The War Front
TITLE: The War Front
RATING: R
PAIRING: Ryo/Shige
WORD COUNT: 2,881
SUMMARY: Ryo has some crappy friends.
NOTES: Whore!verse part 6. warning! This chapter contains some non-consensual acts! Don’t read this unless you can handle it! It’s nothing huge on the scale or horribly graphic, but there’s some unwelcome touching.
Nishikido’s voice was fuzzy on the other end of the line, “It’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
“But…” Katou wrung his hands together, “But it’s probably not safe. I don’t want to be a burden.”
“Seriously. It’s… What? Wait. Stop… Hold on for a sec.” Katou heard Nishikido talk with some else, where ever he was for a minute in a low voice, before coming back to the phone, “It’ll be okay. These idiots have been bothering me about it for a while and I’m getting sick of listening. So just come with us.”
“But… you guys will be going to some flashy place, right? I just… I won’t be comfortable there. It’ll be like that time in Ginza. Please. I’ll just… I’ll just stay here and you go out with your friends-“
“Shige.” Katou blushed, even though he knew Nishikido wasn’t any where close by, “Come with me. I don’t want to deal with their stupidity on my own.”
“I would really rather-”
“Shige.”
Katou twitched in his seat on the floor and looked around the room nervously.
“Just a few drinks. They’ll get bored of you quickly and then we can ditch them and go do something more fun for you. How about karaoke?”
“… Okay.”
“Great.” Katou swore he could hear Nishikido smile, “I’ll come pick you up at 9:30, okay? I won’t bring my friends - they’ll meet us there.”
“Um, what should I wear? I don’t have much…”
“It’s you. Whatever is fine.”
-- -- --
There was a line around the corner to get into the bar - it was trendy and the bouncers outside the door were giant and spoke in heavily accented Japanese. Nishikido walked right up to them, ignoring the line and started talking with them. Katou stood behind him, wishing he could some how sink into the sidewalk and never be found again. People in line were looking over and around others, trying to get a glimpse at whoever was important enough to bypass the line. Katou prayed Nishikido wasn’t recognized. But before the camera phones could start flashing, they were ushered inside and a hostess took them up to a second floor loft, where two men waved at Nishikido and called him over. Katou followed behind him.
Nishikido stood next to the table, purposefully not sitting down, looking at the two men already there who were on opposite sides of the booth from each other, “One of you needs to move.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
The man with longer hair laughed and moved to the other side. Nishikido sat down on the empty side, and Katou did the same. The two other men looked between Nishikido and Katou, grinning.
Nishikido sighed, “Katou, this is Yamashita and Akanishi. They’re stupid, but basically harmless. And now they no longer have any reason to bug me about meeting you.”
“Call me ‘Pi’!”
“And I’m Jin!”
“Um, hello. It’s nice to meet you.” Katou bowed as much as he could in the seat.
Yamashita frowned a little, “Doesn’t Katou-kun have something more familiar than just ‘Katou’?”
“Not for you idiots.”
The two of them laughed and Akanishi looked towards Katou, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but when Ryo-chan is mean like that, it means he loves you.”
“Ryo-chan has a lot of love!” Yamashita whispered across the table.
“I hate you guys.”
The waitress walked up, asking for their orders.
“Beer.”
“Beer.”
“Long Island Iced Tea.”
She turned to Katou, “And you?
Katou twisted his hands together under the table, “Um…”
“He’ll have a scotch. On the rocks.”
She bowed and walked away. Katou turned to Nishikido, an unhappy look on his face, but Nishikido just smiled back.
“Ryo-chan and Katou-kun are so tough, aren’t they?”
“Yeah!” Yamashita said cheerfully, “We just got beer and they ordered hard drinks.” He smiled, “I feel like a wuss now.”
