The Ungrateful Dwarf
Title: The Ungrateful Dwarf (4/7)
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Pairing: Jun/Aiba, Ohmiya
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: None of this ever happened. I do not know or own Arashi.
A/N: Based on the fairy tale Snow White and Rose Red.
Beta'ed by hooked on nyquil eva_lee
_____________________________
4.
It was a warm morning sometime later when Masaki awoke, Kazu's arm thrown over his stomach in their shared bed. A novel idea wormed its way through his brain - one that he could not dislodge no matter how much he tried to think of things, like what they would have to eat that day or if the rabbit he'd taken in the night before would eventually stop biting him. The thought that seemed to surface in his mind did not involve daily things or their cottage; instead, it resonated with the stories that Sho would read to them late at night.
Masaki knew that he must leave - and that Kazu would come with him (that had never been a question) - and when he announced so to Sho over a breakfast of porridge, the oldest boy had simply stated that he already knew and had been waiting for this day for some time. They kissed each others foreheads in a tight embrace and said their farewells, Sho sending them off with a sack of carrots and onions and stern directions to be careful. They nodded and smiled and told Sho that they had more fear of him burning the cottage down while they were away.
The first day they trekked over familiar hills and glens, stopping at some of their favorite spots to fill themselves on wild tomatoes and cucumbers that grew in a clearing down by the bee tree where Masaki would collect honey. They paused to smell the honeysuckles that grew along a vine of muscadines and scuppernongs, and pulled a few of the purple and green fruits to save for a later time. Their hands remained entwined as they continued along, sometimes singing, sometimes humming and never without some sort of distraction for the world around them. The pair was not fearful though, as Masaki would speak casually to the animals they encountered, birds and beasts alike.
That night they slept on a patch of soft grey moss below a grove of black cherry and maple trees, crowding under a deep green blanket to keep them camouflaged. They laid face to face, speaking of Sho and Panda-san and their little cottage, and should it remain standing when they returned, they would be very grateful. They fell asleep at the same time, their eyelids growing heavier by the second as they stared into each others reassuring brown eyes.
“I wonder if this is the way to the lake,” Kazu asked on the second day as they walked the path between two lines of tree roots up higher on an embankment. The ground was muddy below them from an earlier rain, in which they had sought shelter under a giant evergreen canopy. “I'd like to go to the lake, if we come across it.”
Masaki did not ask why, though he nodded his approval and squeezed Kazu's hand lightly, probably thinking that the youngest boy wanted to take a swim. They were dirty after all, and knew that if Sho were present, he would appreciate some attempt at cleanliness. “I do think this is the way, but I'm not entirely sure. Though I suppose we'll find water in any direction we travel eventually.”
They continued along until they came to a fallen tree, freshly taken down by the rain and the wind, and Masaki thought he saw something on the other side of the great trunk. “Wait a second,” he held Kazu in place, his hand braced on his brother's shoulder as he tried to peer over the obstruction. He moved forward and leaned over the wood, taking care to remain as quiet as possible, and saw the tiniest man he'd ever seen; smaller than even the village children.
“I know you're there, so you might as well help!” The dwarf said in annoyance as he pulled at his long, dark hair, which had become trapped under the fallen tree. His features were stern and strong, and it almost looked as though he were wearing a mask instead of his own face. The only part of the dwarf that seemed beautiful was his hair - and it seemed to Masaki as though he'd seen it somewhere before. “Why are you still standing there?” the little man called out irritably.
“What are you doing?” Masaki asked. He and Kazu climbed over the tree one leg at a time and settled in behind the dwarf to inspect his predicament, but they could find no way to free him. The wood was high and thick and they knew they could not move it, even if Kazu actually tried instead of simply pretending and laughing. “How did you get stuck under this tree?” Masaki asked, his face perplexed as he stooped down to the dwarf's level.
Their eyes met, deep brown to an unsettling purple, and the dwarf seemed to blush, but Masaki chalked it up to the heat of the day. “I came to gather wood for the fire,” the dwarf explained, turning away from Masaki's curious gaze. “But this tree came down upon me faster than I could run away and now I am stuck, my precious hair probably ruined beyond repair. And now you and your silly friend are laughing at my predicament! How rude!”
