meal and then he gathered together the dishes and placed them in the sink before turning on the tap. “Hey.” Ueda shouted as Taguchi picked up the bottle of washing up liquid and the pair of rubber gloves. “Hey, don't, Kame can sort those out.”
Taguchi turned back to him and smiled. “It's no trouble, it'll take five minutes to rinse them off now, If we leave them for Kame-san it'll be a much bigger job tomorrow.”
“But really...” Ueda protested, “You don't need to.”
“I know.” Taguchi insisted. “But I want to. You invited me for dinner, the least I can do is not leave you with a sink full of pots. It's fine honestly, go sit down.”
Technically it had been Kame that had invited him not Ueda, but he wasn't going to argue that so he let out a sigh and went to the fridge to take out the two slices of milk crepe Kame had brought from their favourite bakery. “Well when you're done, at least have some cake with me.”
Taguchi laughed a little but agreed so Ueda went to the cupboard to get out two saucers and some forks before dishing out the milk crepe. It did only take a few minutes for Taguchi to wash the pots, pans included, and Ueda lead them through to the sitting room to sit comfortably on the sofa.
Ueda turned as Taguchi held out his saucer but then Taguchi paused “Wait, you have something...” and he reached out a hand to wipe what seemed to be spaghetti sauce from his lip. His thumb paused at the edge of Ueda's mouth his eyes fixed on Ueda's. He felt time freeze as Taguchi moved closer, a small puff of air warming Ueda's cheek, but just as Ueda's eyes started to slip closed Taguchi's phone started to ring.
Taguchi let out a defeated sigh as he pulled away and picked up his phone. He got up and wandered away from the sofa as he spoke but Ueda could still hear his side of the short conversation and he already knew what Taguchi was about to say even before he spoke. “They need me at the hospital.”
Ueda nodded. “Yeah, well thank you for coming, I'm sorry for taking up your time before work.”
Taguchi shook his head with a smile. “I had a nice time. Thank you for inviting me.”
Ueda smiled as he got up and followed Taguchi to the door. “Maybe sometime when you're off you could come round again...hopefully without the medical check up and everything.”
Taguchi smiled and nodded as he picked up his bag and left. When the door closed again Ueda groaned, turning to lean back on it and dropping to the floor.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“So?” Kame asked excitedly when Ueda slumped into the car the next morning.
“So what?” Ueda asked, stuffing his bag a little angrily into the foot well.
“You...Taguchi-sensei...left alone in your apartment...”
Ueda rolled his eyes. “He left...the hospital called him...not before he had chance to wash the dishes you left though.”
Kame chuckled “How domesticated...I think he's perfect for you. Now seriously...nothing happened at all?”
Ueda let out a sigh, the bitter memories flooding back. “He wiped spaghetti off my face for me and then started leaning it, his phone started ringing before we had chance to actually kiss or anything though...and then after that it was just kind of awkward...I mean I invited him to come over sometime when he's off, but...”
“Tacchan, you're hopeless.”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
He didn't see or hear anything more from Taguchi until three weeks later, he went back to the hospital to finally get his cast removed. When he was done he went down to the cafeteria to meet up with Kame as agreed, but to his surprise found him sharing a table with none other than Taguchi-sensei.
Taking a deep breath, he walked up to their table, only to have it knocked out of him by Kame's words “He hasn't even had a boyfriend in seven years...”
“Three.” Ueda corrected him, his cheeks flushing as Taguchi turned to look at him.
“Seven.” Kame corrected him, not even batting an eyelid at his arrival. “Ryo doesn't count, he was a fuck buddy, if that. Anyway.” he turned to Taguchi “He's done so we'd best get back, you should think about tonight though, seriously, I'll have to cry in pity if he spends first night with the use of his right hand, alone, getting reacquainted with it.”
Ueda made sure to elbow him hard as he stood up. Taguchi stood up with him and turned awkwardly to face Ueda but when his mouth opened and nothing came out, Ueda just gave him a brief nod in his embarrassed state and tugged at Kame's arm to drag him away. “What the fuck are you doing?” he hissed at Kame once they were out of earshot.
“You know exactly what I'm doing.” Kame answered with a smug grin. “Stop making it so difficult.”
“And what was that about tonight?” Ueda pushed.
Kame just shrugged as they climbed back into his car. “I suggested he invite you out or something, the ball is in his court though.”
Ueda didn't want to be hopeful about it, but he couldn't help feeling just a little disappointed when the clock struck quarter past eight and there was no word from Taguchi. He was just about resigned to reacquainting himself with his right hand after all when the buzzer for his apartment went off. He quickly checked out of the window and even from there he could make out that it was Taguchi standing by the door.
