Work Text:
There they were, sitting as far from each other as possible in the back seat of a large moving van. It was so quiet, empty and awkward. Other than arguing about Riku, the two felt no need to associate with each other.
So how did they end up in this uncomfortable situation? Well…
Tenn was offered an odd job. He was to be on a programme where he would spend 3 days and 2 nights at a luxurious resort with another idol. That idol could be anyone, meaning the choice was up to Tenn. That doesn’t sound so interesting, you ask? Not so fast. There was a reason why this show’s rating was through the roof.
Tenn and that other fateful idol would have to act as if they were lovers on a date! Yaotome Productions would not accept any kinds of objections from Tenn since they could earn a crazy amount of money from it.
Plus, knowing how professional Tenn was, hey, why would he refuse?
I know what your next question is: why did Tenn pick Iori of all people? Simply put, he didn’t. Tenn was going to ask Ryuu to be on a show with him. His reason sounded perfectly logical too. He said Ryuu, dubbed ‘Ero Ero beast’, would make the fans go crazy. That would be good for the show, Yaotome Productions, and of course, TRIGGER.
While Tenn was thinking solely from a professional perspective, Gaku thought otherwise. He thought putting a teammate on that kind of show would be boring. Well, at least for him anyway. The silver devil went ahead and rabbit chatted IDOLiSH7 innocent centre: Nanase Riku.
Their conversation went something like this:
Gaku: Hey, Nanase
Riku: Yaotome-san, hi
Gaku: I’ve got a message for you to pass to Izumi-otouto
Riku: Eh? Iori? What is it? Is he in trouble?
Gaku: No, no. It’s from Tenn.
Riku: Tenn-nii?!?
Gaku: Here’s the thing. Tenn has a crush on Izumi-Oto-
Riku: WAH-?!
Gaku: I’m not done talking. So there is this show…
Basically, Gaku told Riku about the honeymoon show, saying it was a perfect opportunity for tsuntsun like Iori and Tenn to bond. Being a cute innocent little man, Riku wanted to support his friend, and even more so, his twin brother. Without hesitation, he agreed to help Gaku by telling Iori to meet him on the day they have to set off for the show. Obviously, Tenn showed up there instead of Riku, and Gaku locked Ryuu inside a random locker room.
So yeah, you get the idea. Tenn was forced to go on a show with Iori.
After they got to the resort and were briefed on the details of the show, Iori tried his very best not to let a frown shown on his face when he stared into Tenn’s crystal pink eyes.
Tenn smiled, though fake, it was angelic. “Shall we step closer to the pool?” He reached his arm out to grab Iori’s hand. The staffs and the director were in the back, filming the ‘couple’. No way in hell Tenn would let confusion destroy his professionalism. It was time to act, and he was doing exactly that.
However, Iori strongly disagreed. He pulled his hand away swiftly. “I did not agree to any of this, Kujou-san!”
Tenn’s anger rose. He stepped closer towards Iori to whisper “We are on a show now whether you like it or not.” He made sure his voice would not get caught on camera but hissed hard enough for Iori to build a bridge and get over it.
Tenn used that angry expression as an act. “It’s Tenn. How many times to I have to tell you to use my first name? Iori.”
The high school student was perhaps too young. Tenn’s face was so close to his. That was more than uncomfortable for the boy. Flustered, his thought process shut down. “I-I get it just-” Iori instinctively took weak steps back, forgetting he was standing right at the edge of the pool.
When he realised where he was, it was too late. His left leg slid down the edge and so his back curved in an attempt to not fall into the pool. His eyes widened from surprise. Tenn shared the exact same expression. The pink idol grabbed the back of Iori’s arm, hoping to save him from getting wet. Too bad Iori’s back was already touching the water surface, and so a loud splash sounded from the weight of two boys entering the deep water.
Even though his vision was not clear under the blue water, the hem of Tenn’s white shirt came slipped out from his black trousers. They reflected in the sunlight from above. That and Tenn’s pale pink hair made the boy look just like a beautiful angel to Iori who was sinking deeper into the darker place.
Iori’s heart skipped a beat. He arms were reaching upwards, but his body refused to move. Tenn dove further down before reaching his arms to scoop underneath Iori’s armpit. He then began to ascend to the surface.
The two panted when they emerged. “Do you not know how to swim?” TRIGGER’s centre scowled at Iori, but had to stop almost immediately when he saw what looked like a vulnerable state from Iori. The high school boy was blushing as he stared into Tenn’s gem eyes. For some reason, Tenn felt soft, weak even. His speech was stolen by the rare sight in front of him.
“CUUUUT!” The director shouted. He seemed very impressed with the outcome. “Starting with a lover’s quarrel went much better than I expected! Well done, you two.”
After drying themselves off and getting changed, the two was directed to a cafe. They were served a large strawberry parfait with a heavenly amount of cream, sugary and fruity toppings.
Iori was so drawn by it. To him, the parfait looked so pretty and cute. He could inhale the whole thing by himself. He loved sweets. He just was not willing to admit it. His pink face betrayed his image though.
“Oh?” Tenn smirked while lightly flicking Iori’s cheek. “Never thought you are into this sort of colour, Iori” Of course, the camera was rolling. However, apart from calling Iori by his first name, that wasn’t really an act from Tenn. He genuinely wanted to tease the boy.
“N-No! I am simply surprised by its size. That’s all! It’s not like I want it or anything” Iori was stuttering so much he looked like an idiot for once.
“Then why are you already holding a spoon? You look like you are about to give in to the temptation.” With a straight face, Tenn grabbed his spoon, scooped a spoonful of the creamy parfait and shoved it into Iori’s mouth while the younger boy was panicking.
Iori melted when the flavour burst onto his tongue. It was so, so delicious. Tenn could not help smiling and giggling watching Iori struggling to keep up his idol act during the whole session. Tenn felt the filming time went by quickly. Being with Iori wasn’t so bad, after all.
The two were directed to several other filming locations. The funny thing was that they were not really acting. They were just being awkward professionals working together, and that was what made each scene so real, cute and lovable.
The director was happy with every shot he took. By the end of the day, the two idols were offered an option to go home early since he had enough clips to make an episode of his show. Tenn felt relieved that the whole thing was finally over, yet strangely, he felt a little disappointed. He thought perhaps he was too exhausted.
However, he was not the only one with that feeling. “We’d like to stay.” Iori stepped forward and gave the answer without asking Tenn. “The staff must be tired after coming all the way here. Going back now would be too much trouble for everyone.”
Tenn nodded. That was a good point, but he knew they could have accepted the offer of going home early without any issue. After the director thanked them for their consideration, Tenn confronted Iori when they got back to their room.
“Tell me why you choose to stay.” Tenn stared into Iori’s icy grey eyes. His gaze was no longer fierce and full of anger. It was his usual sharp cat-like eyes.
Iori blushed a little for the millionth time that day. To be honest, that was a rash decision, and completely illogical coming from him. “Um…” A small part of his heart was telling him to get to know Tenn more, and he could not shake that feeling off. “Ahem well, as I said earlier, I didn’t agree to any of this and so you owe me one”
Tenn’s eyes widened before a soft yet smug smile appeared on his. “Fine. I’ll make it up to you.” He turned his back to Iori. “Let’s just first grab a nice meal. I’m getting hungry.”
Iori let a reserved smile show on his face. “Yes, Kujou-san”