“ONE LITTLE TWO LITTLE THREE LITTLE STAR STAR!!”

“FOUR LITTLE FIVE LITTLE SIX LITTLE STAR STAR..”

“SEVEN LITTLE EIGHT LITTLE NINE LITTLE STAR STAR…”

TEN MILIION MILLION STAAAAAAAARRRRRRSSSSSS!!!”

Toma scrunched his face up at Yamapi’s singing. It was horrendous! But the younger man had no inkling whatsoever of this. He was too busy singing his heart out to the stars above. Toma really regretted dragging Pi into his car.

Should have left him at the party…

Stupid me..

After successfully convincing the drunk junior that Toma had more alcohol for him, Pi had loudly followed Toma back to his car, belching as loud as he could and giggling everytime he managed to disgust Toma. After driving off, only did Toma realize that he didn’t have a clue where Pi was actually staying. He did try to ask. He did.

“Umm… Where are you staying?”

“Staying?? (buurrrp) I stay where you stay!” (giggles)

“No, for real, where the hell do you stay?”

“Ehhh??????” Yamapi stared at Toma for a while.

…

Toma turned to glance at Pi when the man got silent. Somehow he thought that his junior looked quite green to him

“Can you stop the car?"

Toma’s head did a 180º turn to stare at Pi.

“What?! You're getting off here? It's a highway! You can't live here??!"

Yamapi clamped a hand on his mouth and shook his head hard before whispering…

“Noo… I mean, I am going to throw up……………….”

Toma almost yanked the steering wheel out of his car as he swerved all the way to the right, jumped out and yanked the green-faced man out, and just in time. Unfortunately, Pi threw up spectacularly on Toma’s shoes.

One could almost see the internal combustion that occurred inside of the handsome model. Toma’s face was red as a tomato, and his hands were clenched tightly around Pi’s shoulders as the younger man continued to retch and heave all over the roadside.

He did manage to clean his shoes with a bottle of water that was left inside the car. And for some time, Yamapi actually slept peacefully while Toma drove. Until now, when he woke up and started to sing loudly. To which Toma tired to shut him up, but Pi found that by winding down the window, he could sing even louder. Sugoi! And hence, started Yamashita Tomohisa’s singing session. Toma’s shoulders slumped and he conceded defeat.

***

Yamapi was asleep by the time Toma reached home. Since he did not know where to drop his kouhai, he decided to bring him back home.

“Oi… Wake up. Wake up!” Toma slapped Pi in the face a little.

“Nngh…”

Toma stared at Pi… before he realized that he was staring quite awkwardly at his junior. He jumped out of his reverie and got out of the car in order to lug Yamapi into the house.

Luckily for him, the other man half awoke and walked a little back to Toma’s house. Once inside Toma wanted to dump him on the couch, but when Pi hugged Toma’s neck with both his arms and rested his cheeks on Toma’s shoulders, he got somewhat side-tracked.

Yamapi’s body was hot from all the alcohol and the heat radiated through his clothes to Toma’s body, causing Toma to suddenly feel warm too. And with Pi breathing right onto his neck, he more than lost track of what he was doing in the first place. Yamapi slept like a baby and looked exactly like one. Baby angel was more like it. His skin was almost luminescent in the dim room and his perfectly pink lips very well distracted Toma.

That is, until Pi decided to let out a very loud snore. Which shook Toma awake. Afraid that he’ll loose his focus again, he lugged Yamapi into his room and threw him rather unceremoniously onto the bed. The drunk man neither flinched nor awoke. Instead, he rolled onto his side and snored even more, causing Toma to chuckle despite himself.

Toma, with some difficulty, dragged Pi’s boots off and loosened the scarf that was around Pi’s neck. He definitely didn’t want a strangled junior in his house. He then caught sight of the jacket that he had given to Pi and how it was uncomfortable to be slept in. After some deliberation, he decided to help remove the jacket. Halfway through, Toma suddenly became very conscious of his every action. He noticed how smooth Pi’s arms were, how lean his torso was beneath the t-shirt. But most importantly was, he noticed how his own fingers tingled with electric everytime he touched the younger man.

As he struggled with the sleeve of the jacket, Yamashita suddenly yanked away his own hand, causing Toma to loose balance and topple right on top of him. Gasping in surprise, Toma tried to get off Pi. As he lifted his head, he suddenly found himself coming face to face with Yamapi. Toma’s eyes grew wide because they were too close for comfort, of in this case, Toma’s comfort, because Pi was leering at him through heavy eyelids.

Then without a warning, Pi wrapped his arms around Toma’s neck and smiled lopsidedly.

“Kanpaaaiiii!! To Ikuta Toma and Yamashita Tomohisa! Hahahaha!” Pi cheered.

In a flash, he squeezed Toma’s face together with both hands and smacked a loud kiss onto Toma’s lips, pressing his lips tightly onto the older man.

***

            Sparks flew from both their eyes as they looked at each other. Unfortunately, it is not the warm and lovey-dovey type of sparks that you got from romantic films and sickeningly sweet Korean movies. This type of sparks could kill and ignite forests. Oh yes, romantic sparks don’t fly when Matsumoto Jun and Yamashita Tomohisa look at each other. In fact, “look” would have been wrongly used. Glaring is most like it.

            Well, you see, it was the time of the year again when a certain someone’s birthday was coming up and his two friends were trying to organize something. Unfortunately, being the usual selfish people, they both wanted Ikuta Toma for themselves. Funny how Toma never has a say in this. It is his birthday after all. But NO… MatsuJun and Yamapi ALWAYS have a say in this matter… Poor Toma.

            And so, tired of all the fighting and clawing (mostly on Pi’s part ~ he’s the female lion after all), they both decided to celebrate Toma’s birthday together this year. Yes, you read correctly. TOGETHER. Now we all know that Jun and Pi never equates “together” but I guess for Toma’s sake, they will do it.

