Arashi: Green (07)
FANDOM: Arashi
RATING: G
PAIRING: Sakuraiba, Aimiya (friendship)
DATE: February 19th, 2010
DISCLAIMERS/NOTES: This is a work of fiction. AU.
Chapter Six | Chapter Eight
CHAPTER SEVEN
It’s been almost a week since Nino last saw Aiba. The first few days, it didn’t seem too strange to him. After all, he was pretty busy with school as well, and he was starting to get used to spending time with Sho or just by himself. But soon he began to notice that Aiba hadn’t been calling him on a daily basis, or coming over when he was bored, like he usually does. Nino wasn’t too concerned, though, as he figured that he would see Aiba at band practise on Friday evening.
Except that Aiba wasn’t there. Aiba usually would wait with Sugimoto and Suzuki at Saizeriya for Nino and Sho, but that Friday Sugimoto was the only one there.
“Where’s Aiba?” Nino asked.
Sugimoto looked surprised. “Didn’t you know?”
“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking, would I?” Nino asked, irritated that Sugimoto knew something he didn’t.
Sugimoto shrugged. “I guess it’s pretty sudden, anyway. Aiba didn’t come to school today, either. Seems like he has a fever or something.”
Nino was quiet as he processed the information. Usually Aiba would call him immediately if he even had a slight headache, just because he knew it annoyed Nino. “Well, I guess it’s just us for today, then,” he finally said. “We can’t skip practise as Sho still needs to learn our songs.”
})i({
After practise, Sho left early while Nino accompanied Sugimoto for dinner. Sugimoto’s parents were both working, and since they were usually back late, Sugimoto ate out a lot. One of the reasons the band usually hung out after practise was because Aiba didn’t like the idea of Sugimoto eating alone.
Instead of heading home, Sho walked to Aiba’s place. He knew where it was, since he’s been to Nino’s plenty of times, but it was the first time he went to Aiba's.
“Nii-chan! A friend of yours is here!” Yusuke shouted. He shot a grin at Sho and said, “You can go up to his room. His fever isn’t actually very bad; he’s just being a big baby.”
Sho thanked Yusuke and walked up. When he reached the top of the stairs, Aiba was already standing there. “Sho-chan,” Aiba murmured, blinking at him. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard you weren’t feeling well.”
“Oh.” Aiba looked away in embarrassment. “Actually, my fever wasn’t really that bad. Mom just made me stay home as a precaution.” He walked into his room, and held out his door, inviting Sho in. “You can sit there,” he said, waving in the general direction of the chair at his study desk. He stuck his head out of the room and yelled down to Yusuke, “Yuu-chan! Can you make some tea?” Satisfied with Yusuke’s answer, he went over to sit at the edge of his bed, opposite Sho.
“Thanks for the chocolates,” Sho said, and observed in interest as Aiba turned red. He sure does that a lot, Sho mused. He found it rather cute.
“You didn’t think it was weird or anything?” Aiba asked.
“No,” Sho answered, starting to feel embarrassed himself. “Actually, I was thinking more of the fact that I don’t know what to get you for White Day, although I really don’t want to wait for White Day.” He laughed to himself. “I guess it is kind of weird, in the sense that this, whatever this is, is a completely new thing for me and I have no idea what’s the right or wrong thing to do.”
The two of them looked at each other for a moment. Aiba was still flushed, and worried that it was partly because of the fever, Sho leaned forward, and reached out to touch Aiba’s forehead. “You should be resting,” he said quietly. He was about to draw his hand away, but Aiba caught it and held on. “What?”
“Nothing,” Aiba said, ducking his head. He still held Sho’s hand. “Were you really going to get me something for White Day?”
Sho nodded awkwardly. It was hardly the first time they touched, and yet somehow it was different. The longer they remained that way, the more significant the moment seemed to them. As their pulse quickened, they couldn’t hear anything but the sound of their hearts beating. They looked at each other, both bewildered by the way they felt.
