#shift is so cute what a wholesome backstage story

[izumi-fanclub]

A3! Translation: Shift SR Card “Wanting To Be Relied Upon” [Special homemade udon noodles]

Director meets Shift at an udon shop and asks her for a favor along with Azami to prepare something for his family.

Izumi

(These are all the documents I’ll need for the next meeting, and I think I’m done compiling the surveys too.) 

Is it still noon? I should go out and get something good to eat today. 

I’m really craving some curry udon for some reason... 

Come to think of it, there’s a good udon shop somewhere around here. 

Alright, let’s go to that udon place for lunch today! 

  Clerk 

Welcome~ 

Izumi 

Good afternoon. 

??? 

Ah! Director-saaan! 

Izumi 

Hm? 

Izumi 

Shift-kun! Talk about a coincidence. 

Shift 

Right~ 

Oh, you can sit next to me if you want! 

Izumi 

Thanks. I’ll take you up on that. 

Shift-kun, do you come to this udon shop often? 

Shift 

It’s a long way, isn’t it? I ordered some croquette udon today, and it’s real delicious. It’s got my no. 1 seal of approval. 

Izumi 

Heh, I see. You’re right, it does look delicious.... 

Clerk 

Are you ready to order? 

Izumi 

Oh, yes. I’d like some curry udon, please. 

Shift 

What, but isn’t croquette udon the trend nowadays!? 

Izumi 

Ahaha, sorry, sorry. 

I was in the mood for some curry udon today. 

Shift 

Well, I guess I also crave those every now and again. 

But you should definitely try the croquette udon next time! It’s really good. 

Izumi 

Sure, I’ll keep it in mind! 

Clerk 

Sorry for the wait. 

Croquette udon and curry udon fresh from the kitchen. 

Shift 

Let’s dig in, thank you for the food. 

Izumi 

Thank you for the food. 

Shift 

….. Hm! It’s so good! 

Izumi 

The udon here really must be top-tier. 

I tried to make my own udon before, but I couldn’t get it to be firm like these ones. 

Shift 

Ooh.... director-san, a fellow person of culture! You can’t just get this kind of firmness at home, y’know? 

I mean, you did make your own udon noodles, right? 

Izumi 

Yup, that’s right. 

Shift 

For real!? I was actually thinking of making some homemade udon today. 

I usually heat up some frozen udon, but I want to make something for my little bro and for my mom who’s always home late from work. 

That’s why I’d like to ask a favor from you, director-san. 

Izumi 

From me? 

Shift 

Can we make some udon noodles together? 

I’d like to get advice from director-san since you’ve made authentic homemade udon before! 

Izumi 

Is it really authentic...? You know I just followed a recipe, right? 

Shift 

Well, no, but I’m sure you can do better than me, it’d be great if you can teach me a lot. 

Shift

Director-san, I’m gonna need your powers! Please! 

Izumi 

(Well, I’m done with my work for the day, I don’t have any plans after this, so...... Oh fine.) 

Okay then, I’ll lend you a hand.

Shift 

Alright! Thanks!  

Let’s head to the store after we finish eating the udon! 

    (Part 2) 

 Shift 

Now that we’ve brought all the ingredients from the supermarket, we should start making the udon right away don’t you think? 

Oh right, I should invite Azami over to help out. 

Izumi 

Azami-kun? 

Shift 

He complains but he helps a lot.

Izumi 

Fufu, I think I get what you mean. 

 (LIME) 

Shift: 

Director-san's with me making udon, come on over and help us out! 

Azami: 

Huh? Director? 

Shift: 

We’re waiting~ 

Azami: 

Alright

Shift: 

You don’t need permission to enter the house by the way, it’s all good 

 Shift 

Well, looks like Azami will be here soon. 

Izumi 

Then, let’s get things ready while we wait for him. 

Put the dough in the bag and... Shift-kun, could you knead on these with your feet? * 

Shift 

Ooh! Sounds like fun! 

Alright, like this...? 

Izumi 

Mhmm. 

Azami 

That was tiring. 

Shift 

Oh, you’re finally here~ 

Azami 

You weren’t kidding, director’s actually here.... 

