[Arashi] #familiarity.
#familiarity.
Nino/Ohno | R, 2260 words
This has been really close to finished for quite a while, but there was a few bits that were strangely hard to write. AU! Mild AU, but AU nonetheless. Assignments? What are those! Blissfully ignoring reality is blissful.
He meets Ohno in Chicago, when his hair is too long and his clothes are getting thin. He meets him when it's of least convenience to the both of them, but they don't bring this up.
'She's at home,' Nino tells Ohno, scratching his shoulder absently. 'She said she'd make dinner tonight.'
There's a look in Ohno's eyes there, that Nino reads wrongly.
'She probably wouldn't mind a third. It's been how long anyway?' he counts on his fingers, still unsure. 'Eight, nine months?'
Ohno shrugs. It's close anyway.
Nino smiles at him. 'Why are you in Chicago?'
'Why are you?'
#
Ayane doesn't mind, but she doesn't know Ohno. She's never even heard of him.
Nino gives her the run-down: 'We were in university together, sort of. Mutual friends anyway. We dated for a time, back then. This is the first we've met in eight or nine months. I don't know why he's in Chicago.'
Ohno blinks and Ayane nods, stirring the pasta sauce. 'A lot of catching up to do then?'
'Not much to say,' Ohno mumbles.
Nino grins, 'So I've noticed.'
'Dinner's almost ready. Sit down; I'll bring it over,' Ayane tells them.
'We're going back to Japan soon,' Nino says, directing it at Ohno, but Ohno looks a little out of sorts. He sits down at the table.
'Me too,' Ohno says wistfully, 'I think.'
Nino frowns. 'Why are you here?'
Ohno still won't answer, but this time his excuse is apparently the mound of spaghetti placed in front of him. Nino watches him eat with such familiarity that it makes him feel sick.
They finish dinner, exchange phone numbers, and Ohno goes home.
Nino won't call. He knows Ohno won't either.
#
'You said you used to date?' Ayane asks over breakfast, spoon of cereal paused mid-air on the way to her mouth.
Nino frowns. 'Who?'
'Ohno-kun,' she says, frustrated, scruffing her bangs with her hand. 'Who else were we talking about?' She puts the spoon down.
'Ah yeah.' Nino stares over at the kitchen for a second, and then looks back down at his food. 'Yeah we did.'
There's silence for a few seconds, before Ayane replies. 'It shows.'
Nino glances up at her. 'Oh really?' he asks, doing his best to act nonchalant, but she'll probably see through it. She always sees through it. He scratches his forehead.
'This-' she pauses.
Nino holds his breath, waiting for her to finish, but she doesn't.
#
He doesn't see him again until five more months have passed and they cross on the street in the centre of Tokyo. Ohno's hair is faintly red and shorter than Nino can ever remember it being and Nino almost doesn't recognise him. Nino hasn't changed at all.
'I don't think I have your phone number anymore,' is the first thing Nino says. It's not an excuse, it's the truth.
Ohno laughs, 'I don't think I do either. Hi.'
Nino smiles, almost relieved. 'I,' he thinks for a second, what does he want to do? 'I can't really stop; I'm on my way to meet someone.' It's a blatant lie.
'That's fine, me too,' says Ohno, slowly like he's not quite processed the words in his own head yet.
There's silence for a moment, and Nino fidgets. 'I guess I'll see you around?'
'Drinks,' Ohno says suddenly. 'Or dinner. O-or lunch. Whatever.' He looks away.
Nino isn't sure how to react, and so he doesn't.
'If you're too busy it's fine I'll just, I'll just-'
'No, I'm probably free. For lunch anyway.' Nino runs a hand through his hair. He's not really comfortable with this but he can't decline. 'Wednesday?' he asks, and pauses. 'I can do Wednesday.'
Ohno licks his lips and looks back at Nino. 'Sure,' he says, his mouth curving up only slightly. 'One, here?'
Nino looks around. 'Yeah, okay. See you then.'
#
'Sho told me you were in Chicago,' Ohno says, out of nowhere.
It takes Nino a few moments before he can comprehend. 'You came all the way to Chicago for dinner?' Nino wants to laugh, but for some reason he can't. He puts down his sandwich.
