Work Text:
The crowd chattered away and Mika watched at the edge, quietly, propped with both his arms over the edge of a table. While even smaller gatherings were not Mika’s favourite thing, he found that he could stand them much better when the reason for being around them was Shuu. And today, certainly, was the most special day of the year for Shuu. Mika had been looking forward to his birthday for months, and although Shuu wasn’t the sort of person to make a big deal out of it, Mika was. Being that Halloween was a day away and other idols were returning to celebrate the festivities, it had been relatively easy for Mika to amass a few Yumenosaki graduates to come celebrate, as well as a few idols who hadn’t attended, but who were part of Ensemble Square regardless.
But now that the party was finally in full swing, Mika found that Shuu was much busier chattering with everyone who came to visit than he first thought. And that was perfectly fine to him. He would rather Shuu not forget that this was a party for himself, and besides, he had plenty of opportunity to catch up with a few old friends that he hadn’t seen since graduation, or maybe even longer than that.
Still, every now and again, he would catch himself looking over in Shuu’s direction, just to check on him. For the most part, he looked happy. At every moment, everyone was around Shuu, congratulating him. He seemed to be having fun, wearing a pleasant smile on his face. For as long as Mika had been around him, he could tell that his partner was holding back from his larger, sunnier smiles. Perhaps it was the crowd that made him uneasy too. He wasn’t the type of person to like them all that well either, prone to overstimulation from loud noises, loud voices, and loud excitement. But if Shuu was smiling, then he was clearly still happy about this, and if he was happy, then so was Mika.
A sudden, shrill laugh broke Mika from his thoughts and caused him to flinch. That particular laugh always did.
“What are ya mumblin’ to yerself, Mii-tan?” came Rinne’s amused voice, right by Mika’s ear.
The proximity caused him to jump. Goosebumps tugged uncomfortably at the back of his neck and shoulder, like the strings of a marionette. These just weren’t pulled by Shuu himself, and it caused him to grimace noticeably.
Rinne noticed. Another hyena-like laugh sounded from somewhere in his throat. “If ya feel lonely ‘cause yer Oshi-san’s been taken, why don’t ya have fun with me instead?” The young man leaned in, throwing his arm around Mika before he could protest and sliding up behind him. He slipped his fingers into Mika’s hair, ruffling it playfully.
“- Augh!” Mika ducked his head in an attempt to escape the encroaching fingers, but they followed. Now the goosebumps weren’t only at the back of his neck, but they poked like sharp thorns in his stomach and chest and the insides of his forearms in a way that made him feel nauseous. “Amagi-senpai! Nyaagh, please don’t push your body against me and pat my head like that!”
Another chuckle rumbled from behind, but, miraculously, Rinne seemed to loosen his grip on his hair slightly slightly. He didn’t move his body away from Mika at all, but Mika felt the granted leeway anyways, though it didn’t work to calm his nerves very much.
“You’re gettin’ too uptight, Mii-tan,” Rinne barked. “You’re startin’ to sound like Shuu-kun himself, the way ya don’t want me touchin’ ya.” He bumped his head against Mika’s. “If ya ask me, I think you’re spendin’ too much time around him, which is why you should come out and have some fun with me. Ya don’t wanna end up like yer Oshi-san over there, all ‘no fun allowed’ and ‘don’t talk so vulgarly.’”
Over there, over there. Mika glanced around frantically, searching for any sign of Shuu. The small crowd he had seen earlier had dispersed. Most were talking amongst themselves in smaller groups of two or three, but some had paused in their conversation to glance over at Mika and Rinne, likely because the two of them were making a pretty loud racket.
Where was Shuu?! He could feel tears in his eyes. This wasn’t a big deal at all. This shouldn’t be a big deal at all! They were all friends here, and just because they were looking at him didn’t mean that they suddenly thought bad about him.
But if he couldn’t find Shuu, then that meant he couldn’t get to safety, and if he couldn’t get to safety, then he would have to be stuck with Rinne, and thinking of that as some possibility conquered any secure thought he could have.
“Amagi.”
The familiar voice dispelled the spikes in Mika’s chest almost instantly.
Now, it was Rinne’s turn to be taken by surprise. Mika didn’t feel Rinne full-body flinch against his back, but he did feel Rinne tense slightly, and his overwhelming presence did disappear slightly as he looked up. Mika looked up too.
And there was Shuu, standing strangely close to the two of them, his arms crossed and his hip resting against the side of the table. His lilac eyes glared daggers at Rinne and shone with concentrated irritation, although Mika knew instantly that he was holding back a deeper, more subtle anger. He knew Shuu could be angered like this at even the smallest of circumstances, but this in particular wasn’t something Mika considered to be as big a deal for him as his gaze was making it out to be. He glanced away, unable to look for long, in some misplaced fear that Shuu would suddenly find issue with his examination and turn his ire on him.