Shift 

I told you so. 

Azami 

I got a DM from Shift earlier, he was a pain in the ass and didn’t go into all the details. 

Izumi 

Ahaha, actually... 

Azami 

I get it. Shift’s troubling you, isn’t he, Director? 

Izumi 

No, it’s no trouble at all. 

Shift 

You heard her! 

Director-san's just acting as my advisor for now. 

Azami 

Don’t tell me that when you’re the one who got her into this. 

…So, what am I supposed to do? 

Shift 

You can help us out with stepping on the udon dough with me first. 

Azami 

Shift looks like he’s got this one, if you ask me. 

Izumi 

Ah, it gets firmer the more you step on it, it’ll be faster if you two worked together. 

Shift 

That’s what I’m trying to say, so come on already. 

Azami 

Guess I got no choice... 

*Approaches Shift to help* 

Shift 

E-easy does it. 

Azami 

Am I even doing this right? 

Shift 

Yeah, that’s it! Director-san, can you snap a pic of us stepping on the dough with my phone? 

Azami 

Why the hell do you even want a picture of us like this? 

Shift 

Nothing wrong with saving up memories, right? 

Izumi 

That’s right! 

Okay, say cheese― 

Yup, that was a nice shot. 

Shift 

If you say so! 

I’m gonna send that to Haruto-san and Madoka later. 

Azami 

How about you don’t. 

Shift 

Time to cut the noodles... is this thick enough? 

Azami 

Doesn’t matter, they’re all uneven. 

Shift 

Oh well, as long as it tastes good. 

Izumi 

Okay, it’s done. You can boil them once your mom comes home. 

Shift 

Got it! Director-san, thanks for sticking with me till the end. 

Izumi 

You’re welcome. 

Shift 

Thanks to director-san, I think I was able to do a pretty good job! 

[ Option 1: Glad I could help. ] 

Izumi 

I’m glad I could help you. 

Shift 

Director-san's advice was easy to understand. And you were pretty good with what you were doing too. 

Azami 

She screws up a lot in our dorms, though. 

Izumi 

Azami-kun, hey! 

Shift 

Ahahah! I knew it! Director-san you’re real funny! 

I wanna talk some more with director-san! Let’s go to the udon shop together again. 

Izumi 

Sure! I’m up for it. 

[ Option 2: I had fun with it, too. ] 

Izumi 

I had fun with it, too. 

Shift 

Same here! 

I’d love to make other dishes with you when I get the chance. 

Izumi 

Sure, why not. 

Shift 

Nice! I’m looking forward to it! I’ll be back to visit you again at the MANKAI dorms. 

Shift 

Thanks for helping out too, Azami. 

Azami 

It’s nothing. 

Shift 

We made a lot, so I’ll share some with director-san. We can’t eat it all by ourselves. 

Izumi 

Then I’ll take it, thank you very much. We’ll have curry udon for dinner. 

Shift 

If you’re gonna go through all the trouble, why not make croquette udon instead? 

Izumi 

Hmmm, but I can’t be separated from curry.... 

Azami 

Oi, don’t tell me both of you had udon for lunch...... 

 Story Clear! 

  -------------------------------

(Yes, the feet) The dough is usually hard to knead with just your hands, so Japanese people traditionally use their feet to roll the dough. 

[thatbluegibson]

CH 53

Thump

“Oh my god, make it stop,” Liz moaned, half asleep in Dave’s arms.

Thump thump

“I’m gonna call him,” Dave grumbled and moved to sit up in the dark.

“No,” Liz sleepily pulled him back to her, “They’re trying to have a baby. Let them enjoy their stupidity for at least one night.”

Dave stared down at Liz with wide eyes. “They’re trying to what?”

She froze, realizing she maybe just revealed some news about his best friend that wasn’t hers to tell. “Go back to sleep,” she whispered.

He settled back next to her, but was now wide awake. Taylor had just called him two days ago to tell him that Ally couldn’t carry any more children, so why the fuck were they trying to get pregnant? Two days ago they were looking for a surrogate - which didn’t mean they couldn’t fool around, but… oh shit. 

