[oneshot] A Nuisance
Jun. 7th, 2012 09:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thesecretdoorPairing: JunRu Friendship
Rating: G
Word Count: 2310
Disclaimer: I don't own the people involved...and I'm a little hesitant to even admit to owning the story.
Summary: Nakamaru is a little disturbed by Taguchi's reluctance to spend time alone with him.
A/N: Written for
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
itz_menos I'm so sorry I couldn't write anything better/more interesting. Also thank you Aimee for making me beautiful new icons...now I can have a JunRu icon to go with the fic ^__^“Good game” Taguchi beams, patting him on the shoulder as they walk out of the survival game arena.
“It was” Nakamaru agrees. “The way you took down Yaotome-kun was incredible.”
“Come on...I’m starving” Interrupts Koki, placing an arm around each of their shoulders.
“We’re going to get ramen, do you want to come along?” Taguchi directs at Nakamaru.
He considers it for a moment and then nods happily “Sure, I think a celebratory meal is in order.”
As they eat they recount their battle, and what an epic battle it had been, the three of them alone had taken on the whole of Hey! Say! Jump! And won. Nakamaru was proud of his team, yes his team, he’d been made official team captain. He’d been a little sceptical about how well they would do against such a large group of much younger, more energetic boys, but all three of them had made it out alive. He wasn’t sure whether it was just because of their experience, he couldn’t even say how many times they’d been to play survival together, or because they were such a finely attuned team. Nakamaru as captain decided on the strategies, but then out in the field he was a little more reserved, leaving the key job of leading them to Taguchi who was quick and could adapt their plans fluidly depending on the situation. Then there was Koki, not afraid to be bold and take risks, he was their main weapon, but without the others, none of them would have the skills to win such an epic battle.
They finish their food and are still discussing their tactics over drinks when Koki’s phone rings, the other two wait patiently in silence until he finishes his phone call, but as he hangs up he stands from his seat. “Sorry, that was my mum, I’ve gotta go run some errands” and he fishes through his wallet for some cash before nodding in farewell “I’ll see you at work tomorrow”.
They both return his farewell and then Taguchi suddenly looks tense. “Actually, I’d better go too, see you” And after placing his share of the bill on the table, Taguchi leaves too. For a few moments Nakamaru sits there dumbstruck, Taguchi had sure been in a hurry to leave. His face falls into a frown as he picks up his glass, is his company that intolerable? He finishes his drink and puts down his money before heading out of the restaurant, his mind drifting back to Taguchi’s hasty departure the whole way home.
~~***~~
Back behind his safely locked door he finally lets out the frustrated grunt he hadn’t even been aware he was withholding. What was with that guy? It was as though as soon as Koki left he’d sensed a dire need to escape.
Do people really find him that boring? Maru ponders as he shuffles around his quiet kitchen, making himself some relaxing tea. But even if that is the case, it would have been much more polite for Taguchi to have stayed to finish their drinks at least. He sighs, finally relaxing into his soft leather sofa, since when was Taguchi polite? And since when did any of his actions ever make sense?
He spends a few hours focusing entirely on his current homework assignment, but once he’s dressed for bed and tucked comfortably between the sheets his mind dredges up that image of Taguchi’s startled face once more.
The more he thinks about it, the more he realises, in fact, he never spends time alone with Taguchi, he can’t even recall when the last time was. It’s not just in their private time either, at work they occasionally have small sections of photoshoots just the two of them, but it’s only very rarely that it’s any more than that. Do they really just not have any chemistry between them?
He rolls onto his back, trying to think of time spent with alone with the other members as though that might explain why he and Taguchi are incompatible. He gets on fine with Ueda, they go out to eat together quite often and though they don’t say much everything is perfectly comfortable between them. But Ueda gets on surprisingly well with Taguchi too, despite the way their personalities seem as though they should clash. Still, Taguchi and Ueda often have photoshoots together, and they were often paired together for TV shows too, especially as juniors, he supposes their differences complimented each other quite well there.
Kame is easy to get along with too, they can talk for hours about the news, or sporting news at least. He has a lot of respect for Kame, for his work ethic and how thorough he is about understanding his work, he figures they’re quite similar in that sense. Kame also makes a good shopping companion, he’s efficient, and though they don’t exactly shares tastes in clothes, somehow shopping is always organised and effective with Kame around.
