FIC - Who Says We're Acting?

Fic: Who Says We're Acting?

Fandom: Nobuta wo Produce

Pairing: Shuji to Akira

Genre: Humour, Romance, One-shot

Rating: PG-13

Dedicated to: To my dear patient beta/fan, miakakenyuuki, who's birthday this is for. I know it's not much, but please consider it my gift to you. Otanjoubi Omedetou! (Belated, very belated gift, I know! . Sorry…)

A/N: I needed a reason to get off my ass and write something while I work out the kinks with Mystery, so here it is. A romantic little drabble/fic/thing. Be warned, its kinda crap (mostly because this one had to go without being beta-ed.)

Who Says We're Acting?

As it turned out, Shuji was a very good actor. So good in fact, that his music teacher insisted that he get the lead role in a play they were doing for the upcoming school festival. And simply because of how funny he was when he was trying to act like someone else, Akira had also gotten a part, albeit a side character's role. Shuji had no idea why he had been roped into auditioning for the play in the first place, because up till then, he had no interest in acting. Well, besides the stuff he used to do everyday, that is.

He soon found out that besides being really good at it, he liked it. It was easy to him. He would have enjoyed it a lot more, however, had it not been for his female co-star. The girl who had been chosen to play his character's love interest was utterly talentless and had only auditioned because she had heard he was the lead, and knew that there was a kiss scene in the play. She had sabotaged all seven of the other girls who were going to audition, so that their music teacher was forced to choose her, as no-one else showed up.

"Oh, oh! My. Dear. Fair. Ken-ta-roo-oo!" she hammed. "How can I be so sure that you really love me?"

Shuji winced, and the rest of the room winced with him. Akira covered his ears, till her line was finally over. Shuji straightened his face and patiently recited his lines. "I do love you, Megumi, and I would do everything in my power to be with you, and prove that my love is worthy of you! But…your fiancée, that horrible boor! He guards your home at night with twenty strong men!" He paused for a moment, then paced back and forth on the small stage. "Aha! I have it! I shall have my friend Ryosuke speak to him! He is a guard at the daimyo's home, and he is blessed with a great gift! All who speak to him, no matter who they are, instantly want to become his friend. He shall convince that horrible man to let him work at your home as a guard. Then, I will ask him to slip each of the other guards some drugged sake, until only he is awake. That way, we shall see each other every night!" he finished dramatically.

"Bravo Kiritani! Bravo! That was amazing!" said the teacher, clapping appreciatively. "That scene was very well done. It is the last scene, however…," he paused, looking briefly at the girl who played Megumi, "…which needs work. The kiss was, for lack of a better word, unconvincing, Kiritani. It will, unfortunately, need some more rehearsal. Preferably soon, as the festival is in a week. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go sort out the cleaning schedule for the first years."

He left the room.

Shuji groaned, and his co-star, Yumi, looked as if she had won the lottery. "Hey, Kiritani! Wanna practice now? I have time!" He shook his head and quickly came up with an excuse. "I would, but Akira and I have to go help my dad reorganize the house."

Her face fell instantly. "Oh, okay. Maybe tomorrow then?" she asked hopefully. Shuji forced himself to smile. "Maybe." With that, she grinned and left, secure in the knowledge that my 'maybe' he meant 'yes.'

Akira laughed unhelpfully, to Shuji's great annoyance. "I think she likes you, Shuji-kun! She really seems to want to do that kiss scene with you!" He wiggled his lips for emphasis.

"Yes. Unfortunately. But I'll be damned if I spend my free time kissing some girl I don't find remotely appealing, who won't take a hint. Which means, unfortunately, that I need to practice that scene some other way."

Akira's eyes lit up at those words. He smiled mischievously and winked at Shuji. He giggled when his friend's mouth fell open and his eyes widened in surprise.

Shuji tried to come up with a reasonable argument in his head as to why exactly that would not be a good idea, but he decided against it as soon as he weighed the pros and cons of practicing a kissing scene with Akira. On the one hand, they could get caught, which would be rather embarrassing for all parties involved. On the other, he never had to kiss that girl again on a daily basis, they could practice the scene in private, and he could finally satisfy the burning curiosity he had as to how exactly those plump round lips of Akira's felt and tasted. He sighed and closed his eyes, allowing a smile to creep into his features. "Yes. Okay. Fine."

Akira couldn't believe his luck as Shuji reached into his bag to pull out a copy of the script and paged through it to find the kiss scene.

"Now, shall we?" he said with a smile. Akira nodded wide-eyed; he was finally going to kiss Shuji. "But before we begin, you need to take that armour off, or we can't do it properly," Shuji said, pointing at Akira's costume.

"Huh?" The boy looked down at his outfit. He was still wearing Ryosuke's armoured uniform. "Megumi doesn't wear a guard's uniform," Shuji said in amusement.

It took Akira less than eight seconds to pull it all off and fling it across the room. "Anything else, Shuji?"

"First of all, while I am in costume, I am not to be called 'Shuji.' You will refer to me as 'Kentaro.' Secondly, here, wear this kimono – don't tear it!" he warned. He handed the boy a dark blue kimono a yellow obi to wear. He was glad that Yumi, the girl who was supposed to be Megumi, had conveniently left it in a pile on a chair in the center of the stage, rather than putting it away.

Akira draped the clothing around his shoulders and did up the obi as quickly as he could in front of a mirror. The bow looked a little weird, but he did his best with it. As an afterthought, he grabbed a small ornamental kanzashi comb for his hair from the prop cupboard. "Shu- Kentaro~" he said, using his most seductive voice while wiggling his hips a little. Shuji did all he could not to burst out laughing; Akira looked far more girly than ever before, despite the defined chest and broad shoulders beneath the kimono.

