Fic: Hospital Bed
Title: Hospital Bed
Pairing: Aiba/Nino
Rating: G
Genre: Friendship/General
Summary: It's not the first time Aiba visits the hospital. And Nino assures him it doesn't really matter.
It's not like it's the first time Aiba is hospitalized and everyone is worried about his health condition. He lies in his uncomfortable hospital bed (uncomfortable because his bed held some sort of sense of unfamiliarity) and he blinks wearily at the nurse tinkering with his IV drops. He doesn't really like hospitals in general because everything is immaculately white and Aiba is never used to plain things; everything else that mattered to him were vibrant and colorful and screamed personality. Here, it was just... dull, and it even seemed to be sucking the life out of him.
He closes his eyes briefly as the nurse walks away and shuts the door with a click.
'I've become a burden again...' Aiba thinks. 'I've let them down for the... I don't even know how many times already.'
He sighs and rubs his eyes to prevent his tears from falling onto his cheeks. If that happened, he'll end up crying himself to sleep, only to wake up with a tear-stained face and puffy red eyes.
He is brought out of his musings by a knock on the door, and Aiba quickly props his head on the pillow properly and smoothes down his sheets. He simply waits in anticipation for the visitor, and puts on a ready smile.
The person seems to regret not waiting for a response from Aiba, and was opening the door very slowly. Aiba laughs and calls out jokingly, "You've already begun to open the door; finish the act promptly, whoever you are! Unless you want me to get up from here and let you come in myself."
The person at the door sighs audibly and pushes the door completely. "Aiba-chan."
Aiba's eyes widen a fraction and he grips his sheets tighter. "Nino-!" he winces when his chest tightens from the excitement of seeing his friend, and Nino rushes over to him.
"H-hey, don't stress yourself out too much," Nino says gently, pushing Aiba back onto the mattress. "I wouldn't want to explain to the nurse as to why you're so star-struck over a person like me." He smirks.
When Aiba has settled, he gives Nino a fond smile as Nino places a lunch box on his table. "Onigiri from my mom. She says to get well soon."
Aiba nods and quietly smiles. "Thank you." Nino steps in front of the foot of his bed and stares at him. Aiba stares bright back with innocent eyes.
Nino rubs his face and breathes deeply, crossing his arms in front of him as he flops down onto the couch behind him. "Aiba-chan, what have-" he starts to say.
But Aiba has already begun speaking. "Oh god I am so sorry. I'm sorry I failed you guys. Again," he says and when he looks at Nino, there is a pleading look in his eyes.
"..."
"I'm really sorry! I let my guard down and I even promised you guys that I'll do my best and I wouldn't get sick again and now..."
Nino regards him silently. "Seriously?"
"And now I'm here again and ..." Aiba stops mid-sentence. "...Excuse me?"
He rests his hands on his knees and leans forward. "I said seriously, Aiba." His tone is obviously irritated but laced with amusement. "I was going to reprimand you on why you didn't tell us earlier but..."
Aiba looks at him in confusion. "Uh, isn't that what you were supposed to be doing five minutes ago?"
"Well, yes, I was supposed to tell you just that, but you made another opening for me to remind you just why you're in Arashi."
"What? You kinda lost me there." Aiba pouts.
He laughs and crosses his legs nonchalantly. "I don't understand why you're my best friend. Really." Nino has his head down so Aiba doesn't see his expression. "But I never thought you'd forget that easily." His voice turns serious.
Aiba's eyes wander away from Nino now; he finds the wall behind Nino interesting. "Do you still not trust us? Even after eleven years? I'm disappointed."
Aiba's frown sets in deeper. "I don't understand."
"Sho is frantic, as usual. God, if you could just hear him fret over you! He's picked up on Jun as his new emotional-sponge, by the way. Saves me the trouble. But Jun doesn't mind. And he doesn't show it, but I can tell he's worried about you too. As for leader..." Nino continues. "You know how leader is but yeah, he asks about your condition every fifteen minutes."
Aiba tears up slightly at this and their eyes meet. The tension from earlier evaporates and instead they erupt into uproarious laughter.
"As expected of Arashi, yes? But how about... Nino-chan?" Aiba asks in a quiet voice.
Nino smiles at him from his seat. "Isn't my visit enough for you? I could be battling it out with a boss instead of talking to a babbling idiot you know," he says pointedly.
"Ouch. You'd do that?" Aiba retorts, feigning hurt.
He chuckles. "Nah, not really."
They stop talking and instead takes comfort in the silence that hangs between them. Nino hums a tune.
"1992*4##111?"
"Yeah."
"I never really knew what those symbols meant."
Nino snorts. "As if."
"What does it mean anyway? And don't you find it hard to say the title out loud?"
"...special."
Aiba's mouth makes an o-shape and he taps his chin thoughtfully. "The person you wrote it for must be really lucky."
Nino smirks and runs a hand through his hair. "Yeah, must be very special," he says. "I'm still disappointed in you, mind you."
"Eh? Why?"
"You still think you're a burden, huh?"
Aiba shifts uncomfortably at the question, lifting his left hand that started to go numb and he grips his right arm. "Well, I really am! Our rehearsals were cancelled because of me."
"That's not it, Aiba. Don't you think telling us you were experiencing chest pains earlier would have been more convenient? Your health is on the line here and it's supposed to be our top priority. Arashi would never think of you as some kind of pest. And even if you were some kind of pest, we'd never turn our back against you. It saddens me that you still think of yourself that way when I thought I very well made clear that that isn't the case."
Nino pauses to breathe and continues on in a whisper. "And I even promised I'd tell everyone firsthand whenever you were feeling sick and I couldn't even do it now. I'm disappointed in myself because I couldn't keep my end of the bargain."
Aiba sniffs. "Nino-chan... I'm sorry."
He stands up and sits down on the chair beside Aiba's bed. "It's just that... we were all worried about you and we had no idea. We care about you, Aiba-chan. Even from before that first incident. It's never changed. It's always been that way."
This time, Aiba openly cries and Nino laughingly smacks him lightly on the head. "Don't cry so loudly, you idiot!" he ends up crying and sniffing as well. "You're not even supposed to be crying. You're a grown man, aren't you?!"
"Right back at you! And grown men can cry too, Nino!"
orzzzz I feel like shit. I can't write anymore ogod. @_@ THEY'RE OUT OF CHARACTER, AREN'T THEY? I FAIL. OTL I FEEL LIKE I'M WRITING PHOENIX/EDGEWORTH INSTEAD D: