Work Text:
Warm air was flowing through the slightly opened windows of a small Tokyo suburb building. On the 6th floor, the recording studio was softly bathed by the sun, making the red hair of the man who was waiting there shine brightly. He was seated in a deep brown leather sofa and his feet were dangling over the arm rest, softly dancing at the rhythm of the voice of his partner that was coming through the ajar door. They should be done with the recording of this song soon. Even if the sound of the cicadas was still quite loud outside, he knew that his favorite time of the year was approaching. He could probably sit comfortably on his balcony tonight, drink a beer while sketching his fall look book and read some fashion magazines without being drenched by sweat. In a couple of weeks, he will finally be able to get his sweaters, scarfs and coats out of their containment and he didn’t want to waste any time. He was far lost in his outfit coordination fantasy when he heard the other loud steps.
‘’Do I need to go in again or everything is ok?’’ said Masuda while straightening his back.
‘’No everything is fine.’’ said Tegoshi while sitting next to him on the sofa.
‘’Do you need help with the dance today?’’
Tegoshi shook his head. ‘’No, it’s ok.’’
Masuda looked at Tegoshi who was taking something from his bag. Anyone would say he looked fine, but he was acting strange since a few days, at least to him. Tegoshi was always good to hide things and act strong, but he could see it. The small glint in his eyes, his gestures, he could just feel something was off.
‘’Everything’s fine?’’
‘’Yes!’’ Tegoshi answered with a cheery tone while putting his bag on his shoulders.
‘’Sure?’’
Tegoshi looked back at him and sighed.
‘’I drew the short straw again.’’
‘’Which straw?’'
‘’The scandal straw…’’ Tegoshi said with a small pitiful voice.
Masuda shook his head and smiled gently. Johnny’s entertainment management team came up with a plan a few years ago to boost up the sales. Before each new release the members of a group would get randomly picked to have a scandal. It could be anything. From some random pictures of them taken somewhere in the streets to fake social media accounts. Everything would be staged of course, and it would all be forgotten by everyone after the release. The guys were always keeping Masuda out of it, knowing well how his private life was important to him. He was very thankful to them for that.
‘’What is it this time?’’
‘’Picture in a cottage at a firework event tonight with some girls. My ex will be there…’’
‘’Oh…your ex.’’ Masuda tried to act as natural as he could. But every time this girl came up in the conversation, he felt as if someone was slightly crushing his heart. It began with a small pinch when Tegoshi told him about his fabulous crush. It grew through the days: first date, second date, third date, meeting with the parents. He didn’t really want to understand why he was feeling this way and why it was still kind of painful even after their break up. It was only a month, but it seemed years. He looked into Tegoshi’s eyes for a short moment and coughed to chase the discomfort.
‘’I will come with you.’’
His partner opened his eyes wide. ‘’Really? But you totally hate scandals and didn’t you have some things to do tonight?’’
Masuda got up and took both of their bags. ‘’Come before I change my mind…’’
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The air had cooled quite a bit when they finally arrived at the secluded cottage. The two levels maple log cabin was facing a small lake where some people were still swimming. The light of the stars was shimmering on the calm surface of the water. Some chairs with blankets had been put on the beach and fairy lights were illuminating the terrace. This really was a perfect spot for a party. There were a lot of people already present. A gang of guys were chatting about soccer near the front door and some girls were already seated on the big picnic table. They greeted everyone and Tegoshi introduced Masuda to the girls with who they would have to take a picture with later. They were talking about what type of picture they should take when he felt Tegoshi tense up next to him. He followed his stare and fell on a really beautiful girl with cute rosy cheeks, a nice smile, long black hair and a playful aura. She was pretty, very pretty. He never saw her before, but he knew immediately who she was. Even if it was over now, it wasn’t surprising that those two had fell for each other. He looked back at Tegoshi, feeling his chest tightening. How cute and happy they must have looked together. Masuda pushed Tegoshi’s back and pointed the table.
‘’I’m hungry. Let’s eat ok?’’ Tegoshi relaxed and laughed. ‘’Of course, you are. Let’s go.’’
He stayed aware of his partner during the meal. Checking every now and then if he was ok. Tegoshi was still a bit tense, but he was eating and drinking happily with everyone. He even went to chat with his ex and her friends. Masuda was the one feeling weird, barely eating and keeping mostly to himself. After the meal, they took a couple of pictures for the scandal and sent them to their manager. Nothing too extravagant, the two girls on one side, them on the other. Just enough to make it through the medias. By the time the fireworks were about to start some people went on the beach and a group of girls stayed to play games. Tegoshi and Masuda were about to go sit on a bench, feet in the sand, but the girls stopped them.
