this marks an end...
Oct. 26th, 2010 11:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
angelshill There are three reasons why i worked on this first before the mini-series i've started...
1) because i wanted to put a close to Baby Steps first before i start working on the new series i've conceptualized...
2) because the second chapter on the mini-series i'm working on (Sakurai Sho's Love Analysis a.k.a. The Different Roads Arashi Took for Love) also features the JunxMao pair and i kinda wanted to put a breather (mainly for myself) between Getting There (the Baby Steps sequel featuring JunxMao) and that chapter...
3) i already had a concept in mind for this chapter and i wanted to write it before a) i forget the concept, b) i forget how to write that concept, c) i get annoyed with the concept
so there... :)
And so, for the first fic that i've worked on that didn't feature an Arashi member having a major role (though Matsujun is still part of this story too), i present to you...
TITLE: Getting Even
CHARACTERS: Akanishi Jin, Kuroki Meisa, Yamashita Tomohisa, Nishikido Ryo, Matsumoto Jun, Inoue Mao, Horikita Maki, NewS members, Kamenashi Kazuya, Ikuta Toma
PAIRING: Akanishi Jin/Kuroki Meisa (main); Matsumoto Jun/Inoue Mao and Yamashita Tomohisa/Horikita Maki(side pairs)
RATINGS: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
When Emi turned nine months old, her mother had been invited back to the entertainment scene and while Maki absolutely adores taking care of her child, she and Yamapi had agreed that she could do some shoots here and there. That wasn’t really an issue since Maki and Riko chose the projects she’d do and there are tons of aunts and uncles who’d willingly take care of Emi while Maki is on her shoot.
But when Meisa found out who was tasked to babysit baby Emi for the day, she grew livid. Who in their right mind would leave Akanishi Jin with a 9 month old child?!
-----
“So, how does it feel being back on the scene?” Meisa suddenly asked from behind Maki as the latter reviewed the shots that had just been taken of her.
Maki’s on set for the shooting of one of the commercials offered to her upon her comeback, one of the relatively few she and Riko had approved to be added to her plate while Emi is still under the age of two.
Turning around to face her best friend, Maki smiled. “What are you doing here?”
“I was just about to leave when I heard you guys were working here so I decided to drop by…” Meisa chuckled. “How are things flowing?”
“It’s great…” Maki smiled, looking around her. “It’s nice being back and everyone’s been really good to me… And I did miss the job… But I can’t help but miss and get worried about Emi too…”
“How is the little princess?” Meisa asked. “I haven’t seen her since Jun-kun and Mao-chan’s engagement party over a month ago… Is Yamapi-kun still forbidding anyone to come in contact with her for more than 30 seconds?”
Chuckling, Maki shook her head. Yamapi had, after all, been very protective of their daughter the moment Maki gave birth to her mid-January. He enjoyed holding her or just simply watching her. Maki was even afraid for a while that Yamapi wouldn’t allow the others to see Emi with the way he is acting. It turned out that he did (allow the others to see Emi that is) or was forced to since after making sure that it’s already okay to visit, their friends and colleagues came in groups. And really, it would have been difficult if he did try to shoo away the sempais and bosses (considering that they ARE sempais and bosses) and their friends (especially the ones who could rib him to oblivion).
“She’s growing her front teeth now…” Maki shared proudly. “So she’s a bit grumpier than before… Pi took her with him to the Ikuta Studios for his photo shoot with his group mates…”
“Really?” Meisa smiled. “I’m going there in a while, actually. I think I’d drop by to check on your little princess… What time would you finish here anyway?”
“We’re shooting the whole commercial now and the promotions so around 3:00… Why?”
“Let’s go out for coffee…” Meisa suggested. “Just us girls… I’ll tell the others…”
“Sure…” Maki nodded. “But I have to go by 5:00… Pi’s got a night shoot tonight…”
“Yes, we know Mama Maki…” Meisa chuckled, waving her best friend goodbye as she walked away.
-----
“I told you to keep Tegoshi-kun away from Emi…” Ryo shook his head as he slowed down his walk to match Yamapi’s as they head out to change for the next set of clothes they’re going to use for their photo shoot.
In front of them are the other four members, with Koyama and Masuda each having an arm over Tegoshi’s shoulder as Shige followed them behind.
“Why? What happened?” Yamapi asked.
Over 15 minutes ago, he left his daughter at their greenroom when they started their photo shoot where she’s being “supervised” by Nanba. His manager only half-heartedly objected to being assigned babysitter to his daughter but in the end he did agree, after all, it turned out that Nanba is really good with kids.
“Nothing much…” said Ryo, shaking his head, torn between laughing or getting annoyed. “He just happened to have forgotten that he’s already reached the age of adulthood and has reverted back to being a kid…”
“What did he do this time?”
“He wants to go back to the greenroom to play with your kid!” Ryo chuckled. “Koyama-kun found him sneaking back there and it took both Koyama-kun and Masuda-kun to both drag him back and convince him that he should finish the photo shoot first…”
Yamapi laughed. “Well, you have to admit… My precious princess is very charming…” he said proudly.
Raising an eyebrow at him, Ryo snorted and shook his head before agreeing. “Yeah, she is… Must be in Maki-chan’s genes…”
Yamapi was just about to retort that it’s in his genes too when he recognized the female figure walking towards them.
“Meisa-chan…” he greeted with Ryo doing the same.
His relationship with Maki’s best friend had so far gotten better ever since the public declaration last year, much to his delight. Meisa seemed to have finally gotten over her dislike of Johnny’s in general (or maybe just him since she got along great with Matsujun, Ryo, Kame and the others from day one) all except Jin who she now seemed to have considered as non-existent.
“Yamapi-kun, Ryo-kun…” Meisa greeted back. “I heard from Maki that you guys are having a shoot here so I thought I’d drop by to say hi…”
“It’s been a while since I last saw you…” Ryo smiled. “You haven’t been clubbing lately right? Because I haven’t seen you around…”
Meisa chuckled. “I’ve been busy… You know, with the album and stuff… But I might go out with a few of my friends one of these days… I guess I’ll expect to see you around then…”
“Of course…” Ryo nodded. “Congratulations on the new album by the way… I heard it is selling great…”
“Thank you… Not as great selling as any of the Johnny albums but its doing good…” Meisa smiled. “Where is little Emi-chan by the way? Maki said you brought her along for this shoot…”
“Yeah, I did…” said Yamapi. “She’s at the greenroom with Nanba-kun… If you want, you could go see her… We’ll be finished in about an hour here, I guess…”
“I’ll do just that then…” Meisa nodded.
Seeing her march towards their greenroom, Yamapi turned to Ryo with an eyebrow raised and asked “How would you have noticed that she wasn’t around when half the time you wouldn’t have noticed the time when you guys go clubbing?”
“I didn’t…” Ryo smirked as they headed to the changing area. “But Bakanishi sure did…”
-----
“Hello there my dear Emi-chan… Don’t cry… Don’t cry my little Emi-chan… I’m here… Who’s your favorite uncle? I’m your favorite uncle! Uncle Jin’s your favorite uncle, right?” Jin crooned over the portable crib where Nanba had lain Emi down.
