Chapter 12: Tension
Nate wasn't in the slightest bit pleased to have been missing out on Mihael's performance, instead having to stand outside with Robert Fischer, who, at present, was too busy lighting a cigarette.
"So," Robert said, letting out a puff of smoke. Nate scrunched his nose up in disgust, taking a step back. Robert gestured at Hard Rock, which was just across the street. "Why'd you drag me out?"
Nate glanced over his shoulder and sighed. He looked at Robert once more. "I needed to talk to you."
Robert took in another drag of his cigarette. When he let out another puff of smoke, Nate involuntarily let out a cough. Robert looked at him apologetically. "Sorry about that. What did you want to talk about? Couldn't you have just done that in there?"
"Listen," Nate began, "That man in there, who's performing tonight, is my client. His name's Mihael Keehl."
Robert's eyes widened. "Oh!" He grinned widely. "Then that's all the more reason for us to go back inside. I want to listen to him sing!" Robert leaned forward, invading Nate's personal space. "If he's your client, I'm certain he's good."
Nate frowned, taking another step back. "Yes, he is good. And no, we're not going back inside. We're going to wait right here, until he's done and everyone's applauded for him." Nate made sure he had clearly emphasized the last word.
Robert furrowed his brows in confusion. "What's that mean?"
"It means," Nate said impatiently, "That my client isn't a big name, yet. Not like you are, anyway. If people recognized you in there, they'd not bother listening to him. They'd want you to perform, instead. I couldn't let that happen. It's a big night for my client, and he deserves to be the center of attention."
Robert stared blankly for a moment. Then, a slow smile crept across his face. "Wow, you really care about your clients, don't you? I mean, any other agent wouldn't have particularly thought that far ahead. You must really like your client."
Nate flushed. "It's not that big a deal. He just needs to get his confidence up, needs to know that the crowd appreciates him." Nate stared pointedly at Robert. "I would've done the same for you, if you hadn't already released an album when we met."
Robert laughed, taking another long drag from his cigarette. "I wasn't aware you even took clients who weren't well known, Nate. As far as I remember, you always wanted it to be a person people recognized by name."
"Yeah, well," Nate said shortly, "I decided I like challenges."
Robert said nothing to that. He silently smoked his cigarette, while Nate kept glancing over his shoulder, hoping to hear something from within Hard Rock. Unfortunately, he could hear nothing. The walls really were sound-proof, it seemed. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to just go back inside? What were the chances that people would recognize Robert? Nate looked at Robert. Well, pretty good chances, actually.
"So," Nate said suddenly, catching Robert off-guard. "I heard you'll be touring soon."
Robert nodded. "In a month and a half, actually."
"Where do you start?"
Robert thought about that for a moment. Then, "Right here, actually. I start in this city, and Hard Rock's the first place I'll be performing at."
"Do you have a band or musician who's opening for you yet?" Nate was aware that this was starting to sound an awful lot like interrogation, and there was probably a better way to go about this, but Nate didn't think Robert would mind. If anything, Robert would find it amusing. Just like he found everything about Nate amusing.
"Why does this suddenly feel like an interrogation, Nate?" Robert asked, amused. Nate rolled his eyes. "Do you want me to consider your client for it?"
Nate hesitated for just a moment, before saying, "Yes." As an afterthought, he added, "Please."
Robert reached out and ruffled Nate's hair. Nate scowled at him, but Robert ignored him. "Anything for you, Nate. I'll still have to get in touch with my Manager, though. How about this? I'll talk to her, and she'll schedule a meeting with you and your client, uh, probably a few weeks before I'm supposed to tour. Is that okay?"
Nate nodded, satisfied. Having nothing more to say, he decided to turn around and stare at Hard Rock from a distance. If he couldn't listen to Mihael's performance, he could at least try to imagine what it must be like. He pictured Mihael, confident and charming on stage, singing with his eyes closed, moving all around the stage, probably winking at some of the women. And then he pictured Mihael searching the crowd for him, wondering where he'd gone off to. Nate quickly shook his head. Obviously, Mihael wouldn't be searching for him in that crowd. Nate needed to stop living under such delusions.