They were interrupted by a bang as Yusuke accidentally bumped the tray he was holding to Aiba’s door. “Sorry,” Yusuke called out, steadying the tray. “I didn’t spill anything, so it’s all right, I guess.” He looked up and paused, surprised by the sight of Aiba and Sho holding hands. Aiba jerked his hand away from Sho's, as if he was touching something scalding hot.
“Thanks, Yuu-chan,” Aiba said quickly, as he got up to take the tray from Yusuke and sat it down on his desk.
“I’ll be downstairs if you need anything,” Yusuke said, frowning at his brother before leaving. Aiba made sure that he closed the door before he sat back down.
“Yuu-chan makes great tea,” Aiba told Sho brightly. “I don’t know how he does it really, because mom taught both of us but my tea just tastes watery and his turn out great all the time. I guess it doesn’t matter if you don’t like tea, though, huh… I’m sorry I didn’t ask before if you preferred tea or coffee. You do seem like a coffee kind of person. I can make great coffee if you want…” he trailed off when he saw Sho laughing to himself. “What?”
Sho shook his head. “It’s nothing. I guess you always talk like that, huh?”
“Like what?”
Lifting his shoulder in a shrug, Sho said, “Like… you, I guess.” He smiled, and stood up. “I guess I should get going soon. Take care, okay?”
“Wait,” Aiba said. Sho looked at him questioningly, and he just looked back. “What’s happening between us?” he finally asked.
“I’m not sure,” Sho answered. He sat down again, next to Aiba. He wanted to kiss Aiba, he realised. He had never wanted to kiss anyone as much as he wanted to kiss Aiba at that moment. Without thinking about it, he leaned in... and their noses collided. He pulled back slightly, and Aiba let out a small laugh.
“Dork,” Aiba said softly, his voice almost tender. Sho made a face at him and leaned in again, this time tilting his head slightly as he noticed Aiba’s eyes flutter to a close. When their lips met it was like he could feel every single nerve in his body tingling and spiraling all over. His arms snaked around Aiba’s waist, and Aiba arched slightly at his touch. For the first time since he started music lessons, Sho felt like he had found something he wanted to have for the rest of his life.
When the realisation hit, he pulled back. He had never felt so unsure of himself, or so scared of what the future might bring. He looked at Aiba, whose expression seemed to mirror his. “What happens now?” Sho asked.
“I just asked you that,” Aiba reminded him. “I guess I don’t know, either. All I know is, we can’t tell Nino.”
Sho frowned. “Why not?”
“Because he’s going to kill you, and then break up the band, and then move back to my school so that he could make sure no one gets near me ever again, that’s why!”
Sho grinned, hearing Aiba’s words. “Aren’t you exaggerating things?”
Aiba didn’t see any humour in the matter, and said seriously, “you don’t know Nino. I love him, he’s my best friend, but sometimes he takes his overprotective thing too far.”
Sho shook his head. “But he knows me. I’m sure he’ll -”
“-think that you made this elaborate plan to trap me into a relationship with you,” Aiba interrupted heatedly. “You’ve probably been stalking me for sometime and you made sure that you and Nino would become friends so that you could be a part of my life and slowly make me like you more and more until I just can’t resist you anymore, and - why are you laughing?” Aiba asked Sho, indignant.
“Are you sure you’re talking about Nino, and not you?” Sho asked, while still laughing. “You’re the one with the overactive imagination, after all.”
Aiba glowered at Sho until he stopped laughing. “It’s not funny,” Aiba insisted, but the edges of his lips lifted as he spoke. “Anyway, promise you don’t tell Nino.”
“Are you sure -”
“Just promise me - say it.”
Sho sighed. “All right,” he agreed. “I promise I won’t tell Nino, even though I probably should.” He looked at his watch. “I really ought to go now.”
“Wait, Sho-chan.”
“Hmm?”
“Kiss me again, before you leave?”
~ to be continued ~
Chapter Six | Chapter Eight
Marineko's Notes:
Chapter Seven... I guess this one will end up being a little longer than Red Shift.
I wrote this at work for the most part ^_^;; - between customers and doing book orders and lots of other stuff.
