Waiting for the Sun to Set, And Then for it to Rise
TITLE: Waiting for the Sun to Set, And Then for it to Rise
RATING: G
PAIRING: Ryo/Shige
WORD COUNT: 3,160
SUMMARY: The shit hits the fan. Ryo doesn’t care. Shige does.
NOTES: Whore!verse part 8! I can’t believe it!
Shige is standing next to his oven, drinking a cup of tea, thinking about how good the day is going to be. It’s sunny outside, fairly warm too. Last night, he was on a roll and finished all the reading for the next three days. His morning class got cancelled so he could sleep in, and his fridge is well stocked. Shige is ready for today. He doesn’t realize there’s something on his doorstep, until he steps on it. It makes a crinkling noise and when he looks down, there’s a thin newspaper. When he leans down to pick it up, he’s close enough to read the print and he chokes.
Is popular idol Nishikido Ryo’s sexuality in question?!
Seen outside a Tokyo club hugging another man and getting in a car!
Exclusive photos!
Shige jumps back inside, slams the door shut and spends the rest of the day in bed.
-- -- --
Ironically enough, Ryo is in nearly the same situation. Except he’s in a conference room in a Tokyo high rise with Johnny and Mary Kitagawa, sitting at the far end and Ryo is more afraid of them now than all his other years of being in the company combined.
“I thought it would be a good idea to speak with you before the lawyers write the press release.” Mary finally says, “What is this, Nishikido-kun?”
She throws the gossip paper on the table, only halfway to where Ryo is. He doesn’t bother reaching for it - he’s already seen it.
Nishikido takes a deep breath, “He’s a friend. It’s… it’s nothing like that.”
“And what about the interviews with his neighbors? They say he’s a male whore and you’ve been to his apartment. Several times.”
“He’s not a whore.” Nishikido stops himself before he says ‘anymore’.
Johnny rubs his face with his hands, “It doesn’t matter who’s speaking the truth here. It’s been put in print. People are going to talk about it. It can’t be avoided.”
Mary turns to her brother, “Something has to be done here! We can’t let these rumors get out of hand!”
“They’re all ready out of hand, Mary. There’s not much that can be done. We can’t deny every idol here from having friends outside the business. It’s unreasonable.” Johnny looks up, “He’s just a friend?”
Ryo nods, slowly, and as Johnny looks at him, he feels like the old man knows, but isn’t going to say anything.
“Alright. You can go now.”
Nishikido gets up and leaves. The second the door closes, Johnny closes his eyes and leans back in his chair.
“You’re seriously not going to just let this slide!”
“No, something will be said. Besides, we’ve been marketing the questionable sexuality of our tops stars for years now. Something like this was bound to happen sooner or later.”
-- -- --
The rumor of one of Johnny’s biggest stars being, at the least bisexual, is the news of the day and every one waits for the company’s statement. But the press release is far different from what every one following the story was expecting. Generally, with any kind of relationship rumors, it is firmly denied, but this time, the denial is blurry.
It admits, yes, Nishikido was outside that club that night, and yes, he kind of was hugging another man. But that doesn’t mean anything - Johnny’s are known for being touchy with other. Nishikido was with him and drove him home. The pair are friends, and Nishikido counts on his non-idol friend to keep him grounded and not get too full of himself. On the rumors of the other man being a whore, they are, of course denied. The gossiping of bored wives can not be taken as truth. At the end of the release is a message from Nishikido, that at the last minute, Johnny allowed to be published with it:
“I’m asking every one, to please, please, leave my friend alone. This is hard for him. I know it. Give him his privacy. I accepted that people would talk about me when I joined Johnny’s. But my friend is just a normal person. It’s not fair to him.”
No where in the release is Katou’s name mentioned.
-- -- --
Shige hasn’t moved for hours. He’s too frightened. His phone has been ringing off the hook - probably Nishikido, but Shige just can’t talk to him right now. He probably shouldn’t ever talk to him again. Every time they’ve gone somewhere together, Nishikido has been risking his career. It was Shige’s fault this happened, and he knew it. All those times, he should have been more firm in not going out. Not going to the mall. Not going out to dinner that one night when Nishikido called him in the middle of studying. Not going out drinking. That’s where this whole mess started. If he could have been able to say, “No. I’m busy. Go with your friends and have fun without me.” and sound like he actually meant it, then this wouldn’t have happened.
