Title: Cirque
Chapter: 1/??
Author:![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
xphosphorous
Genre: AU, angsting (later)
Pairing: Kyo/Toshiya
Word Count: 1,668
Rating: PG-13 (for now. not sure how high it'll get later orz)
Warnings: bratty!Totchi, Toshiya's filthy mouth
Summary: Toshiya, a contortionist in Circue du Soleil, suffers an injury that leaves him unable to perform, but he doesn't seem to want to do anything to help it.
Disclaimer: I own them like Kyo owns a Hello Kitty nightlight. :I
A/N: If anyone who's actually been to Shibuya wants to give me a better way of describing it, go ahead. xD
As far as Toshiya was concerned, the therapy sessions were only getting longer. Every Monday and Thursday he had to deal with that same obnoxious therapist, had to use him as a crutch and had to let him put his hands all over Toshiya’s legs during the stretching exercises. That last part might not even be so bad if only the therapist was about twenty years younger, Toshiya thought dryly.
The feeling that Toshiya absolutely loathed was the feeling that he had come to be dependant on his therapist. Every few sessions he would start getting comfortable with the routine, and then he would realize that that was a terrible thing and would rope Die into helping him sneak into practice. Unfortunately, Kaoru seemed to have Toshiya senses and could always tell when this had happened. Die always happened to conveniently be required at the other side of the rehearsal area when Kaoru found Toshiya and subsequently drove him back to therapy.
This time, Toshiya counted himself lucky that practice had been on a Tuesday. He was in an unusually bitter mood, and if he'd been made to go to therapy, there probably would have been a confrontation of some kind. When Kaoru deposited him in front of his apartment, he limped inside and shut the door without even waiting for the other man to leave. He deposited himself on the couch, putting his injured leg up over the armrest but otherwise letting his limbs dangle over the sides.
He couldn't take it anymore. The helplessness, the inability to do things on his own... That had been why he'd joined the Cirque in the first place, hadn't it? To get rid of that feeling. Now, having to deal with it again - for any stretch of time, for whatever reason - it made his skin crawl. He felt like he was living with his parents again, the way that things were going now. Toshiya draped a forearm over his eyes and let out a great, exasperated cry.
That trapped feeling was creeping into his mind again. Toshiya loved the Cirque, he really did, but between not being allowed to go and not even being able to, he felt like a caged animal. On sedatives. Quickly he dug out his iPod and shoved the headphones into his ears. Sometimes this was counter productive because it reminded him too much of his… failed attempt in music, but it generally helped mellow him out. It was working now anyway. Settling on a softer, indie band, Toshiya let himself sink into the cushions and drift off to sleep.
Several hours later, he was awoken by the sound of someone in his apartment. As he sat up and spun around to see what it was, his expression shifted immediately from confusion to annoyance. “Die! The hell are you doing in my apartment?” The redhead grinned.
“Making sure you can come with me. Is this your phone? Man, you shouldn’t leave the screen unlocked like this – people could steal your stuff.”
“I’m more worried about you at the moment,” Toshiya muttered, clumsily standing up.
“Ha! You would have ‘annoy Kaoru’ in your calendar.”
“I wonder if ‘annoy Toshiya’ is in your calendar. What are you doing here?” He hobbled over to the pass through that lead to his kitchen area.
“I just said, making sure you can go into the city tonight.” Die shoved a leftover slice of pizza into Toshiya’s microwave. “Knowing you, you probably didn’t have lunch at all. Am I right?”
“Shut up. I fell asleep right after Kaoru dropped me off.” Die laughed. “Shut up! And what do you mean, go into the city?” The microwave beeped, and Die checked the pizza (not done yet) before replying.
“I’m not blind, you know. I can tell when you’re upset. I figure you could use some cheering up.” Toshiya scoffed. “See? That’s what I mean right there,” Die exclaimed, pointing emphatically at the taller man. “You need to get out more.”
“In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m kind of not in any condition to be walking around a lot right now.” The redhead waved his hand dismissively.
“Just lean on me.” Toshiya pulled a face of mock disgust.
“I’m not touching you!” Die mimicked Toshiya’s face and punched the taller man’s arm.
“Hey now, I could fall over.” An eye roll was Die’s only response.
“Eat your pizza, you whiner.”
“’M not a whiner,” Toshiya mumbled, taking the slice. “And you never answered my question. What are you planning on doing?”
“I figured we’d go on a shopping binge,” Die answered cheerfully. “Rape the 109 building and all that.” Toshiya just blinked, prompting an exasperated sigh from the other man. “This mood, this is about your parents, right? I do pay attention when you’re rambling, contrary to popular belief.” He patted Toshiya roughly on the shoulder. The taller man scowled and finished off his makeshift dinner.
