Un"der*song\, n. 1. The burden of a song; the chorus; the refrain. -Dryden.
2. Accompanying strain; subordinate and underlying meaning;accompaniment; undertone.
In the very [poetry] there is often an undersong of sense which nonebeside the poetic mind . . . can comprehend. -Landor.
Chapter 1:
Upon approaching the apartment building where he'd be living for the next semester or so, Gakupo was finally aware just how far away from home he was. It hadn't struck him on the five-hour train ride, which he mostly slept through except for when he groggily had to change trains. He hadn't even taken it into account when he almost got lost finding the bus that got him here, either – it was at this moment, when the bustle of people had finally gone and he was completely alone – that he realized he was on his own from here on out.
This was his first time away from home. As he walked toward the main office, he tried to shift his thoughts to something else, so he could stop himself from coming up with dozens of excuses as to why he should just turn tail and head back. He thought about the roommate he was going to be staying with, who at least seemed nice enough in his messages after Gakupo had responded to his ad – though he enjoyed a little too much use of the smile emote. From what little Gakupo knew of him, he appeared trustworthy enough, but first impressions could always be misleading. His thoughts turned darker as he entered the main office building; the man could be a serial killer or worse, and he'd never know it until the last moment when the knife flashed in front his eyes…
But before Gakupo could dwell on it any longer, a kind-looking old woman appeared behind the counter to attend to him. She looked like she could be the landlady, but Gakupo wasn't entirely sure.
"How can I help you?" she asked.
"Um, I-I need a key," Gakupo muttered nervously. He had never been good in these sorts of situations. "To apartment number 319? I'm going to be his new roommate, so…"
"Oh! Of course! He's such a nice boy! Says hi to me every morning. He did mention someone coming…" she rifled through one of the locked compartments under the counter until she fished out the properly labeled key that he needed. "I just need some identification, and then I can give it to you."
Gakupo reached into one of the few bags he had brought with him and took out his identity card from its secure place in his wallet. He handed it to her and watched her speedily look it over.
"Ah, perfect! Here you go," she said cheerfully, handing both the key and card over with a smile.
"Thank you very much," Gakupo replied. He turned to leave after grabbing his things, but heard her happily call out one last thing before he could get out the door.
"Have a wonderful day, ma'am!"
Gakupo smiled and nodded. "You too," he said absentmindedly. It wasn't until he got nearly halfway up the stairs to 319 that he realized what she had said.
'Ma'am?' he thought exasperatedly. This wasn't the first time he had been mistaken for a female, and it most likely wasn't going to be the last. However, he couldn't find the energy or reason to be angry with the old woman at all, as it had been an honest mistake. Her eyes were probably just bad and she had been quickly glancing anyway, so she didn't spot the kanji for male on his identification card. His waist-length purple hair that was usually tied up in a long ponytail was typically confusing enough, and he was told he had a gentle-looking face. His voice almost always gave him away, but when he whispered or muttered it sometimes tended to sound too soft. Oh, well. He supposed it didn't matter.
Once Gakupo got to the right apartment number, he knocked lightly and then listened for movement. When he heard nothing, he inserted the key into the lock and opened the door with relative ease. After shutting it behind him, he decided to look around a bit, and maybe sit down to wait for his roommate to show up and give him a little tour.
He hadn't even taken two steps forward when he looked up, only to see a very naked man leaving the bathroom nearby. He saw Gakupo from the corner of his eye and stopped mid-stride, freezing directly in place.
"Heeeeeeey…" the man said slowly, turning a bit to look at him clearer.
Gakupo was frozen as well, his light blue eyes wide open in surprise. His mind raced and he backed up until his entire body went against the door.
"Sooo, you must be the new roomie. Uh, I was showering before you came – didn't think you'd come when I – uh…How about I put some clothes on and we can both start over?"