Shige hiccups and rolls over. His phone is ringing again. He prays his parents don’t see the paper. It would only make this situation worse. He’s hungry, but he doesn’t want to get up. He doesn’t ever want to step outside his apartment again. He’ll have to see that paper. It’s sitting on his doorstep. Mocking him with every letter and picture.You thought you were good enough to be with Nishikido Ryo? The Nishikido Ryo?, it says, How pompus. You’re a no one. Some poor college student, barely scraping by with your part-time job. Which you only got because of Nishikido’s pity. Shige bites his lip. Nishikido is meant to date pretty girls with big boobs, who’ll giggle and hang on his arm. He’s an idol. He sings and dances and acts and women all over the country dream about him. Women.
-- -- --
Yamashita’s been looking for him all morning, and he finally finds Nishikido in a little used dressing room, alone. He’s lying on the couch, face down, cell phone on the nearby coffee table. Yamashita doesn’t need to see Nishikido’s face to know the other man is miserable.
“Ryo-chan?”
“Go away, Pi.”
“What are you going to do?”
Nishikido doesn’t answer.
“Katou-kun feels horrible, I’m sure. I could tell, at the bar. Even though he didn’t talk much. It was obviously he thought Ryo-chan was too good to be hanging out with him.”
“Shut up. You don’t know anything.”
“What are you going to do?”
“… I want to see Shige.”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea? Right now… it’s…”
“I know. I know, Pi. But that doesn’t make it any easier.”
Pi sighed and reached over to rub Nishikido’s shoulder, “He’s not taking this well.”
“I hope to hell he wasn’t at class when the news broke.”
-- -- --
All the groups with interviews that day were briefed by their managers - answer no questions about the Nishikido rumors. Not one. Arashi dodges the questions on Music Station like they’d seen it coming a mile away - and they had. Hey!Say!JUMP was on a Zoomin feature, but the hosts didn’t have it in their heart to ask a bunch of kids about it. On Utaban, Nakai knows to not even bring it up, and if his guests do, to shoot it down. It’s 2pm and there’s only one more filming off a talk show for the day - KAT-TUN on Utawara. And Akanishi blows it.
“So,” the host smiles a little bit, “what are all these Nishikido-kun rumors about? I know he’s not in your group but…”
“We really don’t know anything.” Kamenashi says flatly.
“Well, theoretically, what do you think about such a thing?”
“Um, you know, idols…” Nakamaru doesn’t really know where he was going with that, and just trails off.
“I think the whole thing is mean!” Koki kicks Akanishi in the back of the leg, trying to shut him up, “I met Ryo-chan’s friend! He’s really nice!”
The host is almost drooling, he’s getting an exclusive, “And?”
“And hugging isn’t a big deal!” He leans over and pulls Taguchi into a headlock like it’s the same thing, Koki is still kicking him, “And those housewives are wrong! Ryo-chan’s friend is really smart. Smart people don’t do things like that.”
That part of the interview is cut out. But the entire crew and the studio audience heard it and that night, message boards and blogs are filled with paraphrased versions of Akanishi’s outburst. People start to think, maybe, they shouldn’t have jumped to such a conclusion so quickly.
-- -- --
Katou spent two days lying in bed. He only got up a few times to go to the bathroom and didn’t really eat anything during that time. If he’d had his way, he would still be in bed, except that he had a test that he couldn’t miss. ‘I’m scared of crazy rumor-mongers’ didn’t sound like a good enough excuse to him. Opening his front door was the most terrifying moment of the whole thing. First, just the tiniest bit to see if it was still there. But it wasn’t, so he opened the door the whole way and poked his head out. There was no one in the courtyard, or really any where he could see. As fast as he could, Katou stepped out, locked his door and ran.
When he got to campus, he stayed off the main paths. Took the long way around buildings and the stairs up to the fifth floor so he could avoid as many people as possible. In the lecture hall, he came in the side door and sat in a back corner. The other students already in the room, and the ones that filed in later, didn’t seem to pay him much attention. They talked to their friends, or looked over notes, made plans for later when the test was done. When the professor came around the passed out the test, he didn’t seem to care that Katou had missed the last class.
