arashi fiction 39 - plants, animals, and waxing poetic
Title: Shades of Rainbow (20/50)
Who: Arashi
Pairings: Ohno/Nino, Ohno/Sho, Sho/Jun, Sho/Nino, Nino/Jun, Nino/Aiba (kinda), Aiba/Jun, Sho/Aiba, Sho/Arashi
Genre: Fluff, Angst, Romance, Comedy
Notes: floweranza and saturn_necklace said, "We're doing things with prompt tables!" and so I said, "Let me do it too!" This is the result of that, basically. I have a prompt table with 50 prompts and I'm writing a drabble for each.
Every single one of these is either 100 or 200 words exactly. It's been a challenge, but it's fun! Someday there will be another set of 20, and then a set of 10. Hope you enjoy these! ♥
#2 - Vague
It was something worth considering. He'd worked hard over the past few years, and had worked even harder before that, but now he was only working marginally hard compared to those other times he'd spent working hard. He probably deserved a break, to go to the ocean and have a vacation, because his not working as hard meant that he'd worked too hard up until now and was getting a little tired... maybe.
He could probably convince Nino to come with him, even if he wasn't a fan of the sea. Because they had some sort of feelings for each other.
#4 - Undecided
Ohno didn't know what was expected of him when he'd never been the lead actor in a drama before. His character was so very far from his personality. He didn't hold grudges, and though his passions also bubbled quietly beneath the surface, they never pushed him to manipulate those around him.
But Toma looked so very deep in concentration, his head bowed and hands clasped together as he retreated into his mind. Maybe if he could spend his free time like that, search inside himself for inspiration, he could earn his right to be here.
"I'll have the curry," Toma decided.
#05 - Seniority.
"Now is not the time to start asserting your authority," Sho warns, tugging on the blankets and scoffing as Ohno clings to the mattress.
"Yes," Ohno answers in English, making little sense. It's that time of the morning. Sho knows he's being cruel.
"Get out of my bed before my mom realizes I brought you home," he pleads, sighing in defeat when Ohno hugs one of his pillows.
"I am your senior," Ohno mumbles, "And I'm wearing clothes. Get back over here and spoon with me."
Sho wishes everyone could see this side of Satoshi. Stubborn as hell, and Sho can't help but obey.
#08 - Portrait.
No one ever said anything about the mole on his chin. Sometimes it appeared in magazines, sometimes it didn't. No one ever claimed to have a preference. He sort of wishes that they would so he'd know whether the chin mole contributes to his lack of popularity.
He's proud of his stomach, it's one of the best parts of his body. But that's why he can't show it too much. Someday he's really going to need it.
Just because he likes to eat hamburgers doesn't mean he wants his hands compared to them. Delicious and attractive are not always in the same category. More often people say they are "cute" when he says his fingers are stubby and he never wanted to be cute. Cute doesn't make you popular unless you're a girl.
Sometimes people say he is like a girl, but he's never seen anything that validates that point. He's noticed at certain angles his mouth can look like a horse's, and he hates that he can't find anything appealing about his sideburns no matter the hairstyle, but he doesn't think sitting with crossed legs should be gender specific. It's comfortable because he knows his body and he's flexible, not a woman.
#11 - Age.
What if he marries someone who acts just like them? They all wonder when his interest carries on for more than the length of one show.
No one thinks he shouldn't be able to treat a girl he loves like a princess. It's the ones that demand it that cause trouble. Aiba likes to shop. He has plenty to spend. But plenty is not enough when a girl begs and pleads to have her sandals bedazzled with crystals and gems.
"Age Age!" Aiba announces. They aren't as excited as Aiba hoped.
They all think he can do better. He deserves so much more.
#15 - Breathe
When work has finished and disguises are off, no one to hide from and no one to please, he shouts things at the television, and doesn't worry about being a bad role model or unsuitable for strangers' swooning daughters to marry. He says fuck when he stubs his toe, drinks red wine and rolls his neck around slowly until it cracks. He reads manga in the bathtub and gets at least six hours of sleep. He's relaxed, but maybe not living.
