Lucky Charm - Chapter 6: My Life with Strangers

[yoru-no-hikaru.livejournal.com]

Pairing: KinKi Kids
Other characters: Nagase Tomoya, MA, 4U, Uchi Hiroki, KAT-TUN mainly
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Don't own them, just love them ^^
Setting: AU
Warnings: Bit angsty
Multi-Chapter


Notes: FINALLY updating this one. I'm so sorry for the incredibly late post. It look very longto finish this, but now it's done. I really hope you will like it. :D


Intro: Scene starts about 6 weeks after the dinensional switch. When you drop into an unknown dimension, you will find yourself a bit lost. Of course, after a while you will fit into your new surroundings. What if, just when you have settled in you suddenly find yourself confronted with people that you actually know very well - but they don't know you?






“Give it to me, dammit,” Koichi barked out, grabbing at Tsuyoshi.
“No,” Tsuyoshi kept insisting.
“Tsuyoshi, please,” Koichi dragged out, trying to sound sweet, obviously changing tactics as he practically rubbed himself against the other.
“Koichi, we have a deal, remember?” Tsuyoshi told him strictly.
“Er, no, we don’t,” the other retorted. “You just provoked me and I… was being weak. Right now…”
“You’re being weak again?” the younger man dared him. “Pull yourself together, dammit.”
“But…” Koichi muttered. “Rehearsals are really exhausting. Shootings, interviews,…”
“I know the routine, Koichi,” Tsuyoshi shrugged. “I mean, I don’t have show rehearsals right now. But then, I have studio recordings and I’ll be going to London soon, so it’s not like I don’t know the pressure. Still, I won’t allow pills in my house.”




“It’s not like I took any,” Koichi said, sounding sulky.
“It’s not like I don’t acknowledge that,” the other nodded. “But you didn’t get them for decoration, did you?”
“I was just fearing that if I can’t go anymore I won’t have anything,” Koichi explained.
“You’ve been doing fine,” Tsuyoshi shrugged. “It’s been about five weeks and you never took a single one. You didn’t need them, you should have it all out of your system too, so why now?”
“I told you,” Koichi sighed. “Rehearsals are starting to become more intense. And we’re still working for the Single too. Promotion’s going to start soon.”
“I know,” Tsuyoshi sighed. “But look, I’m doing it too. So, you can do it, you just have to keep going, okay?”




“What if… I’m not strong enough?” Koichi asked doubtfully.
“You’re scared you might fail?” the younger man asked, surprised.
Koichi nodded vaguely.
Tsuyoshi smiled at him. “Oh, Koichi. When you’re feeling weak, come to me and I will lend you whatever strength I have.”
Koichi stared at him, eyes wide, shaking his head. “Why…?”
“Koichi, look,” Tsuyoshi tried, but Koichi did not seem to hear him.
“Is that love?” Koichi mumbled to himself.




Before the other could say anything else Koichi turned on the spot and ran. Tsuyoshi sighed. Was he being cruel? Did he torture Koichi? But how to treat him? Wasn’t it that Koichi was unhappy with how things were between him and Tsuyoshi? Weren’t things supposed to change? But then, there was a big gap between not talking to each other and sleeping with each other. To find romantic love for each other wasn’t the only possibility of finding a way together. Just because he knew it like that didn’t mean it would be the right thing to do for Koichi and his Tsuyoshi. And just because he missed his Koichi didn’t mean he could exploit Koichi like that. He bit his lip, closing his eyes. Koichi… He really missed him. Most of the time he didn’t allow himself to think about it, but it had been a long time already and he missed having Koichi close. Hugging him. Kissing him… Having sex…
“Koichi,” he whispered.
He was feeling a bit torn. Of course, he still felt sorry for Koichi. On the other hand… it had been forever… With a sigh he made himself comfortable on the sofa, opening his pants.




___________________________________________________________________________________________




“Mh, Tsuyoshi,” Koichi whispered against trembling lips.
“Oh, Koichi…”
Tsuyoshi’s body twitched involuntarily. Deft fingers were gliding over his skin, teasing it, making it tingle. He bit his lip against what might have become an embarrassing sound, but his body betrayed the pleasure he was feeling, dancing under Koichi’s touches. It was a bit disturbing, but in a way Tsuyoshi was glad that Koichi could see what his touches did to him. He wanted to be entirely consumed by this man, whom he had always admired, loved, longed for, desired. His skin was singing and he knew that Koichi could hear it and he really hoped that the other liked the sound.
“You look so beautiful,” Koichi muttered, his breath tickling Tsuyoshi’s skin deliciously.
When had Koichi moved to hover over him? Oh, it didn’t really matter.
“Koichi, please.” Tsuyoshi’s voice sounded disturbing to himself, husky and wanton, leaving no doubt about what he was pleading for.