“Liz…” his voice sounded like a warning.

“Mmmm,” she grumbled, snuggling her head deeper into his shoulder.

“What did Ally say… exactly?”

There was a brief pause before Liz took a breath, “Just that they were having a tough time getting pregnant. Why?” She shifted a little so she could see his face.

“She didn’t…” he wasn’t quite sure how to finish his question. Did my best friend and his wife try to knock you up? seemed a little much.

“Please don’t tell her I said anything. I don’t want her to think-“

“Taylor already told me,” he pulled her back to him and tried to relax enough to fall back asleep, “Don’t worry.”

*

Taylor grinned when Dave met him in the hallway between their two rooms. “You look like shit,” he laughed.

“Can’t imagine why,” Dave muttered.

“She keep you up all night?” Taylor pointed his chin towards the room Dave had snuck out of, leaving Liz sound asleep in their bed.

“No,” he pointed a finger in his face as he passed him, “you did.”

“Ha! Payback for all those tour bus groupies!” Taylor hurried to keep up.

Dave dragged his hand down his face when they reached the elevators, listening to the soft whirring of the weights behind the door.

“Hey, so…” Taylor shoved his hands in the pockets of the pants he was wearing the night before and awkwardly toed the tile floor. “Ally thinks she found someone.”

Fuck. “Oh yeah?” Dave tried to sound excited for him, but he was up most of the night dreading this exact conversation.

“Yeah. Says she’s in her early thirties, healthy and already has a couple successful pregnancies, so this actually might happen!”

“That’s awesome, man,” Dave tried to sound enthused, but just sounded tired.

“Ally’s pretty jazzed, you know?”

Bet she’s not feeling so great this morning, Dave thought bitterly.

“She’s been taking all this really hard… blaming herself for last time,” Taylor rattled on as they wandered into the lobby, passing the line at the Starbucks and leaving through a side door towards a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf that was just across a small side street. “Dude? Dave, are you listening?”

“Yeah, sorry,” Dave threw on his sunglasses and waited for a car to pass before jogging across the street.

“I thought you’d be excited about this,” Taylor ran to keep up, grabbing his arm to stop him when they reached the other side of the street.

Dave sighed heavily and raked his hair off of his face, hoping he wasn’t misreading the situation, “Who did Ally ask?”

“Fuck, I don’t know. She just said some woman in her early thirties, that was healthy and was already a mom,” he repeated, “I don’t know her name yet.”

Dave waited patiently for the wheels in Taylor’s head to finally reach their destination, giving him an annoyed look when the realization finally hit him.

“Oh shit,” Taylor whispered.

“Uh, yeah,” Dave crossed his arms and turned his face to the sun, momentarily thinking it would be a perfect day to take the bike out.

“Well, did she say yes?” Taylor’s voice knocked Dave back into the present.

“I don’t think Ally really even asked her, dude. I think she just planted the ‘fertility issues’ seed and hoped it would make Liz think about it.”

“But I mean… would she? Do you think Liz would be down for that?” Taylor asked, his voice weak.

Dave turned on his heel and stalked into the coffee shop, unable to deal with all of this on just a couple hours of sleep. Taylor ran after him, hopping around a group of teenagers that were blocking the entrance and stood awkwardly next to him in line, “Sorry, man. We’re just in a jam, you know?”

“So you want to knock up my girlfriend?” Dave froze, still staring at the chalkboard menu hanging over the counter. Girlfriend was a foreign, distant word, but it fit the bill with Liz.

“You’ve only known her two weeks!” Taylor cried.

“What does that have to do with you wanting to put a human, your kid, in my girlfriend’s uterus?” They both realized that their voices were rising and that the entire coffee shop, though small, was staring at them. The girl behind the counter wearing a khaki apron and terrified stare cleared her throat and forced a smile to greet them.

*

“Liz…” Dave set their coffees on her makeup table and went to find her among all the blankets in her bed.

“No,” her voice was muffled through all the linens.

“Get up,” he laughed, already feeling better now that he was alone with her again.