            With great trepidation, Jun approached Pi and told him all about his plans for Toma’s birthday. And to his great surprise, Pi actually agreed! But two weeks later, on the big day itself, Jun very well regretted his deeds. Planning something and carrying that thing out was a different matter altogether.

            See, they both decided to cook a simple meal together. Nothing elaborate, just some curry, ramen, Toma’s absolute favourite – burgers, and of course the cake. Both also decided to order the cake because no one knew how to actually bake one. But problem was, cooking with DoS is a pain in the ass.

            Jun is a perfectionist, Pi’s sloppy. Jun cooks most of the time, Pi eats Toma’s cooking. So when Jun asked Yamapi to cut the vegetables, they almost cut each other’s throat out. Apparently Jun was unhappy about the size of the carrots. So Pi was ordered to defrost the beef patty before Jun could fry it. Well, silly Yamapi actually dunked the whole packet into hot water. Chaos ensued.

            Luckily there was another packet of patty that could be used. Toma had 6 packets of beef patties lying around in his freezer actually. God bless the boy. That aside, World War III almost broke when both wanted to make the hamburger. Jun wanted to deep fry it and serve it with some salad and self-made lemon dressing. Pi wanted to make mini-hamburgers. Jun almost threw a patty at the younger boy.

            Which is where we started off, staring and sparks. Yes, I bet on Jun’s shiny ring that sparks actually flew from Dos’ eyes. Yamapi was also busy sending lightning bolts from his own eyes. After two whole disastrous hours in the kitchen, they conceded defeat. That’s when they panicked. Not only is the whole kitchen in a total mess, there’s no food on the table and Toma’s coming home in another hour!

            They resorted to their worst-case scenario plan at last. Yes, there is a worst case scenario. Jun decided that they should have a back up plan because… well, it’s always good to have a back up plan. Especially when you have Jun and Pi cooking together. Not good.

            Ah, where were we? Oh yes! worst-case scenario. They had both decided that if everything turned out like how it had turned out to be, they would then order from the restaurant that Toma favours the most. 3 sets of curry hamburgers, some ramen, tempura, and of course Sake! Lots of sake!

            But there was a small little problem that they hadn’t foreseen. See, the food had arrived just minutes before 8. But Toma still hasn’t reached home! And it was now almost 10pm! You betcha bottom dollar that Jun was fuming mad and Pi was over anxious. Thoughts like “what if Toma got kidnapped?” and “has Toma lost his way?” flitted through his mind.

            The problem with their party was, they wanted it to be a surprise. And so with surprises, they could not tell Toma about it! They had duplicated Toma’s house key and sneaked in earlier today to prepare the party. So, obviously Toma had no clue about their plans for him and had instead made plans to celebrate with Shun.

            In fact, Toma had thought that his closest friends were busy and so hadn’t made any plans at all. He hadn’t even heard from them since a week ago! Funny how they always fought for his company this time of the year. Maybe Jun had thought that Pi had asked Toma out and Pi had thought that Jun already dated Toma. But whatever it was, Toma wasn’t one to hold a grudge or something silly like that.

            He merely shrugged and called Shun to accompany him for some drinks, to which Shun agreed. And so after some drinks and toasts, Toma decided to head home early because he had work the next day. It was almost 11 when he got home and still a part inside him asked where his closest friends were. No birthday messages or calls at all. Usually Pi will bombard his phone with rabu rabu messages and Jun will call up, no matter how busy they were.

            So it was to his great surprise and shock when he opened his door and found both his friends sitting on the couch sulking. You see, Jun had blamed it all on Pi for not arranging something with Toma. And Pi had called Jun a curly-haired baboon. Jun had retorted back by calling Pi a hairless puppy. So now, after yelling themselves hoarse – and a loud warning from the neighbour next to Toma that if they didn’t tone down, he’ll call the cops – did they finally sit down and sulk.

            Toma wondered if he had entered the wrong house. He somehow had a feeling that this was quite a funny situation if not for Jun presenting with a murderous aura around him. And then he caught sight of the food on the table and a very messed up kitchen.

            But before he could say anything, he suddenly found Pi by his side looking exactly like a lost puppy, eyes brimming with tears and disappointment. Toma gave him a probing look and out came the story. How their surprise party had turned out to be a disaster, all because of him. And now Jun’s mad, the food cold, the kitchen is upside down, and they had not surprised Toma.

            If Toma had found it amusing at first, he now found it hilarious. He started to laugh and boy did he laugh. Jun stared murderously at Toma. But Toma kept on laughing.

            “Happy birthday to me then!” Toma finally announced after wiping tears of laughter away with his hands. He looked at Jun and at Pi, and smiled.

            “Maa, let us celebrate it together ne?” Toma clasped his hands together and looked eagerly at his two friends. When both made no move, he grabbed Pi’s hands and stomped over to Jun and grabbed Jun with his other hand, pulling them all over to the dining table.

            “Cold hamburgers taste horrible. Pi, can you heat them up? Jun, won’t you pour the sake?” Toma smiled at them. And with Toma’s warmth and patience, Jun and Yamapi soon forgot their disastrous evening. It turned out to be a wonderful evening because he was celebrating his birthday with two of his closest friends. Friends who mean the world to him.

            And so it was like this that Toma had celebrated his 25th birthday. In the company of those who love him. Perhaps it just goes to show how Toma could bring the sun into any situation. Or maybe because that is how Toma is. No wonder Yamapi and Jun fell head over heels for him. If only Toma knew…

            Oh yes! How could I forget. After this incident, Jun and Pi decided that it was no use trying to plan something together. And so they decided to plot their next date with Toma on their own. In Jun’s own words, may the best man win ♥

            Toma wondered what he was doing here at 9 in the morning. He blamed it all on his sleep deprived brain and the one person who had made him drive here all the way from his house. On second thoughts, scratch that. It was all his fault that Toma had been sleep deprived in the first place, and hung-over.

