Swallowed by the Sea (oneshot)
Title: Swallowed by the Sea
Pairing: Matsumiya
Rating: PG
Summary: In a small town by the seaside, Nino and Jun grow up together.
Jun loves the summer. He loves the perfection of the weather by the sea. He loves the sparkling sea, the refreshing water and the big waves. Jun is a surfer. He learned during his fifteenth summer when a few college students on break visited their small town and gave him the opportunity. Nino rejected the offer though. As much as Jun loves the sea, Nino hates it. Even though Nino and he are best friends, they are as different as they are similar.
*
In the summer, Nino works part-time at his uncle's shop. After work he goes to the seaside and waits for Jun who happily spends his afternoons riding the waves. He plays with his gameboy or reads manga as he waits until nightfall and it is too dark and dangerous for Jun to continue.
Sometimes, Nino discards his gameboy and mangas and goes down to the edge of the sea where the waves wash over the sand. His forlorn form crouches down and he digs into the sand. Every letter he etches into the sand eventually gets washed away. Everytime he goes down to the water, Jun stops surfing early. He knows Nino is bored.
They always return to Nino's home and Jun leaves later at night when Nino's mother finally gets home.
*
Nino hates the sea, but he's thankful for it too. Jun has bigger aspirations than taking over his family's tofu shop, but he loves the sea too much to leave this small town they grew up in. Jun will never leave him, or so Nino thinks until their eighteenth summer, both of them freshly graduated from high school.
Nino works odd jobs for the townsfolk and his aunt. Jun works regular hours at his family shop. She comes into their life like a whirlwind that brilliant summer. Her name is Umi, a hauntingly ironic name. She is beautiful and her laughter is like twinkling bells. Jun falls for her and hard; a first love that encompasses his whole being. He loves her almost as much as he loves the sea, and Nino sees this.
On late summer afternoons when both Nino and Jun are free from work obligations, they meet her down by the seaside and Umi and Jun enjoy surfing and swimming together. Jealousy and bitterness curls in Nino's chest, but he does nothing about it. It is his secret. Only when the feelings become too strong and overwhelms him does he walk down to the sand and dig into the dirt again, until the waves wash the words he writes away. When Umi is there, Jun does not notice. He does not conclude their evening early. They stay until the sun has set beyond the horizon and night has fallen.
When autumn closes upon them and Umi has left but for one week, Jun tells Nino that he will leave their small town, not necessarily because he's following Umi, but because he wants too much for this place. For the first time in their long years of friendship, Nino cries because of Jun.
"What if I tell you to not go?" Nino asks.
Jun cannot ignore the way Nino's tears hurt him and he struggles to keep his composure when he looks away. He asks instead, "Will you really stop me from doing what I want to do?"
More than anyone else, Nino knows Jun has dreams too big for this small town by the seaside. Jun is too beautiful, inside and out, to not try. Nino realizes his best friend deserves much more than this place can ever give him.
Swallowing his tears, he answers, "No."
*
At first Jun writes to him and he answers. Eventually, their letters become infrequent. They realize they do not have enough to say and anything else they want to share cannot be conveyed through long-distance correspondences. Gradually, Nino stops writing and Jun's letters stops coming.
Every now and then, Nino stops by the sea and sits looking at the waves. He thinks about Jun and where his best friend is. He wonders why he's still waiting and for how long he can.
Throughout the years, Jun promises but has never returned to their small town.
*
Years since he's heard from his childhood friend, the first news that reaches Nino is devastating. The secret is too big and he hears the gossip before Jun's wedding invitation arrives. When it does, Nino frantically rips open the envelope that encases the card and sees Jun smiling next to a girl he doesn't know on the front. Nino knows from the gossip that it's a shotgun marriage. The girl's pregnant and Jun's too responsible and kind to let her carry the burden alone.
Nino locks his insecurities inside and seeks knowledge from Jun's parents. He takes a train all the way to Tokyo.
Jun is surprised when he opens his door to his childhood friend. Though the person standing before him is now a man and no longer an adolescent boy, Jun recognizes him instantly. The night is late and rain pelts down on Nino who stands outside in the open silently. Jun grabs a towel and umbrella and leads Nino from his apartment where his fiance is resting.
They drink at a nearby pub. It's been years, but Jun still knows Nino. He knows why his friend is there.