She threw a pile of blankets off her face and smiled up at him, “Or you could get down…” her eyes lit up and she gasped, “Oh that’s where that came from!”

He grinned at her innocent revelation and jumped into the bed next to her, pulling back the rest of the covers to reveal that she still hadn’t gotten up to get dressed yet.

“Why did you even put on clothes?” she teased.

“Because I left to get you coffee!” he pointed to the table as she pulled his shirt off.

“Oh! Thanks!” she started to crawl down the bed, but he yanked her back into the sheets.

“You’re always trying to get away from me, Elizabeth. Why is that?” he smiled down at her as she avoided his stare by undoing his jeans.

“Because if you bring me back, I know you actually want me?” she hesitated a moment. She hadn’t meant for it to sound so heavy, but the mood between them instantly changed. “Sorry… I made it weird, didn’t I?”

“Liz,” he held her wrists still so she would listen, “I flew to the wilds of Oregon and drove over a fucking mountain range in a tin can with Krist just to get to you. What about that makes you think I don’t want you?”

“Okay, but that was last week, so…,” Liz smiled, hoping to relieve the tension a little.

He smiled back at her and released her wrists to kiss her when Taylor pounded on the wall next to them.

“We’re leaving! See you at our house in a bit!”

“A fucking text would have been nice, but thanks T,” Dave yelled back.

*

 Dave and Liz decided to give Taylor and Ally a generous head start, opting to stay in bed, order room service and watch terrible daytime television together. When it was finally time to leave, Liz quickly gathered up her things into her overnight bag and left it with Travis, promising to meet him at the airport by six.

“Is this your fancy ass car?” Liz stopped short behind a low slung Tesla as its tail lights blinked in response to Dave unlocking the doors.

“What, did you think I was going to haul you around in the minivan?” he pulled open the passenger door and waited for her to get in. “I had it dropped off last night just to impress you,” he teased.

“No, it’s... it’s cute,” she said, knowing full well the last thing any man wanted their car to be was ‘cute’. She hopped into the car, immediately folding her hands in her lap and wondering if she should even put her well loved skate shoes on the carpet. The car was pristine and smelled strangely of strawberry chapstick as Sonic Youth played quietly from the stereo.

“It’s this fucking thing,” Dave answered her unasked question when he started the car, flicking the Motorhead air freshener hung from the rear view mirror. “He would have used it as target practice if he knew it smelled like a fucking popsicle.”

Liz smiled at the thought of a pissed off Lemmy opening fire on an innocent air freshener. “Maybe it was too hard to capture the smell of Jack and Coke?”

Dave watched her slide her sunglasses on and settle back into her seat. “He would have loved you,” he finally said, backing the car out of its spot.

Liz laughed a little, “Funny story about that…”

“Oh, Christ. You didn’t fuck him, did you?” Dave asked, only a little serious. Some of the stories he had heard were wild enough to make him uncomfortable, and he had seen some crazy things over the past thirty years.

“No, I think I have the only wholesome backstage Lemmy story in existence. My dad and I bailed on an elementary school father-daughter dance to go to a Motorhead show and somehow ended up backstage in all our finery. I’m pretty sure my mom still thinks we went to the dance.”

“Was that your first concert?” Dave asked, trying to focus on driving through LA traffic and wrap his brain around what Liz was telling him at the same time.

“No, that’s…,” she laughed a little, “that was an entirely different shit show. Anyways, Lemmy saw us watching the opener and thought it was the best thing ever, me in my pink dress and my dad in his suit and was just the sweetest to us. He spent fifteen minutes trying to find me a drink that didn’t have alcohol in it.”

“Tap water?”

“Yep. Probably from a hose outside,” she giggled.

“Okay so what was your first concert?” he asked as they waited at a light to merge onto the freeway.

“Pantera,” she said quickly, “Are you gonna show me what this rocket ship can do or are we gonna go the speed limit the whole way?”

Dave kept his eyes on the traffic light, waiting impatiently for it to turn green before he stomped on the gas and Liz was thrown back into her seat with a yelp. “How’s that for cute?” he laughed.

