A Series of Short Conversations and Scenes
TITLE: A Series of Short Conversations and Scenes
RATING: G (but there’s some swearing)
PAIRING: Ryo/Shige
WORD COUNT: 1,352
SUMMARY: The title says it all.
NOTES: Scenes/conversations take place in the “now”, unless otherwise marked. Whore!verse part 5.
“Wow. You don’t have a girlfriend.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying.”
“It’s kind of amazing though,” Akanishi smiled at Nishikido, genuinely, “that Ryo-chan made a friend outside of the idol business. Usually you don’t give normal people a second thought! Your new friend must be really interesting for you to be willing to talk to him!”
“He’s not that great.”
“I want to meet your friend! Let’s all go out for drinks!”
Nishikido frowned, “No. Never.”
Yamashita and Akanishi pouted at the exact same moment, “Why not?”
“… If he meets you two, he’ll think I’m an idiot by association.”
“Ah!” Yamashita perked up, “I can feel Ryo-chan’s love!”
“How did you meet him?”
Nishikido didn’t answer.
“Ryo-chan! Tell us, tell us!”
“…In a bar.”
Akanishi and Yamashita both sat back in their chairs, regarding Nishikido for a moment before looking at each other, like they could talk without words.
“Oh,” Yamashita finally said, “it must have been during one of your moods when you’re mad at all of us and are sick of all the bad costumes and stalking fans and all that idol stuff.”
“When you go out to some little bar outside the city where idols never go, and drink and think about not being an idol.”
“I hate you. Both of you.”
“Ryo-chan’s love!” Akanishi smiled again.
“If you met him in one of those crappy, suburb bars,” Yamashita thought aloud, “then he must not have a lot of money. He’s must be a painfully average guy. What does he do for a living?”
Nishikido glared at Yamashita, but he didn’t put his heart behind it, “Katou’s not average. He’s…a student. Just a student. His apartment is crap.”
“You’ve been to his apartment?!”
Nishikido bit his tongue and didn’t answer.
“That’s so… familiar. I thought you only met this guy a little bit ago. But he must have a part-time job. I can’t think of parents who would let their kid live alone without some kind of job.”
“…He’s got a part-time with Nakagawa. The photographer.”
“Oh! I had a shoot with him the other day!” Akanishi said and Nishikido wanted to reach over and slap the other man, “Nakagawa-sensei said he just hired his assistant a little bit ago so… What did your student friend do before the part-time job with Nakagawa-sensei?”
Nishikido sat absolutely still, swearing angrily to himself in his head. It was bad enough his friends knew he went to rundown bars to drink away his moody regrets alone, but he wouldn’t give them the gratification of knowing he befriended a male whore and then got said whore a real part-time job so he didn’t have to whore himself anymore.
“He did… favors. For others.”
Both Akanishi and Yamashita cocked their heads, looking confused, obviously contemplating what “favors” meant. But before they could answer, Nishikido stood up and left the room. By the time the day was over and they were all at their respective homes, waiting to fall asleep, Yamashita had forgotten all about what Nishikido mentioned about favors. But Akanishi stared at the ceiling, mulling over it in his head, pondering, and finally, it clicked and he had to shove his face into the pillow so his laughing wouldn’t wake up the neighbors.
-- -- -- 6 Months Ago
Katou sat at the table in his apartment, looking between an invoice, Aoyama Gakuin proudly stamped in the top right corner and a very short bank statement. He shook his head, regretting the past year and a half that he never got a part-time job. Living off an allowance from his parents, listening to them when they said to enjoy student life and not stress about getting a job, since school was what he should be focusing on anyways. The yen didn’t go as far as it used to. Everything cost more - tuition, books, food, rent, utilities. Even with how sparsely he lived, Katou’s money was stretched thin. He knew that if he went home, talked to his parents, they would give him money, as much as he needed, but he couldn’t do that. His parents had their own money troubles to be worrying about - the loan on the house that had yet to be completely paid off, and the fact that Katou’s father’s bad back had been acting up more often recently.
He could move out of the apartment, go back home. Then his parents wouldn’t have to worry about giving him money for anything besides tuition and books. That would save a lot of money and Katou seriously considered it. But then he thought of the commute. The hour-long train ride both ways, during rush hour. He’d had his fill of that in high school. So there was only one choice left to him - get a part-time job. A good one. Now.
-- -- --
At 6:30pm, a white phone buzzed and danced across the floor before Katou reached over, without looking, and flipped it open.
“Hello?”
“What are you doing right now?”
“Um, studying. I have a test in a few days.”
“Ever the boring, good student. Every time I call you, you’re studying. Don’t you ever go out? Or am I your only friend?”
Katou sulked, “I take my studies seriously.”
“Are you even eating properly?”
“What?”
“As expected! You can’t even do that right. I’ll be there at 7. Don’t make me wait.”