Masaki smiled understandingly and again the dwarf was forced to look away. “He is my brother, and we have never seen a dwarf before, let alone one who has hair like yours. You'll have to forgive our fascination.”
“I'd prefer you get this infernal thing off of me!” The dwarf kicked at the downed tree and regretted it instantly as it began to hop on one foot while cradling the other in its short, stumpy arms. This, in turn, only caused Kazu to laugh harder, until he was doubled over the side of the tree in mirth.
“You see if you laugh when a tree falls on you!” The little man cried, his face turning more horrid than it was before, little wrinkles appearing all around his eyes and mouth, splitting his forehead into thirds. Masaki couldn't help but feel bad for him, as he looked into the dwarf's nervous eyes, and felt they were much suited to someone far prettier. Kazu straightened up as his giggles finally subsided, and he held his stomach in pain, though the thoroughly entertained smile he wore never waned.
“Should I run to get help?” Masaki asked, unsure of what he might do to free the dwarf, since pushing it away was near impossible. They lacked the strength needed and again he desperately wished Sho was there with them, if only to offer an idea.
“You senseless goose!” the dwarf called back, and Kazu snorted at the little man's choice of words. “Why would you get help when there are already two of you - and you can do no good with as many as you are?”
“It would take days more to get to anyone. And the nearest person, our other brother, would be even more useless,” Kazu replied, though Masaki had his doubts. “Be a little more patient, Mr. Dwarf and we'll think of something.” A light seemed to settle over the youngest, the sun peeking out from behind gray clouds to illustrate the idea that had suddenly dawned upon him, and Kazu pulled a pair of scissors out of his pack. He opened and closed the shining shears as he walked toward the small man with a gleaming intent that was unmistakable.
“Oh, no!” the dwarf cried and pulled at his hair more ferociously, trying his best to get away from Kazu's approaching figure. “You will not cut my precious hair! I will not stand for it!”
“You don't have much of a choice,” Kazu explained. “Hold him still, Masaki.”
The dwarf struggled as Masaki held him still by the shoulders, pulling him forward and away from the place where his hair was caught under the log. He could hear the other boy approach, his eyes closed tightly and his fists clenched at his sides, and then there was a snip, snip, snip, and he was suddenly free, his head lighter than before. He turned his head left and then right, and took in the way his hair floated along his middle back instead of his knees. Oh, how he was hesitant to open his eyes and look at the massacre of soft, jagged hair at his feet. The boy probably hadn't bothered to cut stylishly.
“All done,” Kazu announced as though it were something to be proud of his handiwork. He took a step back and admired. “You can thank me at any time.”
The little man cracked one eye open and then the other, letting his gaze fall from Masaki's smiling visage in front of him, to the pool of hair on the ground. “You silly little wretch!” he shouted at Kazu. “Look at all of my fine hair you have cut! Didn't you think it prudent to cut at the spot closest to the tree? You have wasted a good few inches!”
“Nevermind that you're free to leave now and do... whatever it is that dwarfs do,” Kazu waved him away dismissively. “Would you rather we left you here to rot away next to a smelly old tree?”
“Bad luck!” the dwarf barked back, his hands perched proudly on his unusually wide hips. “Back luck to both of you!” He was taken aback, however, when Masaki scooped him up into his gangly arms and squeezed him tightly.
“We're so sorry Mr. Dwarf!” Masaki cried against the top of his head and the little man froze immediately, his body growing tense in the tall boy's hold. “It's just that we'd rather see you alive with a bit less hair than we would to see you dead and starved here by the tree. We could give you food, I suppose, but even that would only last a few days and my brother and I must leave soon. I would not like that attached to my conscience.”
Kazu tsk'ed and turned away. “You're both a couple of cry babies.”
Masaki turned the dwarf from side to side, swinging him in his arms so that the little man's legs were dangling at Masaki's waist. The dwarf sputtered and stumbled over his words, and it was only when Masaki set him down some moments later that he was able to relate a full sentence, even if it consisted of only two words. “It's alright,” the dwarf pouted, crossing his arms as Masaki patted his wee little head.