“You’re right, but I don’t see how raiding the 109 building is supposed to help me feel better.”
“Spending money the way you want to, that’s how. Come on. I know we don’t get massive pay, but it’s more than substantial, and I’ve seen apartments better than this one that I know you could afford.”
“I spend money on myself,” Toshiya retorted.
“You know what I mean. You never indulge yourself.” Indeed, Toshiya’s apartment was furnished only with basic furniture. A loveseat, a coffee table, a smallish TV – and there was nothing on the walls. “Anyway, you really need to update your wardrobe.” Die frowned at Toshiya’s basic grey T-shirt and black pants. Toshiya laughed.
“That sounded so gay.”
“Who’s the contortionist here? Yeah.”
“You’re just jealous.” Die scoffed.
“You’re still coming to Shibuya with me.”
About half an hour later, Toshiya was indeed sitting on the train to Shibuya, looking thoroughly irritated. Die had found the credit card Toshiya had buried in his apartment’s ubiquitous drawer of odds and ends, and shoved it into Toshiya’s wallet with a stern look.
Toshiya felt ridiculous. He knew that this was completely different from what his parents had done – this was just a frivolous shopping trip, after all, and it wasn’t as if he hadn’t earned that money himself – but it just felt weird. Die was right. The only time he indulged himself was during shows.
Suddenly Die jostled Toshiya’s shoulder, breaking through his thoughts. “Hey, hey. None of that sour face tonight. Tonight you are going to be a mindless consumer,” the redhead said with a completely straight face. Toshiya stared at him. “You are going to give in to materialism and buy things you don’t need,” Die continued, making his voice fluctuate in the manner of a cartoon hypnotist and waggling his fingers in Toshiya’s face.
“…Only for tonight.”
“Only tonight, I promise.” A cheerful grin appeared on Die’s face and he removed himself from Toshiya’s personal space. “But come on, you’re acting like I just gave you the death sentence. At least try to be happy about it.” Toshiya sighed, but allowed a smile to creep onto his face. “There we go! You need to smile more.” Before Toshiya could retort, the train rolled to a stop, and the doors opened.
Die hopped up and was almost out onto the platform when Toshiya yelled at him. “You have to wait for the crippled people, you bastard.”
“Oh, come on. You took the handicapped seat, didn’t you?”
“It still takes me a while to get out of the train, moron.” Now safely on the platform, Toshiya gave Die a swift kick with his good leg. “You have no manners.”
“Says the person who just kicked me for not waiting for him.” Toshiya ignored him and headed for the station exit.
“You said you wanted to hit the 109 building, right? What did you have in mind?”
“I said that, yes, but I want tonight to be about what you want, besides sitting at home and moping. What do you want to do here?” Toshiya stared out into the crossing and all of its surrounding stores.
“I… I would like some new clothes,” he said softly. It was disconcerting to think that the outfit he was wearing now had been bought in his junior year of high school.
“There we go, then,” Die said brightly, herding Toshiya off in the direction of the shopping center.
By the end of the night, Toshiya was so loaded down with bags that he thought his arms would fall off. Or, rather, it appeared Die’s would. Toshiya’s leg prevented him from carrying all the bags. Fearing for Die’s limbs (and his own credit card), Toshiya decided to end it. “Die, I think we should call it a night.”
“Alright.” Upon entering an elevator, Die deposited the bags and let out a great breath. He surveyed them for a moment, then clapped Toshiya on the shoulder, grinning. “You have done well tonight, young padawan.” Toshiya rolled his eyes, but smiled. Letting Die drag him out hadn’t been such a terrible thing after all. Of course, this wasn’t going to become a regular occurrence, but it felt nice to spend money on himself like that.
As they exited the building, a little shop across the street caught Toshiya’s eye, despite being closed and lacking the neon lights that most other stores used to shout their presence to the shoppers. It was a music store that he hadn’t seen coming in. “Hey, Die?”
“Yeah?”
“Have you ever seen that store before?”
“Only here, actually. All I know about it is that it’s not a chain – I think there’s only one other in Japan.”
“Huh.”
“Yeah, you’d think all the other giant companies would’ve devoured it already, especially here.” Toshiya hummed thoughtfully. He was interested, now. He would definitely be going back tomorrow; there hadn’t been any new additions to his tangible music collection in a while, and if he couldn’t perform, he could at least lose himself in music again.
← Previous Chapter ‖ Next Chapter →
Chapter: 1/??