            See, there had been a simple interview where Shun had mentioned that he drinks frequently with Toma and that they often drink and chat till morning. And that was all it took for Jun to go into a hissy fit and throw tantrums.

Oh, so when I ask you out for supper, you say that you’re sleepy. But when Shun asks you out, you just go ahead and drink till dawn eh??!

            Toma had seen it coming actually. The way Jun was purposely ignoring Toma had meant that diva himself was offended, and it won’t take long before the dam broke. Toma decided that it was safer to let the waters burst on its own accord than to prod it. It didn’t take long though. Toma started ignoring Jun too and pretty soon the words came tumbling out of the horse’s mouth.

Toma had listened patiently to Jun’s rambles, and on occasions had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

I don’t GROPE you when I’m drunk!

            Toma knew better than to say otherwise. And so, Jun had made Toma drink with him till dawn too. It was 5 when Toma reached home with Jun tagging along. If he had not ordered Jun home, and threatened him with a no-sex-for-a-month threat, DoS would probably have overstayed his visit, again.

            It was around 8 that Toma awoke to relief his bladder and stubbed his toe on the kitchen top when he found a set of strange keys lying on the floor. Upon inspection, he deduced that it had to belong to MatsuJun. Who else would have dangled a sparkling skull on a bunch of keys?

            But wait. If Jun had gone home without keys, how was he going to get into his house? Toma opens his front door.

            Nope, no Jun lying inebriated on the floor. No missed calls from Jun either. Because Toma had a heart of gold, he had to drive all the way to Jun’s house and check whether diva was safe or otherwise. Simply calling wouldn’t suffice. What if pictures of a very drunk and perverted Jun got plastered on the covers of magazines? Yabai..

            And so, that is how Toma had ended up standing in front of Jun’s apartment at 9 in the morning with no Jun in sight. Curiosity got the better of him. He had to see Jun for himself in order to make sure that the Arashi member was safe. Otherwise, Nino would castrate him, and that won’t be a pretty picture. No no. He would have to face Maou too, though the worse that could happen was getting stared blankly at.

            He opened the door soundlessly and cast his eyes around the spacious apartment, searching for Jun. No Jun in sight, though Toma saw Jun’s boots lying nearby. Closing the door behind him, Toma walked gingerly into the apartment and headed for the master bedroom, where Jun probably was. He stopped to pay homage to the Sony LCD TV that gleamed in the living room before foraging onwards to Jun’s room.

            Peeking his head into the room, Toma breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Jun sleeping peacefully with his dark hair tousled and looking like a million bucks. He suddenly wondered if Jun was sleeping naked beneath those covers. He also wondered what would happen if he were to walk over and plant wet kisses all over Jun. Realizing that the end result will be him with a sore ass suddenly didn’t appeal to Toma very much.

            Silently closing the door, he turned and looked around the roomy apartment. It almost felt like home because he has been here multiple times. It even had Jun’s smell if one sniffed around. Flamboyant and fashionable. Funny though how Aiba had beat Jun in a recent fashion poll and Toma had sacrificed his ears listening to his hime vent steam.

            Standing here all alone, Toma felt weird. He had been in Jun’s space uncountable times, but he has never been…alone. Slowly, a mischievous smile played on his lips. The princess was asleep and Toma had the whole house to roam. Toma bit his lip and hesitated for a while, but that didn’t last long. Wearing a sly smile, he explored each room and unearthed some secrets that made him laugh out loud, and some that just made his eyes grow wide, like the cherry cola flavoured lube.

            Fifteen minutes later, Toma’s stomach grumbled. He wadded into the kitchen and looked around hopefully for some of Jun’s cooking. He opened the glossy refrigerator and peeped inside. Cold wheat noodles, not to tempting now. Other than that, there was absolutely nothing to chow on. He also found dirty dishes in the sink that was so not Jun. Feeling annoyed, Toma opened each cabinet and shelf searching for something edible.

            In the end, he settled for cornflakes. He grabbed the entire box of cereal and made himself comfortable on one of the counter stools, and started digging into the box. Jun’s house was peacefully quiet and Toma took his time eating out of the cereal box and staring out the window onto the faraway hills. Time passed unnoticed by him and soon enough he thought that he was going to puke if he ate another bite of the corn cereal.

            Toma let out a sigh and decided that he better head home. Eating food from someone’s cabinet was certainly rude, especially if the owner is still fast asleep. Feeling some guilt in his gut, he looked around for something that he could do to repay his boyfriend. He caught sight of the dishes and stared at it for a while before deciding that he should wash them all up.

           And so Toma rolled up his sleeves and started washing the plates and eating utensils that had sat overnight in the sink. He hummed a song while doing so and didn’t hear a silent figure walk out from the room and stopped to stare him while leaning against the wall. The older man bit his lower lip as he watched Toma do the dishes, flinching slightly as his head throbbed.

Putting away the final plate onto the drying rack, Toma smiled at his work.

“Well, I’ve repaid my debts now...”

Suddenly a long arm snaked around his neck and a silky voice was heard right beside his ears startling the living daylights out of Toma.

“Ha..? Wha?!”

 “You came into my house, ate my food, felt guilty, and so decided to do the dishes to wash away your guilt, eh Toma?” Jun breathed into his ears.

“Ehhh!” Toma struggled to free himself against the strong pair of arms, but his attempts were futile.

“Oh.. You’ll pay me back in a nice way. You most definitely will…..” Jun whispers, licking his lips deliciously.

“Ack! Hanase…!” Toma tried to wriggle free but found himself being dragged back against his will, and into Jun’s room. And as the door slammed close, Jun’s evil laughter rang out clearly and resonated in his empty house. Toma’s sore-ry ass indeed.

Ahh... ran out of wisdom and inspiration for fics. As my mood says - I'm constipated. Ah ha ha ha...
 

