One thing about being a junior for so long was that Taisuke was able to follow his senpai more closely. There were always tours and somehow he always felt himself paying attention to whatever drama was currently going on, and there was always drama. A lot of it.

There was one person in particular that Taisuke couldn't ignore. Or maybe more accurately, a couple of people. He didn't think he'd ever seen anything like what happened with KAT-TUN in any other band he'd toured with. It wasn't all because of them, but it seemed like everything revolved around Jin and Kame. Kame. Maybe because Jin was the one going off on his own it was more difficult to see how hard everything was on him, but Taisuke couldn't help but sympathize more with Kame. If it was just happening to walk into the room when no one else was there except Kame, and being able to see the broken look on his face before he was noticed and it would suddenly change to the plastic mask he put on for work. Little things like that made it easy for Taisuke to pick who to feel sorry for.

It wasn't that he could relate easily to Kame. No way. They were completely different people with such different personalities and habits. Whereas Kame didn't seem to bother as much with things like his skin and hair, Taisuke took great pride in always looking gorgeous. But it wasn't that Kame ever looked unattractive. They were just different types of people. Kame was pretty calm on the outside and Taisuke knew he had somewhat of an obvious temper. He heard the other guys mention it sometimes when they didn't know he was listening. Others said it straight to his face. It wasn't something he minded because it was true, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with letting people know how he felt.

When Taisuke heard that Jin was leaving the band for good he honestly thought it was a good thing, for all of them. Maybe it was a selfish thing to think, but after he'd come back from America the first time, things had never stopped being tense, and working with people who were always on edge wasn't the easiest thing. That was how Taisuke saw it anyway, not that he'd ever have said anything or probably ever would. No one wanted to go there. Taisuke didn't know how all of his own band felt just because it was something they spoke about but usually wouldn't give their opinions on. They didn't want to fight as well. Kitayama for one thing. Taisuke knew that he was friends with Jin. While he didn't think they, and even less so him and Kame, were really close, it didn't make for good bonding to talk about differing opinions. Taisuke knew others played favorites and some acted like they didn't really like either. He tried not to let his opinions show too much, but it was difficult, especially after seeing Kame when he wasn't faking his best.

That was why when Kame asked for a certain kind of straightener, Taisuke offered his own. Although he hardly ever let anyone borrow or use his things, and there was generally severe punishment when they took without asking, even though he realised someone else would be using it, he didn't mind. Not at first anyway. But after he handed the straightener to Kame and the other man left, Taisuke started to fret a little. He pulled his feet up into the chair in front of his mirror and chewed lightly on the tip of his thumb. The other guys started to give him wary looks as he thought about it getting into the wrong hands. He didn't mind Ueda using it, sure, but there were others that he wasn't so sure of.

"Why'd you let him use it?" Kitayama suddenly asked, stepping closer to the chair he was sitting in. His shirt was still off, skates still on from practicing. Taisuke looked him over, noticing the sweat on his chest in a nonchalant kind of way. "If it's going to bug you that much then there's no point in trying to practice anymore. We might as well go home." he seemed to slightly regret the words after they left his mouth, and rightly so as Taisuke rounded on him.

"It's none of your business," he said sharply. "Going home sounds better than practicing with you!"

Well, maybe they did fight. Sometimes. But Kitayama had been asking for it.

Standing, Taisuke grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. He saw Nika giving him a wide eyed look and Senga was just shaking his head. That only made him angrier at the lot of them. They had no business questioning him for his decisions to lend things out to people.

When he stepped out the door, the air was cool as it hit him. Not cold, but kind of refreshing. Cool in the way that said it might rain later. Taisuke didn't mind though. He liked the rain. Actually, it always helped him get to sleep when it was raining, and sometimes he had trouble with that. There was always a lot on his mind, especially at night when he was alone lying in his bed. It was usually better to be alone though, than to seek company from somebody. He wouldn't want to deal with them the next morning anyway. Usually it was a pain, and getting involved with anyone was painful. Maybe too much so. That was one of the things he thought about, and somehow it weighed so much more heavily when he was alone.

Taisuke didn't immediately go home though, and eventually he realized it was because he wasn't in the mood to step into his empty apartment. He just didn't feel like it, and maybe he actually wanted company for once. By the time he realized this it was too late to find any, at least anything safe. He could try his luck going out, but he wasn't looking for any bad publicity at the moment. Instead he decided to ride the train towards home.

His mind kept returning to one thing, and it only partially had to do with his straightener. He kept wondering how he should convince Kame to pay him back for lending it, and for the hours of worry, and the fact that it hadn't been immediately returned. Of course leaving early meant that if they had come over to drop it off, he would have missed it. He didn't really care all that much anymore.

Standing at the station, he kept thinking about Kame. Reaching down for his bag to grab a smoke, Taisuke felt his insides clench as the realization hit him. He no longer had his bag. Looking back at the station, he thought that there was no way to get it back now. He pouted and let his shoulders drop before finding a dry place under the overhang outside. His fingers d in his pocket for his phone, and he pulled it out. If he'd wanted his straightener he could have easily just dialed Koki's number. He would have, but that wasn't the only thing he wanted.

