[G][Yamaki] Beautiful Eyes, lovely beyond compare - Finished Options

[Hwen]

Title: Beautiful Eyes, lovely beyond compare
Author: shy_hinata
Pairing: Yamaki
Rating: G
Summary: Yamapi reflects on things
Warnings: Fluff!
Notes: This is a songfic done to, and named after, the new NewS song 'Utsukushisugite Beautiful Eyes'. I did the translation, and for purposes of this story, I swapped the last two choruses. I'm a little bit loose about the timeline of some of the events, but the general order of things should roughly parallel events that actually happened up to the filming of the Kurosagi movie. The way I wrote it, it's supposed to be like him looking back on how they got to where they are, and the last section is the 'present'. I'm still experimenting with how best to convey that kind of idea, so sorry if the change of tense bothers you!

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Our encounter that day wasn't an accident
We were certain to meet, of this I'm sure

Tomohisa can still remember clearly the first time they met. It wasn't like in the movies, where a boy and girl's eyes lock from across a room and they are inexplicably drawn to each other. No, it wasn't like that at all. It wasn't romantic, and they barely even said two words to each other beyond the formal introductions. They were surrounded by staff and their handlers, but he can still remember the one time when they both looked up from the stacks of papers set before them. For the first time, he got a good look at her eyes. It couldn't have been more than a second before she shyly averted her gaze, but he knew in that instant there was something special about those eyes. Judging from the way everyone else was talking, it seemed he wasn't the only one who recognized Horikita Maki's future star power.

In your eyes is reflected all of my love

Filming for Nobuta wo Produce, he reflects, was a pretty fun time. Flapping his arms around, acting silly; being Akira reminded him of what he was like in high school, only exaggerated for TV purposes. It made him wonder about his co-star. Sometimes, she was so convincing as the withdrawn and enigmatic Nobuta, he caught himself assuming she was like that at her own school too. But then the director would yell "Cut!" and she'd smile at him, those eyes twinkling as she thanked him, bowing politely before going off-set. It wouldn't be until he filmed that scene, the one where Akira and Nobuta are in the ambulance together, before he realized the true power of her eyes. In the story, Akira's already come to the realization that he?? in love with Nobuta, but only expressed it through comedic devices interspersed here and there. This was to be one of the few times where Akira is to be serious about showing his feelings to her. The first few takes didn't go very well; she would flinch when he took her hand, or he'd forget a line here and here. But then their eyes met, and he could see it all there: Nobuta's feelings, Akira's feelings, all tangled up in that uncertain mess that is adolescent love. He couldn't even remember delivering his lines, but that was the take they ended up keeping.

Completely mine Beautiful Eyes
The most beautiful in the entire world
I completely love your Beautiful Eyes
I'll hold you close, and never let you go

After filming wrapped, Tomohisa went on tour with the rest of NewS. He didn?'t know it at the time, but this would be the last time they'd be touring for a while. Ryo would tease him, tell him that he seemed distracted and "ooh, is Yamapi thinking about a girl?!" He would punch his good friend who he'd pretty much grown up with in JE, and tell the Kansai native to get real. But the truth was that there was something he just couldn't shake. When he'd sleep, he'd see them - those eyes. He would wake up to Ryo laughing at him because he'd have his arms wrapped around his pillow. "You talk in your sleep, Yamapi!" His band-mate would announce in the bus. "Who's this girl with beautiful eyes? Or is it a boy?!" The bus would erupt with howls of laughter as he scowled.

