[fic] Step by Step; Light and Shade - (15.1/?)
TITLE: Step by Step; Light and Shade
PAIRINGS: Sakuraiba, Matsumiya, Aimiya, Ohmiya, ShoxMaki, and JunxMao
LENGTH: Multi-chaptered
BANDS Arashi (with Horikita Maki and Inoue Mao)
GENRE: Romance, drama... etc.
RATING (by chapter): G-13/14
WARNINGS: AU, language and potentially sexual situations in later chapters.
SUMMARY: "To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak" - Indian Proverb
Sakurai Sho is the Chief Financial Officer for a large corporation, he has a loving girlfriend, a strange (but friendly) co-worker, and a best friend who teaches a ballroom dance class (which Sho has been guilted into attending). At the class, Sho's encounter with another unorthodox dancer -and his partner- will be the spark needed to kindle new relationships and end others.
PREVIOUS: Step01 Step02 Step03 Step04 Step05 Step06 Step07 Step08 Step09 Step10 Step11 Step12 Step13 Step14
Step 15.
For a brief, breathless moment he had been so close. Aiba’s breath had been hot and tangible on his lips, the ghost of a kiss that never came, and just as suddenly that warmth was gone and Sho was left with a sick, cold feeling in the pit of his stomach and an empty space on the couch beside him.
“I- Um-…“ Aiba stood, pacing a little, obviously flustered. Chubby lifted his head to watch, looking irritated at being woken. “Sorry,” He finally faced Sho and smiled, but the gesture was strained. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep before you got here.”
Sho attempted to return the smile, sitting up straighter. If Aiba was going to pretend Sho hadn’t just come millimeters from kissing him, then the least Sho could do was play along. “That’s fine. How was Chiba?”
“Good, good.” Aiba sank onto the arm of Chubby’s chair, looking glad for the change of subject. “Mom was out of bed for a bit today. We had a nice chat before I left.”
“Is she doing better?” Sho grabbed the remote from the coffee table and flicked the television off.
Aiba scrunched his face up. “Not really, to be honest. I mean, she isn’t getting any worse, but there hasn’t been any improvement either.” He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. “The doctors are totally stumped. I don’t think they have any idea why the medication isn’t working.”
“That’s… pretty shitty.” Sho blurted, then winced. “Sorry.”
Aiba laughed, surprised, and waved away his apology. “No, you’re exactly right.” He shrugged. “They said they’re going to run a bunch more tests over the next week or two, starting Monday. To see if they missed anything important.”
“Well that’s something, at least.” Sho offered.
Aiba nodded, and a silence fell between them. “So…” He broke it after a moment. “Did you have anything in mind when you asked me to wait for you tonight?”
“No, I just-…” Sho gestured helplessly at the space between them and then let his arm fall back into his lap with a defeated sigh. “I just felt like I haven’t seen you in days, between work and going out with Ohno last night…” He took a deep breath, forcing himself to meet Aiba’s eyes. “I just missed you.”
Aiba’s lips parted, holding his gaze but not saying anything for a long moment. The silence was charged, and Sho held his breath, feeling unmistakably like they were on the cusp of something big. “Sho-san…” Aiba spoke at last, quiet and uncertain.
Sho clambered to his feet, standing with only the coffee table separating them. Their eyes remained locked; Aiba’s wide as he looked up at him, unblinking. Sho hoped the expression in his own eyes might convey what he was having such difficulty finding the words for. “Aiba,” He struggled, “I-“
“I ran into your girlfriend tonight.” Aiba interrupted suddenly, still staring up at him with wide eyes.
Sho’s brain skittered to a confused halt. “My-… what? Who?”
“Horikita-san.” Aiba blinked, looking away and pulling a card from the pocket of his jeans. “I spoke to her earlier, and she gave me this.” He held it out.
Sho’s shoulders sagged. He accepted the card and stepped back, falling into his seat on the couch with zero grace. “Why?”
“She’s sorry she put you in such an awkward position, and she wants a chance to talk it all out with you. Her new address is on the back.” He pointed, and Sho turned the card over to see. “She thinks you’re a really great guy, and she doesn’t want things to end between you like this. So, she said for you to drop by any time. She wants to talk in person.” He smiled. “You must be happy you guys still have a shot together, huh?”
Sho looked up, feeling surprisingly tongue-tied. “Uh, right… Thank you.”
Aiba’s smile flickered, just a little, and he stood up. “I think I’ll head out. If I get any more tired I might pass out on the train.” He chuckled. “See you tomorrow, Sakurai-san.”