The evening breeze that fluttered around was pleasant and cool. The sun had long set and now the stars are out to twinkle. The mansion where the Dior party was currently held was perched up on a hill, where greenery was abundant and the air was always pleasant. Toma wished he could afford a house like this one day. Where he would sit outside on the balcony each evening, taking in the sweet air and read a book or just enjoy the gorgeous scenery.

He closed his eyes and drew in the evening air. It smelled sweet.

“You changed huh?” the other man’s question broke their silence.

Toma opened his eyes and smiled sardonically.

“You didn’t expect me to, Jun?”

Matsumoto Jun turned to look at Toma and for a while was silent. Where once Toma’s face was like an open book, now this book was un-readable and sealed shut. Jun wondered how much Toma had changed. Had Toma really been hurt that bad? A stab of guilt pierced his chest. Then Toma spoke again, still not looking at him.

“Why are you back here Jun?”

Jun shrugged.

“Maybe I missed you?”

Toma laughed at his reply but still he did not turn to look at the older man. He had no reason to. Matsumoto Jun was the last person Toma ever wanted to meet again.

“Go back to New York, Jun. You belong there,” Toma replied softly, and after a pause, he added even softer, “To Rei.”

He swallowed a lump in his throat, and turned to leave, but not before Jun’s fingers caught his arm in a tight grip and yanked the younger man around to face him. And finally in the two years that they had separated, their eyes finally met. Toma’s stare was piercing, Jun’s eyes soft but unyielding.

 Jun searched for some response in Toma’s eyes, but found none.

He really hates me? He won’t forgive?

And then Jun spoke.

“We separated Toma. Rei left me.”

Toma, still expressionless, shrugged his shoulders and pulled his hand back and turned away from Jun, walking back into the party.

Matsumoto Jun sighed.

***

Yamapi was giggly and giddy. Here are two girls, hot and sexy to him because his alcohol-infused mind says so, trying to get him in their pants. And being a healthy young male, naturally he wouldn’t mind it either, except that Toma’s murderous face keeps popping up in his mind. He doesn’t know why he feels somewhat guilty when he sees Toma’s face, but he doesn’t have time think now. Eri, or whatever her name is, and her friend is now pulling Yamapi away from the party.

He was almost at the main door, when a stronger hand gripped his and yanked him back, almost detaching his arm altogether. The two women gasped when they too were pulled backward by the third force, which happened to be Toma. A very obviously pissed Toma.

“Toooma! (hic) Your face is still the same!” Pi slurred and squinted. And then all of a sudden, he giggled at Toma’s face, to which Toma shot back with a venomous look that was oblivious to the drunk man. Deciding that Pi was a lost cause, Toma ignored him and pulled him even closer.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think my friend will be going anywhere with you tonight.” Toma said coolly. Ignoring their irritated faces, he continued. “The manager needs to see him after this party. We have business with a client –”

“But you can stand in for him, can’t you Ikuta-san?” the bustier one purred, pulling Pi in her direction.

“No,” Toma replied and yanked Pi in his direction. “The client is now on his way, so if you get my drift, will you kindly excuse us?” Toma half hissed.

“Excuse us, yes, excuse us. We’re the ~ hic~ famous models in a Dior ad! (hic) Make way! Excuse us!” Yamapi added, beaming brightly at the ladies. Toma smacked him on his head. Drunk.

The woman snorted.

“Oh, but I don’t think that HE is in any condition to meet with a potential client, is he Ikuta Toma san?” she jabbed her finger in Pi’s direction. Her voice was soft, but laced with venom. She smiled sweetly at Toma.

Toma glared angrily at the two women who obviously refused to give their prey up without a fight. They too stared coolly back at Toma, refusing to budge. Toma’s mind was working furiously hard, trying to save his inebriated junior, when suddenly he saw the two models’ face twitched, and their eyes widened.

And a smooth menacing voice was heard behind him, softly but clear enough for everyone near the tug-of-war scene to take notice.

“I believe this party is meant only for accomplished people, and not stray cats from the alleyway – ”

Toma turned his head and saw Jun walking up to him with a sadistic smile on his face.

“ – so, how on earth did people like you ever managed to get an invitation?” Jun smirked. And without waiting for them to answer, he continued his assault, “Unless, you had to sneak in from the backdoor. Because, obviously someone dressed in garments like yours – ” and he eyeballed one of them from head to toe, “ – would definitely not be allowed entrance into such a posh event, let alone two. Perhaps tonight’s security was blinded by your ugliness and cheap jewels?”

There would be no word sufficient enough to describe the look of utter contempt and anger on the two women’s face. But they knew this was a battle not worth fighting. Nothing would look worse than being caught by the security and thrown out, because they knew that Matsumoto Jun, oh yes they knew, always had things his way.

And so, with the most spiteful stares they could muster, the pushed their almost-victim into Toma’s arms and backed away slowly, hands clenched into tight little fists and teeth being gritted. Toma surprised by Pi’s weight, almost lost balance as he tried to steady his junior, who apparently didn’t know how to stand. Jun helped, by catching one of Pi’s arms and held him up.

Jun looked at Toma, who was busy trying not to look at him. But then Toma realized that he had to say something, or at least thank the older man for helping. Pi was now ogling at Jun, thinking that the former was quite a queer looking girl. Yet this queer looking girl looked familiar, though he could not quite place a finger on it.

Jun broke the silence.

“Is your friend alright?” he nodded towards Pi.

Toma glanced at Yamapi and sighed.

“He should be. He’ll have a horrible hangover tomorrow and it serves him right. The idiot that he is.”

Jun smiled at Toma’s annoyance.

“Well, he better not be at this party anymore. Any interested clients will be put off by his state of drunkenness.”

“You will be okay if I leave him to you?”

Toma nodded his head. Jun let go of Pi’s arms, but suddenly Yamapi’s hands shot out and grabbed Jun. MatsuJun widened his eyes in surprise.

“You. You’re the famous DoS diva! I recognize you! Hey hey! Hahaha!” Pi laughed at his own intelligence.

Jun’s brow furrowed. But then a moment later, he broke in to laughter, amused at how the younger man had described him.

