Arashi - AU - Voyager 5/12
Title: Voyager
Chapter: 5
Fandom: Arashi
Pairing: ohmiya etc.
Word count: 1379
Notes: I just have to get used to not being very satisfied with this chapter, I guess. :/
earlier chapters:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
05. Hear the noise?
Sure, Nino liked Jun. And, of course, he liked Aiba too. But he still didn't particularly care to know about all the fun things Aiba had done with Jun when he returned from his visits to the outer world. Aiba's leftover energy from these visits tended to make him even more talkative than usual.
"I have friends too," Nino cut in during one of Aiba's speeches, right after the third time he said something like "you should have come too I'm sure Jun wouldn't mind if you hung out with us it's really fun you know", all words jumbled into one eager sentence. Aiba stopped talking and looked at Nino, curious. "Sakurai Sho, remember?" Nino said, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Aiba.
"Oh. Right," Aiba nodded, smiling amicably. "He never visits, though," he then added.
Nino felt the old bitterness wash over him again. Things had happened. He didn't want to talk about the past and he didn't need Aiba's compassion and pity, so he didn't tell him anything. Instead, he turned his back to Aiba, hiding from his eyes that always tended to see more than he wanted to tell. "That's because he's asleep," he said, staring at a stack of books with a half-eaten sandwich on top of them. "He has been asleep for four years now."
"Huh?"
"You know. Mages," Nino sneered and left the room.
--
Sakurai Sho slept with his heartstone in his hands. It was glowing electric blue between his fingers, casting shadows on his white bedroom walls, turning them into a shade of glimmering, magical blue. His body didn't move while he slept and his dreams were colourless.
The light of the heartstone flickered and the shadows on the walls moved.
"I don't understand why you do this," Nino said, lowering his head on Sho's chest. "Isn't it lonely?"
Sho knew what he was really saying, like he always knew what Nino meant, right from the moment they had met all those years ago when both of them still had mothers and the days had all seemed to be tinted orange, like old photographs. I'm lonely.
When Nino moved, he left yellow trails in Sho's vision. Nino was unsteady flutters of bright colour in the grey hues of his dream. Sho had always liked the effect.
"Get out, Nino. I'm sleeping," Sho muttered, unable to keep the warmth out of his voice. It had been a while.
Nino sniffed and didn't move. "Bah. You're boring, Sho-chan. Come on, let's play."
"I know how much effort it is to get into my dream. All the planning and directing and breaking through the defences. And after you went through all that, you want to play? You came here to waste your time?"
"Yes," Nino smiled and shifted so that he was looking up at Sho, his chin digging into Sho's chest. Nino's body against him was too warm for his dream. He had gotten used to the cold echo of the space the heartstone made for him. He was too used to the nothingness. Nino's presence was almost overwhelming.
Sho sighed. He had never been very good at resisting that smile. "Fine. What do you want to do?"
Nino's smile widened. "Baseball!"
"I don't know why I keep indulging you," Sho sighed as the scenery around them melted and changed shape, the colours slowly bleeding into it, like watercolours running in reverse, flowing back into the painting.
So they played. Nino conjured other players from somewhere, maybe from other dreams or maybe just from thin air, from pure dream matter. They were like white plastic mannequins dressed in baseball gear, faces featureless and eyes blank. They were more a distraction than a help for Sho. And so were the field itself and all of their surroundings. Nino liked to play with perceptions, especially when he could mess with someone's head, especially if that someone was Sho, and this time wasn't any different. The grass was purple and the sky was green, but even with these distractions Sho thought that he was doing okay. Until the third inning, anyway.
"This isn't fun, Nino," he complained, tapping his bat on the ground, trying to keep himself from pouting childishly.
"What? Kicking your ass is always fun!" Nino laughed and waved his gloved hand at him.
"Maybe to you. But even so, doesn't always winning start getting monotonous after a while?"
Nino pretended to think about it before telling Sho that no, it really didn't get monotonous at all and why didn't he use normal words like ‘boring' like everyone else? Was he too high and mighty mage for simple words like that? "Anyway," Nino said, interrupting himself. "I actually had something to tell you."
"So you didn't come to play after all." Sho tossed his bat away and sat down on the bench on the edge of the field. He watched how the other players slowly faded into nothingness.
"I can do both things at the same time," Nino countered, shrugging. "A little while ago I met someone called Matsumoto Jun. Ever heard of him?"
Sho frowned. "...Yeah. I have heard of him. Natural talent, got recognized early. Council admitted him without any preliminary. He just got in," Sho shook his head like the idea was very shocking to him. "What did you think?"
