Work Text:
“…You’re letting me take complete creative control of my special performance?”
Jun hesitates to look back at Ibara from where he was currently staring down at his fidgeting hands resting in his lap. He was worried he heard wrong and was about to get laughed out of the office. After all, why would he possibly want Jun to choreograph it himself? Ibara flashes a genuine smile (as genuine as a smile from Ibara can get) and clasps his hands together on top of his desk, finally looking away from his computer screen to glance at Jun.
“I think it’s about time I let you have a little more freedom,” Ibara smiles, eyes narrowing. “You should be taking this as a sign that I trust you, Jun.”
Jun swallows the ‘But what if I shouldn’t be trusted?’ he’s about to throw back. He doesn’t need another lecture from Ibara on his self-deprecating nature.
“Oh, is it that you think you shouldn’t be trusted?” Ibara beats him to it, cocking his head to the side.
“Eh?! N-no!” Jun argues weakly, failing to keep the confident smile he was wearing.
Ibara stares at Jun for what feels like an eternity with an unreadable expression on his face. Jun could only imagine the inhuman processes happening in his brain at that moment. Finally Ibara sits up straighter and pushes up his glasses, resuming typing on his keyboard.
“Just do whatever you want,” he shrugs nonchalantly and waves a hand at Jun.
Jun freezes for a moment. “Um, thanks..?” he says under his breath, only receiving another hand wave and noncommittal noise in response. Jun continues to sit there for a moment before standing up and turning to leave the office, slightly disoriented.
-
Hiyori taps his chin and dramatically brings his gaze back to Jun’s face. “Hmm… no~”
“No?!”
“Ahaha! No!” Hiyori giggles at Jun’s exasperated face and takes a slow sip of his tea. “Ibara said he wanted you to choreograph it, Jun-kun. You should probably listen to him lest he poison us both.”
“He wouldn’t actually poison us, though, right…” Jun mumbles under his breath, falling back onto his bed and covering his face with his hands. “I’m just not even sure where to start.”
“Have you tried listening to the song?~”
“GODDAMN!” the younger boy groans and kicks his feet in frustration. “Of course I have listened to our song , Trap for You .”
“Jun-kun!” Hiyori huffs and places his teacup down on Jun’s nightstand, sitting down next to him on the bed. “But have you really listened to it?”
Jun uncovers his eyes so he can scowl. “Ohii-san-“
“Hush! Did I say I was done speaking?! Stupid Jun-kun. Just be sexy~”
This elicits another groan from Jun and he sits up to look at Hiyori head-on. “Am I not already?”
Hiyori’s mouth drops open and he has to look away from Jun’s face, stifling giggles behind his hand.
“Heyy!” Jun exclaims and lightly shoves his partner’s shoulder.
“Ohh, Jun-kun..” Hiyori sighs after calming down and takes his partner’s hands in his own. “Aesthetically? Of course. You wouldn’t be worthy of being in Eve if you weren’t~ But your energy is… it is just simply abysmal ♪”
Jun stares up at Hiyori, lost for words. “So-“
“If you just move your hips or wink or something it will probably be fiiiine~!” Hiyori pouts and pats his head, standing up. “We~ll, I’ll get going now, Jun-kun! I have to.. make sure Kanata-kun isn’t flooding the dorm again!”
“Wow, thanks, Ohii-san. What a big help you are.”
With that, Jun is left sitting there dumbfounded, mumbling curses to himself. He decides to sleep on it, but not before emptying out the rest of Hiyori’s now cold tea and washing out the cup for the next time he welcomes himself back into his room.
-
Jun wakes up with a refreshed mind. Hiyori’s words replayed over and over in his head as he tried to get some rest and brought forth plenty of ideas for his special performance. Ibara had already booked him a private practice room separate from Eden’s usual one, according to the text that was sent to him at 4 am. Whether Ibara had woken up early or not yet gone to sleep was something that would forever remain a mystery to Jun. He decides to skip his morning workout routines and get to practicing immediately, for better or for worse.
“God DAMN!” he yells in frustration, falling to the floor and burying his face in his knees.
“….Jun?”
“UWAH??!” Jun scurries to his feet and turns to the doorway. “Nagi-senpai?!”
“Jun.”