‘’Hey!! Come play with us! We need guys.’’ Masuda continued to walk, those girls were drunk and nothing good could come out of that. He just wanted to relax.
‘’What’s the game?’’ Tegoshi said.
‘’Bottle’’ the girls laughed. It was most likely a joke, isn’t it? But by the look on their faces, they were serious. Masuda sighed and was about to tell them no when Tegoshi grabbed his wrist and made him sit with the girls.
‘’Tegoshi, are you serious? That’s a high schooler game!’’ Masuda got booed by the girls but ignored them.
‘’It’s boring. Let’s just watch that will be funny. We won’t be picked for sure there is too much people.’’ Tegoshi was definitely more drunk than he thought. Masuda just gave up and let the girls start their game. The fireworks would start any moment now, so everyone would just go to watch them before it’s even their turn. As predicted by Tegoshi, the bottle just kept stopping in front of the girls and it was kind of funny to watch them try to kiss while being that drunk, but then Masuda’s turn came. He looked at the sky, still now signs of the fireworks … Tegoshi was laughing so hard and the girls were cheering him to turn the bottle. With reluctance, he took the bottle and turned it firmly. It turned, turned, turned, and he was just hoping it wouldn’t stop, but it did, and everyone went quiet. He followed the neck of the bottle to the person who was seated in front of it.
‘’Wait …wait…we can’t…’’ said Tegoshi a bit alarmed. They were almost 20 persons seated in a circle playing and the bottle stopped directly in front of Tegoshi.
‘’We can’t…’’ Tegoshi repeated. Masuda’s heart clenched at these words. The girls resumed their cheering and began to push Tegoshi’s in excitation, but the voices surrounding him were distorted. Masuda was about to get up and leave, when the fireworks started, and as he thought, the girls just flew away, running to the beach, leaving them frozen on place.
‘’Ah ah …that was funny…’’ said Tegoshi trying to smooth the atmosphere. But Masuda could hardly hear him. Why was the simple idea of Tegoshi rejecting him, even in just a kid’s game, so painful? He lifted his head to look at him. The blond guy was laughing, but he seemed uneasy. ‘’Come on Massu we will miss the fireworks…’’ He looked at Tegoshi’s back while he was getting up, walking away from him. It was so painful…so painful. He got up and walked to Tegoshi.
‘’It’s the rule, right? If the bottle stops, you have to…’’
He turned to face Masuda and laughed slightly. ‘’It’s a game …and it’s over now. You don’t really have to do it.’’
Tegoshi had no time to react when Masuda took his chin and put his lips on his. It was just a plain and chaste kiss. Just a couple of seconds and it was done. The red-haired man moved back a bit, realizing what he has done. Why did he kiss him? How could he do that? Tegoshi didn’t like him, never would. Not like that. He prepared himself to get slapped, rejected, pushed away, but nothing came. Tegoshi was just there, standing infront of him, his cheeks red, his lips slightly opened.
‘’It doesn’t count.’’ His partner said, keeping quiet for a moment. Masuda felt his heart skipping a beat at those words. He stayed without moving for a moment, looking deep into his hazel eyes and searching for an answer. He knew him for so long, but never quite understood that spark he always have seen in his eyes. When they were practicing until very late, during meetings, when they were on stage and harmonizing. It was always there, somewhere. ‘’It must be at least 20 seconds.’’ Tegoshi said. Could it be it…Masuda smiled to him shyly and put his hand on his hips, getting him closer. Tegoshi didn’t wait any longer, he closed the distance between them. It was only one small kiss at first, then another, his soft and warm lips dancing with his. He thought he would die when he felt Tegoshi sucking slightly at his lower lips and that their tongues touched. So, this is how it feels, love.
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Koyama, Shige, Tegoshi and Masuda were seated in the studio where they were filming for their new music video.
‘’I saw your scandal picture in the newspaper yesterday guys. Nice picture!’’ Koyama said while doing a thumbs up. ‘’How was it? Anything fun happened?’’
‘’No just …you know…work.’’ Masuda said over his bento looking at Tegoshi.
‘’Yeah just work.’’ Answered Tegoshi his eyes not quitting Masuda’s.