The drinks came and the three idols chatted away, occasionally asking for Katou’s input. For his part, Katou just wanted to leave. The bar was smokey and even though the dance floor was on the other side of the club, the music was loud and gave him a headache. He was nervous and awkward. He was wearing the same thing as a lot of the people in the club - ripped jeans and a vintage t-shirt. The difference being Katou’s weren’t artfully ripped (he’d tripped a few months ago and fell on the sidewalk) and his vintage shirt was from his father’s closet and not an expensive second-hand boutique. When he got bored of half-listening to the conversation, he’d look around the bar and see if any one had recognized the three idols and wondered who the kid sitting with them was. He appreciated their efforts to include him in the conversation, but he didn’t see what the point was. They were talking about the new line of sunglasses from Louis Vuitton and before that it had been an epic debate on which female star was the biggest bitch.
Katou sighed and stood up, “I’ll be right back.”
Nishikido looked concerned, “Where are you going?”
“To the restroom.”
Katou left after that, before Nishikido could say something like, ‘I’ll go with you’ and tag along. He waded around tables and asked a waitress, who pointed him to a pair of doors in the back, one labeled with a masculine caricature, the other with a feminine. As Katou was washing his hands, the door opened and Akanishi walked in, only a step.
“I thought I’d join you.” Akanishi smiled, “Once you mentioned it, I realized that I needed to go to the bathroom too. Isn’t that funny?”
Akanishi stood next to the doorframe and didn’t move.
Katou dried his hands off on a towel and then threw it into a small basket under the counter, “Oh… okay. Do you want me to wait for you? So we can walk back?”
Akanishi smirked and very slowly started moving towards Katou, who noticed how much bigger than him Akanishi was. Katou suddenly felt very worried about this situation. He placed a hand on Katou’s shoulder, but kept moving, forcing Katou to walk backwards.
“Sure. You can wait for me. That sounds good.”
Akanishi pushed Katou, hard, and he fell backwards, knocking a stall door open and just barely catching himself on the wall. Katou looked up, terrified, and Akanishi stepped into the stall after Katou, locking it shut and blocking the way out.
“Ryo-chan told us, you know. Everything, Katou-kun. About your favors.”
The color drained from Katou’s face and Akanishi was shoving him against the wall.
“It’s gross. Ryo-chan’s so weird for being friends with some one like you. Do you still do it? Do you wait outside for some lonely guy to walk by and notice you?”
Katou, all of a sudden, came to his senses and pushed at Akanishi’s shoulders, “Please get out of the way!”
Akanishi laughed and grabbed Katou’s hands, pinning them against the wall, “You do! Don’t you! Gross, Katou-kun! Does Ryo-chan know? And after he went through all the trouble of getting you that part-time job with Nakagawa-sensei!”
Akanishi moved both Katou’s hand into one of his own and trailed the other down Katou’s chest, stopping at his belt buckle, “Why does Ryo-chan play with some one like you? What’s so great about this whore?”
In one move, Akanishi pulled off Katou’s belt and thrust his hand into Katou’s pants, roughly palming his crotch. Katou chocked and tried to pull away from Akanishi, squirming against the wall.
Akanishi leaned closer to Katou’s face, “Aw, is it no good unless it’s Ryo-chan? Not a very good whore, are you?”
Katou could feel the tears prickling at the corners of his eyes, “Please let go of me! Akanishi-san!”
But Akanishi didn’t let go, instead he kept rubbing at Katou, “You shouldn’t talk like that. People all over the country pray every day that they could be you in this situation!”
Katou took a heaving breath and tried to kick at Akanishi, who laughed again and pressed his leg between Katou’s, adding that friction to what his hand was already doing.
And then, there was a loud banging and knocking against the stall door, swearing and shouts of “Akanishi! You fucker!” And when Katou looked up over Akanishi’s head, he saw Nishikido trying to climb over the stall door, murder in his eyes.
“Aha. It looks like Ryo-chan found us! I don’t think we can play any more. Ryo-chan is short, but he’s really good at fighting.”