“Tsuyoshi, I want you,” a sweet confession against his neck.
“Oh god,” Tsuyoshi sighed excitedly, “yes, take me.”
And then a body was pressed against his tightly, moving, rubbing, lips against his neck, nipping at his skin. He heard himself moan, felt himself moving back against the hot body that was consuming him. It was so good, so hot, so sweet…




“Uh,” Tsuyoshi moaned, his body shaking slightly as his eyes grew wide in surprise.
After his body had stilled again and several confused blinks, he recognized the surroundings of his bedroom. He screwed his eyes shut. What had just happened? Right… He had gone to bed after he and Koichi had played that racing game. He had slept. Yes. And then it hit him – the dream… Tsuyoshi sighed in despair. Opening his eyes again and throwing back the covers, he looked at the mess he had created in his little fantasy. He sighed again.
“Not good…”
“Tsuyoshi, are you okay?” Koichi’s voice sounded into the room.
The younger man cleared his throat. “Yeah, ‘m okay,” he called out. “My leg was just cramping a bit.”
“Get on up,” Koichi urged him. “Breakfast is ready.”




At that Tsuyoshi blinked, surprised. He got up quickly, fortunately remembered to change his underwear, and with still bare feet padded through the apartment into the kitchen. His eyes grew wide at the picture in front of him. There were two frying pans on the stove, one featuring scrambled eggs, the other filled with stripes of ham. There was a plate with freshly cut fruit, cereals and a plate with croissants.
“Morning, sleepy head,” Koichi smiled at him. “American style breakfast. I hope you like that?”
Tsuyoshi nodded absentmindedly. “But… why?”
“Didn’t I say I’d cook for you?” Koichi asked, staggering around in the pan with the eggs. “Oh, here,” he added, grabbing something from the counter and holding up a glass, offering it to the other.
Tsuyoshi blinked.




“Milk,” Koichi explained. “You said your leg was cramping. You need more calcium.”
The younger man giggled, shaking his head. “Thank you.”
He accepted the glass and took a good sip.
“Ah, you can take the croissants and the fruit,” Koichi suggested. “Bring them to the table? I’ll be right with you, the eggs are just gonna take one more minute.”
“Okay,” Tsuyoshi chirped, grabbing the two plates.
His dream was still something he would have to think about, but for the time being he decided that having a nice breakfast together was something he really needed and could also afford. He put the plates on the tale and took a seat, looking at the stuff Koichi had already set up. There was juice, coffee and tea.




“All done,” Koichi announced, as he stood in the door, a small tray in his hand, filled with what else he had cooked.
“Wow,” Tsuyoshi gaped, astonished. “Do you do this a lot? For your Tsuyoshi?”
Koichi blinked at that. “Oh, er… not really,” he admitted with a grin. “Actually, I only do it when Tsuyoshi’s mad at me for some reason. Or when I want a sex-treat.”
“But,” Tsuyoshi mused, “when you always only do this when it’s about something like that, he will know, right?”
“I guess he does,” Koichi shrugged, setting everything down. “Please help yourself,” he offered as he seated himself. “Try it. Tsuyoshi has never once complained. And it always does the trick,” he grinned, sounding smug.
“I can’t remember you misbehaving last night. So, I take it you want sex?” Tsuyoshi grinned back.
Then he started at his own behavior. He was really flirting. And quite obviously too.




“Oh,” Koichi smiled gleefully. “We’re flirting again?” He chuckled at Tsuyoshi’s helpless expression. “See?” he stated with a wink. “Always does the trick.”
“Obviously,” Tsuyoshi chuckled nervously.
“Too bad I have to go in about half an hour,” Koichi mused. “We could have some fun.”
“Ah, Koichi, maybe we should…” the younger man began, but Koichi interrupted him quickly.
“Last night was really something,” he kept teasing. “Tsuyoshi never does such things with me.”
“God, Koichi, you’re killing me,” Tsuyoshi complained. “I don’t even know what to do with myself anymore.” Koichi blinked at him and he sighed. “I had this… dream last night.” More blinking. Tsuyoshi groaned. “My leg was not cramping this morning,” he finally admitted.




