Yeah…. This chappie is random I know. XD bear with my as I try to get the feel of the story again.
If you want to know what shuffling looks like, I highly recommend looking up the video clip of the song listed below.
Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO
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Asami looked at his phone, irritated that Akihito still hung up on him all the time, and irritated at that word, salami.
He could guess who'd come up with that pesky nickname, one black haired DJ with the knack of pissing Asami off, Koga, that's who.
He did plan to tell Akihito he'd finished work early and was on his way home, but hearing that he was going out with Sudou, no Shuu Akihito said, had stunned Asami into not saying anything, and then Akihito hung up.
Since when were Akihito and his employee on a first name basis?
He quelled his irrational thoughts that always seemed to rear their ugly head on any matters to do with Akihito, Akihito was right about one thing, Asami had 'possession issues', as Akihito put it.
It had already gotten in the way of Akihito's work, as Asami promised it wouldn't.
In the end Asami had to accept that their schedules would conflict, and wouldn't be able to be there for every one of Akihito's gigs.
Telling Akihito he couldn't play because Asami couldn't get out of a business summit to watch, resulted in a fight that was something Asami wouldn't particularly like to go through again.
Asami had been vehement that Akihito couldn't play, not able to accept the possibility of something going wrong while he wasn't there, Akihito and his persona Midnight Kid, were trouble magnets.
Akihito though, had stormed from the apartment, throwing Asami's promises of the crime lord not getting in the way of Akihito's work back in his face, using that word 'possession' again, and had simply disappeared for a few days, ignoring all calls and escaping his men with an ease that made Asami proud despite the situation.
In the end, Asami sent him a message saying that he could play, and Akihito came sulking back to the penthouse.
The make up sex that followed nearly made up for the worry that Asami felt for the three days in Akihito's absence, almost.
The gig without Asami there went off without a hitch, nothing went wrong, forcing Asami to get over the fact that he simply couldn't be there for them all, and that he didn't need to be there for them all.
Everything since then had been fine, though every time Akihito had a gig without Asami, the golden eyed man had to reign himself in, which is something he was doing right now.
Akihito was sure to fly off the handle if Asami made him come home from his night out, then what would be the point of spending his night off with the blonde if he was going to be hissy all night.
Plus he was sure, even if Asami gave him the option, that Akihito would rather spend the night out with Sudou of all people, than stay at home with Asami.
Oh well, looks like Asami would be spending the night alone until Akihito came home, he didn't mind, he could settle in his recliner with a decanter of whiskey and watch the crime channel, it was always amusing to watch the police flounder around, not even close to solving some of the cases presented to them. Idiots.
He didn't get to watch the crime channel with Akihito around, the DJ always found his amused reactions offensive, justice was one thing the pair still couldn't agree on, even if Akihito had admitted to his face that Asami wasn't as evil as what the blonde first thought.
He took a long thoughtful drag on his Dunhill, coming out of his thoughts as Kirishima pulled into the underground parking lot beneath his building, noticing the vacant park where Akihito's new BMW normally sat. Koga had a fine taste in vehicles at least.
"Takaba is not in tonight, Asami sama?" his secretary questioned as he opened the door for Asami to step out.
"No, he is out with Sudou." Asami replied, impassive.
Kirishima stopped dead, "Did I just mishear you boss?"
"No, you didn't."
Kirishima's mouth opened, then shut again. How many more surprises did that brat have up his sleeve?
"Would you like to have Suoh retrieve him, Asami sama?" he finally asked, taking his phone out to text the behemoth, expecting Asami to give the order.
"It's fine, just have men on him as usual to make sure he follows the rules, if he plays up, which he most likely will, then you can bring him to me. Fufu." Asami very much hoped Akihito played up tonight, then it would give Asami a reason to make him come home.
Kirishima openly cringed as he saw the sadistic glean in his boss's eye, and hoped that for Takaba's sake, the boy was good tonight, because that look never meant good things.
.
