Title: LA escapades
Pairing: Pin (but only friendship, although ...)
Rating: G (it´s like completely safe)
Summary: It´s not what you might think when looking at the title. It is set into present days, and it is YamaPi´s idea to go to LA. He drags Jin along for moral support. I think.Writen for my prompt table, prompt no. 05: Trip
Disclaimer: It would be really fun, if I could just order them online, and in a week they would arrive in a box all plastered with signs FRAGILE on it.
A/N: They are probably OOC, also again, there is a pic at the end.
Beta by![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
chivakaza
Pi was sitting on his couch looking at the two tickets in his hands that were shipped to his house today, turning them around. He didn´t know how many times he had checked if they were real already, but they were clearly there. Two of them. He thought getting them would be the tricky part of his plan, but now sitting on the couch, looking at the cell phone placed on the table... Maybe he was mistaken.
He didn´t have much time to waste. He dialed the number and waited for the other to answer the phone, he was sure it would be answered eventually. When it was picked up, he said it all out before anything else could be said. He tried to sound cool and do it the same way he heard his friend doing it so many times before. Exactly like that, with a dramatic effect at the end.
“Hi, Jin, are you free? Heck I know you are free, for the next three days. Let´s go for a trip. Meet me at Narita at 8: 30 pm. You have three hours to pack, we will be staying two nights. Don´t forget your passport.”
And he hung up. Few seconds later the phone rang again.
“So … Care to explain a little?” Came the voice of his very good friend when he answered.
“Well, you always drag me along to those famous trips of yours, so this time I am taking the initiative.”
“But I take you to Kyoto or something, this seems like we are going abroad. I mean Narita? And by the way, which terminal?”
“So you are in then?” The question about the terminal made Pi see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“Maybe, will you pay for my plane ticket?”
“It´s already bought. Terminal 3.”
“How sure you were I would go? Besides, how do you know I have three days off?”
“I checked with your manager.”
“So will you tell me?”
“I will. On the plane.”
“Do I need warm clothes?” Jin could be surprisingly practical sometimes.
“No, it will be quite warm there.”
“See you at 8:30.”
“Yeah.”
That went surprisingly well. Pi thought, maybe there will be a catch later. Well, he didn´t care. His plan has worked. He needed to grab some clothes.
*
“Los Angeles? Pi-chan, Los Angeles?”
“You keep asking for the past hour, get over it Jin, stop complaining, we are on the plane already.”
“Where did you think we would go, when I said terminal 3?”
“I thought you might be kidding, I thought maybe it was some kind of a joke, a prank and I went along with it because you totally imitated me when you called me with instructions.”
“Well I did.”
“I have THREE days off. And now I will spend most of it on the plane. Or jet legged!”
“Jin, where´s your spirit? You love the city, you just left and spend half of the year there!”
“You still didn´t tell me why we are going.” Jin wasn´t really that mad or anything. It was just wrong. If there was someone who should want to hop on the plane and go to LA, it was him, not Pi, he felt something was wrong with the world.
Pi chose that moment to shove two tickets into his face.
“Here, this is the reason, happy now?”
Jin examined the ticket and confusion completely took over him. He really tried to act mature after Pi just called him and then announced they are going to LA just in front of the passport control, but this ….
“A basketball game? Pi? Basketball?”
“So what.” Pi looked angry now.
“Basketball?”
“It´s LA Lakers for god´s sake, do you know how hard it is to get tickets?”
“But …”
“I will be in the summer drama again. I´ll act as this salary man playing for the company´s basketball game. Or something.”
“This is about your work?”
“No, it isn´t. Besides come on, it´s States, we can go to McDonald, you can order diet Coke and there will not be an article about you being on a diet again the next day, it´s perfect.”
“Yes, it is. And I do not drink diet Coke.”
“So, does that mean that you actually were on a diet last time we went together?”
Jin was going to say something, but suddenly he smiled and his face almost split in two.
“Well as long as you pay for a hotel too. Whatever you need, Pi-chan.”
Pi would be surprised by this sudden attitude change, but seeing a cute, tall and stylish flying attendant that was approaching them, checking everyone´s seatbelts, he wasn´t.
It was only natural that his friend´s buckle that had already been in place was suddenly open and nowhere in sight.
Pi smirked, slid lower into his own seat, put his baseball cap back on and pulled it low into his eyes. This might be fun to watch for a while.
*
They were high in the skies, in the middle of ocean, flying into the unknown or something. Jin was at it for about 5 hours now. Flirting with that girl, calling her out all the time, ordering one thing or another, talking, smiling mysteriously, hands brushing, cheeks blushing. Pi was bored. Jin wasn´t paying attention to him and so his mind wandered to the next few months, to the fact he would have to learn to play basketball properly, shoot, jump, score three pointers and why the hell did he ever thought that going and seeing pros doing so would help?