Koichi’s eyes grew wide as realization hit him. “Oh,” he said simply. The blush that came to his face made Tsuyoshi want to jump him. “I didn’t realize it was… that bad.”
“It’s close to unbearable just to look at you,” Tsuyoshi explained. After saying it out loud the words just kept flowing out. “I don’t know what to do anymore. We’ve been going forth and back for weeks now. I have well accepted that I have feelings for you and the urge to act on them gets stronger by the day. You have no idea… I want to kiss you so bad right now.”
“Tsuyoshi,” Koichi gasped. “We can’t.”
“Oh, we could alright,” the other retorted bitterly. “But then what? We’d get from one mess to the other and it’s not like we could get anywhere. On the other hand I’m thinking could it get any worse? It was also unbearable before you came here, so can we really mess it up?”




“We could mess it up big time,” Koichi told him. “Believe me, I feel really flattered. And I’d be lying to say that I am not tempted, or unaffected. Still, we’re not supposed to live together. You have to work things out with your Koichi once he’s back.”
“What if he doesn’t come back?”
Koichi froze. There it was. They had both been thinking about it, secretly. That impossible possibility that he was not merely stuck, but stranded – unable to return to the life and world he knew. The thought sent a searing pain through his chest. Never going back again. Never seeing Tsuyoshi again. His Tsuyoshi. His friends. His family.
“Koichi, I know it’s frightening,” Tsuyoshi said sympathetically, “but let’s face it. It’s actually not unlikely you’ll be staying here… forever. And I don’t want to make it sound like I’d prefer that possibility. But… don’t you think you could love me?”




Koichi felt panic rising in him. The mere thought of never getting to go back to his life was freaking him out. And to top it off, Tsuyoshi was hitting on him for real. He absolutely had to get out.
“Tsuyoshi, you’re being ridiculous,” he laughed, trying to sound confident. “It’ll work out alright, you will see. And you’ll get your chance to win the heart of the person that you really love, okay? Oh, look at the time, I had better get going.”
He got up from his seat, while Tsuyoshi eyed him and couldn’t help feeling amused.
“What – now you’re running from me?”
“For now,” Koichi admitted with a grin. “See you later.”
“Take care,” Tsuyoshi called after him and while his unsatisfied love still stung a bit, a smile came to his lips as he fingered for a croissant.




________________________________________________________________________________________________




Koichi sighed as he moved through the door to the main building. Even though he didn’t exactly like these kinds of meetings, he was glad to have found into a good routine again.
Koichi shook his head in order to clear it. There were many things he had to do and he had better get started. And then, just as he was feeling like he had somewhat calmed down again, it happened. It hit him totally out of the blue, the picture in front of his eyes, but his stomach instantly twisted painfully.
“Kazuya,” he whispered.
There was Kame walking down the aisle, seemingly lost in a script that he was holding right in front of his eyes. Koichi chuckled – obviously some things were kind of “universal”. Like Kame always forgetting his glasses. Koichi bit his lip. Should he approach Kame? Talk to him? But what should he say. Going by what Tsuyoshi had told him Koichi hadn’t had anything to do with him in almost ten years. It felt so weird. Suddenly his body was hit by something that shoved him aside.




“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Koichi blinked. His eyes went wide.
“Koichi-kun, are you alright?” Kame asked, sounding concerned. “I was reading here and got kinda caught up. Are you hurt?”
“It’s okay,” Koichi assured him. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Kame laughed at that. “What? I could say that for you. You’re always busy everywhere, but in here people hardly ever see you.”
“Yeah, I guess I’m often unavailable,” Koichi chuckled. “Seems you’re busy too, though?”
Kame blinked at him as though he had just said something really weird. Apparently he was surprised that Koichi talked to him so casually. He answered politely, though.




“Yes,” he smiled. “It’s a drama script. I just got the assignment.”
“Oh,” Koichi smiled back, “congratulations. A lead role?”
Kame nodded, looking proud. “My second one in a row.”
“Seems you’re doing fine, after all,” Koichi mused. He totally didn’t get why Koichi didn’t get along with this boy – Kame was totally cool. “Hey, wanna have lunch together?”
Kame kept smiling, his expression looked a bit pained, though.
“Ah, thank you, Koichi,” he said carefully, “but I already have an appointment.”
“With the others?” Koichi asked, excited. “That’s even better, getting everybody together.”




“What – my group mates, you mean?” Kame asked, blinking. “No, er… we don’t really eat together. I’m really sorry, Koichi. But I can’t. And actually I’m in a bit of a hurry now. See you around.”
And with that he turned and left Koichi standing in the hallway. The latter shook his head and without even giving notice he left the building again. He would skip the meeting and go right to rehearsals. It would be good for clearing his head.




