Scintillation [Oneshot, Nishin]
This somehow turned into something of a sequel to Salt and Sea Breeze, but they actually weren't meant to be related. They seem to have the same sort of atmosphere a bit, though.
Title: Scintillation
Pairing: Nishin (Nishii Yukito/Akutsu Shintarou)
Genre: Floofy fluff. As always orz
Rating/Warnings: G/RPS.
Word Count: ~1260
Summary: A starry night ought to be the perfect time for progress. Things don't always work out exactly according to plan.
Notes: Written for 30_kisses Theme #4: キミとボクのキョリとアノコ. Except there's not really an アノコ.
--
Scintillation
The stars were shining luminously above, unobscured by the lights of the city. The short grasses tickled the back of his neck as he turned to look at the boy lying next to him, who seemed every bit as transfixed by the night sky as he was. He thought over what he was going to say one last time. “Ne, Shin-chan,” he said, stretching out his hand to frame the constellations. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Yeah, but it’s weird, isn’t it, looking at stars? Because all we see are these dots of light, but they’re actually these gigantic gaseous balls so much bigger than the Earth and sometimes the Sun too. They seem like such small things, but they’re bigger than we could ever imagine. You know?”
“I guess I don’t think about that very much,” Nishii said after a second. Somehow everything he had been planning to say seemed unbearably trivial in comparison now. When you stopped taking things for granted and started to really think about them - when you gave them size and depth and distances not of finger lengths but of millions and millions of light years apart, what did the distance between two people, smaller than a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things, really matter? How could reducing that distance mean anything when, without their knowing, billions of suns could be dying or being born at any second?
Nishii shivered despite the heat that lingered long after the day was over. “You okay?” Akutsu asked. “You’re not saying anything.”
“Space is scary,” he mumbled. “I don’t wanna look at the stars anymore.” He rolled onto his side, looking at the grass. Not so much as a slight breeze caught it, the heads of the blades drooping slightly in the muggy air. A small fly landed on one and took flight again less than a second later.
Akutsu rolled next to him, setting a hand gingerly on his shoulder. “Should… we go home then, or what?”
He brought his hand up to rest lightly on top of Akutsu’s. “I… guess,” he said eventually, reluctant to leave things as they were, but feeling like the mood he had sought to cultivate had disappeared without hope of recovery. Akutsu got up and helped him up as well, and they clambered up the embankment. Once on the road, they fell into step beside each other, Akutsu maybe half a step behind. They walked on either side of the white line painted on the road, shifting slightly from side to side along its slightly meandering course. When it finally ended, neither made a move to get closer, and they continued on as before until Nishii could no longer take the silence.
“I dunno why you had to bring that up, about the stars,” he said. “Do you always think about them like that, whenever you see them?”
“Not always. But I did this time. Sometimes it’s good to look at things a little differently, don’t you think?”
“I don’t want to think about it that way, though.” Nishii closed his eyes and took a deep breath of summer air. “I was going to catch a falling star for you, but now that seems too sad.”
“…You’d probably think it’s even sadder if I reminded you that it’s just a rock, right?”
“Ahh, mouu. Stop doing that!” Nishii leaned over to hit Akutsu on the shoulder, and in doing so brought them half a step closer together.
“I think that makes it better, though, to be honest. That it’s just a rock. Because, y’know, rocks seem really lonely as it is. Especially space rocks, they’re just flying through space forever, until they get sucked in by something and either burn up or smash right into it. Right?”
“How does that make it any better? If you ask me, this is just getting more and more depressing.”
“Well, because if it’s been lonely all this time, but then you caught it and gave it to me, then it would be sort of like a treasure to us. There’d be two people who loved it, so it’d be happy, right?”
“Rocks can’t be happy, they’re just rocks.” Their arms brushed together and they both flinched ever so slightly, but continued on as before, and the next time it happened, it felt natural.
“You’ve got grass in your hair,” Akutsu said suddenly, just as they were nearing his house. “It’s been bothering me for a while.”
“Say something sooner then, mou,” Nishii complained, and began combing his fingers through his hair. After a few seconds of watching him struggle, Akutsu pushed his hand away and plucked the grass out before casting it aside. “Anything else in there? Any bugs?”
They stopped walking so that Akutsu could check. “Nope, I don’t see anything else,” he said. Without warning, he leaned down and kissed him.
Nishii giggled. He swatted at Akutsu and giggled some more.
