Nattergal 15/16
Title: Nattergal
Pairing(s): Ohno/Sho
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Nope
Word count: 1,616
Summary: AU. Forced to marry against their wills, Sho and Ohno embark on a journey to salvage the rest of their lives and their life together.
Authors' notes: Second to last. I already miss this ;;__;; Last update on Sunday!
It is like the day of their wedding all over again.
Their legs are aching, and backs hurting. The week of sleeping on various surfaces and staying up through the night catches up with them a few hours after the exhilaration of good news wears off. All the extreme emotions from three weeks slams into the present and send Ohno and Sho reeling, stumbling for steady footing.
Nino, especially, is no longer nimble and quick with retorts. His movements are trudging and heavy; he only speaks when he is spoken to, and spends the rest of the time struggling to keep his eyes open.
It is like the day of their wedding all over again. But this time, when Ohno falls asleep in the pod on the way to the Sakurai house, Sho holds him.
(They have each other now. Finally, without any of the anger and defiance between them.)
When their pod approaches the Sakurai house, Sho shakes Ohno awake. Ohno blinks. His eyes find Sho’s and an overwhelming, complete sort of gratefulness and contentment soars in Sho’s being.
Their fingers are locked together and the world stops outside the pod. Sho leans over to Ohno. Ohno is yielding and pliant with exhaustion and power naps.
“Satoshi,” Sho breathes on Ohno’s skin just as Ohno pulls him in. He can feel Ohno’s smile against his lips, his smile that tells Sho you are safe now. Sho vaguely registers Nino stirring awake in the opposite corner.
The softness of Ohno’s thumb brushes against the smooth skin behind Sho’s ear; the other fingers hold Sho with such respect and reverence that Sho feels like porcelain.
“You won’t break me,” Sho tells the hollow of Ohno’s collarbones. He can feel the contentment radiate from Ohno’s fingertips and enter him.
“I promise to love you in all the ways I know,” Ohno holds Sho, strong arms and firm hands with enough bravery for both of them.
Sho knows he has found home.
*
Ohno feels marginally more awake.
He holds the door open for Sho, and Sho steps across the threshold of the Sakurai house with a dizzying sort of grin that disarms Ohno entirely.
Sho comes to stand beside Ohno. Hands slip into one another.
“What are you smiling at?” Ohno pulls Sho in closer, fingers mischievous in trailing into Sho’s robes’ sleeves and up and down his arm.
“Everything, really,” Sho replies, and Ohno thinks he couldn’t have put it better himself.
But he doesn’t have a second enough to answer before Sho’s fathers walk in, eyes younger than they were the day before.
*
Father looks more tired than Sho can remember.
But he is still tall and firm and strong, and his eyes are still smiling when he sees Ohno and Sho.
Father stands and Papa’s hand slips into his naturally.
“Sons,” Father says and Papa’s eyes have their twinkle again. “Thank you.”
Sho feels like a boy again as his fathers still tower over him. The week has drained him of all the things his fathers have always taught him. (Believe in yourself, and the people around you.) He resists the urge to run into their arms and be held by them. I am too old for this, Sho tells himself, but Ohno prods him gently.
“Go,” Ohno’s whisper is encouraging and filled with trust and unconditional belief. So Sho takes a deep deep breath and does.
He strides closer to his fathers, and feels his eyes water again.
“I’m not crying,” he mumbles when he collapses into his fathers’ arms. They are ready to catch him, four arms and an endless, unlimited supply of support and love.
“Of course you’re not crying,” Father says with a chuckle and it rumbles in Papa’s chest too, all the way down to Sho’s feet.
Sho revels in his fathers’ warmth. The embrace reminds Sho comfortingly of his childhood, and his trust of the world and the people in it. It reminds him of all the things that Home has meant to him all through his life, it reminds him of love and being grounded in the faith that everything is going to turn out fine.
He knows that he will no longer be a Sakurai. Now, he knows that it doesn’t matter anymore, because Home is made of the people who matter and he will always carry Home in his heart.
*
Sho’s father gets out the big guns.
He brings them down to his cellar and shows them his wine collection. Ohno knows Sho is savoring every second with his fathers that the three weeks of marriage has taken away from him, but they are tired. Sho leans heavier on Ohno’s side, and his breathing deepens.