The purple-haired man nodded weakly, not trusting himself to speak whilst the other male dashed away to his room. Gakupo took a deep breath and tried to think of several reasons why he should stay. Well, the train ride back wouldn't have been fun, first of all. And he valued his education. Maybe giving this guy a second chance wasn't such a bad idea. Although Gakupo wasn't used to sudden full frontal when he was only walking around, at least it wasn't really the guy's fault if he thought he was alone, right? It wasn't as if he had been waiting for him to show up so he could flash him.
Gakupo sat down on a stool at the kitchen counter, patiently waiting for his roommate to reappear. He did so a minute later, this time fully clothed in a pair of jeans and a white shirt. Gakupo hadn't gotten a good (and not panicked) look at him earlier, but now he realized that the guy wasn't too bad-looking, and his blue hair was still dripping with water as he rubbed the towel over it quickly. He was also quite tall, and probably surpassed him with at least a couple of inches in height.
"Sorry again," he apologized a little sheepishly. "I didn't even hear you knock or come in…"
"I-It's alright, I was probably too soft," Gakupo replied, looking down at the counter as he spoke.
Wanting to lighten the mood, the man chuckled a little and said, "You looked like you had seen a ghost. Do I really look that bad naked, or…?"
Gakupo narrowed his eyes and looked up briefly at the other male, who actually seemed a bit surprised by the reaction.
"Right, sorry! I didn't mean…so, uh, I'm Kaito. Shion Kaito. You're Kamui Gakupo, right?" He stuck his hand out for him to shake, but rather than taking it, Gakupo stood up from his chair and bowed deeply.
Realizing what he was doing, Kaito rushed to bow as well but wasn't aware of the little space between them, and so while Gakupo began to raise his head, Kaito lowered his quickly and collided with him on the way down.
"Oh, God, I'm so sorry!" Kaito exclaimed, putting a hand on the other man's shoulder. "I really should've watched where I was going…"
"It's okay," Gakupo managed to utter between gritted teeth as he massaged the new bump on his head with a couple of slender fingers. This guy was getting more and more annoying by the minute, and he showed no sign of being competent in the least at anything. Gakupo tried not to let it bother him, though. After all, he thought himself nothing if not resilient to new situations.
Kaito's face broadened suddenly at a notion he had, his teeth showing in an excited smile. "Would you like some ice cream?" he offered. "I've got loads in the freezer."
Gakupo wrinkled his nose a bit and shook his head. "I don't eat that stuff. It's fattening, disgusting, and I'm on a strict diet."
"Diet? But you look fine to me." Kaito looked him up at down – the man was like a twig, and his arms were practically swimming in his sleeves.
Gakupo sighed heavily and changed the subject. "Where is my room supposed to be? Shouldn't you have given me a tour by now?"
"Right, right, right! I'm sorry, that totally slipped my mind."
He was sure that a lot of things slipped the blue-haired man's mind, but Gakupo held his tongue as Kaito led the way out of the kitchen. Turning right from the entrance to the apartment and into a little hallway was the room that was meant for Gakupo, which wasn't too bad in the way of space. It already had a desk and bed in it, but still had room for other things. A little to the left and across the hall from his room, almost directly facing the entrance, was the door to the only bathroom in the place. To the left of that was the kitchen and dining room area, and directly next to that was a small living room area with a single TV and a sofa. Further back, near the kitchen, was the door that led to Kaito's own room. Just from taking a look through the slightly open door, Gakupo could tell it was a mess. He could see clothes strewn across the bed, and various scarves of many different colors on the floor. This was going to be a long semester.
"So, how do you like the place?" Kaito asked him once the tour was over and they had managed to wander back into the kitchen to talk.
"It's not too bad. I won't mind living here. I just need a place to stay so I can study at the university near here, anyway."
"Oh, that's right! You're going to my school, too!" Kaito seemed excited again. "It has a lot of good programs. What are you studying?"
"Feudal Japanese History," Gakupo answered. "I'm going to major in it. Probably going to become a history teacher."
"That's pretty cool," Kaito smiled, although he seemed like the kind of person who'd fall asleep during a history class out of sheer boredom.
Gakupo wasn't particularly interested in whatever this man liked to do, but he asked back out of practiced politeness, "And what are you studying?"