The test went fine, only because he’d been able to read ahead the other day. On his way out, Katou didn’t have to worry about avoiding people in the halls and elevator - classes were still technically in session. When he got outside, Katou turned his phone back on, just to have it start vibrating furiously and beeping. The outside screen said, ‘VOICE INBOX FULL’. He stopped next to a building, leaning against it and zoning out. Katou opened his phone to check and held it to his ear, and was barraged by messages.
“Shige, it’s-“ Delete.
“Shige, I kno-“ Delete.
“Shige! Ans-“ Delete.
“Fucking an-“ Delete.
“Stop avoid-“ Delete.
“I really wan-“ Delete.
“Please pic-“ Delete.
“Don’t be li-“ Delete.
“For the love of-“ Delete.
“Shige,” that one, he heard in stereo, but he deleted it even though it sounded funny.
“Shige, look at me.”
He couldn’t, and the next message kept going, “I know you’re not mad. That’s not like you. I am, but not at you… Definitely not at you. Shige, this isn’t any one’s fault. It’s just bad luck. I’m sorry it happened though.”
“Shige.”
“I’m sorry that it happened to you.”
“I’m serious.” And then there was a body in front of his, and a hand was pulling the phone away from him, closing it, “Shige.”
He still couldn’t look up, “I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
“That once I look at you, you’ll leave. That everything will end.”
A hand reached out and tucked some hair behind his ear, “I’m not going anywhere. Didn’t you hear any of my messages?”
Katou shook his head.
“I’ve been calling you for days. I bought you that phone so you’d pick it up…. Nothing’s changed.”
“Everything’s changed.”
The hand was on his shoulder now, the thumb rubbing at the collar of his shirt, “Two days doesn’t seem like a lot of time. But every day there’s a new scandal in the entertainment business. It’s forgotten, Shige.”
Katou didn’t say anything.
“Is there some where around here that’s more private?”
Katou nodded and got up from against the wall, leading the way. He didn’t pull Nishikido along with him. He led them to the foreign language building on campus. Most of the classes there were in the morning - it was afternoon already - so it would be easier to find an empty room there. They lucked out on the second floor with an empty meeting room; Katou locked the door behind them, just in case. But once he turned around, Nishikido was there, pulling him into a tight hug.
“Shige.”
He reached up, tentatively, and grabbed onto Nishikido’s jacket.
“Don’t hide from me again. Maybe you can deal with it, but I can’t. Every one within the company grilled me on it and lectured me about this kind of stuff, but I sat through it and dealt with the criticisms. And I got through it, because I said to myself, ‘Shige’s doing worse than I am right now’ and ‘Shige will be waiting for me.’ I really needed you on Tuesday. You should have answered your phone.”
“I was right. All those times… I’m just trouble for you. Your career.”
Nishikido shook his head, just a little, “It doesn’t matter. How often do I have to say this? I don’t care if my life gets difficult or I have to deal with photos like that. As long as you’re the one making my life difficult and you’re with me in those pictures, then I can deal with it.”
Shige swallowed and tightened his grip on the jacket.
“I’m miserable without you.” Nishikido leaned his head against Katou’s, “Shit, Shige. I think I…”
But he couldn’t finish the sentence. It didn’t matter though, because Katou knew what he was going to say, what he wanted to say and he knows it’s not easy. So Katou takes the pressure away from Nishikido. He lays his head down on Nishikido’s shoulder and presses a kiss onto his collar bone through the shirt. Warmth spreads through Nishikido’s body and he feels every emotion contained within that small kiss. But most of all, he can feel the message behind it - I know I love you.
-- -- --
After a week, no one is talking about Nishikido’s scandal - there are new, better things going on. Johnny smiles in his office, looking out the window. He told the lawyers, ‘Write a vague press release. They’re friends. Leave it just a tiny bit open.’ It was all part of his plan, and it worked, perfectly. Now that the shock of it is all gone, the women of Japan think it’s adorable. Nishikido takes his not-idol friend out to nice places, comforts him when women shoot him down (they made up that part) and doesn’t treat him like an inferior. Kanjani8 sales are up.
