Pairing: RyoDa, mentions of AKamePi, KoyaShige and perhaps others as we go along.
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone.
Warnings: Drama, Romance
Summary: Subaru and Ryo have a bet. Ryo has to date Ueda. Will he manage to? Or will genuine feelings grow in the midst of what started out as a game? This fic was inspired by a prompt from
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
samenashi.Chapter Eight (Part 2): Blissful Days II
Ueda blinked dumbly. Once, twice, a third time. He forced his tongue to move.
“I got what?”
“I said you got the role.”
Ueda continued to stare dumbly at his Manager for the next two minutes before Manager-san laughed and patted him on the back. “You did well, Ueda-kun,” Manager-san was saying but Ueda couldn’t reply. He was still in shock.
His manager merely chuckled. “Well, the script will be arriving in within the next few days and a meeting with the director has been scheduled some time next week. I’ll let you know as soon as the time and dates have been confirmed.” And with that, Manager-san nodded lightly before leaving the stunned man alone in the dressing room.
Minutes passed and finally, Ueda managed to get a grip on himself. With slightly trembling hands, he reached for his cell phone, dialling up the first person he thought of when the news of his first drama role finally sank in.
“Hime?” the low voice finally came from the other end.
“Ryo!” Ueda called out, his voice sounding raspy and odd.
“What’s up? Aren’t you supposed to be in a meeting with your manager?”
“I was… oh, Ryo,” Ueda said, unable to speak coherently. Taking a seat on the closest sofa, he tried to gather his thoughts before he spoke again.
“What’s wrong?” Ryo asked. “Did something happen?”
Ueda smiled a little at the hint of worry he could detect in Ryo’s voice. It was faint, but undoubtedly there. “No, nothing happened. At least, nothing bad…”
“What is it? Just say it already!” he could hear the anxiety growing in Ryo’s voice as curiosity got the better of him. He was obviously irritated at Ueda’s prolonged silence on the issue.
“I got it, Ryo.”
“Got what?”
“The drama role.”
Silence.
“You got what?”
“The drama role, Ryo.”
“You what!?!” And all of a sudden, there was a loud ‘clang’ from the other side of the line and then a sharp yelp before a ‘sorry!’ was heard and then some scuffling before Ryo’s voice returned. “You got the role?!”
“Yes I did,” Ueda couldn’t stop the large grin from splitting across his face as he replied.
“I knew it. I knew it. There was no way you could have failed since I was your tutor!”
“Yeah, yeah, thanks to you.”
“Hey, I don’t mean it like that. You did a great job.” There was a pause. “Congratulations, Hime.”
“Thanks.” At the same time, he heard another shout from Ryo’s side of the line. “Um, did I interrupt something?” Ueda asked worriedly.
“Nothing much. We were just getting ready for a photo shoot and I think I might have accidentally dropped the frying pan I was holding on Shige’s foot but no worries! Everything’s under control!”
Ueda made a face. “Okayy. I guess I should be going now, sorry for bothering you during work. I just thought… you should be the first to know.”
“I’m the first to know?”
“Yeah. I called you right away after I heard from Manager-san.”
Ryo chuckled at that, the sound of his laughter causing the edges of Ueda’s lips to twitch upwards in a smile, the hand gripping the cell phone tightened as a warm feeling slipped into his chest. “Well, I’m glad to have the honour,” Ryo replied.
“Not at all. You played a big part in getting me here anyway.”
“I suppose I did…” And there was another shout from Ryo’s end. “Oops, Pi’s getting mad at me! I have to go now. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay.”
And with that, he shut the phone. Clasping both hands on the small device, he stared into space, the same silly smile still on his face. That was until he heard the door to the dressing room open, and in came Kame and Jin.
“Oh? You’re here early today, Tat-chan,” Kame noted, raising a questioning eyebrow at the older man as he moved towards his dressing table and placed his bag on it.