Yamapi’s manager had an important phone call he had to take which is why he had (hesitantly) left Jin to look after Emi for a bit when the former dropped by, supposedly simply to crash on his friends’ greenroom, (“It gets lonely when you’re on your own…” he told Nanba) with a promise that he’d be back 15 minutes tops.
But the good manager hadn’t even been gone for more than 3 minutes when Emi started to wiggle around, feeling restless and scared of her unfamiliar surroundings, and while Jin tried to get her interested by wiggling over her the cover of his solo CD, Emi continued to ignore her “favorite uncle” Jin and started to wail, making her “favorite uncle” Jin panic more.
This was the scene that Meisa had walked in to when she opened the door of the NewS greenroom hurriedly, having heard Emi crying from the hallway.
“What the heck are you doing?!” Meisa exclaimed, seeing Jin with his CD hovering over a crying Emi.
The stumped look on Jin’s face when he looked up as she rushed to pick Emi up only infuriated Meisa more, especially when he said “What?! I’m trying to make her stop crying!”
“By waving that thing in her face?!” she snarled before rocking Emi a bit and whispering soft comforting words to her.
This, coupled with the warmth and comfort coming from a familiar female body, seemed to have contributed to making Emi stop her wailing as she slowed down to soft sobs. Having located Emi’s baby bag atop the long table a few steps away, Meisa grabbed the bag with one hand and with Emi on another, she turned around to leave without another word.
“Hey! Where are you going?! Where do you think you’re taking her?!” Jin demanded.
Meisa didn’t even bother to turn around when she said “Away from you!” before completely leaving the room.
-----
Having noticed the figure of Meisa standing by the doorway with Emi on one hand and a bag on another, Yamapi had signaled their photographer for a brief break, making the other members of NewS just as curious as he is as he proceeded to where the two are.
“Is everything all right?” he asked. Emi was already smiling as she bit on the teether Meisa had given her but Yamapi noticed that her eyes were still a bit red, indicating that she had been crying.
“It is now…” Meisa smiled, although noticeably irritated over something that wasn’t there when they saw her a few minutes ago.
“Is there a problem?” Ryo asked, having followed Yamapi when he stepped out of the lights, his hand immediately stretched to poke Emi lightly by her nose, making the baby laugh.
“Oh no…” Meisa shook her head. “I just stopped by to inform you that I’d be taking Emi-chan to my greenroom with me while you’re having your shoot… I don’t think the atmosphere in your greenroom is good for the baby…”
“Okay, I guess…” Yamapi nodded in confusion. When Meisa turned around and left with just a nod, he turned to Ryo with that confusion still on his face, coupled with a budding worry.
Meisa taking care of Emi didn’t worry him since, in general, she’s a woman, good with kids, and Emi likes her. What’s worrying him is that he might have done something wrong in Meisa’s eyes, and if he that is the case, Maki would soon find out about it and he’d be in trouble with his wife. That is something he absolutely doesn’t want to happen.
“What’s wrong with Nanba-kun?” he asked.
Before Ryo could answer though, they were distracted by the sudden appearance of Jin, looking harassed and extremely worried.
“Have you seen Meisa?” he asked.
“Why?” Ryo asked, a small smirk forming on his lips having formed his own conclusions on what had just happened.
“What did you do?” Yamapi demanded, having arrived at more or less the same conclusion as Ryo with the way his eyebrows had furrowed.
“She took Emi-chan!” Jin pouted. Like a child complaining, he continued “Nanba-kun needed to take a call and since there’s a very bad service in your greenroom, he consented to leave Emi-chan with me for a while… And then Emi-chan started crying and I was trying to make her laugh and then she came and took her away!”
If Jin was, in any way, hoping for some comfort or sympathy, perhaps those two are not the ideal ones he should have headed to especially since Ryo started snickering and Yamapi looked quite murderous after hearing his complaint.
With very dark eyes, Yamapi looked at Jin and declared “If I get in trouble with Maki because of this, I am going to kill you!” before turning around, leaving a befuddled Jin to turn to Ryo for answers.
“I guess I should warn you too…” Ryo laughed. “Better keep a safe distance away from Tegoshi-kun…”
“And why is that?”
“Because he was really looking forward to playing with Emi-chan during the break…” Ryo laughed. “And you just took that away from him…”
True enough, when Jin turned towards where the rest of NewS were standing at, which wasn’t really that far away for them not to hear what’s going on, Tegoshi was eyeing Jin the same way a bullied kid would look at the other kid who took his precious candy. With a vengeance.
-----
“Here comes the next Johnny bride…” Erika cheered seeing Mao head towards where she, Keiko, Meisa and Maki were already gathered in one of their favorite cafés near Ikuta Studios.
“I’m sorry I’m late…” Mao apologized, bowing to the four when she reached the table before taking her seat on the only empty chair left. “I had a lot to do before getting myself free…”
“Oh, we know…” Keiko smiled, pausing for a bit while the café attendant placed Mao’s usual order in front of her. “Busy with the wedding preparations already huh?”
With a chuckle, Mao shook her head. While she and Matsujun had already decided for the wedding date to be early that December, she wasn’t really burdened with most of the troubles of organizing a wedding. Not when her future husband had prepared things before he even proposed to her.
“Sort of…” she admitted. “But not with the wedding itself… Jun had taken care of most of that… I had to catch up with all my shooting obligations though, before the break…”
“Ooh… For the honeymoon…” Erika guessed, making Mao blush as she tried to correct “For the wedding…”
“Where’s the honeymoon anyway?” Meisa asked.
“Actually, I do not know…” Mao smiled, blushing deeper. “He said it’s a surprise…” she added, making the other four giggle and squeal.
Amidst all those noise, Maki’s voice was heard saying “That’s nice… I never got a honeymoon…”
Erika and Mao chuckled, Meisa rolled her eyes, and Keiko smiled hearing this with the eldest of the group saying “Of course you had… It just happens to have happened a lot sooner than the wedding… Your honeymoon resulted to having little Emi-chan in your life…”
Maki chuckled. “I guess you’re right…”
“Speaking of little Emi-chan…” Mao started, eyeing Meisa mischievously. “I heard what you did to Jin-kun earlier…”
“You too?!” Meisa groaned while the other three tried to muffle their laughter. “Seriously! How fast does news travel amongst the Johnnys?! That happened like four or five hours ago!”
“Really, really fast…” Mao chuckled. “Since those guys talk about anything that interests them…”
“And what happened earlier interests them how?!” Meisa exclaimed.
“For the fun of ribbing Jin-kun, I guess…” Maki said while Erika added after taking a sip from her drink. “I imagine there’s not much to rib Yamapi-kun now so Akanishi-kun’s the next target…”
“Since when is it fun to rib an idiot?” Meisa snorted. “He can’t even follow the conversation half the time…”
“Uh huh…” Keiko nodded mischievously as the others eyed Meisa with interest.