The formal use of his surname was such a punch in the gut that Sho couldn’t even get the words out to say good night.
+++
“Dear Rolf. Stop. Don’t stop!”
This was without a doubt her favorite scene, she thought with her arms flung around his neck. She was biased, for obvious reasons. Jun was handsome and confident, perfectly at ease with being on stage. She, on the other hand, could hardly believe she’d found the courage to audition, let alone that she’d been given a fairly large part.
“You wait, little girl, on an empty stage, for fate to turn the light on.” He began the opening line to their duet. His voice rang steady and clear in the school auditorium. She thought it was a bit of a shame he had too many extracurricular activities to commit more time to the play, otherwise he probably would have been the play’s leading man instead of a character that only appeared three times in the whole production. She couldn’t really complain though, after all, she wouldn’t have the opportunity to kiss him if he was playing her father, Captain von Trapp. “Your life, little girl, is an empty page, that men will want to write on.”
The very thought of the upcoming kiss made her face heat up, and she had to force her blush down to adopt her most seductive expression as it was her turn to cut in. “To write on…”
Jun hid a grin as he turned away in mock alarm at her suggestive tone. “You are sixteen going on seventeen, baby it’s time to think…”
The next bit was fairly easy, and she could mostly rely on muscle memory as they circled each other, moving fluidly through the flirty routine they’d practiced a good dozen times. The clap of thunder from the sound booth was their cue, and Jun twirled her around as they swept into the circle of benches meant to be the gazebo. The grade-twelve art students were still working to finish the set. It was her turn to the lead the duet now. From the beginning, she’d found the best way to ignore her nerves was to forget there was anybody else listening. It was just her and Jun and the music, Jun smiled at her so genuinely it was almost unbelievable that he was acting, or that Mao wasn’t really the object of his affections. “You are seventeen going on eighteen,” she sang, standing on one of the benches and running her hands through his hair. He leant into the touch, and her heart melted. “I’ll depend on you~”
The music picked up, and her heart was in her throat through the entirety of their dance, from the jaunt about on the benches to when they slid into a short waltz. His hold was firm, his chest solid and warm against her back, and it took all her concentration to remember where she was supposed to put her feet. She knew what was coming next. They’d rehearsed the scene countless times, but always skipped the kiss in favor of simply miming it. Now though, opening night was less than two weeks away and the director had deemed it time to give the actual lip-lock a go.
The music suddenly stilled, teetering as they shared a ‘moment’ from across the gazebo. Mao found herself holding her breath as they began to float together and apart. If Jun was nervous he didn’t show it beyond the entranced façade the scene called for. They came together a final time and, as planned, Jun stopped her before she could move away. She gulped. His eyes were kind, and his thumb stroked her arm once, reassuringly perhaps, beneath his firm grip.
Before she could blink, he’d pulled her into the kiss. She was disappointed that the insistent press of his lips against hers was so chaste, but at the same time she could already feel her knees threatening to buckle when he pulled away a moment later. Jun grinned goofily and bounded away, and Mao let out Liesl’s giddy squeal with very little effort at all.
“Great! That looked wonderful guys.” The drama teacher clapped and the lights came up. “Let’s move right into the next scene with Liesl and Maria.” The stagehands pulled away the benches and began setting up Maria’s bedroom.
Saiko appeared from the wings, looking far too glamorous -as usual- to be dressed in Maria’s understated clothes. She skipped over to Mao’s side with a smile full of perfectly straight, white teeth. “That was lovely, Mao-chan.” Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “That little waltz is getting much smoother… You two must practice an awful lot.”
Mao adjusted her glasses nervously. She’d love to say something smart in return, but all she managed was a quiet “Um, thanks…”
“We make a good team.” Jun reappeared, clapping Mao amiably on the shoulder as he passed and then wrapping an arm around Saiko’s waist.
Saiko’s smile became decidedly smug.
“Places, everyone!”
Jun gave Saiko’s waist a little squeeze. “I’ll be in the stands.” He grinned, sneaking a chaste kiss onto her cheek and then jogging away.
Saiko turned back to Mao as soon as he’d gone. “Mao-chan,” She said with that pseudo-friendly smile still curling her lips. “Break a leg.”
Mao shuffled to her place offstage, trying not to scowl until she was at least out of Saiko’s sight. During the next musical number, ‘My Favorite Things’, Mao couldn’t help but sweep her eyes over the few cast and crew members watching in the auditorium seats. Jun was in the front row, eyes glued on his girlfriend the entire time.