Ohno lets them stay for dinner, and even talk after that. Sho’s grip on Ohno’s hand struggles to tighten, and weakens just after a second.
“I will bring my husband home,” Ohno says to Sho’s fathers and tilts his head in Sho’s direction. “Before he decides to sleep on the spot.”
Sho’s fathers practically beam at him, but Ohno doesn’t see it. He bids them farewell, and is overwhelmed with the gratitude he is bestowed, but he suspects that it is less from saving an innocent man and more with how his arm fits snug around Sho’s waist.
Getting Sho into the pod returning home is more of a challenge though, with Sho’s heavy limbs and no trace of coordination.
He chuckles and pats Sho’s back when he bumps into the side of the pod.
Three weeks ago, he wouldn’t have dreamed that he could come to love this man he was forced to marry, but when Sho leans into him, weighty with sleep and affection, Ohno can’t help but feel that he doesn’t regret a single thing.
*
It is bound to cause a whirlwind of attention, not just because of the scandals and the mentions of treason and the Emperor in the same sentence, but also that Jun and Aiba somehow got involved.
Sho is relieved that it isn’t mentioned how he spoke out of turn and how he broke just about every rule there is for a shi, but if he examines the thought closer, he realizes he doesn’t care.
He hasn’t forgotten Ohno’s words to the judge and he doesn’t think he ever will.
Ohno is busy, though, with all the work he didn’t do and left neglected while he was trying to keep Sho from getting hurt and shunned, and Sho does feel guilty. They haven’t had much time for each other for the past days, almost a week, busy with work and media.
Ohno is tired when he gets back, tumbling directly to bed and Sho’s arms and sleep that engulfs him faster than Sho can press his lips to his temple. Sho feels rather useless these days, but he doesn’t mind so much. Three weeks of passing through every emotion on the scale has him sleeping much of the time.
Weeks ago he would rather die than cater as a shi, but he is proud to have the right to tell Ohno to eat and rest and take a break. Ohno listens and Sho feels like they are equals, finally.
Maybe if he hadn’t been so stubborn, they could have been equals from the moment they met, but it is far too late to think that, and if he hadn’t, would they still have turned out to be this?
Sho is happy, but he will be happier when he has Ohno back to stay, when he has caught up with all that he missed.
“Let’s go on a proper honeymoon,” he says to Ohno one night when Ohno has just lain down to rest.
Sho places a hand on Ohno’s shoulder, scooting closer and they fit.
“We’ll go,” Ohno says sleepily, turning and facing Sho. “We’ll go and never come back.”
Sho chuckles. “We can’t do that,” he says but he likes the thought.
Ohno yawns and cuddles up to Sho, into Sho’s warmth, and Sho brushes hair away from Ohno’s face, his closing eyes and mouth parted with breath.
He is so sleepy that Sho thinks he won’t remember anything by the time he wakes with the dawning sun.
“Can you sleep in with me?” He asks even though he knows the answer already. He will keep asking, though, until he gets the answer he wants.
Ohno clears his throat, hums a bit and curls closer. “I shouldn’t,” he says, eyes blinking, fighting to stay awake.
“You should sleep,” Sho admonishes. They will have this conversation many times, he feels, but it is okay. They have time.
*
“Are you ready?” Ohno is grinning, smiling so widely Sho can’t help but smile back. Nino is somewhere behind them, coughing and trying in vain to disguise his happiness, because there is no way he can’t be happy when Sho and Ohno are.
“You guys are so gross,” he is saying, but he has to be discreet, he knows, because Ohno’s fathers are around, and it wouldn’t do to talk trash.
Sho has a feeling, that when Ohno steps closer and slings an arm around Sho to hold him in, it is to purposefully make Nino squirm.
This time, he doesn’t feel lonely at the thought that Nino won’t be going with them. This time, Sho feels certain that they can keep close to each other without needing air and space between them.
Nino hugs them both goodbye, and hisses in Sho’s ear; “If you make him sleep on the floor again, I will kick your ass.”
Sho hugs him tighter and knows Nino feels the gratitude.