And disturbingly calmly, Akanishi let go of Katou, unlocked the stall door and opened it, Nishikido still trying to scramble up it. The main door to the bathroom opened, closed, and then Katou fell to the floor, sobbing. Nishikido was beside him instantly, pulling Katou into his arms and softly saying ‘Shige’ over and over. Nishikido rocked him, just the smallest bit, while Katou pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes and wiped at his face. Nishikido wanted to say something comforting to Katou, to somehow make this okay, but when he wracked his brain, nothing came to mind. Nothing was going to make this situation okay. So Nishikido grasped Katou’s by his arms and pulled the other up so they were standing. Katou’s hands were still covering his face, and Nishikido tugged at his wrists until Katou pulled them away. His eyes were puffy and red, cheeks covered in tears.
Nishikido pushed Katou’s hair out of his face, “I’m sorry. This is my fault.”
Katou didn’t say anything. He just kept looking at Nishikido, crying and hiccupping. Letting go of one wrist, Nishikido pulled Katou along behind him through the club. Katou followed close behind him, his free hand holding onto Nishikido’s shirt. As they were walking past the bar, neither of them saw Yamashita look over from their booth, confused and worried, sitting by himself. Outside, where there was more room, Nishikido put an arm over Katou’s shoulder and rubbed his arm, waiting for the valet to bring his car around. It was late now. The line was short - most people had either gotten in already or given up for the night - and no one really seemed to care to watch the pair. In the car, Katou curled up on the passenger seat, still crying softly and Nishikido drove keeping one eye on the road and the other on Katou. When Nishikido finally parked the car, he got out and went to the other side to get Katou, who got out slowly, and then looked around, confused.
“This is the parking garage for my apartment building.” He lifted a hand, stroked Katou’s hair a few times, “I don’t think you should be alone right now.”
Katou didn’t say anything, but reached out and took hold of Nishikido’s shirt again. Slowly, Nishikido led the way up his apartment, being extra careful, knowing that Katou wasn’t really watching where he was going. In the elevator, Nishikido put his arm back around Katou’s shoulder. When they got inside the apartment, Katou couldn’t even be bothered to be impressed with the view from the veranda or the three glossy guitars in stands next to the couch.
“Do you want to take a shower?”
Katou nodded. Nishikido left him standing in the hall for a moment before he came back with a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, handing them to Katou.
“They probably won’t fit you great but it’s something. There are towels on the counter. They’re clean. Let me know if you need anything.”
Nishikido opened the bathroom door for Katou, who went in and closed it behind him. He heard the water turn on and Nishikido collapsed on the couch, swearing. An hour later, Katou stepped out of the bathroom, hair half-wet, eyes looking bloodshot, but not looking directly at Nishikido.
Nishikido dropped the magazine he’d been flipping through and turned around on the couch, “Um… How are- uh, can I get you anything?”
Katou took a shuddering breath, deep but shakey and Nishikido was ready at the first sign of tears to jump over the couch to Katou.
“I,” he sniffled and held his hands to his chest, “I just want to go to bed.”
“Of course, of course. Here.” Nishikido jumped up and opened the door to the bedroom, “You can stay here.”
Katou walked up and stood in the doorway with Nishikido, looking into the room, “It’s so big.”
“I’ll be out here, so if you need anything, just open the door and tell me and I’ll get it for you. Anything, okay?”
For the first time in a while, he looked at Nishikido, “You’re staying out here?... Not… in the bedroom?”
“No, I thought you’d want…” Katou looked away from Nishikido, back in to the bedroom at the queen size bed, “Unless… would you rather I stay with you in here?”
Katou nodded and grabbed onto Nishikido’s hand. Had the night’s preceding events been different, Nishikido knew he would be smiling right now. If at any other time, Katou had indirectly asked him to stay and then held onto his hand, Nishikido would be ecstatic, but not like this. Akanishi needed to get the shit beaten out of him, but not right now, because Katou’s well-being was more important.
“Okay. Let me get changed.”