Nate was about to turn around and suggest Robert and him go elsewhere when something caught his attention. No, not something. It was someone that caught his attention. Nate stared across the street, blinking a few times.
Matt stood at the door, looking around for something. Nate couldn't quite figure out what it was that Matt found so important, that he'd miss his best friend's performance for. Nate excused himself from Robert with a quick 'I'll be back' before crossing the street.
"Matt," Nate called out, making his way over to Matt. Matt immediately looked at him and Nate realized there was a certain look of panic on his face. Nate frowned. "Why are you out here?"
Matt practically lunged at Nate, grabbing hold of his arm tightly. "Nate! I was looking for you!"
Nate stared at Matt in confusion. "Why were you looking for me?"
"It's Mello. He, uh, he kinda...froze on stage. He's probably having some kind of panic attack, and I just figured you'd know what to do." Matt explained, dragging Nate inside as he did.
"What do you mean, Matt? Didn't you try to calm him down?" Nate asked, increasing his pace as he followed Matt backstage. On the way, he saw Takada talking to a very pissed off Dane, trying her best to calm him down. Takada, herself, looked very troubled. Nate stared around at the crowd. They were all whispering, pointing at the presently empty stage. The stage Mihael was supposed to be on, performing on.
"Dane looks pissed." Nate commented.
Matt looked back at Nate, raising an eyebrow. "Who?"
Nate shook his head. "Nothing, nothing." They continued walking in silence until they reached the backstage. Nate came to a halt just at the entrance, while Matt walked right in.
Mihael was sitting on the chair, head bent low, face buried in his palms. One of the band members held on to his guitar, while Linda knelt down beside him, rubbing his arm soothingly. She was also saying something to Mihael, but Nate wasn't close enough to hear her. Schooling his features into one of stoic indifference, Nate strode in.
"What's going on?" He asked, looking around at everyone.
Mihael looked up instantly. His eyes met Nate's and there was a hint of relief in them, but there was also something else in them that Nate couldn't quite comprehend. "Mihael, what's wrong?" Nate asked, walking up to him.
"I panicked," Mihael said truthfully, looking away. "I just...froze."
Nate swallowed, taking another step closer. His knees now bumped against Mihael's. "Why? You never panic."
"I...don't know." Mihael said, looking up at Nate. "Where were you, anyway? I didn't see you in the crowd." Mihael sounded forcefully casual.
Nate's heart began to race. "You noticed?"
"I did."
"Right," Nate said, trying to slow his racing heartbeats, "I was just outside, with Robert. I needed to talk to him about something."
"Couldn't it have waited?"
Nate was taken aback at the accusatory tone. He scowled at Mihael. "I figured Kiyomi Takada would've had it under control, and you didn't need me around. Speaking of, where is she? Why isn't she here, trying to comfort you?"
"She was here," Mihael snapped. "She went to talk to her boss in order to convince him to give me another chance."
Nate glared at Mihael. "I didn't expect you to freeze up on stage."
"Yeah, well, I fucked up. Obviously." Mihael said, burying his face in his hands once more.
Nate felt his composure falter, his mask of indifference slipping away momentarily, leaving behind a soft, sympathetic gaze. Before Nate could really stop himself, he'd knelt down and grabbed hold of Mihael's wrist, pulling his hand away from his face. A part of Nate wanted to reach out and tuck Mihael's hair behind his ear, just to feel its texture. Nate clenched his free hand into a fist. "Mihael." He said. There was a softness in Nate's voice that had never been there before. Mihael slowly lifted his head up, eyes fixing on Nate. "It's okay. Everyone fucks up."
"I know," Mihael sighed, glancing at Nate's hand, still wrapped around his wrist. Nate immediately let go. "I just feel bad for Kiyomi. And you. This can't have reflected well on you, either."
"It's okay," Nate said, abruptly standing up. He dusted invisible dirt off his pants as he added, "I'll just go and speak to Dane." He turned around and walked away from there. He made his way through the overly crowded venue, having to push his way past some people who couldn't stop talking about what had just happened. Nate ignored them, especially when they turned to give him dirty looks and instead focused on finding Dane and Takada.