Ohno's eyebrows scrunch together and Nino thinks maybe this is an opportune time for a topic change, but Ohno beats him to it: 'Do you still see Sho?'
Nino shrugs. 'About as much as I see you. Well, a little more I guess, but.'
'Ayane?' Ohno takes a particularly large sip of his iced tea.
'Going okay,' Nino tells him. 'I guess.' Nino quickly continues to stop Ohno from speaking: 'Money, mainly.' It's sort of the truth. Well, a deviation of, anyway.
'I'll probably have to-' Ohno looks away. 'No don't worry.'
Nino is curious for a second but then grins, 'I won't,' and flicks a stray sesame seed across the table at Ohno. His chest tightens.
Ohno's face doesn't change from what, to Nino, looks like a horribly forced frown.
'How are you, anyway?' Nino pushes. He can't deal with silence between them. Not anymore. It's not like it used to be. But. But he doesn't want to think about that.
'Fine.' He won't catch Nino's eye. 'Fine,' he repeats in whisper.
Nino sighs. He really doesn't mean to, but just.
'God I'm sorry, I don't even know why I,' Ohno rubs his face with both hands. 'I don't even have anything to say. I have to go. I have to find somewhere to live and then.' He stands up and walks towards the door.
'Wait what?' Nino grabs Ohno's sleeve as he passes him. 'Stop. What?'
'My apartment,' Ohno explains reluctantly, 'They're pulling the building down next week and I haven't. Well.'
'My place,' Nino says unthinkingly. He doesn't want Ohno to go. 'Just for now. Ayane remembers you so.'
Nino can tell Ohno doesn't want to, but he can see he's also desperate. Ohno nods slowly.
'Whenever you want just. My number. I'll give it to you again.'
Nino's hand shakes as he scribbles the number down. He just hopes Ohno doesn't notice it.
#
He asks Ayane when he remembers a few days later, just to be polite. It's more his apartment than it ever was hers anyway.
'I guess,' is all she says on the matter. 'Lunch?'
#
On the surface nothing really changes. Nino suspects this is due to Ayane's presence. With her there, they find things to say, things to talk about. It's comfortable, for the most part, really. And there's plenty of space: Ohno rolls out the spare futon on the living room floor every night and is generally up and gone by the time Nino and Ayane wake anyway. Nino doesn't know where he goes, and he doesn't ask.
One morning, Nino awakes to a pair of eyes staring directly at him. He jumps up in bed. Ohno is sitting on the floor looking towards him (but not really seeing, Nino gathers after some speculation).
'You scared me,' Nino says, hand to his heart. He hopes he hasn't woken Ayane.
Ohno shakes his head frantically, rubbing his forehead, maybe only just realising where he is and what he's doing. 'I'm sorry I was just going to-'
'Shh,' Nino hushes him, motioning at Ayane next to him. He slips out of bed silently and grabs Ohno's arm, pulling him from the bedroom into the living room.
Ohno looks at his arm absently and Nino promptly lets go.
'You can talk now, I just didn't want to wake Ayane. It's early.' Nino sighs. It really is. He rubs at the corner of an eye.
'I shouldn't stay here any longer,' Ohno tells him.
Nino was waiting for this. 'You don't have anywhere else though, right?'
'I shouldn't stay here any longer,' Ohno repeats. His eyes don't meet Nino's.
He leaves the house then and Nino wonders if he's coming back.
#
Ohno doesn't return until sometime late that night, Nino guesses. When he walks into the living room the next day, Ohno is there as per usual, curled up on his side on the futon, blanket slipping from his shoulders. Nino considers pulling it back up like they do in the movies, but thinks better of it.
Ohno turns over and opens his eyes. There's a strange, lingering sense of déjà vu as Ohno lazily tells him 'good morning' and Nino bites his lip. Ohno's hair is scruffed up mostly on the left and his eyes are only half open as he smiles at Nino.
For a moment, Nino forgets where they are, and he thinks maybe Ohno does too.
#
There's barely a shred of common sense left in Nino's head by end of the eigth day. Nino fists his hands in the front of Ohno's shirt and presses their lips together forcefully.
Ayane looks less hurt and instead more confused for Nino's choice of setting, namely the part where his girlfriend is just across the room.
Nino looks over at her, after a few seconds. 'I don't know,' he says.
