Work Text:
Keiichiro opened his eyes, squinted as the sunrays fell into his eyes from the slit of his half closed bedroom curtain. He yawned loudly and realized that something is not quite right.
Turning to his side, he saw that the other side of his bed empty. He sat up, flinching as he felt the throbbing in his head and how dry and swollen his eyes felt.
I must’ve cried too much yesterday.
Yesterday was the last concert from the NEWS Story 2020. He celebrated it last night with his group members and staffs, eating curry rice in the backstage after the concert. It was a sign that they finally were finishing their 4-year-long project, a sign that a new year had begun for them, despite all the challenges and hardships.
Keiichiro remembered how he kept on shedding tears throughout the after concert, and how Massu and Shige kept on jokingly telling him,
“Ahh, Koya-mama is having it bad this time. “
“Keichan, your tears is turning the curry into soup.”
“Keichan, the dressing room is flooded now, we’re going to need a boat to evacuate from here.”
Opening the bedroom door, delicious smell of freshly cooked breakfast wafted through and he smiled. Approaching the kitchen, some upbeat power metal tune played softly from the phone docked into the speaker in the kitchen.
There, he saw the scenery that never got him bored, even after 3 years has passed. The short small body, this time clad in oversized News Neverland tour t-shirt, definitely stolen from his wardrobe and a pair of black sweatpants. Long purple hair (just like his member color) haphazardly tied into a messy bun on top of her head. She was wearing a purple apron and stirring something in the red pot on the stove.
“Oha….,” Kei managed to rasp before a series of wrecking cough assaulted him.
She turned around quickly , startled, before instantly be in his side, rubbing his back and chest alternately. Then, a glass of warm water was in his hand.
Kei took a sip, wincing as the water moved down his sore throat. It was so painful. She looked at him, with a nod and encouraging smile, half urging him to take more sips despite the pain.
Kei handed the glass back to her and she placed it in the sink,
“Are you feeling better now? Does it hurt so bad?” she asked softly.
Kei looked at her before nodded. With her, there was nothing to hide at all. With her, he didn’t need to be strong.
With her, he wasn’t the Koyama Keiichiro, leader of Japan’s famous idol group, NEWS. With her, he was a man, a man who needed encouragements to keep going on, who shed tears from time to time, who was able to feel down, anger, and helpless.
Kei was a man who kept everything to himself. But with her, he can talk about everything. His worries, his fears, his real feelings.
She was never a fangirl. She didn’t even know NEWS when they started dating. He remembered her asking him,
“NEWS? Oh, the television news. Or is it radio? Which TV station is it?”
They both loved the different kinds of music. She listened to rock and metal music, she was an X Japan fan, just like his mother. She wasn’t even Japanese.
“Kei,” she nudged him softly, “you were spacing out. Daijoubu ka?”
He gave her a smile and nodded, not trusting himself to speak as he was worried that he would cough more.
“Come on, let’s have breakfast. You’ll have a doctor appointment to check your throat later, right? I’ll go with you,” she said, placing a plate of soft scrambled egg and a bowl of clear soup in front of him. A mug of honey, lemon, ginger, chrysanthemum tea came next and Kei immediately reached for it, taking a sip, enjoying the warmth of the liquid and how it soothed his sore throat. Somehow, his aching head feels better too.
“Not working?” he asked her.
“Nope, I’m working at night tonight. There’s a recording session starting at 8. Will you be alright at home alone?”
“Yeah,” Kei replied, “though I will miss you,” he added. Voice still a bit hoarse.
She was working as a recording technician in a music studio. She also played bass from time to time.
Kei watched her placed the same food in front of her and they started to eat in a comfortable silence. The music now turning to KAT-TUN’s Neiro.
After breakfast, Kei helped her put the dirty dishes in the sink before moving to the living room and asking her to sit on the couch, next to him.
He leaned into her, snuggling himself close to her before closing his eyes contentedly. She ran her hand through his hair, caressing him softly.
“Ai-chan, bikurishita….”
“Eeh? Nani?” she was startled, her hand stopped mid air. Kei tugged at her hand, leading it back to his hair,
“Yesterday. I was so surprised.”
She giggled before looking at him,
“Really? The surprise was working well, eh?“
“Yeah, I was…. I was… really not sure if I can contain my emotion. It was so overwhelming. I wasn’t sure if my legs would be able to hold my weight longer then.”
Tears found their ways to his eyes again, running down his cheek. She pulled him into her embrace, hugging him tight, her fingers threaded into his hair. Kei closed his eyes, taking deep breaths, inhaling the comforting scent of hers, his love, his Ai.
Suddenly he remembered something and Kei turned to his side, facing her,
“Chotto matte! You knew about it? Ai-chaann, you are so mean!” he whined.
She laughed,
“Yeah, I helped the staff sorted all the messages. There were really lots of them. Some of them were interesting and funny, you know.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! Oh, do you know? There are messages saying that you guys should come to this or that country because your future love can be found there. Even from my home country, Indonesia.”
Kei chuckled, pulled her into his embrace and kissing the top of her head,
“Hmm…., if only they knew how correct they are, eh?” before closing their distance, taking her lips in his. She parted hers, and Kei deepened their kiss.
“Kei,” she said after they broke the kiss apart, “as much as I hate to say it, but I need to do the dishes and clean up before it’s time for your check up. Why don’t you rest up here a bit?”
Kei smiled as he watched her strolling back to the kitchen. He took out his laptop and turned the power on. He’s going to update his J-web.
終わり