Of course, Nishikido got the generic, ‘we don’t care what you do in your free time, just don’t get your picture taken while you’re going it’-speech. He’s taken it to heart. He’s still touchy with Katou in public - the women eat it up - but too a lesser extent. Its casual punches on the shoulder, ruffling Katou’s hair, wiping food off his face when he keeps missing. They’re all little things, but after every one, Katou smiles and laughs a little, because they are reminders that Nishikido is still with him. And that makes Nishikido smile too.
For Nishikido, no one brings it up at work. They all know he has a weirdly close relationship with his ‘friend,’ but for the people that matter, they still see Nishikido as the short guy with the bad temper. Besides, weirdly close relationships are normal to Johnny’s - Yamashita and Akanishi, Yasuda and Shibutani, Tegoshi and Masuda. Occasionally, Ohkura will poke at Nishikido and say, ‘Who’s this guy who can stand you? He should win a medal.’ The juniors don’t really bother with remembering at all. Nishikido is their senpai, so he’s a person to be respected, whether or not he has a questionable lifestyle after-hours.
When Katou goes back to work for Nakagawa, he feels really awkward. But Nakagawa picks up on that and smiles, “People at their most basic level are still people, Katou-kun. In the art profession, I’ve met a lot of bisexual and homosexual people. And yeah, some of them are kind of flamboyant, but their personal life is none of my business. Just as mine is none of their’s.”
-- -- --
A month later. Saturday. 3:30pm. Nishikido’s replacing a broken string on one of his guitars and retuning it. Katou’s reading a textbook, several handouts spread out around him on the couch. There’s fish in the fridge, even though Nishikido hates it. Three of Katou’s jackets are hanging up in the hallway closet. There’s a drawer in the bedroom where he keeps some clothes. There’s so little space between them, but there’s no rush to fill it in. Things move slowly, but not because of awkwardness - because of comfort. They sleep in the same bed, where ever they are, and go places together when their schedules match up and they have the time.
Katou’s name is still unknown by the mass public. Johnny’s fans spaz when they hear a report of the Nishikido and his ‘friend’ being sighted in Shibuya together. Nishikido tried making Katou wear hats and sunglasses so they wouldn’t get recognized as easily, but it impedes on Katou’s vision and he bumps into things. Nishikido gave up on it pretty quickly. Besides Yamashita and Akanishi, there are a select few within Johnny’s who know Katou’s name. Nishikido treats it as a secret and doesn’t like it when they ask him, ‘How’s Katou-kun doing?’ like they know him - because they don’t. Nishikido has partially forgiven Akanishi for defending Katou on TV, but only partially. He’s sure Katou’s in no rush to ever see the other man again. So when Yamashita whines about how Nishikido never brings Katou out with them any more, he tells them Katou’s time is too valuable to be wasted. Yamashita says it’s because he doesn’t want to share Katou.
Nishikido and Katou each know the others’ limit. When there’s a big test or paper coming up, Nishikido knows he shouldn’t bother Katou. He knows that Katou needs to study and be alone so he can concentrate. But, he doesn’t always do what he knows he should do, so he parks two blocks away, sneaks up the stairs and kicks Katou’s door because his hands are filled with take-out boxes. And Katou has learned how to read Nishikido’s moods. Even when he’s snappy and a normal person would think, ‘Oh, I should go.’ Katou knows Nishikido’s words means the opposite. He wants some one to sit next to him and hug him or lie with him in bed and hold him. Some one who will stay with him. So Katou does.
end
A/N: Hey guys~ Thank you all for reading this far and for all the comments! ♥ ♥ I was surprised to get so many since the plot-bunny came about while I was sick in bed and I only meant for it to be a oneshot so I could get the idea out of my head.
This chapter took me a long time to write, even with an outline. I really wanted to resolve where their relationship was going. It’s still a little vague, but it’s better than the ‘Ryo paid Shige for a blowjob, then got him a job and they fooled around and Ryo bought him a phone’ thing that was going. It needed a pseudo-resolution. I’m leaving it open for now and I’m not sure about how many other chapters there might end up being.... There are still drabbles I want to write. There have been some epic comment discussions about it :3
Also, I’m going on vacation Monday, so there won’t be any updates from me for about two weeks. Sorry? I have about 30 hours worth of flights though, so probably, I’ll come back with a bajillion drabbles and some more whore!verse. Yeah, knowing I was leaving for two weeks was part of the reason I was updating like crazy - I wanted to get to a good stopping pausing point.