Nate spotted them sitting at a table in the corner. He quickly made his way over to them. "Dane!" He called out, when he was close enough. "Miss Takada!" The two people in question looked up at Nate.
"Nate?" Takada said, staring at him in surprise. "Where have you been?"
"That's irrelevant," Nate said dismissively, pulling out a chair and seating himself down. He looked straight at Dane. "We need to talk about what happened."
"There's nothing to talk about," Dane stated, leaning back in his chair. "Do you two have any idea how much you've embarrassed me? 'Give him a chance, Dane, we promise he won't let you down.' Well, he did let me down." Dane looked at Takada, shaking his head in disappointment. "I thought I could count on you, Kiyomi."
Takada looked at Nate helplessly. Nate, for his part, was pissed and strangely, none of his anger was directed at Takada. "Dane," He grit out, "Everyone has fucked up at some point. I've seen celebrities bigger than Mihael fumble on stage before. You're being incredibly unfair to my client."
"You see, when celebrities screw up, it's alright, because they have fans and fans understand," Dane argued. "Your client, I'm sorry to say, wasn't in a position to screw up. What if he can't perform? I have no backup performer, because I relied solely on your client."
Nate had to resist the urge to snap at the man. Calmly, he said, "He will perform. Just hold the crowd for ten minutes, and I assure you, my client will be ready to perform. This is just a big crowd for him, and it's new to him."
Dane didn't look convinced. Nate shot a look at Takada, staring meaningfully at her. Takada nodded and looked at Dane. "Listen," She began, "Nate's right. You said you trust my judgment, right? I'm telling you, once Mihael performs, you're going to love him."
"Your view might be biased. You know, since he's your boyfriend." Dane pointed out.
Takada rolled her eyes and patted Nate's arm gently. "Well, Nate's his agent. He isn't his boyfriend. He has no reason to be biased."
Nate cleared his throat. "She's right. Mihael certainly isn't my boyfriend." Nate struggled to keep his face neutral. Dane still looked uncertain and so Nate added, "Besides, you just said you have no backup performers. You have no choice but to let Mihael play."
"Fine," Dane relented, standing up. "Make sure he's ready in ten minutes." With that, he walked over to the stage, grabbing hold of the mic. Clearing his throat once, Dane spoke directly into it. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I understand that there's been a slight inconvenience in regards to our performer. I just wanted to say that I'd appreciate it if you all could hold out for another ten minutes, and our performer, Mihael Keehl, will be ready to perform. Thank you so much for your patience." With that out of the way, Dane stepped off the stage. He stared pointedly at Nate and Takada, then stalked off to the bar.
Nate and Takada exchanged similar looks of relief. Takada smiled and grabbed Nate's arm, squeezing lightly. "Thank you so much, Nate!"
Nate pulled his arm out of her grip. "You don't have to thank for me anything. I just did my job."
-x-
This time, when Mihael got on stage, Nate was amongst the crowd. He decided he could wait through one song, and then he'd go back to Robert Fischer, the man Nate had momentarily forgotten about. Nate's attention was pinned entirely to the stage, ignoring everyone else around him. He ignored Takada, who was standing just beside him, a wide grin on her face. Nate just wanted to pretend, he just wanted to pretend that it was him Mihael would seek out, and no one else. Nate knew that if he stood beside Takada, Mihael's gaze would fall on him, even if it was for a split second. A second was enough.
Mihael looked at him. Nate's lips twitched. He nodded his head in encouragement. Mihael smiled at him, acknowledging. Mihael's gaze shifted then, and Nate awkwardly looked down to his feet. He got what he'd wanted, it should've been enough. But it wasn't, it wasn't and Nate hated that it wasn't enough. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked the screen. There were three missed calls, and two text messages from Robert. Nate swore softly, opening the latest message.
'Nate, come on man, at least answer my calls. Look, I got sick of waiting out there by myself, and people were starting to recognize me, so I decided to leave. I'm going to some other night club. I'll talk to my manager and let you know what she says. Cya. Oh, and good luck to your client.'