'Fair enough,' she shrugs.
'I'm going to do something stupid now,' he tells her.
Ayane nods. 'I'll be at Mum's, if you need me. I doubt I'll answer if you call though.'
He only watches her for a few seconds as she turns to walk away, but before she's even reached the front door, Nino has their lips together again, hands on Ohno's neck, fingers playing with Ohno's hair. 'I don't like the red,' he says into Ohno's lips.
Ohno pulls back an inch and looks at him. 'No, no I don't either.'
Nino's skin burns where Ohno touches him, Ohno's fingers light and dancing across his stomach, before he allows his shirt to be pulled off over his head. He shivers, and closes his eyes as Ohno runs hands down over his chest slowly, deliberately. Ohno says about seven words then, but Nino only hears 'time'. He breathes in.
Ohno's lips wrap around a nipple, his hands teasing at the waistband of Nino's jeans, and Nino bites his lip and looks down. Sex with Ayane is good, was good, but. 'In the hallway?' he asks.
'In the hallway,' Ohno replies.
Yes, Nino agrees. Yes.
Before Ohno can undress Nino anymore, Nino tugs him up by his collar, tugs until Ohno submits to having his shirt removed. 'You are entirely not naked enough.'
'Being naked is overrated,' Ohno pouts. A beat. 'Unless it's you.'
It's cheesy and corny and ridiculous, but it somehow hits all the right buttons because Nino flushes bright pink and Ohno is grinning all the way to Antarctica. Nino kisses him quickly, managing somehow to almost simultaneously quell and heighten his embarrassment.
'I love you,' Ohno lets slip suddenly, and Nino chokes on his words and feelings and he stumbles back.
'Oh-chan,' he warns.
Ohno swallows. 'Never happened; back to it?' he laughs nervously.
But then Nino starts laughing too and Ohno visibly eases up: his shoulders relax and the muscles in his neck soften out again.
Ohno has him face-up against the wall then, and Nino lets Ohno tug his jeans down now, just a little.
'All the way?' Nino inquires.
Ohno laughs, 'When you've got permission from the girlfriend you might as well use it.'
Well. Obviously.
Nino misses the part where Ohno was prepared for this. He misses the retrieval of condoms, of lube. He even misses the initial pain he knows he's supposed to be feeling, because all he can think is he has Ohno's fingers inside him, Ohno's spare hand around his cock, Ohno's lips to the back of his neck, his shoulder.
And when Ohno says, 'Can I?' overflowing with nerves and uncertainty, Nino almost laughs because at this point he's pretty sure it's obvious.
'Be my guest,' Nino breathes out as Ohno pushes in. His fists press hard into the wall as he adjusts, heart pounding against his ribcage.
Ohno grasps Nino's hip as he begins to move, his breathing heavy and hot on Nino's skin. Nino swallows deeply, unclenching a hand long enough to bring it down and entwine his fingers with Ohno's around his own cock. Ohno rolls his hips into Nino, their bodies flush together, and all Nino can think is he dances. Ohno must dance now, or.
There's a moment where Nino tries to be quiet, tries not to moan, but he fails miserably when Ohno whispers his name into his ear, eager.
'Yeah,' Nino manages, tightening his grip around Ohno's hand, coming seconds before Ohno and doing his best to remain upright. He braces himself against the wall as Ohno wraps his arms around Nino's waist, sticky and hot, resting all his weight onto Nino.
'Yeah,' Ohno says into his shoulder blade.
Nino somehow finds the energy to smile.
#
'So we've split,' Nino scratches his nose. 'Officially,' he adds with a shrug.
Ohno looks straight at him then. 'Really?'
Nino can't read the expression on Ohno's face. 'I think we did a long time ago, really.'
Ohno stares, perplexed.
'Emotionally I mean.' Nino scrunches his face up. 'I said money that time but that wasn't really. Well, it wasn't the whole truth anyway. And ever since Chicago...' he trails off, not really sure where he's going with that sentence.
There's a moment where Nino thinks, Oh god he's misunderstood, because Ohno is flushed pink, but then he thinks no, no he's probably right. His ears feel hot.
Ohno grabs his hand, quite suddenly and determinedly. Nino isn't really prepared for it, and he jerks a bit in shock. Ohno holds strong. Nino looks at him and his stomach flips over.