Normally, Nishikido was alone in his apartment and if he slept in any kind of clothing at all, it was just his boxers. But tonight, with Katou staying with him, he wasn’t going to do such a thing. Most likely, it would just make Katou uncomfortable and on edge, which was the last thing Nishikido intended. As he was slipping on a pairs of sweats, Nishikido heard Katou climb into the bed on the far side that didn’t have a table next to it - obviously not Nishikido’s preferred side. When he got into bed himself, Nishikido turned on his side towards Katou, who was already facing him.
“I’m sorry.”
Katou sniffled again.
“It’s my fault. Akanishi is a slutty drunk, but he’s never done anything-“
Katou tensed and shut his eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
Nishikido reached out and brushed the back of his hand across Katou’s cheek. Unexpectedly, Katou took Nishikido’s hand and held it in his.
“I’ll understand… if you don’t want to see me again.”
“I could never do that.” Katou whispered, “Because it was you that rescued me, Ryo-chan.”
Nishikido’s heart swelled at hearing his nickname for the first time, and then Katou took a deep breath and resigned himself to sleep.
-- -- --
In the morning, Nishikido received a text message from Akanishi.
SENT 10:03AM
FROM AKANISHI J.
What the hell happened last night? I woke up in the backseat of my car, in some random Shinjuku parking garage.
And Pi won’t answer my calls!
You said you wouldn’t let me drink too much! >: (
Nishikido was still mad though and wasn’t going to acknowledge Akanishi’s existence with an answer just yet. Katou was awake (the ringtone had roused him), but his head was still under the covers and he was fighting full consciousness. Nishikido was wide-awake though, so he got out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen to make coffee. He stood next to the machine, waiting for there to be enough in the pot for a cup’s worth. The bedroom door shut, and when Nishikido looked behind him, Katou was standing in the living room, looking at the guitars.
“Shige?”
“Sometimes,” Katou murmured, “I forget you're an idol. It sounds weird, but it’s hard to remember, because I knew you for a while before I found out.”
The coffee machine stopped dripping - it was done.
“We’re really different aren’t we?” Katou continued, “For you, spending a day sitting at home playing the guitar is work-related. But for me, it’s too leisurely to even think about. Normal people don’t have time like that. You guys have a lot of freedom, don’t you? To do what you want.”
“It’s not as great as it’s hyped up to be.” Nishikido pulled two mugs out of a cabinet, “I have to answer mundane questions about what my perfect girl is like and play obnoxious games on TV shows, stand still for minutes on end in weird poses for photographers. It sounds like a lot of freedom, but it’s not, Shige. You’d be surprised just how much my movements are controlled.” He poured the coffee and stirred in some cream, “Where I can go, who I can go with. I’m not even technically allowed to have a girlfriend. I’ve had some, we all have, but relationships don’t last very long. Girls don’t like hiding the fact their dating an idol.”
Katou moved to look out the window. They were high up - probably on the 20th floor or so. A block away there was a big park, and on the other side of that, it looked like there was an elementary school. He could see a small grocery store and a neighbor subway station. The streets were all clean.
“We’re really different.”
“Different is good.”
Katou moved to sit on the couch, “I’m troublesome for you. I know it.”
Nishikido sat down next Katou, handing him a cup of coffee, “I don’t mind a little trouble in my life.”
end
A/N: Uh, sorry if that was kind of… intense? I hope I didn’t upset any one… I’m really sorry if I did! It wasn’t my intent! I just really needed something drastic to happen in the plot so it stops being Ryo and Shige and becomes Ryo and Shige. When I outlined this chapter, I literally said to myself, “Do I even want to write this?” But then I did and had to ask myself, “Do I even want to post this?” I’m completely serious when I say that I had a debate with myself on whether or not I wanted this to be part of the Whore!verse.
I’d also like to state that I don’t think Akanishi is some kind of crazy molester. But we all know he’s a little slutty to begin with, so hypothetically, let’s pretend like it gets worse when he drinks. And he goes all, “I’m Akanishi Jin and I’m hot. Every one wants to fool around with me.”- crazy. What the hell. What did I do to Akanishi?