Without thinking he let him in and then waited by his apartment door. When the knock came he opened it to find Taguchi standing there with a bottle of wine in his hand a bright smile on his face. “I'm sorry I'm late.”
“Late?” Ueda questioned as he stood back to allow Taguchi through.
Taguchi walked through as far as the living room and that's where Ueda found him, looking around in confusion “Where's Kame-san?”
“Kame?” Ueda asked in just as much confusion.
“We were texting earlier...we were going to meet here to celebrate your cast...” Taguchi started his voice trailing off as understanding seemed to dawn on him. “He didn't tell you about this did he...”
“That little shit.” Ueda hissed under his breath. “I'll kill him.”
“Ueda-san, I'm so sorry.” Taguchi started, heading back towards the door.
“No...wait.” he said without thinking. “I'm the one that should be sorry...he means well, honest...I'm sorry that he's wasted your time like this...”
Taguchi was already shaking his head. “Not at all, I didn't have plans or anything...I was actually kind of looking forward...” his voice trailed off again as his cheeks flushed a little.
“I'm not doing anything either...you should stay...”
“Really? You don't have to be polite...” Taguchi insisted, his cheeks flushing even darker.
He couldn't help a small laugh. “I'm not just being polite, the company would be nice. I think I have everything in for nabe...not that I can really cut vegetables yet...”
“I can help...you shouldn't put too much stress on your wrist just yet...” Taguchi offered, his mouth spreading into a grin so grateful that Ueda's knees turned to jelly.
“Thanks...” he managed eloquently.
Together they managed to throw together and eat a rather tasty meal considering that it was made from whatever they could find in Ueda's cupboards. As they ate they talked about all manner of things, from movies to books, some smatterings of childhood and as they moved over to the sofa with the half bottle of wine they have left, they got onto work.
“I would never have even thought of going in to teaching if it weren't for Kame.” Ueda admitted.
“Kame-san seems like a really good friend.” Taguchi observed, his mouth relaxing into a natural grin.
“Yeah, he really is.” Ueda agreed. “Schemes to set me up with cute young doctors aside, he really does look out for me. I like to think that he needs me just as much too.”
“I'm sure he does.” Taguchi assured him. “How did you guys meet?”
Ueda looked at him, considering him for a moment but Taguchi already knows half of his relationship history thanks to Kame. “Through a mutual friend. Akanishi. He'd been Kame's best friend since they were kids, I met him in college, we were both studying music and I just...” he lets out a puff of breath, not even sure how to describe it. “I'd known I was gay for a long time already, but nobody had ever made me feel the way he did. We dated for four years and then one day I went over to visit him after class and found him in bed with Kame's girlfriend...”
“Wow...that's...” Taguchi starts.
“Yeah.” Ueda agrees, hoping that it's just the wine going to his head that's making him feel too hot. “Kame blamed himself, he hadn't been with her long, and it turned out she'd only used him to get to Akanishi, I know that he didn't know but he still felt bad about it and he's been trying to repay me by setting me up with guys ever since.” he laughed. “Without much success.”
“What about that other guy he mentioned?” Taguchi pried.
“Ryo?” Ueda clarified and Taguchi nodded. “ He was a friend of a friend of Kame's that...well it wasn't really a relationship I guess, we hated each other as much as we liked each other.” he couldn't help a small laugh at the memory “We fought like cats and then fucked like rabbits until things just kind of fizzled out.” He shrugged a little “Well, there you have my entire relationship history in five minutes.”
Taguchi laughed and the slight buzz in his veins had Ueda laughing with him. “Mine wouldn't even take that long.”
“Come on then.” Ueda nudged him. “Dazzle me.”
“I had a two year relationship with a girl in high school, despite knowing I had very little interest in girls. Two one-night-stands during my party days at college and one four month relationship during my first year in medical training. Nobody else has even shown any interest in me since, aside from my section head at my last hospital who took me out to dinner once and then drunkenly tried to force himself on me.” Taguchi concluded, a sour look on his face as he reached for the wine bottle.
He emptied it into their glasses and for a few minutes there was silence as they sipped on their drinks. Ueda looked over at him and his mouth was opening before he could stop it. “I'm interested in you.” Taguchi turned to face him his eyes a little wide. “You said nobody had shown an interest in you but I'm...”
The rest of his words were stolen by Taguchi's lips. It was just a quick press, and then Taguchi was pulling back, looking at him in some mix of awe and desire. Ueda swallowed hard as he waited, frozen for the next move. Taguchi took it, placing his glass on the coffee table in front of them and then taking Ueda's from him too, before closing the distance to press their lips together again, deepening their kiss promisingly.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
When Kame came to pick him up the next morning he climbed gingerly into the passenger seat. His cheeks were already flushing even before he saw the knowing grin on Kame's face. “Something wrong with your ass Tacchan?” he asked smugly. “You should have a doctor take a look it”
“I already did.” Tatsuya replied with an eye-roll “That's the problem.”