Nino/Ohno | R, 2260 words
This has been really close to finished for quite a while, but there was a few bits that were strangely hard to write. AU! Mild AU, but AU nonetheless. Assignments? What are those! Blissfully ignoring reality is blissful.
He meets Ohno in Chicago, when his hair is too long and his clothes are getting thin. He meets him when it's of least convenience to the both of them, but they don't bring this up.
'She's at home,' Nino tells Ohno, scratching his shoulder absently. 'She said she'd make dinner tonight.'
There's a look in Ohno's eyes there, that Nino reads wrongly.
'She probably wouldn't mind a third. It's been how long anyway?' he counts on his fingers, still unsure. 'Eight, nine months?'
Ohno shrugs. It's close anyway.
Nino smiles at him. 'Why are you in Chicago?'
'Why are you?'
#
Ayane doesn't mind, but she doesn't know Ohno. She's never even heard of him.
Nino gives her the run-down: 'We were in university together, sort of. Mutual friends anyway. We dated for a time, back then. This is the first we've met in eight or nine months. I don't know why he's in Chicago.'
Ohno blinks and Ayane nods, stirring the pasta sauce. 'A lot of catching up to do then?'
'Not much to say,' Ohno mumbles.
Nino grins, 'So I've noticed.'
'Dinner's almost ready. Sit down; I'll bring it over,' Ayane tells them.
'We're going back to Japan soon,' Nino says, directing it at Ohno, but Ohno looks a little out of sorts. He sits down at the table.
'Me too,' Ohno says wistfully, 'I think.'
Nino frowns. 'Why are you here?'
Ohno still won't answer, but this time his excuse is apparently the mound of spaghetti placed in front of him. Nino watches him eat with such familiarity that it makes him feel sick.
They finish dinner, exchange phone numbers, and Ohno goes home.
Nino won't call. He knows Ohno won't either.
#
'You said you used to date?' Ayane asks over breakfast, spoon of cereal paused mid-air on the way to her mouth.
Nino frowns. 'Who?'
'Ohno-kun,' she says, frustrated, scruffing her bangs with her hand. 'Who else were we talking about?' She puts the spoon down.
'Ah yeah.' Nino stares over at the kitchen for a second, and then looks back down at his food. 'Yeah we did.'
There's silence for a few seconds, before Ayane replies. 'It shows.'
Nino glances up at her. 'Oh really?' he asks, doing his best to act nonchalant, but she'll probably see through it. She always sees through it. He scratches his forehead.
'This-' she pauses.
Nino holds his breath, waiting for her to finish, but she doesn't.
#
He doesn't see him again until five more months have passed and they cross on the street in the centre of Tokyo. Ohno's hair is faintly red and shorter than Nino can ever remember it being and Nino almost doesn't recognise him. Nino hasn't changed at all.
'I don't think I have your phone number anymore,' is the first thing Nino says. It's not an excuse, it's the truth.
Ohno laughs, 'I don't think I do either. Hi.'
Nino smiles, almost relieved. 'I,' he thinks for a second, what does he want to do? 'I can't really stop; I'm on my way to meet someone.' It's a blatant lie.
'That's fine, me too,' says Ohno, slowly like he's not quite processed the words in his own head yet.
There's silence for a moment, and Nino fidgets. 'I guess I'll see you around?'
'Drinks,' Ohno says suddenly. 'Or dinner. O-or lunch. Whatever.' He looks away.
Nino isn't sure how to react, and so he doesn't.
'If you're too busy it's fine I'll just, I'll just-'
'No, I'm probably free. For lunch anyway.' Nino runs a hand through his hair. He's not really comfortable with this but he can't decline. 'Wednesday?' he asks, and pauses. 'I can do Wednesday.'
Ohno licks his lips and looks back at Nino. 'Sure,' he says, his mouth curving up only slightly. 'One, here?'
Nino looks around. 'Yeah, okay. See you then.'
#
'Sho told me you were in Chicago,' Ohno says, out of nowhere.
It takes Nino a few moments before he can comprehend. 'You came all the way to Chicago for dinner?' Nino wants to laugh, but for some reason he can't. He puts down his sandwich.
Ohno's eyebrows scrunch together and Nino thinks maybe this is an opportune time for a topic change, but Ohno beats him to it: 'Do you still see Sho?'