Kaito's face instantly lit up even more at the question, although Gakupo didn't think that was possible. "Music!" he exclaimed. "I'm gonna be a singer."
The purple-haired man's face instantly darkened and he stood up from the counter so quickly that it made Kaito jump up a bit in surprise.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm going to go unpack."
Kaito stood up, too. "Do you need any help?"
"No. It was a pleasure meeting you," Gakupo said, although his voice sounded like it was anything but. He walked as quickly as he could to his room, nearly slamming the door shut behind him as Kaito watched on, puzzled.
Merely a few days later, it didn't take long for both boys to become annoyed with each other. Kaito found out that Gakupo took entirely too long in the bathroom in the mornings – something about his hair taking a long time to wash, even though he was in there doing God-knows-what for quite a while after the water was turned off. Kaito had to resort to washing his short blue hair in the kitchen sink, which doubled as a bit of payback because it made the hot water run out much faster for Gakupo, as well. The only actual problem was when he had to piss.
The first time Gakupo used the shower, he had forgotten to lock the door and Kaito was able to stroll in and pull down his pants to go, although his roommate nearly shrieked once he realized he was in there with him. Kaito had told him that it was fine, that he could only see his silhouette anyway, really, but Gakupo wouldn't stop yelling at him to get out.
After doing that and then flushing by mistake (or was it?), Gakupo locked the door every time he went to use the shower, and Kaito was out of luck until he finished. He recalled banging on the door and begging politely, but being told to "pee outside if he had to go that bad." One morning he almost considered doing so, but he didn't want his neighbors to think he was crazy.
The slight glare he gave Gakupo every time the purple-haired man exited the bathroom before Kaito rushed in to use it never seemed to affect him. He'd just smile back condescendingly and saunter away, his hairbrush in one hand and personal towel in the other. That was when Kaito decided to take matters into his own hands.
It was going to be an innocent little prank. Kaito loved pranks, and he thought maybe it'd help loosen Gakupo up a bit. He bought a "blood cube" from a gag store that he sometimes visited, and got to work on the prank that Friday night so he would have time to appreciate it on a weekend (and so neither of them would be late for class – he was very considerate like that). All he had to do was detach the showerhead and dry off the inside of it, then insert the cube and put it back. The next morning, Gakupo would be in for a scary surprise.
Kaito waited patiently in his room that Saturday until he heard the door to the bathroom open, shut, and then he heard a click as Gakupo locked it. He smiled. Perfect.
The man casually left his room and strolled over near the entrance of the bathroom in order to wait for that wonderful moment when the shower turned on. About a minute later he got his wish, and in ten seconds flat an ear-shattering scream emitted from the shower. It was better than Kaito had expected, but damn, Gakupo sure had a set of lungs on him.
As he had hoped, Gakupo burst out of the bathroom itself like a bat out of Hell. He was covered in red liquid, and some of it was even dripping from his long locks of purple hair. The poor guy looked frightened beyond belief, but once he locked eyes with Kaito – who burst out laughing immediately – he quickly realized that it had been his doing.
"Y-You…how?" Gakupo had never actually been pranked before, so he didn't know what to say.
Kaito took his time looking his roommate up and down. "Seems like we're even now, huh?" Gakupo had been so preoccupied with the "blood" that he forgot to bring a towel with him at all, and he was standing naked before Kaito just as the blue-haired man had done on the first day they met.
At a loss for words, a red-faced Gakupo rushed back into the bathroom and locked it once more. Kaito smirked as he stood outside, enjoying in his victory over his stuck-up roommate.
"Nice ass, by the way."
A/N: So, out of nowhere I wanted to write a story for this pairing. I'm feeling pretty self-conscious about this chapter, though, but I guess it's because I haven't written anything - much less fanfiction - for a while. I might even end up editing this in-depth later...
Interestingly enough, despite the silliness here, I have a sort of complicated and angst-ridden plot for later on in the story. Let's hope we get that far!
Tell me what you think, and maybe we can get there together. ; ) Thank you!