But he didn’t. Instead, he said something that made Mika freeze.
“Do not mess with my Kagehira.”
My Kagehira.
This was not the first time Mika had ever heard Shuu call him that before. He had referenced him numerous times to others, while at his side, as his Kagehira. But this was all as a remark on Mika as his unitmate. But there was a timbre in his voice and an astute difference in his wording that made this very different from that. It was a well known fact that alluding to anyone in this way meant far more than something platonic.
And it confused Mika even more. He still hadn’t calmed down from Rinne’s little attack, but now his senses spiked. The sensation was agonising. Suddenly, the nerves returned, though now they resided in the bottom of Mika’s throat and in the ends of his fingers, which had already begun to tremble with fearfulness and uncertainty. These weren’t even bad nerves this time. These were… good nerves? These were the nerves that came with being so overwhelmingly happy that he didn’t know how to do anything except lie down and take it. Absently, he twisted, pushing himself down onto the table, resting his forearms against each other and pressing his forehead into his arms.
Shuu took a step closer, his gaze flickering to Mika before returning back to Rinne. “Can you not see that he’s trying to run from you? Whatever will you do if you end up breaking him more than he already has?” He nodded his head down at Mika.
Rinne cackled. Mika felt his weight move off of him completely. “Relax, Shuu-kun. I was just offerin’ for yer lil Mii-tan to come out and have a little fun with me, since yer attention was taken and all. Didn’t look like he was havin’ any fun, watchin’ ya talk with everyone else.”
“I was havin’ fun,” croaked Mika, turning his head and pressing his temple against his wrist.
“You can stop looking after him now so crudely,” Shuu said, closing the distance between them. He came so close that he bumped against Mika’s side. Before Mika could push himself up to stand more presentably, Shuu was hooking his arm under his and pulling him up against his side. They were positioned in such a way that Shuu stood slightly behind him, as if in an attempt to take up the space that Rinne had just occupied. “He’s had enough of your sarcasm. And I suggest you not touch him like this again.”
“You gotta be quicker next time.” Rinne smirked. “Or else I might steal him right out from under yer nose when you’re not lookin’.”
Mika - with no idea what they were talking about or what to do now except weather out this sudden verbal battle of wits - stuck to Shuu’s side, silently looking off at a point on the wall.
“I don’t think you will,” Shuu shot back. “If you do, I’ll see to it that you and your entire unit know what you’ve done. It might even get back to the Cospro administration. I would hate to have to ask them to keep you away from him.”
“Ooo, like a restrainin’ order? Gettin’ bolder now, Shuu-kun?” For a moment, Rinne’s gaze strayed to Mika, his eyes narrowing just slightly. Mika couldn’t tell if it was amusement he still saw in the man’s gaze, or thoughtful speculation. “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Laughing, Rinne simply turned away, threw a hand up into the air, and waved the question off. “You’ll just have to figure that out for yourself! I can tell I’m just overstayin’ my welcome now, so I’ll be nice and give ya room to brew over it with your Kagehira.” He spoke Mika’s name sweetly, and Mika couldn’t help but to suspect that he was teasing Shuu. “Happy birthday, Shuu-kun!”
As Rinne walked away, Shuu shifted behind Mika. He drew his hand up to Mika’s shoulder and squeezed lightly. “Forget about him,” he ordered, though not too crossly, the way he usually did during their practice sessions. “He’s nothing to either of us.” He leaned over, glancing at Mika’s face. “I want you to stay by me the rest of this time. In case he returns.”
Mika nodded. The nerves in his stomach tingled.
And stay by him he did, hovering by Shuu’s side for the rest of the party. After the incident, the guests that remained began to trickle out one-by-one, paying their last birthday wishes to Shuu before leaving. A few times, Mika would catch a small conversation with someone and begin chattering with them. In those moments, he noticed how Shuu would come wandering back around to him once he noticed Mika gone from his side, and would linger about until the conversation was finally finished and Mika joined him once more.
It made Mika happier beyond belief.
Once most of the visitors were gone, Mika began to clean up. He started with the tables, grabbing loose plates and stacking them so that when the staff came to clean it properly, they wouldn’t have to work so hard. It was a habit that Mika had picked up at the orphanage and with his foster parents, who had taught him not to waste any of his efforts when they were needed most. Not only that, but he was still wondering about exactly what Shuu meant by those words.
Eventually, he couldn’t take the speculation.