_____________________________________________________________________________________________




“Okay, folks, one more time,” Koichi ordered.
His breath was raged, his entire clothes wet with sweat.
“Koichi,” Matsuzaki panted, already totally exhausted. “Don’t you think we should call it a day? We’re all spent, especially poor Uchi-kun,” he explained, pointing at the guy in question, who was cowering on the floor, seemingly trying to remain conscious. “You’re always pushing us, you know, we’re used to it. But normally, when we’re spent you’ll let us off. You seem so… driven. Is something wrong?”
Koichi looked at him for a long moment, considering his words. He also thought about what Tsuyoshi had said to him. Well, he had been pretty worked up over his encounter with Kame. He was used to pushing himself not to, but over his limits. However, with no pushers at hand that was not a wise idea. And what was more, he could not drag these guys into his unhealthy habits. They were really cool. For a moment he wondered if he could be friends with them once he got back to his dimension. He thought he would really like that. Finally he smiled at Matsuzaki.




“No, nothing is wrong,” he said gleefully. “You’re right. I’m sorry, I guess I was being too enthusiastic,” he laughed apologetically. “It’s okay if you give it your everything, right? And tomorrow’s a new day. If we stop here and start again completely refreshed tomorrow, that will be perfectly fine.”
“Sounds more like it,” the boy nodded, smiling back.
“Okay, everybody, one more.”
The crew groaned.




“One more time,” Koichi insisted, his voice gaining just a bit volume. He didn’t sound intimidating, though, but rather encouraging. “Come on, give it your all, one more time and then we’ll be wrapping it up for today.”
There was some grumbling and muttering, but then, finally, everybody agreed to go one more round before leaving. It was a big success too, it worked out perfectly fine.
“You really did great,” Koichi praised his cast. “Thank you, everybody, for today.”



____________________________________________________________________________________________




“Ah, you’re back,” Tsuyoshi smiled happily. “Just in time. We can eat in a minute.”
“You cooked?” Koichi asked, blinking.
“Well, while I have the opportunity,” Tsuyoshi explained. “I like it when people appreciate my cooking. And you seem to like it. Plus, I gave you a hard time this morning and I want to reward you for leaving the pills here.”
“Tsuyoshi, you’re making me feel weird,” Koichi said, shaking his head. “What… should I make of this? Your love. It’s not like I don’t appreciate it, but I really don’t know how to handle it. What should I do? Isn’t it ironic?” he chuckled bitterly, “I’ve never been loved like this. I always wanted exactly that and now here you are and I totally can’t handle it.”




“It’s not unnerving for me,” Tsuyoshi explained with a smile. “I mean, I miss Koichi, of course, but it’s not like I expect any kind of affection from your part. I just can’t help acting the way I do, but I understand that you don’t have such feelings and that’s okay. You don’t have to try to appeal to me.”
“You’re weird,” Koichi stated, shaking his head. “And I’m feeling weird when you treat me like this.”
“So you don’t want it?” Tsuyoshi asked. “Even when I like doing it?”
“But… you like to do it for your Koichi,” the other tried to reason. “Because he loves you, because he gives you the same things.”
“It’s nice to have your feelings returned,” Tsuyoshi nodded. “But even if you don’t feel like that for me, I want to take care of you while you’re here – if you’ll let me.”
“But why?”
“Because I still love you.”




“That doesn’t make any sense,” Koichi demanded.
“Love doesn’t know reason,” Tsuyoshi shrugged. “For me, it’s fine like this,” he assured the other.
“Are you sure?” Koichi asked skeptically.
“Absolutely,” the younger man nodded.
“Fine then,” Koichi sighed, sounding a bit relieved. “Dinner would be great, actually. I’m just glad we talked about this.”
“It’s fine.”
“What are we having?”
“Indian red curry,” Tsuyoshi announced.