“I’m not sure that was the best timing for that,” Akutsu mused, almost talking to himself. “I think it was a little too late. Or maybe just a bit early. It’s hard to tell, sometimes. So many ideal moments pass you by and you get so caught up in wondering if you’ve already missed the perfect one that you get frustrated and just go ahead with it anyway. And then after you do it you realize that even if you’ve already missed that perfect moment, you could have chosen a better one than that, at least.”
“I don’t get it,” Nishii said conversationally, and took Akutsu’s arm. “It’s good to think about things from a new perspective, but sometimes you just shouldn’t think about them at all.” He pulled Akutsu down toward him and was about to kiss him when his foot caught on something in the road and he fell sprawling to the ground.
Akutsu laughed and laughed until he was doubled over and appeared to be in considerable pain. “That was beautiful,” he finally choked out between gasps of air. “That was amazing just now.”
Nishii stomped around and hit Akutsu on the arm a few times. He tracked down the offending stone and hurled it down the street.
“That’s definitely not a happy rock,” Akutsu observed, and burst into fresh gales of laughter.
“You’re not gonna be a happy rock either if you don’t shut up,” Nishii muttered, and grabbed his wrist, towing him along. He glared at any other rocks or cracks in the cement that threatened to trip him up again.
Akutsu managed to control his laughter long enough to embrace Nishii from behind. He rested his chin on the top of his head. “No way. When I’m with you, I’m the happiest rock in the universe.”
Nishii found himself smiling despite himself. “Rocks can’t even be happy. You’re not a rock. You’re Shin-chan.”
“Close enough.”
“I don’t mind getting closer.” Nishii twisted in Akutsu’s embrace and looked up at him. “Can I try again?”
“Didn’t you just say not to think about these things?” Akutsu teased, and bent down so he could reach him better.
“Oh yeah,” Nishii said, and kissed him several times in rapid succession. “I’m pretty smart sometimes, huh?”
“Well… every now and then you say things that aren’t completely terrible,” Akutsu conceded. He pressed his lips against Nishii’s forehead and smiled. “This is so far from what I imagined, but even if it’s not perfect, it worked out all right in the end.”
“Seems pretty perfect to me,” Nishii said, and took Akutsu’s hand. He took a step forward and promptly tripped again.
--
Two fics in one week :) weird~ This one seems a little disjointed and inconsistent at times to me, so if you have any comments about any of it, let me know :)
Scintillation is a great word. In astronomy, it refers to how stars appear to twinkle because of the atmosphere.
Title: Scintillation
Pairing: Nishin (Nishii Yukito/Akutsu Shintarou)
Genre: Floofy fluff. As always orz
Rating/Warnings: G/RPS.
Word Count: ~1260
Summary: A starry night ought to be the perfect time for progress. Things don't always work out exactly according to plan.
Notes: Written for 30_kisses Theme #4: キミとボクのキョリとアノコ. Except there's not really an アノコ.
--
Scintillation
The stars were shining luminously above, unobscured by the lights of the city. The short grasses tickled the back of his neck as he turned to look at the boy lying next to him, who seemed every bit as transfixed by the night sky as he was. He thought over what he was going to say one last time. “Ne, Shin-chan,” he said, stretching out his hand to frame the constellations. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Yeah, but it’s weird, isn’t it, looking at stars? Because all we see are these dots of light, but they’re actually these gigantic gaseous balls so much bigger than the Earth and sometimes the Sun too. They seem like such small things, but they’re bigger than we could ever imagine. You know?”
“I guess I don’t think about that very much,” Nishii said after a second. Somehow everything he had been planning to say seemed unbearably trivial in comparison now. When you stopped taking things for granted and started to really think about them - when you gave them size and depth and distances not of finger lengths but of millions and millions of light years apart, what did the distance between two people, smaller than a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things, really matter? How could reducing that distance mean anything when, without their knowing, billions of suns could be dying or being born at any second?
Nishii shivered despite the heat that lingered long after the day was over. “You okay?” Akutsu asked. “You’re not saying anything.”
“Space is scary,” he mumbled. “I don’t wanna look at the stars anymore.” He rolled onto his side, looking at the grass. Not so much as a slight breeze caught it, the heads of the blades drooping slightly in the muggy air. A small fly landed on one and took flight again less than a second later.
Akutsu rolled next to him, setting a hand gingerly on his shoulder. “Should… we go home then, or what?”
