JE, Man Down

Title: Man Down [Shori and Kotaki]
Rating/Warnings: G
Summary: Shori sustains injury during Shounen Club filming and Kotaki is the designated piggybacker.
AN: It’s short and not that exciting (haha kind of like Shori) but Ri wanted some cute Shori and Kotaki because they are bros who hang out, apparently.

Man Down

There’s probably more embarrassing things than tripping over your own costume and falling on your face during a Shounen Club filming, but flat on his back with the overhead stage lights blinding him, Shori can’t quite think of any. At least it’s the last song and he’s off to the side, so they can probably edit this out before the episode airs. Maybe if he just lies here very quietly, everybody else won’t even notice he’s down before they leave the stage.

Judging by the way Jinguji and Takahashi are cracking up at him even over the noise of the audience, his plan might have a couple flaws.

“Are you okay, man?” A head blocks the lights suddenly, and Shori has to blink spots away for a second before he recognizes Kotaki.

“Sure,” Shori lies. He might have hit his head, actually, and his ankle is starting to throb dully. He tries to sit up and only manages to flail his arms a little. Kotaki doesn’t look impressed.

“Come on, up you go,” Kotaki orders, kneeling down beside Shori and helping to tug him to a sitting position. Kawai, who’d been standing nearby when Shori’s gravity suddenly turned hostile, helps Kotaki hoist Shori onto Kotaki’s back for him to piggyback off the stage.

Shori tightens his grip around Kotaki’s neck, head spinning as Kotaki stands up. Shori presses his face against the back of Kotaki’s costume and tries not to think about how high up he is. There’s no telling what Junta will do to him if he throws up all over Johnny’s West’s group baby.

Backstage, once Shori’s been settled on one of the battered couches, Marius, Sou, and Kento descend on him like a worried flock of doves. Their white, fluttery costumes and distressed noises make the simile particularly apt. The only one who doesn’t seem concerned is Fuma, who is still laughing at Shori’s graceless tumble.

“Quit laughing!” Marius insists, rounding on Fuma and all but stomping his foot. “Don’t laugh at Captain’s pain!”

“Quit shouting,” Shori groans, squeezing his eyes shut. His head is really starting to pound, and he winces when Kento’s fingers brush through the back of his hair and find the rising knot.

“That doesn’t feel good,” Kento says, probing the edge of it and making Shori whine. “Do you think you have a concussion? Do you feel nauseous at all?”

“What year is it?” Fuma calls over in between snickers. “Who’s the prime minister? How many fingers am I holding up?”

“I’ll show you a finger all right,” Shori grumbles.

“Would you shut up?” Kento snaps over his shoulder. “Quit being a jackass and go find some ice.”

“Got it,” Fuma drawls, catching Marius by the arm and dragging him along to help. Marius shoots a last anxious look over his shoulder before he’s tugged out the door.

“Go tell Kawai-kun or Yabu-kun what happened, please,” Kento asks Sou. “They’re probably waiting for Shori to come do his extra bit, and I don’t think that’s happening.” Sou nods and heads out the door, and Kento turns to Kotaki. “Sorry, are you busy? If you still have a minute, I could use your help getting him out of his costume.”

“It’s no problem,” Kotaki assures. Between the two of them, they soon have Shori stripped of his costume and re-dressed in some practice sweats from Shori’s bag. Shori whines every time they jostle him, but after the all the practice of quick costume changes, at least he can’t say they aren’t efficient.

Kento goes to take the costumes back to the racks to hang up, leaving Kotaki alone with Shori. After a couple seconds of silence, Shori cracks an eye to make sure Kotaki is still there.

“What are you so quiet for? Are you sure you’re from Kansai?” he asks.

Kotaki chuckles, sitting gingerly on the arm of the couch. “That’s what they tell me. And I was trying not to hurt your head.”

“Hurts anyway,” Shori says, letting his eyes flutter shut again. Hands are on his shoulders suddenly, and Shori tenses, but all Kotaki does is gently urge him up enough that Kotaki can sit down on the edge of the couch and settle Shori’s head against his thigh.

“Does this hurt?” Kotaki asks, fingers brushing lightly over Shori’s hair. Shori tells him no and heaves a little sigh; it’s not really helping anything, but it’s nice enough. Kotaki even shushes Fuma and Marius, still nattering at each other when they return with the ice, and tells them he thinks Shori’s ankle might need ice as well. Shori lets them all do as they will, whimpering in half-pain and half-relief as the ice settles against his head injury but then starts to numb it.

Kento returns, and Kotaki hands Shori’s care back to his group with a last gentle pat to Shori’s head.

It’s a couple weeks before they happen to cross paths again in person, Sexy Zone and Johnny’s West both busy with their promotions and activities. Kotaki had sent a couple mails in the meantime to check on Shori’s condition, which Shori appreciated even if he didn’t have much time for a proper response.

“I didn’t thank you for last time,” Shori says. Kotaki grins and shrugs him off. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

“No big thing,” Kotaki insists, shaking his head. “I was just afraid the fangirls in the front row were going to grab you and make a run for it before you could defend yourself. They could have smuggled you out in their purses.”

“Kansai bastard,” Shori accuses, which doesn’t make Kotaki’s grin dim even a little. “And here I was going to invite you out to eat the next time your unit goes out to party without your underaged self.”

“Invitation accepted,” Kotaki says. “Those guys only want me to be their designated piggybacker anyway.”

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