It was making him anxious all over again. Despite a popular believe he could not do everything. He was not a god after all, maybe Tegoshi was but not him. And the girl was here again. When she left giggling like a middle school kid, he snapped.
“You know, it is really lame, flirting like that. And would you give her a break? You make her run up and down, she won´t be able to serve food when the time comes.”
“Pi, are you jealous?” Jin finally faced his friends and came really close, examining Pi´s face as if he saw him for the first time.
“Jealous? Me? Why? Jealous of that girl?”
“Not of the girl, of course not. Just jealous because I am getting all the attention.”
“You really have no clue.” Pi smirked suddenly. “You should think twice before challenging me.”
“You are all just talk Pi.”
Pi gave him a dark look, finally took his cap of, ruffled his hair a little, smiled his best come forth smile and called the girl. She came smiling, thinking it was Jin again only to be startled by the man sitting next to him.
“I am so sorry, I just wanted to apologize about my friend here. He is making you work a lot, the fact is, he is a bit afraid of flying and so this is his way to distract himself. I would like to thank you for taking a good care of him.” Pi even bowed a little.
Jin was forgotten, the girl lost all the remains of her professionalism and Jin was pretty sure she would have jumped Pi if he wasn´t in the way.
“Ok, ok, I got it, I will talk to you,” Jin said giving Pi his best fake hurt look when she left, “but you are mean today”.
Pi was content, Jin started to talk about his work, about Kame being a pain in the ass, too stuck up and cold lately, all business.
“I swear he has a pencil somewhere up his ass.”
And about Ueda being all pro lately when it comes to his drama, learning his lines and getting interested in haircutting.
“Ueda a hairdresser is a creepy idea, so I hope it won´t become his next big thing, he is better off as a boxer … “
Pi forgot about his worries and just listened, count on Jin to make all better. He relaxed and let Jin talk as much as he wanted, just listening was ok, it was perfect.
*
Pi woke up to being shaken furiously out of his dreams. He was disoriented, there was a bright light everywhere and his ears hurt a little. It was only in the corner of his mind that he registered someone saying something to him.
“You know, you really are a great companion. You rob me of the only fun thing to do on this plane and then you fall asleep on me.”
“Hmmm…”
“You suck.” Jin was still shaking him, although the intensity lessened considerably. Pi remembered he was on the plane to US and the fact, that there is 14 hours difference in time might be the reason for a bright afternoon sun even though he felt like having middle of night.
“Well, you sucked first half of the journey, I sucked the second half of it. It seems fair and square to me.” He managed to retort while stretching lazily as the plane rolled towards its gate.
Jin just rolled his eyes but then a smile appeared on his face and he was first to get up, when they were allowed to.
“Let´s go.” Jin was using English and Pi knew what it meant very well. He was exited, he was ready for this adventure and Pi thanked god ´cause it also meant he came to terms with being dragged to LA just for one basketball game.
“So when is the game? Where are we staying? What else did you plan? I know this club, let´s go and when exactly do we leave? You know, I kind of have final rehearsals for the dome after the break.”
“Tomorrow night, at the hotel, not much, I will leave you on the sidewalk if you get drunk and we leave on Thursday morning, so you should be fine.” Pi was proud because as far as he remembered, he answered all the questions. He was about to put the sunglasses and the cap on when he remembered where he was and that he didn´t really need to just yet and smiled contently.
“Hi there, how are you?” Jin was basically saying to no one and everyone and Pi´s grin grew wider as he just nodded his head at people looking at them with a little frown. Jin took an initiative, he found the taxi, he got them into the hotel, checked them in and set the time they would leave to go clubbing. Pi could just lay back and relax as his friend was bouncing around, flunking his arm around him time to time and blabbing away in the language he so loved.
*
“My head! Seriously does the music have to be so loud?”
“Jin, sorry to disappoint you but this is how it should be. It is a basketball game, you know NBA.”
“How would you know, you are here to find out actually.”
“I am not.”
“Yeah, right.” Jin glared, but silently he appreciated the great seats, second row, middle of the court. What had Pi done exactly to get those tickets? He was going to ask, but his head spun dangerously when he turned, so he stayed silent, concentrating on not faltering.
Pi knew Jin had a hangover, it was probably worse than usually thanks to the jetlag effect. Besides he was there yesterday, he even bought him few drinks.
Because of course they had gone clubbing that night. Of course they had had fun. Of course Jin had the most of it as he tried to score with as many girls as possible in one night. Also he ended up drunk and of course Pi didn´t let him somewhere in the dark alley to be eaten alive. He took him back to the hotel, Jin singing some big hit that the DJ had played like million times that night and staggering around, trying to dance a little.