“Yeah, Manager-san called me in early today. He wanted to discuss some things with me.”
“Discuss things? What, what? Did Tat-chan get himself in trouble?” Jin asked, making a beeline towards Ueda and plopping himself down beside the other man, a curious expression on his handsome features.
“It’s nothing like that, Akanishi.”
“Then, what is it?”
Ueda shrugged lightly and decided there wasn’t anything wrong with telling his band mates. “I got the role for the drama.”
“You what?!” Jin squealed in a high-pitched tone, causing Ueda, who unfortunately had his ear right beside Jin’s big mouth then, to wince, a hand flying up to his ear.
“Bakanishi! Don’t scream like that!”
“But, but you just said you got the role! Your first drama role!”
“Yeah, I noticed.” Ueda said with a roll of his eyes, despite the fact that he was smiling proudly.
“Good going, Tat-chan,” Kame said from where he sat on the chair in front of his dressing table, turning a smile to the copper-haired man.
“Thanks,” Ueda smiled even wider in return. He wanted to say more, but the sofa he was sitting on started to rock violently as Jin bounced excitedly beside him.
“This calls for a celebration, Tat-chan! I know! Let’s hit a bar tonight!”
“What?! I don’t want to hit a bar—”
“I won’t take no for an answer!” Jin screamed again, his voice threatening to hit notes unheard-of before. The excited man flailed his arms around before reaching for his cell phone, and before either Ueda or Kame could stop him, he was already rushing out the dressing room, bumping into Koki along the way and shouting into the rapper’s face that “Tatch got drama!” and knocking over a chair and basically wreaking havoc wherever he went.
Ueda sighed and shook his head.
“Sorry about that. He acts like that most of the time,” Kame said to Ueda, a slightly apologetic expression on his face. “But he really does mean well.”
“Yeah, I know. You don’t have to explain it to me, Kame,” Ueda replied with a soft smile.
Kame chuckled. “Well, a celebration isn’t such a bad idea though. We’ll just call a few friends, grab a few drinks and wish you all the best for your very first drama. Although since this is Jin we’re talking about… a ‘few friends’ is quite a subjective matter.”
Ueda laughed at that. “I don’t mind. I really am grateful to have the role. And I’m thankful for the support you guys have given me.”
“It’s no problem.”
Just then, there was another screech from the hall and both Kame and Ueda looked at each other.
“Uh, at this rate, he’ll scare the juniors.”
“Right. I’d better do some damage control,” Kame said as he got up and went to look for his hyperactive boyfriend. Ueda chuckled. He got up and made his way to his own dressing table, deciding to get ready for rehearsals but stopped right in front of the mirror. After some thought, he sent a text message to Ryo, telling him to expect a call from Jin inviting him to hit a bar tonight and to be careful not to put the cell phone too close to his ear for fear of punctured eardrums.
He figured Ryo just might appreciate the warning.
________________________________________
“Congratulations on your drama role!” Yoko and Hina chorused, clinking their wine glasses against Ueda’s before downing it in one go.
“Thanks,” Ueda replied, a stiff smile on his face, leaning against the counter near the side of the room. For the past hour or so, he had been entertaining several of his colleagues who had turned up at the bar Jin had chosen to hold the celebration at and the smile he had to keep on his face was starting to give him muscle cramps. Jin had managed to get everyone from NEWS, Kanjani8 and KAT-TUN there, and several off-age juniors who had bothered to come. It was similar to the drinking party they’d had a few weeks back at Jin’s house.
“I knew you had it in you. It was just a matter of time before it happened!” Yoko was saying, a big grin on his face, a healthy flush already colouring his cheeks, a clear result of his alcohol intake.
Ueda laughed. “Really? Well, thanks. I didn’t expect to actually get it, but since I did, I’ll do my best.”
“Of course you’d get it! You had Ryo to tutor you, didn’t you? I happen to know about those sessions you had,” Hina said, a knowing smile quirking on his lips.