The two stare at each other for a minute as the younger boy tries to calm down. “Ehh.. how long have you been watching me for exactly?”
“...A while. Although I am unsure what exactly you are trying to do. This is not usually a part of Eve’s usual choreography, if I recall correctly..” Nagisa fully enters into the practice room and closes the door behind him, approaching the frustrated boy.
“Of course Ibara wouldn’t tell you…” Jun grumbles. “He’s making me come up with my own special performance for Trap for You. I have full control over what I do, but I don’t know where to start. And Ohii-san was no help at all! Actually, he refused to help!”
“...That is understandable for Hiyori-kun to do. I am afraid I will be of even less help, if I even felt I was able to help at all. Ibara wouldn’t want me to, if I am understanding the situation correctly.”
“Nagi-senpai… Not even any tips or pointers on what you saw me do?” Jun asks in an exasperated and near desperate tone. “This is kind of feeling like some new form of torture and I’m not sure why I specifically am being put through it. Or it’s like, some kind of joke that everyone is in on but me.”
Nagisa tilts his head to the side with a small smile. “…If you can show me again and explain what you’re trying to do, then perhaps I can provide a few tips, Jun.”
Jun stands still in contemplation for a moment before sighing and rewinding the song to a point prior to the bridge, getting into position and performing the regular choreography.
“So,” Jun starts explaining as he makes his way through the choreography the best he can without a partner, “Ohii-san said I should try being sexy. Specifically he said to move my hips, so I thought a classic Eden hip thrust would do~”
Nagisa nods and watches intently but silently. Finally the bridge starts and he witnesses Jun’s attempt at choreography. The part designated for the special performance ends and Jun stops dancing, grabbing his phone to pause the song and wiping the sweat off of his face with a towel. “..So?”
“……” Eden’s leader stays silent for a moment as he contemplates how to go about answering his junior. “The very first and last parts were quite good. They align with the image Ibara has set for you, and satisfy Eve’s typical level of fanservice.”
“Thanks!” Jun beams at Nagisa before thinking for a moment and looking away, slightly embarrassed. “What about the rest of it though? What about the… the hip thrust?”
“..I don’t seem to recall seeing a hip thrust,” Nagisa tilts his head and places a hand on his chin, replaying the unfortunate scene in his mind, “..unless you mean the part where you placed your hand in front of you?”
“You don’t-“ Jun sputters in disbelief and looks at him with wide eyes. “Yes, that’s where I mean.”
“...Hm.”
“What do you mean ‘hm’?! I moved my hips there!”
“..Yes, you did move them. I am not certain that it could be considered a thrust, however.” Nagisa successfully holds back the teasing smile he feels building up.
“GODDAMN! I- I don’t understand! We do hip thrusts in Eden choreography all the time! Have I always been this… bad at it?”
“…”
“…Nagi-senpai?”
“…” Nagisa hides his smile behind his fist and turns away, walking toward the door of the practice room. “I am afraid I have to leave now. Good luck, Jun.”
“Nagi-senpai!?!” Jun gasps in disbelief and stands there as he watches him leave. After a moment he sits back down on the ground, leaning against the mirror with his phone in his hand, and starts watching old Eden music videos.
Watching his own performances is something Jun rarely does. For one, he easily gets distracted by the comments section and can spend hours reading what people are saying about him. But mostly he just can’t watch without comparing himself to the other members of Eden. There were a few times he almost spiraled back into thinking he was not important to the unit and should be immediately replaced.
“What.. what is this?!” Jun mumbles to himself as he replays Dance in the Apocalypse for the third time. “Why am I conveniently out of frame for so many of these hip movements.. It must just be an editing choice, I guess? Or they picked some weird angles..”
After an hour of watching his own videos on repeat he groans and slides his phone into the pocket of his training sweatpants.
“Whatever!~” Jun huffs and stands up, stretching his arms and legs. “I’ll just have to show everyone how much I’ve improved! I’ll make this stage into something!~”
-
“Jun! I assume you are ready for your special performance?”
“AGH!” Jun jumps and turns to find Ibara in the doorway of the dressing room, “Maybe learn to knock?!”
“You’re nervous.” Ibara states, almost cheerfully.
“No shit I am!” Jun nearly growls. “You did this to me. I have to go show that whole crowd something I choreographed myself. I can’t even blame you if it sucks.”