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It's been a while since I've written JunDa but damn I miss them, for anybody still waiting on Baby Blue I promise it is still coming!! I'm kind of lost with it at the moment since I need a little more filler to take the story from A to B, I am still working on it though!!!
Pairing: JunDa
Rating: PG-15 (swearing and mentions of sexual situations)
Word Count: 5558
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anything
Summary: Ueda-sensei, the PE instructor, is good but he's clumsy. He used to prefer self-medication but with the new doctor, he doesn't mind going to the clinic.
A/N: This is the rather late sequel to this fic. This has been sitting on my computer three quarters of the way done for some time, but I decided to get it finished off and posted in celebration of quaint_stories's birthday! Once again thank you not only for introducing me to fanfiction but for being my friend for these past few years too! I hope you have a lovely day!
As it turned out, Doctors were just as hard to argue with as best friends, and so less than half an hour later, Ueda found himself sitting in the hospital waiting room yet again, luckily this time thanks to a certain connection at the hospital, he got bumped up the list a little, and having already had an initial diagnosis he got straight in to see a radiographer.
It was as Taguchi had predicted, his wrist was broken. He rolled his eyes as the doctor lead him down yet another corridor and into another room where he would have a cast set. In all honesty he was a little scared, but having Taguchi by his side was surprisingly soothing.
Then all too soon he was back in Taguchi's car as the other man drove him home. He was too nervous to speak, even after spending the last two hours practically clinging to the doctor's arm, but the blush spreading across Taguchi's cheeks made him feel a little less silly.
Taguchi pulled into the parking lot of his building and then after helping Ueda out of the car, went to retrieve the excited dog from the back seat. Together they walked around to the front of the building and there they were greeted with a very angry looking Kame.
“Where the hell have you been?” Kame shouted, and then he gasped as he saw the cast on Ueda's arm “What have you done now?”
Ueda's eyes narrowed but there was light laughter coming from beside him, and it was Taguchi that spoke first “It's nothing too serious, it is broken but it's a nice, clean break so it should heal up perfectly fine. Just try and make sure he doesn't get into any more accidents until this one has healed up, OK?”
Kame was laughing too “How did it happen?”
“Eri...” Ueda grumbled “She ran after a bike...”
Kame nodded knowingly “I told you didn't I? I warned you that if you wrapped her lead around your wrist like that she'd end up hurting you...”
“Yes, fine, you were right” Ueda muttered sourly.
“Well, you're lucky that it will heal nicely...just try not to exert yourself too much OK? And you won't be able to use your right hand for a while, so anything you use that for you'll need to get help with until you can use your left” Taguchi smiled, but then he hurriedly added “Like writing...or something...if you're right-handed...”
But Kame had already burst out laughing “Not to worry sensei, I'm sure it won't take him any time at all to get accustomed to his left hand.” and Ueda nudged him sharply with an elbow as his cheeks lit up red.
“Anyway” Taguchi said, clearing his throat “I'll, erm...good luck, with your wrist” and he passed the dog lead to Kame as he bowed a quick goodbye and turned to walk away.
Ueda watched as he left and then turned back to Kame, whose face was alight with a knowing smirk.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
He was back at the hospital again in two weeks time for a check-up, and he was thoroughly hating the experience. Kame was still at work and he'd been too embarrassed to request an appointment with Taguchi-sensei, so he was on his own, in some strange doctor's office, having his tender arm prodded and poked all too roughly by the strange man.
It seemed like he was doing OK though, and as soon as the doctor gave him the all clear he fled from the room and out into the hospital grounds where he bumped straight into someone. He could feel himself falling in slow motion and automatically tried to hold out his hands to catch himself, only arms around his waist prevented him from reaching the ground.
With a relieved puff of air he turned his face up to see who his saviour was, and his cheeks flushed immediately at the silly grin he was greeted with.
“I thought I told you not to go getting into any more accidents?” and he couldn't help laughing along with Taguchi as he helped him get his balance again on his feet.
“Thank you” Ueda said, barely above a whisper as he noticed they were standing just a little too close, Taguchi's hands still resting lightly on his hips, and then Taguchi noticed too, pulling away quickly as he cleared his throat.
“I...ano...I have a little while before my shift starts, if you wanted to get a cup of coffee or something?” he stuttered and Ueda nodded shyly.
“Thanks, I'd like that”
Once they were seated in the cafeteria, some hot coffee and muffin in front of each of them, Taguchi cleared his throat again “The other week...I hope your boyfriend didn't think anything...”