With a sigh he remembered Kame’s other usual shopping companion, Taguchi.
Then there’s Koki, he’s always got on really well with Koki, ever since their junior days and their little TaNaka unit. But Koki is almost like Taguchi’s best friend, they have the radio show to bond over, and when they go out together they share all these inside jokes that Maru always misses...he sits up suddenly, that’s it...the only time he hangs out with Taguchi is when Koki is around, the three of them, NTT.
He ponders the thought a little as he lays back down. The whole NTT thing was Taguchi’s idea...surely he wouldn’t invite Maru to take part in his solo if he didn’t genuinely like him. So clearly Taguchi does like him, but he can’t help a snort at his silly thoughts, of course Taguchi likes him, they just spent half the day running around playing survival games together.
His mind flickers back to that face though, the realisation on Taguchi’s face that he’s left alone with Maru, why was that thought so troubling to him? They get along fine when Koki is with them, so why does Taguchi seem to expect that something will go wrong if they’re alone.
One thought comes to mind but he stops it before it even starts, he’s been paying too much attention to those crazy fans with their fanservice and twisted fantasies. He even laughs a little, Taguchi has had more in the way of relationships than any one of them, there’s no way it’s anything like that.
He lets out a huff of impatience, then why doesn’t Taguchi like the idea of being alone with him? It’s not as though he’s ever mean to Taguchi, no more so than the other members at least, and he’s pretty sure Taguchi knows he’s only joking, mostly.
He finally manages to put it from his mind by deciding he’ll just ask Taguchi about it the next day, and after forcing his mind to focus on the gentle rising and falling of his chest with his slow breaths, he manages to fall asleep.
~~***~~
“Morning Nakamaru” Taguchi greets him, entirely too happily, when he enters the dressing room that morning. He knows by now that Taguchi is always at least ten minutes early for anything, so here he is, arriving early himself so that he can finally get his worries off his chest.
He nods in greeting and sits down on the soft sofa, he takes a long sip off his hot chocolate to work up his courage to just spit it out.
“You left in a hurry yesterday...” he says finally.
Taguchi shrugs “We were finished weren’t we?”
His fingers tense against his cup, he’d rather hoped for something other than avoidance. “You didn’t have to leave...just because Koki did...”
“I didn’t...I was just leaving...”
He can feel anger starting to simmer a little, is the guy incapable of answering a question straight? His annoyance must be showing on his face, he catches the subtle way Taguchi gulps, his eyes just a little too wary. “Do you dislike being alone with me?”
“What?” Taguchi laughs, but it’s just a little shaky at the end “We’re alone now aren’t we?” He stands up suddenly and Taguchi flinches. “I’m going to go get some coffee, you want anything?” Taguchi tries lightly, but Maru stops him with a hand on his wrist.
“If there’s something wrong with me then just say it” he snaps, and for a moment Taguchi looks as though he might laugh it off again, but then without any other warning, his smile turns downwards, his whole body seeming to sag. Taken aback by the reaction, Nakamaru remembers to let go of the wrist in his hand “What’s wrong with you?”
Taguchi turns from him and flops down onto the sofa, lifting one of the cushions to cuddle it as though for support. Nakamaru half wants to laugh at the sight of it, but the knowledge that this is Taguchi, the usually unshakable Taguchi, makes the concern a stronger emotion.
“I always make you angry” Taguchi finally says, his expression looking lost. “Whenever we’re alone, you just get angry with me.”
For a moment Nakamaru can’t think of an appropriate response, if he’d have had any inkling of what was wrong at all, this wouldn’t have been it. “What do you mean?”
“Even now...just a minute ago I made you angry...” he pouts.
He can’t help but laugh “What? I was only angry because you’ve been acting so strangely...” Taguchi’s brows knit together in a gesture of confusion “If you hadn’t had left so hurriedly after Koki...”
“I usually leave with Koki, when we go out...” Taguchi cuts in.
Nakamaru opens his mouth to respond but stops, now that he thinks about it, the two of them usually do leave at the same time, not even just after eating, the whole time they worked together as NTT, Taguchi always left with Koki, if not before him. “How long have you been avoiding me?”