“Better get some sleep Yamashita-san. You’ll make more sense once sober.”

Jun walked away and Toma was left with an incomprehensible look on his face.

There was a knock on his apartment door. When it went unanswered, the knock came again. And again. It stopped for a while, and then the knocking persisted again, louder this time.

Somewhere in his dreams, Yamapi was giving a rousing speech to his posh audience. Current Japanese top model Yuri Ebihara was at the front line smiling flirtatiously at him, soaking up his every word. Somehow suddenly, his audience was filled with the sexiest gravure models. He saw Harumi Nemoto in a dress with a plunging neckline. Suddenly his speech faltered because he was too busy ogling at her cleavage. Then out of nowhere, Reon Kadena, currently Japanese’s most sought after gravure model was standing at his side, clinging onto his arms, smiling softly at him, wearing what she mostly models, a very revealing bikini.

Oh. Yamashita Tomohisa was very distracted. Very… But then he heard some rapping. Someone was knocking against the podium where he was giving his speech. Reluctant to tear his eyes away from Reon-san’s bust, he ignored the knocking sound. But it grew louder and louder.

Suddenly he sat right up no his couch. The men’s magazine that he was reading before he fell asleep slid off his face and onto the floor. Someone was banging loudly on his door.

“Hai, hai!! Coming!”

He yanked open the door and there stood (obviously not Toma my dear readers :p) three people he had never seen before in his life. Kidnappers immediately came to his mind and he stepped back slightly. He looked from one face to another.

Then the man directly in front of him asked.

“Yamashita Tomohisa san?”

“Err… Hai,” he answered hesitantly. Then he suddenly asked nervously, “Ano, who are you people??? And how do you know I live here??”

The man who spoke earlier snorted and stared him straight in the eye.

“Look, we’re not your fans or stalkers, okay? We’re not even interested in who you are, be it a promising model or an already accomplished one.”

Yamapi flushed and tried to say something, but the man cut him off.

“We’re stylists, and your agency has employed us to help you get ready for the party tonight. Are we clear?”

Yamapi was tomato red by now and too flustered to speak. He merely nodded his head and stepped aside to let them in. He mentally smacked his head for acting like an idiot and closed the door. He turned to face the team of stylists and saw them lay out their tools. The clock told him that it was only 5pm.

“Err… Do we need to get ready this early? It’s only 5 pm…” he asked timidly.

A female stylist, sensing his discomfort, smiled gently at him.

“You’ve never had a group of stylist barging into your house eh?”

Yamapi shook his head.

“We’re from Eye Style. Hajimemashite,” the lady spoke and offered him her hand.

Yamapi embarrassingly shook her white hands and bowed his head.

“Yamashita Tomohisa. Hajimemashite.”

“I’m Yoko, your hairstylist for today. He’s Eiji and he’s the make up artist,” she nodded her head in the direction of the man who confronted him earlier on. Eiji was busy laying out his make up brushes and palates of colour on the coffee table.

“And that man over there is Kazuo, the stylist. He’s in charge of you clothing today.”

“Clothing?” Yamapi looked questioningly at her. “But I have already chosen what I wanted to wear.”

“Well, maybe you can show it to Kazuo-san then. We’re just here to assist you in looking your best.” Yoko replied politely.

“Oh! Gomena.. I’m just not used to this… this treatment.” Pi embarrassingly messed up his hair.

“Maa, Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!” Yamapi bowed quickly and straightened up. “Please feel at home then. It’s just a small place I have. Can I offer anyone something to drink?”

Yoko smiled again and shook her head.

“Have you showered, Yamashita-san?”

“Showered? Eh, no. I just woke up. It’s only 5pm and I thought it was early still.”

The kind lady stifled a laugh.

“Well, I think it’s best that you take your shower now Yamashita-san. And shower your hair too okay?” she told him.

“Ah, hai! I better get going.”

Pi left and got a good shower. When he came out smelling fragrant, he found Eiji and Kazuo in his room. Eiji taught him the correct way to pamper his skin after a shower. He was given a brief education on toners and moisturizers. And then he was left all alone with Kazuo san. He showed him the clothes that Toma had gotten for him the last week.

He had really liked the ensemble from Toma and hoped that Kazuo won’t disagree with him. Kazuo eyed the outfit from top to bottom and a smile grew on his face. He looked to Pi and smiled brightly.

“You have quite a good taste in clothing Yamashita-san.”

Pi was surprised.

“Ah?! You.. you like the outfit?” he widened his eyes in a surprised but glad to be surprised sort of way.

Kazuo let out a laugh.

“Why? You were afraid I was going to dislike it?”

Yamapi smiled embarrassingly and scratched his head.

Kazuo laughed again.

“Well, it’s really well suited for the party tonight. The jeans is such a classical piece! It’s well cut and made of high quality denim. It kinda fits your image, you know. The young casual male. Simple and nice. Not too fussy. But the black jacket is absolutely a genius! And it’s Armani!” Kazuo let out a low whistle of admiration.

“You went shopping yourself?” Kazuo looked at Pi.

“Ahh.. No. I went with a friend of mine. He was the one who chose the jeans, jacket and scarf.”

“Well then, your friend has got really good taste in clothes. Oh well, looks like you won’t be needing my expertise after all!” Kazuo looked up and smiled at him. “Better change and head out for make up ne?”

And then Kazuo leans in and whispers, “Better not let Eiji-san wait too long too.”

***

Nothing slips by his watchful eye. Not especially when he’s watching his junior model being flanked and flirted with by two scrawny female models. Two scrawny models with horrible teeth. And bad taste in clothing.

Toma was pretty irritated by their antics. No, scratch that, he was irritated by them when they went up to Yamapi and flirted shamelessly with him. At first there were coy smiles. Then came the small touches on the arm, running of crooked fingers through their hair and laughing silly girly laughs. And soon enough, came the drinks. Cocktails after cocktails, and it did not take long before his silly junior was tipsy. Well, suffice to say, the two sluts – in Toma’s opinion – were now clinging on to Yamashita like superglue as their hands freely roamed his back.