“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked.
“Oh, nothing much really…” Keiko chuckled. “I’m just wondering if there’s something different beneath all those negative feelings you have for Akanishi-kun…”
“Like what? Disgust? Sure…”
“I’m thinking more along the lines of ‘like’ actually…” Erika smiled to which Keiko nodded. “After all, they say that there’s a thin line between hating somebody and liking him since only someone who would mean something to you could evoke such strong feelings from you…”
With a raised eyebrow, Meisa turned to Erika and pretended to gag while the others watched her interestedly.
“I don’t hate him… I just don’t like him… That’s different!” she said.
“Sure…” Erika nodded patronizingly while Keiko added “If you believe what you just said…”
-----
“Will somebody please explain to me why this guy has taken into hiding in our greenroom?” Matsujun asked as he joined Ryo, Toma, and Yamapi, with Emi on his lap, on their table at the cafeteria with Jin closely following behind him. “He’s getting on my nerves…”
“Oh, because he’s afraid of what’s going to happen to him at our greenroom…” Ryo supplied helpfully with a smirk directed at Jin. “He’s been declared persona non grata there…”
“Why?” Matsujun chuckled. “I know he pissed off Mei-chan again… Who else did he manage to piss off this time?”
“Tegoshi-kun…” Yamapi answered over Jin’s indignant “I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“That kid absolutely hates Jin right now…” added Toma handing Yamapi Emi’s milk bottle before turning to Jin and saying “You’re lucky, he and Masuda-kun had to go to recording for their next song or you wouldn’t even be allowed to be here…”
“Look, it’s not my fault she overreacted, all right…” Jin mumbled, earning him a couple of raised eyebrows and smirks.
“How’s the wedding arrangements going anyway?” Toma asked, turning to Matsujun.
“Good…” Matsujun nodded. “Minor hiccups here and there but everything’s flowing alright…”
“Where’s the honeymoon anyway?” Yamapi asked. “I heard you’re keeping it a secret from your own bride…”
“I didn’t tell Mao, you think I’m telling you guys?” Matsujun snorted. “All you need to know is that it wouldn’t be anywhere near here and that it’s going to special…”
“You do know how the guys in the jimusho love to hate you right now, don’t you?” Ryo asked conversationally. “You’re setting too high the standards for the rest of us to follow…”
“Really?” Jin asked cockily. “I actually thought it’s just normal… A bit boring even… I’m pretty sure I’d fare better than him…”
“You think so huh?” Matsujun turned to him with a smirk and an eyebrow raised. “You can’t even get a relationship to last for more than just one night and some casual sex…”
“Of course I can!” Jin grinned. “Piece of cake… If I wanted to, then I can…”
“Is that so? Prove it!” Toma challenged.
“Yeah…” Ryo agreed. “Let’s go clubbing this weekend… Let’s see how good you are with your words…”
“Sure!” Jin nodded. “What happens if I win?”
“Your call…” Matsujun chuckled. “We’d rent a whole club for you if that’s what you want…”
“Yeah…” Yamapi agreed. “But if you lose, you’ll pay for me, Maki, Ryo, and Toma for the two-way plane tickets to Hawaii for Jun’s wedding… Deal?”
“Deal!” Jin agreed. “I’d even throw in Kame’s 2-way ticket… But remember, one whole club if I win…”
“Sure…” Ryo nodded with a sweet smile on his lips as he and Toma started imagining what sort of things they could buy with two plane tickets worth of money they’ve saved.
-----
“Remember kids, one whole club if I win…” Jin smiled, turning around to face his friends.
He and his friends are on the second floor of one of his most favorite clubs, conveniently situated on the sector that could easily and clearly see everything that’s going on down at the dance floor. Since both Yamapi and Matsujun couldn’t come (not that they expected those two to really come with them in a place of Jin’s choice anyway), he ended up going clubbing with Ryo and Toma, but this time joined by Kame, who, upon hearing the deal, agreed to be counted in. They were all already in their second bottle by that time.
“Oi! Don’t be so cocky!” Toma laughed. “Remember that it has to be more than just a one-night stand…”
“Yeah…” Ryo chuckled. The moment Jin agreed to a deal that time at the cafeteria, they proceeded to iron the specifics of the agreement.
Based on what was agreed on, Jin would have the whole night to choose the girl he wants and be able to have her before the sun rises. He doesn’t necessarily have to bed her, he could if they both wanted to, but he has to have the right to call her his girlfriend for at least a month. None of them were really expecting for love to suddenly enter the picture, they just wanted to test if Jin could (and would) be able to keep a girl for that long when his record for a longest relationship is two days. And none of them would have been really that serious on the bet if the person they were betting against weren’t so overly confident.
“Come on… I can do it!” Jin declared. Before he turned around and left them for the dance floor though, he added cockily “Watch and learn…”
Seeing Jin leave, Toma exclaimed “Wow… That’s a lot of over confidence stocked in just one body…”
“I don’t know…” Kame shrugged. “Ever since he pulled off going solo, I started thinking that maybe Bakanishi is capable of anything…”
“Not this one…” Ryo chuckled having been the first one to turn around and watch the dance floor below.
Following his gaze, Toma and Kame laughed too.
“Looks like we’re going to have a few more extra money for that trip to Hawaii…” Kame nodded.
“Never doubted it for a second…” Ryo grinned as the three of them positioned themselves to be comfortable as they watched the things unfold on the dance floor.
It seems that Jin has not yet noticed her, but by the looks of it, it wouldn’t take long for him to feel her presence.
-----
He didn’t really notice her, not at first at least. When Akanishi Jin went on to the dance floor, his only intention is to go fishing, to find that girl he could win the bet with. He didn’t even see her immediately but admittedly, there seemed to be something missing as he played it up with some of the girls who came over to dance with him.
That’s actually one of the reasons why he rarely joins the dance floor unless the alcohol had taken its full effects lately, because he can’t enjoy himself to the fullest when his eyes are subconsciously scanning the place every now and then. He wasn’t even really looking for someone, but his scanning of the area does make him think that something’s missing, and then he’ll realize that she isn’t there.
This time, with two girls on opposite him pumping to the beat of the music, his eyes wandered around again. He didn’t feel the emptiness this time though when he saw her four or five pairs away from him, dancing the night away with some of her model friends.
It was as if someone cranked his energy to the maximum level. He felt his energy surge as the music as his body danced to the beat of the music much with much more ease as compared to before. His dance partners seemed to have noticed that too as they also became bolder, closer to him. The thing is, Jin couldn’t really fully appreciate what’s happening around him, what’s being offered to him right there and then, when his eyes keep darting to where she’s dancing.
In no way could Meisa be considered as the sexiest girl on the dance floor, not when there are other girls wearing much more provocative and revealing clothing than her. In fact, her clothes could be considered a bit more towards the conventional side; a single-strapped emerald green sexy top paired with tight-fitting jeans and high heels. But there was just something about her, the presence maybe, the sex appeal, which seems to pull in the attention of every male on the dance floor.
