Self-esteem ToraxNao
Jul. 31st, 2010 05:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
write_my_dreamsAuthor:
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toiunplus Pairing: Tora x Nao, Hiroto x Shou
Genre: Romance, fluff
Warning/Disclaimer: Contains Nao's insecurities. I own nobody.
Rating: PG
Chapter(s): 1/1
Summary: Nao's insecurities about his appearance get to him at a photo shoot, and Alice Nine tries to convince him that there's nothing he should feel insecure about.
Author's Comment: This fic was inspired by Nao saying he has chubby cheeks and isn't as pretty as the others, which is not true! I think Nao's adorable. And happy 30th birthday Nao!
Nao adjusted his shirt as he glanced at the door, waiting for Tora and Saga to come in and tell them who was up next. Alice Nine had a photo shoot today. The members had already done their single pictures and were working on partner shots. After that, it was time for group pictures. Nao felt a little disappointed that he hadn’t gotten to be with Tora yet for the partner shoot. Tora was his boyfriend, and Nao loved posing with Tora in photo shoots. There would be other opportunities though, plus once the photo shoot was over Nao would have his tiger all to himself.
“I wonder who will be next,” Shou mused, pulling Hiroto a little closer. They’d attached themselves to each other as soon as they’d finished their single shots, and the guitarist had made Shou’s lap his seat.
Nao shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“We’ll find out soon. I wonder who has to be the loner of the shoot,” Hiroto wondered, absently playing with Shou’s necklaces.
Nao checked the time on his phone. “Well, it’ll be one of us for sure. Tora and Saga should be done soon though so they’ll let us know when they get back.”
As if on cue, the two in question stepped into the room. “Pon, unglue yourself from your boyfriend. You and Nao are up next,” Saga said, flopping down in a chair and stretching out his long legs.
Nao’s heart sank. Oh no. This would not be a flattering shot. Hiroto was so slender and perfect that Nao would look like a whale standing next to the petite guitarist. “All right.” He got up, adjusting his clothing again as he snuck a glance at Hiroto. His clothes were close fitted to his body which accentuated how slim he was. Nao felt his self-esteem drop. He’d always felt chubby, but he’d feel as fat as a sumo wrestler with Hiroto at his side.
“Nao? Is something wrong?” Tora asked, studying his face.
The drummer froze. After dating for years, Tora knew all of his insecurities and could read him like an open book. “No, nothing’s wrong. Come on, Pon.” He took a step towards the door, trying not to look at Tora. The taller man always saw through his lies, and he’d know something was wrong since Nao had denied it.
“Guess you’re alone for this shoot, Shou.” Hiroto slid off of Shou’s lap and got to his feet. “Let’s go!” He skipped out of the room followed by a gloomy Nao. They entered the room with the photographers, and they were positioned next to each other. Nao bit his lip, resisting the urge to ask Hiroto to stand back a bit so he wouldn’t make him look so fat. That would disrupt the shoot though, so he kept his self-esteem issues as he posed with Hiroto, but he could feel his mood getting worse and worse the longer they stood with each other. Finally, their share of the photo shoot ended.
One of the photographers turned to Nao. “Could you get the rest of your band? It’s time for the group shots.”
“Of course.” The drummer headed back to the waiting room with Hiroto. “They’re ready for us to do the group shots.”
“Great.” Saga got to his feet.
Nao looked at Tora, whose dark eyes practically bored into his own. Tora knew something was up. “You guys go on ahead; I want to talk to Nao for a few moments.”
“Don’t make out with him for too long,” Saga teased. “I’ll go wait with the lovebirds then.” He snickered as Shou blushed, but the three of them left the room, leaving Nao alone with Tora.
“Talk to me. Something’s wrong.”
Nao forced a smile. “No, there’s nothing wrong.”
“Then why do you look sad?”
“Sad? I’m not sad, really. I’m all right, Tora. Stop worrying.” Nao smiled wider.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” Tora didn’t need to know the cause for his earlier sadness.
“We’ll see about that.” The guitarist didn’t look convinced. Everyone knew Nao was a terrible liar, but fortunately for Nao, Tora didn’t press him for details. He simply draped his arms around the drummer’s waist and pulled him into a hug. Nao snuggled closer, appreciating the gesture. Tora always knew what to do when he felt gloomy.
Nao pulled back. “Let’s finish our photo shoot.”
Tora nodded. “Let’s.” They reunited with their band mates, and the photographers lined them up. Nao found himself sandwiched between Saga and Hiroto. Great. Stuck between sex appeal and slender and perfect. This wasn’t good.
The drummer shifted awkwardly. “Pon, can you switch places with Shou?”
Hiroto blinked. “Yeah, sure. Why? Does my outfit clash with yours?”
“I look so fat next to you!” Nao blurted out, blushing furiously as the rest of Alice Nine stared at him with incredulous looks on their faces.
“Did you just say you look fat?” Saga asked.
Hiroto poked Nao’s stomach. “Nao, you aren’t fat.”
“Compared to the rest of you I am.”
Shou frowned. “Nao, that isn’t true.”
“Yes it is,” Nao insisted, crossing his arms over his chest with a sigh.
Tora shook his head. “No it’s not.”
Realizing they were holding up the photo shoot, Nao uncrossed his arms. “Forget it, we need to do our photo shoot.”
“We’ll talk about this later,” Tora said.
“Definitely.” Hiroto scooted closer to Nao, giving him a warm smile. “Give me a smile and I’ll buy you Starbucks.”
Nao cast him a tentative one, but frowned. “I don’t think I should get so much Starbucks anymore. All the calories in those drinks are just going to make me fatter.”
Saga face palmed. “Nao! You aren’t fat. Stop saying that.”