Author:
xphosphorousGenre: AU, angsting (later)
Pairing: Kyo/Toshiya
Word Count: 1,668
Rating: PG-13 (for now. not sure how high it'll get later orz)
Warnings: bratty!Totchi, Toshiya's filthy mouth
Summary: Toshiya, a contortionist in Circue du Soleil, suffers an injury that leaves him unable to perform, but he doesn't seem to want to do anything to help it.
Disclaimer: I own them like Kyo owns a Hello Kitty nightlight. :I
A/N: If anyone who's actually been to Shibuya wants to give me a better way of describing it, go ahead. xD
As far as Toshiya was concerned, the therapy sessions were only getting longer. Every Monday and Thursday he had to deal with that same obnoxious therapist, had to use him as a crutch and had to let him put his hands all over Toshiya’s legs during the stretching exercises. That last part might not even be so bad if only the therapist was about twenty years younger, Toshiya thought dryly.
The feeling that Toshiya absolutely loathed was the feeling that he had come to be dependant on his therapist. Every few sessions he would start getting comfortable with the routine, and then he would realize that that was a terrible thing and would rope Die into helping him sneak into practice. Unfortunately, Kaoru seemed to have Toshiya senses and could always tell when this had happened. Die always happened to conveniently be required at the other side of the rehearsal area when Kaoru found Toshiya and subsequently drove him back to therapy.
This time, Toshiya counted himself lucky that practice had been on a Tuesday. He was in an unusually bitter mood, and if he'd been made to go to therapy, there probably would have been a confrontation of some kind. When Kaoru deposited him in front of his apartment, he limped inside and shut the door without even waiting for the other man to leave. He deposited himself on the couch, putting his injured leg up over the armrest but otherwise letting his limbs dangle over the sides.
He couldn't take it anymore. The helplessness, the inability to do things on his own... That had been why he'd joined the Cirque in the first place, hadn't it? To get rid of that feeling. Now, having to deal with it again - for any stretch of time, for whatever reason - it made his skin crawl. He felt like he was living with his parents again, the way that things were going now. Toshiya draped a forearm over his eyes and let out a great, exasperated cry.
That trapped feeling was creeping into his mind again. Toshiya loved the Cirque, he really did, but between not being allowed to go and not even being able to, he felt like a caged animal. On sedatives. Quickly he dug out his iPod and shoved the headphones into his ears. Sometimes this was counter productive because it reminded him too much of his… failed attempt in music, but it generally helped mellow him out. It was working now anyway. Settling on a softer, indie band, Toshiya let himself sink into the cushions and drift off to sleep.
Several hours later, he was awoken by the sound of someone in his apartment. As he sat up and spun around to see what it was, his expression shifted immediately from confusion to annoyance. “Die! The hell are you doing in my apartment?” The redhead grinned.
“Making sure you can come with me. Is this your phone? Man, you shouldn’t leave the screen unlocked like this – people could steal your stuff.”
“I’m more worried about you at the moment,” Toshiya muttered, clumsily standing up.
“Ha! You would have ‘annoy Kaoru’ in your calendar.”
“I wonder if ‘annoy Toshiya’ is in your calendar. What are you doing here?” He hobbled over to the pass through that lead to his kitchen area.
“I just said, making sure you can go into the city tonight.” Die shoved a leftover slice of pizza into Toshiya’s microwave. “Knowing you, you probably didn’t have lunch at all. Am I right?”
“Shut up. I fell asleep right after Kaoru dropped me off.” Die laughed. “Shut up! And what do you mean, go into the city?” The microwave beeped, and Die checked the pizza (not done yet) before replying.
“I’m not blind, you know. I can tell when you’re upset. I figure you could use some cheering up.” Toshiya scoffed. “See? That’s what I mean right there,” Die exclaimed, pointing emphatically at the taller man. “You need to get out more.”
“In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m kind of not in any condition to be walking around a lot right now.” The redhead waved his hand dismissively.
“Just lean on me.” Toshiya pulled a face of mock disgust.
“I’m not touching you!” Die mimicked Toshiya’s face and punched the taller man’s arm.
“Hey now, I could fall over.” An eye roll was Die’s only response.
“Eat your pizza, you whiner.”
“’M not a whiner,” Toshiya mumbled, taking the slice. “And you never answered my question. What are you planning on doing?”
“I figured we’d go on a shopping binge,” Die answered cheerfully. “Rape the 109 building and all that.” Toshiya just blinked, prompting an exasperated sigh from the other man. “This mood, this is about your parents, right? I do pay attention when you’re rambling, contrary to popular belief.” He patted Toshiya roughly on the shoulder. The taller man scowled and finished off his makeshift dinner.