Everything will be different now.
*
Pairing(s): Ohno/Sho
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Nope
Word count: 1,616
Summary: AU. Forced to marry against their wills, Sho and Ohno embark on a journey to salvage the rest of their lives and their life together.
Authors' notes: Second to last. I already miss this ;;__;; Last update on Sunday!
It is like the day of their wedding all over again.
Their legs are aching, and backs hurting. The week of sleeping on various surfaces and staying up through the night catches up with them a few hours after the exhilaration of good news wears off. All the extreme emotions from three weeks slams into the present and send Ohno and Sho reeling, stumbling for steady footing.
Nino, especially, is no longer nimble and quick with retorts. His movements are trudging and heavy; he only speaks when he is spoken to, and spends the rest of the time struggling to keep his eyes open.
It is like the day of their wedding all over again. But this time, when Ohno falls asleep in the pod on the way to the Sakurai house, Sho holds him.
(They have each other now. Finally, without any of the anger and defiance between them.)
When their pod approaches the Sakurai house, Sho shakes Ohno awake. Ohno blinks. His eyes find Sho’s and an overwhelming, complete sort of gratefulness and contentment soars in Sho’s being.
Their fingers are locked together and the world stops outside the pod. Sho leans over to Ohno. Ohno is yielding and pliant with exhaustion and power naps.
“Satoshi,” Sho breathes on Ohno’s skin just as Ohno pulls him in. He can feel Ohno’s smile against his lips, his smile that tells Sho you are safe now. Sho vaguely registers Nino stirring awake in the opposite corner.
The softness of Ohno’s thumb brushes against the smooth skin behind Sho’s ear; the other fingers hold Sho with such respect and reverence that Sho feels like porcelain.
“You won’t break me,” Sho tells the hollow of Ohno’s collarbones. He can feel the contentment radiate from Ohno’s fingertips and enter him.
“I promise to love you in all the ways I know,” Ohno holds Sho, strong arms and firm hands with enough bravery for both of them.
Sho knows he has found home.
*
Ohno feels marginally more awake.
He holds the door open for Sho, and Sho steps across the threshold of the Sakurai house with a dizzying sort of grin that disarms Ohno entirely.
Sho comes to stand beside Ohno. Hands slip into one another.
“What are you smiling at?” Ohno pulls Sho in closer, fingers mischievous in trailing into Sho’s robes’ sleeves and up and down his arm.
“Everything, really,” Sho replies, and Ohno thinks he couldn’t have put it better himself.
But he doesn’t have a second enough to answer before Sho’s fathers walk in, eyes younger than they were the day before.
*
Father looks more tired than Sho can remember.
But he is still tall and firm and strong, and his eyes are still smiling when he sees Ohno and Sho.
Father stands and Papa’s hand slips into his naturally.
“Sons,” Father says and Papa’s eyes have their twinkle again. “Thank you.”
Sho feels like a boy again as his fathers still tower over him. The week has drained him of all the things his fathers have always taught him. (Believe in yourself, and the people around you.) He resists the urge to run into their arms and be held by them. I am too old for this, Sho tells himself, but Ohno prods him gently.
“Go,” Ohno’s whisper is encouraging and filled with trust and unconditional belief. So Sho takes a deep deep breath and does.
He strides closer to his fathers, and feels his eyes water again.
“I’m not crying,” he mumbles when he collapses into his fathers’ arms. They are ready to catch him, four arms and an endless, unlimited supply of support and love.
“Of course you’re not crying,” Father says with a chuckle and it rumbles in Papa’s chest too, all the way down to Sho’s feet.
Sho revels in his fathers’ warmth. The embrace reminds Sho comfortingly of his childhood, and his trust of the world and the people in it. It reminds him of all the things that Home has meant to him all through his life, it reminds him of love and being grounded in the faith that everything is going to turn out fine.
He knows that he will no longer be a Sakurai. Now, he knows that it doesn’t matter anymore, because Home is made of the people who matter and he will always carry Home in his heart.
*
Sho’s father gets out the big guns.
He brings them down to his cellar and shows them his wine collection. Ohno knows Sho is savoring every second with his fathers that the three weeks of marriage has taken away from him, but they are tired. Sho leans heavier on Ohno’s side, and his breathing deepens.