Nate sighed, feeling only marginally guilty. But then he heard Mihael begin to sing, and even that slight guilt he did feel vanished entirely. Nate typed out a quick response to Robert. 'Thanks, Robert. Mihael needed me, so I had to go back in.' He then stuffed his phone back into his pocket, looking up at Mihael once more.
And with a sudden leap of his heart, Nate realized that Mihael was looking straight at him, and he continued to, for the duration of his performance. He never once looked at Takada.
-x-
Nate, Takada, Matt and Linda were waiting for Mihael at a table when he was finally done with his performance. There was light chatter at the table which Nate had politely excused himself from. Instead, he looked around the cafe, waiting for Mihael to show up. Nate just wanted to congratulate him on a good performance and then he could be on his way, go home and spend the remainder of the night, just thinking. It would've been one thing if it was just him and Mihael. Nate would probably have wanted to spend more time outside then, but this wasn't just Mihael. This was Mihael and his girlfriend and Mihael's best friend and his girlfriend. Nate didn't fit in here.
"Nate, what will you drink?" Matt, who'd just gotten up from his seat, broke Nate out of his thoughts. Nate glanced up at him in question. "I was just gonna go get some."
"Nothing," Nate answered. "I'm just waiting for Mihael to show up, and then I'll be leaving."
Matt shrugged and headed for the bar. Linda looked at Nate and smiled politely. "I think you should stay, hang out with us. I'm sure Mihael would like that, too." She offered. Takada nodded in agreement.
Nate coughed awkwardly and shook his head. "No, I'd rather not."
"What would you rather not?" Mihael's voice came through. He stood just behind Nate's chair, hands resting casually on the back. Nate surreptitiously pushed closer to the back, and felt Mihael's fingertips brush his shoulders slightly.
"We were asking Nate to have a few drinks with us," Linda informed Mihael.
Mihael let out a laugh, stepping closer to the chair. He casually rested his hands on Nate's shoulders, rubbing them softly. Nate's breath hitched. "Nate probably shouldn't drink," Mihael said, still laughing. "Otherwise, I'm going to have to drop him home, again."
"Nate's a grown man," Linda argued. "I'm sure he can handle his drinks." Linda then looked over her shoulder, presumably at Matt, and frowned. "Unlike Matt."
Nate abruptly stood up, forcing Mihael to take a step back. He turned around and faced Mihael fully. He stuck his hand out to him. "You were good tonight."
Mihael shook his head, running his fingers through his hair, easing out the tangles in them. Nate followed the movement carefully. "I sucked ass tonight," Mihael said.
Nate frowned. "No, you didn't. You were good."
Mihael smiled, bringing his hand out and shaking Nate's lightly. "Thank you, Nate."
Nate stood there a moment longer, expecting something else. Something more. When Mihael just stared at him, smile still intact, Nate realized that there was going to be nothing more. Matt had returned with drinks, and he'd set them down on the table. Mihael was probably just waiting for Nate to leave, so he could go ahead and join his friends. Nate decided to leave him to it, and so he turned around in order to face the rest of them. "I'll take my leave," He announced, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Nice to meet you all."
"You sure you don't want to hang around?" Matt asked.
Nate shook his head. "I'm sure." He then looked at Mihael, bid goodbye to him and walked out of the cafe.
-x-
Nate was just short of reaching his car when he heard someone call out to him from a distance. Turning around, he saw Mihael running up to him, waving his hand out. He stopped just in front of Nate, panting slightly.
"You have a hearing problem," Mihael complained, still trying to catch his breath. "I've been calling out to you for the past few minutes."
"I...I'm sorry?" Nate said. "I thought you were inside, with your friends."
"I'll be going in," Mihael clarified, "But I just figured I'd walk you to your car." Nate noticed, to his surprise and considerable pleasure, that Mihael's cheeks had turned pink.
Nate pointed at a car just a few feet away. "My car's right there, though."
"Might as well walk with you, since I'm here already," Mihael said, shrugging. He began walking, while Nate remained rooted in place. When he realized Nate wasn't, in fact, walking beside him, Mihael turned around and added, impatiently, "What are you stopping there for?"
Nate quickly shook his head and caught up to Mihael. They walked in silence, Nate occasionally glancing over at Mihael's face, who seemed to be staring straight ahead. "Mihael –," Nate began, but was cut off by Mihael stopping abruptly in his tracks and rounding on Nate.