Jin is not an exception.
In fact, Jin had subconsciously moved through the dance floor within the next song, leaving his disgruntled (and yearning) dancing partners behind, until he was just behind her. When Meisa turned around, they were both surprised to see each other face to face.
Jin was almost afraid that she’d turn away and snub him, not only because that would be pretty embarrassing, especially for him, but somehow, deep inside, he knew that he really wanted to dance with her. This is why he was very much pleasantly surprised when Meisa continued dancing to the beat of the music with him as a partner.
They started with a bit of distance between them, as if strangers still getting to know each other. But as the music changed to a more upbeat tempo and the overall lights started getting dimmer and the neon lights brighter, they slowly started getting closer to each other until their bodies were almost touching.
And all of a sudden, Jin became very aware of certain things he’s never been aware of before. In the past, he wouldn’t really notice much about his dance partner, other than if she’s a) hot and b) willing. This time though, he noticed how Meisa’s hips swayed to the music next to his, how there’s a small smile playing on her lips as she closed her eyes. He noticed how good she smells, technically speaking, it wasn’t sweet. No, it’s not that. In his own description, he’d call it erotic.
Incredibly erotic. And it’s really turning him on.
He took one step closer to her, or as close as anyone could ever really get, and the moment he did, everything from their last extremely close encounter came back to him, even before he felt her hands playing on his nape.
She tasted sweet, really sweet, and he loved the feel of her skin under his fingers. He remembered how every cell in his body seemed to be alive as his tongue entered her mouth and played with hers. He remembered how perfectly attuned his body was to her reactions, and how it made it all the more hotter for him. And he also remembered how long it took him to recover after their very unfortunate separation.
He didn’t really mean to say those words when they separated, and he knew that those words are actually very insulting, to anyone let alone to someone of Meisa’s stature. But the moment she stopped him and they separated, those words flew out of his lips. He’s been trying to make up for it to her since then, not that he has ever been close enough to doing so with everything that keeps happening between the two of them since then.
The soft air flowing past his right ear took him back to the present as he realized that he and Meisa were practically hugging each other on the dance floor, his hands placed comfortable on her hips as they both continued to sway to the beat. Meisa’s face is parallel to his now, as her lips continued to blow softly at his ear.
“Remember the last time we were this close?” he heard him ask seductively. “And what happened after that?”
Unsure of whether or not he could find his voice, Jin simply nodded his head and grunted his agreement. Having felt and heard that, he felt Meisa move her head to face his.
There was a smile playing on her lips when she did as her hands left his nape and landed on his shoulders.
“You know what I’ve always wanted to do since then?” she asked.
“No… What?” he croaked.
Her smile turned seductive and mischievous as she moved her head closer, ever so closer to his lips. But before she could get there though, she smirked.
“Get even.”
Before Jin could even understand what’s going on, Meisa had turned around and left him in the middle of the dance floor as she rejoined her friends like nothing happened. The satisfied smirk on her lips says otherwise though.
-----
“And that’s how you play Akanishi Jin!” Ryo laughed, closing his phone as the three of them cheered and guffawed after seeing everything happening from where they were seated. “This is priceless!”
“I’ve got to say… That was hot!” Toma chuckled, raising his beer bottle to his lips. “I’ve got to say, I can understand Jin’s present predicament…”
“You got that right!” Kame agreed, drinking from his bottle himself. “From now on, Kuroki Meisa is now officially my idol… That was awesome!”
“Look at poor little Jin!” Ryo chuckled, nodding towards the dance floor.
Looking down, Kame and Toma saw their friend looking extremely confused. After a bit though, he seemed to have caught up with what had just happened seeing as he grimaced. He pretended to continue dancing with the other girls there for a bit before turning around and completely leaving the floor.
“Looks like someone’s going to need a shower after this…” Toma chuckled.
“A really, really cold shower…” Kame amended as they turned around to await Jin’s ascent to the second floor. It didn’t take him long too, to show his quite disgruntled face only for it to worsen when he saw how wide his friends are grinning.
“For how many people am I paying for again?” he asked as he crashed to the seat next to Kame.
“Oh, you’re going to have to shell out for more than those tickets…” Ryo grinned, raising his phone where an extremely closed up video of Meisa leaving a stumped Jin on the dance floor was playing.
“How the heck did you get that?!” Jin complained as he tried to reach for the phone from the shorter idol, not that he succeeded, as the other three laughed at his expense. “How many times can your phone zoom in anyway, I’m pretty sure we were at least half a dozen feet away!”
“Nothing but the best for blackmailing purposes…” Ryo grinned. “I wonder what Yamapi would say when he sees this…”
“Forget Yamapi, after how cocky this one got at the cafeteria, wonder about Jun!” Toma chuckled.
As the other three started another round of laughter and jeering, Jin could only slump back to his seat and mutter “I hate you guys…” as he started to figure out how he’d survive the next few weeks.
“Of course you do…” Ryo chuckled after settling down.
“What did Mei-chan tell you anyway?” Toma asked. “She looked like she’s whispering something to your ears earlier…”
“That’s none of your business…” he pouted, extremely disgruntled over the fact that he had just failed the bet (he didn’t feel flirting with any girl at the moment since he knew it’d only be ruined by him thinking of Meisa), been played by a girl, and been recorded while at it.
“How’s your relationship with Mei-chan now anyway?” Kame asked conversationally.
Remembering her last words to him and forgetting that his friends are very much willing and ready to laugh at his face, he said “She said we’re now even.”
This, of course, caused the other three to start laughing again.
Kame even placed a patronizingly comforting arm on his shoulders as the younger idol said “Look at the bright side, if you’re now even, then that means she doesn’t hate you anymore… And if she doesn’t hate you anymore, then you can be more than just be civil from now on, you can be considered as friends… And that’s a very good thing, a good place to start…”
As realization and agreement dawned on Jin’s face, the other three laughed even harder. As right as Kame may be on what he told Jin, it didn’t guarantee that things would be easy, not when Jin remains to be the Jin that he is.
-----FIN-----
so there, that marks the end of the whole Baby Steps storyline, sequels and all...
i had fun writing this series actually...
by the way, this is my first time writing a story with this high of a rating... :)
as always, tell me what you think... :)
comments and critics are very much welcomed... :)
*shall go to sleep now, for any errors/typos and all that, i'll edit when i wake up... :)*
1) because i wanted to put a close to Baby Steps first before i start working on the new series i've conceptualized...
2) because the second chapter on the mini-series i'm working on (Sakurai Sho's Love Analysis a.k.a. The Different Roads Arashi Took for Love) also features the JunxMao pair and i kinda wanted to put a breather (mainly for myself) between Getting There (the Baby Steps sequel featuring JunxMao) and that chapter...
3) i already had a concept in mind for this chapter and i wanted to write it before a) i forget the concept, b) i forget how to write that concept, c) i get annoyed with the concept
so there... :)
And so, for the first fic that i've worked on that didn't feature an Arashi member having a major role (though Matsujun is still part of this story too), i present to you...