All I can do is stare, each look growing more tender
In those wondrous eyes, I'm somehow caught in a trance
So, don't be sad because tears are beyond this moment

Not long after the tour, he was reunited with her for a new drama - Kurosagi. At the time he didn't think anything of it, but in retrospect he can recognize that it's rare to star opposite a particular actress multiple times, especially for unrelated series'. Tomohisa now knows that only spoke to the kind of chemistry they have, but at the time he was still too young and stupid to understand his own feelings, let alone consider hers. Filming was an intense affair, a stark contrast to the often bubbly atmosphere of Nobuta. As each day went by, he saw new sides to her, each of which seemed to become etched into his psyche. Maki was still cheerful, even clumsy at times - after all, who else could manage to rip her own skirt just from crouching? But when the cameras would roll, she'd fix her eyes on his in that searching way she had, and he would realize just how much Tsurara's character brought her out of her shell - or was it that she brought all of her honesty to Tsurara? One particular scene had remained imprinted on him: the one where Kurosaki walks into the restaurant to find Tsurara begging Katsuragi to stop selling information to the tortured young man. When he pulled her up from her place on the floor, he could see the tears of anguish in her eyes, and they were real. It had caught him off guard, and even today he doesn't know how he managed to keep his composure. They told him afterwards that the director hadn't intended for him to look at her so long, but somehow it seemed to work and they kept the cameras rolling. When he looked at his script to get ready for the next scene, he also realized that he was supposed to have a line somewhere in there too.

Tomohisa doesn't always have a good memory for specific conversations, but there is one in particular he can't forget. He and Maki were sitting on the side, wrapped up in towels after having been soaked by hoses providing the fake rain. "I don't get Kurosaki sometimes. It's so obvious that she likes him, and he likes her. Why doesn't he do something about that?!" That was the comment he had made to her as they were trying to regain some feeling in their fingers, and stop their constant shivering. There was a flash of something in her eyes as she looked at him before answering. "I don't know, Yamashita-san." Her eyes stayed fixed on his for a heartbeat longer before she bowed her head a little and told him she was going to get them some hot tea. He had thanked her, and as he watched her retreating back, he couldn't help but notice that his chest was feeling oddly tight, and his heart was beating a lot faster than it usually did.

His friends had started to notice it before he did. He was somehow talking more about her, and about the latest cute thing she managed to do while on set. Ryo later pulled him aside and asked him if he'd listened to himself lately. He was about to give some sort of sharp retort back when he realized that this was just Ryo trying to help him. When had he fallen so hard for this girl? And why was he only figuring it out now, when filming was almost over? "You should talk to her." That had been Ryo's advice. He hemmed and hawed over it, trying to get a grip on what he was feeling for this young girl - no, young woman, who could stare at him with guileless eyes and make him feel like she was the centre of his universe. And then everything came crashing down: NewS was going to be suspended until further notice. There would be no more tours, no more TV appearances with his band mates, no more anything. When it happened, he decided now wasn't the time for such silly things like feelings and crushes. He had to grow up, and look out for his career.

Your heart Beautiful Eyes
Unbearably lovely beyond compare
In my dreams I can see Beautiful Eyes
Never again will I let you go

It's funny how decisions you make seem like a good idea at the time. Tomohisa had said his good-byes to her on their last day of filming together, and figured that if he didn't see her anymore, his crush would pass. After all, that's all it was, right? Just a little crush brought on by the nature of the characters they had to play. He went on to write songs, make solo appearances, study, and quietly make appeals behind the scenes for NewS to be reinstated. He watched as she went on to other dramas and movies, appeared on magazine after magazine, and smiled to himself because wasn't it great that she was doing so well for herself. On the outside, he told Ryo that he was so over it, and the important thing right now was that he take responsibility as leader and get NewS back out there. It surprised him a little when Ryo didn't answer right away, and just looked at him before nodding silently. "What? What's that supposed to mean?" He had asked his best friend that question. "Only that," was Ryo's response. He had laughed, and chided his friend. "You're so weird sometimes, Ryo-chan." But in his sleep, he couldn't escape it, those hauntingly beautiful eyes. Eyes that would smile at him, cry with him. Eyes that somehow seemed to understand him. He'd find himself waking up reaching for this girl in his dreams, and feeling a distinct sense of loss when he realized that it had all been in his head.