“We should continue along, shouldn't we?” Kazu said and the older boy turned to face his brother. “It's going to get dark soon and I'd much rather sleep beside the moss than I had next to a rock again.”
Masaki nodded resolutely, but when he turned back to address the dwarf, the little man was gone. There was nothing but a pool of hair on the ground to mark that he'd ever been there to begin with. The taller boy stooped down to the ground and gingerly touched a piece, pulling it out from under the wood with ease. “That's funny,” he remarked. “It comes out with no problem now.”
Later in the day, after the sun had set and the moon and stars had risen in the night sky, after Kazu had fallen asleep and Masaki remained awake, clutching at the dwarf's hair he'd brought with him, there came a faint light outside their green blanket. Silently, as to not rouse his dreaming brother, Masaki threw back the edge and peered out to inspect where the glow was coming from. He did not expect to see the angel staring down upon them once more with a soft smile.
Truthfully, he'd not spoken of the angel (or forest spirit, whatever it was) since the day he'd told Sho about him, but the ethereal man (for that's what he was, Masaki supposed) was constantly at the back of his mind. And there he stood again, at the edge of the glen, his dark eyes staring straight into Masaki's own. Masaki knew he should be scared, that Sho would be scared, that Kazu would most likely have something to say; yet he couldn't find it in himself to question the angel's presence. He lit up the forest magnificently, a trail of orchid light behind him that led up over a suit of white and pearl and then up higher to perfectly dark hair - oddly familiar hair. Masaki cocked his head to the side in thought.
The angel seemed to laugh as though he knew what Masaki was thinking, and shook his head in obvious amusement, looking down to the ground and then back up to the reclining boy through shy lashes. He mouthed something, but no sound came forth and Masaki felt aggrieved that he could talk to animals, but apparently could not read lips.
The light faded soon after, taking the angel with it, and before he knew it, Masaki was deep asleep, his arm thrown over Kazu's stomach as per usual.
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Pairing: Jun/Aiba, Ohmiya
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: None of this ever happened. I do not know or own Arashi.
A/N: Based on the fairy tale Snow White and Rose Red.
Beta'ed by hooked on nyquil eva_lee
_____________________________
4.
It was a warm morning sometime later when Masaki awoke, Kazu's arm thrown over his stomach in their shared bed. A novel idea wormed its way through his brain - one that he could not dislodge no matter how much he tried to think of things, like what they would have to eat that day or if the rabbit he'd taken in the night before would eventually stop biting him. The thought that seemed to surface in his mind did not involve daily things or their cottage; instead, it resonated with the stories that Sho would read to them late at night.
Masaki knew that he must leave - and that Kazu would come with him (that had never been a question) - and when he announced so to Sho over a breakfast of porridge, the oldest boy had simply stated that he already knew and had been waiting for this day for some time. They kissed each others foreheads in a tight embrace and said their farewells, Sho sending them off with a sack of carrots and onions and stern directions to be careful. They nodded and smiled and told Sho that they had more fear of him burning the cottage down while they were away.
The first day they trekked over familiar hills and glens, stopping at some of their favorite spots to fill themselves on wild tomatoes and cucumbers that grew in a clearing down by the bee tree where Masaki would collect honey. They paused to smell the honeysuckles that grew along a vine of muscadines and scuppernongs, and pulled a few of the purple and green fruits to save for a later time. Their hands remained entwined as they continued along, sometimes singing, sometimes humming and never without some sort of distraction for the world around them. The pair was not fearful though, as Masaki would speak casually to the animals they encountered, birds and beasts alike.
That night they slept on a patch of soft grey moss below a grove of black cherry and maple trees, crowding under a deep green blanket to keep them camouflaged. They laid face to face, speaking of Sho and Panda-san and their little cottage, and should it remain standing when they returned, they would be very grateful. They fell asleep at the same time, their eyelids growing heavier by the second as they stared into each others reassuring brown eyes.