Mao hated the bitch.
+++
Jun woke up with his face pressed against warm skin, and his vision blocked by a swathe of soft dark hair. He lifted his head from the crook of Mao’s neck with a grimace of pain at his hangover and a sigh at the situation in general. Squinting against the early morning light spilt in from his bedroom window, a quick sweep told Jun that while they were indeed tangled together in his bed in a decidedly intimate fashion, they were at least fully clothed. He sighed again and settled his head back onto the pillow. She shifted closer in her sleep, seeking him out, hot breath puffing against his collar and fingers tightening their grip a little in his rumpled shirt. Jun was suddenly very aware of his arm wrapped around her waist and her leg wedged between his own. He bit his lip, carefully tilted his hips away a fraction, and closed his eyes. He willed his mind to go blank; to think of anything other than lying in bed with an attractive woman sprawled across him… and soon enough he’d unintentionally drifted back to sleep.
When he next awoke it was with a shiver. The warmth he’d been wrapped in had disappeared, and when he opened his eyes and rolled over he discovered that Mao had managed to sneak out. Her side of the bed was cold and neatly made, leaving no sign that she’d spent the night there at all.
+++
It was the smell of coffee that dragged him awake. Blinking into the light and wincing at the pain in his back and neck.
“Coffee.” Ohno was standing in front of him holding a steaming mug and looking awkward.
Nino blinked at him and frowned. He sat up, taking a moment to look around and figure out what was going on. “Oh…” He was on the couch in Ohno’s posh living room. “Sorry, did I fall asleep?” He remembered getting cold outside, so Ohno suggested they relocate to the living room, and then Nino’s feet had gotten sore, so they’d migrated onto the couch to watch something mindless on the television while they finished their wine.
Ohno pressed the mug into his hand, and Nino accepted with a grunt of thanks. “We both did.” He continued to stand awkwardly for a moment before perching on the edge of the coffee table. “I’m a horrible cook, but I can order something in if you’re hungry.”
“That’s fine.” Nino shook his head and tapped the ceramic rim of the mug. “Coffee’s a good enough breakfast for me.”
Ohno smiled. “Brunch.”
“…What?” Nino frowned, whipping his head around to eyeball the sun coming in through the window. It was very bright and golden. Nino blanched, lifted his arm to check his watch and then remembered he wasn’t wearing it (too obviously a man’s accessory for ‘Kazuko’ to be seen in). “Shit, what time is it?”
“Almost eleven-thirty… Is everything all right?”
Nino cursed again, clambering to his feet. “I’m sorry, I really have to go. My shift starts at noon.” He threw the coffee back, wincing as it burnt his throat, and then handed the mug back to Ohno. “Thank you!” He grabbed his coat off the back of the couch and was already struggling into his heels by the time Ohno caught up with him in the entranceway. “We should do this again soon. The dancing practice, I mean.”
“Yes, we should. Here,” Ohno pressed a couple crumpled bills into Nino’s hand. “Take a cab.” Nino started to protest but Ohno cut him off before he could say a word. “Please. I’ll feel guilty for not waking you sooner if you arrive late for work.”
Nino hesitated, but his own wallet was next to empty and he really would be quite late if he took the train. “Alright. Thank you again, Ohno-san.”
“No problem.” Ohno smiled, pulling the front door open. “Just let me know when you’re free to meet up again.”
“Will do!” Nino called, sprinting down the hall to the elevator.
+++
Her mother was on the phone in her office when Mao returned to their Tokyo home. Knowing better than to interrupt, and also not wanting to be caught in the previous day’s clothes, Mao slipped quietly upstairs to wash up.
She soaked in the bath until her toes and fingers had gone wrinkly, eyes shut and head tipped back to rest on the cool porcelain lip of the tub. Her thoughts inevitably strayed to Jun.; his hands on her hips, sliding up her arms, threading through her hair. Her fingers automatically drifted up to brush over the faint purple bruise at her collarbone. She’d noticed it in the bathroom mirror as she was getting undressed, and immediately recalled what must have caused it. The skin tingled there under the pads of her fingers, and she shivered despite the hot steam rising around her. The memory of Jun’s mouth on her skin was so fresh, it was deliciously easy to close her eyes and recall the feel of his lips dragging down the column of her throat, teeth nipping gently between kisses and tongue laving, hot and soothing, when he pushed the strap of her dress aside and bit just a little bit harder on the sharp protrusion of her left collarbone. Mao’s toes curled and a soft moan escaped her lips, reverberating back against the wet tiles, before she could come back to her senses. She shook her head, flushing with embarrassment.