*

 Dave heard his phone begin to ring and volleyed the ping pong ball back at Taylor so hard that it bounced off the table and disappeared into a stack of drum equipment Taylor had stored in the corner of his garage.

“Point, fucker!” he yelled and answered the call.

“David,” his mother’s stern voice could still make him flinch.

“Yeah, Mom?”

“I’m looking at my email and it says here you have a girlfriend.”

Dave gave an exaggerated sigh and turned away from Taylor as he began tossing his ping pong paddle up in the air. “How many times do I need to ask you to turn off the Google alerts for my name?”

“I’m just checking up on my only son, darling. Now stop hedging and tell me who she is.”

Dave considered his next move carefully while he walked out onto Taylor’s driveway, “She’s an actress.”

“Yes I know that, David. How did you meet her?”

“If you already know who she is, why are you asking me?” he instinctively wanted to apologize for sassing her, “McCartney introduced us.”

“Ah. Well, I suppose if he vouches for her…” she scoffed.

“Mom...” Dave sighed. He knew she was joking, but the conversation was still painful.

“No, David. It’s absolutely fine that you don’t tell me anything about your life anymore.”

“Mom!”

She finally laughed and Dave could hear her laptop closing followed by the familiar squeak of her favorite chair, “Are you happy?”

He thought for a moment, turning to watch Liz laugh with Ally on the front porch of the Hawkin’s house. “Yeah Mom, I am.”

“That’s good, dear,” he could hear the smile in her voice. “Because I’ve seen her boobs and they’re spectacular.”

Dave’s mouth dropped open in shock, “What?”

“In her movie, David. The one about the Russian Princess?” her laugh rang through the phone. “Don’t tell me you haven’t seen her work.”

“I must have missed that one,” he muttered.

“As long as you’re happy, darling.”

“She’s... she’s pretty great,” he said, smiling at Liz as she waved to him from the front porch.

“I’ll expect my dinner invitation to meet her soon, David. Love you.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

He listened to her laugh as she ended the call.

*

 “Thanks for feeding me,” Liz hugged Ally while Dave and Taylor discussed the best way around the LAX traffic.

“You’re always welcome here, Liz!” Ally said, “Taylor and I are headed to London a week early for our anniversary, we should try to meet up for drinks!”

“Oh, I would love that!” Liz cried. She was leaving in a few weeks for England and the only person she knew on this film was Johnny, but she wasn’t about to spend all her free time with him, so the prospect of friends was encouraging.

“You know,” Ally began, but paused to think for a moment, “I was wondering…” The air around them suddenly went still as Taylor and Dave abruptly ceased their conversation to listen to Ally. “I was wondering what you think of pregnancy? Like, if you enjoyed it.”

“Allison…,” Taylor warned.

Liz looked between the two, startled by Ally’s question and the look on Taylor’s face. “Um…,” her eyes landed on Dave, who was glaring harshly at Ally.

“Look, Liz,” Taylor quickly stepped towards them, “Just to kill the awkwardness here because this is not a good time to be asking,” he gave Ally a pointed look which she ignored, “but Ally and I were wondering if maybe you’d be open to-“

“Oh my fucking god,” Dave said under his breath and stormed past them to his car. Taylor and Liz watched him go while Ally stared down at her hands.

“What… is happening?” Liz asked, completely bewildered by the sudden change in everyone.

“We were wondering if you’d be open to being a surrogate… for us,” Taylor finally said and a heavy silence hung over them as Liz absorbed his words. “It wouldn’t be right away, but within like the next couple years,” he added quickly.

Liz snapped her jaw shut when she realized it was hanging open, “I… um… I really would have to…”

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but we just really wanted someone that we like and you kinda check all the boxes,” Ally said gently.

“That’s good to hear,” Liz said, more worried about Dave’s reaction than anything else at the moment, “but I’m going to need some time to think about it.”

“Of course,” Ally nodded.

“I should go check on him,” Liz said quietly, pointing over her shoulder towards Dave’s car, “Thanks again for dinner.” The moment she shut the car door behind her, Dave threw the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway. Liz caught a glimpse of Taylor scolding Ally before the car raced down the street.