Oh, Toma was pissed all right. He didn’t at all like what he was seeing. Their dirty hands were caressing the VERY EXPENSIVE Armani jacket that he had bought! How dare those cheap sleazy women touch that jacket! But he could not just walk over and reprimand them. What would he say then? And so, Toma decided to swallow the last gulp of champagne and walk away. His junior will have to take care of himself, for today.

***

Yamapi knew it was his lucky day. Indeed. Only an hour into the party, after being introduced to all the who’s who of the fashion world and some photographs afterward, he found himself the centre of attraction of two pretty models. Well, maybe not that pretty, but they certainly knew how to lavish their attention on him. Laughing at his every joke, hanging onto his every word, he definitely felt superior.

Until he caught Toma looking murderously his way. His mind debated furiously again, while he sub-consciously kept his two companions entertained.

‘Why is Ikuta-san looking so angry?’

‘How am I supposed to know’

‘You are always making him irritated, and you don’t even know why!’ his inner self hissed.

‘Oi! I have not done anything wrong tonight! So stop blaming me, you idiot!’

‘HoHo! Look who you’re calling an idiot, stupid.’

“Urusai yo!” Yamapi said out loud and shook his head violently, causing his companions and the people around him to stare at him.

***

“Ikuta Toma,” a voice drawled.

Who is it again??? His annoyance at Pi getting smothered still lingers.

Toma snapped up to see who’s calling him...and his jaw dropped.
 

***

The elevator ding-ed and out stepped a very tired Aiba Masaki. He dragged his tired body towards his apartment and searched around in his pockets for his keys. He did not hear the shuffling of excited feet behind the door and as he dug into his bag still looking for those elusive keys, the door suddenly opened and…

“NYAAAAAAAA!!!!”

“UWAAAAAAAAAHH!!!”

Aiba shouted back in fright. And reflex immediately brought his fist to the face of the cross dresser standing in his doorway…

***

Half an hour later~

“Gomena, gomena, gomena…” Aiba repeated sheepishly as he gently massaged Sho’s now swollen and bruised cheek. Sakurai Sho flinched at the pain and shot him a dirty look and looked away.

“Don’t be angry, yo! I didn’t mean to punch you!” Aiba whined. “You just appeared so suddenly and wearing this…” he stared at Sho’s outfit from head to toe, “…this weird outfit! You scared the living daylights out of me, man!”

Sho was annoyed.

“But you said I looked cute in this and so I thought I wanted to give you a surprise today, knowing how hard you worked!” He pouted slightly.

“Yes, but what would you have done if a man dressed in a maid’s uniform suddenly opened your door and goes ‘NYAAAAAAAA’?? You’ll freak out too! And you should have done something that doesn’t frighten people, you know.”

“Like what?? Sleep naked on you bed and wait for you???” Sho retorted.

“You coul..” Aiba started to say something but suddenly a picture of a naked and hot Sho lying on his bed flashed by before his eyes.

Sho sensed what Aiba was thinking and got on his feet to smack Aiba’s big head.

“Itai!” Aiba shrank back from the less than friendly attack and rubbed his head where it hurt.

“Don’t even think you’re getting me naked tonight, Aiba Masaki.” Sho shot at him.

“And what was it that I should have done that was less frightening, huh?”

Aiba, still rubbing his head, paused to come up with an answer.

“Well. You could have lay on the couch and seduce me…” came the thoughtful answer, “…you know, show off your fair sexy legs…” and he trailed off once again.

Sho stared at him and then sighed. It was better to ignore Aiba at times. He plonked down on the sofa and gently tended to his throbbing face. He had intentionally wore the maid’s outfit from Arashi no Shukudai kun to welcome Aiba and all he got was a big bruised face. He was horny on the wrong day.

Then Aiba suddenly blocked his vision and squatted down in front of him. He studied Aiba's face and wondered how such a gorgeous man could be such an idiot. But before he could curse Aiba’s pan-fried brain, Aiba’s hand gently caressed the spot where he had punched him. Sho instinctively withdrew his head, but Aiba’s fingers gently inspected the now purple spot.

Sho sighed inwardly. This idiot of a man really had him wrapped around his fingers. A touch was all it took now for Sho to forgive him. But then again, Aiba really looked sorry and sexy and…

Suddenly Aiba got up slightly and leaned forward towards Sho. Sakurai leaned backwards instinctively wondering what Aiba was about to do when said sexy-hot-sorry looking-person gently pressed his lips on the painful bruise. A very surprised Sho was stunned but he shuddered involuntarily. Aiba’s kiss had seared his cheeks and sent a thousand electric impulses down his spine.

Then in a low voice, Aiba told him, “Gomenasai na Sho-chan.” He again pressed his warm lips to Sho’s face. This time Aiba moved his kisses down along Sho’s jawline and stopped at his chin. Sho looked down at Aiba, not really wanting him to stop, but wondering what his Ma-chan will do next. Aiba smiled slyly when he caught Sho looking at him.

Well, Aiba did the only rational thing to do next. He nipped Sho’s lower lips with his own lips, kissing them and gently tugging at them before Sho gave in and started kissing Aiba back, all pain forgotten. Aiba pressed his body against Sho and wondered why on earth did Keio boy even bother to wear so many layers of clothing when it was sex he came looking for in the first place. But then again, Sakurai Sho in a maid’s costume and kissing him back with tongue and all was turning him on. All his day's tiredness vanished in a puff of smoke.

Aiba’s hands made its way down to the frilly skirt and found Sho's legs already parted slightly. He smiled into the kiss when he found that Sho was all hard. He pulled back his kiss.

“Let’s get you undressed shall we, hime-sama?” came Aiba’s husky request.

And Sho still in pervy maid mode answered, “Yes, master Aiba.”