Something inside him was pulling in a direction and he knew what it was now. He hadn't really thought too much about Kame like that before, but something about thinking it now felt right. It wasn't like he was trying to take advantage of the other man, not because Jin was leaving and it had to be affecting Kame, but because he hadn't been able to get the other man off his mind since he lent him the straightener. It might have seemed like a weird trigger, but maybe it wasn't anything to do with that. Maybe it was just the right timing, and maybe Taisuke just felt like it was something they both needed. They both just needed someone. Someone different, someone who hadn't ripped their hearts out over and over again. And maybe that was why he felt sorry for Kame, because he understood that kind of pain. It wasn't like one of his band mates had run off or anything, but he knew what heartbreak was like, and he knew how much it could destroy you when you just didn't know how to let go.

That was why instead of trying to find another way home, Taisuke's fingers found Kame's number in his phone. He was dialing before he had anything set in his mind to say. Talking about the straightener was just easy. Joking with Kame felt natural, and Taisuke felt himself smiling again, much easier than he thought he would have if he'd called anyone else.

Maybe he'd had the intention of trying to see Kame, but when he found out the other man had the flat iron and was willing to meet him, it just made everything that much easier. The first time off the phone and Taisuke started to feel fidgety. Maybe it was wrong to make Kame walk all the way there, so he called back. He didn't tell Kame that he'd already started walking to meet him when the other man told him to wait, and he thought Kame kind of deserved it. For taking his flat iron, but then he remembered that he'd been the one to offer it. But there was a part of him that wanted to blame Kame, and it wasn't really about the straightener at all.

When Kame said he was at the station, Taisuke didn't stop his smile even though they'd passed each other. Kame seemed a little annoyed, but Taisuke couldn't wipe the smile off his face. It wasn't really that he got some kind of evil satisfaction out of Kame having to walk back. He blinked away the raindrops that seemed to cling to his eyelashes and reached up to run a hand through his hair. He'd be lucky if his phone didn't end up dying because of this. But he didn't really care all that much. He'd been wanting a new one anyway, and it would just give him an excuse to get a newer one sooner.

After Taisuke's harmless teasing about how Kame should feel bad if he had missed him, Kame's threatening to not come and get him made Taisuke's stomach twist a little in fear. It was fear that he would be left standing in the rain, that Kame wouldn't come help him. Most of all though, he was afraid he'd end up going home alone, that all of this would be for nothing and he would be right back where he started. But Kame was still coming and Taisuke smiled again, thinking he was a good senpai after all. Maybe he could even say a good person.

Seeing Kame walking towards him, Taisuke kept smiling. It was easy to because he'd always been good at smiling no matter what. But he was smiling genuinely too, at seeing Kame actually there. It was nice to suddenly have an umbrella over his head and someone to walk with. He agreed to let Kame let him into the Jimusho in the morning, since his ID was in the bag he'd left on the train, even though it would be at five in the morning. Kame worked early, but Taisuke didn't mind. Early was fine with him, if Kame was the one letting him in. If he'd wanted to go in later, he could have called someone else. He could have asked one of the guys in his own band, but he was fine with Kame, and kind of glad he'd offered.

Taisuke was a little confused when Kame stopped at a convenience store instead of where they might be able to find a taxi. When he saw that he came out with the rice based tea, Taisuke felt really amused. He thought it was kind of cute that Kame would buy that, and he wondered if he would end up having any with Kame.

When Kame brought out the cigarettes, reminding Taisuke that he'd wanted a smoke and had expressed that desire to Kame, Taisuke looked at the brand and felt interested. It wasn't the kind he usually smoked, but something that Kame picked out interested him. Taking out his lighter, Taisuke pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He took a long drag and immediately felt a little bit better. Noticing that Kame wasn't smoking, Taisuke offered him one.

It wasn't really the fact that Kame was holding the umbrella and wouldn't be able to smoke easily. Nor was it anything that Taisuke had thought about before he took the last drag and leaned closer to press his mouth against Kame's. Kame tasted good. He tasted of promised company and a change that Taisuke thought they both needed. He tasted like exactly what Taisuke had wanted.

The way Kame pressed the hand holding the tea against his arm made Taisuke smile a little. He leaned back and searched Kame's gaze for the permission he'd already been given by not being pushed away, by the way Kame had pressed back against his lips. It was what they both needed.

"Come on. We should go somewhere else," the words hovered between them for a moment before Taisuke nodded in agreement. He dropped the cigarette before following Kame. There wasn't a high likelihood of an unoccupied taxi stopping anytime soon, but Taisuke was okay with walking more. He was starting to think that he enjoyed walking with Kame. Maybe he was also enjoying that things were going the way he wanted, and he wasn't going to have to go home alone again.