“It’s not really avoiding as such...”
“Then whatever you’ve been doing...how long?” he tries.
Taguchi shrugs, trying to look nonchalant “Since we were juniors at least...”
He can’t be sure if his jaw actually drops, but it feels as though it does, he feels like he’s just been punched in the stomach. “You’ve been avoiding me for at least 5 years...because you’re worried I’ll get mad at you...” he can’t wrap his head around it. Firstly he’s appalled that Taguchi would fear his anger badly enough to take such extreme measures, and for such a long time, but secondly, he’s ashamed that it’s taken this long for him to notice.
Taguchi’s smile looks uneasy “It’s not like that...we’re still friends, we always have been...just even back then, I always seemed to just make you mad...”
He lets out a puff of breath, still desperately trying to grasp onto the situation while trying to figure out what to do about it. “Taguchi...we even joke about that now...you know right that it was the rest of them winding me up...”
But Taguchi cuts in “It was still always me that set you off though...”
“Because you’re stupid...not because you’re annoying” it sounded less like an insult in his head, but he hopes at least Taguchi understood. “It wasn’t because you were any more annoying than them, just they knew when to stop...”
If he’d been offended then Taguchi wasn’t showing it, if anything he just looked more guilty “That’s exactly why someone else should be there, to tell me when to stop...”
He had to admit, he was getting a little annoyed, he had no idea his usually bouncy band-mate could be so self-deprecating. “Ok well how about from now on I’ll tell you if I’m getting annoyed and it’s time to stop?”
“I guess that would be ok” Taguchi says, his face lighting up a little.
“Ok, you’re starting to annoy me so stop being so scared about upsetting me.” For a moment a troubled look crossed Taguchi’s face, but then he breaks out into a grin.
“That’s was a pretty good idea...that wasn’t so bad”
For a moment Nakamaru almost regrets it, he’d been forgetting just how annoying Taguchi can actually be, but seeing that smile back on his friends face does make him feel a little relieved at least, and as the grin grows wider he can’t help but laugh.
“You’re so stupid sometimes...if you’d had said something years ago then you wouldn’t have had to be so scared of me this whole time...”
Taguchi’s face looks serious all of a sudden, and he’s about to worry over what he said wrong when Taguchi finally speaks.
“It’s not that I was scared of you...I guess it sounds kind of silly saying it out loud but...I know I can be annoying, and because I care about you and I don’t want to lose your friendship...I just didn’t want to put myself in the position where I could be a hassle to you...I really admire how serious you are about work and your education...I don’t want to be a nuisance, that’s all...”
He can’t help laughing again “Firstly, you’ll never not be a nuisance...and secondly...” but the sincerity in Taguchi’s eyes catches him off guard and sobers him a little “Even if you didn’t have to act that way all this time...I still appreciate what you were trying to do.” The smile on Taguchi’s face makes his cheeks feel a little hot, it’s as though he’d just announced Taguchi would get two birthdays this year. “But really...let’s just try and be normal friends ok?”
Taguchi nods feverishly, but Nakamaru can’t stop his eyes from rolling once Taguchi says “Hey, since you don’t mind being alone with me now...maybe when we go to Fukuoka next, we can go eat motsunabe together?”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------Ok, I spent far too long trying to think of something interesting and not smutty to write about >_< But I was really at a loss here...it put me so far out of my comfort zone. I'm really unhappy with it, but I've been distracted all week while trying to write it and I didn't want to leave you waiting too long so I figured I'd just post what I've got and make it up to you with another fic once I get the inspiration :)
Also...I realise that this was supposed to be fluffy, sorry it ended up a little angsty and not really fluffy at all...I hope you're not too dissappointed *hugs* Please do give me lots of feedback on what I can improve and I promise next time it'll be better!! The feedback thing applies to anyone else who reads this too, please help me improve?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-06-07 09:02 pm (UTC)This was cute. I don't know if cute was your aim but even if it wasn't, if you're going to miss your aim, cute is not a bad thing to hit instead :)
no subject
Date: 2012-06-08 08:48 am (UTC)I'm glad you found this cute :) IDK what it was meant to be really >_< but I'm glad it wasn't a complete and utter failure anyways!!