Akihito rocked up to Sudou's apartment complex and parked his car before making his way into the building complex and catching the elevator to his floor, he'd been a couple of times already, so knew his way to Sudou's front door by now. It was an upscale block of apartments in Azabu, close to the other club Sudou managed for Asami, Dracaena.
He'd already text Sudou that he was on his way up, so he didn't have to wait very long for the model turned manager to answer the door, in just his briefs of all things.
"…. You're not dressed yet?" Akihito deadpanned as he let himself into the apartment.
Sudou gave Akihito a pout, "What should I wear, Akihito?" he whined, walking to his bedroom's walk in wardrobe.
Akihito had seen Shuu shirtless only once before, so he tried not to gawk as much as he did the first time, modesty and Sudou Shuu didn't belong in the same sentence, and for good reason.
Asami would have a fucking fit if Akihito ever so much as implied that he thought Sudou was good looking. No where near as handsome and godlike and just… disgustingly attractive as Asami,(not that he would ever even say that to Asami either) but Shuu hadn't been a model for nothing.
"Anything gosh, you could wear a fucking sack and you'd still look fine." Akihito said gruffly as he sat down on Sudou's bed.
"….You're just saying that so I'll hurry up. It's fine for you, you don't care what you look like." Sudou mocked his dress sense all the time still.
"Oho, so I can wear this get up as a DJ, but when we're in public as friends, it's not cool? Fuck you too." Akihito flipped Sudou a sarcastic middle finger, "No, that shirt is ugly." Akihito imitated Sudou's whiny voice as the blonde held up a shirt for Akihito to comment on.
"Oh shut up, you wouldn't know a good shirt if it hit you in the face. Why did I even bother asking you?" Sudou threw the shirt on anyway, a plain black, slim fit dress shirt, one that hugged his torso and tapered his figure perfectly. Okay, so maybe it wasn't an ugly shirt.
"Just hurry up or we're gonna be late to the thing that you invited me too."
"You don't know much about attending these things as a guest do you? And to think you're some hot shot DJ…" Sudou sighed as he pulled on some pants at last, he'd gone for more casual bootleg jeans, with some ankle dress shoes.
He still couldn't understand why Akihito didn't want to be famous, still so intent on keeping his identity a secret.
"I told you Shuu, I don't want people to know me, I just want to make music!" Akihito read his thoughts. "Plus it would make things more difficult for that controlling bastard." Akihito huffed as he followed Shuu from the bedroom back out to the lounge.
"I still can't believe you talk to him like that." Sudou sighed again.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm not gonna give him the satisfaction of all that 'Asami sama' bullshit that you guys do. You ready now? It's been ages since I've seen Koga play and I'm not on stage next to him, so let's go!" the slightly shorter blonde picked his keys up and made his way to the car with Sudou, over their bickering about clothing and talking about the night ahead instead.
They parked in spaces for guests at the parking complex and chose to walk to the club, only a couple hundred meters down the busy club lined street, there were a lot of people lined up waiting to get in, Akihito could hear the thump of music outside, making his skin tingle with anticipation. Koga always put on a fucking good show, he wasn't Japans number 1 for no reason, this was a treat for Akihito, even if he wasn't allowed to dance…
Sudou let them straight up past the end of the line towards the doorman, ignoring the journalists that were snapping away, Akihito just hoped no one would pay attention long enough to them to recognize him with Sudou, he should be the one snapping photos right now, not the one being captured in people's viewfinder.
"Hey Takaba?!" dammit… Akihito cringed inwardly as he heard Mitarai's voice behind him.
There was no way out of this one, he turned awkwardly to wave a quick greeting.
"Hello, Mitarai." He said with disdain.
As usual, Mitarai ignored Akihito's tone and went straight for the kill, seeing Sudou standing next to him waiting. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"What's it look like?" Akihito quipped, fighting the urge not to get defensive. He had every right to be here since Sudou invited him.
Mitarai looked between the two blondes again, still unable to come up with a reason why Akihito would be with Sudou Shuu.
"That's what I'd like to know." He replied.