The drummer shook his head. “Enough. Let’s just finish the photo shoot.” There were no complaints from the other members, and after successfully completing their photo shoot and looking at some of the pictures, they went off to change.
Tora cornered Nao before he could pop out a single button on his shirt. “Why do you think you’re fat?”
The drummer squirmed. “I am fat. I have chubby cheeks and I have a lot of fat on my legs too. It looks worse when I’m next to any of you!” He gestured at his band mates. “All of you look so perfect. You’re all gorgeous and thin, and I’m just some fat slob.”
Saga frowned. “Nao, you’re delusional. You aren’t ‘some fat slob’ at all.”
“He’s right. I don’t see some fat slob when I look at you,” Tora said.
“But I look so awful next to you guys,” Nao sighed. “Especially when I’m by Pon!”
Hiroto scowled. “I’m shorter than you so if you were built like me, you’d look anorexic.”
“Yeah, your body is different than Hiroto’s, but so what? That doesn’t mean you’re fat.” Shou hugged Nao. “That’s just a stupid thing to stay.” He smoothed some of the drummer’s hair out of his face, looking concerned. “Why do you think you’re fat, Nao? I don’t think you have chubby cheeks or fat legs.”
“My stomach is big too.”
Tora raised an eyebrow. “Oh really?” He poked Nao’s stomach. “This is pretty flat.”
“We’ve all seen you without a shirt on, Nao. And Tora’s seen a lot more. We know you aren’t fat so stop with the ‘I’m fat’ crap,” Hiroto said, joining the group hug with Nao and dragging Saga along.
Nao blushed. “But I don’t feel like I’m thin, and you guys are all so gorgeous.”
Saga scowled. “Nao, stop that. You’re not ugly. You’re adorable.”
“Yeah, you’re really cute, Nao!” Shou said, hugging him closer. “I wish I was as cute as you are.”
“I think you’re gorgeous, Nao.” Tora kissed the top of his head. “And that’s not because I love you. It’s because it’s true.”
Touched by their care, Nao tried to wrap his arms around his band mates and hug all of them at the same time. “Thanks, guys.”
Shou beamed. “You’re welcome.” He ruffled Nao’s hair. “I doubt any of us have perfect self-esteem, but you are not fat and you aren’t ugly either. Tora and Saga are right. Just because you aren’t built like a walking stick doesn’t mean you’re fat. You look fine just the way you are.”
Nao smiled a little. Maybe they were right.
Tora claimed Nao from the group hug, pulling him close. “If you call yourself ‘fat’ or ‘unattractive’ ever again, I’m throwing out all of your Gundam stuff.”
All color drained from Nao’s face. “W-What?”
Tora smirked. “You heard me.”
Hiroto patted Nao’s shoulder. “I think you should throw out all of his Gundam stuff if he doesn’t tell everyone that he’s skinny and handsome.”
Tora smiled evilly. “That’s a great idea. Come on, Nao. Let’s hear it.” He released Nao and spun him around so that he was facing the rest of Alice Nine.
Nao hesitated but mumbled out the words.
Saga looked unimpressed. “That doesn’t sound sincere and I could barely hear you.”
Shou nodded. “Come on, Nao. Louder!”
Flushing, Nao raised his voice. “I’m skinny and handsome.”
“There you go!” Hiroto ruffled his hair. “That wasn’t so hard.”
Smiling faintly, Nao nodded and pressed up against Tora’s side. He felt better and although he hadn’t been able to convince himself that the words were true, he knew that with friends as great as these, someday he’d be able to say the words with pride.
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Date: 2010-07-31 09:30 pm (UTC)I'm not sure, I heard about it from my friend so I'll see if she remembers. I know! I don't know HOW he can think he has fat cheeks or that he's not as pretty as the others. Shou's the same! I read this interview where he was all "Oh I'm not as pretty as Saga"... it's like goodness, do you boys own a mirror?!
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Date: 2010-07-31 09:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-31 10:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-31 10:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-01 07:22 pm (UTC)I was like... *covers face with hands*... I can't believe he said that.
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Date: 2010-08-01 07:32 pm (UTC)Do you have a link to where I can read that?
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Date: 2010-07-31 09:31 pm (UTC)*hugs Nao* Thanks for writing ths ^^
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Date: 2010-07-31 10:00 pm (UTC)*hugs him too* Thanks for reading :)
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Date: 2010-07-31 11:56 pm (UTC)favourite bit was totally
“If you call yourself ‘fat’ or ‘unattractive’ ever again, I’m throwing out all of your Gundam stuff.”
my mind totlly felt his pain hahaaa but its a good move
thaks for this <3
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Date: 2010-08-01 02:19 am (UTC)XD I'm happy you enjoyed that one
Haha definitely. Thanks for reading! Aww your icon is so cute
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Date: 2010-08-01 01:21 am (UTC)I love this story :3
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Date: 2010-08-01 02:20 am (UTC)Aw, I'm happy you do
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Date: 2010-08-01 01:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-01 02:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-01 02:42 am (UTC)I understand them too since my body image is pretty bad too, haha. That's good then :) Very true
Thanks for reading!
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Date: 2010-08-01 03:20 am (UTC)loved the end, ahaha, hiroto is scary with his threats XD
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Date: 2010-08-01 03:22 am (UTC)Haha yes, Nao probably would have cried if he'd lost all his precious Gundam stuff
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Date: 2010-08-01 06:13 am (UTC)This ish shou cute (^.^)
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Date: 2010-08-01 03:46 pm (UTC)And yes, Nao is adorable!
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Date: 2010-08-05 10:22 pm (UTC)eeeee cuteNESS on a Nao shaped STICK.
that was adorable. :3
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Date: 2010-08-06 02:13 am (UTC)Thanks!
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Date: 2010-08-06 08:53 am (UTC)you're welcomee :D