"Megumi?" he said, stifling a chuckle. He tossed 'her' the script, cleared his throat, and recited his first line.

"I have slain many demons for you, my princess, and defeated armies in your name. I have searched all the world to find you again. I have endured five long years of torture in dark prisons with naught but the memory of your face keeping me sane. I have crossed mountains, and seas, and even skies to reach you. And I will not let one damned man keep us apart for a second longer! Have I proved my love for you Megumi-hime? Will you at last allow me the honour of kissing those beautiful lips?"

He stepped towards Akira. "Please, please give me your answer…" Akira's eyes glazed over as he listened to his friend speak. He remembered in time to say his line. "Kentaro…I have been foolish to doubt you," he paused for a moment to look away from the script into Shuji's eyes. "So foolish…I have spent these last few years waiting for you, wishing I had believed you sooner. Were it not for my doubt we could have been married eight years ago. I would not have been a bird in a cage, singing for an ugly and cruel man. Kentaro! Be not the cause of another tear on my cheek, kiss me, and let us escape from this hellish cage!"

He finished his lines, throwing the script to the floor and striding elegantly towards Shuji. There was a strange but familiar sparkle in Akira's eyes that mesmerized him. As if in a trance, Shuji fingers were drawn to Akira's lips for a moment, gently caressing the bottom lip, before smiling and pressing his own soft lips to his friend's. For a moment, neither of them moved. But it lasted no more than moment, before Shuji forgot himself, kissing desperately at Akira's plump lips. His tongue swiped across the beloved bottom lip, but didn't forget about the top one.

Very soon, Akira's fingers were threading through his hair. "Ngh. Soft…" was Akira's only thought. It applied to pretty much everything he was feeling at that moment. He parted his lips slightly to allow the prying tongue access. His own tongue darted out to meet Shuji's as he let out a low moan. He started to go dizzy after a while and it was only when Shuji pulled free from the kiss that he started breathing again. "Breath, fool," said Shuji, half out of concern and half out of amusement. Akira shook his head. "Feels like I'll die if I stop kissing Shuji. I could die of no air, or no kisses. I prefer no air, kon!" Shuji rolled his eyes, but obliged the boy's apparent need for kisses.

Shuji held on tightly to Akira's waist as he pushed him up against the stage wall. His hand slid into the folds of the kimono, loosening the fabric until it slid down Akira's shoulders. "Mhmph," Akira mumbled happily into the kiss. "Mmmmhmph. Ngh!"

Shuji smiled against his friends lips. "That's not in the script, you know," he said teasingly. He placed light little kisses down the other boy's jaw line till he found those soft, round lips again. "But I guess a little improve is okay," he joked. Akira pushed further into the kiss, trying to taste every inch of Shuji's mouth. Just as he started seeing spots, he vaguely registered hearing a door open and a girl gasp loudly in surprise. He mumbled grumpily when Shuji broke the kiss to turn and see who is was.

Shuji stared at Yumi, and she stared back, mouth hanging wide open and with eyes the size of dinner plates. For about a minute all they did was stare at each other, before she stammered something about forgetting a coat. She avoided eye contact with Akira, but did not miss the swollen lips, open clothing, or glazed eyes…on both boys. Any illusion she had about dating Shuji flew right out the window as she grabbed her coat and ran swiftly out of the room.

The two boys shared a look as they processed what had just happened. Then proceeded to burst out laughing.

"Well, so much for privacy," laughed Shuji, straightening out his samurai costume. Akira giggled, but soon calmed down and started twiddling his fingers. "Ano, Shuji?"

"Yes?"

"Does this mean I can kiss you more often now? Please?" he asked nervously.

"Well, we've got another week of practice ahead of us. So, sure, why not? After that…we'll have to see," Shuji said, winking suggestively. Akira smiled and hugged his new acting partner.

Every day for the next week, Shuji and Akira met in the stage room to practice the kiss scene. It didn't matter that they had already perfected it, they would religiously practice that scene over and over, as many times as they deemed necessary.

By the second day that Yumi had not shown up for rehearsal, the teacher had given up and given the part to Akira, who had been hopping up and down desperately when the guy had asked who wanted to do the part. Despite the fact that Akira already had a part, the teacher had happily given him the role and found someone else to play Ryosuke, although he was slightly surprised and puzzled by how much better Akira knew Megumi's role than his original part.

This meant that Shuji could kiss Akira in rehearsal too, although it was significantly toned down from their usual…'practice.'

On the night of the festival performance, the costumes were more elaborate and extravagant, and Shuji was truly surprised by how well Akira had been dragged-up to play Megumi. He almost looked like a girl, if you were half blind, squinting or ignoring all the obvious gender cues. Akira was perfect as Megumi, and Shuji made the crowd sympathize with his own character's hardships. They stole the show and the audience's hearts. The play flowed from scene to scene effortlessly. As soon as they reached the final scene where they were to kiss, Shuji was all too happy to kiss Akira in front of all those people. As the curtain fell, they were still kissing.

The teacher came in to congratulate them on their performance and waited for them to finish. He raised an eyebrow when they still had not broken apart after two minutes.

"Hey, you two…I know it's all the magic of the stage that makes you get carried away and all, but you can stop acting now, you know."

Shuji finally broke apart from Akira, but turned to grin at the teacher. "Sensei…who says we're acting?" It felt good to let go the good boy act once in a while.

Akira laughed and winked at the man as Shuji grabbed his arm and led him somewhere more private where they could continue what they had started, as Shuji and Akira. "Kon kon," said Akira, waving his fox hand at the man while he kissed Shuji softly on the cheek.

Owari