“I wonder if this is the way to the lake,” Kazu asked on the second day as they walked the path between two lines of tree roots up higher on an embankment. The ground was muddy below them from an earlier rain, in which they had sought shelter under a giant evergreen canopy. “I'd like to go to the lake, if we come across it.”
Masaki did not ask why, though he nodded his approval and squeezed Kazu's hand lightly, probably thinking that the youngest boy wanted to take a swim. They were dirty after all, and knew that if Sho were present, he would appreciate some attempt at cleanliness. “I do think this is the way, but I'm not entirely sure. Though I suppose we'll find water in any direction we travel eventually.”
They continued along until they came to a fallen tree, freshly taken down by the rain and the wind, and Masaki thought he saw something on the other side of the great trunk. “Wait a second,” he held Kazu in place, his hand braced on his brother's shoulder as he tried to peer over the obstruction. He moved forward and leaned over the wood, taking care to remain as quiet as possible, and saw the tiniest man he'd ever seen; smaller than even the village children.
“I know you're there, so you might as well help!” The dwarf said in annoyance as he pulled at his long, dark hair, which had become trapped under the fallen tree. His features were stern and strong, and it almost looked as though he were wearing a mask instead of his own face. The only part of the dwarf that seemed beautiful was his hair - and it seemed to Masaki as though he'd seen it somewhere before. “Why are you still standing there?” the little man called out irritably.
“What are you doing?” Masaki asked. He and Kazu climbed over the tree one leg at a time and settled in behind the dwarf to inspect his predicament, but they could find no way to free him. The wood was high and thick and they knew they could not move it, even if Kazu actually tried instead of simply pretending and laughing. “How did you get stuck under this tree?” Masaki asked, his face perplexed as he stooped down to the dwarf's level.
Their eyes met, deep brown to an unsettling purple, and the dwarf seemed to blush, but Masaki chalked it up to the heat of the day. “I came to gather wood for the fire,” the dwarf explained, turning away from Masaki's curious gaze. “But this tree came down upon me faster than I could run away and now I am stuck, my precious hair probably ruined beyond repair. And now you and your silly friend are laughing at my predicament! How rude!”
Masaki smiled understandingly and again the dwarf was forced to look away. “He is my brother, and we have never seen a dwarf before, let alone one who has hair like yours. You'll have to forgive our fascination.”
“I'd prefer you get this infernal thing off of me!” The dwarf kicked at the downed tree and regretted it instantly as it began to hop on one foot while cradling the other in its short, stumpy arms. This, in turn, only caused Kazu to laugh harder, until he was doubled over the side of the tree in mirth.
“You see if you laugh when a tree falls on you!” The little man cried, his face turning more horrid than it was before, little wrinkles appearing all around his eyes and mouth, splitting his forehead into thirds. Masaki couldn't help but feel bad for him, as he looked into the dwarf's nervous eyes, and felt they were much suited to someone far prettier. Kazu straightened up as his giggles finally subsided, and he held his stomach in pain, though the thoroughly entertained smile he wore never waned.
“Should I run to get help?” Masaki asked, unsure of what he might do to free the dwarf, since pushing it away was near impossible. They lacked the strength needed and again he desperately wished Sho was there with them, if only to offer an idea.
“You senseless goose!” the dwarf called back, and Kazu snorted at the little man's choice of words. “Why would you get help when there are already two of you - and you can do no good with as many as you are?”
“It would take days more to get to anyone. And the nearest person, our other brother, would be even more useless,” Kazu replied, though Masaki had his doubts. “Be a little more patient, Mr. Dwarf and we'll think of something.” A light seemed to settle over the youngest, the sun peeking out from behind gray clouds to illustrate the idea that had suddenly dawned upon him, and Kazu pulled a pair of scissors out of his pack. He opened and closed the shining shears as he walked toward the small man with a gleaming intent that was unmistakable.
“Oh, no!” the dwarf cried and pulled at his hair more ferociously, trying his best to get away from Kazu's approaching figure. “You will not cut my precious hair! I will not stand for it!”
