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Even though he was on vacation, Nezumi had been keeping himself busy. Busier, even, that he normally would be in the office.

Sitting down with a steaming mug of hot cocoa, the mousy manager leaned against the cold window in the second story bedroom. So many things had happened in the recent past that it left him reeling to even think about it. That's why he sat there with a notepad in hand, going over a list he had handwritten of things that he needed to either do, or remember he had done, in regard to Michi-kun's budding career.

It was a lot of work, trying to get a potential star up and moving. It was very different from simply handling an already established star, like Chiyou-kun.

Chiyou...thinking about the adorable, perky young blond only served to depress him. Of course once he thought of Chiyou, he couldn't help but go from point A to point B and think of Hiroki. God...how awful could it get! Rejections all around! Let's all play "Shun the Manager"! Hell...the only thing that could piss the mousy man off worse right now would be if he found out Hiroki had gone off and hooked up with someone else...or worse, another employee...or...even worse...a star!

Looking down at his pencil, Nezumi took in a deep breath and set the thin shaft of wood on top of the pad of paper in his lap. He was thinking ridiculous things again, and he knew it. Hiroki wasn't ready for a relationship with anyone. He'd made that perfectly clear. His mind was just going to strange places again. He'd been hurt, and it would take him time to heal...again.

Perhaps a longer time than he had patience for, given the size of the crack in the pencil where he had nearly snapped the writing tool in two.

It would be better for everyone if he just forgot about everything and stayed focused on the cheese at the end of the tunnel, like a good little mouse should.

The furrow on the mouse's brow erased itself immediately as Michi came into the room with the delicious breakfast.

"Seriously?! All that for me?!" the manager practically sparkled with joy at the meal that was place before him! He may as well have had hearts floating around his head, he looked so pleased.

"Itadakimasu!" Shinobu barely got the words out before chopsticks met tamago met lips.

"Oishii!!!!!" immediately followed, with the manager wriggling happily in his chair like a well-kept pet. Warm, cheesy comfort food certainly could make a difference in a dark mood, at least for Nezumi.

"Mm...I was just..." he swallowed, then continued, "...going over some things that I needed to get done. And a few that I needed to remember that I had already done. Last thing I want to do is to double book you for something or to forget to set you up with vocal trainers, lyricists, or dance instructors. Trust me, you'd want my head on a silver platter if I messed up even the smallest detail." the little mouse chuckled and shook his finger to make a point.

Sitting there in his pale yellow cardigan with the collar of his s**t poking up at the edges, the manager really did cut the most adorable figure, with those bright, happy brown eyes, even if he didn't realize it.

Being compared to Izzy Lucky was not exactly a complement to Nezumi...but that was simply because of the dislike they held for one another. Michi had no way of knowing that, so the manager chose not to even dwell on the passing thought.

"Well, I don't have you booked for anything right away, of course. I'm going to give it about a month before I start you off at a few of the smaller venues, then I'll step you up to some daytime variety shows, then we'll go from there. I want you to have time to work on your music and performance without feeling overly stressed, so if you need to slow down, or want to speed up, just let me know. You don't have to worry about any of that until everyone gets back from the holiday, though." the mouse explained thoroughly what the situation was, then pushed his glasses up on his nose with his index finger.

"Sliced...cheese?" Nezumi repeated after Michi, his head tilting to the side as his mind suddenly drifted to another world, a world where rich golden cheddar lined the streets, where havarti and bleu were abundant, where queso ran like water!

Obviously, the manager was going to have to be snapped out of his reverie if this conversation were to continue...

"Mmm...three cheese pizza......" Nezumi muttered to himself absently, holding his chin in between his finger and thumb before finally snapping out of it.

"Ah...gomen! I didn't sleep too well last night. Had a lot on my mind." the manager smiled, trying to brush off the fact that he had just been in la la land.

"Costuming? Well, that's up to you, actually. The way I picture you isn't all flashy like Shou from SMASH, or Narcissus-san. For you, I imagine something simpler, but very sleek and sexy. I say you can pick your own clothing...but from higher end designers or a hired tailor. We don't want you to look like just anybody off the street, but we also don't want to give you a completely unattainable image either. Do you feel what I'm saying?" Nezumi picked up a wet grape from his fruit cup and slid it onto the tip of his tongue, letting it roll along his bottom lip and into his mouth absently, not really thinking of how aloof and, suddenly, cutely sexy, he was coming off.
In his mind, he was thinking of all the cheese again.

"Iie, iie, I'm certainly not talking Armani. That would be for very special occasions only. I'm thinking more along the lines of...well, anything from H&M all the way up to Poison Angel and everything in between. Nothing too too expensive, but nothing cheap or poorly made, either. Honestly, the way you dress right now is attractive enough. I think I see you wearing lots of dress shirts...anything with buttons that can be left unbuttoned. Very...sexy." the petite manager found himself slowly licking his lips as he took in the man's body. Lean, fit, very sleek, yet strong. He could imagine that the man must give off a wonderful warmth when very close...