And then, Katou was listening to the dial tone and wondering if he’d been studying too hard and had hallucinated the conversation. But at 6:58pm, Katou looked out the window and saw a black Lexus pulled up to the curb and park. No one got out of the car. Katou sighed, grabbed his phone and wallet and went down to the car.
“We need to find a less obvious place for you to park when you come here.”
“Why?” Nishikido pulled away from the curb, dangerously as ever.
“Because people here talk. I over hear them. They think you’re my Sugar Daddy, or at least a very dedicated client. I…” Katou swallowed, blushed, and looked out the window, “I still have a reputation here. It’ll be bad for you if… if some one takes a picture or something.”
Nishikido ran a yellow light, nearly red, “I’ll worry about that, if and when it happens. Whether or not you have a reputation, idols are allowed to have friends outside the industry. Every one has a few. People like you are our reality check.”
-- -- -- 6 Months Ago
Katou sat the bar, holding a scotch in his hand, head bent, the bartender looking at him sadly.
“It’s unfortunate. That you kids are the ones to inherit my generation’s messed up economy. It’s a hard situation you’re in. There aren’t many part-time jobs that pay that well. It’s hard to get them, ‘cause every one wants them.”
“I’m so fucked. So. Completely. Fucked.”
The bartender patted him on the shoulder and kept idly cleaning the same glass.
“I don’t want to move back home and deal with the commute. It’s horrible. Three years of it was enough. But… but I don’t know what else to do.”
The bartender looked away and held the glass tighter in his hand, he muttered under his breath, “I really don’t want to say this…”
“What?”
“You have to understand, Katou-kun. I really, really don’t want to say this. But I think I’m going to end up saying it…”
“What?”
“There’s… a job that… any one can do. That’ll pay well… Um, ya know. Waiting out by the train station for all the salarymen to start coming home…”
“I’m not going to mug some middle aged guy!”
The bartender frowned and looked away again, “You’re still… Ah, Katou-kun. I mean, Favors. Catching them on their way home, while they’re still a little drunk and… having them buy favors from you.”
Katou’s eyes widened, realizing what the bartender meant. He looked down into his glass, clinking the ice cubes together, swirling the last bit of scotch around. The bartender walked away. Katou placed his face in his hands and wanted to scream.
end
A/N: This part’s kind of short and a little drabble-ish, but I felt like it was necessary. I wanted to set some things up and write more about how Katou got into the whole whoring-himself thing, since it’s kind of important. And I really want to write more about whore!Shige, even though he’s not a whore any more. Maybe he and Ryo get in a fight and he does it as revenge? I don’t know. That doesn’t really make sense. Now I’m just rambling.
RATING: G (but there’s some swearing)
PAIRING: Ryo/Shige
WORD COUNT: 1,352
SUMMARY: The title says it all.
NOTES: Scenes/conversations take place in the “now”, unless otherwise marked. Whore!verse part 5.
“Wow. You don’t have a girlfriend.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying.”
“It’s kind of amazing though,” Akanishi smiled at Nishikido, genuinely, “that Ryo-chan made a friend outside of the idol business. Usually you don’t give normal people a second thought! Your new friend must be really interesting for you to be willing to talk to him!”
“He’s not that great.”
“I want to meet your friend! Let’s all go out for drinks!”
Nishikido frowned, “No. Never.”
Yamashita and Akanishi pouted at the exact same moment, “Why not?”
“… If he meets you two, he’ll think I’m an idiot by association.”
“Ah!” Yamashita perked up, “I can feel Ryo-chan’s love!”
“How did you meet him?”
Nishikido didn’t answer.
“Ryo-chan! Tell us, tell us!”
“…In a bar.”
Akanishi and Yamashita both sat back in their chairs, regarding Nishikido for a moment before looking at each other, like they could talk without words.
“Oh,” Yamashita finally said, “it must have been during one of your moods when you’re mad at all of us and are sick of all the bad costumes and stalking fans and all that idol stuff.”
“When you go out to some little bar outside the city where idols never go, and drink and think about not being an idol.”
“I hate you. Both of you.”
“Ryo-chan’s love!” Akanishi smiled again.
“If you met him in one of those crappy, suburb bars,” Yamashita thought aloud, “then he must not have a lot of money. He’s must be a painfully average guy. What does he do for a living?”
Nishikido glared at Yamashita, but he didn’t put his heart behind it, “Katou’s not average. He’s…a student. Just a student. His apartment is crap.”
“You’ve been to his apartment?!”
Nishikido bit his tongue and didn’t answer.
“That’s so… familiar. I thought you only met this guy a little bit ago. But he must have a part-time job. I can’t think of parents who would let their kid live alone without some kind of job.”
“…He’s got a part-time with Nakagawa. The photographer.”
“Oh! I had a shoot with him the other day!” Akanishi said and Nishikido wanted to reach over and slap the other man, “Nakagawa-sensei said he just hired his assistant a little bit ago so… What did your student friend do before the part-time job with Nakagawa-sensei?”