“Boyfriend?” Ueda cut in startled, and then when Taguchi's expression turned to confusion “Kame?” and he started shaking his head quickly “No, no Kame isn't my boyfriend”
Taguchi's face looked some mixture of elated and disappointed “Oh, I'm sorry, just how you two are always together...I just assumed...”
“Ahh, I guess we are around each other a lot, we're best friends, and we work together too...but we're not...Kame isn't even gay.” his cheeks flushed a little realising he'd just outed himself to the cute doctor, but if anything it seemed his statement made the other man happy, and so Ueda changed the subject before he even had chance to try and figure out what that meant. “The muffins are really good, are they made by the kitchen staff...?”
Taguchi laughed and shook his head a little, but he went with it “Yeah, I heard they're made fresh every morning.” and Ueda nodded as he took another bite. “How are you doing? With your arm I mean?”
“Not too bad, I have a few weeks off work which is always nice, and I can make instant noodles by myself now so I won't starve.” he laughed “but I still need Kame's help with some other stuff...like writing” he amended, and he could feel his cheeks burning again.
Taguchi-sensei's cheeks had turned a little red too and the other man was looking pointedly down at his own half eaten muffin. “So are you here for a check up today?”
Ueda nodded quickly, happy for the distraction. “Yeah, the doctor says everything looks fine. It itches like a bitch and my fingers always feel cold but he said that's pretty normal...”
Taguchi let out a little laugh at his words but nodded. “Yeah, keep an eye on the cold thing, if your fingers feel numb then that's not good...as for the itching, I know it's bad but unfortunately there's not much you can do...”
“Have you ever broken a wrist Taguchi-sensei?” Ueda asked without really thinking.
“Twice” Taguchi replied with a short laugh. “When I was really little...” he paused for a moment but Ueda looked at him as encouragingly as he could manage and the doctor spoke up again “I grew up in Kanagawa, pretty near to the ocean, I was always clambering about on the rocks and stuff, or climbing trees in the park, my second broken wrist I got from trying to climb onto the roof of my house.”
“What about the first time?” Ueda asked with raised eyebrows.
“That one was from the rocks, I was trying to climb up after my big brother, but he was ten years older than me and a lot better at climbing. I broke my arm in three places, my foot in two and gave myself concussion...”
Ueda was shocked but he had to laugh a little. “And then you later decided it would be a good idea to climb onto the roof of your house? Didn't you take anything from that experience?”
Taguchi shrugged lightly. “Well I think it was a big contributor in me being left-handed...anyway you're one to talk.” he teased. “I've been here six weeks and seen you in here four times...I was an adventurer, what's your excuse?”
“I'm just clumsy.” Ueda answered honestly. “Clumsy and P.E teacher don't go too well together.”
“You're a teacher?” Taguchi asked seriously, his tone a little shocked.
“Does that surprise you? Ueda teased.
“No...I just...” Taguchi stuttered, seeming lost for words. “I mean I think teachers are really important in society...to see someone so young and attractive taking an interest in teaching...”
“Says the young and attractive doctor...” Ueda countered.
Taguchi looked startled for a moment but then his face flushed a little and that reminded Ueda of his words, they'd both called each other attractive. Ueda looked down and concentrated on his muffin but just as he looked up, Taguchi reached to look at his watch. “I'm sorry, I have to go...”
Ueda nodded “Sure. Thanks...this was...” he cleared his throat as Taguchi finished his coffee and stood up, taking the rest of his muffin with him. “It was nice chatting to you.”
“Yeah, you too” Taguchi smiled. “I would say I hope I see you again soon but...” he looked around, implying the hospital.
Ueda laughed “Yeah, still, I imagine it won't be too long.”
Taguchi smiled and nodded. “Well take care of yourself.” He took a few steps away but then paused and turned back, smiling before closing the distance again. “This is kind of...” he started, then fished into his pocket and pulled out a business card. “Here's my card...if you have any questions, or if you're worried about something and you don't want to come all the way down here, I actually don't live that far away from you...if I'm not at work, I can...” his cheeks flushed a little as his words trailed off and he handed the card to Ueda.
It was a business card, for work purposes, but still it gave Ueda a little tremor of excitement as he took it, to think that Taguchi was giving him his phone number.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
He wanted to call, he really did but there was just no reason for him to. Four weeks had passed since their coffee together and Ueda's wrist was healing fine. Even after having gone back to work, though granted he couldn't actually lead any lessons, and was more there to make an appearance and supervise, he hadn't found any reason to call the doctor.
“What's this?” Kame demanded one evening as he prepared to cook Ueda a proper dinner for a change.
Ueda froze, he'd been looking at it again, turning it over in his hand as he tried to think of a reason. “He gave me it a few weeks ago...in case I was worried about anything with my arm...”
“And...” Kame pushed.
“And what?” Ueda asked, confused.
“And...you've called him right?”