Koichi chuckled lightly, making the other blink. “One of the little things I know about Tsuyoshi is his obsession with curry. Seems you guys have something in common.”
“And seems you don’t know nothing of your partner,” Tsuyoshi smiled. “Go, get cleaned up, if you want, I’ll set the table.”
“Okay,” Koichi chirped.
He smiled. Having dinner together might be nice. Tsuyoshi was cool. Cool enough anyway. For a moment he thought about why he and his Tsuyoshi weren’t like that. Just cool. He remembered, vaguely, that he had thought of Tsuyoshi as arrogant when they were young. Lost in his thoughts, Koichi made his way to the bathroom. Tsuyoshi had really just wanted to be nice, of course. It was years later that he understood that. However, even as that barrier was gone, they did not get closer. Probably Tsuyoshi thought Koichi was having hostile feelings towards him? He hadn’t exactly given Tsuyoshi the feeling that he liked him a lot. It was always difficult for him to act pleasant around people. Sadly, Tsuyoshi was no different. Suddenly Koichi felt reluctant about it. There had to be a way to make it work between them? There he was, after all, and he came along with this Tsuyoshi really well, even though the guy had the hots for him. Or… he stopped for a moment? Did he get the causalities wrong? Was it…? Could it be? Did he actually like this guy, because he was in love with him? No, that… didn’t make a lot of sense.




Love doesn’t know reason.




Koichi shook his head to clear it. He got into the shower and turned on the water. Love? Was that it? He loved being admired and if he loved anything more than being admired it was being pampered and Tsuyoshi was providing both these things perfectly. On second thought, it was only too obvious. Of course, Tsuyoshi gave him what he craved – no wonder he fell for that. But then, it wasn’t really nice to exploit Tsuyoshi like that. Even though the other had assured him that he liked what he did and he didn’t expect anything, it was still bad to just take what he wanted without giving anything back. Naturally, giving Tsuyoshi what he wanted was out of the question. He wasn’t one of those stereotyped queers. Tsuyoshi was nice and, admittedly, he could feel very comfortable around the man, but there were limits to what he was willing to give. He turned off the water, dried himself vaguely and slid into sweat pants and a simple shirt. As he went back into the dining room, he decided to not think too much about these weird things anymore.
“Oh, hey,” Tsuyoshi smiled happily as Koichi came in.




And then it happened. After having it all laid out in his mind, he could see it. The smile Tsuyoshi shot at him was full of love, admiration and… Koichi wasn’t sure. He wasn’t familiar with that kind of thing – and for obvious reasons he didn’t dare look too closely, but he thought that what he saw was desire. He bit his lip. Would it be okay? Just a bit?
“I really need some more decent clothing,” Koichi complained, pulling at his pants. “I feel like a tramp.”
Tsuyoshi laughed slightly at that. “Well, we can go shopping, if you like. Koichi doesn’t really care much about his clothing. He shops for clothes one every two years, getting the same pair of jeans three times, sometimes in different colours, if he’s feeling adventurous and two new shirts, at least one of them black.”
“Not exactly a lot of variety,” Koichi mused. “But really, these are ridiculous.”
“Well, they’re not exactly fashionable,” Tsuyoshi admitted. “But… I don’t know, somehow Koichi makes the plainest things look… tasty.”




“Tasty?” Koichi asked, laughing nervously.
“You look edible,” the other stated evenly. “Sorry,” he then sighed, shaking his head. “Nothing that you want to hear.”
“Actually,” Koichi smiled apologetically, “I love to hear it. It just makes me feel bad, that even though I like that you feel this way, I can’t…”
“I told you, it’s fine like this,” Tsuyoshi smiled at him.
“No, it’s not,” Koichi smiled apologetically. “Even though you might think it’s okay, that doesn’t make it `fine´. I don’t like this.”
“Well, I can’t change the way I am or feel,” Tsuyoshi shrugged. “So, you either accept what you get just like this, or if you can’t, maybe you should better leave. I would love for you to stay here, of course.”




“Really?” Koichi asked, still carefully, but already starting to like the situation. “I should warn you. I’m terribly spoiled. And if I get to do as I please…”
“Oh, I’ll be delighted,” Tsuyoshi grinned. “I don’t know about you, but for my Koichi, I spoiled him personally.”
“Well, in that case,” Koichi grinned back, “looking’s allowed.” He winked at the other.
Tsuyoshi raised a brow at that. “Oh, seems like flirting’s allowed too?”
“You can always try to probe,” Koichi shrugged. “Now I’m hungry. That curry smells nice.”
“So does something else,” Tsuyoshi commented.
Koichi considered him with a playful smile. “What was that?”
“Probing…”




______________________________________________________________________________________________




“Okay,” Koichi panted harshly. He grinned as he poured half a bottle of water over his head. Then he shook it, making Kame and Ryo give keening sounds as drops hit them. “What are you being such girls for?” Koichi teased. “Well, we’re done,” he stated. “Get your stuff, get out of here and enjoy a nice evening’s rest. Relax, guys.”
“We’re clearing already?” Jin asked, blinking in confusion.
“I’m completely spent,” Koichi admitted. “Maybe I’m really getting old,” he joked.
“Just shoot another one,” Kame suggested, “and we go one more hour.”
Koichi blinked at first, then he understood what the other meant.
“Oh, er…” he stuttered. “No, I… I’m getting down.”
Everybody stared at him.