Aiba takes him to the ocean. Aiba kisses him until his lungs hurt. He smiles and then, finally, he breathes.
#16 - Numbers.
Everything's explained to him in numbers. Number of sales, number of seats, number of shows he hasn't done and really should - he knows those things are important, and he gives his them his full attention when they ask it of him.
The amount of money they've spent and no longer have for guests and exotic foods, he understands and then comes up with games to play.
It all makes sense, but it doesn't really matter. He doesn't feel it until his friends call and tell him they watched the show, bought the single, and wow - he's really doing great.
#17 - Box.
They've talked it over often. One of them could marry Nino, because he'd make the perfect husband, even if he's too stubborn to admit he wants that life. The other could marry Jun, because then they'd both have delicious dinners waiting for them when they returned home from their individual work. Or maybe they could fight over who'd marry Ohno, because their pretend children would have a million talents, and they'd get the house all to themselves when Ohno went out to sea.
"I want you," Aiba says, pulling a small box from his pocket, and Sho knows he means, "forever."
#20 - Dog.
He'd thought about owning a dog once. He liked the way their tails wagged when they were happy, sort of drooped when they were sad. Quiet dogs with watery eyes, expressing emotion with subtle actions and not words. He could relate to that, and the way they saw things no one else noticed as well. If he were a dog he'd bark at shadows too.
When he'd arrived at the animal shelter and pet a dog with pointy ears, he'd realized nothing he decided in life affected him alone. Walking away empty handed, for once, meant something better for them both.
#24 - King.
He's not a handsome prince. He's not a successor, to any company or any title. Jun can become as frustrated as anyone else in his line of work, has gotten special treatment since he was in his teens, but he has no pompous attitude or lack of real world knowledge. He might like to dress up and look nice for his fans, not want to be seen with bad hair and no style - but Jun is not Domyouji, has never been Domyouji, and he wishes that that could be seen.
He doesn't have the love of his life, not a poor and "tough weed" type girlfriend, just a brat he dates and occasionally comes home to - someone who often makes things worse before making things better.
"You are a king," Nino says through his laughter. His pat to Jun's shoulder doesn't feel as sympathetic as intended.
"Am I really that bad? Do I come across that cold?" Jun asks. His face in his hands tells Nino he's serious.
"The good King Matsumoto," Nino clarifies, clinking their wine glasses together, "celebrated throughout the kingdom. For being fair and just and incredibly good looking."
"Well, I guess that works," Jun mumbles, smiling before he's kissed.
#26 - Mail.
He should have asked if Nino liked the restaurant, or let the man chat about other plans he'd made for his birthday, or maybe dug around in his bag for the present he'd eventually remembered to buy. Instead he could only think of Matsujun's cute mails and the picture that appeared with Happy Birthday.
"Did he send you one," Sho asked, "even though he was there at dinner?"
"No," Nino replied, laughing at Sho's disappointed frown.
"Too bad," he said nonchalantly, thinking maybe Jun just liked him best.
"Don't worry, Sho-chan," Nino assured him, a smirk on his lips, "he still gave me fireworks."
#27 - Easy.
Sho doesn't have the skills to charm a woman with his words. The things that make him brilliant with a piece of news make him stuffy and awkward with personal stuff. He's tried to make speeches when giving presents, and failed more than once to put his thoughts in a poem. It just doesn't come naturally.
Nino's hand on his shoulder in the morning, Ohno's head in his lap as they drive to location. Jun's warm smile as he offers a vitamin and water, and Aiba's giggle when he remembers a joke from the night before. Loving them is easy.
#30 - View.
He says he wouldn't date his bandmates. It's been ten years and he's not (intentionally) thrown himself at them yet. With them, the whole point of dating would disappear. He knows everything there is to know about them.
The lights come up and he can see the audience leaving, and that familiar face causes his heart to beat faster than the nerves he'd worked up before the show.
He's here, Nino thinks, he was watching.
He finds Sho waiting backstage, dopey smile on his face and flowers in his hand, and can't explain why his lips greet him before words can.
#33 - Nightmare.
"You look like Christmas," Ohno states as he climbs into bed, tugging gently on Aiba's red parka and twining his legs with the ones clad in green.