"It's a big step to take, but we're already adults. I'd like to believe we're both doing the right thing," Jun says.
"You are," Nino assures him, even though inside he withers. Jun is Jun, his childhood friend, the one he used to know best, but Jun is also no longer his alone. For years now, Jun hasn't been. This Jun he doesn't entirely know; a little taller than him now, his shoulders a little more broad, and his eyes a little more determined but as deeply overcome with pressure and stress.
*
They return to Jun's apartment tottering and with their arms around each other's shoulders. They lean their weight against each other, Jun just a little less so because Nino's lightweight stature cannot completely carry his own. Even with their long years of friendship, the sudden unfamiliarity of their connected forms distract them.
On their one couch where Nino sleeps for the night, he understands that maybe their friendship will always be precious to them, but it is only a nostalgic thing of the past. No matter how much he still treasures Jun and vice versa, they will never be the same.
Nino leaves in the early morning before Jun and his fiance wake.
*
Before Nino leaves for Tokyo for Jun's wedding, he stops by the sea and crouches down by the waters' edge. He sketches into the sand.
On that same day on his wedding night, after his wife has fallen asleep, Jun is wide awake and goes to the couch. He drinks a cup of wine and reaches for the letter Nino gave him before the ceremony; it is his wedding gift that his friend insisted was painstakingly thought about. Jun carefully opens the envelope and takes out the folded paper inside. He unfolds the letter and a pile of sand pours into his lap. He holds a blank piece of white wrinkled paper. Jun is mystified until he leans in and the faint scent of the sea wafts from the dried sheet.
*
Nino crouches down and writes into the sand.
The sun shines behind you, wrapping you in gold.
Your laughter drowns out the roar of the waves.
You charter the sea and ride to land on the waves. Like a god.
I cannot take my eyes away.
My heart beats faster.
Maybe this is love.
Nino watches the waves wash away his words, as it had done his countless love letters. He looks up and sees the setting sun, sees that he is alone and that Jun will no longer come to him with a surfboard tucked under his arm to tell him that they can go home. Nino knows it is time he stops waiting.
*
END
A/N: A highly unoriginal fic, but I needed to get into writing Matsumiya again so I can finally finish some older wips.
Pairing: Matsumiya
Rating: PG
Summary: In a small town by the seaside, Nino and Jun grow up together.
Jun loves the summer. He loves the perfection of the weather by the sea. He loves the sparkling sea, the refreshing water and the big waves. Jun is a surfer. He learned during his fifteenth summer when a few college students on break visited their small town and gave him the opportunity. Nino rejected the offer though. As much as Jun loves the sea, Nino hates it. Even though Nino and he are best friends, they are as different as they are similar.
*
In the summer, Nino works part-time at his uncle's shop. After work he goes to the seaside and waits for Jun who happily spends his afternoons riding the waves. He plays with his gameboy or reads manga as he waits until nightfall and it is too dark and dangerous for Jun to continue.
Sometimes, Nino discards his gameboy and mangas and goes down to the edge of the sea where the waves wash over the sand. His forlorn form crouches down and he digs into the sand. Every letter he etches into the sand eventually gets washed away. Everytime he goes down to the water, Jun stops surfing early. He knows Nino is bored.
They always return to Nino's home and Jun leaves later at night when Nino's mother finally gets home.
*
Nino hates the sea, but he's thankful for it too. Jun has bigger aspirations than taking over his family's tofu shop, but he loves the sea too much to leave this small town they grew up in. Jun will never leave him, or so Nino thinks until their eighteenth summer, both of them freshly graduated from high school.
Nino works odd jobs for the townsfolk and his aunt. Jun works regular hours at his family shop. She comes into their life like a whirlwind that brilliant summer. Her name is Umi, a hauntingly ironic name. She is beautiful and her laughter is like twinkling bells. Jun falls for her and hard; a first love that encompasses his whole being. He loves her almost as much as he loves the sea, and Nino sees this.
On late summer afternoons when both Nino and Jun are free from work obligations, they meet her down by the seaside and Umi and Jun enjoy surfing and swimming together. Jealousy and bitterness curls in Nino's chest, but he does nothing about it. It is his secret. Only when the feelings become too strong and overwhelms him does he walk down to the sand and dig into the dirt again, until the waves wash the words he writes away. When Umi is there, Jun does not notice. He does not conclude their evening early. They stay until the sun has set beyond the horizon and night has fallen.