“No.” Ueda replied with a frown. “I couldn't think of anything I needed to ask him.”
“Idiot.” Kame snorted, whacking him around the head with the tea towel in his hand. “He gave you his number weeks ago and you haven't called?”
“Well...it was for medical reasons...” Ueda argued.
“Bullshit. He fancies you just as much as you fancy him.” Ueda opened his mouth to protest but Kame cut him off. “And don't even try to deny either of those, you're like blushing fucking virgins when you're around each other!.”
Ueda rolled his eyes. “You know I'm no....”
“Seriously?” Kame interrupted with a huff of breath, “Do I have to invite him over here myself?”
For a moment Ueda was too surprised to respond. “Kame, don't you...” but the rest of his words were cut off when Kame turned to him, the pan of cold water he'd just filled in his hands and slowly he tipped it up down Ueda's front. “Kame you asshole.” he shrieked and then he noticed water running down the side of his cast. “Shit, I'm not supposed to get it wet...what do I do?”
Kame shrugged, far too calmly for Ueda's liking. “How would I know...I'm not a doctor.”
Without a word he scowled at Kame and turned to pick up his phone and then reached for the business card on the sideboard beside Kame. His fingers were trembling a little as he dialled the number, though later he'd swear it was in anger at Kame, and then he held his breath as he waited for Taguchi to answer.
“Hello?” Taguchi's voice said as he answered “This is Taguchi.”
All the anger and tension seemed to seep out of Ueda's body at the gentle voice and he flopped down onto the sofa as he tried to formulate words. “Hi...Taguchi-sensei, I'm sorry to bother you...it's Ueda.”
“Ah, Ueda-san” Taguchi responded cheerily. “How are you?”
“I'm OK...and you?” he stuttered back.
“I'm good. I haven't seen you around the hospital lately, so I assume you've had no more accidents?” Taguchi answered with a light chuckle.
“Nothing major, though there's not much room for accidents between sitting on my sofa and reserve bench at work. But that's actually...it's kind of why I'm calling though.”
“Is everything OK?” Taguchi asked, his tone a little more serious.
“Oh yeah, just...Kame spilled some water on me...and my cast got wet...”
“Oh dear...how wet are we talking?”
Ueda laughed a little “I don't know...on a scale of one to ten?”
Taguchi laughed in return “Yeah, I guess that's a pretty hard question.”
“It's not like, soaked through, but it is wet all down one side of it.” Ueda clarified, examining the extent of the damage for the first time.
“If you'd like, I can come over and take a look?”
“Would you mind...I don't want you to go out of your way...just, I'm impressed I've managed not to screw it up already, it would be a shame to mess up when it's so close to healed.
He could hear the smile in Taguchi's voice. “No, it's no bother at all. I can be there in ten to fifteen minutes.”
“That's great, thank you.” Ueda beamed, before hanging up. When he looked up Kame was standing in the doorway, looking at him expectantly. “Shut up. That was still a really mean thing to do.” he started, but his face spread into a grin. “He'll be here in about ten minutes.”
“Well...go get changed then.” Ueda wanted to argue but he could hardly let Taguchi show up and find him in soaked sweatpants. “And don't you dare put sweatpants on.” Kame called after him. “Wear those dark blue jeans you have and do the tank top and shirt thing.”
When he returned to the living room a just under ten minutes later in cargo three quarters and a tank top with a hoodie over the top, Kame just tutted at him. “What? He knows you spilled water all over me so he'll know that I've just got changed...how desperate would I look if he turned up and I'm wearing skin tight jeans? Really, who wears those around the house unless there's someone there that they're trying to impress.”
“Well maybe he would be impressed knowing you got all dressed up for him?” Kame countered.
“Kame...you were there when I met him right? He touched my sweaty feet...and he still bought me coffee a few weeks after that...besides I'm not confident I could even pull those jeans up with my hand in a cast.”
“I could have helped you pull them up...then with any luck Taguchi-sensei would help you get them back off again.”
Ueda is torn between arguing back and smacking Kame when he phone starts ringing behind him. He hadn't saved the number but he recognises it from when he dialled it. “Hello.”
“Hi” Taguchi answered cheerily. “I'm outside your building, I don't know what number you live at...”
“I'll buzz you in, come up to the third floor and I'll stick my head out.”
He was thankful at least that Kame had been coming over regularly to clean up for him while his wrist was broken, so when Taguchi arrived at his door he only felt a little self-conscious as he invited the man inside.
He held a breath as Taguchi stepped in and glanced quickly around, probably taking in the plain furniture and rather bland decoration. “Where's your dog?” Taguchi asked eventually, and Ueda couldn't help laughing a little.
“She's a little too boisterous for me right now.” He answered waving his cast in explanation. “My parents are taking care of her until I can have her back.”