"He's not dead," Aiba says through a yawn, chuckling as Ohno peeks over him just to be sure. He always has similar nightmares, and of course they never come true.
"He thinks that I hate him," Ohno's still worried, breathing heavily and shaking a little. He hates that his dreams take the important things away.
"But he loves you," Aiba whispers and rolls them over to switch places. Nino hugs Ohno close in his sleep.
#36 - Truth.
The way Nino looked on the bed, the light from street lamps streaming through the windows and forming patches of yellow on his skin, he wanted to capture it on a canvas, grab his paintbrushes and make the memory last forever.
They thought that he thought like this. During interviews they looked at him as if soon his fingers would start twitching, sudden inspiration hitting him in colors and shapes and hidden meanings in the spot where he'd started using the wrong shade of blue.
But really, Nino looked hot on the bed. Tomorrow he'd finish drawing that monkey in a spacesuit.
#40 - Lost.
Sho's hands are cold against his bare skin, too long out in the winter weather and too long away from home. It's pleasant, when he thinks about it, the chill it sends down his spine. But it takes what feels like several torturous minutes to hold them, kiss them, and warm them up again.
"It's been awhile," Sho says casually, like it's not been killing him too.
With warmer hands he explores, from chest to stomach, feeling the vibrations of skin that come with the gentle rumble of laughter.
"You lost?" Jun asks and helps him find his way, lower and lower still.
#43 - Bloom
It was approaching mid-spring and it was sunny, the perfect time for things to truly shine and come alive. In the gardens and parks of the city, the scenery was making its peaceful return to a vibrant green. He could see the treetops from his apartment's balcony, could smell last night's rain lingering in the air, but there was no deep inhale or smile to refresh him. The only plants that mattered to him now were the ones in the corner, looking weak as they struggled to make do in their carefully chosen pots.
"You have to bloom," he spoke quietly, fingers lightly brushing against a drooping bud.
He'd done everything they'd told him to, and everything he could, and when Aiba suggested he put his heart in it, he'd told them only the good things to help them grow.
"Come on," he heard himself whining, begging from them something entirely out of his control. He was tired of disappointment. He was tired of losing before he began.
"I can't fail at everything forever."
His hands clawed at the soil, clenched tight into fists, dirt crumbling against his palm. He watched it filter out through his fingers, squeezed one more time, and then let go.
#44 - Fridge.
It's obvious that the things inside don't belong there. The prospect of cool water in the dressing room had been worthy of an excited whoop or two when the appliance had been introduced, but now it served another purpose.
"Yours is small already, do you really want to make it worse for yourself by - " Sho starts, laughing as Nino smacks him repeatedly upside the head.
"It's hot it's hot it's hot," Aiba shouts, opening the door and pulling out what he needs, "it's cold it's cold it's cold!"
"The condensation," Jun frowns as his underwear leaves wet spots against his pants.
#48 - Facts.
Their friendship isn't based on all the facts they know about one another. The facts stay the same. He knows Nino likes playing video games, saving money on food and transportation, and had a crush on Fujiwara Norika when they were still juniors. Those things will always, always be true.
Instead he thinks their friendship is about how much they learn about being together. Because Aiba knows more about how Nino is feeling than anyone else.
Next time Nino insults him on tv, he'll remember to tell Nino, "it's okay" and pay for dinner. Because Nino loves him. That's factual too.
#50 - Writer's Choice
His fingers sped across the laptop's keyboard, filling the room with a rhythmical clacking, the only sound present aside from Matsujun's allergy season sniffles. He was lost in his composing, maybe observing something that the world often missed, or sending out a message of support for those who longed for positivity and hope.
And then his fingers stopped.
"Should I say... you'll find the path that leads to happiness? Or let your dream guide you through hardship?"
Aiba shrugged and stifled a yawn, hand covering his mouth before returning to a sloping shoulder.
"It's your choice, Sho-kun."
"Make the choices that bring happiness in full."
