Arashi - AU - Thank You for the Rain - 17/30
Title: Thank You for the Rain
Chapter: 17
Fandom: Arashi
Pairing: sho/nino, nino/ohno, ohno/sho, tba
Word count: 1514
Notes: A player is in an offside position if he is in front of the opponents' defender. But it's an offense only if he's in active play when the ball touches one of his team members. This way the player can't gain an advantage by waiting for the ball near the opposing goal with only the goalkeeper between him and the goal.
I like soccer. x3
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
11 | 12 | extra 1 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16
17. Sho: Escape.
There was a certain kind of anxiousness in the mornings, few hours of waiting until he got out of the house and could breathe normal again. There were unspoken expectations and pride in the air of his home, something that was laborious to breathe in. It contracted his lungs like an allergy.
A shower and a quick breakfast later, Sho kissed his mother goodbye and left the house. He rode the train to school, nowadays always in the same car so that the others knew where they could ride together. First Aiba would join him, waking him up properly with his sunny "good morning!" and then, a station later, Nino would come. And Sho tried so hard every morning, tried to keep himself in check, tried not to look too often. If Nino was feeling energetic, they would talk and laugh and make plans for later. And if Nino was sleepy, he would rest his head against the window and ignore them. Sho didn't mind either way.
Then there were the days when neither of them came and he wondered what they were talking about when he wasn't there and whether they were avoiding him or just went to school earlier or later than him. If they even remembered him when he wasn't there. And whether Nino cared either way.
They would walk to school, meet Ohno or Jun or both or neither. Somehow their rhythm never changed. Ohno would remain silent unless Nino coaxed him into saying something and Jun's contributions to the conversation were mostly short remarks, usually directed towards Nino.
Sho had always recognized how Nino affected them all. He was the one that kept them tightly together and made the rest of the world not matter that much. When Nino wasn't around, they scattered, even if it was only a little change. They fragmented. Jun closed himself tighter, Aiba's attention started to drift, Ohno's speech got a hint of desperation in it, like he didn't really know who he was supposed to talk to and what he would get as a response. And Sho found himself struggling to keep things unchanged, light and pleasant for everyone. There was a vital empty space there, somehow always kept free in their minds and conversations.
Thankfully Nino's absences were always brief. But they were there. They made Sho scared. What if something happened and Nino would vanish as suddenly as he had appeared?
At school he would sit in class, aware of Ohno next to him writing or drawing or just sitting and staring in front of himself, and he would hear the teacher talk, sometimes he would even pay attention. But most of the time he was lost in his own thoughts, more and more these days.
Why things always got so complicated? Why couldn't he have a crush on someone like Sachie or Mika or Yuu? He tried to look at them, their long hair, their skirts rolled a little too high, their lip-gloss lips and their delicate necks and the way their breasts made their shirts stretch, their bras almost visible underneath. He tried, even if he knew it wouldn't change anything. It was only making him unhappy.
And the day moved on.
When he headed for soccer practice and watched Nino and the others leave, he always felt bitter. He had never tried to make them stay and watch - it would only have been selfish. Ohno had once stayed and it had made him happy. It had made him feel like playing again. Afterwards, they had gone to Ohno's and he had had tea with him and his mother and sister.
"It's not like the world stops turning if you quit," Nino had said.
Sho sat on a bench in the locker room, staring at his feet. He had already changed into his soccer gear, all ready to go.
No, the world wouldn't stop turning, but everything else could fall apart.
Yuichi patted his shoulder when he walked past. "Come on, let's go warm up," he said.
He would lose all these people that he called friends. Either he would drift, little by little, away from them or they would all leave him when they realized. They would stop talking to him, he was sure of it. After all, he had spent all these years lying to them. He didn't want to be laughed at or ridiculed.
There wasn't that much school left any more. Only few more months and they would all scatter. Universities, jobs… other lives for all of them. What would be left of their friendships after that? Occasional meetings, showing pictures of girlfriends, then wives, then babies, then nothing at all? And he would always offer a fake smile and more lies to them.
"You've been spending a lot of time with Ohno and that new kid," Yuichi said when they jogged around the pitch. The grass smelled like rain and Sho glanced at the sky. It was grey again. He could almost sense the oncoming storm.
It felt like it had been raining forever.
"Yeah," Sho said, not offering anything more to Yuichi, who was obviously curious.
"What, do you prefer them over me and the guys?" Yuichi laughed, joking. Sho laughed with him.
"Definitely," Sho answered and gave Yuichi a wide grin, trying to show him that he was only joking. It was harder to convince himself of it, though.
"I'm a little bit worried," Yuichi said. "You've been so quiet lately. Is everything okay?" he asked, sounding unsure. Trying to be caring wasn't one of Yuichi's stronger points. He always got slightly uncomfortable when something really serious happened.
"I'm fine," Sho assured him.
The rain started barely fifteen minutes into the practice match. Sho could hear their coach swearing when he ran past him. From the determined way he stood - both feet firmly on the ground - Sho knew they would finish the game, rain or no rain.
