untitled commentfic for tashychan, arashi, aiba/sho
658 words, fiction, obviously. quick and dirty beta by aeslis. on ao3 here.
Aiba is already saying, "Okay, Sho, so," when Sho picks up the phone, and Sho immediately feels like he should come up with an excuse, like, sorry, Aibachan, my mom's on the other line, or, I have to hang up, Godzilla is coming to attack, or some equally suitable reason for getting off the phone before Aiba asks him to do something, because really, Sho is never able to resist Aiba. (He has his doubts about anyone being able to resist Aiba.)
So Sho knows he'll regret it, but he says it anyway, "Yeah?"
He regrets it already when he hears the deep inhale of Aiba's breath across the phone connection; Aiba breathes like that only when he's gearing himself up to saying something that he is certain must be asked, it must! And for some reason, Sho is so very often the one Aiba is asking these things.
Aiba breathes in like that and asks: "What makes a romance a homosexual romance?"
Sho thinks Aiba probably practised saying it in front of his mirror to get the intonation just right. He's at a loss, to be honest; somehow he had been expecting something worse than that. "Um," Sho says, "two persons of the same gender?" He feels like this is a trick question.
"Oh!" Aiba says, and then, thoughtfully, "So if I asked you out, it would be a homosexual date?"
Or maybe this is the trick question instead? Sho hesitates before answering; he can feel his forehead crinkling into what Jun calls Sho Is An Adult And Is Tired Of Our Childish Antics face, but he's the kind of person who has to answer truthfully when he can. "Yes," he says, finally, feeling that it is the answer least likely to get him into trouble, the response that is most likely to end the phonecall as soon as possible.
"Okay," Aiba says. "Shochan, would you go on a homosexual date with me?"
No, really, why couldn't he have left his phone off? "Why," Sho says, and he knows the irritation is leaking out now, but usually Aiba isn't this trying, not when he's off-screen.
"Because that's what you do when you like someone!" Aiba says, and Sho can practically hear the animated sparkles dazzling from Aiba's voice. "You ask them on dates!"
"Aibachan," Sho says; this is really too much.
"And," Aiba jumps in again, "you know, I've liked Shochan for a while now, so I thought, since you're not seeing anyone--you're not, are you? You'd tell us if you were, right?"
That's when Sho gets it, that Aiba is being sincere, that this isn't just a prank or an experiment, when he hears that hint of nervousness in Aiba's tone, the slightly skittish quality where he knows that Aiba is just pushing on with what he has to say even though he knows he might not like the answer, because Aiba is both cautious and strangely brave about the things he means.
"I would tell you," Sho says, feeling as though someone has turned on a light in a room he's never really paid attention to before.
"So," Aiba says, and Sho can hear that he's running out of steam, "so, would you go on a homosexual date with me?"
Sho thinks about Aiba on the other end of the line, probably lying on his bed with his knees up, the blinds half-closed and leaving slanted shadows on his face, staring up at his white ceiling. Sho knows Aiba as well as he knows anyone, even himself; Aiba is not someone who this would turn out terribly with, even if it just ends with Aiba realizing that Sho is just Sho, not someone worth having a crush on.
"Okay," Sho says. He can feel himself smiling.
"Really? You, you mean it, Shochan?"
"Yeah," Sho says, and chuckles. "But only if you promise not to call it a homosexual date again."
"But, Shochan, that's what it is!"
"Seriously, Aibachan, you can't call it that or I'm taking back my acceptance."
Aiba is already saying, "Okay, Sho, so," when Sho picks up the phone, and Sho immediately feels like he should come up with an excuse, like, sorry, Aibachan, my mom's on the other line, or, I have to hang up, Godzilla is coming to attack, or some equally suitable reason for getting off the phone before Aiba asks him to do something, because really, Sho is never able to resist Aiba. (He has his doubts about anyone being able to resist Aiba.)
So Sho knows he'll regret it, but he says it anyway, "Yeah?"
He regrets it already when he hears the deep inhale of Aiba's breath across the phone connection; Aiba breathes like that only when he's gearing himself up to saying something that he is certain must be asked, it must! And for some reason, Sho is so very often the one Aiba is asking these things.
Aiba breathes in like that and asks: "What makes a romance a homosexual romance?"
Sho thinks Aiba probably practised saying it in front of his mirror to get the intonation just right. He's at a loss, to be honest; somehow he had been expecting something worse than that. "Um," Sho says, "two persons of the same gender?" He feels like this is a trick question.
"Oh!" Aiba says, and then, thoughtfully, "So if I asked you out, it would be a homosexual date?"
Or maybe this is the trick question instead? Sho hesitates before answering; he can feel his forehead crinkling into what Jun calls Sho Is An Adult And Is Tired Of Our Childish Antics face, but he's the kind of person who has to answer truthfully when he can. "Yes," he says, finally, feeling that it is the answer least likely to get him into trouble, the response that is most likely to end the phonecall as soon as possible.
"Okay," Aiba says. "Shochan, would you go on a homosexual date with me?"
No, really, why couldn't he have left his phone off? "Why," Sho says, and he knows the irritation is leaking out now, but usually Aiba isn't this trying, not when he's off-screen.
"Because that's what you do when you like someone!" Aiba says, and Sho can practically hear the animated sparkles dazzling from Aiba's voice. "You ask them on dates!"
"Aibachan," Sho says; this is really too much.
"And," Aiba jumps in again, "you know, I've liked Shochan for a while now, so I thought, since you're not seeing anyone--you're not, are you? You'd tell us if you were, right?"
That's when Sho gets it, that Aiba is being sincere, that this isn't just a prank or an experiment, when he hears that hint of nervousness in Aiba's tone, the slightly skittish quality where he knows that Aiba is just pushing on with what he has to say even though he knows he might not like the answer, because Aiba is both cautious and strangely brave about the things he means.
"I would tell you," Sho says, feeling as though someone has turned on a light in a room he's never really paid attention to before.
"So," Aiba says, and Sho can hear that he's running out of steam, "so, would you go on a homosexual date with me?"
Sho thinks about Aiba on the other end of the line, probably lying on his bed with his knees up, the blinds half-closed and leaving slanted shadows on his face, staring up at his white ceiling. Sho knows Aiba as well as he knows anyone, even himself; Aiba is not someone who this would turn out terribly with, even if it just ends with Aiba realizing that Sho is just Sho, not someone worth having a crush on.
"Okay," Sho says. He can feel himself smiling.
"Really? You, you mean it, Shochan?"
"Yeah," Sho says, and chuckles. "But only if you promise not to call it a homosexual date again."
"But, Shochan, that's what it is!"
"Seriously, Aibachan, you can't call it that or I'm taking back my acceptance."