Point of View Guide
#2 - Ohno
#8 - Nino
#15 - Jun
#16 - Aiba
#20 - Jun
#36 - Ohno
#43 - Sho
Who: Arashi
Pairings: Ohno/Nino, Ohno/Sho, Sho/Jun, Sho/Nino, Nino/Jun, Nino/Aiba (kinda), Aiba/Jun, Sho/Aiba, Sho/Arashi
Genre: Fluff, Angst, Romance, Comedy
Notes: floweranza and saturn_necklace said, "We're doing things with prompt tables!" and so I said, "Let me do it too!" This is the result of that, basically. I have a prompt table with 50 prompts and I'm writing a drabble for each.
Every single one of these is either 100 or 200 words exactly. It's been a challenge, but it's fun! Someday there will be another set of 20, and then a set of 10. Hope you enjoy these! ♥
#2 - Vague
It was something worth considering. He'd worked hard over the past few years, and had worked even harder before that, but now he was only working marginally hard compared to those other times he'd spent working hard. He probably deserved a break, to go to the ocean and have a vacation, because his not working as hard meant that he'd worked too hard up until now and was getting a little tired... maybe.
He could probably convince Nino to come with him, even if he wasn't a fan of the sea. Because they had some sort of feelings for each other.
#4 - Undecided
Ohno didn't know what was expected of him when he'd never been the lead actor in a drama before. His character was so very far from his personality. He didn't hold grudges, and though his passions also bubbled quietly beneath the surface, they never pushed him to manipulate those around him.
But Toma looked so very deep in concentration, his head bowed and hands clasped together as he retreated into his mind. Maybe if he could spend his free time like that, search inside himself for inspiration, he could earn his right to be here.
"I'll have the curry," Toma decided.
#05 - Seniority.
"Now is not the time to start asserting your authority," Sho warns, tugging on the blankets and scoffing as Ohno clings to the mattress.
"Yes," Ohno answers in English, making little sense. It's that time of the morning. Sho knows he's being cruel.
"Get out of my bed before my mom realizes I brought you home," he pleads, sighing in defeat when Ohno hugs one of his pillows.
"I am your senior," Ohno mumbles, "And I'm wearing clothes. Get back over here and spoon with me."
Sho wishes everyone could see this side of Satoshi. Stubborn as hell, and Sho can't help but obey.
#08 - Portrait.
No one ever said anything about the mole on his chin. Sometimes it appeared in magazines, sometimes it didn't. No one ever claimed to have a preference. He sort of wishes that they would so he'd know whether the chin mole contributes to his lack of popularity.
He's proud of his stomach, it's one of the best parts of his body. But that's why he can't show it too much. Someday he's really going to need it.
Just because he likes to eat hamburgers doesn't mean he wants his hands compared to them. Delicious and attractive are not always in the same category. More often people say they are "cute" when he says his fingers are stubby and he never wanted to be cute. Cute doesn't make you popular unless you're a girl.
Sometimes people say he is like a girl, but he's never seen anything that validates that point. He's noticed at certain angles his mouth can look like a horse's, and he hates that he can't find anything appealing about his sideburns no matter the hairstyle, but he doesn't think sitting with crossed legs should be gender specific. It's comfortable because he knows his body and he's flexible, not a woman.
#11 - Age.
What if he marries someone who acts just like them? They all wonder when his interest carries on for more than the length of one show.
No one thinks he shouldn't be able to treat a girl he loves like a princess. It's the ones that demand it that cause trouble. Aiba likes to shop. He has plenty to spend. But plenty is not enough when a girl begs and pleads to have her sandals bedazzled with crystals and gems.
"Age Age!" Aiba announces. They aren't as excited as Aiba hoped.
They all think he can do better. He deserves so much more.
#15 - Breathe
When work has finished and disguises are off, no one to hide from and no one to please, he shouts things at the television, and doesn't worry about being a bad role model or unsuitable for strangers' swooning daughters to marry. He says fuck when he stubs his toe, drinks red wine and rolls his neck around slowly until it cracks. He reads manga in the bathtub and gets at least six hours of sleep. He's relaxed, but maybe not living.
Aiba takes him to the ocean. Aiba kisses him until his lungs hurt. He smiles and then, finally, he breathes.