RATING: G
PAIRING: Ryo/Shige
WORD COUNT: 3,160
SUMMARY: The shit hits the fan. Ryo doesn’t care. Shige does.
NOTES: Whore!verse part 8! I can’t believe it!
Shige is standing next to his oven, drinking a cup of tea, thinking about how good the day is going to be. It’s sunny outside, fairly warm too. Last night, he was on a roll and finished all the reading for the next three days. His morning class got cancelled so he could sleep in, and his fridge is well stocked. Shige is ready for today. He doesn’t realize there’s something on his doorstep, until he steps on it. It makes a crinkling noise and when he looks down, there’s a thin newspaper. When he leans down to pick it up, he’s close enough to read the print and he chokes.
Is popular idol Nishikido Ryo’s sexuality in question?!
Seen outside a Tokyo club hugging another man and getting in a car!
Exclusive photos!
Shige jumps back inside, slams the door shut and spends the rest of the day in bed.
-- -- --
Ironically enough, Ryo is in nearly the same situation. Except he’s in a conference room in a Tokyo high rise with Johnny and Mary Kitagawa, sitting at the far end and Ryo is more afraid of them now than all his other years of being in the company combined.
“I thought it would be a good idea to speak with you before the lawyers write the press release.” Mary finally says, “What is this, Nishikido-kun?”
She throws the gossip paper on the table, only halfway to where Ryo is. He doesn’t bother reaching for it - he’s already seen it.
Nishikido takes a deep breath, “He’s a friend. It’s… it’s nothing like that.”
“And what about the interviews with his neighbors? They say he’s a male whore and you’ve been to his apartment. Several times.”
“He’s not a whore.” Nishikido stops himself before he says ‘anymore’.
Johnny rubs his face with his hands, “It doesn’t matter who’s speaking the truth here. It’s been put in print. People are going to talk about it. It can’t be avoided.”
Mary turns to her brother, “Something has to be done here! We can’t let these rumors get out of hand!”
“They’re all ready out of hand, Mary. There’s not much that can be done. We can’t deny every idol here from having friends outside the business. It’s unreasonable.” Johnny looks up, “He’s just a friend?”
Ryo nods, slowly, and as Johnny looks at him, he feels like the old man knows, but isn’t going to say anything.
“Alright. You can go now.”
Nishikido gets up and leaves. The second the door closes, Johnny closes his eyes and leans back in his chair.
“You’re seriously not going to just let this slide!”
“No, something will be said. Besides, we’ve been marketing the questionable sexuality of our tops stars for years now. Something like this was bound to happen sooner or later.”
-- -- --
The rumor of one of Johnny’s biggest stars being, at the least bisexual, is the news of the day and every one waits for the company’s statement. But the press release is far different from what every one following the story was expecting. Generally, with any kind of relationship rumors, it is firmly denied, but this time, the denial is blurry.
It admits, yes, Nishikido was outside that club that night, and yes, he kind of was hugging another man. But that doesn’t mean anything - Johnny’s are known for being touchy with other. Nishikido was with him and drove him home. The pair are friends, and Nishikido counts on his non-idol friend to keep him grounded and not get too full of himself. On the rumors of the other man being a whore, they are, of course denied. The gossiping of bored wives can not be taken as truth. At the end of the release is a message from Nishikido, that at the last minute, Johnny allowed to be published with it:
“I’m asking every one, to please, please, leave my friend alone. This is hard for him. I know it. Give him his privacy. I accepted that people would talk about me when I joined Johnny’s. But my friend is just a normal person. It’s not fair to him.”
No where in the release is Katou’s name mentioned.
-- -- --
Shige hasn’t moved for hours. He’s too frightened. His phone has been ringing off the hook - probably Nishikido, but Shige just can’t talk to him right now. He probably shouldn’t ever talk to him again. Every time they’ve gone somewhere together, Nishikido has been risking his career. It was Shige’s fault this happened, and he knew it. All those times, he should have been more firm in not going out. Not going to the mall. Not going out to dinner that one night when Nishikido called him in the middle of studying. Not going out drinking. That’s where this whole mess started. If he could have been able to say, “No. I’m busy. Go with your friends and have fun without me.” and sound like he actually meant it, then this wouldn’t have happened.