And Pi should had known better than booking two rooms really as Jin refused to go to his own, saying the bed was too big and he would have felt too damn lonely.
“I will just share, it´s not like I will bite you. And I don´t even snore.” He said as he jumped onto Pi´s bed happily.
Jin´s body heat lulled Pi into dreams despite the time difference effect. Who cares about the fact it´s afternoon in Japan, when Akanishi Jin breaths evenly next to you and takes such deep breaths you can almost feel the mattress moving.
They had slept for most of the day. But after a long shower, room service and several painkillers on Jin´s side, they decided to do some walking.
This morning they did the usual, the obligatory, they strolled around some, they did some shopping, went to Starbucks, took some photos, posing like the superstars they were. And now they were sitting here, waiting for the game to begin, sinking in the atmosphere.
Pi looked at Jin sideways. He was rubbing his head with one hand and clutching to his Coke with another one.
“One Coke please.” He said to the girl at the fast food stand,”… big and diet one.” he added and the girl almost fell over.
By the time he paid, he had her number as well. As if he was really going to call her.
Pi grinned, handed him another painkiller, as the time passed and the effect of the last one wore off long time ago and let him look around, because even if Jin looked grumpy, he was actually enjoying it. He better was.
*
“Yeah, great, nice shot! Way to go!” After a very nice shot and even nicer rebound Jin got to his feet, all fired up and tried to high five everyone around him. But everyone just glared and looked away in frustration.
“Jin , sit down or they will hunt us down. That was Houston scoring, you are cheering for the wrong team.”
“Well it was still a good shot, it still was cool.”
“Jin! Please, please!”
“Ok, ok ... but stop being so stuck up, this is fuuuuuuuuuuuuun!”
During the break Jin threatened Pi to kiss him, just to get on that big screen that was filming mainly couples. Pi was trying to dodge him feverishly and that´s how they actually got up there. Now Jin was completely happy and Lakers actually winning the game came just as the cherry on the top.
But how was Pi to reproduce this?
*
Jin, where the hell are you? Pi was standing at the front gate, looking around in fear and confusion. They had been walking side by side, slowly moving towards the exit after the game ended. The next thing Pi knew, he was alone, lost and notably without Jin. He was mad and little helpless. He left his cell phone in the hotel room. He didn´t accept any Japanese calls anyway and Jin was right beside him. He never predicted they would separate. They were inseparable after all. More or less that was.
He was getting desperate, half an hour passed from the moment he found his place sitting on the railing next to the gate. Did Jin leave without him, should he do the same? Would he be in the hotel when he gets there? How stupid he had been, he should have let Jin hold his hand when he jokingly asked him to do so.
As he was panicking, suddenly Jin came running, already clutching his stomach.
“Sorry Pi-chan, got a little lost, but I am hungry, let´s go eat!”And he was apparently not planning on elaborating anymore.
Pi took a deep breath, one, two, three … and then he jumped off the railing and caught up with Jin who was already halfway across the parking lot.
“You are hungry?”
“Yeah, I am and I want to eat pancakes.”
“Pancakes, now? But that´s breakfast food!”
“We are in LA, this is the place to be, we will find a place that serves pancakes.”
They went through several nonstops, but of course it was all futile efforts. They looked at them weirdly, wondering if they knew what they were asking for and politely explained they don´t serve them this late at night. Meanwhile Jin kept talking how he likes them the best, sweet with maple syrup or salty with scrambled eggs and bacon. It was crazy and Pi was hungry and Jin wouldn´t have any other thing than pancakes. It was driving him crazy really.
When his friend saw it might be a little problem, he decided to visit some places with memories for him. So, they were driving around the town in a cab, getting off, walking some, Jin telling stories and tales, half of them probably lies and fantasies rather than truth and Pi listening, giggling along with him and teasing him before they got yet another taxi and took off for another destination.
They had a beer in one of the fast-foods still open and wandered some more. When the first shops serving early breakfast opened, the duo was already sitting on footsteps of one of them. Jin ordered so many pancakes in so many variations they spend next two hours eating them and never finished them. Jin was glowing and Pi might have been as well. Who cares about the game, about the sleep, about the work, about the stress, this was now, this was here and it was as good as it could get. Or maybe a little better. Pi blamed the company.
*
When they came back to the hotel, they had time only to pack their things, settle the bill, Jin surprisingly paying his part and getting yet into another cab taking them to the airport.