"Listen, Nate," Mihael started, then stopped. He looked around awkwardly, before settling his gaze on Nate once more. "I...uh...who's Robert?"
Nate, who'd been staring expectantly at Mihael, was caught off guard by the seemingly random question. "Robert Fischer?" He asked, eyebrows furrowing. Mihael nodded. "He used to be a client. Why?"
"Nothing, nothing." Mihael said, waving his hand around. He pointed at Nate's car, which was just two cars down. "Your car's right there."
Nate continued staring at Mihael, trying to decipher his expression. Nate liked to think that he was good at it, but Mihael's face conveyed a lot at once, and so it was hard to distinguish every single expression and what its possible meaning could have been. And so, despite the fact that there were other things Nate would've liked to say, like, 'Why did it bother you that I went outside with Robert,' or 'Why did you have to follow me outside and walk me to my car,' all he said, instead, was, "Yes, my car's right there."
No one moved, though. An awkward silence descended between the two, Nate shifting uncomfortably on his feet, and Mihael fidgeting with his hands. Then, just when Nate decided that he needed to just leave already, Mihael leaned forward and pulled Nate into a tight hug. Nate froze momentarily, Mihael's arms wrapping themselves around his shoulders. Nate felt Mihael's face bury itself into his hair, exhaling softly into his ear. Nate closed his eyes, his own arms circling Mihael's waist.
Nate had hugged Mihael a few times before this, but none of those felt as intimate and physically charged as this one. Nate could feel Mihael's hold tightening, almost desperate in its action, and that only served to confuse him. His confusion, however, didn't stop him from sliding his own arms up Mihael's back, pulling him closer, the distance between the lower half of their bodies slowly diminishing. Nate had to be careful, though. He needed to make sure there was a respectable distance between them, because it would be awfully easy for a seemingly innocent hug to turn entirely inappropriate. It didn't matter that there were no people around this driveway, and so there would be no witnesses. Mihael had a girlfriend, and most importantly, Mihael had no idea how Nate felt about him. It would be wrong to take advantage of what was quite possibly a hug of gratitude, and nothing more.
Regretfully, Nate slowly pulled away from the hug, his arms slowly sliding back down to rest lightly on Mihael's hips. Mihael moved his face away from Nate's hair, pulling back slightly and staring at Nate's face. He didn't drop his arms from around Nate's neck. "Thank you." He whispered.
Nate nodded, swallowing thickly.
Mihael dropped his arms then, stepping out of Nate's embrace entirely. "Goodnight, Nate." And without another word, Mihael turned around and walked away, breaking into a run once he was a little distance away.
Nate continued staring after Mihael a moment longer, before finally regaining his senses and heading for his car.
Nate was in a relatively good mood when he walked into work the next day. He even smiled politely and nodded at Misa in greeting as he made his way over to the elevators. Misa stared dumbly at him for a moment, before regaining her composure enough to smile and say, "Good Morning, Nate."
Nate stopped in front of the elevator doors, waiting for it to arrive. He tapped his feet impatiently, pulling his phone out of his pocket and staring expectantly at the screen. There was absolutely nothing new. Nate sighed, stuffing the phone back into his pocket. The elevator finally arrived, the doors opening.
Nate blindly walked in, not particularly stopping to let the elevator's current occupants file out, and so he ended up bumping into a very feminine body. Nate immediately backed away, staring at the woman he'd just unceremoniously bumped into.
Sayu Yagami stood in front of him, an awkward smile on her face. Nate cleared his throat, looking down to his feet. "I'm sorry." He said. He then looked over her shoulder, at Light and L standing behind her, both of them smiling in amusement. Nate scowled and quickly stepped out of the elevator, giving them space to get out.
"Thanks," Sayu said as she stepped out, smiling at Nate. Nate pointedly ignored her.
"You need to be a bit more patient, Nate," Light teased, stepping out of the elevator, L following behind him.
"Thanks for the unsolicited advice," Nate snapped, walking into the elevator. He went to close the doors when L stopped him, sticking his foot in between the closing doors. Nate narrowed his eyes at L.
