Work Text:
Shu’s friends were staring at him intently as he was eating his lunch.
”What? Do I have something on my face?”
”Uh,” Elira starts. “No, but like…” she trails off.
Petra chimes in, “It’s just your new outfit Shu! It looks more sophisticated than what you usually wear, where’d you get it from?” The others nod in agreement.
He looked down to see what he was wearing.
Shu didn’t think he was wearing anything crazy. He wore a sleek black turtleneck that hugged his body tightly, complementing his long black pants that were a little more loose at the bottom to accentuate his legs. The shoes he picked out were black, steel-pointed boots, and to bring the outfit together, he layered a long, grey trench coat and a pair of purple, circular sunglasses on top of his head.
"Oh, I went shopping the other day and picked up some new clothes." Shu didn't want to mention that he went with his boyfriend, Luca Kaneshiro, because of his fame, and they were out in a public place where people could hear them talking. Plus, they had only started dating a month ago, so he hadn't gotten around to telling his friends.
"Yeah dude what the fuck, you never wear anything like this. What's up with the change?" Claude said before taking a bite of his food.
"Bitch, is that a snake-skin cross body?" Uki grabbed Shu's bag and examined it. "Did you win the lottery or something?
Sure, this isn't Shu's usual style; he was always more prone to wearing sweats because they're comfortable. This is the first time he decided to dress up.
In fact, this is the first time he's ever thought about purchasing clothes like these.
The only reason he got them was because Luca begged him to go into one of his favorite designer stores to try on some clothes he thought Shu would look good in. Shu tried on so many clothes that his arms got tired from pulling shirts and pants on and off, but the stars in Luca's eyes after each outfit made it all worth it.
Luca bought him every item of clothing he tried on.
"Okay, okay!" Shu decided that he would tell them the truth since they are his closest friends, even though it was probably a stupid decision to tell them in public. "My boyfriend got me these clothes and I didn't want them to go to waste."
They all looked at Shu with confused expressions.
"YOU HAVE A WHAT??" Elira shouted, heads from other tables turned to them.
"Oh my gosh, keep your voice down!" Shu scolded her.
Claude smirks, "So you have a sugar daddy?"
"No guys!" Shu was a bit flustered from their sudden outburst. "Yes I have a boyfriend, no he is not my sugar daddy. Do you guys really think of me like that oh my gosh."
Petra put her hand on Shu's shoulder, "Of course we don't! We're all just a little surprised, you've never really dated anyone you know."
"So, who is this mysterious man? Is he hot?" Uki asks.
Shu flushes, “Yeah, he is. He’s- oh wait!”
He spots a celebrity magazine at the front of the restaurant. Shu grabs the Hottest Trending Celebrities in Niji Industry and brings it back to the table. After flipping through a couple of pages, he finds his boyfriend.
The picture on the page captured Luca posing with a bouquet of yellow flowers, tied with a huge purple bow at the bottom. He was wearing a white suit with golden strips and black gloves with rings on top of them. His face was half hidden in the bouquet, and his teasing smile shone brightly.
"Him!" Shu said proudly. "That's my boyfriend."
His friends hesitantly glanced at one another, waiting for someone to say something.
Petra was the first one to speak.
"Shu... Are you sure that's the boyfriend you're talking about? We won't judge you for whoever he really is."
He was a little taken aback at the response. "You think I'm lying?"
The whole table reacted instantly, reassuring Shu that they don't think he's a liar.
Elira cleared her throat before adding on. "Of course we would never think that you would lie to us Shu! It's just that... you know?"
Shu raises an eyebrow at this. "What?"
"Dawg, this is the Luca Kaneshiro. He's literally one of the biggest celebrities right now, and he just released an album with those other two dudes from that one company... uh what's it called?
"NijiAussies, they're all so hot." Uki gushes. "But yeah Shu, it's just a little weird that he coincidentally was in a magazine you picked out when we asked about him. Also, they're from Australia, don't tell me you're e-dating or something."
"What?? I would never e-date."
That statement was partly false.
-
Shu works in the tech industry for big names. Whether it was computer issues backstage of concerts or fixing devices on movie sets, he did it all.
One of his more recent projects was going on a couple of shows for NijiAussies behind the scenes because they were having lots of difficulty with their setups in music and microphones.
Their first concert, luckily, went okay with a couple of errors, but their manager contacted Shu and hired him to help out for a couple of weeks.
Shu arrived at the venue of their next concert and first started working on musical issues on the computers and speakers. As he finished the final test for the soundtrack, the band came through the back door, bustling with conversation.