“Oh, Jun… are you not aware?”
“...of what, exactly? Ibara?”
“We’re filming this performance to post online,” Ibara raises an eyebrow, “I had assumed you knew, considering we did the same with His Highness’s recent special performance for this same song. So, it’s not just that whole crowd. It will be available for all of your fans ☆”
“...Oh. I didn’t think we would be filming mine. I figured Ohii-san was a special case, considering he’s much more of a big deal, as the leader of Eve and all. It’s not as if I’m that interesting, we’ll probably lose more money paying the cameramen than we’ll make from posting it.”
Ibara sighs and starts to reply but is interrupted by someone behind him.
“...Jun, please do not say things like that.”
“GODDAMN! What is with you both suddenly appearing like that?!” Jun jumps for the second time and tries to calm himself. “But Nagi-senpai, it’s true, is it not? I’m so unimportant to Eden that I’m not even in half the frames of our music videos.”
“...I am sure that is not the case.”
“I watched all of our videos several times the other day,” Jun starts and Ibara’s expression turns to one of surprise, “I was practically not in them at all.”
“Well that is absolutely an exaggeration.” Ibara sighs and shakes his head. “You are an essential part of Eve and Eden. That is final.”
Jun narrows his eyes in response to the clear dismissal of what he said but figures it’s probably easier to give in than to fight with Ibara right now. “Alright.”
Ibara smiles slyly and claps his hands once, making both Jun and Nagisa jolt. “Well then! It’s only a few minutes until you’re due on stage. His Highness is already waiting right backstage, we better not keep him waiting!”
Jun exhales a deep breath and turns back to the dressing room mirror, tousling his hair and adjusting the jacket of his unit outfit. He closes his eyes for a brief moment, playing back the choreography he came up with in his mind, and turns back to Adam, starting his way out of the room toward backstage. They step out of the man of the hour’s way and begin following after him.
“...I am truly looking forward to your special performance, Jun. I could see the potential in what you were starting with the other day. I will admit it was not perfect, but gems can always go under some polishing in order to shine.”
“Very well said, Your Excellency! As per usual!” Ibara praises. “And very true as well! I watched back the footage from the practice room the other day and-”
“Wait a second, what footage?! You were filming me?” Jun cuts him off in bewilderment. “Actually, I definitely should have expected that. Why else would you go out of your way to book me a private practice room?”
“Why else?” Ibara chuckles. “Maybe because I am your producer? Are you really having memory issues at such a crucial moment?”
“Oh, shut up!” Jun grumbles and picks up his walking speed. “You don’t need to pretend you have no ulterior motives in front of me, of all people, you know.”
“The only ‘ulterior motive’ I had was to make sure booking that room for you wasn’t a waste of CosPro’s funding. But now you’ve given me an idea! As a sequel to your special performance we could release another video of all the hard work you put into it~”
“Absolutely not.” Jun hisses and directs a glare back at Ibara as they reach the backstage area where Hiyori is.
“I’m only kidding, obviously. We most definitely can’t let anyone see how much sweat you produce in an uncontrolled environment.”
“Jun-kun, Jun-kun!” Hiyori cheers and grabs onto his partner’s shoulders before Jun can come up with a rebuttal to Ibara’s banter. He would definitely never admit it out loud, but that back and forth actually made him feel a little less nervous.
“Ohii-san,” Jun sighs and attempts to remove the hands from his shoulders, underestimating the strength of Hiyori’s grip.
“Jun-kun, this is such fine weather, isn’t it?~ I’m rather excited to see what you have in store for us all. I asked that viper to hand over the practice room footage and he refused me, can you believe it?!”
“You knew about the footage too?!”
“You didn’t?” Hiyori gives him an inquisitive look before finally letting go. “Stupid Jun-kun, you should expect that from our dear Ibara by now.”
“Our dear..” Ibara repeats under his breath and scoffs. “Enough chatting. You’ve got about one minute to prepare and head out there now, Eve. Adam will stay right here watching you, make sure to tempt us well~”
“...Yes, good luck, Jun.”
Jun and Hiyori start making their way to their starting positions on stage, still able to hear fragments of the other two’s conversation.