Nishikido sat absolutely still, swearing angrily to himself in his head. It was bad enough his friends knew he went to rundown bars to drink away his moody regrets alone, but he wouldn’t give them the gratification of knowing he befriended a male whore and then got said whore a real part-time job so he didn’t have to whore himself anymore.
“He did… favors. For others.”
Both Akanishi and Yamashita cocked their heads, looking confused, obviously contemplating what “favors” meant. But before they could answer, Nishikido stood up and left the room. By the time the day was over and they were all at their respective homes, waiting to fall asleep, Yamashita had forgotten all about what Nishikido mentioned about favors. But Akanishi stared at the ceiling, mulling over it in his head, pondering, and finally, it clicked and he had to shove his face into the pillow so his laughing wouldn’t wake up the neighbors.
-- -- -- 6 Months Ago
Katou sat at the table in his apartment, looking between an invoice, Aoyama Gakuin proudly stamped in the top right corner and a very short bank statement. He shook his head, regretting the past year and a half that he never got a part-time job. Living off an allowance from his parents, listening to them when they said to enjoy student life and not stress about getting a job, since school was what he should be focusing on anyways. The yen didn’t go as far as it used to. Everything cost more - tuition, books, food, rent, utilities. Even with how sparsely he lived, Katou’s money was stretched thin. He knew that if he went home, talked to his parents, they would give him money, as much as he needed, but he couldn’t do that. His parents had their own money troubles to be worrying about - the loan on the house that had yet to be completely paid off, and the fact that Katou’s father’s bad back had been acting up more often recently.
He could move out of the apartment, go back home. Then his parents wouldn’t have to worry about giving him money for anything besides tuition and books. That would save a lot of money and Katou seriously considered it. But then he thought of the commute. The hour-long train ride both ways, during rush hour. He’d had his fill of that in high school. So there was only one choice left to him - get a part-time job. A good one. Now.
-- -- --
At 6:30pm, a white phone buzzed and danced across the floor before Katou reached over, without looking, and flipped it open.
“Hello?”
“What are you doing right now?”
“Um, studying. I have a test in a few days.”
“Ever the boring, good student. Every time I call you, you’re studying. Don’t you ever go out? Or am I your only friend?”
Katou sulked, “I take my studies seriously.”
“Are you even eating properly?”
“What?”
“As expected! You can’t even do that right. I’ll be there at 7. Don’t make me wait.”
And then, Katou was listening to the dial tone and wondering if he’d been studying too hard and had hallucinated the conversation. But at 6:58pm, Katou looked out the window and saw a black Lexus pulled up to the curb and park. No one got out of the car. Katou sighed, grabbed his phone and wallet and went down to the car.
“We need to find a less obvious place for you to park when you come here.”
“Why?” Nishikido pulled away from the curb, dangerously as ever.
“Because people here talk. I over hear them. They think you’re my Sugar Daddy, or at least a very dedicated client. I…” Katou swallowed, blushed, and looked out the window, “I still have a reputation here. It’ll be bad for you if… if some one takes a picture or something.”
Nishikido ran a yellow light, nearly red, “I’ll worry about that, if and when it happens. Whether or not you have a reputation, idols are allowed to have friends outside the industry. Every one has a few. People like you are our reality check.”
-- -- -- 6 Months Ago
Katou sat the bar, holding a scotch in his hand, head bent, the bartender looking at him sadly.
“It’s unfortunate. That you kids are the ones to inherit my generation’s messed up economy. It’s a hard situation you’re in. There aren’t many part-time jobs that pay that well. It’s hard to get them, ‘cause every one wants them.”
“I’m so fucked. So. Completely. Fucked.”
The bartender patted him on the shoulder and kept idly cleaning the same glass.
“I don’t want to move back home and deal with the commute. It’s horrible. Three years of it was enough. But… but I don’t know what else to do.”
The bartender looked away and held the glass tighter in his hand, he muttered under his breath, “I really don’t want to say this…”
“What?”
“You have to understand, Katou-kun. I really, really don’t want to say this. But I think I’m going to end up saying it…”
“What?”
“There’s… a job that… any one can do. That’ll pay well… Um, ya know. Waiting out by the train station for all the salarymen to start coming home…”
“I’m not going to mug some middle aged guy!”
The bartender frowned and looked away again, “You’re still… Ah, Katou-kun. I mean, Favors. Catching them on their way home, while they’re still a little drunk and… having them buy favors from you.”
Katou’s eyes widened, realizing what the bartender meant. He looked down into his glass, clinking the ice cubes together, swirling the last bit of scotch around. The bartender walked away. Katou placed his face in his hands and wanted to scream.
end
A/N: This part’s kind of short and a little drabble-ish, but I felt like it was necessary. I wanted to set some things up and write more about how Katou got into the whole whoring-himself thing, since it’s kind of important. And I really want to write more about whore!Shige, even though he’s not a whore any more. Maybe he and Ryo get in a fight and he does it as revenge? I don’t know. That doesn’t really make sense. Now I’m just rambling.