The journey back was simple, really. Both of them fell asleep the moment they took off. Pi woke only once, when a steward clang some bottle a little louder. He registered Jin´s head on his shoulder and his left arm flung slightly around his waist, suddenly the man snuggled closer to him, mumbling something incoherent and snored a little. Pi chuckled, asked for blankets for both of them and went back to sleep. Deep down he registered how nice Jin smelled and thanked the man for apparently taking a quick shower before leaving LA. His friend´s close proximity and deep slumber made him more comfortable than any pillow or bed could and he went back into the dreamland.
*
He woke up only at the impact of the plane landing, it was bright morning in Japan, due to the 11 hours of flight and 14 hours of time difference, they flew into yet another day. Jin was blinking next to him, apparently woken up only a minute or two before him. Pi suddenly missed his head on his shoulder, but he would never admit it. He smiled at him sheepishly.
“So did you like my little get away trip?”
“I did, but what about you? Did you find what were you looking for?”
“I have no idea what are you talking about. Since when do you like U2?”
“Well, I think you will make a great basketball player this summer. You might not be as good as Koby Briant, but would Paul Gasol satisfy you? I wouldn´t want you scouted for NBA anyway.”
Pi was blinking at him a little happy because his good friend was supporting him.
“Anyway” Jin said as the plane kept rolling towards its gate at Narita, standing up and opening the case above their heads. He earned an angry look from a flying attendant, he was not supposed to do that, but he was already sitting back down, pulling something out of his bag.
“Here, this is for you.” Jin was showing something very orange and very fluffy onto Pi´s sleepy hands.
“What is that?”
It was clearly a plushie, an orange one? A ball? A basketball one? With arms and legs?
“Well I thought it would match your current hairstyle.” Jin said, obviously proud and feeling smug.”It is official NBA thing, there probably isn´t many of them in Japan.”
“What the ...” Pi got all red, perfectly matching the toy, even outdoing it.
“Don´t get all worked up, it´s a lucky charm for you. You are going to start playing basketball pretty soon. Am I right? It is for you to keep, it will bring you luck. Every good player needs a bit of that.”
Pi really tried to look mad about this, about receiving a toy, a freaking plush ball and on top of that his hair was called orange. Indirectly but still. He kept on the act all the way through check out until they were out both looking for a taxi.
“Pi, don´t push yourself, you will do just fine. Well as long as they don´t ask you to be mad at your best friend. You really can´t do that.” Jin patted his back and got into a taxi. Just before the car left, he leant out of the window.”Pi- chan, thank you for the trip, next time it is my turn again.”
And he was gone. Pi got into the next taxi, finally letting the smile and a chuckle reign over his features as he patted his new souvenir, earning a doubtful look in the rear mirror from the taxi driver.
*
The first training wasn´t that bad, it went quite well actually and Pi felt like this could work, just maybe he will be fine.
He was packing his things in the locker room when suddenly something rolled out of his bag to the floor. As he picked it up, the guy that was training him appeared and gave him a quizzical look. His eyes were laughing.
“What is that? Yamashita Tomohisa, the big pop idol likes teddy bears?”
“It´s not a teddy bear.”
“What is it then?”
“It´s a ball.” Pi was trying to sound cool, but his blush gave him away. “It´s a luck charm actually.”
“Hmm … your girlfriend must be really possessive to force you take it with you, on the other hand, it goes well with your hair.” the guy laughed and left.
Pi finished packing, hiding the toy and storming out of the locker room. He was going to kill Jin, right now. This all was his fault, he was now a laughing stock.
Only then he would think about why he actually brought that toy along when no one forced him and why knowing it was in his bag still made him feel just a little better.
END
Useless rant about the writing process, feel free to skip this: The idea was there for quite some time, I first “wrote” this on my way home, sitting in the bus, it seemed perfect, but I didn´t have a paper nor a pen nor a space to write so it stayed perfect in my head. I was never able to reproduce it.
This is my first time writing them, it was fun, Pi was a little out of it, but I won´t apologize for their characterization because this is how I see it.
Let´s ignore the small details that keep bugging me. Like that they would probably need a visa just like the rest of the world, so it couldn´t be this spur of the moment. That unless Pi kept Jin´s passport or ID number he wouldn´t be able to buy a plane ticket for him… there is few more big or small issues like that here, but let´s just enjoy the fiction and forget about them.
To my friend list: Yes I wrote a Pin, I have no idea why and how, but I did it. Those who know about my little to-do list for this summer, one down! My next priority is a chapter for![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif)
ryoda_continuum . But I won´t complain if someone beats me to it. You don´t know what to do, here are the rules.
This was written for myje_prompts table, you can find it here.
Comments are love, constructive criticism even more, just don´t kill me.
Oh yeah and here is the plushie, I am not sure if they still sell them I couldn´t find it online.