The bright blonde-haired guy was scolding the other blonde guy who wore a side ponytail and sunglasses on the top of his head. Another guy behind the two was laughing at them, he had black hair and a guitar strapped to his back. Shu recognizes the members: the bright blonde one was Sonny Brisko, the one with the guitar was Ren Zotto, and the blonde with the sunglasses was Luca Kaneshiro.
"Luca, I've told you multiple times to not call me onii-chan in public," Sonny said grumbling, "Man, I think the paparazzi heard you freak. Good luck explaining this to mane-san when there's an article about this tomorrow."
Luca lets out a contagious laugh as he continues to bother Sonny.
He's cute Shu thinks. He knows that he needs to keep it professional and remember that he's only here for the task, but he can still think a star is attractive.
"Shu! Over here!" One of the tech producers called for him. They explain to Shu that during the concert, he'll need to be on standby with the mics attached to their bodies because they had sound issues last time. He takes the equipment near the side of the stage behind the curtains and prepares his station.
A few hours later, the trio is directed to Shu for mic fitting and testing.
"You're Shu right?" Ren asks while the others start approaching them.
Shu begins attaching the mic and soundpack to Ren's black tank top. "Yeah! Nice to meet you guys, I'm a huge fan." He says with a smile.
He could see out of the corner of his eye Sonny nudging Luca a little. Though it was a bit strange, he didn't question it and finished Ren's sound check.
"So Shu," Sonny starts as Shu starts gathering the equipment for him. "Are you single by any chance?"
"Oh what?" Shu paused for a couple of seconds, face turning a light shade of pink.
"What the fuck Sonny you can't just ask someone that, you barely know him." Shu turns to see Luca embarrassed, a darker shade of red on his face.
Sonny smirks. "Sorry sorry, let me be more clear. I'm not interested, I have a boyfriend already."
Shu assumed that he was talking about Alban Knox, the movie star who has been seen with Sonny multiple times in public. He's also talked to him one time when Shu was on the set of the movie Stuck In The Abyss when he had to help run some of the tech hardware. He did notice that Sonny was there every day on set when Shu worked there.
"Yeah I'm single, why?" Shu replies while adjusting the sound pack to Sonny's belt and doing audio testing.
"No particular reason, just out of curiosity!" Shu finished with Sonny's equipment and started to retrieve Luca's mic. "But if you were interested in dating a pop star, have you ever conside- OW!"
Sonny's sentence was cut short with Luca kicking him in the back of his legs. "Haha, sorry about that Shu he's just a little weird you know. Super unpog." Luca says, rubbing the back of his head while looking away.
Shu smiles at him as he begins to attach the microphone to his shirt. "It's okay, I really didn't mind."
He quickly finished up with Luca's equipment and was about to send him off for final touches on make-up and hair before noticing the mic was a little loose.
"Oh hold on, I think I need to reclip this real fast and then you'll be good."
Shu unclipped the mic and put it closer to the middle of his chest. Unconsciously, he was staring at Luca's pecs while adjusting.
Dang, he's got booba too. The whole package. But Shu's thoughts were quickly interrupted by Luca's confusion to Shu leaving his hands on his booba for a solid ten seconds.
"Uh Shu, is the mic fixed now or are you going to keep groping my chest," Luca teased.
Flustered, Shu swiftly took his hands back and cleared his throat.
"Ah sorry about that haha," face turning a deep crimson red while packing the unused cables back into the bag. "Good luck with your show Luca, I'll see you later if you have any issues!"
Luca smiled and thanked him before walking away to prepare for the concert. What was wrong with him? Groping a famous pop star's chest while helping with a show? Completely unprofessional of him.
He sighs, hoping that he doesn't embarrass himself again and that Luca doesn't think that Shu is weird.
The concert went smoothly with no major technical issues. Only a couple of minor fixes to the trio's mic and soundpack whenever they went out too hard, but overall, the performance went great.
Satisfied with his work and being told to go rest from NijiAussie's manager, Shu began to gather his belongings to head back to the hotel. Not before being stopped by a certain someone.
"Shu!!"
He turns around and sees a brightly smiling blonde headed his way, covered in sweat and disheveled hair from performing and probably running here.
"Hey Luca! You guys did pogchamp, I loved the show." Shu says smiling.
Luca beams at him. "Yeah yeah we were pog out there! One of the best concerts I've done."
They stand there for a minute not saying anything. Luca then clears his throat and starts looking around nervously.