To be honest, she wasn’t yet sure if the heated conclusion of the night had been a big mistake or a bigger victory. When she’d awoken to find herself in bed with him, but her dress only partially unzipped and only the first few buttons of his shirt undone, she had been awash with a strange mixture of relief and disappointment. Unsure how she would or should react to actually facing him conscious, she had panicked and fled the scene.
Maybe he wouldn’t even remember what happened. He might have woken up and thought it was all a strange erotic dream.
The thought made her frown, but it would at least be better than the awkwardness that would surely plague them if he thought the whole encounter had been a huge embarrassing mistake.
In any case, she’d have to let him make the first move to broach the subject.
With a sigh she pulled the plug and rose from the cooling water of the bathtub. She made quick work of toweling herself down, pulling her wet hair up into a ponytail rather than blow-drying it, and then shuffling off to dig through her wardrobe. She chose dark slacks and a crisp blazer, hoping that looking professional might help her to be taken a little more seriously. She’d put off the inevitable confrontation with her mother for long enough, and it was time that she soldiered up and entered the dragon’s den.
“Mother.” She greeted as sharply as she could without being downright impolite. “We need to talk.”
Her mother looked up from her laptop slowly and pushed her glasses up her nose, somehow managing to make the gesture look ridiculously intimidating. “I should think so.” She leant back in her desk chair, her shrewd gaze sweeping Mao from head to toe. “Where were you last night, young lady?”
Mao straightened to her full height, squaring her shoulders and clenching her jaw. She refused to let her mother make her feel like a misbehaving teenager again. “That’s none of your business, actually.” She answered, shutting the office door behind her and folding her arms. “Also, let me rephrase: I need to talk, and you’re going to listen to me for once.”
Her mother continued to regard her coolly for a long moment more, perhaps trying to read what she wanted to discuss, before tilting her head to the empty chair across the desk from her. “Sit, then.” There was a teapot steaming on the side table to her left, and she poured a second cup for Mao while she took her seat.
Mao accepted the delicate china cup with a tight smile. She didn’t actually take sugar in her tea but she wasn’t surprised that her mother didn’t know, and it wasn’t worth the argument to mention it now. “Thank you.”
“Assuming you’re here to discuss what we do next, I’ve already worked out a plan to fix what went wrong last night. I-“
Mao set the cup down with a clatter and held up a warning hand for silence. Her mother looked precariously close to rolling her eyes, but assented and gestured for Mao to go ahead and speak. “With all due respect, Mother,” Mao began, trying to keep the sharp edge from showing too clearly in her words. “The only thing that was ‘wrong’ about last night, was your -frankly- over the top reaction.” She continued immediately, raising her voice just a tad to keep her mother’s outraged response at bay. “Just listen. If you’re going to be angry at anyone about last night, you’d better turn your anger on me because I orchestrated it all. Ohno-kun and Ninomiya-san are not dating, they’re barely acquaintances. I convinced them to pretend otherwise, but neither of them were comfortable with the idea. Ohno’s family had no idea what was going on either. It was all me, and my -admittedly- poorly thought out plan to get you to leave me alone.” Mao took a deep breath. Her mother was scowling intensely, somewhere between furious and flabbergasted. “I feel like I’ve said this a thousand times since you began negotiating with Ohno’s father, but you’ve never listened to me. Listen to me now, because I’m so tired of repeating myself to you. I don’t love Ohno Satoshi. The only feelings I have for him are extremely platonic, and he feels the same way. I don’t want to date him. In fact, I refuse to date him.”
“Is there someone else?” She demanded.
Mao scowled, ignoring the thoughts of Jun that immediately sprang to mind. There was no use mentioning him when she didn’t know where they stood with each other. “No. We’re both single and completely uninterested in each other. And while we’re on the subject of my love life, let me make this clear: I will never be coerced into dating anyone for any reason unless the guy is someone I actually have feelings for.” Her knuckles were white on the handle as she raised the teacup to her lips and took a long sip. “Honestly, it hurts that you care more about this business deal than you care about me. I’m your daughter, not a goddamn bargaining chip!”
“I know you’re not.” She frowned. It was a long drawn-out moment before she spoke again, voice surprisingly subdued. “Mao, that’s not why I-“
Mao very nearly laughed when her mother was cut off by the shrill ringing of the telephone on her desk. She looked between Mao and the caller display, posture tensing at whatever she saw there. Mao sighed and stood up. “You can answer it. I’ve said everything I had to.”