After few minutes, it was Sho's turn to swear. The rain fell down heavily, pounding the ground and quickly turning the pitch slippery and muddy. It was the worst rainstorm they had had in a while and still their coach stood rooted on his spot. They would continue the game.
Sho skidded to a halt, barely avoiding Nishikido, who was playing for the opposing team, and just managed not to fall on his face in the mud. He was drenched. It was hard to see his team mates through the rain. The ball was mostly just a half-white, half-muddy flash of movement somewhere in the distance.
Until someone passed it to him.
He tried to concentrate on the ball and the game, but he had lost the positions of his team members minutes ago. He dribbled the ball past one defender and moved towards the goal, trying to find someone who he could pass the ball to. Then something slammed into his legs.
"Failed tackle," went through his mind before he fell forwards and the ball rolled away from him.
"Sorry! Sorry! Sho, are you alright?" Akanishi's voice came from somewhere near.
"The ground was too slippery. He came in too fast," Sho thought and tried to stand up.
The pain shot from his ankle to his spine and all the way up to his neck. It felt like someone had just hit him with something sharp and very, very cold. "Ugh," he said. "I think I sprained my ankle." It was hard to smile. The pain was too sharp and it didn't go away even if he stopped moving his leg.
What a perfect end for a miserable day, Sho thought when he was hopping away from the pitch, supported by Yuichi and Akanishi. The latter apologized profusely all the way to the nurse's office.
"It's nothing serious," said nurse Inohara after she had finished examining Sho's ankle. "There's some swelling but you'll just need to rest it for a few days. Here, put some ice on it while I get some bandages."
Sho was wet, muddy and in pain. He glanced from Yuichi to Akanishi, who were both equally grimy and dripping water on the clean white floor. Yuichi looked worried and Akanishi looked miserable. There was no real point in sharing the misery, though.
"I'm fine," Sho said. "You don't have to worry about me. I'll call my mom to pick me up. You can go."
It took some convincing but finally the two boys left, leaving Sho alone to wait for his mother to arrive. The nurse had bandaged his leg and told him to keep it elevated, so now he was sitting on the bed, the leg up on a pile of pillows, feeling stupid and wondering if this had been his last time on the soccer pitch.
Enough was enough, Sho thought. Over the years he had suffered more than one sprained ankle, one fractured wrist and two concussions. It didn't feel like it was worth it. His previous reasons for not quitting seemed a little feeble now.
His ankle really hurt.
Sho frowned. Could he really let go?
Chapter: 17
Fandom: Arashi
Pairing: sho/nino, nino/ohno, ohno/sho, tba
Word count: 1514
Notes: A player is in an offside position if he is in front of the opponents' defender. But it's an offense only if he's in active play when the ball touches one of his team members. This way the player can't gain an advantage by waiting for the ball near the opposing goal with only the goalkeeper between him and the goal.
I like soccer. x3
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
11 | 12 | extra 1 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16
17. Sho: Escape.
There was a certain kind of anxiousness in the mornings, few hours of waiting until he got out of the house and could breathe normal again. There were unspoken expectations and pride in the air of his home, something that was laborious to breathe in. It contracted his lungs like an allergy.
A shower and a quick breakfast later, Sho kissed his mother goodbye and left the house. He rode the train to school, nowadays always in the same car so that the others knew where they could ride together. First Aiba would join him, waking him up properly with his sunny "good morning!" and then, a station later, Nino would come. And Sho tried so hard every morning, tried to keep himself in check, tried not to look too often. If Nino was feeling energetic, they would talk and laugh and make plans for later. And if Nino was sleepy, he would rest his head against the window and ignore them. Sho didn't mind either way.
Then there were the days when neither of them came and he wondered what they were talking about when he wasn't there and whether they were avoiding him or just went to school earlier or later than him. If they even remembered him when he wasn't there. And whether Nino cared either way.
They would walk to school, meet Ohno or Jun or both or neither. Somehow their rhythm never changed. Ohno would remain silent unless Nino coaxed him into saying something and Jun's contributions to the conversation were mostly short remarks, usually directed towards Nino.
Sho had always recognized how Nino affected them all. He was the one that kept them tightly together and made the rest of the world not matter that much. When Nino wasn't around, they scattered, even if it was only a little change. They fragmented. Jun closed himself tighter, Aiba's attention started to drift, Ohno's speech got a hint of desperation in it, like he didn't really know who he was supposed to talk to and what he would get as a response. And Sho found himself struggling to keep things unchanged, light and pleasant for everyone. There was a vital empty space there, somehow always kept free in their minds and conversations.
Thankfully Nino's absences were always brief. But they were there. They made Sho scared. What if something happened and Nino would vanish as suddenly as he had appeared?
At school he would sit in class, aware of Ohno next to him writing or drawing or just sitting and staring in front of himself, and he would hear the teacher talk, sometimes he would even pay attention. But most of the time he was lost in his own thoughts, more and more these days.