TITLE: Getting Even
CHARACTERS: Akanishi Jin, Kuroki Meisa, Yamashita Tomohisa, Nishikido Ryo, Matsumoto Jun, Inoue Mao, Horikita Maki, NewS members, Kamenashi Kazuya, Ikuta Toma
PAIRING: Akanishi Jin/Kuroki Meisa (main); Matsumoto Jun/Inoue Mao and Yamashita Tomohisa/Horikita Maki(side pairs)
RATINGS: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
When Emi turned nine months old, her mother had been invited back to the entertainment scene and while Maki absolutely adores taking care of her child, she and Yamapi had agreed that she could do some shoots here and there. That wasn’t really an issue since Maki and Riko chose the projects she’d do and there are tons of aunts and uncles who’d willingly take care of Emi while Maki is on her shoot.
But when Meisa found out who was tasked to babysit baby Emi for the day, she grew livid. Who in their right mind would leave Akanishi Jin with a 9 month old child?!
-----
“So, how does it feel being back on the scene?” Meisa suddenly asked from behind Maki as the latter reviewed the shots that had just been taken of her.
Maki’s on set for the shooting of one of the commercials offered to her upon her comeback, one of the relatively few she and Riko had approved to be added to her plate while Emi is still under the age of two.
Turning around to face her best friend, Maki smiled. “What are you doing here?”
“I was just about to leave when I heard you guys were working here so I decided to drop by…” Meisa chuckled. “How are things flowing?”
“It’s great…” Maki smiled, looking around her. “It’s nice being back and everyone’s been really good to me… And I did miss the job… But I can’t help but miss and get worried about Emi too…”
“How is the little princess?” Meisa asked. “I haven’t seen her since Jun-kun and Mao-chan’s engagement party over a month ago… Is Yamapi-kun still forbidding anyone to come in contact with her for more than 30 seconds?”
Chuckling, Maki shook her head. Yamapi had, after all, been very protective of their daughter the moment Maki gave birth to her mid-January. He enjoyed holding her or just simply watching her. Maki was even afraid for a while that Yamapi wouldn’t allow the others to see Emi with the way he is acting. It turned out that he did (allow the others to see Emi that is) or was forced to since after making sure that it’s already okay to visit, their friends and colleagues came in groups. And really, it would have been difficult if he did try to shoo away the sempais and bosses (considering that they ARE sempais and bosses) and their friends (especially the ones who could rib him to oblivion).
“She’s growing her front teeth now…” Maki shared proudly. “So she’s a bit grumpier than before… Pi took her with him to the Ikuta Studios for his photo shoot with his group mates…”
“Really?” Meisa smiled. “I’m going there in a while, actually. I think I’d drop by to check on your little princess… What time would you finish here anyway?”
“We’re shooting the whole commercial now and the promotions so around 3:00… Why?”
“Let’s go out for coffee…” Meisa suggested. “Just us girls… I’ll tell the others…”
“Sure…” Maki nodded. “But I have to go by 5:00… Pi’s got a night shoot tonight…”
“Yes, we know Mama Maki…” Meisa chuckled, waving her best friend goodbye as she walked away.
-----
“I told you to keep Tegoshi-kun away from Emi…” Ryo shook his head as he slowed down his walk to match Yamapi’s as they head out to change for the next set of clothes they’re going to use for their photo shoot.
In front of them are the other four members, with Koyama and Masuda each having an arm over Tegoshi’s shoulder as Shige followed them behind.
“Why? What happened?” Yamapi asked.
Over 15 minutes ago, he left his daughter at their greenroom when they started their photo shoot where she’s being “supervised” by Nanba. His manager only half-heartedly objected to being assigned babysitter to his daughter but in the end he did agree, after all, it turned out that Nanba is really good with kids.
“Nothing much…” said Ryo, shaking his head, torn between laughing or getting annoyed. “He just happened to have forgotten that he’s already reached the age of adulthood and has reverted back to being a kid…”
“What did he do this time?”
“He wants to go back to the greenroom to play with your kid!” Ryo chuckled. “Koyama-kun found him sneaking back there and it took both Koyama-kun and Masuda-kun to both drag him back and convince him that he should finish the photo shoot first…”
Yamapi laughed. “Well, you have to admit… My precious princess is very charming…” he said proudly.
Raising an eyebrow at him, Ryo snorted and shook his head before agreeing. “Yeah, she is… Must be in Maki-chan’s genes…”
Yamapi was just about to retort that it’s in his genes too when he recognized the female figure walking towards them.
“Meisa-chan…” he greeted with Ryo doing the same.
His relationship with Maki’s best friend had so far gotten better ever since the public declaration last year, much to his delight. Meisa seemed to have finally gotten over her dislike of Johnny’s in general (or maybe just him since she got along great with Matsujun, Ryo, Kame and the others from day one) all except Jin who she now seemed to have considered as non-existent.
“Yamapi-kun, Ryo-kun…” Meisa greeted back. “I heard from Maki that you guys are having a shoot here so I thought I’d drop by to say hi…”
“It’s been a while since I last saw you…” Ryo smiled. “You haven’t been clubbing lately right? Because I haven’t seen you around…”
Meisa chuckled. “I’ve been busy… You know, with the album and stuff… But I might go out with a few of my friends one of these days… I guess I’ll expect to see you around then…”
“Of course…” Ryo nodded. “Congratulations on the new album by the way… I heard it is selling great…”
“Thank you… Not as great selling as any of the Johnny albums but its doing good…” Meisa smiled. “Where is little Emi-chan by the way? Maki said you brought her along for this shoot…”
“Yeah, I did…” said Yamapi. “She’s at the greenroom with Nanba-kun… If you want, you could go see her… We’ll be finished in about an hour here, I guess…”
“I’ll do just that then…” Meisa nodded.
Seeing her march towards their greenroom, Yamapi turned to Ryo with an eyebrow raised and asked “How would you have noticed that she wasn’t around when half the time you wouldn’t have noticed the time when you guys go clubbing?”
“I didn’t…” Ryo smirked as they headed to the changing area. “But Bakanishi sure did…”
-----
“Hello there my dear Emi-chan… Don’t cry… Don’t cry my little Emi-chan… I’m here… Who’s your favorite uncle? I’m your favorite uncle! Uncle Jin’s your favorite uncle, right?” Jin crooned over the portable crib where Nanba had lain Emi down.
Yamapi’s manager had an important phone call he had to take which is why he had (hesitantly) left Jin to look after Emi for a bit when the former dropped by, supposedly simply to crash on his friends’ greenroom, (“It gets lonely when you’re on your own…” he told Nanba) with a promise that he’d be back 15 minutes tops.
But the good manager hadn’t even been gone for more than 3 minutes when Emi started to wiggle around, feeling restless and scared of her unfamiliar surroundings, and while Jin tried to get her interested by wiggling over her the cover of his solo CD, Emi continued to ignore her “favorite uncle” Jin and started to wail, making her “favorite uncle” Jin panic more.