Aiba yanked Sho to his feet and tried to find the zipper on the dress, but all he saw was lace and frills. Getting impatient, he tugged at the dress hoping to yank it off, but Sho stopped him and smiled coyly.

“You need to un-lace the front before you can take it off, Aiba-chan.”

But Aiba was already nowhere to be found. A second later, Aiba came stomping back holding a very big pair of garden shears. Sho’s eyes widened with shock, wondering what Aiba had in mind when baka spoke.

“I could not find any scissors, but I saw this lying around. It’ll do.”

“Do???” Sho squeaked. “It will do what?!” His voice getting higher and higher.

“Cut off that dress, stupid! What do you think I was going to do?? I’m like so damn hot now and you’re stuck beneath all that layers of dress!” Aiba stared at Sho as though Sho had lost all intelligence.

“Man! You’re the smartest and you should know that sex equals to getting naked right?? Sheesh!”

Aiba reached out to grab Sho, but Sho horrifyingly backed away.

“Matte yo! You’re not cutting anything with that!”

But Aiba was quicker when it came to things like this. He caught hold of Sho and with one hand snipped apart the lower half of the silly skirt. Sho squeaked in fright as the pair of shears brushed against his legs, but Aiba snipped anyway while holding on to Sho’s waist with one arm. Once the costume had gave way enough, Aiba tore it away and Sho stood there in nothing but garters and muscle.

Aiba bit his lips as he scrutinized Sho’s well toned body. How many times had he seen it, but it still turns him on everytime to see Sho naked and hot. Sho still horrified at the torn costume was oblivious to Aiba’s super hentai look. Suddenly he felt a sharp snap at his thigh and yelped. Aiba had pulled the garter and released it, smacking Sho right on his thigh.

“That got your attention,” Aiba said huskily and pulled Sho closer, arms snaking all the way behind Keio-boy and pulling him in for another round of kissing and groping. Aiba lead Sho down on the sofa as his hands found Sho’s hard erection. He pumped Sho slowly as his mouth made its way down to one of Sho’s nipples. Sakurai screwed shut his eyes at all the sensation he felt. He felt as though he was on fire.

Aiba continued to pump Sho with his hands, sometimes quicker, sometimes slower, while he circled Sho’s nipples with his tongue. Sakurai’s moans now turned erratic and louder and Aiba had enough. He stood up and walked over to a table and pulled out a tube of mango flavoured lubricant. He had kept a bottle of this in every room just for occasions like this.

He walked back to a sweaty Sho and decided to take him from the front. He quickly applied the lube and as he raised Sho’s right leg, he pushed himself in. Sho bit his lips to stifle some of the pain but a gasp left his lips as Aiba started sliding in and out of him. As Aiba’s thrust gets faster, Sakurai screwed his eyes at the pleasure and Aiba grew hornier. He moved faster, gripping Sho’s legs and pumped his beloved in and out.

And as he did, he grabbed Sho’s erection and pumped it clumsily with his hands. This was more than the latter could take. He groaned out loud and a moment later, he exploded in Aiba’s hands. A moment later, Aiba followed suit and came with a loud groan. Aiba’s legs almost gave way after the strenuous exercise and so, he plopped down on the floor next to the sofa. Both men panting with satisfaction and the pleasure that rocked their bodies left them with a smile.

Sakurai Sho decided that he should show up in weird costumes more often.

Yamashita peeked at the starry sky from behind Toma’s chubby fingers. He curiously parted Toma’s index and middle fingers and peered at the sky. The stars twinkled merrily back and Pi giggled to himself. He felt a little silly acting all giggly and so girlish, but he realized that he didn’t care at all. Only adults cared about how they presented to the world around them. 11 year old kids would not give a damn. And right now, he felt super happy being able to lie down on the cool grass with Toma’s arms under him. And of course being able to play with Toma’s short, stubby fingers was a bonus.

 
He probably didn’t know what it meant at this age. He knew that his world lighted up when Toma came into the picture. When he was on the same stage with Toma, he felt as though he could dance on forever. And when they went on tours with other seniors, he would always stick with Toma. At first he saw Toma as a caring senpai. But then he realized that he liked Toma enough to consider him his best friend. Someone whom he could share his problems with, someone whom he could laugh with and later one day, cry with. Yes, Toma was most definitely a very very close friend. It will not be till later when he realizes that he has fallen for his best friend. On that day when realization dawns upon him that this kid with stubby fingers meant more than someone whose meals he could steal at whim.

 
And so, as kids always do, they do the things that they are happy with. For Pi right now, it’s lying down next to his super best friend and talking their hearts out with the stars above them. Toma quietly looked at the smaller boy wondering what was going on in his mind. He too then came to the conclusion that he didn’t really care right now. Obviously Pi had to like him too, or else he wouldn’t be here next to him. Darn the adults again and their complicated worlds. Toma lifted his free arm and poked Pi in the cheeks and grinned at him when the younger one turned to look at him.

 
“You’re my best friend ne!” Toma chirped.

 
A smile slowly broke out on Pi’s charming face and turned into a wide happy smile that made Toma laugh out to the heavens. Indeed they were the best of friends. And it will take some time more before they looked back at times such as these, and realize that their love had grown stronger all through the years. Perhaps in those years to come, they will cherish every second and every memory they shared. And when they look back to times like these, they can earnestly smile and not feel lonely even though they are miles apart. Yes indeed. Ikuta Toma and Yamashita Tomohisa will definitely remember the night when the stars came out and played.

A very red-faced Yamapi walked silently behind Toma who occasionally emitted barks of laughter, obviously finding the whole incident very amusing, much to the chagrin of poor Yamapi. But there was another reason for Pi being red in the face. After Pi had realised, his predicament, albeit a little too late, he rushed into the fitting room and shooed a laughing Toma out. When he was fully dressed, he double checked, he came out and found that Toma had already paid for his jeans. He was shocked. Toma still grinning, had handed the packet to him and walked away before Pi had the chance to say anything.