Sudou stepped in at this point, tired of standing around, he took Akihito by the wrist and said, "He's with me, hurry up Akihito, let's go."
"Says the one who was fussing around with clothes when I picked him up." Akihito shot back as he walked off, leaving a very interested and alarmed Mitarai behind them, wondering why and how Akihito could pick Sudou up when he only had a Vespa, the photographer decided that this mystery was much more important than taking photos of people arriving, he flashed the doorman his journalism pass and followed the unlikely pair into the club, keeping his distance.
Sudou and Akihito spent the next few hours mingling, avoiding the dance floor because the both knew the rules, Sudou spoke to a few friends and old work colleagues, and introduced Akihito as his photographer friend, it worked out well because Akihito got connections for more shoots with people he could never dream of working with.
Akihito had to fight back a fist pump, how could life be this fucking good to him? His photography would take off if he pulled off the work with these people, and he could DJ to his hearts content.
Shit, he could hug the model that was making it possible! But that would get them both killed, so he refrained from that suicidal action and just shook his shoulders in excitement.
There were a few friends of Akihito's and Koga's there, Kou and Takato got free entrance from Koga, also some from the music industry, close ones that knew Akihito's secret, which Akihito introduced Sudou too, so Sudou got some more connections for Asami's clubs, Fuse and Dracaena. It was a pretty beneficial night for the both of them.
Now though, they were leaning against a table together in the VIP section, Kou and Takato were dancing, lucky bastards, Akihtio was stuck watching Koga work up the crowd in only the way he could.
The pitch-black dance floor lit with bursts of rainbow colored lights as the bass rocked the building in a contagious rhythm.
He watched his friend's silhouette light up on stage as the body shifted across the stage, a sheen of sweat on his shoulders visible under the flashing lights behind him.
Akihito could kill that black haired bastard right now, he knew Akihito was here, and was playing all of Akihito's favorites in order to get him to dance.
He knew Asami's men would be lurking around somewhere, and was surprised Suoh wasn't here actually, that blonde juggernaut was normally the one to retrieve him on Akihito's nights out, maybe Asami was working in the underground tonight and needed Suoh with him? Yeah. That was probably it.
A little dancing wouldn't hurt if Suoh wasn't here, surely?
His decision was made for him as him as the music went quiet and Koga picked up the microphone to make an announcement,
"This one is for my good friend who is here tonight, he knows who he is, go crazy buddy! Who cares about Salami!"
He cursed Koga but also couldn't help laughing at their personal joke that no one in the club would know about, at the same time his favorite dance song began playing.
'Party rock is in the house tonight, everybody just have a good time.'
Who gives a shit! He was going to dance! He tapped Sudou on the shoulder and indicated with a jerk of his head that they should go dance, even in the dark he could see Sudou go pale. This was breaking the rules, Sudou really didn't want to get on Asami's bad side again after he'd kept the secret in the first place, but Akihito was having none of it.
Akihito just laughed, unheard over the blearing music, full of mischief now as he left Sudou scrambling after him towards the middle of the dance floor.
Just this one song, if he could dance for this one then he'd be happy if he was dragged back home after this. He'd still put up a fight though.
'And we gonna make you lose your mind. Everybody just have a good time'
He knew Koga was watching him, and he was watching his cheeky friend too as Koga held his hands above his head and clapped a beat, which the masses copied with their own percussive hands, soon the club was echoing with the sounds of people clapping as one to the music.
Akihito found Kou and Takato on the dance floor, choosing to join his friends who he knew would dance with him while Sudou stood in indecision, torn between what he knew would be serious fun, and serious danger at the same time….
'Party rock is in the house tonight, everybody just have a good time, and we gonna make you lose your mind.
We just wanna see you... shake that!'
The first chorus went up, and a circle was formed as people began shuffling in the middle, placing one foot in front of the other, and sliding it back while staying in the same place, showing off their fancy footwork one after another, some were doing stationary flips only to land in a striking pose and start dancing again after.
One man held himself upside down in a handstand, and shuffled with his hands, feet dancing up in the air. Photographers snapped photos from any vantage that they could as more people added to the tricks in the middle.
'Every day I'm shuffling.'
Sudou's fun side got the better of him, and he came to stand at the outside of the circle to watch the dancers show off their skill while the chorus still played out, electronic tones moving bodies in time with the music, as if attached to the limbs of the shufflers in the middle, pretending to be possessed by the music.
'Shuffling, shuffling'
The circle closed once the main beat was over and people began dancing as one seething mass of music crazed rave goers once more, Koga timing the lights to flare up in time with the surge of synth sirens. Akihito slapped Shuu on the back reassuringly before he jumped up and down with his hands in the air, rocking his head from side to side as he lost himself in a really good song.
Fucking Koga really knew how to pick them, he just hoped Asami's guards wouldn't interfere before Akihito got a turn in the middle of the circle.
'Put your hands up to the sound, to the sound'
The circle began forming again, and from the corner of his eye, Akihito could see some tall men making their way through the building, their eyes fixed in his direction, oh shit. He would try to make it in the circle so they couldn't catch him, they wouldn't go into the middle of a massive dance circle, would they?
Put your hands up!'
They were getting closer, each flash of lights they disappeared only to reappear closer.
Put your hands up!'
They kept creeping closer, moments away from the chorus, moments away from Akihito escaping into the middle of the dance circle.
Put your hands up!'
The lights flared and spot lights stayed lit on the empty circle in the middle of the floor as the main dance chorus hit, what Akihito had been waiting for. He stepped in, just out of reach of one of Asami's men's hands, which made to grab him at that moment.
Party rock is in the house tonight
Akihito took his chance to do something he hadn't done in years, he was rusty just like he'd been with DJing to start with, but he still had it.
He moved his feet with experienced ease, as he stomped one foot forward only to slide it back again, repeating with the other foot while his arms pumped in opposite motions.
Everybody just have a good time
Kou and Takato were in the circle with him, shuffling the same as him, all that was missing was Koga, but he was on stage so Akihito would have to make up for his friends absence.
And we gonna make you lose your mind
Everybody just have a good good good time
He stomped forward and swung his other leg up and behind him, making it look like the momentum was moving his body forward in a circle so that he ended up doing a handstand in the middle of the floor.
'Oh! Oh! Put your hands up'
He stayed perfectly still in his handstand, Kou and Takato stopping in perfect sync with him, making it look like the scene in the middle of the circle had been stopped at the push of a button.
'Oh! Oh! Put your hands up'
Cameras flashed as Akihito stayed on his hands, Kou was balanced on one foot half way through a shuffle, and Takato was crouching on his heels, moments from doing a small back flip.
'Every day I'm shuf-f-f-ling'
The music picked up its tempo again, Koga timed a massive flare of lights to illuminate the three dancers who'd captivated the entire club as Akihito brought his legs around in a sweeping motion, pivoting on one hand as he spun, eventually bringing his legs to the ground and bursting back up onto his feet at the same time his friends began moving.
Takato finished his flip, exploding into the air to spin in a tight circle before landing back on his feet mid shuffle, the transition flawless, well his friends weren't out of practice at least, because unlike Akihito, they had been allowed to go out dancing for the last few years, where as Akihito had not. Stupid Salami.
Kou acted like the spin of Akihito's legs had kicked him over, and pretended to fall on his back, only to roll his body like a worm on the floor and fly back up feet first, bringing his chest up behind him.
All three began shuffling again at almost the exact same time after their wee tricks, looking as if the play button had been pushed and the scene finally began to play again.
Woops and applause could be heard, as well as the flash of camera's that had captured the entire act as the three shuffled from the circle to make way for more people to go in and show what they were made of.
He found Sudou standing open mouthed on the edge of the circle, which was fair enough Akihito guessed, he hadn't done anything like that in fucking ages, not even Asami knew about his little dance tricks.