This was the scene that Meisa had walked in to when she opened the door of the NewS greenroom hurriedly, having heard Emi crying from the hallway.
“What the heck are you doing?!” Meisa exclaimed, seeing Jin with his CD hovering over a crying Emi.
The stumped look on Jin’s face when he looked up as she rushed to pick Emi up only infuriated Meisa more, especially when he said “What?! I’m trying to make her stop crying!”
“By waving that thing in her face?!” she snarled before rocking Emi a bit and whispering soft comforting words to her.
This, coupled with the warmth and comfort coming from a familiar female body, seemed to have contributed to making Emi stop her wailing as she slowed down to soft sobs. Having located Emi’s baby bag atop the long table a few steps away, Meisa grabbed the bag with one hand and with Emi on another, she turned around to leave without another word.
“Hey! Where are you going?! Where do you think you’re taking her?!” Jin demanded.
Meisa didn’t even bother to turn around when she said “Away from you!” before completely leaving the room.
-----
Having noticed the figure of Meisa standing by the doorway with Emi on one hand and a bag on another, Yamapi had signaled their photographer for a brief break, making the other members of NewS just as curious as he is as he proceeded to where the two are.
“Is everything all right?” he asked. Emi was already smiling as she bit on the teether Meisa had given her but Yamapi noticed that her eyes were still a bit red, indicating that she had been crying.
“It is now…” Meisa smiled, although noticeably irritated over something that wasn’t there when they saw her a few minutes ago.
“Is there a problem?” Ryo asked, having followed Yamapi when he stepped out of the lights, his hand immediately stretched to poke Emi lightly by her nose, making the baby laugh.
“Oh no…” Meisa shook her head. “I just stopped by to inform you that I’d be taking Emi-chan to my greenroom with me while you’re having your shoot… I don’t think the atmosphere in your greenroom is good for the baby…”
“Okay, I guess…” Yamapi nodded in confusion. When Meisa turned around and left with just a nod, he turned to Ryo with that confusion still on his face, coupled with a budding worry.
Meisa taking care of Emi didn’t worry him since, in general, she’s a woman, good with kids, and Emi likes her. What’s worrying him is that he might have done something wrong in Meisa’s eyes, and if he that is the case, Maki would soon find out about it and he’d be in trouble with his wife. That is something he absolutely doesn’t want to happen.
“What’s wrong with Nanba-kun?” he asked.
Before Ryo could answer though, they were distracted by the sudden appearance of Jin, looking harassed and extremely worried.
“Have you seen Meisa?” he asked.
“Why?” Ryo asked, a small smirk forming on his lips having formed his own conclusions on what had just happened.
“What did you do?” Yamapi demanded, having arrived at more or less the same conclusion as Ryo with the way his eyebrows had furrowed.
“She took Emi-chan!” Jin pouted. Like a child complaining, he continued “Nanba-kun needed to take a call and since there’s a very bad service in your greenroom, he consented to leave Emi-chan with me for a while… And then Emi-chan started crying and I was trying to make her laugh and then she came and took her away!”
If Jin was, in any way, hoping for some comfort or sympathy, perhaps those two are not the ideal ones he should have headed to especially since Ryo started snickering and Yamapi looked quite murderous after hearing his complaint.
With very dark eyes, Yamapi looked at Jin and declared “If I get in trouble with Maki because of this, I am going to kill you!” before turning around, leaving a befuddled Jin to turn to Ryo for answers.
“I guess I should warn you too…” Ryo laughed. “Better keep a safe distance away from Tegoshi-kun…”
“And why is that?”
“Because he was really looking forward to playing with Emi-chan during the break…” Ryo laughed. “And you just took that away from him…”
True enough, when Jin turned towards where the rest of NewS were standing at, which wasn’t really that far away for them not to hear what’s going on, Tegoshi was eyeing Jin the same way a bullied kid would look at the other kid who took his precious candy. With a vengeance.
-----
“Here comes the next Johnny bride…” Erika cheered seeing Mao head towards where she, Keiko, Meisa and Maki were already gathered in one of their favorite cafés near Ikuta Studios.
“I’m sorry I’m late…” Mao apologized, bowing to the four when she reached the table before taking her seat on the only empty chair left. “I had a lot to do before getting myself free…”
“Oh, we know…” Keiko smiled, pausing for a bit while the café attendant placed Mao’s usual order in front of her. “Busy with the wedding preparations already huh?”
With a chuckle, Mao shook her head. While she and Matsujun had already decided for the wedding date to be early that December, she wasn’t really burdened with most of the troubles of organizing a wedding. Not when her future husband had prepared things before he even proposed to her.
“Sort of…” she admitted. “But not with the wedding itself… Jun had taken care of most of that… I had to catch up with all my shooting obligations though, before the break…”
“Ooh… For the honeymoon…” Erika guessed, making Mao blush as she tried to correct “For the wedding…”
“Where’s the honeymoon anyway?” Meisa asked.
“Actually, I do not know…” Mao smiled, blushing deeper. “He said it’s a surprise…” she added, making the other four giggle and squeal.
Amidst all those noise, Maki’s voice was heard saying “That’s nice… I never got a honeymoon…”
Erika and Mao chuckled, Meisa rolled her eyes, and Keiko smiled hearing this with the eldest of the group saying “Of course you had… It just happens to have happened a lot sooner than the wedding… Your honeymoon resulted to having little Emi-chan in your life…”
Maki chuckled. “I guess you’re right…”
“Speaking of little Emi-chan…” Mao started, eyeing Meisa mischievously. “I heard what you did to Jin-kun earlier…”
“You too?!” Meisa groaned while the other three tried to muffle their laughter. “Seriously! How fast does news travel amongst the Johnnys?! That happened like four or five hours ago!”
“Really, really fast…” Mao chuckled. “Since those guys talk about anything that interests them…”
“And what happened earlier interests them how?!” Meisa exclaimed.
“For the fun of ribbing Jin-kun, I guess…” Maki said while Erika added after taking a sip from her drink. “I imagine there’s not much to rib Yamapi-kun now so Akanishi-kun’s the next target…”
“Since when is it fun to rib an idiot?” Meisa snorted. “He can’t even follow the conversation half the time…”
“Uh huh…” Keiko nodded mischievously as the others eyed Meisa with interest.
“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked.
“Oh, nothing much really…” Keiko chuckled. “I’m just wondering if there’s something different beneath all those negative feelings you have for Akanishi-kun…”
“Like what? Disgust? Sure…”
“I’m thinking more along the lines of ‘like’ actually…” Erika smiled to which Keiko nodded. “After all, they say that there’s a thin line between hating somebody and liking him since only someone who would mean something to you could evoke such strong feelings from you…”
With a raised eyebrow, Meisa turned to Erika and pretended to gag while the others watched her interestedly.
“I don’t hate him… I just don’t like him… That’s different!” she said.