“Well…,” she looked over at Dave, noticing his knuckles were white on the steering wheel, “That was weird. Are you okay?”

“Yep,” he answered, sarcastically emphasizing the ‘p’.

“I thought for a moment they were going to ask us to wife swap,” she buckled her seat belt and offered a little laugh, hating how much tension hung between them when she was about to leave for several weeks.

“That probably would have gone over better than them asking to knock you up.”

“So, I’m just going to go out on a limb here and guess that you aren’t okay with this?”

Dave snapped his head towards her so fast that his hair caught on his sunglasses, “You agreed?”

“No!” Liz cried, “I said I needed time to think about it!”

“So you’re going to agree,” he muttered, turning away from her again.

“It’s been less than five minutes, Dave. Give me a little credit.”

The car rolled to a stop at an intersection and he sighed, “It’s just… I finally find someone that I really like and Taylor wants to fucking put a baby in her.”

Liz couldn’t help but laugh at that. She started with a stifled giggle that soon turned into her laughing so hard that she had to wipe away tears.

“I’m so glad you find this funny,” Dave grumbled.

“Oh, come on. You have to admit this is a whole new level of bizarre,” she giggled.

Dave sighed again, distracted by oncoming traffic as he tried to make a left hand turn, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure my best friend asking to borrow my girlfriend’s uterus for nine months is about as bizarre as it gets.”

“He said it would be in the next couple years. It’s not like it’ll happen tomorrow,” now Liz was completely reeling. First she’s being asked to carry a child for another family, then Dave starts admitting he has heavy feelings for her and now he’s calling her his girlfriend? “If you don’t want me to, I won’t,” she said. Ally and Taylor could find another surrogate, maybe she could even help them look for one.

“I don’t want you to,” he said firmly, “And I think it was a dick move to ask you in that way, so I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Liz sat forward a little to see his face better, “Ally and Taylor really want another baby and that makes people weird, you know? Desperation makes good people do dumb shit. Please don’t be mad at them.”

She watched him as he processed her words then sat back in her seat when he didn’t reply. A few more moments passed before he reached out to flip on the stereo and rest his hand on her thigh as The Replacements ‘Little Mascara’ blared around them.

*

 “Dave…,” Liz’s laugh echoed off the parking garage as Dave held her tighter.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to you faking your death and hiding out in my basement until the world forgot your name,” he said quietly into her hair.

“That’s so romantic and not at all creepy,” she said sarcastically.

“It’ll be great! I’ll throw some crackers and string cheese down the stairs for you at least a couple times a day. We’ll work out a system,” he pulled back to look at her.

“You really do want to wear my skin to your birthday party!”

“Yeah, but it’s yours until January,” his smile faded when Travis appeared at the elevators behind them. “Do I really have to let you go?”

Liz searched his face for a moment, “Yes, but maybe I’ll find time to see you in England? Maybe some miracle will happen and I’ll get a weird day off and come see a show.” She wasn’t sure what her schedule was yet, but from what she heard of the director of the film, she wouldn’t be getting any days off.

“Promise?” he knew he was being possessive and whiny, but he couldn’t help it around her.

“I promise,” she whispered, resolving to make the time to see him if she wasn’t given it.

“Liz, we have to go!” Travis called.

She dropped her arms from Dave’s shoulders and wiggled out of his grasp, “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

He nodded and turned back to his car, unable to watch her walk away from him. Just as he hit the unlock button, Liz called his name.

She had stopped a few feet away and grinned at him, “I want my airport hello.”

He dropped his keys on the concrete as she ran towards him, launching herself into his arms just as she had done the morning before. He turned and pinned her against the side of his car as if the harder he kissed her, the more time would slow down.  

“I’m gonna miss you so fucking much,” he whispered.

Liz slid off of him, but pulled him back for another kiss. “You called me your girlfriend earlier,” she said, feeling Dave hold her a bit tighter.

“Did I?” he feigned confusion, “I don’t recall…”

Liz kissed him again and hugged him tightly, burying her face into his neck. “I already miss you,” she smiled sadly before pulling away and jogging to meet Travis.