“But I haven’t.” The softness was gone from her voice again but she still hesitated, hand hovering above the receiver. “Mao.” She said, making Mao pause mid-way to the door. “I’m heading to New York for a week, but I’d like to have dinner with you here when I return.” She paused, pursing her lips. “I promise to be civil.”
Mao tried very hard to hide her surprise. “Okay…” She couldn’t even recall the last time they’d sat down to a private family dinner. “Have a safe trip.”
Her mother nodded curtly, already lifting the receiver to her lips.
+++
“Welcome! Can I help y-?” Toma broke off so suddenly he nearly choked on his own words. “N-Nino…?” He stammered, voice wavering somewhere between disbelief and the brink of hysterical laughter.
“Shut up.” Nino growled, ripping the wig from his head and shoving it into his purse as he stomped towards the back room. Toma’s laughter chased him all the way, and he could only be glad that there were at least no customers in the shop to witness this walk of shame. He’d been running so late, he didn’t have time to stop by his apartment first, and therefore didn’t have time to change out of his Kazuko disguise. Luckily, Aiba had roped him into so many messy shenanigans at the pet store in the past, Nino had taken to keeping a spare change of clothes in his locker just in case.
“B-but-…. Why?!” Toma exclaimed, following him and leaning on the doorframe while Nino rummaged through his locker. He was breathless and clutching his stomach as he struggled not to erupt into more laughter. “You’re wearing a dress, man! Explain yourself!”
“It’s a really long, really ridiculous, story…” Nino sighed, struggling to reach the clasp of the dress on his back. “And none of this was my idea, I swear. It was all Aiba.”
“Oh, of course it was.” Toma grinned, evidently not surprised. “Has he got some kind of fetish for cross-dressing?”
Nino couldn’t help giggling a little bit at the thought. “No, it’s not like that. And we’re not ‘together’ you bastard.” He gave up on the clasp with a grunt. “Can you unzip me?” He had to ask, defeated.
Toma chuckled. “Yes ma’am.”
“Thanks.” Nino growled. “Now, if you get out of here while I finish getting changed, I promise I’ll try and explain what’s been going on.”
“Aww, I was hoping you’d do a strip tease.” Toma joked, tapping him on the ass as he stepped away.
“What kind of lady do you think I am?” Nino gasped, flinging one of his gel breast inserts at him. Toma laughed and ducked the projectile. “If it’s any consolation, it is a pretty damn good story.”
“Fantastic!” Toma beamed, pulling the door closed as he slipped out. “I’ll nab some popcorn from the snack shelf!”
+++
"Hey, how's it going Mao-chan?" Ohno greeted, holding the door open for her to come inside.
"Where do I even begin?" She moaned, shucking her coat. "I have a massive hangover, I nearly slept with Jun last night, and I just confronted my mother and wound up agreeing to have dinner at home with her next week for the first time in years." She threw herself dramatically down onto the couch. "I need a friend to rant to before I lose my mind."
"Wow." Ohno sat down beside her with wide eyes. "I'm all ears."
So Mao began filling Ohno in on everything that had happened since his dramatic exit the night before, finishing with an exhausted sigh. “What do I do now?”
Ohno furrowed his brow and scratched the stubble on his chin thoughtfully. “You just have dinner with her, I guess. And in the meantime, try not to overthink everything?”
Mao scowled. “That’s not super helpful advice.”
“Well there’s nothing you can do about the Jun situation right now. I think you’re right, the best thing to do is let him approach you about it all. He already knows how you feel about him. And the same goes for your mom.” Ohno shrugged. “You told her everything you had to say right?”
“Yeah.”
“And you know how you feel about the subject, so all you can do is stick to your guns if she wants to discuss it over dinner.” Mao sighed, and he edged a little closer to put his arm around her shoulders and tug her into a hug. “I don’t know what else to tell you, sorry. Just… don’t bother freaking out.” He chuckled. “It’s just a waste of energy, and you must be tired after all the antics you got up to last night.”
She groaned, burying her face in his chest. “Stop…”
“So, about Jun… How was he?”
“I told you, we just ended up falling asleep!”
“Yeah, after a whole lotta making out!” Ohno nudged her ‘til she sat up and he could poke her flaming cheeks. “Come on, I’m dying for a little good gossip. Good kisser?”
She rolled her eyes, trying hard not to smile as he squished her cheeks between his palms. “… Very good.” She grumbled, giving in if only for the childlike delight on Ohno’s face. “And a bit of a biter too.”