Blushing slightly, Nezumi cleared his throat.

"Ah, but yes....the things you bought in LA would be perfect, in my opinion. Things along that line are good. I guess you're right though...maybe I do need some down time. Heh...sometimes I feel like my mind is...somewhere else completely. I see no need to make you do any work right now. You need your rest. It is the holiday, after all!" the mouse squeaked cheerfully.

"As far as the rest of the day, well, we can do whatever you want, just name it." the manager left it up to his charge what the plans for the day would be, for better or for worse.

"Isn't that considered sexy for all fit, handsome young men? I couldn't get by with doing that, but you certainly can. You've got a much more muscular build than I do. I mean, honestly, try picturing me dressed like that. It just wouldn't work." the manager sat back in his chair and laughed. It was easy to imagine...Michi, before throngs of screaming fans, his shirt unbuttoned halfway down his chest like the hero of a romance novel. Nezumi, on the other hand, pictured himself sitting on a floor in an oversized dress shirt, half buttoned, practically swallowed by the thing like a little moe anime character. Kind of like...

No...he was not going to think of that time!

Hearing what Michi was saying about Armani even through his thick cloud of scattered thoughts, the mouse blinked at the young man a few times and tilted his head, then sighed, putting the pencil and pad on the desk.

"I told you, my mind's been on a lot. I'm amazed I can even think straight at all. I'm sorry. Armani is fine, just nothing too terribly fancy, unless there's a special occasion, of course. I'm not a fashion designer or style reporter by any means, so I'll leave it to you to dress yourself and we'll go from there." he chuckled, shaking his head at his own air-headedness.

Picking up his fruit cup, he mixed in the cottage cheese and began devouring it like the hungry little mouse he was.

"Ok, ok. I'll call it quits for the day and we can just...do whatever." Shinobu said around a mouthful of food. God, Michi sure knew how to please his palate! This was one awesome breakfast!

Pausing, the manager looked up at his charge when posed the question, a small smirk on his lips.

"Well, I don't know. Which do you think I'll like better?" he asked in response, figuring he'd tease the man back, if he was going to be getting teased himself.

L....l....li....like....the.....the.....FANTASY!?

Something in the little manager's head nearly broke after hearing such a thing coming from his soon-to-be star! That hadn't been what he meant at all! Did...did Michi-kun actually get that sort of impression from him, he wondered?

What he had been about to say in regard to working out simply fell right out of his head and he was left sitting there, beads of sweat forming at his temples and a dumbfounded look on his face as Tanaka Michi pulled the sexiest little shirt out of the closet and slipped out the door to go clean up and get dressed.

"Th...that...wasn't what I...." the mouse finally squeaked, though his angelic-voiced charge had already gone too far to hear.

Slumping his shoulders and hanging his head, Nezumi just sighed. Sometimes...no...a lot of the time, he just managed to embarrass himself by being completely oblivious.

Still...could he really say, without a doubt, that he didn't find Michi-kun attractive?

No...of course he did. Who the hell wouldn't? You'd have to be straighter than an arrow not to! And even then...the man could probably make iron bend with those looks...

Finding his thoughts drifting to....inappropriate things....Nezumi blushed furiously and shook his head. That wasn't how he should think of someone he worked with, and he knew it! After all...where had that gotten him...every other time?

For a few moments, Nezumi sat stock still in the chair he had occupied all morning. It wasn't very nice, being teased like that. It was embarrassing and, well, kind of mean, he thought.

Well...if his star was going to put him in that position, then perhaps he should turn the tables...

Picking up his cup of cocoa, the manager poured the remainder of the lukewarm liquid all down his outfit, which, luckily for his plan, was the last clean one he had.

Now that his clothing was sufficiently stained, the mouse quickly rifled through Michi's closet, finding a white dress shirt that was just big enough on him to look adorably saggy. Leaving the cuffs unbuttoned and only buttoning the shirt up halfway, he grabbed a pair of shorts and slipped them on, leaving him looking nearly as though he had bare legs.

In this getup, the manager was utterly adorable, almost like a young girl with short hair wearing her boyfriend's clothes, once he took his glasses off. With the glasses off, there was a huge difference in appearance. Nezumi went from being a cute-yet-severe businessman to a preciously sweet youth.

Padding downstairs, he raided the fridge for cheese and got out some crackers, making a little tray and quickly carrying it into the living room.
Like he had hoped, nobody else was around.

Tucking his legs under him on the couch, he began to nibble on the cheese as he watched TV.

Two could play at this game, and he'd see how Michi-kun felt when it was him feeling all awkward!