And, er... sakuraiba is here. Finally. :p
RATING: G
PAIRING: Sakuraiba, Aimiya (friendship)
DATE: February 19th, 2010
DISCLAIMERS/NOTES: This is a work of fiction. AU.
Chapter Six | Chapter Eight
CHAPTER SEVEN
It’s been almost a week since Nino last saw Aiba. The first few days, it didn’t seem too strange to him. After all, he was pretty busy with school as well, and he was starting to get used to spending time with Sho or just by himself. But soon he began to notice that Aiba hadn’t been calling him on a daily basis, or coming over when he was bored, like he usually does. Nino wasn’t too concerned, though, as he figured that he would see Aiba at band practise on Friday evening.
Except that Aiba wasn’t there. Aiba usually would wait with Sugimoto and Suzuki at Saizeriya for Nino and Sho, but that Friday Sugimoto was the only one there.
“Where’s Aiba?” Nino asked.
Sugimoto looked surprised. “Didn’t you know?”
“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking, would I?” Nino asked, irritated that Sugimoto knew something he didn’t.
Sugimoto shrugged. “I guess it’s pretty sudden, anyway. Aiba didn’t come to school today, either. Seems like he has a fever or something.”
Nino was quiet as he processed the information. Usually Aiba would call him immediately if he even had a slight headache, just because he knew it annoyed Nino. “Well, I guess it’s just us for today, then,” he finally said. “We can’t skip practise as Sho still needs to learn our songs.”
})i({
After practise, Sho left early while Nino accompanied Sugimoto for dinner. Sugimoto’s parents were both working, and since they were usually back late, Sugimoto ate out a lot. One of the reasons the band usually hung out after practise was because Aiba didn’t like the idea of Sugimoto eating alone.
Instead of heading home, Sho walked to Aiba’s place. He knew where it was, since he’s been to Nino’s plenty of times, but it was the first time he went to Aiba's.
“Nii-chan! A friend of yours is here!” Yusuke shouted. He shot a grin at Sho and said, “You can go up to his room. His fever isn’t actually very bad; he’s just being a big baby.”
Sho thanked Yusuke and walked up. When he reached the top of the stairs, Aiba was already standing there. “Sho-chan,” Aiba murmured, blinking at him. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard you weren’t feeling well.”
“Oh.” Aiba looked away in embarrassment. “Actually, my fever wasn’t really that bad. Mom just made me stay home as a precaution.” He walked into his room, and held out his door, inviting Sho in. “You can sit there,” he said, waving in the general direction of the chair at his study desk. He stuck his head out of the room and yelled down to Yusuke, “Yuu-chan! Can you make some tea?” Satisfied with Yusuke’s answer, he went over to sit at the edge of his bed, opposite Sho.
“Thanks for the chocolates,” Sho said, and observed in interest as Aiba turned red. He sure does that a lot, Sho mused. He found it rather cute.
“You didn’t think it was weird or anything?” Aiba asked.
“No,” Sho answered, starting to feel embarrassed himself. “Actually, I was thinking more of the fact that I don’t know what to get you for White Day, although I really don’t want to wait for White Day.” He laughed to himself. “I guess it is kind of weird, in the sense that this, whatever this is, is a completely new thing for me and I have no idea what’s the right or wrong thing to do.”
The two of them looked at each other for a moment. Aiba was still flushed, and worried that it was partly because of the fever, Sho leaned forward, and reached out to touch Aiba’s forehead. “You should be resting,” he said quietly. He was about to draw his hand away, but Aiba caught it and held on. “What?”
“Nothing,” Aiba said, ducking his head. He still held Sho’s hand. “Were you really going to get me something for White Day?”
Sho nodded awkwardly. It was hardly the first time they touched, and yet somehow it was different. The longer they remained that way, the more significant the moment seemed to them. As their pulse quickened, they couldn’t hear anything but the sound of their hearts beating. They looked at each other, both bewildered by the way they felt.