“What – really?” Kame asked, sounding surprised. “How come?”
“Well, you see,” Koichi explained. “Tsuyoshi has to drop the stuff. Bodily issues. So I’m doing the solidary drop.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear it,” another voice cut in.
When Koichi turned around his eyes widened in surprise as one of his not so favourite colleagues stood in the door of the rehearsing room.
“The pills aren’t meant for regular use anyway,” Tackey added. “I think I’ve told you repeatedly about my concerns?”
“And how exactly does it concern you?” Koichi bit at him.
“Well, can’t I be worried for my friend?” Tackey asked, smiling.




Koichi blinked. Was the other being sarcastic, or was he actually friends with Tackey of all people in this weird dimension? Everything was possible, that much he had learned.
“Well, I dropped them now,” Koichi answered carefully.
“I’m really happy about that,” Tackey stated earnestly and Koichi blinked in surprise as he was pulled into a hug. “How long now?”
“Oh, it was a recent decision, but I’m feeling okay,” Koichi smiled awkwardly.
“If you need any helpers, just say it, okay?”
“Right,” Koichi nodded.
“So, if they’re finishing early, does that mean we can start now and then leave early too?”




Koichi’s eyes grew wide. Tackey had arrived with a group he knew only too well.
“Matsuzaki,” he blurted out.
“Oh?” Tackey made, raising a brow. “You remembered his name? Boy, this guy must have impressed you with something.”
Matsuzaki looked equally flattered. Koichi had to grin at that. Indeed, Matsuzaki was impressive.
“He sure has,” Koichi nodded. “If I didn’t have a crew already, he’d be part of my first choice.”
“Why, I’ll be sure to remember that,” Tackey grinned back. “It’s the crew’s first time for my stage play, but since you seem enticed by this young man, I had better keep an eye on him and his mates.”
“You do that,” Koichi nodded. “They’ll match with the MA-guys well too, I’m sure.”
“MA, huh?” Tackey mused. “I wonder whether Pi will give them up to me?”




Koichi blinked again. What – Yamashita had the main for MA? But then, who was…? He looked past Tackey to get a look at his entire cast. And there was another familiar face. More than one, actually, although Koichi didn’t really know all their names. Next to the rest of 4U there were the A.B.C. boys.
“Well, I guess they can match with many people,” Koichi chuckled nervously.
“Well, I think the crew is big enough,” Tackey laughed. “So, you’re done?”
Koichi nodded.
“Okay, guys,” Tackey addressed his cast. “Do your warm-ups.”
Everybody started to move.
“And you guys can get your stuff and go home,” Koichi announced.




“Hey, Koichi,” Kame called out. “Dinner?”
“Oh, well…”
“Ah, Koichi, I’d like you to do something tonight, please?” Tackey requested sweetly.
Koichi had to chuckle at the display. “Sorry, guys, seems like someone’s in need here.”
Light chuckling sounded as the boys made to leave.
“Well, what is it that you need?” Koichi asked.
“It’s a bit embarrassing, actually,” the other admitted, blushing, “but I wouldn’t ask anyone else. And it’s pretty important.”
“So?”
“I need my script,” the younger man laughed nervously. “I left it in my office. I don’t know the lines yet. So, dance practice will be okay, but for acting rehearsals…”




“I get it,” Koichi sighed. “So… your office on the fifteenth floor?”
“That one,” Tackey nodded. “Here’s the key. And thank you so much.”
“Not a problem,” Koichi assured him. “They look pretty good,” he said, nodding towards the dance crew.
“Yeah,” the other agreed. “But they really are a lot. I wonder if it’s a good idea to form so big a group?”
“Well, you could make it two groups,” Koichi suggested. “You know, and make it like a featuring.”
“That’s actually a nice idea,” Tackey stated. “Thanks, that might work well. But how to split them up?”
“Five and four, I’d say,” Koichi shrugged. “You know, since you like to work with names, you could do something like, if a number of them have the same first syllables in their names.”