This went on for months, but he kept on trying to deny that it meant anything. After all, things were finally starting to move in the right direction. There was talk that NewS could return for the Countdown Special, though without Uchi or Kusano. He told himself that his weird dreams were the product of all the stress, and now that this huge weight was lifted from his shoulders, they would stop. Only they didn't. One night after a long session at the office, he finally confided to Ryo what had been happening, and why was it he never seemed well rested? "That's easy. You miss her. Next time you see her, don't blow it again."

I??l hold you tight, and take you along with me
Since it?? the two of us we??l be just fine Baby no matter what the world is like

Ryo's words had hit him hard, and it took a while for him to come to terms with them. He would lie in bed and try to recall moments they had spent together, each time looking for any sort of hint as to what she might have thought of him. So many times he heard her say in interviews that she didn't see him as anything more than a senpai, that he didn't send her heart racing. And yet when he remembered the way she looked at him that time they talked on the set of Kurosagi, he couldn't shake the feeling there had been something more there. "But if she liked me, why didn't she say anything?" He whined to his friend over the phone. Ryo was off touring with Kanjani8, but thankfully only a phone call away. He could hear his friend leafing through a magazine. "Oi! Are you even listening to me?" Before he could go on a rant about how his friend should be helping him in his time of need, Ryo interjected. "Question 36: If you ever liked a friend, would you say anything to him? Answer: No. Friendship is something precious, so I wouldn't want to make things awkward for him." The silence on the line was broken only by the soft sound of pages closing one over the other. "Looks like you've got your answer right there in her interview with Myojo. Shoot. Sorry Yamapi. I gotta go now." That conversation left him feeling more confused than ever. On one hand, he knew better than to believe things said in an interview since they all had their company image to maintain. So maybe those things she'd said about not seeing him as anything more than a friend were just a cover? But what if they weren't? After all, Ryo seemed to think that what she'd said in this Q&A were genuine. How was he supposed to be able to tell what was real, and what was just for show? It would be a question he'd struggle long and hard with, and in the end, result in him still not making any moves.

Before he knew it, NewS was making their come-back and his work-load seemed to double. He never ended up calling her, but somehow fate managed to intervene. One day, he received an excited phone call from Toma. "I totally aced that audition! Things are looking really good for me to get that part!" And sure enough, Toma hadn't been wrong; his friend would soon be starring as Nakatsu Shuuichi in the drama version of Hana Kimi. The twist here was that he would be playing opposite the one and only Horikita Maki. "She's great to work with, Toma. I know you'll have a lot of fun." But somewhere deep inside, he felt a small pang of jealousy because he knew he wouldn't be the one who would see that fresh face day after day. "Hey Yamapi, why don't you come with me to the kick-off mixer? She mentioned to me that it's been a long time since she's seen you, and was wondering how you were. It'll be nice surprise for her, ne?"

If Tomohisa has to pick a turning point in his relationship with her, he would pick that party. Toma had managed to talk him into going, so he picked out something nice for the event - not too formal, not too casual, but stylish all the same. Toma had arched an eyebrow up at him when they met, but he merely shrugged and said that he had to maintain his image, right? He hadn't even had time to find out what the premise of the story was, and was almost flabbergasted at the number of male cast members. And in the center of it all, was her. Smiling politely, she made polite conversation with everyone, bowing and saying how she looked forward to working with them. Grinning, Toma had pulled him along towards her. "Hey Horikitty! I brought you a surprise! Ta dah!" The rather flashy introduction had left him feeling a little awkward, and he rubbed the back of his neck as if that would take the attention off of him. "Yamashita-san. It's good to see you again." Her words were polite, controlled, and every bit what would be expected of her. But he couldn't even hear any of them: he was too busy staring into her eyes. While her tone seemed to say one thing, her eyes seemed to say another, and it was just like it had been that time on the set. "You seem a bit busy right now, Horikita-san. I'll catch up with you a little later on?" He could already see the queue of boys waiting to get a chance to talk to her; it hardly seemed fair for him to monopolize her time, no matter how much he wanted to. "I would like that. Please be sure to find me before you have to go." And that's when he saw it: that flare of hope and a touch of longing that stole all his speech away. He nodded dumbly before stepping out of the way to let the next eager co-star have their chance at talking with her. The next few hours were spent catching up with Toma and being the representative of JE that he had been trained to be, but his gaze would seek her out with almost alarming frequency. Finally, it looked like she was going to get a moment to catch her breath, so he excused himself, grabbed two glasses of soda, and made a beeline towards her.
"Toma filled me in on the story. So you're going to have to pretend to be a boy?" He grinned at her as he handed her the glass of cola.
"Yup. So take a good look at this hair, because it'll all be gone as of tomorrow." She took a grateful sip as she fingered her hair, her expression almost a little wistful.
"Don't worry. You'll still be super cute." He swirled the ice cubes in his glass as he realized his own words, and cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment. "You're going to have such a great time working with all these guys."
"Maybe...but working with these guys won't be anything like working with you, Yamashita-kun." Her voice was quiet, and she couldn't even seem to look up from her glass, but he could see the light flush on her cheeks. And that was when he knew. When had Ryo gotten so good at figuring this sort of thing out?
"Hey, Maki-chan? Would...would it be okay if I text you sometimes?"
"...I'd like that, Yamashita-kun."
And even though there was a party raging around them, it felt to him like they were the only two people in the room.

Your heart Beautiful Eyes
Unbearably lovely beyond compare
In my dreams I can see Beautiful Eyes
Never again will I let you go

Their schedules were so busy and unforgiving that their clumsy courtship seemed doomed to remain on the screens of their cell phones. Neither of them had broached the topic of actually becoming a couple; they hadn't even said anything remotely like 'I like you' to each other. Sometimes it didn't feel like they had to, that it was an unspoken understanding between them, but other times things still felt nebulous. She once teased him, saying that his kiss with Masami looked like a hit-and-run. He teased her back, saying that her on-screen lip lock with Oguri Shun wasn't very good either, but sent a pouty emoticon face back to her when she revealed how many takes it took because she was so nervous about the whole thing. "Does it count as a first kiss if I had to do it for work?" That was the message she sent back to him, and he carefully considered his answer as he sat in the dressing room, getting ready for another appearance on Shonen Club. "Not if you don't want it to." As he hit 'send', it dawned on him that neither of them really had any claims on the other just yet, and why was that? He liked her didn't he? So why hadn't he said anything about it? Then again, why hadn't she said anything about it? The beep of his phone signaled the arrival of another of her messages. "Oh good." It was obvious she was racing off to yet another appointment, but that short little message somehow made him feel warm on the inside.

But those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it, and thinking back on it now, Tomohisa wishes he'd said something to her sooner. Just when he started feeling comfortable with his personal life, the rumors about his supposed relationship with Abiru Yuu surfaced. Suddenly every interview he did included that topic, little news articles would appear claiming to have seen them together, and things were getting so bad that Kitagawa himself had called Tomohisa in for a chat. Through all the stress of having to deal with the aftermath, it wasn't until he finally had a quiet weekend to himself did he notice that Maki had been messaging him less and less. He reasoned to himself that he had been busy, so she must've been going just as crazy. He caught her appearance on Cartoon, and she looked good. When Jin had told him that she would be appearing, he told his friend to make sure she was treated right. It made him smile when he noticed how Jin made sure that she won the Half and Half game in the end. She was obviously doing fine, so there was nothing to worry about, right? But then the messages stopped coming entirely, and he couldn't help feeling a little empty. "She's a pretty sensitive girl, y'know. Not nearly as confident as she looks," was what Toma had said while giving him a long and searching look. He promised his friend that he would talk to her as soon as he found the time.

Tomohisa can still remember it clearly. He was staring into her soft brown eyes, heart beating so fast that he wondered if it would leap out of his chest. "Maki-chan...." She was looking at him expectantly, and he could tell she was holding her breath. "I....I really like you..." The words seemed to tumble from his lips as he reached out to wrap her up in his arms. She seemed so tiny and delicate, but fit next to him perfectly, and a feeling of contentment washed over him. She was about to say something, when the loud blaring of his alarm clock woke him from his reverie. He groaned before sitting up and punching his pillow. Hard. All this time, he had so many chances to say those words to her, but never did for some reason or another. He realized that if he didn't do something soon, he'd risk losing her forever.

Completely mine Beautiful Eyes
The most beautiful in the entire world
I completely love your Beautiful Eyes
I??l hold you close, and never let you go

Ryo smacked him upside the head when he heard the whole story. "I told you not to blow it, didn't I?! I told you! God, you're such an idiot." And even after that chastising, he wound up not seeing her again until the filming of the Kurosagi movie. Their reunion was textbook - they greeted each other, bowed politely, and gave the usual "It's nice to be working with you again". And it was awkward to him. She had withdrawn behind the protective shell of her carefully crafted image, and as much as he hated to admit it, he had as well. Here was this young woman who had haunted his dreams, silently told him that she cared, and he was back to being polite with her.

Filming got off to a good start, though they had yet to shoot a scene together. Part of him was looking forward it, and part of him was dreading it. As they stepped onto the familiar set of the apartment complex, he gave her a slightly lopsided smile before moving to his place and getting ready. His stomach did somersaults, but before he could really think about whether he was ready or not, the director called action and the cameras were rolling. He needn't have worried. It was like it had always been with them - the instant chemistry and connection. And it all came down to her eyes again, and he understood why Tsurara was such a believable character. She poured herself into each word, each glance. When she stared at him, he could see just how much she wanted to be by his side, but didn't want to get in his way or keep him from following his own path. He was completely transfixed - that was how she had always felt about him, and she was just waiting for him all along.
"Yamashita-kun? Your line?" He blinked before sighing. "Sorry. I'm sorry. Can we try that again?"
They wound up shooting the scene three times before the director was satisfied. Before she could slip away, he reached out, his hand just brushing hers. "Um...Maki-chan? Can...can we talk later? Please?" He spoke quietly, not wanting others to overhear them. She stayed silent for what seemed like an eternity to him. "Of course, Yamashita-kun." It was just the smallest of movements, but their hands closed the distance between them, and he gave hers a gentle squeeze. No one around them noticed a thing, but to him, it felt like the entire world had changed. Later that evening, they stopped at a nearby cafe without attracting any suspicion; two co-stars having a bite to eat after filming was nothing unusual. He walked her home that night, wondering if he could find the courage to say the things his dream-world counterpart seemed to utter without hesitation. "M-Maki-chan?" They had stopped in front of her apartment, and he found himself struggling for the right words. "Um...I....I..." That's when he reached out and embraced her; for him, actions had always said more than words. He felt her hesitant arms slowly work their way to hug him back, and it was as if his heart would burst. "I...I like you too, Yamashita-kun."

I??l hold you close, and never let you go

They get very good at doing small, endearing things for each other without attracting any attention. She quietly has a hot drink and towel set aside for him after those rain-drenched scenes, and he often lays his jacket over her as she naps between takes. One night, he knocks gently on her dressing room door, knowing that she's waiting for him to finish his filming so they can leave together. Not hearing an answer, he slowly opens the door and peeks inside. He finds her squished up on the couch with a book in her lap, fast asleep. Locking the door behind him, he quietly lays down next to her, wrapping his arms around her warm body, a tired but contented sigh escaping his lips. He hears her murmur quietly before shifting to settle more comfortably in his arms. "Okaeri," is the only thing she says, but it speaks volumes to him. He places a gentle kiss on her cheek before closing his eyes. "Tadaima."

FIN

[anonymous]

WOW!!!!
r u serious!
OMG!
i love da end!
is dis actualli real!?
or juss a storie???!
i rellie liked it!!!

[rosevic87]

Awww Hwen that was really cuteeee :DDDDD

Makes me want to see Kurosagi even more now hahaha

HAha I love Yamaki ^^