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Journey to the Stars
(or the Idiotic Love Story of Tegoshi and his Boyband) 4/12 by Tha Wrecka
See part 0 for details.
4.
It started in Sweden.
In the dark confines of their hotel room Masuda took on a strange magic. His limbs and torso had some new, strange midnight weight; his face appeared to hold secrets it didn't have in the daylight.
It was mostly normal when they kept the lights on. Then, Masuda was still the friendly goof he always was. He'd still ruffle Tegoshi's hair, offer to arm-wrestle though he knew he'd win and eat at the least appropriate times. It was when the lights went off that he became different, this strange and magical creature Tegoshi didn't really know.
In fact, after a while, sometimes even in the bright, artificial light of their hotel room it would happen, just when Masuda took off his shirt or returned from the bathroom. Tegoshi couldn't think of anything Masuda was doing differently and it confused him. It wasn't as though Massu was doing anything differently or had done anything different in his look.
Soon enough he started to realise that the difference was in him.
It was strange the things this made him notice. Sure, he was spellbound by the flex of Masuda's biceps but also by the clueless way he smiled when he had crumbs at the edge of his mouth. He liked that expression Masuda would make when he was caught out saying something silly.
It wasn't only about himself that he learned during their time in Sweden. Tegoshi had complained that he was sick of flailing about in the background, trying to hide his lack of rhythm and imprecise movements behind one of his taller colleagues, while everyone else danced. Masuda, of course, as both a friend and someone whose dancing he admired, was the perfect person to teach him how to improve his dancing. Lucky, then, that Masuda volunteered his services before Tegoshi could ask.
They practised into the wee hours, after all the promotion for the day was finished. It was exhausting, constantly going over basic technique and relearning how to move his body. Tegoshi slept more peacefully than he had in ages.
It was strange, in a way, to learn that discipline and control were the things he had to learn to let his body go loose and smooth. Yet, the more he applied himself to this the more it proved to be true. The more careful and controlled he allowed himself to be, the more his body wanted to flow in a way that pleased the music.
This is not to say that he was without awkwardness.
"Be like water, not a rock," Masuda said from where he was perched on his bed.
"Wah, Massu, you're so deep," Tegoshi enthused.
"Take this seriously!"
"I am taking it seriously. I can't help it if I'm just bad at this," Tegoshi said.
By this point they were both a little tired and frustrated. Tegoshi struggled to get his hips to move right, always had. Attempting hip rolls made him feel misshapen and unsexy. He tried again and couldn't make it work.
Tegoshi threw his hands up in the air, about ready to give up. He felt too grumpy for this by far.
Masuda jumped off the bed and moved up behind him.
"Massu, it's too hard," Tegoshi whined.
"It's not too hard," Masuda said and put his hands on Tegoshi's hips. "You just start with isolating the movement of your hips. Like this."
Then he rolled his hips around behind Tegoshi's back and moved Tegoshi's body with him.
Tegoshi could barely breathe. The tips of Masuda's fingers seemed so hot, like he could feel them burning his skin through the soft, stretchy material of his sweat pants.
"See, it's easy," Masuda said, close enough that his breath warmed Tegoshi's ear.
Tegoshi flopped his head back on Masuda's shoulder. "I'm tired, Massu."
"Pick up again tomorrow?" Massu asked, petting Tegoshi's hair.
Tegoshi hummed in agreement.
They readied themselves for bed and turned out the light.
Masuda went to sleep first and Tegoshi stared at Masuda's sleeping face, partly illuminated by the sliver of moonlight let in by the window. In sleep, Masuda's face was peaceful and soft, his features rendered a little dopey. Tegoshi wasn't sure but it looked like Masuda was drooling on his pillow a little.
Tegoshi felt a horrible tightness in his chest. He knew that Masuda wasn't looking especially beautiful or graceful at that moment but the feeling was there. Something must have changed in him, but what? He felt confused.
He closed his eyes and put himself in the care of sleep.
The world was vibrant and new with something in the air, some strange fragrance that brought his senses to life. He was noticing new things or, at least, noticing things he hadn't realised he was noticing before. Maybe it was the product of being in a foreign city, surrounded all day by unfamiliar buildings and face shapes. Whatever it was, Tegoshi didn't mind it.
When they got home, Tegoshi discovered the magic was in other people, too. It was in little parts of people on the street and the corners of people on TV.
He called Koyama and Shige to come play and it was in them, too. The magic was in the line of Koyama's long legs and in the shape of Shige's shoulders. The magic was in the way they looked at him when he misbehaved, the way they touched him when he was sad.
The change had definitely been in him and finally Tegoshi realised what it was - he'd woken up.
Even after they got back from Sweden Tegoshi invited Masuda over just for their secret dancing lessons. Sweated the fat from his face. Practised until he could barely breathe. Woke up aching and wanting to work again.
The more they did it the easier it got. Tegoshi didn't feel like he'd embarrass himself after a few times.
He felt that he was improving, little by little, and it really encouraged him to see himself able to execute some moves that had always evaded him before. The better he got, the more it cheered him up and the cheerier he got, the happier it made Masuda, which just made Tegoshi even more happy. It was a circuit of happy and whenever Koyama took the time to call him he would remark on how much brighter Tegoshi sounded each time.
To be able to improve enough that he felt surer of what his body could do, more confident in the contribution he could make - this he treasured greatly, all the more so when he discovered NEWS would be NEWS again. Two members down and a little out of practice, sure, but the NEWS that he loved, nonetheless.