Pairing: Pin (but only friendship, although ...)
Rating: G (it´s like completely safe)
Summary: It´s not what you might think when looking at the title. It is set into present days, and it is YamaPi´s idea to go to LA. He drags Jin along for moral support. I think.Writen for my prompt table, prompt no. 05: Trip
Disclaimer: It would be really fun, if I could just order them online, and in a week they would arrive in a box all plastered with signs FRAGILE on it.
A/N: They are probably OOC, also again, there is a pic at the end.
Beta by
chivakaza Pi was sitting on his couch looking at the two tickets in his hands that were shipped to his house today, turning them around. He didn´t know how many times he had checked if they were real already, but they were clearly there. Two of them. He thought getting them would be the tricky part of his plan, but now sitting on the couch, looking at the cell phone placed on the table... Maybe he was mistaken.
He didn´t have much time to waste. He dialed the number and waited for the other to answer the phone, he was sure it would be answered eventually. When it was picked up, he said it all out before anything else could be said. He tried to sound cool and do it the same way he heard his friend doing it so many times before. Exactly like that, with a dramatic effect at the end.
“Hi, Jin, are you free? Heck I know you are free, for the next three days. Let´s go for a trip. Meet me at Narita at 8: 30 pm. You have three hours to pack, we will be staying two nights. Don´t forget your passport.”
And he hung up. Few seconds later the phone rang again.
“So … Care to explain a little?” Came the voice of his very good friend when he answered.
“Well, you always drag me along to those famous trips of yours, so this time I am taking the initiative.”
“But I take you to Kyoto or something, this seems like we are going abroad. I mean Narita? And by the way, which terminal?”
“So you are in then?” The question about the terminal made Pi see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“Maybe, will you pay for my plane ticket?”
“It´s already bought. Terminal 3.”
“How sure you were I would go? Besides, how do you know I have three days off?”
“I checked with your manager.”
“So will you tell me?”
“I will. On the plane.”
“Do I need warm clothes?” Jin could be surprisingly practical sometimes.
“No, it will be quite warm there.”
“See you at 8:30.”
“Yeah.”
That went surprisingly well. Pi thought, maybe there will be a catch later. Well, he didn´t care. His plan has worked. He needed to grab some clothes.
*
“Los Angeles? Pi-chan, Los Angeles?”
“You keep asking for the past hour, get over it Jin, stop complaining, we are on the plane already.”
“Where did you think we would go, when I said terminal 3?”
“I thought you might be kidding, I thought maybe it was some kind of a joke, a prank and I went along with it because you totally imitated me when you called me with instructions.”
“Well I did.”
“I have THREE days off. And now I will spend most of it on the plane. Or jet legged!”
“Jin, where´s your spirit? You love the city, you just left and spend half of the year there!”
“You still didn´t tell me why we are going.” Jin wasn´t really that mad or anything. It was just wrong. If there was someone who should want to hop on the plane and go to LA, it was him, not Pi, he felt something was wrong with the world.
Pi chose that moment to shove two tickets into his face.
“Here, this is the reason, happy now?”
Jin examined the ticket and confusion completely took over him. He really tried to act mature after Pi just called him and then announced they are going to LA just in front of the passport control, but this ….
“A basketball game? Pi? Basketball?”
“So what.” Pi looked angry now.
“Basketball?”
“It´s LA Lakers for god´s sake, do you know how hard it is to get tickets?”
“But …”
“I will be in the summer drama again. I´ll act as this salary man playing for the company´s basketball game. Or something.”
“This is about your work?”
“No, it isn´t. Besides come on, it´s States, we can go to McDonald, you can order diet Coke and there will not be an article about you being on a diet again the next day, it´s perfect.”
“Yes, it is. And I do not drink diet Coke.”
“So, does that mean that you actually were on a diet last time we went together?”
Jin was going to say something, but suddenly he smiled and his face almost split in two.
“Well as long as you pay for a hotel too. Whatever you need, Pi-chan.”
Pi would be surprised by this sudden attitude change, but seeing a cute, tall and stylish flying attendant that was approaching them, checking everyone´s seatbelts, he wasn´t.
It was only natural that his friend´s buckle that had already been in place was suddenly open and nowhere in sight.
Pi smirked, slid lower into his own seat, put his baseball cap back on and pulled it low into his eyes. This might be fun to watch for a while.
*
They were high in the skies, in the middle of ocean, flying into the unknown or something. Jin was at it for about 5 hours now. Flirting with that girl, calling her out all the time, ordering one thing or another, talking, smiling mysteriously, hands brushing, cheeks blushing. Pi was bored. Jin wasn´t paying attention to him and so his mind wandered to the next few months, to the fact he would have to learn to play basketball properly, shoot, jump, score three pointers and why the hell did he ever thought that going and seeing pros doing so would help?