Ohno beamed like Christmas had just come early. “Walk me through everything you can remember.”
+++
When his phone buzzed, Aiba didn’t need to look to know who was texting him. Still, he read the message anyway. ‘Work is so boring today… What are you up to right now?’ More small talk. It was painfully obvious that Sho was dancing around what had nearly happened the night before.
Nino stood on his tiptoes behind him, reading the text over his shoulder. "Aren't you going to respond?" He asked. "I'm starting to feel a little bad for the guy."
Aiba chewed his lip. Eight messages from Sho and he hadn't replied to a single one. "I guess..." He mumbled,
'Not much...' He wrote. 'Did you contact Horikita-san yet?'
He punched send before he could change his mind.
Nino whistled, going back to organizing the shelves. "Harsh."
Aiba sighed. "I don't really mean to be."
Toma chose that moment to saunter down the aisle, carrying a heavy box of new releases. "Here you go, gorgeous." He grinned, handing it over to Nino.
Nino rolled his eyes. "You're never gonna let this go, are you?"
It was a rhetorical question, but Toma laughed and shook his head anyway. "Not a chance, babe. Where are these dance lessons, anyway? I'd love to see you two in action sometime." He waggled his eyebrows.
Aiba -ever helpful- spoke up, completely missing Nino's warning 'don't tell him anything!' expression. "You should come to the competition in a couple weeks! It's gonna be great!"
Toma beamed, Nino mocked thumping his head against the shelving. "Thanks, Aiba-kun. I'd love to." Toma checked his watch. "Hold down the fort for me, Nino. I'm gonna take a break and grab something to eat."
"Did Sakurai text you back yet?" Nino brought the subject up again not long after Toma had left.
Aiba sighed. "No. I guess that means he hasn't talked to her."
"Is that so surprising?" Nino raised an eyebrow. "He tried to stick his tongue in your mouth last night, why would he be in any hurry to talk to his ex girlfriend?"
"First of all, he didn't try to 'stick his tongue in my mouth'. That sounds horrible. I'm sure it just would have been a sweet little peck on the lips or something."
Both eyebrows were raised now. "Uh huh. Sounds like you regret stopping him."
Aiba whined, sinking -ironically- to a crouch in the Romantic Comedy isle. "I don't know anymore. I like Sho, of course, but it was so sudden. I'd been trying really hard to only think of him as a friend, you know? And he'd never shown any interest in me before. Plus I'd just promised his girlfriend-"
"Ex-girlfriend."
"-That I'd give him a message so they could work things out. It felt wrong to turn around and make out with him after that. I panicked."
Nino sighed. "Well maybe you should tell him all that. If I were in his place I'd be panicking now too. He's probably thinking you don't want him and that he's ruined your friendship on top of everything."
Aiba groaned, running his hands through his hair and making a mess of it. "I know, you're right."
"Of course I am."
"But I need to sort out how I actually feel about him first... And he should probably talk to Horikita-san too. I don't want to start anything with him until he's sorted things out with her."
"Sounds fair enough to me."
Aiba nodded and sat cross-legged for several minutes, absentmindedly watching Nino organize the shelves while his brain ran in circles around thoughts of Sakurai Sho.
Unfortunately, his thoughts kept coming back to that expression on Sho's face the night before, right before he'd leaned in and Aiba had shot him down. He'd looked a little bit dazed, but his eyes had burned bright as they searched Aiba's face. There had been an adorable little crease of confusion in his brow, and then Aiba had spoke and that brow had set, eyes snapping to focus intensely, first meeting Aiba's eyes and then drifting down to his lips as he inched closer and--
Aiba shook his head, stopping the memory in its tracks. He didn't want to get to the part when Sho's expression had crumpled and morphed into humiliated disappointment, followed worst of all by resignation.
+++
“Hey Ohno-kun, it’s Sho. Can I come up? I need to talk about… some stuff.”
Ohno answered the door once Sho had made it to his floor and beckoned him inside. “Let me guess, more matters of the heart?”
“Yes.” Sho sighed, setting his shoes neatly aside and following Ohno into the sitting area. “I think I’ve made a right mess of things.”
Mao greeted him from her spot on the couch. “That makes two of us, Sakurai-kun.”
“Oh?”
“Mao, you can give him a recap if you don’t mind.” Ohno steered Sho to sit in the place he’d vacated on the couch. “I’ll put the kettle on, and we can all be miserable over a hot cuppa.”
+++
Part Two >>>HERE<<<