“You’re right, but I don’t see how raiding the 109 building is supposed to help me feel better.”
“Spending money the way you want to, that’s how. Come on. I know we don’t get massive pay, but it’s more than substantial, and I’ve seen apartments better than this one that I know you could afford.”
“I spend money on myself,” Toshiya retorted.
“You know what I mean. You never indulge yourself.” Indeed, Toshiya’s apartment was furnished only with basic furniture. A loveseat, a coffee table, a smallish TV – and there was nothing on the walls. “Anyway, you really need to update your wardrobe.” Die frowned at Toshiya’s basic grey T-shirt and black pants. Toshiya laughed.
“That sounded so gay.”
“Who’s the contortionist here? Yeah.”
“You’re just jealous.” Die scoffed.
“You’re still coming to Shibuya with me.”
About half an hour later, Toshiya was indeed sitting on the train to Shibuya, looking thoroughly irritated. Die had found the credit card Toshiya had buried in his apartment’s ubiquitous drawer of odds and ends, and shoved it into Toshiya’s wallet with a stern look.
Toshiya felt ridiculous. He knew that this was completely different from what his parents had done – this was just a frivolous shopping trip, after all, and it wasn’t as if he hadn’t earned that money himself – but it just felt weird. Die was right. The only time he indulged himself was during shows.
Suddenly Die jostled Toshiya’s shoulder, breaking through his thoughts. “Hey, hey. None of that sour face tonight. Tonight you are going to be a mindless consumer,” the redhead said with a completely straight face. Toshiya stared at him. “You are going to give in to materialism and buy things you don’t need,” Die continued, making his voice fluctuate in the manner of a cartoon hypnotist and waggling his fingers in Toshiya’s face.
“…Only for tonight.”
“Only tonight, I promise.” A cheerful grin appeared on Die’s face and he removed himself from Toshiya’s personal space. “But come on, you’re acting like I just gave you the death sentence. At least try to be happy about it.” Toshiya sighed, but allowed a smile to creep onto his face. “There we go! You need to smile more.” Before Toshiya could retort, the train rolled to a stop, and the doors opened.
Die hopped up and was almost out onto the platform when Toshiya yelled at him. “You have to wait for the crippled people, you bastard.”
“Oh, come on. You took the handicapped seat, didn’t you?”
“It still takes me a while to get out of the train, moron.” Now safely on the platform, Toshiya gave Die a swift kick with his good leg. “You have no manners.”
“Says the person who just kicked me for not waiting for him.” Toshiya ignored him and headed for the station exit.
“You said you wanted to hit the 109 building, right? What did you have in mind?”
“I said that, yes, but I want tonight to be about what you want, besides sitting at home and moping. What do you want to do here?” Toshiya stared out into the crossing and all of its surrounding stores.
“I… I would like some new clothes,” he said softly. It was disconcerting to think that the outfit he was wearing now had been bought in his junior year of high school.
“There we go, then,” Die said brightly, herding Toshiya off in the direction of the shopping center.
By the end of the night, Toshiya was so loaded down with bags that he thought his arms would fall off. Or, rather, it appeared Die’s would. Toshiya’s leg prevented him from carrying all the bags. Fearing for Die’s limbs (and his own credit card), Toshiya decided to end it. “Die, I think we should call it a night.”
“Alright.” Upon entering an elevator, Die deposited the bags and let out a great breath. He surveyed them for a moment, then clapped Toshiya on the shoulder, grinning. “You have done well tonight, young padawan.” Toshiya rolled his eyes, but smiled. Letting Die drag him out hadn’t been such a terrible thing after all. Of course, this wasn’t going to become a regular occurrence, but it felt nice to spend money on himself like that.
As they exited the building, a little shop across the street caught Toshiya’s eye, despite being closed and lacking the neon lights that most other stores used to shout their presence to the shoppers. It was a music store that he hadn’t seen coming in. “Hey, Die?”
“Yeah?”
“Have you ever seen that store before?”
“Only here, actually. All I know about it is that it’s not a chain – I think there’s only one other in Japan.”
“Huh.”
“Yeah, you’d think all the other giant companies would’ve devoured it already, especially here.” Toshiya hummed thoughtfully. He was interested, now. He would definitely be going back tomorrow; there hadn’t been any new additions to his tangible music collection in a while, and if he couldn’t perform, he could at least lose himself in music again.
← Previous Chapter ‖ Next Chapter →
Current Mood: 
accomplished
accomplishedCurrent Music: Neighbors - The Dodos
2 comments | Leave a comment