It was making him anxious all over again. Despite a popular believe he could not do everything. He was not a god after all, maybe Tegoshi was but not him. And the girl was here again. When she left giggling like a middle school kid, he snapped.
“You know, it is really lame, flirting like that. And would you give her a break? You make her run up and down, she won´t be able to serve food when the time comes.”
“Pi, are you jealous?” Jin finally faced his friends and came really close, examining Pi´s face as if he saw him for the first time.
“Jealous? Me? Why? Jealous of that girl?”
“Not of the girl, of course not. Just jealous because I am getting all the attention.”
“You really have no clue.” Pi smirked suddenly. “You should think twice before challenging me.”
“You are all just talk Pi.”
Pi gave him a dark look, finally took his cap of, ruffled his hair a little, smiled his best come forth smile and called the girl. She came smiling, thinking it was Jin again only to be startled by the man sitting next to him.
“I am so sorry, I just wanted to apologize about my friend here. He is making you work a lot, the fact is, he is a bit afraid of flying and so this is his way to distract himself. I would like to thank you for taking a good care of him.” Pi even bowed a little.
Jin was forgotten, the girl lost all the remains of her professionalism and Jin was pretty sure she would have jumped Pi if he wasn´t in the way.
“Ok, ok, I got it, I will talk to you,” Jin said giving Pi his best fake hurt look when she left, “but you are mean today”.
Pi was content, Jin started to talk about his work, about Kame being a pain in the ass, too stuck up and cold lately, all business.
“I swear he has a pencil somewhere up his ass.”
And about Ueda being all pro lately when it comes to his drama, learning his lines and getting interested in haircutting.
“Ueda a hairdresser is a creepy idea, so I hope it won´t become his next big thing, he is better off as a boxer … “
Pi forgot about his worries and just listened, count on Jin to make all better. He relaxed and let Jin talk as much as he wanted, just listening was ok, it was perfect.
*
Pi woke up to being shaken furiously out of his dreams. He was disoriented, there was a bright light everywhere and his ears hurt a little. It was only in the corner of his mind that he registered someone saying something to him.
“You know, you really are a great companion. You rob me of the only fun thing to do on this plane and then you fall asleep on me.”
“Hmmm…”
“You suck.” Jin was still shaking him, although the intensity lessened considerably. Pi remembered he was on the plane to US and the fact, that there is 14 hours difference in time might be the reason for a bright afternoon sun even though he felt like having middle of night.
“Well, you sucked first half of the journey, I sucked the second half of it. It seems fair and square to me.” He managed to retort while stretching lazily as the plane rolled towards its gate.
Jin just rolled his eyes but then a smile appeared on his face and he was first to get up, when they were allowed to.
“Let´s go.” Jin was using English and Pi knew what it meant very well. He was exited, he was ready for this adventure and Pi thanked god ´cause it also meant he came to terms with being dragged to LA just for one basketball game.
“So when is the game? Where are we staying? What else did you plan? I know this club, let´s go and when exactly do we leave? You know, I kind of have final rehearsals for the dome after the break.”
“Tomorrow night, at the hotel, not much, I will leave you on the sidewalk if you get drunk and we leave on Thursday morning, so you should be fine.” Pi was proud because as far as he remembered, he answered all the questions. He was about to put the sunglasses and the cap on when he remembered where he was and that he didn´t really need to just yet and smiled contently.
“Hi there, how are you?” Jin was basically saying to no one and everyone and Pi´s grin grew wider as he just nodded his head at people looking at them with a little frown. Jin took an initiative, he found the taxi, he got them into the hotel, checked them in and set the time they would leave to go clubbing. Pi could just lay back and relax as his friend was bouncing around, flunking his arm around him time to time and blabbing away in the language he so loved.
*
“My head! Seriously does the music have to be so loud?”
“Jin, sorry to disappoint you but this is how it should be. It is a basketball game, you know NBA.”
“How would you know, you are here to find out actually.”
“I am not.”
“Yeah, right.” Jin glared, but silently he appreciated the great seats, second row, middle of the court. What had Pi done exactly to get those tickets? He was going to ask, but his head spun dangerously when he turned, so he stayed silent, concentrating on not faltering.
Pi knew Jin had a hangover, it was probably worse than usually thanks to the jetlag effect. Besides he was there yesterday, he even bought him few drinks.
Because of course they had gone clubbing that night. Of course they had had fun. Of course Jin had the most of it as he tried to score with as many girls as possible in one night. Also he ended up drunk and of course Pi didn´t let him somewhere in the dark alley to be eaten alive. He took him back to the hotel, Jin singing some big hit that the DJ had played like million times that night and staggering around, trying to dance a little.