Thank you for your lovely comment <3
no subject
Date: 2012-06-08 02:30 am (UTC)I know it's really something out of your comfort zone and I really appreciate your effort for writing this one. Seriously, much love ♥!
--
Since I'm not really a fanfic writer of some sort and you do know I'm NOT an avid reader of fanfics even (well I have read but only a few), I can't comment in a way that would some be of help in improvement of your writing style >>
As of the storyline, the survival game holds the key for them to be in a plot and I like how you managed to get it to the point where you can almost relate on the times they spent playing the game together with Koki :)
The characterization of each involved individual was played a little strong in a way that soft angst and emotion were displayed though somehow, I kept thinking that Yucchi could be also fitting to be the one who distances himself from Junno for a reason but then again, being a worry-wart doesnt really play along on Junno's quality? Lol.
I also like how you included an NTT relationship in here because I also like NTT per say =D But then again, you couldnt help to stress out a little hint of JunDa being more friendly to each other xD
Lastly, it's a fact the every fic that has been written can bring different point of views/likeness from readers because everyone has their own preferences -- but FOR ME, I'm not disappointed with this one cause for a first timer in doing something not your OTP and unlikely you usual
smuttygenre, you were able to deliver a very raw yet impressive and bold yet subtle type of written material here and I like it.I apologize for blabbing >>
I hope all the stuff that I said made sense..Thanks again <3no subject
Date: 2012-06-08 08:46 am (UTC)Thank you for such a thorough comment though :) I know there are some major flaws with the story. I know what you mean about the Taguchi being a worry-wart thing, that didn't really come across the way I'd intended when I started writing it :( I wanted to show that Taguchi isn't being all worried all the time over upsetting Maru, he just subtly tries not to get into that position because he doesn't want to be annoying...but reading over it, it does sound more as though he's been all paranoid for like 5 years >_<
I'll try for some proper fluff when I get the inspiration, but in all honesty, I've been kind of in one of my ruts recently, so fluff hasn't been all that easy to come by :-(
Thank you for taking the time to read it though :) I appreciate it!
no subject
Date: 2012-06-08 09:14 am (UTC)Don't make it sound that I don't really like it at all.. cause I'm starting to feel bad now on the stuff that I wrote >.>
You really did a great job,though :) Thank you so much again <3
no subject
Date: 2012-06-08 05:49 pm (UTC)And you're welcome :D Thank you for giving me the challenge!
no subject
Date: 2012-06-09 10:45 pm (UTC)Woah, Taguchi surprises me here! He's always so bouncy-happy that one can easily forget that he surely thinks about things like that, too.
I like the way you portrayed both of them here, even if this was out of your comfort zone it's still a great fic! As for me, I like angsty fics so I don't mind if it ends up like that. ^^
no subject
Date: 2012-06-10 10:10 am (UTC)Lol, I'm glad you like angst, I love reading angst and it's looking like my natural writing style is angst too :D
no subject
Date: 2012-06-10 09:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-06-11 12:08 am (UTC)Also, not to give too much away...but there may be just a little more angst ahead in Baby Blue ;)
no subject
Date: 2012-06-11 06:06 pm (UTC)What would be good, in my opinion, is the knowledge that they have to die soon. Or something like that. Actually I don't care as long as it's angsty, just let your fantasy run wild! ^^
Baby Blue is becoming angsty? Just when Ueda finally got all mushy? :o Now I really can't wait for the next chapter! ^^
no subject
Date: 2012-06-12 08:32 am (UTC)As for your angst fic...I couldn't sleep last night and ended up coming up with what could be a very good angsty plot :D It'll be written in two parts, and the first one (a drabble) will be up hopefully sometime this week, the next part will be slightly longer and might take a little longer to get up. I'm excited about it though :D
no subject
Date: 2012-09-30 03:27 pm (UTC)THIS IS SOO CUTE!!! CUDDLE JUNNO!!!XD
“I always make you angry” Taguchi finally says, his expression looking lost. “Whenever we’re alone, you just get angry with me.”
Awwwwwww.... Why are you so sweet!?
Save for future reading~ XD
This is sweet!
no subject
Date: 2012-10-01 07:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-02 04:47 pm (UTC)