“You’re having a creative day, huh?”
“Apparently. But now I’ll go and fetch your script.”
“Thank you so much,” Tackey said with a smile.
And with that Koichi left and made his way to Tackey’s office. He was pretty unnerved as he arrived at the scene. Traffic was mad. Deciding that he wanted to finish his job quickly and pushing away the question why on earth he was doing that for Tackey anyway, he slid through the heavy main doors and headed right towards the elevators. Along the way he had yet another shock. There was Yamashita coming down the aisle, his main crew in his vague and there he was.
“Oh my god, Aki,” he first muttered, then he called out. “Aki!”
Many heads turned towards him as ran over and flung himself at the tall man, encircling his hips tightly with his legs. Akiyama gasped, but held him, even as he blinked in confusion.




“Hi,” Koichi grinned happily.
“Sorry, er…” Akiyama answered carefully. “Can I help you?”
“Koichi-kun, what are you dong?” Yamapi asked, a frown on his face.
“That’s what I would like to know too,” Yonehana added, looking sour.
“Oh, hi Yone,” Koichi waved.
“Yeah, hi to you too,” Yonehana said evenly. “Now, would you please let go of my lover? That would be much appreciated.”
Koichi’s face turned completely white. “Wha- I… uhm…”
He immediately detached himself from Akiyama, who instantly got to a considerable distance.
“I’m sorry,” Koichi muttered. “I… mistook you for someone.”




“Dammit, I would have thought not even you would be that hopeless,” Yonehana groaned out, rolling his eyes.
“I really am sorry, I didn’t mean…”
“Yeah, whatever.”
“Come now, Tsu,” Akiyama tried to calm his aggravated partner a bit. “I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it.”
“And what – so I have to just accept him?” the other asked, still angry.
“I’m just saying,” Akiyama shrugged. “It’s all cool. Nothing happened. No harm done.”
“Fine, then,” Yonehana glowered. “Have a nice evening, Koichi-kun.”
He bowed as the elevator arrived and all of them went in to ride up.
“Er… bye, Koichi-kun,” Yamapi stated rather helplessly as the doors slid shut.




Koichi bit his lip hard. He was overcome by an unexpected, but intense feeling. Suddenly, not because he missed Tsuyoshi, or sex, or tenderness, but because in this every-day situation he was reminded so painfully of his situation, he felt badly homesick to the point where tears were coming to his eyes. He bit his lip again, this time trying to calm himself. He didn’t even realize he was shaking. Finally he turned around and simply fled the scene.




_________________________________________________________________________________________





“No, I don’t… hold on,” Tsuyoshi muttered, putting the phone away from his ear as a frown came to his face. Before he could even call out Pan already raced past him, barking excitedly. “He just came back. I’ll check out what happened and call you back. … Yes, I know it’s important. … Look, I don’t know. Seems like something happened. I’ll go talk to him and then I’ll call you back. … What do you mean, why is he here? We’re partners and since his apartment has to undergo renovations I’m hosting him in the meantime. … You’ll have to ask Nagase about that. I’m just doing him a favour, so shut the fuck up. I’ll be in touch.”
He finally hung up and tossed the phone carelessly onto the table. “Idiot,” he muttered.
Then he went looking for Koichi. He frowned when he couldn’t see the other anywhere, but soon he found Pan sitting in front of his bedroom, scratching at the door. Tsuyoshi bit his lip. Koichi had escpated into his bedroom? Why? He knocked carefully.




“Koichi?”
No answer.
Another knock.
“Are you in there?”
Still no answer.
“Koichi can you hear me?”
Again, no answer.
Tsuyoshi sighed.
“Koichi, say something, please. You’re freaking me out.”
“Go away.”




Tsuyoshi’s first reaction was to feel relieved. Koichi had answered to him and he seemed to be at least safe and healthy. His next reaction was to frown. Koichi’s voice sounded strange. Strangled. Choked. Tsuyoshi bit his lip. Then he knocked again silently and without waiting for another reaction he opened the door and went in.
“I said go away,” Koichi complained, although his voice didn’t have a lot of drive.
“You’re invading my room, though,” Tsuyoshi complained.
“You said it’s okay to be here,” Koichi reminded the other.
“I said it’s okay that you sleep here,” Tsuyoshi clarified. “Oh, whatever. Koichi, what’s wrong? Tackey just called in, asking where you are. Why didn’t you go to the office to get his stuff.”




“I did,” Koichi defended himself. “I was there.”
“Okay,” Tsuyoshi nodded, “and then?”
Koichi sighed. “Can’t you just leave me alone?”
“No,” Tsuyoshi decided.
Boldly he approached the bed Koichi was lying on, climbed on and sat behind his miserably looking partner. Then even his hand came up to rub Koichi’s back soothingly. Koichi stirred a bit, but did not fight the touch. He just remained motionless on the bed, his face buried deeply in a pillow.
“Koichi,” Tsuyoshi tried once more, “what is it now? What happened?”
“I want to go home,” Koichi whined, his voice muffled by the pillow.