“Did ya really mean what ya said, Oshi-san?” Mika asked, as he crumpled up a large piece of torn wrapping paper and tossed it into the trash.
“About what?”
“‘Bout me bein’ yer Kagehira.”
Shuu paused halfway to the door and turned around to look at him. To Mika’s surprise, he didn’t look annoyed at the question. Actually, he looked uncharacteristically calm. “I thought you would have known by now how I feel. I had a sneaking suspicion I wasn’t making myself clear enough, but I assumed you figured it out somewhere along the way. You are my Kagehira.” He used the same wording as he had earlier. “I believe Amagi already took notice, and thought he would draw my attention to you the way that he did. It worked. I must admit, it was a very good plan. He’s incredibly loud.”
Again, Mika’s entire heart seemed to react, clanging against the cage of his ribs so hard he thought it might squeeze right out and hop into Shuu’s hands. If Mika had had any doubts about what he meant…
They were gone now.
“Oh.” Mika laughed nervously. It was the only thing he could think to do, because right now, there was so much happiness in him that he felt like he would explode if he said anything else. Or maybe he’d just sound stupid. This was all he ever wanted, and now he was learning he hadn’t noticed this whole time? About how Shuu felt? He felt stupid.
The calm on Shuu’s face flickered in his brows. “What are you laughing about?”
Mika shook his head, folding his arms across his abdomen. The goofy smile on his face wouldn’t fade no matter how hard he tried. “Nyagh - nothin’, Oshi-san! I was just thinkin’ of some things is all!”
Slowly, Shuu made his way to stand in front of Mika. He drew one of Mika’s arms out, bringing Mika’s hand up to place on his cheek. It was warm. “Tell me what you were thinking.”
Mika blinked. This was a very intimate position to be in, and it caused a blush to rush to his face. His beating heart was distracting him immensely. So he began to talk, his gaze flickering around Shuu’s face and registering absolutely none of it. “I - eh, I was thinkin’... I was thinkin’ ‘bout how I never noticed how ya felt. I didn’t think ya felt like that or nothin’. I just thought… I dunno, that ya liked me enough to keep me around and all, but I’ve been wantin’ this for a while. I didn’t know how to tell ya ‘cause I knew if ya didn’t feel the same way as me that you would probably not wanna talk to me anymore. And I didn’t want ya pushin’ me away, ‘cause I can’t handle that, Oshi-san. I can’t even handle thinkin’ ‘bout bein’ away from ya with no way of talkin’ to ya or seein’ ya. I don’t ever wanna be away from you, ever. But I also wanna be with ya, the way that other people would talk about us or go ‘they’re together, they’re each others’ people and that means no one else can get in between them’ and I want people to give up even thinkin’ that they have a chance with ya, and I don’t want anyone askin’ me, ‘cause in my mind I’ve been taken this whole time, and you’re my Oshi-san, and I want everyone to know that -”
He was cut off, very suddenly, by Shuu’s lips against his, and a hand sliding up his jaw, warm fingers splayed over his cheek to hold him there. It was two seconds of warm lips and strange, soft silence.
Mika’s eyes were prickling with tears by the time Shuu pulled away. “Oshi-san?”
“You sounded worried.” Shuu’s nose brushed against his, and when he huffed through his nose, his warm breath blew past Mika’s lips. “I don’t want that. What I want is for you to know that you are my Kagehira, that you have been for a while, and that you will continue to be. So put your doubts aside now. It’s very unbecoming to have them, and there’s no more room for that here.”
For a moment, Mika didn’t know what to do. Shuu could hear his heart racing for sure, as close as he was. But, eventually, he steeled his courage, pushing closer, until his arms were tucked between Shuu’s chest and his own. He pressed his forehead against Shuu’s and shut his eyes.
They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity. Mika’s heart calmed slowly, and so did his quick, shallow breathing, until it was nothing more than a steady in-and-out.
“... Oshi-san?”
“Hmm?”
“Does this mean we’re each other’s now?”
“Yes, Kagehira.”
“Can I kiss ya a lot?”
“Not too much. You’ll wear it out.”
“Can I tell people?”
Shuu was silent for a moment. “Not yet. Not until you understand what I’ve told you more fully.”
Mika didn’t ask what that meant. “Mmkay. But soon, right?”
“Soon.”
With a happy sigh, Mika let himself melt against Shuu, whose arms now moved to encircle his body. He felt protected in the way no one else had ever made him feel. “Heh. Happy birthday, Oshi-san.”
Somewhere in Shuu’s throat rumbled a soft, tuneful little hum. “Yes,” he said. “I think it is.”