Ueda felt the heat rise in his face but kept it under wraps. He was well aware of Ryo’s presence just opposite the room, laughing about something with Pi and Jin. “I suppose so. Ryo really was a big help.”
“I’d bet he was,” Yoko said, a mischievous smile on his face. Seeing this, Hina abruptly smacked him upside the head.
“What are you thinking!?” Hina exclaimed. “You have to forgive him, Ueda-kun. He’s always like this.”
Ueda laughed. “Don’t worry about it, Murakami-kun,” he said, at the same time stepping aside when Koki and Tegoshi swaggered their way past him, having just had a drinking contest, a worried Koyama following right behind them as he fussed over the younger NEWS member. Ueda distinctly noticed Shige, who sat at a counter not too far away, glaring daggers at the trio whom had just past by him. However, he had to turn his attention back to the conversation when he heard Yokoyama speaking again.
“But you guys sure are lucky. Ryo has work with NEWS pretty often so he stays in
“Oh? Is that so?”
Hina nodded. “Yeah, we have filming for a performance tomorrow and then it’s off to
“Well, it’s a good thing for you guys anyway. More time to spend together,” Yoko said distractedly, staring at his empty glass wine. “Excuse me. I need to get more to drink,” he excused himself and headed towards the bartender a little ways down towards the middle of the long counter.
Ueda watched the older man go but turned when he felt a hand on his shoulder. “So how’s everything going with Ryo?” Hina asked. There was a kind and concerned expression on his face. It was the sort of expression you’d expect to see on a mother when she asked her daughter how things were going with her boyfriend.
“We’re doing pretty well, thanks,” Ueda replied with a smile, appreciating the other man’s concern. He’d never been particularly close with any of his Kansai counterparts so this was something new but nevertheless, very welcome.
“That’s good to hear. I was so surprised when I first heard about it, but now I think it’s a wonderful thing to happen. The both of you look happy together.”
Ueda flushed a little. He didn’t know about Ryo, but he did know that he was going around his life with a sort of happy glow around him. His band mates made it a point to tell him so at least five times a day. Per person. Was his contentment really so obvious to everyone around them?
“Thanks, Murakami-kun.” It was all he could say.
Hina laughed, noting the KAT-TUN member’s embarrassment. “You’re cute. Anyway, good luck on the drama.” He thumped Ueda’s shoulder twice before moving off to find someone else to have a chat with.
Ueda stared after the man for a few minutes, lost in thought. With a light shrug, he leaned back slowly against the side of the counter and sipped wine from the glass he had in his hand, looking around the small section of the bar where they were all assembled, and wondering what everyone else was doing.
He had to squint a little as the bar was pretty dark and loud music was blaring through the speakers but it was enough for him to make out the figures of his friends. Maru and Massu were deep in conversation at one corner of the room while Jin and Pi were now doing something suspicious at a table, gathering quite a large crowd as they spoke in hushed, excited tones. Kame and Yasu were checking out the numerous rings each of them wore around their fingers, possibly sharing fashion opinions; Hina and Yoko were now chatting up some of the younger juniors while Maruyama, Ohkura and Taguchi were at the karaoke stand, flipping through the song book as they decided on something to sing. Tegoshi and Koki were both now seated on a couch, unable to walk in a straight line anymore as Koyama fussed over them.
Ueda watched in amusement as right at that moment, Shige suddenly appeared behind Koyama and pulled at his ear, just as the older NEWS member had been trying to help Tegoshi down a glass of water. No doubt Shige had been drinking quite a bit to actually do that in public, alcohol obviously lowered his inhibitions, not to mention amplifying his jealousy. He continued watching as Koyama started yelping in pain and Shige let go, only to stomp off angrily. Koyama stood up in a hurry, torn between chasing his boyfriend, and taking care of his two drunk charges. At that moment, Nakamaru and Massu, who like Ueda had apparently seen what had happened, hurried over to aid the distressed man. Nakamaru said something to Koyama before the oldest NEWS member nodded and sped off after Shige while Nakamaru and Massu took over Koyama’s task of helping out the two dead drunks. Ueda couldn’t help chuckling slightly, perhaps a little sadistically, to himself at what he had just witnessed. All in all, everyone was having a pretty good time, news of Ueda’s drama role giving them a good excuse to chill and have fun.