RATING: R
PAIRING: Ryo/Shige
WORD COUNT: 2,881
SUMMARY: Ryo has some crappy friends.
NOTES: Whore!verse part 6. warning! This chapter contains some non-consensual acts! Don’t read this unless you can handle it! It’s nothing huge on the scale or horribly graphic, but there’s some unwelcome touching.
Nishikido’s voice was fuzzy on the other end of the line, “It’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
“But…” Katou wrung his hands together, “But it’s probably not safe. I don’t want to be a burden.”
“Seriously. It’s… What? Wait. Stop… Hold on for a sec.” Katou heard Nishikido talk with some else, where ever he was for a minute in a low voice, before coming back to the phone, “It’ll be okay. These idiots have been bothering me about it for a while and I’m getting sick of listening. So just come with us.”
“But… you guys will be going to some flashy place, right? I just… I won’t be comfortable there. It’ll be like that time in Ginza. Please. I’ll just… I’ll just stay here and you go out with your friends-“
“Shige.” Katou blushed, even though he knew Nishikido wasn’t any where close by, “Come with me. I don’t want to deal with their stupidity on my own.”
“I would really rather-”
“Shige.”
Katou twitched in his seat on the floor and looked around the room nervously.
“Just a few drinks. They’ll get bored of you quickly and then we can ditch them and go do something more fun for you. How about karaoke?”
“… Okay.”
“Great.” Katou swore he could hear Nishikido smile, “I’ll come pick you up at 9:30, okay? I won’t bring my friends - they’ll meet us there.”
“Um, what should I wear? I don’t have much…”
“It’s you. Whatever is fine.”
-- -- --
There was a line around the corner to get into the bar - it was trendy and the bouncers outside the door were giant and spoke in heavily accented Japanese. Nishikido walked right up to them, ignoring the line and started talking with them. Katou stood behind him, wishing he could some how sink into the sidewalk and never be found again. People in line were looking over and around others, trying to get a glimpse at whoever was important enough to bypass the line. Katou prayed Nishikido wasn’t recognized. But before the camera phones could start flashing, they were ushered inside and a hostess took them up to a second floor loft, where two men waved at Nishikido and called him over. Katou followed behind him.
Nishikido stood next to the table, purposefully not sitting down, looking at the two men already there who were on opposite sides of the booth from each other, “One of you needs to move.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
The man with longer hair laughed and moved to the other side. Nishikido sat down on the empty side, and Katou did the same. The two other men looked between Nishikido and Katou, grinning.
Nishikido sighed, “Katou, this is Yamashita and Akanishi. They’re stupid, but basically harmless. And now they no longer have any reason to bug me about meeting you.”
“Call me ‘Pi’!”
“And I’m Jin!”
“Um, hello. It’s nice to meet you.” Katou bowed as much as he could in the seat.
Yamashita frowned a little, “Doesn’t Katou-kun have something more familiar than just ‘Katou’?”
“Not for you idiots.”
The two of them laughed and Akanishi looked towards Katou, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but when Ryo-chan is mean like that, it means he loves you.”
“Ryo-chan has a lot of love!” Yamashita whispered across the table.
“I hate you guys.”
The waitress walked up, asking for their orders.
“Beer.”
“Beer.”
“Long Island Iced Tea.”
She turned to Katou, “And you?
Katou twisted his hands together under the table, “Um…”
“He’ll have a scotch. On the rocks.”
She bowed and walked away. Katou turned to Nishikido, an unhappy look on his face, but Nishikido just smiled back.
“Ryo-chan and Katou-kun are so tough, aren’t they?”
“Yeah!” Yamashita said cheerfully, “We just got beer and they ordered hard drinks.” He smiled, “I feel like a wuss now.”