When autumn closes upon them and Umi has left but for one week, Jun tells Nino that he will leave their small town, not necessarily because he's following Umi, but because he wants too much for this place. For the first time in their long years of friendship, Nino cries because of Jun.
"What if I tell you to not go?" Nino asks.
Jun cannot ignore the way Nino's tears hurt him and he struggles to keep his composure when he looks away. He asks instead, "Will you really stop me from doing what I want to do?"
More than anyone else, Nino knows Jun has dreams too big for this small town by the seaside. Jun is too beautiful, inside and out, to not try. Nino realizes his best friend deserves much more than this place can ever give him.
Swallowing his tears, he answers, "No."
*
At first Jun writes to him and he answers. Eventually, their letters become infrequent. They realize they do not have enough to say and anything else they want to share cannot be conveyed through long-distance correspondences. Gradually, Nino stops writing and Jun's letters stops coming.
Every now and then, Nino stops by the sea and sits looking at the waves. He thinks about Jun and where his best friend is. He wonders why he's still waiting and for how long he can.
Throughout the years, Jun promises but has never returned to their small town.
*
Years since he's heard from his childhood friend, the first news that reaches Nino is devastating. The secret is too big and he hears the gossip before Jun's wedding invitation arrives. When it does, Nino frantically rips open the envelope that encases the card and sees Jun smiling next to a girl he doesn't know on the front. Nino knows from the gossip that it's a shotgun marriage. The girl's pregnant and Jun's too responsible and kind to let her carry the burden alone.
Nino locks his insecurities inside and seeks knowledge from Jun's parents. He takes a train all the way to Tokyo.
Jun is surprised when he opens his door to his childhood friend. Though the person standing before him is now a man and no longer an adolescent boy, Jun recognizes him instantly. The night is late and rain pelts down on Nino who stands outside in the open silently. Jun grabs a towel and umbrella and leads Nino from his apartment where his fiance is resting.
They drink at a nearby pub. It's been years, but Jun still knows Nino. He knows why his friend is there.
"It's a big step to take, but we're already adults. I'd like to believe we're both doing the right thing," Jun says.
"You are," Nino assures him, even though inside he withers. Jun is Jun, his childhood friend, the one he used to know best, but Jun is also no longer his alone. For years now, Jun hasn't been. This Jun he doesn't entirely know; a little taller than him now, his shoulders a little more broad, and his eyes a little more determined but as deeply overcome with pressure and stress.
*
They return to Jun's apartment tottering and with their arms around each other's shoulders. They lean their weight against each other, Jun just a little less so because Nino's lightweight stature cannot completely carry his own. Even with their long years of friendship, the sudden unfamiliarity of their connected forms distract them.
On their one couch where Nino sleeps for the night, he understands that maybe their friendship will always be precious to them, but it is only a nostalgic thing of the past. No matter how much he still treasures Jun and vice versa, they will never be the same.
Nino leaves in the early morning before Jun and his fiance wake.
*
Before Nino leaves for Tokyo for Jun's wedding, he stops by the sea and crouches down by the waters' edge. He sketches into the sand.
On that same day on his wedding night, after his wife has fallen asleep, Jun is wide awake and goes to the couch. He drinks a cup of wine and reaches for the letter Nino gave him before the ceremony; it is his wedding gift that his friend insisted was painstakingly thought about. Jun carefully opens the envelope and takes out the folded paper inside. He unfolds the letter and a pile of sand pours into his lap. He holds a blank piece of white wrinkled paper. Jun is mystified until he leans in and the faint scent of the sea wafts from the dried sheet.
*
Nino crouches down and writes into the sand.
The sun shines behind you, wrapping you in gold.
Your laughter drowns out the roar of the waves.
You charter the sea and ride to land on the waves. Like a god.
I cannot take my eyes away.
My heart beats faster.
Maybe this is love.
Nino watches the waves wash away his words, as it had done his countless love letters. He looks up and sees the setting sun, sees that he is alone and that Jun will no longer come to him with a surfboard tucked under his arm to tell him that they can go home. Nino knows it is time he stops waiting.
*
END
A/N: A highly unoriginal fic, but I needed to get into writing Matsumiya again so I can finally finish some older wips.