Taguchi nodded understandingly “That's probably a good idea.”
“He does get pretty lonely hanging around here on his own though...if I lived closer I'd keep him company more often but I have my own dogs to take care of...” Kame hinted, coming out of the kitchen.
“Ah, Taguchi-sensei, you remember my friend, Kamenashi.” Ueda introduced, shooting said friend a glare.
“Call me Kame, everyone does.” Kame insisted, shaking Taguchi's hand. “Say, sensei do you have plans tonight? I'm in the middle of making dinner, there's plenty if you'd like to join us?” Ueda could see the hesitation in Taguchi's expression, though he couldn't be sure whether it was because he was trying to be polite or because he genuinely didn't want to. “You can think of it as hospital fees for coming out here to see Tacchan's wrist, if that makes you feel more comfortable.”
“I wouldn't want to impose...and besides, there's no need for payment of any kind, honestly, it's no trouble.” Taguchi replied politely.
Kame just wafted his hand in the air. “You wouldn't be imposing, it'd be nice to have some different company around here.”
“Well, thank you then, if it's not too much trouble.” Taguchi conceded with a slight bow.
“None at all.” Kame smiled, and then satisfied, he returned to the kitchen.
“I'm sorry about him.” Ueda apologised once Kame was out of the room “Once he sets his mind on something...”
Taguchi shook his head “Not at all...I just hope I won't be in your way.”
Ueda shook his head in response, a genuine smile creeping up on his face. “No...I'm glad you're going to stay.”
Taguchi cleared his throat gently “So...I should take a look at your cast.”
“Of course.” Ueda's cheeks flushed a little as he led Taguchi over to the sofa, “is this OK, here?”
Taguchi smiled and nodded before pulling a box of nitrile gloves from his bag and slipping on a pair. When he took hold of Ueda's arm his hands were as soft as ever, one of them holding his arm up while the fingers of the other pressed firmly against the wet patches of his cast. “How does your arm feel?” Taguchi asked eventually “Does it hurt when you wiggle your fingers, or do you have any trouble moving them?”
“No” Ueda answered honestly, wiggling them for good measure. “They gave me a load of exercises to do and they really helped.”
Taguchi smiled up at him and the brightness of it momentarily took Ueda's breath away. “I'm glad you stuck at them, it seems silly but they really do help with recovery time, especially once the cast comes off and you have to start using the wrist again.”
“How is it going in here?” Kame asked, sticking his head back through into the living room. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”
“We're good.” Taguchi called back to him before turning his attention back to Ueda. “There's not too much water damage, it doesn't feel like it's soaked all the way through. If it were a new cast I would recommend replacing it anyway, but since your wrist is almost healed I don't think you need to worry about it, it'll still give you enough stability for a few weeks.”
Ueda nodded, “Thank you. I really do appreciate you coming out...”
Taguchi shook his head “I'm...I'm glad that you called.”
Ueda spent the next twenty minutes thinking about that as they washed up for dinner and then sat down at the table to dig into Kame's home made spaghetti. He knew Kame had done it to annoy him, as much as Ueda loved Kame's spaghetti, he still had trouble eating spaghetti and noodles left-handed.
“Wine?” Kame asked, getting back up as though on second thought.
Ueda waited long enough for Taguchi to answer first. “Not for me, thank you. I'm on call tonight.”
Kame shrugged. “I guess there's no point opening a bottle for the two of us, orange juice then?”
He struggled through his meal slowly, splashing spaghetti sauce everywhere and casting furtive glares at Kame when the other man smiled brightly at him.
“Shit.” Kame exclaimed suddenly, putting down his fork on his almost finished meal. “Tacchan, I'm sorry I forgot I was supposed to pick up my suit from the dry cleaners.” He glanced at his watch for effect and stood up. “If I dash I might just catch them before they close.” and darted out to retrieve his coat. Just as he was shrugging it on he stuck his head back into the kitchen “Please excuse me Taguchi-sensei, it's really rude for me to run off like this and just leave the pots in the sink Tacchan, I'll come and wash them tomorrow.” and just like that he was dashing from the apartment.
Ueda sighed and Taguchi turned to him surprised. “I hope he makes it in time...I hope I wasn't too much of a distraction.”
Ueda shook his head and snorted. “I'm sure he'll make it in time.” Like Kame even owned a suit, he made a mental note to remind him next time to at least pick a believable excuse.
Taguchi waited patiently until Ueda had finished struggling with his meal and then he gathered together the dishes and placed them in the sink before turning on the tap. “Hey.” Ueda shouted as Taguchi picked up the bottle of washing up liquid and the pair of rubber gloves. “Hey, don't, Kame can sort those out.”
Taguchi turned back to him and smiled. “It's no trouble, it'll take five minutes to rinse them off now, If we leave them for Kame-san it'll be a much bigger job tomorrow.”