The drinks came and the three idols chatted away, occasionally asking for Katou’s input. For his part, Katou just wanted to leave. The bar was smokey and even though the dance floor was on the other side of the club, the music was loud and gave him a headache. He was nervous and awkward. He was wearing the same thing as a lot of the people in the club - ripped jeans and a vintage t-shirt. The difference being Katou’s weren’t artfully ripped (he’d tripped a few months ago and fell on the sidewalk) and his vintage shirt was from his father’s closet and not an expensive second-hand boutique. When he got bored of half-listening to the conversation, he’d look around the bar and see if any one had recognized the three idols and wondered who the kid sitting with them was. He appreciated their efforts to include him in the conversation, but he didn’t see what the point was. They were talking about the new line of sunglasses from Louis Vuitton and before that it had been an epic debate on which female star was the biggest bitch.
Katou sighed and stood up, “I’ll be right back.”
Nishikido looked concerned, “Where are you going?”
“To the restroom.”
Katou left after that, before Nishikido could say something like, ‘I’ll go with you’ and tag along. He waded around tables and asked a waitress, who pointed him to a pair of doors in the back, one labeled with a masculine caricature, the other with a feminine. As Katou was washing his hands, the door opened and Akanishi walked in, only a step.
“I thought I’d join you.” Akanishi smiled, “Once you mentioned it, I realized that I needed to go to the bathroom too. Isn’t that funny?”
Akanishi stood next to the doorframe and didn’t move.
Katou dried his hands off on a towel and then threw it into a small basket under the counter, “Oh… okay. Do you want me to wait for you? So we can walk back?”
Akanishi smirked and very slowly started moving towards Katou, who noticed how much bigger than him Akanishi was. Katou suddenly felt very worried about this situation. He placed a hand on Katou’s shoulder, but kept moving, forcing Katou to walk backwards.
“Sure. You can wait for me. That sounds good.”
Akanishi pushed Katou, hard, and he fell backwards, knocking a stall door open and just barely catching himself on the wall. Katou looked up, terrified, and Akanishi stepped into the stall after Katou, locking it shut and blocking the way out.
“Ryo-chan told us, you know. Everything, Katou-kun. About your favors.”
The color drained from Katou’s face and Akanishi was shoving him against the wall.
“It’s gross. Ryo-chan’s so weird for being friends with some one like you. Do you still do it? Do you wait outside for some lonely guy to walk by and notice you?”
Katou, all of a sudden, came to his senses and pushed at Akanishi’s shoulders, “Please get out of the way!”
Akanishi laughed and grabbed Katou’s hands, pinning them against the wall, “You do! Don’t you! Gross, Katou-kun! Does Ryo-chan know? And after he went through all the trouble of getting you that part-time job with Nakagawa-sensei!”
Akanishi moved both Katou’s hand into one of his own and trailed the other down Katou’s chest, stopping at his belt buckle, “Why does Ryo-chan play with some one like you? What’s so great about this whore?”
In one move, Akanishi pulled off Katou’s belt and thrust his hand into Katou’s pants, roughly palming his crotch. Katou chocked and tried to pull away from Akanishi, squirming against the wall.
Akanishi leaned closer to Katou’s face, “Aw, is it no good unless it’s Ryo-chan? Not a very good whore, are you?”
Katou could feel the tears prickling at the corners of his eyes, “Please let go of me! Akanishi-san!”
But Akanishi didn’t let go, instead he kept rubbing at Katou, “You shouldn’t talk like that. People all over the country pray every day that they could be you in this situation!”
Katou took a heaving breath and tried to kick at Akanishi, who laughed again and pressed his leg between Katou’s, adding that friction to what his hand was already doing.
And then, there was a loud banging and knocking against the stall door, swearing and shouts of “Akanishi! You fucker!” And when Katou looked up over Akanishi’s head, he saw Nishikido trying to climb over the stall door, murder in his eyes.
“Aha. It looks like Ryo-chan found us! I don’t think we can play any more. Ryo-chan is short, but he’s really good at fighting.”
