Title:Bits and Pieces
One-shot title: Underwear-Clad Dork
Author:Charlotte Russo,
Pairing(s):Ryo/ Yukari
Canon:AU
Pages: 2; 724 words
Notes: -

Disclaimer:Penguin Revolution © Sakura Tsukuba, CMX, HAKUSENSHA, INC.

It was her first assignment shooting a celebrity and her first huge job. Nineteen-year-old Yukari couldn't wait to meet the man she would be photographing. She was stunned to find that Ryo Katsuragi was just as good looking in person as he was on film. Twenty-year-old Ryo was on the rise as the Peacock Talent Agency's top male model.

The situation, however, couldn't have been more awkward:

It was her first big gig, and it was his first time… modeling underwear.

Yukari sighed, playing with one of her pigtails. The harsh words her boss had spoken rung in her ears. If you screw this up, you're fired.Meanwhile, Ryo was receiving a pep talk from Shacho.

"Now remember, Ryo… you wear those boxers! Those boxers don't wear you!"

"Uh. Yeah…" Shacho had the oddest ways for trying to inspire him.

"Um… I'm sorry but… are you almost ready?" Yukari called from the next room. She fidgeted with her camera, glancing over the set, made to look like a beach scene. Why someone would be running around on the beach in their underwear was a mystery to her, but she didn’t question it. She was just the photographer, after all.

"Oh, right." Ryo said, stumbling out of the dressing (or, undressing in his case) room. He laid his eyes on the most beautiful young girl he had ever seen. She had a naïve quality to her, like someone who hadn't been in the business for very long. Caught up in his staring, he didn't notice the cables laying on the ground. Gracefully (read: clumsily) he fell to the floor, face first. Yukari gasped and, holding back a smile and giggle, rushed over to help him.

Great, Ryo inwardly groaned, now she probably thinks I'm just some big, dumb underwear-clad dork.

Yukari inwardly agreed wholeheartedly. However, she couldn't help but be charmed by his stunning, if not slightly embarrassed, smile.

"I'm Yukari." She said. "And I wish my camera had been on five seconds earlier!" Ryo blushed and laughed nervously.

"I'm, uh… Ryo." He paused. "Nice to be working with you."

"You, too. Now, when shall we get started?"

"Whenever you're ready." Yukari motioned for him to get up and go to the set. He did as he was told. Despite her formal training, she couldn't stop blushing at the sight of the slightly older man.

The photo session went on without another hitch. And although Ryo still clumsily stumbled back to the dressing room when it was all over, Yukari couldn't help but take a liking to him.

Yukari's photos had been a real hit. She could hardly take a step outside without seeing Ryo, whether it be on billboards or on the sides of buses. She knew it was silly--really she did, but she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness whenever she saw the photos.

She thought she may be falling in love with the man she couldn't have. He was a model, an actor, and she was just a struggling photographer. And though her status had skyrocketed, there was still no way she could get close to him.

It must have been fate, for one day she checked the messages on her answering machine to find that her boss wanted her to take a second series of pictures with Ryo.

This time, she wasn't going to miss her chance.

The day of shooting, Ryo came right up to her and said he was glad to see her again. "I'm glad to see you too!" She said.
He had no idea.

She loaded her equipment into her car at the end of the day, sighing. The session had went well--again-- but she couldn't shake herself of that crush.

Oh well.

Some things just weren't meant to be.

--

Six months later, everyone was taking her picture. The entire world had seemed to be abuzz with the news of Yukari Fujimaru and Ryo Katsuragi's newly-formed relationship. They would go out for a simple lunch date and hordes of paparazzi would swarm at their table. It was a simple fact-- the pictures proved it-- that the actor and the struggling photographer were perfect for each other.