“But really...” Ueda protested, “You don't need to.”
“I know.” Taguchi insisted. “But I want to. You invited me for dinner, the least I can do is not leave you with a sink full of pots. It's fine honestly, go sit down.”
Technically it had been Kame that had invited him not Ueda, but he wasn't going to argue that so he let out a sigh and went to the fridge to take out the two slices of milk crepe Kame had brought from their favourite bakery. “Well when you're done, at least have some cake with me.”
Taguchi laughed a little but agreed so Ueda went to the cupboard to get out two saucers and some forks before dishing out the milk crepe. It did only take a few minutes for Taguchi to wash the pots, pans included, and Ueda lead them through to the sitting room to sit comfortably on the sofa.
Ueda turned as Taguchi held out his saucer but then Taguchi paused “Wait, you have something...” and he reached out a hand to wipe what seemed to be spaghetti sauce from his lip. His thumb paused at the edge of Ueda's mouth his eyes fixed on Ueda's. He felt time freeze as Taguchi moved closer, a small puff of air warming Ueda's cheek, but just as Ueda's eyes started to slip closed Taguchi's phone started to ring.
Taguchi let out a defeated sigh as he pulled away and picked up his phone. He got up and wandered away from the sofa as he spoke but Ueda could still hear his side of the short conversation and he already knew what Taguchi was about to say even before he spoke. “They need me at the hospital.”
Ueda nodded. “Yeah, well thank you for coming, I'm sorry for taking up your time before work.”
Taguchi shook his head with a smile. “I had a nice time. Thank you for inviting me.”
Ueda smiled as he got up and followed Taguchi to the door. “Maybe sometime when you're off you could come round again...hopefully without the medical check up and everything.”
Taguchi smiled and nodded as he picked up his bag and left. When the door closed again Ueda groaned, turning to lean back on it and dropping to the floor.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“So?” Kame asked excitedly when Ueda slumped into the car the next morning.
“So what?” Ueda asked, stuffing his bag a little angrily into the foot well.
“You...Taguchi-sensei...left alone in your apartment...”
Ueda rolled his eyes. “He left...the hospital called him...not before he had chance to wash the dishes you left though.”
Kame chuckled “How domesticated...I think he's perfect for you. Now seriously...nothing happened at all?”
Ueda let out a sigh, the bitter memories flooding back. “He wiped spaghetti off my face for me and then started leaning it, his phone started ringing before we had chance to actually kiss or anything though...and then after that it was just kind of awkward...I mean I invited him to come over sometime when he's off, but...”
“Tacchan, you're hopeless.”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
He didn't see or hear anything more from Taguchi until three weeks later, he went back to the hospital to finally get his cast removed. When he was done he went down to the cafeteria to meet up with Kame as agreed, but to his surprise found him sharing a table with none other than Taguchi-sensei.
Taking a deep breath, he walked up to their table, only to have it knocked out of him by Kame's words “He hasn't even had a boyfriend in seven years...”
“Three.” Ueda corrected him, his cheeks flushing as Taguchi turned to look at him.
“Seven.” Kame corrected him, not even batting an eyelid at his arrival. “Ryo doesn't count, he was a fuck buddy, if that. Anyway.” he turned to Taguchi “He's done so we'd best get back, you should think about tonight though, seriously, I'll have to cry in pity if he spends first night with the use of his right hand, alone, getting reacquainted with it.”
Ueda made sure to elbow him hard as he stood up. Taguchi stood up with him and turned awkwardly to face Ueda but when his mouth opened and nothing came out, Ueda just gave him a brief nod in his embarrassed state and tugged at Kame's arm to drag him away. “What the fuck are you doing?” he hissed at Kame once they were out of earshot.
“You know exactly what I'm doing.” Kame answered with a smug grin. “Stop making it so difficult.”
“And what was that about tonight?” Ueda pushed.
Kame just shrugged as they climbed back into his car. “I suggested he invite you out or something, the ball is in his court though.”
Ueda didn't want to be hopeful about it, but he couldn't help feeling just a little disappointed when the clock struck quarter past eight and there was no word from Taguchi. He was just about resigned to reacquainting himself with his right hand after all when the buzzer for his apartment went off. He quickly checked out of the window and even from there he could make out that it was Taguchi standing by the door.
Without thinking he let him in and then waited by his apartment door. When the knock came he opened it to find Taguchi standing there with a bottle of wine in his hand a bright smile on his face. “I'm sorry I'm late.”
“Late?” Ueda questioned as he stood back to allow Taguchi through.
Taguchi walked through as far as the living room and that's where Ueda found him, looking around in confusion “Where's Kame-san?”
“Kame?” Ueda asked in just as much confusion.