It was then he realised. He hadn’t seen his boyfriend in the huge crowd of people. He had scanned the whole room and yet, he hadn’t seen a certain dark-haired man.
Just as he thought that, a warm hand landed on his shoulder. Ueda turned.
“Ryo!” a smile immediately lit his features when he realised the hand on his shoulder belonged to his boyfriend.
Ryo nodded. “Hey, you. Jin gathered quite a big crowd, didn’t he?” the Osakan nudged his head towards the large group of Johnny’s congregated at the bar, chatting and laughing away.
“Well, it is Akanishi. Everything he does is flashy.”
“Guess so. It’s a miracle that he actually had the foresight to book this whole section of the bar though,” Ryo gestured at the small, closed-off section where they were all at with the half-drunk bottle of beer he held. “Or else, we’d definitely be attracting attention.”
“True,” Ueda chuckled. “We need to give him credit for that.”
“Yeah, for once he actually proves he has a brain.” The two of them fell into laughter.
Just then, a barely distinguishable ringing sound was heard over the noise of the crowd, interrupting them. They both turned to Ryo’s pocket where the sound was coming from. Ryo fumbled for the small contraption. Ueda turned away to allow the other privacy when suddenly, there was another voice from behind him.
“Congrats, Ueda,” Subaru said suddenly from beside him in a flat voice. “I haven’t wished you luck yet tonight, so good luck.”
“Ah, Subaru-kun,” Ueda said, a little taken aback at being talked to suddenly. He bowed politely. Subaru was still senpai to him after all. “Thank you.”
“Not at all,” Subaru said in that same emotionless voice before he turned a blank expression at Ryo. “I hope the two of you are enjoying yourselves.”
“Yeah, we are,” Ryo replied, the cell phone in his hands still ringing away. Ryo briefly glanced at the caller ID, noting that it was Uchi calling. But now wasn’t the right time to answer it. He shut his phone off, pocketing it again and turned back to Subaru with a passive look.
“Huh? Ryo, is it okay to turn off your phone like that?” Ueda asked when he realised that Ryo had declined the call. What if it had been about work?
“No, its fine. It’s not really an important call,” Ryo assured.
“But…”
“That’s right, Ryo. Is it alright that you didn’t answer it? What if it was about work?” Subaru drawled, inserting himself into the conversation.
“I’ve already said it’s not important. It’s not about work,” Ryo insisted, his expression hardening as he stared back at Subaru’s careless gaze.
“Are you sure? It won’t do to lie, Ryo,” Subaru went on.
At these words, Ryo’s eyes widened. Almost immediately, he narrowed his eyes in warning at the other. Was Subaru trying to break the rules?
Ueda looked at the two Osakans, a confused expression on his face. Was it his imagination or was there something going on between the two? Ueda was fairly certain there was some sort of tense atmosphere hanging tangibly in the air. But then again, as far as he knew, Ryo and his band mates had always been on excellent terms. He wondered if perhaps he was just being over-sensitive.
“Anyway, I wish you both the best,” Subaru finally broke the silence with a cool voice. He glanced at Ryo for a moment before turning to stare at Ueda with an unreadable expression, his calculating eyes gazing deep into Ueda’s confused ones. Finally, with a nod of his head, he left the two to join Hina and Yoko.
Ueda blinked at the other’s back before turning his gaze on Ryo. His boyfriend still had that same stony expression when Subaru had turned up.
“Ryo, is something wrong?” Ueda asked curiously.