“Sure…” Erika nodded patronizingly while Keiko added “If you believe what you just said…”
-----
“Will somebody please explain to me why this guy has taken into hiding in our greenroom?” Matsujun asked as he joined Ryo, Toma, and Yamapi, with Emi on his lap, on their table at the cafeteria with Jin closely following behind him. “He’s getting on my nerves…”
“Oh, because he’s afraid of what’s going to happen to him at our greenroom…” Ryo supplied helpfully with a smirk directed at Jin. “He’s been declared persona non grata there…”
“Why?” Matsujun chuckled. “I know he pissed off Mei-chan again… Who else did he manage to piss off this time?”
“Tegoshi-kun…” Yamapi answered over Jin’s indignant “I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“That kid absolutely hates Jin right now…” added Toma handing Yamapi Emi’s milk bottle before turning to Jin and saying “You’re lucky, he and Masuda-kun had to go to recording for their next song or you wouldn’t even be allowed to be here…”
“Look, it’s not my fault she overreacted, all right…” Jin mumbled, earning him a couple of raised eyebrows and smirks.
“How’s the wedding arrangements going anyway?” Toma asked, turning to Matsujun.
“Good…” Matsujun nodded. “Minor hiccups here and there but everything’s flowing alright…”
“Where’s the honeymoon anyway?” Yamapi asked. “I heard you’re keeping it a secret from your own bride…”
“I didn’t tell Mao, you think I’m telling you guys?” Matsujun snorted. “All you need to know is that it wouldn’t be anywhere near here and that it’s going to special…”
“You do know how the guys in the jimusho love to hate you right now, don’t you?” Ryo asked conversationally. “You’re setting too high the standards for the rest of us to follow…”
“Really?” Jin asked cockily. “I actually thought it’s just normal… A bit boring even… I’m pretty sure I’d fare better than him…”
“You think so huh?” Matsujun turned to him with a smirk and an eyebrow raised. “You can’t even get a relationship to last for more than just one night and some casual sex…”
“Of course I can!” Jin grinned. “Piece of cake… If I wanted to, then I can…”
“Is that so? Prove it!” Toma challenged.
“Yeah…” Ryo agreed. “Let’s go clubbing this weekend… Let’s see how good you are with your words…”
“Sure!” Jin nodded. “What happens if I win?”
“Your call…” Matsujun chuckled. “We’d rent a whole club for you if that’s what you want…”
“Yeah…” Yamapi agreed. “But if you lose, you’ll pay for me, Maki, Ryo, and Toma for the two-way plane tickets to Hawaii for Jun’s wedding… Deal?”
“Deal!” Jin agreed. “I’d even throw in Kame’s 2-way ticket… But remember, one whole club if I win…”
“Sure…” Ryo nodded with a sweet smile on his lips as he and Toma started imagining what sort of things they could buy with two plane tickets worth of money they’ve saved.
-----
“Remember kids, one whole club if I win…” Jin smiled, turning around to face his friends.
He and his friends are on the second floor of one of his most favorite clubs, conveniently situated on the sector that could easily and clearly see everything that’s going on down at the dance floor. Since both Yamapi and Matsujun couldn’t come (not that they expected those two to really come with them in a place of Jin’s choice anyway), he ended up going clubbing with Ryo and Toma, but this time joined by Kame, who, upon hearing the deal, agreed to be counted in. They were all already in their second bottle by that time.
“Oi! Don’t be so cocky!” Toma laughed. “Remember that it has to be more than just a one-night stand…”
“Yeah…” Ryo chuckled. The moment Jin agreed to a deal that time at the cafeteria, they proceeded to iron the specifics of the agreement.
Based on what was agreed on, Jin would have the whole night to choose the girl he wants and be able to have her before the sun rises. He doesn’t necessarily have to bed her, he could if they both wanted to, but he has to have the right to call her his girlfriend for at least a month. None of them were really expecting for love to suddenly enter the picture, they just wanted to test if Jin could (and would) be able to keep a girl for that long when his record for a longest relationship is two days. And none of them would have been really that serious on the bet if the person they were betting against weren’t so overly confident.
“Come on… I can do it!” Jin declared. Before he turned around and left them for the dance floor though, he added cockily “Watch and learn…”
Seeing Jin leave, Toma exclaimed “Wow… That’s a lot of over confidence stocked in just one body…”
“I don’t know…” Kame shrugged. “Ever since he pulled off going solo, I started thinking that maybe Bakanishi is capable of anything…”
“Not this one…” Ryo chuckled having been the first one to turn around and watch the dance floor below.
Following his gaze, Toma and Kame laughed too.
“Looks like we’re going to have a few more extra money for that trip to Hawaii…” Kame nodded.
“Never doubted it for a second…” Ryo grinned as the three of them positioned themselves to be comfortable as they watched the things unfold on the dance floor.
It seems that Jin has not yet noticed her, but by the looks of it, it wouldn’t take long for him to feel her presence.
-----
He didn’t really notice her, not at first at least. When Akanishi Jin went on to the dance floor, his only intention is to go fishing, to find that girl he could win the bet with. He didn’t even see her immediately but admittedly, there seemed to be something missing as he played it up with some of the girls who came over to dance with him.
That’s actually one of the reasons why he rarely joins the dance floor unless the alcohol had taken its full effects lately, because he can’t enjoy himself to the fullest when his eyes are subconsciously scanning the place every now and then. He wasn’t even really looking for someone, but his scanning of the area does make him think that something’s missing, and then he’ll realize that she isn’t there.
This time, with two girls on opposite him pumping to the beat of the music, his eyes wandered around again. He didn’t feel the emptiness this time though when he saw her four or five pairs away from him, dancing the night away with some of her model friends.
It was as if someone cranked his energy to the maximum level. He felt his energy surge as the music as his body danced to the beat of the music much with much more ease as compared to before. His dance partners seemed to have noticed that too as they also became bolder, closer to him. The thing is, Jin couldn’t really fully appreciate what’s happening around him, what’s being offered to him right there and then, when his eyes keep darting to where she’s dancing.
In no way could Meisa be considered as the sexiest girl on the dance floor, not when there are other girls wearing much more provocative and revealing clothing than her. In fact, her clothes could be considered a bit more towards the conventional side; a single-strapped emerald green sexy top paired with tight-fitting jeans and high heels. But there was just something about her, the presence maybe, the sex appeal, which seems to pull in the attention of every male on the dance floor.
Jin is not an exception.
In fact, Jin had subconsciously moved through the dance floor within the next song, leaving his disgruntled (and yearning) dancing partners behind, until he was just behind her. When Meisa turned around, they were both surprised to see each other face to face.
Jin was almost afraid that she’d turn away and snub him, not only because that would be pretty embarrassing, especially for him, but somehow, deep inside, he knew that he really wanted to dance with her. This is why he was very much pleasantly surprised when Meisa continued dancing to the beat of the music with him as a partner.
They started with a bit of distance between them, as if strangers still getting to know each other. But as the music changed to a more upbeat tempo and the overall lights started getting dimmer and the neon lights brighter, they slowly started getting closer to each other until their bodies were almost touching.