And Pi should had known better than booking two rooms really as Jin refused to go to his own, saying the bed was too big and he would have felt too damn lonely.
“I will just share, it´s not like I will bite you. And I don´t even snore.” He said as he jumped onto Pi´s bed happily.
Jin´s body heat lulled Pi into dreams despite the time difference effect. Who cares about the fact it´s afternoon in Japan, when Akanishi Jin breaths evenly next to you and takes such deep breaths you can almost feel the mattress moving.
They had slept for most of the day. But after a long shower, room service and several painkillers on Jin´s side, they decided to do some walking.
This morning they did the usual, the obligatory, they strolled around some, they did some shopping, went to Starbucks, took some photos, posing like the superstars they were. And now they were sitting here, waiting for the game to begin, sinking in the atmosphere.
Pi looked at Jin sideways. He was rubbing his head with one hand and clutching to his Coke with another one.
“One Coke please.” He said to the girl at the fast food stand,”… big and diet one.” he added and the girl almost fell over.
By the time he paid, he had her number as well. As if he was really going to call her.
Pi grinned, handed him another painkiller, as the time passed and the effect of the last one wore off long time ago and let him look around, because even if Jin looked grumpy, he was actually enjoying it. He better was.
*
“Yeah, great, nice shot! Way to go!” After a very nice shot and even nicer rebound Jin got to his feet, all fired up and tried to high five everyone around him. But everyone just glared and looked away in frustration.
“Jin , sit down or they will hunt us down. That was Houston scoring, you are cheering for the wrong team.”
“Well it was still a good shot, it still was cool.”
“Jin! Please, please!”
“Ok, ok ... but stop being so stuck up, this is fuuuuuuuuuuuuun!”
During the break Jin threatened Pi to kiss him, just to get on that big screen that was filming mainly couples. Pi was trying to dodge him feverishly and that´s how they actually got up there. Now Jin was completely happy and Lakers actually winning the game came just as the cherry on the top.
But how was Pi to reproduce this?
*
Jin, where the hell are you? Pi was standing at the front gate, looking around in fear and confusion. They had been walking side by side, slowly moving towards the exit after the game ended. The next thing Pi knew, he was alone, lost and notably without Jin. He was mad and little helpless. He left his cell phone in the hotel room. He didn´t accept any Japanese calls anyway and Jin was right beside him. He never predicted they would separate. They were inseparable after all. More or less that was.
He was getting desperate, half an hour passed from the moment he found his place sitting on the railing next to the gate. Did Jin leave without him, should he do the same? Would he be in the hotel when he gets there? How stupid he had been, he should have let Jin hold his hand when he jokingly asked him to do so.
As he was panicking, suddenly Jin came running, already clutching his stomach.
“Sorry Pi-chan, got a little lost, but I am hungry, let´s go eat!”And he was apparently not planning on elaborating anymore.
Pi took a deep breath, one, two, three … and then he jumped off the railing and caught up with Jin who was already halfway across the parking lot.
“You are hungry?”
“Yeah, I am and I want to eat pancakes.”
“Pancakes, now? But that´s breakfast food!”
“We are in LA, this is the place to be, we will find a place that serves pancakes.”
They went through several nonstops, but of course it was all futile efforts. They looked at them weirdly, wondering if they knew what they were asking for and politely explained they don´t serve them this late at night. Meanwhile Jin kept talking how he likes them the best, sweet with maple syrup or salty with scrambled eggs and bacon. It was crazy and Pi was hungry and Jin wouldn´t have any other thing than pancakes. It was driving him crazy really.
When his friend saw it might be a little problem, he decided to visit some places with memories for him. So, they were driving around the town in a cab, getting off, walking some, Jin telling stories and tales, half of them probably lies and fantasies rather than truth and Pi listening, giggling along with him and teasing him before they got yet another taxi and took off for another destination.
They had a beer in one of the fast-foods still open and wandered some more. When the first shops serving early breakfast opened, the duo was already sitting on footsteps of one of them. Jin ordered so many pancakes in so many variations they spend next two hours eating them and never finished them. Jin was glowing and Pi might have been as well. Who cares about the game, about the sleep, about the work, about the stress, this was now, this was here and it was as good as it could get. Or maybe a little better. Pi blamed the company.
*
When they came back to the hotel, they had time only to pack their things, settle the bill, Jin surprisingly paying his part and getting yet into another cab taking them to the airport.