Thinking of Asami, he was sure he'd be tugged away by Asami's men the moment he was out of the circle, but they were no where to be seen. Huh? That was weird.
Oh fuck, maybe that meant Suoh was here. He could run from everyone else, but Suoh always bloody managed to catch him now, the big man had learnt all Akihito's tricks. He resigned himself to his fate, and decided to dance the song away until the giant eventually found him.
When the song ended and Suoh still hadn't turned up though, he was more than curious, so rather than stay on the dance floor and push his luck, he made his way through the thick crowd of people and back into the more quiet VIP section after saying goodbye to Kou and Takato, who were leaving now anyway.
Him and Sudou somehow got separated on the way back, so Akihito settled on a bar stool to wait for him to emerge, and who should show up while he was waiting, but Sakezaki. Great. Frog face slime ball.
"Why, what do we have here pet?" the man's hoarse voice sounded a little too close for comfort as he leant on the table and looked down on Akihito.
"I'd say it's nice to see you, but I can't due to the vomit that just came up in my mouth." Akihito replied, brimming with sarcasm.
That seemed to ruffle the man's ugly pubic like feathers, who bristled before giving him a sneer.
"So the kitten grew some claws huh? Where is your camera pretty boy? Aren't you here to snoop?" he began to take a seat when it was pulled out quickly from underneath him, and he landed on his ass, winding himself with the unexpected impact.
"What the fuck?" Sakazaki coughed as he got up, and turned to see Shuu looking at him with a smirk on his face. Akihito was laughing in his chair at Shuu's perfect timing.
"He's with me Sakezaki, leave him alone." Sudou admonished with a hint of his usual arrogance.
Frog face seemed to go into shock, he looked between the two, back and forth for a few moments before breaking into mirthless laughter.
"Is this actually fucking serious right now? You two are honest to god here together?"
"Yes, what of it?" Sudou snapped, placing an irritated hand on his hip.
Akihito had to give it to Shuu, when he wanted too, he could be quite intimidating, he'd found out first hand, but watching him put the slime ball in his place just added to his amusement.
"Oh this is just too good. You two all buddy buddy now, why-"
Sake-sleazeball's sneer was cut off as Sudou sighed and interrupted.
"Come on Akihito, we don't have to answer to Sakezaki."
Remembering why he came to sit down anyway, Akihito stood up, his skin fighting the urge not to crawl at how close he was to Sakezaki, "Righto, I'm hungry anyway, lets get some junk food before I take you home eh?"
"No junk, it's bad for my skin!" Sudou exclaimed as they began to walk away from an absolutely stupefied Sakezaki,.
"What the fuck, taking Sudou home?" he asked himself.
"One time won't kill you! Gosh, treat yourself after that fucking awesome move with the chair, haha."
Sakezaki watched the pair high five as Takaba commented on the stunt Sudou pulled with the chair, wondering how close the two really were for them to be laughing like that.
He sat down, trying to figure it out, when a journalist came up to him, evident by his camera and pass hanging around his neck.
"If you want information on anything it'll cost ya." He smirked at the shifty looking reporter. This one wasn't as cute as Takaba Akihito, that was for sure.
Mitarai looked at the door where Sudou and Takaba left, making sure he knew which direction they went before turning and asking his question.
"Do you know the relationship between Takaba Akihito and Sudou Shuu?" this wasn't part of his job tonight, but Akihito hanging out with someone like that was way to weird to not look into further.
Sakezaki chuckled as he realized the opportunity that'd been presented to him.
"You make sure a picture of them goes into the paper tomorrow with what I tell you, and I won't ask for anything else as payment."
Mitarai leaned forward curious, thinking about how he could make it happen, the shots he got of Takaba and the other two dancing would probably get a big spot for the clubs opening spread, he could might be able convince the editor to put a guest section in and put Takaba and Sudou in that.
"Alright, consider it done, now spill it." He said, confident.
Sakezaki bit back a smile as he lied in a convincing voice.
"They're dating, have been for a while now. That's all I got for you, follow them, I'm sure you'll find out more."