Why things always got so complicated? Why couldn't he have a crush on someone like Sachie or Mika or Yuu? He tried to look at them, their long hair, their skirts rolled a little too high, their lip-gloss lips and their delicate necks and the way their breasts made their shirts stretch, their bras almost visible underneath. He tried, even if he knew it wouldn't change anything. It was only making him unhappy.
And the day moved on.
When he headed for soccer practice and watched Nino and the others leave, he always felt bitter. He had never tried to make them stay and watch - it would only have been selfish. Ohno had once stayed and it had made him happy. It had made him feel like playing again. Afterwards, they had gone to Ohno's and he had had tea with him and his mother and sister.
"It's not like the world stops turning if you quit," Nino had said.
Sho sat on a bench in the locker room, staring at his feet. He had already changed into his soccer gear, all ready to go.
No, the world wouldn't stop turning, but everything else could fall apart.
Yuichi patted his shoulder when he walked past. "Come on, let's go warm up," he said.
He would lose all these people that he called friends. Either he would drift, little by little, away from them or they would all leave him when they realized. They would stop talking to him, he was sure of it. After all, he had spent all these years lying to them. He didn't want to be laughed at or ridiculed.
There wasn't that much school left any more. Only few more months and they would all scatter. Universities, jobs… other lives for all of them. What would be left of their friendships after that? Occasional meetings, showing pictures of girlfriends, then wives, then babies, then nothing at all? And he would always offer a fake smile and more lies to them.
"You've been spending a lot of time with Ohno and that new kid," Yuichi said when they jogged around the pitch. The grass smelled like rain and Sho glanced at the sky. It was grey again. He could almost sense the oncoming storm.
It felt like it had been raining forever.
"Yeah," Sho said, not offering anything more to Yuichi, who was obviously curious.
"What, do you prefer them over me and the guys?" Yuichi laughed, joking. Sho laughed with him.
"Definitely," Sho answered and gave Yuichi a wide grin, trying to show him that he was only joking. It was harder to convince himself of it, though.
"I'm a little bit worried," Yuichi said. "You've been so quiet lately. Is everything okay?" he asked, sounding unsure. Trying to be caring wasn't one of Yuichi's stronger points. He always got slightly uncomfortable when something really serious happened.
"I'm fine," Sho assured him.
The rain started barely fifteen minutes into the practice match. Sho could hear their coach swearing when he ran past him. From the determined way he stood - both feet firmly on the ground - Sho knew they would finish the game, rain or no rain.
After few minutes, it was Sho's turn to swear. The rain fell down heavily, pounding the ground and quickly turning the pitch slippery and muddy. It was the worst rainstorm they had had in a while and still their coach stood rooted on his spot. They would continue the game.
Sho skidded to a halt, barely avoiding Nishikido, who was playing for the opposing team, and just managed not to fall on his face in the mud. He was drenched. It was hard to see his team mates through the rain. The ball was mostly just a half-white, half-muddy flash of movement somewhere in the distance.
Until someone passed it to him.
He tried to concentrate on the ball and the game, but he had lost the positions of his team members minutes ago. He dribbled the ball past one defender and moved towards the goal, trying to find someone who he could pass the ball to. Then something slammed into his legs.
"Failed tackle," went through his mind before he fell forwards and the ball rolled away from him.
"Sorry! Sorry! Sho, are you alright?" Akanishi's voice came from somewhere near.
"The ground was too slippery. He came in too fast," Sho thought and tried to stand up.
The pain shot from his ankle to his spine and all the way up to his neck. It felt like someone had just hit him with something sharp and very, very cold. "Ugh," he said. "I think I sprained my ankle." It was hard to smile. The pain was too sharp and it didn't go away even if he stopped moving his leg.
What a perfect end for a miserable day, Sho thought when he was hopping away from the pitch, supported by Yuichi and Akanishi. The latter apologized profusely all the way to the nurse's office.
"It's nothing serious," said nurse Inohara after she had finished examining Sho's ankle. "There's some swelling but you'll just need to rest it for a few days. Here, put some ice on it while I get some bandages."
Sho was wet, muddy and in pain. He glanced from Yuichi to Akanishi, who were both equally grimy and dripping water on the clean white floor. Yuichi looked worried and Akanishi looked miserable. There was no real point in sharing the misery, though.
"I'm fine," Sho said. "You don't have to worry about me. I'll call my mom to pick me up. You can go."
It took some convincing but finally the two boys left, leaving Sho alone to wait for his mother to arrive. The nurse had bandaged his leg and told him to keep it elevated, so now he was sitting on the bed, the leg up on a pile of pillows, feeling stupid and wondering if this had been his last time on the soccer pitch.
Enough was enough, Sho thought. Over the years he had suffered more than one sprained ankle, one fractured wrist and two concussions. It didn't feel like it was worth it. His previous reasons for not quitting seemed a little feeble now.
His ankle really hurt.
Sho frowned. Could he really let go?