They were interrupted by a bang as Yusuke accidentally bumped the tray he was holding to Aiba’s door. “Sorry,” Yusuke called out, steadying the tray. “I didn’t spill anything, so it’s all right, I guess.” He looked up and paused, surprised by the sight of Aiba and Sho holding hands. Aiba jerked his hand away from Sho's, as if he was touching something scalding hot.
“Thanks, Yuu-chan,” Aiba said quickly, as he got up to take the tray from Yusuke and sat it down on his desk.
“I’ll be downstairs if you need anything,” Yusuke said, frowning at his brother before leaving. Aiba made sure that he closed the door before he sat back down.
“Yuu-chan makes great tea,” Aiba told Sho brightly. “I don’t know how he does it really, because mom taught both of us but my tea just tastes watery and his turn out great all the time. I guess it doesn’t matter if you don’t like tea, though, huh… I’m sorry I didn’t ask before if you preferred tea or coffee. You do seem like a coffee kind of person. I can make great coffee if you want…” he trailed off when he saw Sho laughing to himself. “What?”
Sho shook his head. “It’s nothing. I guess you always talk like that, huh?”
“Like what?”
Lifting his shoulder in a shrug, Sho said, “Like… you, I guess.” He smiled, and stood up. “I guess I should get going soon. Take care, okay?”
“Wait,” Aiba said. Sho looked at him questioningly, and he just looked back. “What’s happening between us?” he finally asked.
“I’m not sure,” Sho answered. He sat down again, next to Aiba. He wanted to kiss Aiba, he realised. He had never wanted to kiss anyone as much as he wanted to kiss Aiba at that moment. Without thinking about it, he leaned in... and their noses collided. He pulled back slightly, and Aiba let out a small laugh.
“Dork,” Aiba said softly, his voice almost tender. Sho made a face at him and leaned in again, this time tilting his head slightly as he noticed Aiba’s eyes flutter to a close. When their lips met it was like he could feel every single nerve in his body tingling and spiraling all over. His arms snaked around Aiba’s waist, and Aiba arched slightly at his touch. For the first time since he started music lessons, Sho felt like he had found something he wanted to have for the rest of his life.
When the realisation hit, he pulled back. He had never felt so unsure of himself, or so scared of what the future might bring. He looked at Aiba, whose expression seemed to mirror his. “What happens now?” Sho asked.
“I just asked you that,” Aiba reminded him. “I guess I don’t know, either. All I know is, we can’t tell Nino.”
Sho frowned. “Why not?”
“Because he’s going to kill you, and then break up the band, and then move back to my school so that he could make sure no one gets near me ever again, that’s why!”
Sho grinned, hearing Aiba’s words. “Aren’t you exaggerating things?”
Aiba didn’t see any humour in the matter, and said seriously, “you don’t know Nino. I love him, he’s my best friend, but sometimes he takes his overprotective thing too far.”
Sho shook his head. “But he knows me. I’m sure he’ll -”
“-think that you made this elaborate plan to trap me into a relationship with you,” Aiba interrupted heatedly. “You’ve probably been stalking me for sometime and you made sure that you and Nino would become friends so that you could be a part of my life and slowly make me like you more and more until I just can’t resist you anymore, and - why are you laughing?” Aiba asked Sho, indignant.
“Are you sure you’re talking about Nino, and not you?” Sho asked, while still laughing. “You’re the one with the overactive imagination, after all.”
Aiba glowered at Sho until he stopped laughing. “It’s not funny,” Aiba insisted, but the edges of his lips lifted as he spoke. “Anyway, promise you don’t tell Nino.”
“Are you sure -”
“Just promise me - say it.”
Sho sighed. “All right,” he agreed. “I promise I won’t tell Nino, even though I probably should.” He looked at his watch. “I really ought to go now.”
“Wait, Sho-chan.”
“Hmm?”
“Kiss me again, before you leave?”
~ to be continued ~
Chapter Six | Chapter Eight
Marineko's Notes:
Chapter Seven... I guess this one will end up being a little longer than Red Shift.
I wrote this at work for the most part ^_^;; - between customers and doing book orders and lots of other stuff.
And, er... sakuraiba is here. Finally. :p