Mitarai stood shell shocked for a moment, unable to believe it, no way. That meant Takaba was gay, and also seeing a well-known model and club manager! He decided to do as the man said and follow them out to see if it really was true.
Sakezaki finally burst into laughter as he watched the photographer race out the door in hot pursuit of the random pair.
Oh, he was looking forward to seeing the paper tomorrow.
.
Kirishima sat in his home office, looking at the video he'd been sent of Takaba in the club on his phone.
He watched it 3 or 4 times to confirm that it was actually Takaba, and the guards hadn't just mistaken some random dancers for the brat.
But nope, it was the brat and his two friends in the middle of dance floor.
Kirishima's jaw dropped as he watched Akihito do a handstand on the tiny screen of his phone, his body stopping in mid air as if stopped in time.
Seriously, how many more surprises was the young man made of? Suoh was going to flip when he saw this. He didn't even know what Asami would do, Kirishima never knew what Asami was going to do when it came to Takaba Akihito anymore.
Coming back to his current problem, he understood the guard's predicament, the message had come through that they weren't sure whether to take Takaba in, because it wasn't exactly dancing the way Asami forbid it.
Kirishima wasn't even sure it was called dancing.
The secretary sat in his desk at home, mulling over what to do. He remembered that scary look on Asami's face when he dropped him at the condo, and told the guards to wait to see if the boy really did push the boundaries.
Even he wouldn't wish Takaba to go through what Asami would put him through if he broke the rules after that look.
The text came through that once that song was done, Akihito left the dance floor, and Kirishima couldn't help but exhale in relief, texting the man back to tell them to hold off and just keep watch instead of making the call to submit the boy to his boss's torture.
Takaba might keep them on their toes, but it didn't mean Kirishima and Suoh didn't get on with him, so Kirishima would to him this favor at least.
He would have to show Asami the video and ask about the rules for this kind of thing to be clear for next time.
It was everyone's night off tonight, so rather than consult Suoh or Asami about it now, he was sure there would be no harm in waiting until morning.
.
"Akihito! I didn't know you could dance like that!" Sudou said excitedly as they walked back to the car.
"Haha, I haven't in ages. Hey it's only natural that I can dance too, music and dancing go hand in hand." Akihito scratched his head shyly, feeling awkward with the fanatic look Sudou was giving him.
"But you can dance like that?!" Sudou pestered, walking backwards in front of him.
"It's no biggie, gosh. Want me to teach you?" Akihito asked as he fished his keys from his pocket, Sudou was so weird sometimes.
"Oh my god, would you?!" Sudou stopped dead, catching Akihito off guard as he walked into Sudou's chest.
"Umph, oi, don't just stop!" the DJ rubbed his cheek from here it collided with Sudou's chin.
"Sorry, I just.. what else can you do?!" Sudou asked, falling in beside Akihito, all the while looking at him intently on the way to the car.
"Ah this and that, you just come up with it on the spot mostly." He raised the remote to unlock the car, and Sudou's reply was cut off as the doors to the vehicle shut, blocking off any further conversation Mitarai could listen too.
The nosey photographer stood behind the concrete pillar as the car pulled out of the lot, Mitarai registering the car's make and model as he watched it leave.
That was a seriously expensive car that hadn't even been on the market for long, it must be Sudou's, Mitarai thought.
If Takaba was driving Sudou's car, they arrived together and they both were going home in the same vehicle together, it only meant one thing. Takaba Akihito really was dating Sudou Shuu like the man with the goatee said.
Part of his journalist's skepticism told him it wasn't possible, but there was no other explanation, it wasn't like Takaba was unattractive if he put some effort in, they could have met on a shoot or something.
Yes, they were dating.
This definitely had to go into the clubs spread in the paper tomorrow morning, knowing the editor, he would put it in anyway just to wind Takaba up into coming into the office, the blonde hadn't been coming in with many stories lately, and the office staff was starting wonder why.
It was clear to Mitarai now though, Takaba was too busy with his new boyfriend.