Nino gave Sho a wolfish grin. "I think he likes my..." he paused, frowning. "Actually, I don't know what I should call Aiba. Technically he's my apprentice but he's older than me and can you imagine me having an apprentice? 'A pain in the ass' comes to mind, but I can't keep introducing him as that. Gives people the wrong idea."
"Definitely," Sho chuckled. "So, you're finally starting to be responsible, huh? Teaching someone, spreading your knowledge... I'm glad. Has he moved in yet?"
Nino shot a quick glare at Sho and leaned back on the bench. "He just appeared on my doorstep two weeks after I met him. So far he's made a mess out of my living room and my library. I'll never find anything ever again from there. He is really interested, though. And he picks things up very quickly."
Sho smiled. The pride in Nino's voice was evident. He thought that Nino noticed it too since he didn't look Sho in the eye while he complained. "You make me want to meet him."
"But you're ‘resting'. You can't meet anyone," Nino said, trying to keep most of his bitterness out of his voice.
"I can meet you," Sho pointed out gently.
There was a pause before Nino answered. "I don't want to bring him into a mage's dream, idiot. He could do damage. You could do damage to him."
"Ooh, Nino's being protective of someone!" Sho cooed. "So very cute, Nino-chan." Nino could change moods very rapidly and Sho needed to keep him there, to keep him talking for a little while longer. Upset Nino always left too quickly. It really had been too long since he had last seen Nino. He had to keep the mood light.
"Shut up. He's a lot of work and needs to be looked after all the time. I am just being sensible. You're avoiding a disaster because of me. Be grateful."
"You're changing," Sho said softly, nudging Nino with his elbow. "I can feel it. I just hope you won't leave me behind."
"So wake up and change with me, Sleeping Idiot. Or I might come and kiss you awake."
Sho hummed, amused. "It's gotten colourless again."
"We're back in your dream. Mages," Nino huffed. "So boring. Can't even dream in colour."
Sho ignored him, draping his arm around Nino's shoulders instead. Nino shifted slightly, moving to lean against Sho's side without protesting, surprising him. Nino really had changed.
"It's been four years. Maybe it's time," he said. For a fleeting moment, Nino felt warm against his side. Then the moment passed and he couldn't hold on to his friend anymore.
"It was time three years ago. You're late," Nino said quietly, offering a tight, tired smile to him before fading away, stepping through his Door.
Sho went back to sleep. But the light of the heartstone kept pulsing and flickering, moving the shadows in his room.
To chapter 6
Chapter: 5
Fandom: Arashi
Pairing: ohmiya etc.
Word count: 1379
Notes: I just have to get used to not being very satisfied with this chapter, I guess. :/
earlier chapters:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
05. Hear the noise?
Sure, Nino liked Jun. And, of course, he liked Aiba too. But he still didn't particularly care to know about all the fun things Aiba had done with Jun when he returned from his visits to the outer world. Aiba's leftover energy from these visits tended to make him even more talkative than usual.
"I have friends too," Nino cut in during one of Aiba's speeches, right after the third time he said something like "you should have come too I'm sure Jun wouldn't mind if you hung out with us it's really fun you know", all words jumbled into one eager sentence. Aiba stopped talking and looked at Nino, curious. "Sakurai Sho, remember?" Nino said, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Aiba.
"Oh. Right," Aiba nodded, smiling amicably. "He never visits, though," he then added.
Nino felt the old bitterness wash over him again. Things had happened. He didn't want to talk about the past and he didn't need Aiba's compassion and pity, so he didn't tell him anything. Instead, he turned his back to Aiba, hiding from his eyes that always tended to see more than he wanted to tell. "That's because he's asleep," he said, staring at a stack of books with a half-eaten sandwich on top of them. "He has been asleep for four years now."
"Huh?"
"You know. Mages," Nino sneered and left the room.
--
Sakurai Sho slept with his heartstone in his hands. It was glowing electric blue between his fingers, casting shadows on his white bedroom walls, turning them into a shade of glimmering, magical blue. His body didn't move while he slept and his dreams were colourless.
The light of the heartstone flickered and the shadows on the walls moved.
"I don't understand why you do this," Nino said, lowering his head on Sho's chest. "Isn't it lonely?"
Sho knew what he was really saying, like he always knew what Nino meant, right from the moment they had met all those years ago when both of them still had mothers and the days had all seemed to be tinted orange, like old photographs. I'm lonely.
When Nino moved, he left yellow trails in Sho's vision. Nino was unsteady flutters of bright colour in the grey hues of his dream. Sho had always liked the effect.
"Get out, Nino. I'm sleeping," Sho muttered, unable to keep the warmth out of his voice. It had been a while.
Nino sniffed and didn't move. "Bah. You're boring, Sho-chan. Come on, let's play."