"Be nice," L said, refusing to move his foot away. "Light was just teasing."
"I don't like being teased," Nate argued, glaring at Light. "Especially not by someone like him."
"Nate," L warned, staring meaningfully at him.
Light rested his palm on L's shoulder, shaking his head lightly. "It's fine, L." He said, sounding unconcerned. "I can't help it if he still holds a grudge against me." Light then gestured at Sayu, who'd been standing off to the side, staring at her phone awkwardly and added, "As long as he doesn't act like an ass to her."
Nate frowned. "I'm not an ass to anyone. Especially not to Sayu Yagami. I barely even see her."
Light laughed, his hand still on L's shoulder. L didn't seem to mind, and that seemed to bother Nate for unexplainable reasons. "You're going to see a lot more of Sayu," Light said. Nate raised his brows questioningly. "I'm handing her over to LTA."
"What?" Nate exclaimed, glancing at Sayu. She refused to meet his gaze. "Is this true?"
Sayu nodded, still not looking at Nate. That didn't matter to Nate, for he'd already turned his gaze back to Light. "Why aren't you representing her anymore?" He asked.
Light shrugged, appearing nonchalant. "I wanted to focus on some other clients. L was willing to represent Sayu, so it worked out."
Nate stared accusingly at L. "Who do you plan to have as her agent?"
L looked thoughtful. "I haven't decided yet." A slow smile crept across his face. "I'm probably not considering you, Nate. You have your client, and you're doing a good job with him. I don't want to take that away from you."
Nate's cheeks turned pink. "That's...that's not…" He shook his head and tried once again. "As an agent, I'm more than capable of handling more clients."
"Whoever I assign to Sayu is going to have to make her the priority. You obviously like Mihael, and I'm sure you'd want to make him your priority, wouldn't you?" L said, his smile still intact. Nate wanted to punch that smile off his face.
"It's nothing like that," Nate argued. "I know how to prioritize every single one of my clients."
"Nate," L sighed, "Do you want me to assign you as Sayu's agent?"
At this, Sayu looked up from her phone, eyes widening at Nate. "I never said that," he said, a little too defensively. "Now, can you please move your leg so I can go do some work?" As if to emphasize his impatience, Nate nudged L's foot with his own.
L did not budge.. "No," he said, shaking his head. "We're all going out to eat, and I'd like for you to join, as well."
Nate glared at L. "No, I have work."
"This is work," L insisted, dropping his foot and grabbing Nate's arm. "Halle Lidner is going to join us, too."
Nate's ears perked up at the mention of Halle's name. "She is?"
"Yes," L confirmed, dragging Nate out of the elevator. "Like I said, this could be work for you."
"Alright," Nate snapped, pulling his hand out of L's grip. "I can walk on my own."
L shrugged and walked ahead with Light. Slowly, Nate followed after them, still ignoring Sayu as she fell in step beside him.
-x-
Halle Lidner was a confident woman, much like the rest of the women Nate had come into contact with in his life. She had an air of authority to her, and rightfully so, for she was the head of the most sought after recording company. Nate had worked with her a few times, for some of his previous clients, and now here he was again, hoping for the same for Mihael.
Nate was also a realist, and so he was fully prepared for Halle to turn him down, not harshly, but firm all the same. Still, what kind of agent would he be if he didn't even try?
Halle sat at a table, dressed formally. She was casually flipping through the menu when Nate, L, Light and Sayu joined her. She smiled up at them, and then set her menu aside. Standing up, she shook hands with each one of them, with a polite, "Nice to meet you."
Once they were all seated, Halle looked at Nate. "So, Nate, it's been a while since I heard from you."
Nate nodded politely. "I didn't particularly have clients worthy enough to bring to your attention, unfortunately."
"That's a pity," Halle commented lightly, leaning back against her chair. She then directed her attention to Light. "How about you, Light? I believe there's a reason we scheduled this brunch, didn't we?"
Before Light could really answer, Nate cut him off. "I actually wanted to talk to you about my client, Miss Lidner. If you wouldn't mind?" Halle nodded. "Can we go outside?"
Halle stood up, as did Nate, both excusing themselves from the rest. Halle stopped just outside the restaurant, her heeled foot tapping lightly on the pavement. Not particularly a show of impatience, Nate was certain, yet he hurried on with whatever it was he had to say anyway, before Halle decided she wasn't interested in listening to him anymore. "So, about my client."
"Yes, about your client," Halle said, "What's his name?"
"Mihael Keehl," Nate answered promptly.
"Mihael Keehl," Halle repeated, mostly to herself. "Never heard of him."
"He recently did a gig at Hard Rock," Nate informed. "People loved him. He's been doing gigs for the past four-five months now, and he's developed a considerable fan base in that time. He's a very talented man. If there is anyone who deserves to have an album out, it's him."
Halle stared at Nate for a moment, her lips twitching in amusement. "You say that about all your clients, Nate."
"Except, I absolutely mean it for Mihael. And besides, when have I ever disappointed?"
Halle considered this for a long moment. At length, she said, "Alright. I have nothing scheduled for after lunch, so why don't you just come in with your client? We can have a little chat, discuss details and you can also give me your client's demo, so I can listen to it."
"I have his demo with me right now," Nate said quickly, "It's inside, in my bag."
Halle laughed out loud. "Alright, just hand it over to me once we finish brunch. I'll listen to it. I might have a meeting immediately after brunch, but I'm free for half an hour after that. You can come by then."
Nate nodded in acknowledgment. Halle tilted her head towards the restaurant entrance. "Shall we go back inside?" She asked. "Or is there anything else?"
"Nothing else," Nate responded, moving to pull the door open. He stood to the side, waiting for Halle to walk through. Rolling her eyes, Halle walked in, Nate following behind her, allowing himself a small, satisfied smile.
-x-
It turned out, the main purpose for the brunch with Halle Lidner had been for Light to talk to her about his sister, Sayu, but each time Light made an attempt to speak to Halle, Nate had jumped in and slipped Mihael into the conversation, making Light shoot annoyed glances at him. Nate pretended not to notice, instead casually pecked at his food.
By the time brunch was finished and Halle was getting ready to leave, Light had barely managed to get in a word. And so, in a last ditch effort, Light politely offered to walk Halle back to her car. Light then looked at Nate warily, waiting for him to ruin this for him, too. Nate simply shrugged, pulling his cellphone out and scrolling through it.
"Nate, come by the studio in an hour. Please don't be late." Halle told him, adjusting her coat. She patted the pockets, then sifted through her handbag. Finally, she looked back up at Nate and asked, "Did you give me the CD?"
Nate shook his head, reaching into the small office bag he had slung around his shoulder and pulled out a CD. He handed it over to Halle. "There it is. I'll see you in an hour, Miss Lidner."
With a nod of her head, Halle walked out of the restaurant, Light trailing after her, increasing his strides in order to catch up to her. L, Sayu and Nate stood by the table, each unsure of what to do. Sayu looked around the restaurant awkwardly, smiling politely at two young girls who were blatantly staring at her. Nate frowned, not necessarily at Sayu's politeness, but more at the girls' rudeness.
"Nate, what was that about?" L finally broke the silence, his voice stern.
Nate played dumb. "What do you mean?"
"We'd scheduled this brunch for Light to talk to Halle about Sayu's record deal," L explained. "You know how busy that lady is. Why didn't you let Light talk to her?"
"But he is talking to her," Nate pointed out, "He's walking her to her car, isn't he?"
"You know what I meant," L said shortly. "Nate, you need to get over whatever grudges you're holding against Light. I'm over it, and you should be, too."
"Light Yagami isn't even important enough for me to hold a grudge against," Nate snapped, glowering at L. "You told me this was work, and you were right. It was. The opportunity was right there, and so I took it."
"You don't do it at the cost of stealing someone else's opportunity, Nate."
"That's funny, considering that's exactly what Light Yagami does," Nate remarked.
L let out a frustrated sigh. "I give up," he finally relented. "There is no reasoning with you."
Nate smirked. "You always knew that." A beat, then, "I should get going. I need to get Mihael to the studio within the next…" Nate glanced down at his phone screen, then continued, "Forty five minutes."