Nino shrugs. 'About as much as I see you. Well, a little more I guess, but.'
'Ayane?' Ohno takes a particularly large sip of his iced tea.
'Going okay,' Nino tells him. 'I guess.' Nino quickly continues to stop Ohno from speaking: 'Money, mainly.' It's sort of the truth. Well, a deviation of, anyway.
'I'll probably have to-' Ohno looks away. 'No don't worry.'
Nino is curious for a second but then grins, 'I won't,' and flicks a stray sesame seed across the table at Ohno. His chest tightens.
Ohno's face doesn't change from what, to Nino, looks like a horribly forced frown.
'How are you, anyway?' Nino pushes. He can't deal with silence between them. Not anymore. It's not like it used to be. But. But he doesn't want to think about that.
'Fine.' He won't catch Nino's eye. 'Fine,' he repeats in whisper.
Nino sighs. He really doesn't mean to, but just.
'God I'm sorry, I don't even know why I,' Ohno rubs his face with both hands. 'I don't even have anything to say. I have to go. I have to find somewhere to live and then.' He stands up and walks towards the door.
'Wait what?' Nino grabs Ohno's sleeve as he passes him. 'Stop. What?'
'My apartment,' Ohno explains reluctantly, 'They're pulling the building down next week and I haven't. Well.'
'My place,' Nino says unthinkingly. He doesn't want Ohno to go. 'Just for now. Ayane remembers you so.'
Nino can tell Ohno doesn't want to, but he can see he's also desperate. Ohno nods slowly.
'Whenever you want just. My number. I'll give it to you again.'
Nino's hand shakes as he scribbles the number down. He just hopes Ohno doesn't notice it.
#
He asks Ayane when he remembers a few days later, just to be polite. It's more his apartment than it ever was hers anyway.
'I guess,' is all she says on the matter. 'Lunch?'
#
On the surface nothing really changes. Nino suspects this is due to Ayane's presence. With her there, they find things to say, things to talk about. It's comfortable, for the most part, really. And there's plenty of space: Ohno rolls out the spare futon on the living room floor every night and is generally up and gone by the time Nino and Ayane wake anyway. Nino doesn't know where he goes, and he doesn't ask.
One morning, Nino awakes to a pair of eyes staring directly at him. He jumps up in bed. Ohno is sitting on the floor looking towards him (but not really seeing, Nino gathers after some speculation).
'You scared me,' Nino says, hand to his heart. He hopes he hasn't woken Ayane.
Ohno shakes his head frantically, rubbing his forehead, maybe only just realising where he is and what he's doing. 'I'm sorry I was just going to-'
'Shh,' Nino hushes him, motioning at Ayane next to him. He slips out of bed silently and grabs Ohno's arm, pulling him from the bedroom into the living room.
Ohno looks at his arm absently and Nino promptly lets go.
'You can talk now, I just didn't want to wake Ayane. It's early.' Nino sighs. It really is. He rubs at the corner of an eye.
'I shouldn't stay here any longer,' Ohno tells him.
Nino was waiting for this. 'You don't have anywhere else though, right?'
'I shouldn't stay here any longer,' Ohno repeats. His eyes don't meet Nino's.
He leaves the house then and Nino wonders if he's coming back.
#
Ohno doesn't return until sometime late that night, Nino guesses. When he walks into the living room the next day, Ohno is there as per usual, curled up on his side on the futon, blanket slipping from his shoulders. Nino considers pulling it back up like they do in the movies, but thinks better of it.
Ohno turns over and opens his eyes. There's a strange, lingering sense of déjà vu as Ohno lazily tells him 'good morning' and Nino bites his lip. Ohno's hair is scruffed up mostly on the left and his eyes are only half open as he smiles at Nino.
For a moment, Nino forgets where they are, and he thinks maybe Ohno does too.
#
There's barely a shred of common sense left in Nino's head by end of the eigth day. Nino fists his hands in the front of Ohno's shirt and presses their lips together forcefully.
Ayane looks less hurt and instead more confused for Nino's choice of setting, namely the part where his girlfriend is just across the room.
Nino looks over at her, after a few seconds. 'I don't know,' he says.
'Fair enough,' she shrugs.