And disturbingly calmly, Akanishi let go of Katou, unlocked the stall door and opened it, Nishikido still trying to scramble up it. The main door to the bathroom opened, closed, and then Katou fell to the floor, sobbing. Nishikido was beside him instantly, pulling Katou into his arms and softly saying ‘Shige’ over and over. Nishikido rocked him, just the smallest bit, while Katou pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes and wiped at his face. Nishikido wanted to say something comforting to Katou, to somehow make this okay, but when he wracked his brain, nothing came to mind. Nothing was going to make this situation okay. So Nishikido grasped Katou’s by his arms and pulled the other up so they were standing. Katou’s hands were still covering his face, and Nishikido tugged at his wrists until Katou pulled them away. His eyes were puffy and red, cheeks covered in tears.
Nishikido pushed Katou’s hair out of his face, “I’m sorry. This is my fault.”
Katou didn’t say anything. He just kept looking at Nishikido, crying and hiccupping. Letting go of one wrist, Nishikido pulled Katou along behind him through the club. Katou followed close behind him, his free hand holding onto Nishikido’s shirt. As they were walking past the bar, neither of them saw Yamashita look over from their booth, confused and worried, sitting by himself. Outside, where there was more room, Nishikido put an arm over Katou’s shoulder and rubbed his arm, waiting for the valet to bring his car around. It was late now. The line was short - most people had either gotten in already or given up for the night - and no one really seemed to care to watch the pair. In the car, Katou curled up on the passenger seat, still crying softly and Nishikido drove keeping one eye on the road and the other on Katou. When Nishikido finally parked the car, he got out and went to the other side to get Katou, who got out slowly, and then looked around, confused.
“This is the parking garage for my apartment building.” He lifted a hand, stroked Katou’s hair a few times, “I don’t think you should be alone right now.”
Katou didn’t say anything, but reached out and took hold of Nishikido’s shirt again. Slowly, Nishikido led the way up his apartment, being extra careful, knowing that Katou wasn’t really watching where he was going. In the elevator, Nishikido put his arm back around Katou’s shoulder. When they got inside the apartment, Katou couldn’t even be bothered to be impressed with the view from the veranda or the three glossy guitars in stands next to the couch.
“Do you want to take a shower?”
Katou nodded. Nishikido left him standing in the hall for a moment before he came back with a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, handing them to Katou.
“They probably won’t fit you great but it’s something. There are towels on the counter. They’re clean. Let me know if you need anything.”
Nishikido opened the bathroom door for Katou, who went in and closed it behind him. He heard the water turn on and Nishikido collapsed on the couch, swearing. An hour later, Katou stepped out of the bathroom, hair half-wet, eyes looking bloodshot, but not looking directly at Nishikido.
Nishikido dropped the magazine he’d been flipping through and turned around on the couch, “Um… How are- uh, can I get you anything?”
Katou took a shuddering breath, deep but shakey and Nishikido was ready at the first sign of tears to jump over the couch to Katou.
“I,” he sniffled and held his hands to his chest, “I just want to go to bed.”
“Of course, of course. Here.” Nishikido jumped up and opened the door to the bedroom, “You can stay here.”
Katou walked up and stood in the doorway with Nishikido, looking into the room, “It’s so big.”
“I’ll be out here, so if you need anything, just open the door and tell me and I’ll get it for you. Anything, okay?”
For the first time in a while, he looked at Nishikido, “You’re staying out here?... Not… in the bedroom?”
“No, I thought you’d want…” Katou looked away from Nishikido, back in to the bedroom at the queen size bed, “Unless… would you rather I stay with you in here?”
Katou nodded and grabbed onto Nishikido’s hand. Had the night’s preceding events been different, Nishikido knew he would be smiling right now. If at any other time, Katou had indirectly asked him to stay and then held onto his hand, Nishikido would be ecstatic, but not like this. Akanishi needed to get the shit beaten out of him, but not right now, because Katou’s well-being was more important.
“Okay. Let me get changed.”