And all of a sudden, Jin became very aware of certain things he’s never been aware of before. In the past, he wouldn’t really notice much about his dance partner, other than if she’s a) hot and b) willing. This time though, he noticed how Meisa’s hips swayed to the music next to his, how there’s a small smile playing on her lips as she closed her eyes. He noticed how good she smells, technically speaking, it wasn’t sweet. No, it’s not that. In his own description, he’d call it erotic.
Incredibly erotic. And it’s really turning him on.
He took one step closer to her, or as close as anyone could ever really get, and the moment he did, everything from their last extremely close encounter came back to him, even before he felt her hands playing on his nape.
She tasted sweet, really sweet, and he loved the feel of her skin under his fingers. He remembered how every cell in his body seemed to be alive as his tongue entered her mouth and played with hers. He remembered how perfectly attuned his body was to her reactions, and how it made it all the more hotter for him. And he also remembered how long it took him to recover after their very unfortunate separation.
He didn’t really mean to say those words when they separated, and he knew that those words are actually very insulting, to anyone let alone to someone of Meisa’s stature. But the moment she stopped him and they separated, those words flew out of his lips. He’s been trying to make up for it to her since then, not that he has ever been close enough to doing so with everything that keeps happening between the two of them since then.
The soft air flowing past his right ear took him back to the present as he realized that he and Meisa were practically hugging each other on the dance floor, his hands placed comfortable on her hips as they both continued to sway to the beat. Meisa’s face is parallel to his now, as her lips continued to blow softly at his ear.
“Remember the last time we were this close?” he heard him ask seductively. “And what happened after that?”
Unsure of whether or not he could find his voice, Jin simply nodded his head and grunted his agreement. Having felt and heard that, he felt Meisa move her head to face his.
There was a smile playing on her lips when she did as her hands left his nape and landed on his shoulders.
“You know what I’ve always wanted to do since then?” she asked.
“No… What?” he croaked.
Her smile turned seductive and mischievous as she moved her head closer, ever so closer to his lips. But before she could get there though, she smirked.
“Get even.”
Before Jin could even understand what’s going on, Meisa had turned around and left him in the middle of the dance floor as she rejoined her friends like nothing happened. The satisfied smirk on her lips says otherwise though.
-----
“And that’s how you play Akanishi Jin!” Ryo laughed, closing his phone as the three of them cheered and guffawed after seeing everything happening from where they were seated. “This is priceless!”
“I’ve got to say… That was hot!” Toma chuckled, raising his beer bottle to his lips. “I’ve got to say, I can understand Jin’s present predicament…”
“You got that right!” Kame agreed, drinking from his bottle himself. “From now on, Kuroki Meisa is now officially my idol… That was awesome!”
“Look at poor little Jin!” Ryo chuckled, nodding towards the dance floor.
Looking down, Kame and Toma saw their friend looking extremely confused. After a bit though, he seemed to have caught up with what had just happened seeing as he grimaced. He pretended to continue dancing with the other girls there for a bit before turning around and completely leaving the floor.
“Looks like someone’s going to need a shower after this…” Toma chuckled.
“A really, really cold shower…” Kame amended as they turned around to await Jin’s ascent to the second floor. It didn’t take him long too, to show his quite disgruntled face only for it to worsen when he saw how wide his friends are grinning.
“For how many people am I paying for again?” he asked as he crashed to the seat next to Kame.
“Oh, you’re going to have to shell out for more than those tickets…” Ryo grinned, raising his phone where an extremely closed up video of Meisa leaving a stumped Jin on the dance floor was playing.
“How the heck did you get that?!” Jin complained as he tried to reach for the phone from the shorter idol, not that he succeeded, as the other three laughed at his expense. “How many times can your phone zoom in anyway, I’m pretty sure we were at least half a dozen feet away!”
“Nothing but the best for blackmailing purposes…” Ryo grinned. “I wonder what Yamapi would say when he sees this…”
“Forget Yamapi, after how cocky this one got at the cafeteria, wonder about Jun!” Toma chuckled.
As the other three started another round of laughter and jeering, Jin could only slump back to his seat and mutter “I hate you guys…” as he started to figure out how he’d survive the next few weeks.
“Of course you do…” Ryo chuckled after settling down.
“What did Mei-chan tell you anyway?” Toma asked. “She looked like she’s whispering something to your ears earlier…”
“That’s none of your business…” he pouted, extremely disgruntled over the fact that he had just failed the bet (he didn’t feel flirting with any girl at the moment since he knew it’d only be ruined by him thinking of Meisa), been played by a girl, and been recorded while at it.
“How’s your relationship with Mei-chan now anyway?” Kame asked conversationally.
Remembering her last words to him and forgetting that his friends are very much willing and ready to laugh at his face, he said “She said we’re now even.”
This, of course, caused the other three to start laughing again.
Kame even placed a patronizingly comforting arm on his shoulders as the younger idol said “Look at the bright side, if you’re now even, then that means she doesn’t hate you anymore… And if she doesn’t hate you anymore, then you can be more than just be civil from now on, you can be considered as friends… And that’s a very good thing, a good place to start…”
As realization and agreement dawned on Jin’s face, the other three laughed even harder. As right as Kame may be on what he told Jin, it didn’t guarantee that things would be easy, not when Jin remains to be the Jin that he is.
-----FIN-----
so there, that marks the end of the whole Baby Steps storyline, sequels and all...
i had fun writing this series actually...
by the way, this is my first time writing a story with this high of a rating... :)
as always, tell me what you think... :)
comments and critics are very much welcomed... :)
*shall go to sleep now, for any errors/typos and all that, i'll edit when i wake up... :)*
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-26 03:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-26 03:58 pm (UTC)miss you dear... i still have the fever and so i still can't leave the country..
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-26 11:12 pm (UTC)i was looking forward to read mao and jun's wedding. preparations and the wedding itself... hope you can write a story about it... *pls* ^_^
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-27 03:08 am (UTC)and yes.. who would leave a baby with him?!?!
I couldn't stop laughing imagining Tegoshi get mad at Jin because he wants to play with little Emi.
=)) Meisa won this round mwahahaha!!
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-31 04:01 pm (UTC)oh and Emi chan and Teshi''s cho kawaii!!! and yeah, Jun does seem to set the standards higher, not that I mind, He's super romantic without being too cheesy. Kanpeki! love MatsuMao! <3 I kinda want to know what happens with Jin and Meisa hereafter. I really had fun reading how the Johnny's tease each other or should i say,"rib" each other off. lol Thanks, anata wa sugoi desu! >.
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2010-11-04 10:03 am (UTC)(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2010-11-22 06:18 pm (UTC)Thank you for writing another sequel of baby steps.. i like it very much!! <3
I also have mixed emotions here.. happy because another sequel and sad because it's the end..
(This is a stupid suggestion XD)can u write about, the wedding of Jun and Mao (add the honeymoon!;Dlol)and add more characters... hehe..
But.. i'm looking forward to your newest fanfic which is 'One Chance'..
~ja
(no subject)
From: