Last day of production

They returned to Minato’s place together, since he lived closer to the venue. Shinya had been so curious to see what Minato’s room looked like for so long, but once they crossed the threshold, he couldn’t see anything but the man himself. Minato was much the same.

“Shinya…”

Minato wrapped himself around Shinya from behind the moment they had taken off their shoes. Shinya’s hands came up to hold Minato’s arms.

“Minato.”

“I want you so much.”

Shinya released a shaky breath.

“I don’t… I’ve never been with a man. But I liked touching you, and I want to…”

Shinya smiled into himself. Minato was always so self-assured. The way he had flirted with him at the beginning had spoken a different language. But he was just as unsure as Shinya. He turned around in Minato’s arms and gave him another kiss. Minato shivered, and Shinya could feel him hard against his leg.

“I’ll show you.”

Minato nodded. He took Shinya’s hand and led him wordlessly through his apartment, directly into his bedroom. Even though Shinya had little attention for anything but Minato’s back, he paused when he entered the bedroom.

“Are you… are you serious?”

“What?” Minato asked.

“That… are you a narcissist?”

Shinya pointed at a large picture on one of the walls, of Minato himself. It was one of the promotional photos of his first ever acting job—a series about a post-apocalyptic Japan. He had played a supporting character, the best friend of the main lead. He’d also died five episodes into the series.

“It’s just a reminder of my beginnings,” Minato said. “So I remember how grateful I was to receive this role, so I never take anything for granted. Like you.”

“Me?”

“You moved heaven and earth to make the drama for ‘Pink Secret’ happen. I wouldn’t even know how to begin writing a novel. It’s extraordinary. I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to be loved this much.”

Shinya’s eyes overflowed with tears. It was too much. Too much.

“Shinya?” Minato asked.

“It’s good, it’s all good. I’m just… you’re you and I’m… I’m…” he sobbed.

“Come here.”

They sat down on the edge of the bed and Minato held Shinya as he calmed down, stroking his hair.

“I haven’t had anyone come back to my apartment like this since I moved in,” Minato said. “When I invited you over, it might’ve sounded easy, but I thought about it for a long time.”

“What made you decide to do it?”

“The way you answered those people with such gentleness. That was one part of it.”

“Mhm.”

Shinya pressed their lips together and made Minato fall backwards. The kiss quickly deepened and they moved against each other like they had done before, enjoying the closeness and pressure.

“I never asked. Do you like to be… top or…” Shinya trailed off.

“I don’t know? I’ve never done it before.”

“Ah, right. I guess we’ll just have to try both ways so you can answer properly.”

Minato grinned. “The scientific process is to be respected. I can’t review anything without data.”

“Damn right.”

——

When the camera turned on for the watchparty room, Shinya and Minato were sitting side by side underneath a blanket on Minato’s couch. On the other side, the rest of the cast and some of the crew were in a hotel room. Not a few eyebrows went up as they saw the two.

“I guess that explains where Shinya went,” Saya said and leaned closer to the screen. “Are congratulations in order?”

“No comment,” Minato said.

“Come on, it’s been obvious,” she replied.

“No comment,” Minato repeated.

“Fine. Have it your way. Do you have something to celebrate the premiere, at least?”

They both held up a can of beer.

“Kanpai!!” someone yelled from the hotel room and everyone toasted.

The episode started with the theme song Shinya had already heard, but seeing it overlaid on the cut montage of the opening made him feel unreasonably emotional, and when the ‘Pink Secret’ logo appeared, he started crying.

“Shinya?” Minato asked, which made the whole hotel room look at them.

“It’s nothing. I’m just happy.”

And Minato hugged him tight, all eyes on them instead of the episode, when he kissed his head. Minato reached for the bottom to turn off the camera. Disappointed voices could be heard.

“Hey, we’re recording this in part for the BTS docu,” Fujibashi said.

“Then you’ll be happy not to have to cut out our faces,” Minato said.

“Minato! Turn it back on,” Shinya said.

There was only a scuffle audible, where Shinya laughed like he was tickled and when the camera turned back on, they both had red heads, but the blanket was gone and they sat somewhat apart.

“Now you missed my introduction,” Saya lamented.

“Hush. Concentrate,” Fujibashi said. “Honestly. A bunch of children.”

Shinya chuckled. They settled in to watch properly, since every episode was only about 25 minutes long. Both main characters and their circumstances were introduced, though the episode focused more on Hina. Finally, during the last five minutes, Hina decided to go to the cosplay event. Shinya grabbed Minato’s hand outside the view of the camera.

The moment Hina spotted Kazu in the maid uniform, both rooms grew quiet. My god, Minato was beautiful. Even without a properly fitting costume and amateurish makeup, the sheer joy Kazu radiated while being in his element was breathtaking. Oh, Minato would win so many new hearts with his performance. It was all Shinya could do not to swoon on the spot.

And then the episode was over. Everyone was clapping, toasting, cheering. It was magnificent.

“Thank you, thank you so much, everyone,” Shinya said, completely in tears. “I couldn’t be happier. It’s absolutely perfect."

“As soon as the shoot is over, we will have a wrapping party and celebrate properly. For now, we should have a good night’s sleep to be ready for the last days,” Fujibashi instructed. “And Arai? You better be on time.”

“Yes, Director Fujibashi!” Minato saluted.

When the call ended, Minato turned to Shinya, who was still bouncy on the adrenaline of the episode, like a puppy. Shinya beamed at him, smile like a sunrise.

“My boyfriend looks so handsome on screen,” he said.

Minato laughed. “Boyfriend? Who decided that?”

“Me.”

“Well, then I suppose it’s alright. Boyfriend.”

Shinya threw himself around Minato’s neck. “If everything goes to plan, there are two more shooting days after my promotion events are done. Can I come to your hotel room in the evening when I come back?”

“I’d be disappointed if you don’t.”

——

The two following days went by in a flash. Shinya was still overwhelmed by the reception he received, especially after the first episode had aired. He spent his evenings on the phone with Minato and when it was time to return to the production, Minato kept him up for half the night.

On the last day of production, they returned to the beach to film the scenes that had been rescheduled due to the weather. It was a day of brilliant sunshine. Some of the scenes were shot during the day and the last few in the evening, just after sunset. As the crew was setting up for one of the last scenes, Shinya walked over to the table of refreshments near the few shacks that were open during summer time. He grabbed a bottle of soda when he heard a voice coming from somewhere behind him. He took a few steps in the direction of it and immediately stopped when he realised on who he was eavesdropping.

“You have the schedule for next week?” Minato asked.

“Sure. I’ll message it to you,” his manager Fukuhara said. “By the way, I have to congratulate you. Job well done.”

“Thanks. I tried my best at the role.”

Shinya smiled.

“I don’t mean the role. I mean your little side project.”

There was a pause. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“No, honestly, Minato-kun, you’re a really good actor. If I hadn’t personally told you to attach yourself to that Ueno guy, I would actually believe you’re in love with him.”

Shinya froze. He couldn’t feel his body anymore. On the other side of the thin wall, Manager Fukuhara laughed.

“Don’t make that face. You’re doing it for your own good. As long as he likes you, he’ll write for you. It’s a win-win. The current drama has great ratings and there’s already talk about filming the second book in the series when the first hasn’t even stopped airing yet.”

Shinya walked away. He couldn’t listen any longer. Mechanically, he stumbled back to the little tent they had put up over the cameras and sat down in a chair next to Saya, who was reading the script. She looked up and frowned.

“See a ghost or something?”

“Or something,” Shinya replied.