'I'm going to do something stupid now,' he tells her.
Ayane nods. 'I'll be at Mum's, if you need me. I doubt I'll answer if you call though.'
He only watches her for a few seconds as she turns to walk away, but before she's even reached the front door, Nino has their lips together again, hands on Ohno's neck, fingers playing with Ohno's hair. 'I don't like the red,' he says into Ohno's lips.
Ohno pulls back an inch and looks at him. 'No, no I don't either.'
Nino's skin burns where Ohno touches him, Ohno's fingers light and dancing across his stomach, before he allows his shirt to be pulled off over his head. He shivers, and closes his eyes as Ohno runs hands down over his chest slowly, deliberately. Ohno says about seven words then, but Nino only hears 'time'. He breathes in.
Ohno's lips wrap around a nipple, his hands teasing at the waistband of Nino's jeans, and Nino bites his lip and looks down. Sex with Ayane is good, was good, but. 'In the hallway?' he asks.
'In the hallway,' Ohno replies.
Yes, Nino agrees. Yes.
Before Ohno can undress Nino anymore, Nino tugs him up by his collar, tugs until Ohno submits to having his shirt removed. 'You are entirely not naked enough.'
'Being naked is overrated,' Ohno pouts. A beat. 'Unless it's you.'
It's cheesy and corny and ridiculous, but it somehow hits all the right buttons because Nino flushes bright pink and Ohno is grinning all the way to Antarctica. Nino kisses him quickly, managing somehow to almost simultaneously quell and heighten his embarrassment.
'I love you,' Ohno lets slip suddenly, and Nino chokes on his words and feelings and he stumbles back.
'Oh-chan,' he warns.
Ohno swallows. 'Never happened; back to it?' he laughs nervously.
But then Nino starts laughing too and Ohno visibly eases up: his shoulders relax and the muscles in his neck soften out again.
Ohno has him face-up against the wall then, and Nino lets Ohno tug his jeans down now, just a little.
'All the way?' Nino inquires.
Ohno laughs, 'When you've got permission from the girlfriend you might as well use it.'
Well. Obviously.
Nino misses the part where Ohno was prepared for this. He misses the retrieval of condoms, of lube. He even misses the initial pain he knows he's supposed to be feeling, because all he can think is he has Ohno's fingers inside him, Ohno's spare hand around his cock, Ohno's lips to the back of his neck, his shoulder.
And when Ohno says, 'Can I?' overflowing with nerves and uncertainty, Nino almost laughs because at this point he's pretty sure it's obvious.
'Be my guest,' Nino breathes out as Ohno pushes in. His fists press hard into the wall as he adjusts, heart pounding against his ribcage.
Ohno grasps Nino's hip as he begins to move, his breathing heavy and hot on Nino's skin. Nino swallows deeply, unclenching a hand long enough to bring it down and entwine his fingers with Ohno's around his own cock. Ohno rolls his hips into Nino, their bodies flush together, and all Nino can think is he dances. Ohno must dance now, or.
There's a moment where Nino tries to be quiet, tries not to moan, but he fails miserably when Ohno whispers his name into his ear, eager.
'Yeah,' Nino manages, tightening his grip around Ohno's hand, coming seconds before Ohno and doing his best to remain upright. He braces himself against the wall as Ohno wraps his arms around Nino's waist, sticky and hot, resting all his weight onto Nino.
'Yeah,' Ohno says into his shoulder blade.
Nino somehow finds the energy to smile.
#
'So we've split,' Nino scratches his nose. 'Officially,' he adds with a shrug.
Ohno looks straight at him then. 'Really?'
Nino can't read the expression on Ohno's face. 'I think we did a long time ago, really.'
Ohno stares, perplexed.
'Emotionally I mean.' Nino scrunches his face up. 'I said money that time but that wasn't really. Well, it wasn't the whole truth anyway. And ever since Chicago...' he trails off, not really sure where he's going with that sentence.
There's a moment where Nino thinks, Oh god he's misunderstood, because Ohno is flushed pink, but then he thinks no, no he's probably right. His ears feel hot.
Ohno grabs his hand, quite suddenly and determinedly. Nino isn't really prepared for it, and he jerks a bit in shock. Ohno holds strong. Nino looks at him and his stomach flips over.