#16 - Numbers.
Everything's explained to him in numbers. Number of sales, number of seats, number of shows he hasn't done and really should - he knows those things are important, and he gives his them his full attention when they ask it of him.
The amount of money they've spent and no longer have for guests and exotic foods, he understands and then comes up with games to play.
It all makes sense, but it doesn't really matter. He doesn't feel it until his friends call and tell him they watched the show, bought the single, and wow - he's really doing great.
#17 - Box.
They've talked it over often. One of them could marry Nino, because he'd make the perfect husband, even if he's too stubborn to admit he wants that life. The other could marry Jun, because then they'd both have delicious dinners waiting for them when they returned home from their individual work. Or maybe they could fight over who'd marry Ohno, because their pretend children would have a million talents, and they'd get the house all to themselves when Ohno went out to sea.
"I want you," Aiba says, pulling a small box from his pocket, and Sho knows he means, "forever."
#20 - Dog.
He'd thought about owning a dog once. He liked the way their tails wagged when they were happy, sort of drooped when they were sad. Quiet dogs with watery eyes, expressing emotion with subtle actions and not words. He could relate to that, and the way they saw things no one else noticed as well. If he were a dog he'd bark at shadows too.
When he'd arrived at the animal shelter and pet a dog with pointy ears, he'd realized nothing he decided in life affected him alone. Walking away empty handed, for once, meant something better for them both.
#24 - King.
He's not a handsome prince. He's not a successor, to any company or any title. Jun can become as frustrated as anyone else in his line of work, has gotten special treatment since he was in his teens, but he has no pompous attitude or lack of real world knowledge. He might like to dress up and look nice for his fans, not want to be seen with bad hair and no style - but Jun is not Domyouji, has never been Domyouji, and he wishes that that could be seen.
He doesn't have the love of his life, not a poor and "tough weed" type girlfriend, just a brat he dates and occasionally comes home to - someone who often makes things worse before making things better.
"You are a king," Nino says through his laughter. His pat to Jun's shoulder doesn't feel as sympathetic as intended.
"Am I really that bad? Do I come across that cold?" Jun asks. His face in his hands tells Nino he's serious.
"The good King Matsumoto," Nino clarifies, clinking their wine glasses together, "celebrated throughout the kingdom. For being fair and just and incredibly good looking."
"Well, I guess that works," Jun mumbles, smiling before he's kissed.
#26 - Mail.
He should have asked if Nino liked the restaurant, or let the man chat about other plans he'd made for his birthday, or maybe dug around in his bag for the present he'd eventually remembered to buy. Instead he could only think of Matsujun's cute mails and the picture that appeared with Happy Birthday.
"Did he send you one," Sho asked, "even though he was there at dinner?"
"No," Nino replied, laughing at Sho's disappointed frown.
"Too bad," he said nonchalantly, thinking maybe Jun just liked him best.
"Don't worry, Sho-chan," Nino assured him, a smirk on his lips, "he still gave me fireworks."
#27 - Easy.
Sho doesn't have the skills to charm a woman with his words. The things that make him brilliant with a piece of news make him stuffy and awkward with personal stuff. He's tried to make speeches when giving presents, and failed more than once to put his thoughts in a poem. It just doesn't come naturally.
Nino's hand on his shoulder in the morning, Ohno's head in his lap as they drive to location. Jun's warm smile as he offers a vitamin and water, and Aiba's giggle when he remembers a joke from the night before. Loving them is easy.
#30 - View.
He says he wouldn't date his bandmates. It's been ten years and he's not (intentionally) thrown himself at them yet. With them, the whole point of dating would disappear. He knows everything there is to know about them.
The lights come up and he can see the audience leaving, and that familiar face causes his heart to beat faster than the nerves he'd worked up before the show.
He's here, Nino thinks, he was watching.
He finds Sho waiting backstage, dopey smile on his face and flowers in his hand, and can't explain why his lips greet him before words can.
#33 - Nightmare.
"You look like Christmas," Ohno states as he climbs into bed, tugging gently on Aiba's red parka and twining his legs with the ones clad in green.