Shige hiccups and rolls over. His phone is ringing again. He prays his parents don’t see the paper. It would only make this situation worse. He’s hungry, but he doesn’t want to get up. He doesn’t ever want to step outside his apartment again. He’ll have to see that paper. It’s sitting on his doorstep. Mocking him with every letter and picture.You thought you were good enough to be with Nishikido Ryo? The Nishikido Ryo?, it says, How pompus. You’re a no one. Some poor college student, barely scraping by with your part-time job. Which you only got because of Nishikido’s pity. Shige bites his lip. Nishikido is meant to date pretty girls with big boobs, who’ll giggle and hang on his arm. He’s an idol. He sings and dances and acts and women all over the country dream about him. Women.
-- -- --
Yamashita’s been looking for him all morning, and he finally finds Nishikido in a little used dressing room, alone. He’s lying on the couch, face down, cell phone on the nearby coffee table. Yamashita doesn’t need to see Nishikido’s face to know the other man is miserable.
“Ryo-chan?”
“Go away, Pi.”
“What are you going to do?”
Nishikido doesn’t answer.
“Katou-kun feels horrible, I’m sure. I could tell, at the bar. Even though he didn’t talk much. It was obviously he thought Ryo-chan was too good to be hanging out with him.”
“Shut up. You don’t know anything.”
“What are you going to do?”
“… I want to see Shige.”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea? Right now… it’s…”
“I know. I know, Pi. But that doesn’t make it any easier.”
Pi sighed and reached over to rub Nishikido’s shoulder, “He’s not taking this well.”
“I hope to hell he wasn’t at class when the news broke.”
-- -- --
All the groups with interviews that day were briefed by their managers - answer no questions about the Nishikido rumors. Not one. Arashi dodges the questions on Music Station like they’d seen it coming a mile away - and they had. Hey!Say!JUMP was on a Zoomin feature, but the hosts didn’t have it in their heart to ask a bunch of kids about it. On Utaban, Nakai knows to not even bring it up, and if his guests do, to shoot it down. It’s 2pm and there’s only one more filming off a talk show for the day - KAT-TUN on Utawara. And Akanishi blows it.
“So,” the host smiles a little bit, “what are all these Nishikido-kun rumors about? I know he’s not in your group but…”
“We really don’t know anything.” Kamenashi says flatly.
“Well, theoretically, what do you think about such a thing?”
“Um, you know, idols…” Nakamaru doesn’t really know where he was going with that, and just trails off.
“I think the whole thing is mean!” Koki kicks Akanishi in the back of the leg, trying to shut him up, “I met Ryo-chan’s friend! He’s really nice!”
The host is almost drooling, he’s getting an exclusive, “And?”
“And hugging isn’t a big deal!” He leans over and pulls Taguchi into a headlock like it’s the same thing, Koki is still kicking him, “And those housewives are wrong! Ryo-chan’s friend is really smart. Smart people don’t do things like that.”
That part of the interview is cut out. But the entire crew and the studio audience heard it and that night, message boards and blogs are filled with paraphrased versions of Akanishi’s outburst. People start to think, maybe, they shouldn’t have jumped to such a conclusion so quickly.
-- -- --
Katou spent two days lying in bed. He only got up a few times to go to the bathroom and didn’t really eat anything during that time. If he’d had his way, he would still be in bed, except that he had a test that he couldn’t miss. ‘I’m scared of crazy rumor-mongers’ didn’t sound like a good enough excuse to him. Opening his front door was the most terrifying moment of the whole thing. First, just the tiniest bit to see if it was still there. But it wasn’t, so he opened the door the whole way and poked his head out. There was no one in the courtyard, or really any where he could see. As fast as he could, Katou stepped out, locked his door and ran.
When he got to campus, he stayed off the main paths. Took the long way around buildings and the stairs up to the fifth floor so he could avoid as many people as possible. In the lecture hall, he came in the side door and sat in a back corner. The other students already in the room, and the ones that filed in later, didn’t seem to pay him much attention. They talked to their friends, or looked over notes, made plans for later when the test was done. When the professor came around the passed out the test, he didn’t seem to care that Katou had missed the last class.
