Work Text:
Shu is reaching for the last cup of mango ice cream when someone shouts, “No! UNPOG!” He spins around to find a blonde man in a large hoodie standing behind him, looking crestfallen.
It’s 11PM and the store is practically empty. Shu’s only here after being sent on an emergency PMS supply run for his sister. There’s a box of pads in Shu’s arm, and he suddenly regrets not grabbing a basket on the way in. The distance between the painkiller, sanitary napkin, and ice cream aisles seemed so short and doable five minutes ago. This isn’t Shu’s first rodeo, but it’s the first one where he runs into an actual celebrity.
Especially when said celebrity’s posters are plastered all over Shu’s little sister’s bedroom walls.
“You can have it,” Shu says quickly and hands the ice cream over. His hand is starting to get cold holding it anyway. Quickly, Shu glances back at the flavors selections and picks out something else. Strawberry. Everyone likes strawberry, right?
“Oh, POG!” Luca Kaneshiro, actor, idol, and national heartthrob chirps happily when Shu turns around. He’s really tall and broad and attractive, and Shu really needs to get out of here.
For some reason, Luca seems content following Shu to the front. It’s late and only the self checkouts are open. Luca spends a good minute squinting at the screen before Shu gives up and guides Luca from the station next to his. “You just press this button and scan the barcode,” Shu explains patiently.
“Wow, thanks!” Luca looks at Shu like he has just performed a miraculous feat. “I’ve never done this before, you know?”
Shu’s not sure what “this” means. Buy his own ice cream? Use the self checkout? Or talk to strangers? He settles with, “it’s okay, these machines can be confusing.”
While Luca fumbles for some cash, Shu quickly pays for his own order and stuffs the items into the random reusable bag he’d grabbed on the way out. When it’s obvious Luca doesn’t need any more help, Shu heads to the door. He’s greeted by the warm summer night, the streetlights illuminating the space around them. If Shu hurries, he can walk home in five minutes.
“Hey!” Luca’s voice carries through the air. It’s friendly and charming and exactly like in those MVs Shu’s sister often plays on repeat. Before Shu knows it, Luca is standing behind him. “I didn’t get to thank you!”
“Oh, you’re welcome,” Shu tells him. He blinks when Luca takes a seat on the sidewalk railing and starts opening the lid of his mango ice cream. “Are you going to eat that here?”
Luca just hums as he separates the small wooden spoon from the packaging. “I’m not supposed to be eating it at all, so it’ll be our secret, okay?” He doesn’t seem to have a ride or be in the process of waiting for one. “Hey, hey, I have an idea! Why don’t you keep me company?”
There’s a reason Luca Kaneshiro is consistently ranked in magazines as the “#1 Man I Want to Embrace.” He’s inexplicably charismatic, and even Shu feels drawn to him. So it’s really not Shu’s fault that he finds himself leaning against the same railing as Luca while the buzzing neon lights of the konbini keep them company.
“I loveeeee mango,” Luca says after taking a bite of his ice cream. Then he looks at Shu, his eyes bright and dazzling. “Do you want some? Here!” The wooden spoon is thrusted into Shu’s face almost immediately.
There’s a million reasons why Shu should not do this, but his brain refuses to process any. He quickly closes his mouth around the spoon and chokes when Luca mumbles, “indirect kiss pog!”
Luca just laughs while Shu suffers from death-inducing embarrassment. Shu is so flustered that he spits the spoon out on the ground. Then he realizes his mistake. Shu opens the cap of his strawberry ice cream and hands the spoon over to Luca.
“Hey, I know that bag!” Luca says brightly.
Very slowly, Shu glances at the eco bag in his hands to find the logo from Luca Kaneshiro’s first concert tour printed on the front. “Uhhh,” Shu says, feeling his face heat for an entirely different reason. “This belongs to my sister! She’s a big fan of yours.”
Luca tilts his head slightly. “So you’re not my fan? Even after we shared an indirect kiss? Sadge.”
This is too much for Shu. He tries to say something, but all he manages are little, “Eh? Eh?!”s.
“What’s your name?” Luca asks, now using the new spoon to work his way through the rest of his ice cream. When Shu tells him, Luca repeats it quietly. “Are you from this area? I snuck out of the hotel for a walk without my phone. All I brought was some cash, and now I’m lost.”
Shu tries to process this. “And you still decided to get something to eat?”
“Well, better lost with a snack than lost without it, you know?”
Shu does know and understand Luca’s train of thought. He doesn’t even protest when Luca empties his cup and hands the spoon back to him. The strawberry ice cream in Shu’s hand is starting to melt, so Shu digs in. It’s too hot, and maybe the coldness will help cool his brain. While Shu eats, Luca hums a familiar song under his breath. A few more people step out of the store, but it’s dark enough that they don’t spare Luca a second thought.
By the time Shu finishes the tiny cup, his mind is made up. He picks up Luca’s trash along with his own and throws them both away. Then he turns to Luca. “What’s the name of your hotel? I’ll walk you back.”
Luca doesn’t actually remember, but Shu is able to figure it out based on the descriptions. It’s only a fifteen minute walk according to the maps app. On their way there, Luca chats while Shu listens idly. Luca is here for a photoshoot and show taping, and now Shu vaguely remembers his sister mentioning this.
“Hey Shu! Shu! Look at this!” Luca points at an ad on the storefront of a clothing shop. It’s a poster of Luca himself, looking dashing and serious. The real Luca Kaneshiro is nothing like that, trying to mimic the pose in the ad only to burst out laughing.
They’re walking towards the busier part of the city, although most of the stores are already closed. Luca starts playing twenty questions, asking Shu about his sisters and family and his own pick of ice cream flavors.
“Uh, anything’s fine.”
“But what if you had to pick, Shu?”
“Oh gosh, I don’t know. Banana maybe?”
The hotel is already within sight when Luca says, “Give me your phone.”
“Uh, why?” Shu asks. Despite his question, he hands it over easily and blinks when Luca types something in.
“Here’s my number,” Luca says with a wink. “I’m in town for two more days. Call me and I’ll treat you to some banana ice cream!” He doesn’t elaborate. A man in a suit at the entrance of the hotel spots them immediately and shuffles Luca away, but not before Luca shouts out one last, “Call me, Shu!”
Shu is in a daze on his walk home. It’s already past midnight when he gets back. He hands the bag to his sister, then goes and collapses on his bed.
“What took you so long?” She asks from the doorway. “What happened?”
Shu looks at the number in his phone. “Did you know? Celebrities shop too.”