"Ahem. So Shu, do you think you want to go and get some ice cream with me if you're not doing anything after this." Luca's face starts heating up. "If you want to of course, I know it's a little weird but you're really cute and I want to get to know you more."
Shu's face feels hot. A celebrity is interested in him and wants to go on a date. He couldn't possibly pass up this opportunity. "Sounds good," he says, grinning.
Both of them start talking more as they pack up and head out. Shu finds out that Luca is actually very techy and likes computers as well. They spent hours talking and hanging out before they parted ways.
Not before exchanging contact information, of course.
Throughout the rest of Shu's business trip, they grew closer and closer and went out on lots of dates. Before leaving for America, Luca officially asked Shu out. Shu happily said yes, and they continued to pursue their relationship long-distance.
After many late-night calls and morning messages, Luca revealed that they would be touring in America soon. Shu immediately offered for Luca to stay at his apartment whenever he was near the city.
Fast-forward to present time, both of them are living at Shu's apartment until he has to leave out of state.
-
"Guys, I swear I'm telling the truth," Shu grumbles, still trying to convince his friends that he had a pop-star boyfriend.
His friends glanced around at one another before coming to a conclusion.
"Well, maybe we can meet him then!" Petra suggests. "Only if you want us to Shu."
Shu liked the idea, and he knew that Luca would be down to finally meet his close friends. "That sounds good, I'll ask him about it later when I get home."
Claude smirks again, "We get to see who your sugar daddy is."
Shu rolls his eyes, "He's not my sugar daddy, he just likes spoiling me sometimes."
"I think that is so cute," Elira gushes. "We can't wait to meet your mysterious man Shu!"
The group parts ways after finishing their lunch. Shu catches an Uber and heads back to his apartment. He comes through the front door to be greeted by a golden retriever.
"SHU!"
He's suddenly tackled into a bear hug, dropping his keys and bags to welcome it.
"Hi Luca," Shu giggles, still embracing him. "Did you just come back from rehearsal?"
The evident clean shower smell from Shu's body wash was a clear sign. Luca smiled brightly.
"Yeah! It was so tiring today, I haven't seen you all day, Shu. I missed you."
Shu looked at Luca full of love while combing his fingers through his hair. "I missed you too Luca."
Luca began showering Shu's face with kisses from his forehead to his nose, cheek, and jawline. After a couple of minutes of laughter from Shu, they leaned in and captured each other's lips for a real kiss.
They were so into their make-out session, only stopping to take breaths before finding each other again, that Shu didn't notice Luca picking him up and carrying him to the couch. Shu was now on Luca's lap, arms wrapped around his neck, while Luca's hands fondled at his waist.
This is nice. Shu thought. Just what I needed after trying to convince everyone I'm dating my own boyfriend.
Suddenly, Shu's eyes shot open as he pushed Luca back.
"Omg wait!" he exclaimed.
Luca raised a brow, slightly confused, but listened, "What is it tulip?"
"My friends want to meet you." Shu didn't want to mention that his friends didn't believe that Luca existed. Well, existed as in being Shu's boyfriend. "Do you want to invite them over for dinner tomorrow?"
Luca grinned widely. "Sure baby. I think I have something tomorrow, so I might be late coming home."
Shu beams, kissing Luca on the lips one last time before getting up to fetch his phone. He pulls up their group chat and messages them about the good news.
SCEUP
Shubert: he said you guys can come over for dinner tomorrow c:
Wiwa: WOOO
Clark: make butter chicken pls
Peto: yay!! so excited!!!
Ugi: cant wait to see your mans
~~~
The next evening comes sooner than Shu anticipates. He made sure to set up his apartment nicely to set a good mood. After all, his best friends are meeting his boyfriend for the first time. A boyfriend that they think doesn't exist.
But it'll be okay because Luca is going to come back soon from work and everyone will see how real and great of a guy he is.
Is what Shu thought initially.
Everyone started arriving one by one around 7:00.
Luca isn't here yet.
Shu explains to them that he told Shu that he would be coming home a bit later because of work stuff. Just in case, he shoots Luca a text.
Shubie: baby are you on your way yet?
Lucaur: yeah i'm coming now, sorry they held us back longer than i thought
"He's on his way now, give him like 15 minutes."
They all nod and tell him it's okay, keeping themselves busy with drinks and gossip.
30 minutes pass.
Still no sign of Luca.
He could tell by his friends' movements and expressions that they were starting to doubt him.
Petra starts. "Shu... you know that it's okay to admit you have a fake boyfriend. We said before that we wouldn't judge you."