He brought his hand up to rest lightly on top of Akutsu’s. “I… guess,” he said eventually, reluctant to leave things as they were, but feeling like the mood he had sought to cultivate had disappeared without hope of recovery. Akutsu got up and helped him up as well, and they clambered up the embankment. Once on the road, they fell into step beside each other, Akutsu maybe half a step behind. They walked on either side of the white line painted on the road, shifting slightly from side to side along its slightly meandering course. When it finally ended, neither made a move to get closer, and they continued on as before until Nishii could no longer take the silence.
“I dunno why you had to bring that up, about the stars,” he said. “Do you always think about them like that, whenever you see them?”
“Not always. But I did this time. Sometimes it’s good to look at things a little differently, don’t you think?”
“I don’t want to think about it that way, though.” Nishii closed his eyes and took a deep breath of summer air. “I was going to catch a falling star for you, but now that seems too sad.”
“…You’d probably think it’s even sadder if I reminded you that it’s just a rock, right?”
“Ahh, mouu. Stop doing that!” Nishii leaned over to hit Akutsu on the shoulder, and in doing so brought them half a step closer together.
“I think that makes it better, though, to be honest. That it’s just a rock. Because, y’know, rocks seem really lonely as it is. Especially space rocks, they’re just flying through space forever, until they get sucked in by something and either burn up or smash right into it. Right?”
“How does that make it any better? If you ask me, this is just getting more and more depressing.”
“Well, because if it’s been lonely all this time, but then you caught it and gave it to me, then it would be sort of like a treasure to us. There’d be two people who loved it, so it’d be happy, right?”
“Rocks can’t be happy, they’re just rocks.” Their arms brushed together and they both flinched ever so slightly, but continued on as before, and the next time it happened, it felt natural.
“You’ve got grass in your hair,” Akutsu said suddenly, just as they were nearing his house. “It’s been bothering me for a while.”
“Say something sooner then, mou,” Nishii complained, and began combing his fingers through his hair. After a few seconds of watching him struggle, Akutsu pushed his hand away and plucked the grass out before casting it aside. “Anything else in there? Any bugs?”
They stopped walking so that Akutsu could check. “Nope, I don’t see anything else,” he said. Without warning, he leaned down and kissed him.
Nishii giggled. He swatted at Akutsu and giggled some more.
“I’m not sure that was the best timing for that,” Akutsu mused, almost talking to himself. “I think it was a little too late. Or maybe just a bit early. It’s hard to tell, sometimes. So many ideal moments pass you by and you get so caught up in wondering if you’ve already missed the perfect one that you get frustrated and just go ahead with it anyway. And then after you do it you realize that even if you’ve already missed that perfect moment, you could have chosen a better one than that, at least.”
“I don’t get it,” Nishii said conversationally, and took Akutsu’s arm. “It’s good to think about things from a new perspective, but sometimes you just shouldn’t think about them at all.” He pulled Akutsu down toward him and was about to kiss him when his foot caught on something in the road and he fell sprawling to the ground.
Akutsu laughed and laughed until he was doubled over and appeared to be in considerable pain. “That was beautiful,” he finally choked out between gasps of air. “That was amazing just now.”
Nishii stomped around and hit Akutsu on the arm a few times. He tracked down the offending stone and hurled it down the street.
“That’s definitely not a happy rock,” Akutsu observed, and burst into fresh gales of laughter.
“You’re not gonna be a happy rock either if you don’t shut up,” Nishii muttered, and grabbed his wrist, towing him along. He glared at any other rocks or cracks in the cement that threatened to trip him up again.
Akutsu managed to control his laughter long enough to embrace Nishii from behind. He rested his chin on the top of his head. “No way. When I’m with you, I’m the happiest rock in the universe.”
Nishii found himself smiling despite himself. “Rocks can’t even be happy. You’re not a rock. You’re Shin-chan.”
“Close enough.”
“I don’t mind getting closer.” Nishii twisted in Akutsu’s embrace and looked up at him. “Can I try again?”
“Didn’t you just say not to think about these things?” Akutsu teased, and bent down so he could reach him better.
“Oh yeah,” Nishii said, and kissed him several times in rapid succession. “I’m pretty smart sometimes, huh?”
“Well… every now and then you say things that aren’t completely terrible,” Akutsu conceded. He pressed his lips against Nishii’s forehead and smiled. “This is so far from what I imagined, but even if it’s not perfect, it worked out all right in the end.”
“Seems pretty perfect to me,” Nishii said, and took Akutsu’s hand. He took a step forward and promptly tripped again.
--
Two fics in one week :) weird~ This one seems a little disjointed and inconsistent at times to me, so if you have any comments about any of it, let me know :)
Scintillation is a great word. In astronomy, it refers to how stars appear to twinkle because of the atmosphere.