“We were texting earlier...we were going to meet here to celebrate your cast...” Taguchi started his voice trailing off as understanding seemed to dawn on him. “He didn't tell you about this did he...”
“That little shit.” Ueda hissed under his breath. “I'll kill him.”
“Ueda-san, I'm so sorry.” Taguchi started, heading back towards the door.
“No...wait.” he said without thinking. “I'm the one that should be sorry...he means well, honest...I'm sorry that he's wasted your time like this...”
Taguchi was already shaking his head. “Not at all, I didn't have plans or anything...I was actually kind of looking forward...” his voice trailed off again as his cheeks flushed a little.
“I'm not doing anything either...you should stay...”
“Really? You don't have to be polite...” Taguchi insisted, his cheeks flushing even darker.
He couldn't help a small laugh. “I'm not just being polite, the company would be nice. I think I have everything in for nabe...not that I can really cut vegetables yet...”
“I can help...you shouldn't put too much stress on your wrist just yet...” Taguchi offered, his mouth spreading into a grin so grateful that Ueda's knees turned to jelly.
“Thanks...” he managed eloquently.
Together they managed to throw together and eat a rather tasty meal considering that it was made from whatever they could find in Ueda's cupboards. As they ate they talked about all manner of things, from movies to books, some smatterings of childhood and as they moved over to the sofa with the half bottle of wine they have left, they got onto work.
“I would never have even thought of going in to teaching if it weren't for Kame.” Ueda admitted.
“Kame-san seems like a really good friend.” Taguchi observed, his mouth relaxing into a natural grin.
“Yeah, he really is.” Ueda agreed. “Schemes to set me up with cute young doctors aside, he really does look out for me. I like to think that he needs me just as much too.”
“I'm sure he does.” Taguchi assured him. “How did you guys meet?”
Ueda looked at him, considering him for a moment but Taguchi already knows half of his relationship history thanks to Kame. “Through a mutual friend. Akanishi. He'd been Kame's best friend since they were kids, I met him in college, we were both studying music and I just...” he lets out a puff of breath, not even sure how to describe it. “I'd known I was gay for a long time already, but nobody had ever made me feel the way he did. We dated for four years and then one day I went over to visit him after class and found him in bed with Kame's girlfriend...”
“Wow...that's...” Taguchi starts.
“Yeah.” Ueda agrees, hoping that it's just the wine going to his head that's making him feel too hot. “Kame blamed himself, he hadn't been with her long, and it turned out she'd only used him to get to Akanishi, I know that he didn't know but he still felt bad about it and he's been trying to repay me by setting me up with guys ever since.” he laughed. “Without much success.”
“What about that other guy he mentioned?” Taguchi pried.
“Ryo?” Ueda clarified and Taguchi nodded. “ He was a friend of a friend of Kame's that...well it wasn't really a relationship I guess, we hated each other as much as we liked each other.” he couldn't help a small laugh at the memory “We fought like cats and then fucked like rabbits until things just kind of fizzled out.” He shrugged a little “Well, there you have my entire relationship history in five minutes.”
Taguchi laughed and the slight buzz in his veins had Ueda laughing with him. “Mine wouldn't even take that long.”
“Come on then.” Ueda nudged him. “Dazzle me.”
“I had a two year relationship with a girl in high school, despite knowing I had very little interest in girls. Two one-night-stands during my party days at college and one four month relationship during my first year in medical training. Nobody else has even shown any interest in me since, aside from my section head at my last hospital who took me out to dinner once and then drunkenly tried to force himself on me.” Taguchi concluded, a sour look on his face as he reached for the wine bottle.
He emptied it into their glasses and for a few minutes there was silence as they sipped on their drinks. Ueda looked over at him and his mouth was opening before he could stop it. “I'm interested in you.” Taguchi turned to face him his eyes a little wide. “You said nobody had shown an interest in you but I'm...”
The rest of his words were stolen by Taguchi's lips. It was just a quick press, and then Taguchi was pulling back, looking at him in some mix of awe and desire. Ueda swallowed hard as he waited, frozen for the next move. Taguchi took it, placing his glass on the coffee table in front of them and then taking Ueda's from him too, before closing the distance to press their lips together again, deepening their kiss promisingly.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
When Kame came to pick him up the next morning he climbed gingerly into the passenger seat. His cheeks were already flushing even before he saw the knowing grin on Kame's face. “Something wrong with your ass Tacchan?” he asked smugly. “You should have a doctor take a look it”
“I already did.” Tatsuya replied with an eye-roll “That's the problem.”
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It's been a while since I've written JunDa but damn I miss them, for anybody still waiting on Baby Blue I promise it is still coming!! I'm kind of lost with it at the moment since I need a little more filler to take the story from A to B, I am still working on it though!!!