Normally, Nishikido was alone in his apartment and if he slept in any kind of clothing at all, it was just his boxers. But tonight, with Katou staying with him, he wasn’t going to do such a thing. Most likely, it would just make Katou uncomfortable and on edge, which was the last thing Nishikido intended. As he was slipping on a pairs of sweats, Nishikido heard Katou climb into the bed on the far side that didn’t have a table next to it - obviously not Nishikido’s preferred side. When he got into bed himself, Nishikido turned on his side towards Katou, who was already facing him.
“I’m sorry.”
Katou sniffled again.
“It’s my fault. Akanishi is a slutty drunk, but he’s never done anything-“
Katou tensed and shut his eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
Nishikido reached out and brushed the back of his hand across Katou’s cheek. Unexpectedly, Katou took Nishikido’s hand and held it in his.
“I’ll understand… if you don’t want to see me again.”
“I could never do that.” Katou whispered, “Because it was you that rescued me, Ryo-chan.”
Nishikido’s heart swelled at hearing his nickname for the first time, and then Katou took a deep breath and resigned himself to sleep.
-- -- --
In the morning, Nishikido received a text message from Akanishi.
SENT 10:03AM
FROM AKANISHI J.
What the hell happened last night? I woke up in the backseat of my car, in some random Shinjuku parking garage.
And Pi won’t answer my calls!
You said you wouldn’t let me drink too much! >: (
Nishikido was still mad though and wasn’t going to acknowledge Akanishi’s existence with an answer just yet. Katou was awake (the ringtone had roused him), but his head was still under the covers and he was fighting full consciousness. Nishikido was wide-awake though, so he got out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen to make coffee. He stood next to the machine, waiting for there to be enough in the pot for a cup’s worth. The bedroom door shut, and when Nishikido looked behind him, Katou was standing in the living room, looking at the guitars.
“Shige?”
“Sometimes,” Katou murmured, “I forget you're an idol. It sounds weird, but it’s hard to remember, because I knew you for a while before I found out.”
The coffee machine stopped dripping - it was done.
“We’re really different aren’t we?” Katou continued, “For you, spending a day sitting at home playing the guitar is work-related. But for me, it’s too leisurely to even think about. Normal people don’t have time like that. You guys have a lot of freedom, don’t you? To do what you want.”
“It’s not as great as it’s hyped up to be.” Nishikido pulled two mugs out of a cabinet, “I have to answer mundane questions about what my perfect girl is like and play obnoxious games on TV shows, stand still for minutes on end in weird poses for photographers. It sounds like a lot of freedom, but it’s not, Shige. You’d be surprised just how much my movements are controlled.” He poured the coffee and stirred in some cream, “Where I can go, who I can go with. I’m not even technically allowed to have a girlfriend. I’ve had some, we all have, but relationships don’t last very long. Girls don’t like hiding the fact their dating an idol.”
Katou moved to look out the window. They were high up - probably on the 20th floor or so. A block away there was a big park, and on the other side of that, it looked like there was an elementary school. He could see a small grocery store and a neighbor subway station. The streets were all clean.
“We’re really different.”
“Different is good.”
Katou moved to sit on the couch, “I’m troublesome for you. I know it.”
Nishikido sat down next Katou, handing him a cup of coffee, “I don’t mind a little trouble in my life.”
end
A/N: Uh, sorry if that was kind of… intense? I hope I didn’t upset any one… I’m really sorry if I did! It wasn’t my intent! I just really needed something drastic to happen in the plot so it stops being Ryo and Shige and becomes Ryo and Shige. When I outlined this chapter, I literally said to myself, “Do I even want to write this?” But then I did and had to ask myself, “Do I even want to post this?” I’m completely serious when I say that I had a debate with myself on whether or not I wanted this to be part of the Whore!verse.
I’d also like to state that I don’t think Akanishi is some kind of crazy molester. But we all know he’s a little slutty to begin with, so hypothetically, let’s pretend like it gets worse when he drinks. And he goes all, “I’m Akanishi Jin and I’m hot. Every one wants to fool around with me.”- crazy. What the hell. What did I do to Akanishi?