The test went fine, only because he’d been able to read ahead the other day. On his way out, Katou didn’t have to worry about avoiding people in the halls and elevator - classes were still technically in session. When he got outside, Katou turned his phone back on, just to have it start vibrating furiously and beeping. The outside screen said, ‘VOICE INBOX FULL’. He stopped next to a building, leaning against it and zoning out. Katou opened his phone to check and held it to his ear, and was barraged by messages.
“Shige, it’s-“ Delete.
“Shige, I kno-“ Delete.
“Shige! Ans-“ Delete.
“Fucking an-“ Delete.
“Stop avoid-“ Delete.
“I really wan-“ Delete.
“Please pic-“ Delete.
“Don’t be li-“ Delete.
“For the love of-“ Delete.
“Shige,” that one, he heard in stereo, but he deleted it even though it sounded funny.
“Shige, look at me.”
He couldn’t, and the next message kept going, “I know you’re not mad. That’s not like you. I am, but not at you… Definitely not at you. Shige, this isn’t any one’s fault. It’s just bad luck. I’m sorry it happened though.”
“Shige.”
“I’m sorry that it happened to you.”
“I’m serious.” And then there was a body in front of his, and a hand was pulling the phone away from him, closing it, “Shige.”
He still couldn’t look up, “I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
“That once I look at you, you’ll leave. That everything will end.”
A hand reached out and tucked some hair behind his ear, “I’m not going anywhere. Didn’t you hear any of my messages?”
Katou shook his head.
“I’ve been calling you for days. I bought you that phone so you’d pick it up…. Nothing’s changed.”
“Everything’s changed.”
The hand was on his shoulder now, the thumb rubbing at the collar of his shirt, “Two days doesn’t seem like a lot of time. But every day there’s a new scandal in the entertainment business. It’s forgotten, Shige.”
Katou didn’t say anything.
“Is there some where around here that’s more private?”
Katou nodded and got up from against the wall, leading the way. He didn’t pull Nishikido along with him. He led them to the foreign language building on campus. Most of the classes there were in the morning - it was afternoon already - so it would be easier to find an empty room there. They lucked out on the second floor with an empty meeting room; Katou locked the door behind them, just in case. But once he turned around, Nishikido was there, pulling him into a tight hug.
“Shige.”
He reached up, tentatively, and grabbed onto Nishikido’s jacket.
“Don’t hide from me again. Maybe you can deal with it, but I can’t. Every one within the company grilled me on it and lectured me about this kind of stuff, but I sat through it and dealt with the criticisms. And I got through it, because I said to myself, ‘Shige’s doing worse than I am right now’ and ‘Shige will be waiting for me.’ I really needed you on Tuesday. You should have answered your phone.”
“I was right. All those times… I’m just trouble for you. Your career.”
Nishikido shook his head, just a little, “It doesn’t matter. How often do I have to say this? I don’t care if my life gets difficult or I have to deal with photos like that. As long as you’re the one making my life difficult and you’re with me in those pictures, then I can deal with it.”
Shige swallowed and tightened his grip on the jacket.
“I’m miserable without you.” Nishikido leaned his head against Katou’s, “Shit, Shige. I think I…”
But he couldn’t finish the sentence. It didn’t matter though, because Katou knew what he was going to say, what he wanted to say and he knows it’s not easy. So Katou takes the pressure away from Nishikido. He lays his head down on Nishikido’s shoulder and presses a kiss onto his collar bone through the shirt. Warmth spreads through Nishikido’s body and he feels every emotion contained within that small kiss. But most of all, he can feel the message behind it - I know I love you.
-- -- --
After a week, no one is talking about Nishikido’s scandal - there are new, better things going on. Johnny smiles in his office, looking out the window. He told the lawyers, ‘Write a vague press release. They’re friends. Leave it just a tiny bit open.’ It was all part of his plan, and it worked, perfectly. Now that the shock of it is all gone, the women of Japan think it’s adorable. Nishikido takes his not-idol friend out to nice places, comforts him when women shoot him down (they made up that part) and doesn’t treat him like an inferior. Kanjani8 sales are up.