Tsuyoshi made a pained face. He felt truly sorry for this guy. It must have been really tough for him. Whatever had happened, it seemed to have had affected him deeply.
“It’s okay,” he tried to assure Koichi, still rubbing his back. “You said it yourself, it’s going to be okay.”
“But I miss home,” Koichi heaved out.
The younger man shut his eyes in desperation. Koichi was crying. For real.
“I miss my friends and my family and…”
“I understand,” Tsuyoshi mumbled. “I’m feeling the same way. I miss Koichi… But it’s going to be okay, you will see.”
“What if it won’t?” Koichi asked desperately. “What if I can never go back?”
“You will be going back, you will see,” the younger man kept insisting.
“Oh, Tsuyoshi,” Koichi sighed.




Suddenly he turned around, grabbing Tsuyoshi’s form, dragging him further onto the bed and snuggling into his arms longingly. Tsuyoshi felt himself shivering. That was not good. No, it was beyond good, more than anything he had ever wished for, but at the same time he realized that even though Koichi was in his arms for real this time, it was still an illusion. It was not Koichi clinging to him and sobbing into his shoulder. It was a man who missed his lover, his life, his world. He did not long for Tsuyoshi in any way, he longed for comfort. And so, even though he felt his heart breaking yet again, Tsuyoshi wrapped his arms around Koichi’s shaking form, holding him and stroking his hair lovingly. He heard the other sighing a bit and smiled, keeping on his track.
“It’s okay,” Tsuyoshi whispered to him. “I’m here.”
They kept lying there for a while, Tsuyoshi did not know how long, but since even Pan retreated again after trying to attract either their attention, he assumed it must have been a considerable while. When Koichi seemed to have calmed down and relaxed, Tsuyoshi stilled his movements and they merely remained lying together calmly.




“Feeling a bit better?” he finally asked.
“At least not fallen apart anymore,” Koichi mumbled. “Sorry, I soiled the sheets.”
Tsuyoshi chuckled at that. “It’s okay.”
“Thank you,” Koichi sighed. He wiggled a bit, turning enough to really face Tsuyoshi. “I’m really sorry about this.”
“I said it’s okay,” the other told him.
He felt his face heating up at Koichi’s blazing eyes. They were slightly red and his face was a mess, but he looked just so… Without even realizing it, Tsuyoshi moved his face closer to the other’s, touching their noses together. Koichi’s breath hitched slightly, but he didn’t move.
“I feel so weak,” Koichi admitted, shaking his head, which made their noses rub slightly.
“It’s okay to be weak sometimes,” Tsuyoshi whispered.




His arms that were still around Koichi started to move slightly, stroking the body they held.
“I hate being weak,” Koichi complained. Then he chuckled. “I must be looking awful.”
“You look beautiful,” Tsuyoshi blurted out.
His face heated at Koichi’s surprised look. For a second he wondered if he should say something, make a joke, maybe, or if he should let go of Koichi, but he was feeling so warm, so comfortable, he never wanted to leave this bed again.
“I’m weak,” Koichi whispered, his voice sounding slightly desperate as he closed his eyes. “Will you forgive me?”
Tsuyoshi closed his eyes in kind. It was too much. He didn’t want to fight. He had done that for decades – and he was tired of it. If Koichi accepted him just in this single moment, he could die a happy man.
“Of course,” he whispered back.




And then there was silence again. Silence to cover their entangled bodies, as they shared an unspeakable secret. Lips brushed lips. Fingers stroked over fabric, teased delicate skin. Tongues tasted and probed sweet wetness. There was no feeling torn, there were no questions, no doubts. The only thing that was present to both of them was the warmth they shared, the feeling of comfort that spread between them. They did not question the situation, nor the other’s compliance. Similarly they did not say anything when they finally parted again, Koichi leaving the room to sleep on the couch. It was an unspoken agreement. They had shared a weak moment of tenderness and as it was over they went back to facing the world as it had been before. They would not speak of it. Never.


_____________________________________________________________________________________________


Okay, this is it. For now. ^^ I really hope I got rid of all the plot mistakes. XDDD Feel free to tell me about anything you notice. It was a fun chapter. Oh boy, things are heating up. What's going to happen next? O_O

Chapter 5

Chapter 7