Ohno lets them stay for dinner, and even talk after that. Sho’s grip on Ohno’s hand struggles to tighten, and weakens just after a second.
“I will bring my husband home,” Ohno says to Sho’s fathers and tilts his head in Sho’s direction. “Before he decides to sleep on the spot.”
Sho’s fathers practically beam at him, but Ohno doesn’t see it. He bids them farewell, and is overwhelmed with the gratitude he is bestowed, but he suspects that it is less from saving an innocent man and more with how his arm fits snug around Sho’s waist.
Getting Sho into the pod returning home is more of a challenge though, with Sho’s heavy limbs and no trace of coordination.
He chuckles and pats Sho’s back when he bumps into the side of the pod.
Three weeks ago, he wouldn’t have dreamed that he could come to love this man he was forced to marry, but when Sho leans into him, weighty with sleep and affection, Ohno can’t help but feel that he doesn’t regret a single thing.
*
It is bound to cause a whirlwind of attention, not just because of the scandals and the mentions of treason and the Emperor in the same sentence, but also that Jun and Aiba somehow got involved.
Sho is relieved that it isn’t mentioned how he spoke out of turn and how he broke just about every rule there is for a shi, but if he examines the thought closer, he realizes he doesn’t care.
He hasn’t forgotten Ohno’s words to the judge and he doesn’t think he ever will.
Ohno is busy, though, with all the work he didn’t do and left neglected while he was trying to keep Sho from getting hurt and shunned, and Sho does feel guilty. They haven’t had much time for each other for the past days, almost a week, busy with work and media.
Ohno is tired when he gets back, tumbling directly to bed and Sho’s arms and sleep that engulfs him faster than Sho can press his lips to his temple. Sho feels rather useless these days, but he doesn’t mind so much. Three weeks of passing through every emotion on the scale has him sleeping much of the time.
Weeks ago he would rather die than cater as a shi, but he is proud to have the right to tell Ohno to eat and rest and take a break. Ohno listens and Sho feels like they are equals, finally.
Maybe if he hadn’t been so stubborn, they could have been equals from the moment they met, but it is far too late to think that, and if he hadn’t, would they still have turned out to be this?
Sho is happy, but he will be happier when he has Ohno back to stay, when he has caught up with all that he missed.
“Let’s go on a proper honeymoon,” he says to Ohno one night when Ohno has just lain down to rest.
Sho places a hand on Ohno’s shoulder, scooting closer and they fit.
“We’ll go,” Ohno says sleepily, turning and facing Sho. “We’ll go and never come back.”
Sho chuckles. “We can’t do that,” he says but he likes the thought.
Ohno yawns and cuddles up to Sho, into Sho’s warmth, and Sho brushes hair away from Ohno’s face, his closing eyes and mouth parted with breath.
He is so sleepy that Sho thinks he won’t remember anything by the time he wakes with the dawning sun.
“Can you sleep in with me?” He asks even though he knows the answer already. He will keep asking, though, until he gets the answer he wants.
Ohno clears his throat, hums a bit and curls closer. “I shouldn’t,” he says, eyes blinking, fighting to stay awake.
“You should sleep,” Sho admonishes. They will have this conversation many times, he feels, but it is okay. They have time.
*
“Are you ready?” Ohno is grinning, smiling so widely Sho can’t help but smile back. Nino is somewhere behind them, coughing and trying in vain to disguise his happiness, because there is no way he can’t be happy when Sho and Ohno are.
“You guys are so gross,” he is saying, but he has to be discreet, he knows, because Ohno’s fathers are around, and it wouldn’t do to talk trash.
Sho has a feeling, that when Ohno steps closer and slings an arm around Sho to hold him in, it is to purposefully make Nino squirm.
This time, he doesn’t feel lonely at the thought that Nino won’t be going with them. This time, Sho feels certain that they can keep close to each other without needing air and space between them.
Nino hugs them both goodbye, and hisses in Sho’s ear; “If you make him sleep on the floor again, I will kick your ass.”
Sho hugs him tighter and knows Nino feels the gratitude.
Everything will be different now.
*