"Judge you too much," Uki says while sipping his tea. "I can make you a Tinder profile and find you a hot man right now if it makes you feel better."
Shu groans. "Guys, he's just running late, give him some slack." He takes out his phone again to call Luca and see where he is.
The phone rings for a bit, but eventually goes to voicemail. He tries again. Voicemail for the second time.
"Dawg, this is starting to get a little depressing."
"It's okay Shu," Elira reassures him. "Let's start making that Tinder profile, we can still have a good time!"
Shu slaps his hand against his forehead in frustration. "Luca is real and he is on his way. I don't need to make a Tinder account, thank you very much. Look, guys, I appreciate your concerns, but just give him some more time an-"
Shu's rambling was interrupted by a sudden, loud commotion outside of his window.
"What the fuck," Uki said, placing his cup down and making his way to the the blinds.
He opens them as the others start gathering around Uki, shocked at what they are seeing.
A huge crowd of people was surrounding Shu's apartment. Huge was an understatement. It was definitely more than a hundred people.
About half of them had cameras flashing every second while shouting and crushing each other, trying to get closer to the building. The other half were girls, almost crawling and pushing their way to the apartment complex as well.
Some of them had pieces of paper and a pen, and some had flowers that they were throwing to the front of the crowd.
Shu caught a glimpse of one of the bigger papers, face slowly starting to feel hot. It was a picture of Luca.
"Oh my gosh". It started to click on why he was running so late with all the paparazzi and fangirls probably attacking him for attention.
"Oh my gosh," Elira echoed. Everyone's jaw in the room was wide open from shock. Shu thought that their expressions couldn't get any crazier until Luca entered the front door.
He was in his rehearsal outfit. Well, part of it. Some of his shirt was ripped and his pants were disheveled. His hair was a mess, like he had been fighting a tornado. In his hands were a bouquet of multicolored tulips that somehow looked better than he did.
"SHU!! Holy crap I'm so so so sorry I'm late, gosh." Luca took his shoes off and tried to brush down his hair. "I'm making such a bad impression on your friends right now, but you won't believe what happened."
Luca made his way to Shu, gave him the tulips, and kissed him on the top of his head. Shu thinks that he heard a squeak come out of Elira and a gasp from Petra.
"Some random fangirl had been stalking me for like a week. She found out what my schedule was and followed me back to the apartment. Apparently, today, she made a social media post and told everyone my location, so when I finished work, bought you flowers, and was almost here, they all came out of nowhere! Shu, I was fighting for my life out there, but I would not let them touch your bouquet, don't worry! I called mane-san too to take care of it, so they should be gone in a bit."
Shu was aghast at this. His boyfriend cared more about keeping something he bought Shu safe than his clothes getting ruined and being thrashed around?
His friends were definitely aghast at this as well. And the fact that THE Luca Kaneshiro was standing in front of them, giving their best friend flowers and kisses.
"WHAT THE FUCK," Claude shouts. "YOU'RE REAL?"
Elira spoke up again, "Holy cow".
Petra was still wide-eyed, jaw agape.
"Bitch, you did well," Uki smirks impressively. "How did you do it?"
Luca rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Actually, I was the one who was interested first. Shu was so attractive and hardworking, I just couldn't help myself you know?"
Shu rolls his eyes and hits Luca lightly on the chest. "Stop it you sap. I was interested first, I knew who you were longer.
"Oh my gosh, they're flirting." Petra says.
"I think it's kind of cute," Claude remarks. "So, Mr. Kaneshiro..."
"Claude, do not ask him for free merch or tickets," Uki deadpans. "Even I'm not that stupid and I'm a bigger fan than you."
"You are not."
"You guys want tickets to the next show?" Luca asks. "That's not a big deal, Shu comes backstage all the time, he can bring his best friends along too."
All of Shu's friends are aghast, yet again.
"Really?" Elira asks giddly.
"Yeah of course! Anything for my tulip." Luca bends down and kisses Shu on the head again, watching his face turn a dark, crimson red.
"Luca..." Shu says embarrassed.
Elira and Petra squeal loudly and Claude and Uki watch amusingly.
"Let's go have dinner, I'm pretty sure everyone is hungry." Shu declares loudly, moving away from the group and into the kitchen.
As he leaves, he can hear laughter coming from the living room and Petra and Uki interrogating Luca. He smiles as he starts to reheat their dinner.
After all, it's not everyday you get to meet your best friend's super-star boyfriend.