"I know how much effort it is to get into my dream. All the planning and directing and breaking through the defences. And after you went through all that, you want to play? You came here to waste your time?"
"Yes," Nino smiled and shifted so that he was looking up at Sho, his chin digging into Sho's chest. Nino's body against him was too warm for his dream. He had gotten used to the cold echo of the space the heartstone made for him. He was too used to the nothingness. Nino's presence was almost overwhelming.
Sho sighed. He had never been very good at resisting that smile. "Fine. What do you want to do?"
Nino's smile widened. "Baseball!"
"I don't know why I keep indulging you," Sho sighed as the scenery around them melted and changed shape, the colours slowly bleeding into it, like watercolours running in reverse, flowing back into the painting.
So they played. Nino conjured other players from somewhere, maybe from other dreams or maybe just from thin air, from pure dream matter. They were like white plastic mannequins dressed in baseball gear, faces featureless and eyes blank. They were more a distraction than a help for Sho. And so were the field itself and all of their surroundings. Nino liked to play with perceptions, especially when he could mess with someone's head, especially if that someone was Sho, and this time wasn't any different. The grass was purple and the sky was green, but even with these distractions Sho thought that he was doing okay. Until the third inning, anyway.
"This isn't fun, Nino," he complained, tapping his bat on the ground, trying to keep himself from pouting childishly.
"What? Kicking your ass is always fun!" Nino laughed and waved his gloved hand at him.
"Maybe to you. But even so, doesn't always winning start getting monotonous after a while?"
Nino pretended to think about it before telling Sho that no, it really didn't get monotonous at all and why didn't he use normal words like ‘boring' like everyone else? Was he too high and mighty mage for simple words like that? "Anyway," Nino said, interrupting himself. "I actually had something to tell you."
"So you didn't come to play after all." Sho tossed his bat away and sat down on the bench on the edge of the field. He watched how the other players slowly faded into nothingness.
"I can do both things at the same time," Nino countered, shrugging. "A little while ago I met someone called Matsumoto Jun. Ever heard of him?"
Sho frowned. "...Yeah. I have heard of him. Natural talent, got recognized early. Council admitted him without any preliminary. He just got in," Sho shook his head like the idea was very shocking to him. "What did you think?"
Nino gave Sho a wolfish grin. "I think he likes my..." he paused, frowning. "Actually, I don't know what I should call Aiba. Technically he's my apprentice but he's older than me and can you imagine me having an apprentice? 'A pain in the ass' comes to mind, but I can't keep introducing him as that. Gives people the wrong idea."
"Definitely," Sho chuckled. "So, you're finally starting to be responsible, huh? Teaching someone, spreading your knowledge... I'm glad. Has he moved in yet?"
Nino shot a quick glare at Sho and leaned back on the bench. "He just appeared on my doorstep two weeks after I met him. So far he's made a mess out of my living room and my library. I'll never find anything ever again from there. He is really interested, though. And he picks things up very quickly."
Sho smiled. The pride in Nino's voice was evident. He thought that Nino noticed it too since he didn't look Sho in the eye while he complained. "You make me want to meet him."
"But you're ‘resting'. You can't meet anyone," Nino said, trying to keep most of his bitterness out of his voice.
"I can meet you," Sho pointed out gently.
There was a pause before Nino answered. "I don't want to bring him into a mage's dream, idiot. He could do damage. You could do damage to him."
"Ooh, Nino's being protective of someone!" Sho cooed. "So very cute, Nino-chan." Nino could change moods very rapidly and Sho needed to keep him there, to keep him talking for a little while longer. Upset Nino always left too quickly. It really had been too long since he had last seen Nino. He had to keep the mood light.
"Shut up. He's a lot of work and needs to be looked after all the time. I am just being sensible. You're avoiding a disaster because of me. Be grateful."
"You're changing," Sho said softly, nudging Nino with his elbow. "I can feel it. I just hope you won't leave me behind."
"So wake up and change with me, Sleeping Idiot. Or I might come and kiss you awake."
Sho hummed, amused. "It's gotten colourless again."
"We're back in your dream. Mages," Nino huffed. "So boring. Can't even dream in colour."
Sho ignored him, draping his arm around Nino's shoulders instead. Nino shifted slightly, moving to lean against Sho's side without protesting, surprising him. Nino really had changed.
"It's been four years. Maybe it's time," he said. For a fleeting moment, Nino felt warm against his side. Then the moment passed and he couldn't hold on to his friend anymore.
"It was time three years ago. You're late," Nino said quietly, offering a tight, tired smile to him before fading away, stepping through his Door.
Sho went back to sleep. But the light of the heartstone kept pulsing and flickering, moving the shadows in his room.
To chapter 6