"You can just ask him to meet you there," L suggested.
Nate shook his head. "I don't trust him to be on time. I mean, he's not disappointed so far, but this is quite important." And besides, Nate just really wanted to see Mihael in his apartment, strange as it sounded. He liked the thought of seeing Mihael in a setting he hadn't seen him in before, and Nate imagined Mihael would be a different person at home. He'd be a lot more relaxed, unconcerned by his appearance. It was something Nate really really wanted to see.
And judging by the sly smile on his face, L seemed to understand Nate's need quite perfectly. "Alright, go on then." He said. "I'll drop Sayu back home."
Nate didn't have to be told twice. With a quick goodbye to both L and Sayu, Nate was out of there. He hurriedly walked over to where his car was parked. Once at his car, Nate wasted no time, instead sat inside and began driving. He knew he should probably call Mihael before he just landed up at his apartment, unannounced but Nate thought that'd be an unnecessary waste of time. There was barely enough time for Nate to make it to Mihael's apartment, get him out, convince him to ride in Nate's car instead of bringing out his motorbike, and then finally drive to the studio.
And so Nate continued driving, until he reached Mihael's apartment building. It was strange, that despite having been here just once, Nate remembered exactly where it was. Vaguely, Nate thought that this was probably creepy. Then he dismissed the thought, attributing it instead to his superior memory skills. He quickly parked his car, got out and entered the building, quickly spotting Mihael's apartment.
Once at the door, Nate hesitated. He knew he was supposed to knock, of course. He couldn't just walk right in. That would be extremely rude, and if Mihael were to do that to Nate, Nate would be annoyed. So he knocked. And he waited. Three minutes passed, and there was no response. Nate knocked again. He waited one more minute. When there was no response, Nate tried turning the knob. The door opened easily. Must be in the shower, no harm done if I just wait in the living room, Nate reasoned, stepping inside tentatively and gently closing the door behind him. The living room was completely empty. Nate debated between sitting on the couch, patiently waiting until someone stepped out, and going to the bedroom and knocking on the door, making his presence known. He ended up picking the latter.
When Nate reached the bedroom door, he found himself in the same predicament as before. There was no response to his knocks, but Nate was positive there was someone inside. He could hear sounds. They were muffled, but they were sounds all the same. Nate decided to try his luck and slowly turned the knob. It wasn't locked. Taking a deep breath, Nate opened the door in one swift motion, losing control over the knob and letting the door bang loudly against the wall.
But Nate wasn't concerned by that. He stood in the doorway, staring open mouthed and wide eyed at the sight that met him.
In front of him, on the bed, was Mihael, naked, while Kiyomi Takada laid on top of him, just as naked, one of her hands loosely fisted around a certain part of Mihael's anatomy that Nate was trying very hard not to stare at. They both looked at Nate in horrified silence.
Nate, for his part, stood frozen in place. Takada made desperate attempts to cover herself up, reaching her hand behind and pulling the covers over herself and Mihael as best as she could. It didn't really help much, and so Takada simply buried her face into Mihael's chest, refusing to look at Nate anymore.
Nate was least concerned about what she did, or the fact that she was naked. He couldn't stop staring at Mihael, naked in front of him, and his piercing gaze on Nate's face, the surprise not fading. Nate struggled to keep his eyes fixated on Mihael's face, trying to to come up with something to say. But he couldn't think of anything, and his eyes kept slipping down, to very inappropriate places. Nate saw something twitch under the sheet, but he was almost certain it was just Takada's hand. But when he dragged his gaze back to Mihael's face, he noted that Mihael had looked away. Was he embarrassed about something Nate had seen?
Of course he was, Nate had to tell himself. He's naked, and you're just staring at him. Say something, Nate! Nate was aware that his mouth had gone dry, and that swallowing hurt, but he finally managed a choked, "I'm sorry. I'll just wait in the living room while you two...get dressed."
"That would be great," Mihael finally said, eyes meeting Nate's once more. Nate nodded and turned around, slowly closing the door behind him and obediently waiting in the living room, the image of Mihael, naked, not quite fading from his mind.
a/n: feedback is appreciated :)