‘You should thank him,’ a voice said.

‘But how?’ he reasons with the voice.

‘Just open your mouth idiot! You know, ‘hey Ikuta-san, thank you for this’ or…’

‘But he’s so cool!’ Pi interjects.

‘You’re a real sissy you know’ the voice snapped back.

‘Fine!’ Pi said to his conscience.

He looked at his senior’s back. His back was straight and he walked in a very elegant way, not flashy catwalk-walk but a sexy confident stroll. Toma’s hair, currently black and wavy, moved gently with every movement of his head. He thought his senior was quite an attractive person, although his icy coolness sometimes scared Pi. Suddenly, Pi had the urge to be friends with Toma. Not just a senior-junior relationship, but a real friendship. Like the one Toma had with Jin and his other friends, whoever they were.

Pi wondered how Ikuta Toma must be like as a friend. Will he be supportive? Does he act crazy around his friends too? The more Pi thought, the more interesting Toma became. Now that he knew Toma a little bit more, he doesn’t seem to be that scary anymore. He knows for sure that his senpai was a generous person – if one could give away a ¥30 000 pair of jeans, one was either really generous or filthy rich, or both – although Toma never was that generous with his words.

Which again piqued Pi’s interest in his senior. Was Toma a man of little words? Or is he just this way with people he doesn’t know well? Another thought entered Pi’s mind. Toma’s voice was really nice! It was around a tenor pitch, but when he laughed, his voice rang out bright and clear. Not loud and clear, just bright and clear. Like the ring of the cash register, Pi likened Toma’s laugh to be. He thought he liked to hear Toma laugh more because it is the type of laugh that cheers up people, Pi included, even though currently Toma was laughing at him.

Suddenly he heard someone calling his name.

“Yamashita Tomohisa! Oi!”

He stopped in his tracks and looked around. No one seemed to be calling him. Then Toma’s voice called again, somewhere behind him. Pi turned and found Toma standing at the doorway of another designer boutique. Apparently he was so engrossed in his thoughts that he had missed seeing Toma walk into another store. Slightly embarrassed again – dang, he was such a failure! – he ran back to Toma.

“Sumimasen!” he apologized.

“Can’t you even focus on something small?” Toma eyed him beadily.

“Ah…Hontoni sumimasen. I was just thinking about some things,” Yamapi bowed quickly.

Toma took a look at him and shook his head.

“Whatever.”

Toma walked on ahead and Pi trailed behind him.

Kakkoi na…. Pi thought in his head. He wished he could achieve the same status as his senior one day. Good taste, good walk, good voice, heck, good everything!! He watched as Toma strolled amidst the racks of clothes and paused every while to pick out clothes. After some browsing, Toma dumped a heavy load of clothes into Pi’s hands and nudged his head towards the dressing room. Yamapi thanked him and ran into the dressing room quickly, not wanting to do something idiotic again. He reminded himself to put on clothes before leaving the room.

As usual, he tried on cloth after cloth before Toma finally settled on a plain looking T-shirt. If Pi had an opinion, he certainly didn’t voice it. He decided that it wasn’t good if he kept bugging his senior. Obviously there had to be a reason why Toma had decided on a simple T-shirt. Perhaps he indeed looked delicious in jeans and T-shirt. But at least the shirt was still affordable, although it would burn quite a hole in his pocket. After paying up, they left the store.

“I’m hungry. You want to pick something up?” Toma voiced out.

“Well, I could do with some food,” Yamapi answered. And his stomach agreed loudly with him.

Toma glanced at him and smirked.

“There’s a nice deli over there. Can you get me a sandwich and some cooled tea? I need to use the gents.”

“Sure! Ano… Can I at least treat you to this? It’s the only way I can think of now, to thank you,” Yamapi piped up, “…unless the sandwich is expensive too, like everything in this mall…” he added softly after he remembered his new pair of jeans.

Toma snorted and told Pi to do whatever he wishes. His bladder was more important now. Toma asked Pi to wait for him outside the mall and walked off.

After buying the sandwich, Pi waited for Toma outside the mall. Then suddenly, a chic black automobile screeched to a halt in front of him. Toma stepped out with two paper bags and walked to Pi, with an embarrassed sort of smile that Pi didn’t realize. He was too busy gawking at the expensive car that was now in front of him.

“Is this my sandwich?”

Pi nodded, still ogling Toma’s car.

“Is this your car????” he asked and gaped at Toma.

Toma rolled his eyes and grabbed his sandwich and tea and shoved the two bags he was holding into Pi’s hands.

“I don’t really have to answer that, do I?” Toma answered Pi sarcastically.

“Jaa, see you.”

When Pi realized that Toma was leaving, he quickly straightened up and bowed deeply.

“Thank you for everything today! I am deeply grateful!”

Toma looked at him before smiling and accelerated off.

***

Yamapi was happy as he waited for the train. He could not help thinking that despite the cool façade; Toma was actually quite a good person. Perhaps his acting cool was just a mask that concealed a shy person. Maybe it was just an act to protect himself. And so while he waited, Pi came up with six hundred theories why Toma acted the way he did. Yamapi could not help but find his senior very interesting. And the more he thought about it, the more he grew to like Toma.

And so halfway through his journey back home, he suddenly came to realize that he had two extra bags dangling from his hands. And then he remembered that Toma had stuffed something into his hands before leaving. With a start, he dug inside one bag and drew out a long piece of cloth. He then realized that it was a very cool looking scarf. The scarf was light but when he caught sight of the price tag dangling at the end, he thought he was going to faint. This scarf was worth at least a month’s salary.

He quickly dug into the second paper bag and found his hands brushing against something cool. He pulled out a black and very expensive looking jacket that looked like it came out from a magazine. He gasped in surprised and was shell-shocked. The Armani jacket costs ¥100 000.

Yamapi was silent on the way home.

Toma on the other hand, was smiling all the way home.

***