“You don't have much of a choice,” Kazu explained. “Hold him still, Masaki.”
The dwarf struggled as Masaki held him still by the shoulders, pulling him forward and away from the place where his hair was caught under the log. He could hear the other boy approach, his eyes closed tightly and his fists clenched at his sides, and then there was a snip, snip, snip, and he was suddenly free, his head lighter than before. He turned his head left and then right, and took in the way his hair floated along his middle back instead of his knees. Oh, how he was hesitant to open his eyes and look at the massacre of soft, jagged hair at his feet. The boy probably hadn't bothered to cut stylishly.
“All done,” Kazu announced as though it were something to be proud of his handiwork. He took a step back and admired. “You can thank me at any time.”
The little man cracked one eye open and then the other, letting his gaze fall from Masaki's smiling visage in front of him, to the pool of hair on the ground. “You silly little wretch!” he shouted at Kazu. “Look at all of my fine hair you have cut! Didn't you think it prudent to cut at the spot closest to the tree? You have wasted a good few inches!”
“Nevermind that you're free to leave now and do... whatever it is that dwarfs do,” Kazu waved him away dismissively. “Would you rather we left you here to rot away next to a smelly old tree?”
“Bad luck!” the dwarf barked back, his hands perched proudly on his unusually wide hips. “Back luck to both of you!” He was taken aback, however, when Masaki scooped him up into his gangly arms and squeezed him tightly.
“We're so sorry Mr. Dwarf!” Masaki cried against the top of his head and the little man froze immediately, his body growing tense in the tall boy's hold. “It's just that we'd rather see you alive with a bit less hair than we would to see you dead and starved here by the tree. We could give you food, I suppose, but even that would only last a few days and my brother and I must leave soon. I would not like that attached to my conscience.”
Kazu tsk'ed and turned away. “You're both a couple of cry babies.”
Masaki turned the dwarf from side to side, swinging him in his arms so that the little man's legs were dangling at Masaki's waist. The dwarf sputtered and stumbled over his words, and it was only when Masaki set him down some moments later that he was able to relate a full sentence, even if it consisted of only two words. “It's alright,” the dwarf pouted, crossing his arms as Masaki patted his wee little head.
“We should continue along, shouldn't we?” Kazu said and the older boy turned to face his brother. “It's going to get dark soon and I'd much rather sleep beside the moss than I had next to a rock again.”
Masaki nodded resolutely, but when he turned back to address the dwarf, the little man was gone. There was nothing but a pool of hair on the ground to mark that he'd ever been there to begin with. The taller boy stooped down to the ground and gingerly touched a piece, pulling it out from under the wood with ease. “That's funny,” he remarked. “It comes out with no problem now.”
Later in the day, after the sun had set and the moon and stars had risen in the night sky, after Kazu had fallen asleep and Masaki remained awake, clutching at the dwarf's hair he'd brought with him, there came a faint light outside their green blanket. Silently, as to not rouse his dreaming brother, Masaki threw back the edge and peered out to inspect where the glow was coming from. He did not expect to see the angel staring down upon them once more with a soft smile.
Truthfully, he'd not spoken of the angel (or forest spirit, whatever it was) since the day he'd told Sho about him, but the ethereal man (for that's what he was, Masaki supposed) was constantly at the back of his mind. And there he stood again, at the edge of the glen, his dark eyes staring straight into Masaki's own. Masaki knew he should be scared, that Sho would be scared, that Kazu would most likely have something to say; yet he couldn't find it in himself to question the angel's presence. He lit up the forest magnificently, a trail of orchid light behind him that led up over a suit of white and pearl and then up higher to perfectly dark hair - oddly familiar hair. Masaki cocked his head to the side in thought.
The angel seemed to laugh as though he knew what Masaki was thinking, and shook his head in obvious amusement, looking down to the ground and then back up to the reclining boy through shy lashes. He mouthed something, but no sound came forth and Masaki felt aggrieved that he could talk to animals, but apparently could not read lips.
The light faded soon after, taking the angel with it, and before he knew it, Masaki was deep asleep, his arm thrown over Kazu's stomach as per usual.