Of course, Nishikido got the generic, ‘we don’t care what you do in your free time, just don’t get your picture taken while you’re going it’-speech. He’s taken it to heart. He’s still touchy with Katou in public - the women eat it up - but too a lesser extent. Its casual punches on the shoulder, ruffling Katou’s hair, wiping food off his face when he keeps missing. They’re all little things, but after every one, Katou smiles and laughs a little, because they are reminders that Nishikido is still with him. And that makes Nishikido smile too.
For Nishikido, no one brings it up at work. They all know he has a weirdly close relationship with his ‘friend,’ but for the people that matter, they still see Nishikido as the short guy with the bad temper. Besides, weirdly close relationships are normal to Johnny’s - Yamashita and Akanishi, Yasuda and Shibutani, Tegoshi and Masuda. Occasionally, Ohkura will poke at Nishikido and say, ‘Who’s this guy who can stand you? He should win a medal.’ The juniors don’t really bother with remembering at all. Nishikido is their senpai, so he’s a person to be respected, whether or not he has a questionable lifestyle after-hours.
When Katou goes back to work for Nakagawa, he feels really awkward. But Nakagawa picks up on that and smiles, “People at their most basic level are still people, Katou-kun. In the art profession, I’ve met a lot of bisexual and homosexual people. And yeah, some of them are kind of flamboyant, but their personal life is none of my business. Just as mine is none of their’s.”
-- -- --
A month later. Saturday. 3:30pm. Nishikido’s replacing a broken string on one of his guitars and retuning it. Katou’s reading a textbook, several handouts spread out around him on the couch. There’s fish in the fridge, even though Nishikido hates it. Three of Katou’s jackets are hanging up in the hallway closet. There’s a drawer in the bedroom where he keeps some clothes. There’s so little space between them, but there’s no rush to fill it in. Things move slowly, but not because of awkwardness - because of comfort. They sleep in the same bed, where ever they are, and go places together when their schedules match up and they have the time.
Katou’s name is still unknown by the mass public. Johnny’s fans spaz when they hear a report of the Nishikido and his ‘friend’ being sighted in Shibuya together. Nishikido tried making Katou wear hats and sunglasses so they wouldn’t get recognized as easily, but it impedes on Katou’s vision and he bumps into things. Nishikido gave up on it pretty quickly. Besides Yamashita and Akanishi, there are a select few within Johnny’s who know Katou’s name. Nishikido treats it as a secret and doesn’t like it when they ask him, ‘How’s Katou-kun doing?’ like they know him - because they don’t. Nishikido has partially forgiven Akanishi for defending Katou on TV, but only partially. He’s sure Katou’s in no rush to ever see the other man again. So when Yamashita whines about how Nishikido never brings Katou out with them any more, he tells them Katou’s time is too valuable to be wasted. Yamashita says it’s because he doesn’t want to share Katou.
Nishikido and Katou each know the others’ limit. When there’s a big test or paper coming up, Nishikido knows he shouldn’t bother Katou. He knows that Katou needs to study and be alone so he can concentrate. But, he doesn’t always do what he knows he should do, so he parks two blocks away, sneaks up the stairs and kicks Katou’s door because his hands are filled with take-out boxes. And Katou has learned how to read Nishikido’s moods. Even when he’s snappy and a normal person would think, ‘Oh, I should go.’ Katou knows Nishikido’s words means the opposite. He wants some one to sit next to him and hug him or lie with him in bed and hold him. Some one who will stay with him. So Katou does.
end
A/N: Hey guys~ Thank you all for reading this far and for all the comments! ♥ ♥ I was surprised to get so many since the plot-bunny came about while I was sick in bed and I only meant for it to be a oneshot so I could get the idea out of my head.
This chapter took me a long time to write, even with an outline. I really wanted to resolve where their relationship was going. It’s still a little vague, but it’s better than the ‘Ryo paid Shige for a blowjob, then got him a job and they fooled around and Ryo bought him a phone’ thing that was going. It needed a pseudo-resolution. I’m leaving it open for now and I’m not sure about how many other chapters there might end up being.... There are still drabbles I want to write. There have been some epic comment discussions about it :3
Also, I’m going on vacation Monday, so there won’t be any updates from me for about two weeks. Sorry? I have about 30 hours worth of flights though, so probably, I’ll come back with a bajillion drabbles and some more whore!verse. Yeah, knowing I was leaving for two weeks was part of the reason I was updating like crazy - I wanted to get to a good stopping pausing point.