“Huh? Oh, nothing at all,” Ryo answered quickly when he realized Ueda was staring at him.
“I see. If you say so,” Ueda shrugged. He didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t think it was right for him to pry into Ryo’s personal business. Especially if he wasn’t ready to share it. If Ryo didn’t want to talk about it, then he wouldn’t probe either. Despite being together now, it didn’t mean Ryo had to tell him everything. And so, he decided not to ask anything else, respecting Ryo’s choices.
“Anyway, I thought we agreed to celebrate alone after the last time at the yakiniku place,” Ryo said suddenly, changing the subject. Despite the obvious effort, Ueda was glad to go along with it.
“Ah, well. I didn’t mean to hold something like this either. It was Akanishi’s idea. And you know how he’s like when he’s set on something. I couldn’t stop him.”
“Hmm, I suppose so… Honestly, it was a good thing I got your text earlier today. I had the phone
Ueda laughed. “Glad you found it of use.”
“Yeah,” Ryo returned the smile Ueda gave him, some of the stress from meeting Subaru leaving him. He abruptly pushed the thought of Subaru out of his mind before he got himself annoyed again.
Ueda was relieved when he saw some of the tenseness leave Ryo’s body as he loosened up. The boxer didn’t know what was going on between Ryo and his band mates, but he was more than happy if he could help relieve whatever burden his boyfriend was carrying.
Suddenly, the sounds of traditional Japanese instruments filled the air, followed soon after by the voice of someone singing. It seemed like Junno had finally settled on something from the karaoke list and was beginning to sing a high-pitched enka song, earning many groans from people all around the room. Ryo, himself, twitched when Junno’s voice cracked on a note much too high for him.
“Ugh, Junno. He’s still as clueless as ever,” Ueda commented, a sort of grimace on his face as he watched his band mate continue singing, oblivious to the uncomfortable atmosphere around him. His grimace turned into an amused look however when the drunk and irritable Koki escaped from Nakamaru’s care and made his way to Junno’s side, trying to grab the mic out of his hands.
“I’d say. You know what? How about if we leave this place and have our own little celebration? Just the two of us?” Ryo asked, turning away from the bickering men at the karaoke area, the sounds of Junno’s out-of-tune singing now replaced by Koki’s slurred ones echoing around the room through the mic saying, ‘You sound like a cow giving birth!’
“Just the two of us?” Ueda asked, turning to Ryo in mild surprise.
“Yeah. We promised we’d do it together the last time, didn’t we? Let’s leave this place!”
There was an eager look on Ryo’s face that Ueda was finding hard to say no to. But still, this celebration had been arranged by Jin for him. He couldn’t just leave like that.
“But… Akanishi went through all the trouble to call everyone out for me. I can’t just go…”
“It’ll be fine! I’m sure no one will mind. Look, if it makes you feel better, we’ll go around and thank everyone for coming. We can have a last drink with them before we go. How’s that sound?”
Ueda thought about it for a moment. He supposed it was alright, everyone looked like they were having fun on their own anyway, and he did really want to go with Ryo. Deep inside, he felt the small sparks of excitement and anticipation already beginning to crackle within him. Finally, he nodded. “Okay then.”
Ryo’s answering grin made him glad he agreed.
And so, the both of them went around thanking everyone for coming and sharing one last toast with each group they visited. The last group they said goodbye to, was the table Jin, Pi and Kame were at, along with several other people. And just like Ryo had said, they didn’t mind the fact that Ueda and Ryo were leaving early together. In fact, no one had minded at all, giving the couple a knowing look before waving them goodbye with cheerful smiles.
“Don’t overdo it tonight, okay?” Jin said cheekily, earning catcalls from the group surrounding them.
“Shut up!” Ryo replied, sticking out his tongue oh-so-maturely to his friend. And with that, he and Ueda left the bar together, amidst hoots and laughter.
________________________________________
Part 3