"He's not dead," Aiba says through a yawn, chuckling as Ohno peeks over him just to be sure. He always has similar nightmares, and of course they never come true.
"He thinks that I hate him," Ohno's still worried, breathing heavily and shaking a little. He hates that his dreams take the important things away.
"But he loves you," Aiba whispers and rolls them over to switch places. Nino hugs Ohno close in his sleep.
#36 - Truth.
The way Nino looked on the bed, the light from street lamps streaming through the windows and forming patches of yellow on his skin, he wanted to capture it on a canvas, grab his paintbrushes and make the memory last forever.
They thought that he thought like this. During interviews they looked at him as if soon his fingers would start twitching, sudden inspiration hitting him in colors and shapes and hidden meanings in the spot where he'd started using the wrong shade of blue.
But really, Nino looked hot on the bed. Tomorrow he'd finish drawing that monkey in a spacesuit.
#40 - Lost.
Sho's hands are cold against his bare skin, too long out in the winter weather and too long away from home. It's pleasant, when he thinks about it, the chill it sends down his spine. But it takes what feels like several torturous minutes to hold them, kiss them, and warm them up again.
"It's been awhile," Sho says casually, like it's not been killing him too.
With warmer hands he explores, from chest to stomach, feeling the vibrations of skin that come with the gentle rumble of laughter.
"You lost?" Jun asks and helps him find his way, lower and lower still.
#43 - Bloom
It was approaching mid-spring and it was sunny, the perfect time for things to truly shine and come alive. In the gardens and parks of the city, the scenery was making its peaceful return to a vibrant green. He could see the treetops from his apartment's balcony, could smell last night's rain lingering in the air, but there was no deep inhale or smile to refresh him. The only plants that mattered to him now were the ones in the corner, looking weak as they struggled to make do in their carefully chosen pots.
"You have to bloom," he spoke quietly, fingers lightly brushing against a drooping bud.
He'd done everything they'd told him to, and everything he could, and when Aiba suggested he put his heart in it, he'd told them only the good things to help them grow.
"Come on," he heard himself whining, begging from them something entirely out of his control. He was tired of disappointment. He was tired of losing before he began.
"I can't fail at everything forever."
His hands clawed at the soil, clenched tight into fists, dirt crumbling against his palm. He watched it filter out through his fingers, squeezed one more time, and then let go.
#44 - Fridge.
It's obvious that the things inside don't belong there. The prospect of cool water in the dressing room had been worthy of an excited whoop or two when the appliance had been introduced, but now it served another purpose.
"Yours is small already, do you really want to make it worse for yourself by - " Sho starts, laughing as Nino smacks him repeatedly upside the head.
"It's hot it's hot it's hot," Aiba shouts, opening the door and pulling out what he needs, "it's cold it's cold it's cold!"
"The condensation," Jun frowns as his underwear leaves wet spots against his pants.
#48 - Facts.
Their friendship isn't based on all the facts they know about one another. The facts stay the same. He knows Nino likes playing video games, saving money on food and transportation, and had a crush on Fujiwara Norika when they were still juniors. Those things will always, always be true.
Instead he thinks their friendship is about how much they learn about being together. Because Aiba knows more about how Nino is feeling than anyone else.
Next time Nino insults him on tv, he'll remember to tell Nino, "it's okay" and pay for dinner. Because Nino loves him. That's factual too.
#50 - Writer's Choice
His fingers sped across the laptop's keyboard, filling the room with a rhythmical clacking, the only sound present aside from Matsujun's allergy season sniffles. He was lost in his composing, maybe observing something that the world often missed, or sending out a message of support for those who longed for positivity and hope.
And then his fingers stopped.
"Should I say... you'll find the path that leads to happiness? Or let your dream guide you through hardship?"
Aiba shrugged and stifled a yawn, hand covering his mouth before returning to a sloping shoulder.
"It's your choice, Sho-kun."
"Make the choices that bring happiness in full."
Point of View Guide
#2 - Ohno
#8 - Nino
#15 - Jun
#16 - Aiba
#20 - Jun
#36 - Ohno
#43 - Sho