‘... sure he’ll be alright?’
‘.. .doubting me, Your Excellency? Of course …’
‘... Hm .’
“...we can always pay off the crowd to stay silent if it goes horribly wrong.” Ibara says a bit louder than usual to make sure Jun can hear. Jun smiles slightly, knowing that despite the teasing tone that was Ibara’s way of reassuring him.
The performance seems to fly by flawlessly at first. Jun’s anxiety had been nearly non-existent once he got on the stage, but as the moment of his special performance got closer, his nerves steadily rose. As he looked out at the crowd he noticed a lot more fans expressing their support for him specifically. However the moment of excitement he felt was fleeting, as he began to overthink. I’m not sure I believe that many people are excited to see… me . Ibara must have made them sell my merchandise on the way into the venue. He probably had to discount it, too, to even make anyone buy that garbage.
He finds that a lot more eyes are fixed on him than Hiyori in this particular performance. Waiting to watch me fuck up.
His mind starts racing through the past few days of his life as they approach the fated time allotted for his special performance. When Hiyori called his energy abysmal, the way Nagisa avoided answering his questions, each music video frame without him in it, and every slightly sinister smile from Ibara, all swirling around in the back of his head as he reaches the bridge of the song. He swallows as he watches Hiyori retreat to the very edge of the stage, leaving him with every pair of eyes in the audience looking to him, and only him.
…Well, I can’t let them down.
Jun seamlessly slips into the choreography he had spent the last week working on. The first few seconds are executed perfectly.
Nagi-senpai said this part was good~ he thinks proudly. He raises his hands above his head and lowers them in front of him, making eye contact with the camera right in front of him. I’m doing well. Let’s get this over with. He smirks and throws one arm back behind him as one dangles in front, his eyes following the camera lens as it takes a lower angle.
He moves his hips once, twice, in time with the horns, and swipes his arms to the side. He steps closer to the camera as he finishes the choreography he created all on his own, throwing his best seductive look into the lens. I… think I did okay? He steps back, sliding past Hiyori as they get right back into the usual performance, the rest passing by in a blur. He vaguely remembers hearing the crowd say his name, and waving out to them with a grin before he exited the stage with Hiyori.
Jun finds himself standing before the rest of his unit backstage, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. “...So? What did you all think?”
“That was quite…” Hiyori trails off for a second, “adorable, really~”
“Eh, adorable? That’s.. not what I was expecting to hear.”
“What were you expecting? Seductive? Enticing?” Ibara chuckles. “There was certainly an attempt at those things. I’d say it upholds your current image for the fans, at least. Which is a compliment, I assure you.”
“Uh.” Jun furrows his eyebrows and shakes his head. “Thanks? Nagi-senpai, what did you think? Was the hip thrust better this time?”
“...The hip thrust?” Nagisa taps a finger against his chin. “Ah, I recall where you meant to include one. It was better, I suppose. Though I am still unsure the movement you made would be considered a thrust.”
“Yes, yes, I agree!” Hiyori nods along, “I’m blanking on how to describe that as well.”
Jun groans and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Hey, Ibara?”
“Yes, Jun?”
“How much does one of those cameras we used cost?”
“Quite a lot! But a small expense for CosPro, of course.”
“Good to hear. I think I might go ahead and smash them to pieces ♪”
“Aha, that would be a fruitless endeavor, if destroying the footage is your goal! We have already posted the performance online!”
“Ah.” Jun replies dejectedly.
“The crowd loved that, Jun-kun,” Hiyori pulls his partner into a side hug, “they would love anything you did, I’m sure of it. Ibara even had to rush in an extra shipment of your merchandise, since it sold out almost instantly once doors opened!”
“...That is true. We witnessed some of the more cruel parts of human nature watching the merchandise stalls prior to the performance.”
“Sorry, but can we go back to the hip thrust part? Am I really that bad at it?” Jun attempts to take back the conversation, exasperated. The three are silent for a moment before Hiyori clears his throat and lets go of him. Nagisa slowly turns to walk off in a random direction and Ibara snickers behind his hand, pretending to take a phone call.
“It’s probably time we change out of these uniforms, hmm? You’re sweating quite a bit, Jun-kun~”
“Goddamn! Can you stop avoiding the question, Ohii-san?!”