The journey back was simple, really. Both of them fell asleep the moment they took off. Pi woke only once, when a steward clang some bottle a little louder. He registered Jin´s head on his shoulder and his left arm flung slightly around his waist, suddenly the man snuggled closer to him, mumbling something incoherent and snored a little. Pi chuckled, asked for blankets for both of them and went back to sleep. Deep down he registered how nice Jin smelled and thanked the man for apparently taking a quick shower before leaving LA. His friend´s close proximity and deep slumber made him more comfortable than any pillow or bed could and he went back into the dreamland.
*
He woke up only at the impact of the plane landing, it was bright morning in Japan, due to the 11 hours of flight and 14 hours of time difference, they flew into yet another day. Jin was blinking next to him, apparently woken up only a minute or two before him. Pi suddenly missed his head on his shoulder, but he would never admit it. He smiled at him sheepishly.
“So did you like my little get away trip?”
“I did, but what about you? Did you find what were you looking for?”
“I have no idea what are you talking about. Since when do you like U2?”
“Well, I think you will make a great basketball player this summer. You might not be as good as Koby Briant, but would Paul Gasol satisfy you? I wouldn´t want you scouted for NBA anyway.”
Pi was blinking at him a little happy because his good friend was supporting him.
“Anyway” Jin said as the plane kept rolling towards its gate at Narita, standing up and opening the case above their heads. He earned an angry look from a flying attendant, he was not supposed to do that, but he was already sitting back down, pulling something out of his bag.
“Here, this is for you.” Jin was showing something very orange and very fluffy onto Pi´s sleepy hands.
“What is that?”
It was clearly a plushie, an orange one? A ball? A basketball one? With arms and legs?
“Well I thought it would match your current hairstyle.” Jin said, obviously proud and feeling smug.”It is official NBA thing, there probably isn´t many of them in Japan.”
“What the ...” Pi got all red, perfectly matching the toy, even outdoing it.
“Don´t get all worked up, it´s a lucky charm for you. You are going to start playing basketball pretty soon. Am I right? It is for you to keep, it will bring you luck. Every good player needs a bit of that.”
Pi really tried to look mad about this, about receiving a toy, a freaking plush ball and on top of that his hair was called orange. Indirectly but still. He kept on the act all the way through check out until they were out both looking for a taxi.
“Pi, don´t push yourself, you will do just fine. Well as long as they don´t ask you to be mad at your best friend. You really can´t do that.” Jin patted his back and got into a taxi. Just before the car left, he leant out of the window.”Pi- chan, thank you for the trip, next time it is my turn again.”
And he was gone. Pi got into the next taxi, finally letting the smile and a chuckle reign over his features as he patted his new souvenir, earning a doubtful look in the rear mirror from the taxi driver.
*
The first training wasn´t that bad, it went quite well actually and Pi felt like this could work, just maybe he will be fine.
He was packing his things in the locker room when suddenly something rolled out of his bag to the floor. As he picked it up, the guy that was training him appeared and gave him a quizzical look. His eyes were laughing.
“What is that? Yamashita Tomohisa, the big pop idol likes teddy bears?”
“It´s not a teddy bear.”
“What is it then?”
“It´s a ball.” Pi was trying to sound cool, but his blush gave him away. “It´s a luck charm actually.”
“Hmm … your girlfriend must be really possessive to force you take it with you, on the other hand, it goes well with your hair.” the guy laughed and left.
Pi finished packing, hiding the toy and storming out of the locker room. He was going to kill Jin, right now. This all was his fault, he was now a laughing stock.
Only then he would think about why he actually brought that toy along when no one forced him and why knowing it was in his bag still made him feel just a little better.
END
Useless rant about the writing process, feel free to skip this: The idea was there for quite some time, I first “wrote” this on my way home, sitting in the bus, it seemed perfect, but I didn´t have a paper nor a pen nor a space to write so it stayed perfect in my head. I was never able to reproduce it.
This is my first time writing them, it was fun, Pi was a little out of it, but I won´t apologize for their characterization because this is how I see it.
Let´s ignore the small details that keep bugging me. Like that they would probably need a visa just like the rest of the world, so it couldn´t be this spur of the moment. That unless Pi kept Jin´s passport or ID number he wouldn´t be able to buy a plane ticket for him… there is few more big or small issues like that here, but let´s just enjoy the fiction and forget about them.
To my friend list: Yes I wrote a Pin, I have no idea why and how, but I did it. Those who know about my little to-do list for this summer, one down! My next priority is a chapter for
ryoda_continuum . But I won´t complain if someone beats me to it. You don´t know what to do, here are the rules. This was written for my
je_prompts table, you can find it here. Comments are love, constructive criticism even more, just don´t kill me.
Oh yeah and here is the plushie, I am not sure if they still sell them I couldn´t find it online.
confused10 impressions | Tell me about it