(no subject)
“How did you get your coach to lend you his car? Mine won’t ever,” Jun grumbled as he shoved his bag into the backseat of the car. It was a bright Saturday morning, and he had a beanie pulled low on his head and his huge sunglasses on. He slid into the passenger’s seat, immediately pulling down the sun visor to block the light from his face.
“You also crashed Aiba’s new car ten minutes into a drive,” Nino shot back, adjusting the mirrors before turning on the engine. “I, however, am an impeccable driver.”
“Remember that time you accidentally hit a car behind you because you weren’t paying attention in the parking lot?” Jun pulled his coat around him and slumped down in the seat.
“You can’t use that against me, I was still learning how to drive! I didn’t even have my license yet.” Nino pulled out of the garage, heading towards the highway that led to Gunma. “Go back to sleep. I don’t want to hear your accusations as I drive.”
“Let me know when we get to a rest stop,” Jun said, putting his hands in his sleeves. “I want breakfast.”
“Good night, Jun-pon,” Nino sing-songed as he took a right turn.
The town Sho’s grandparents lived in was a little over two hours away, and Jun woke up when they were a little over halfway there. Gone were the skyscrapers and neon lights of Tokyo, replaced by fields and mountains. The trees lining the highway were bare, holding the promise of spring in the little buds sprouting at the ends of their finger-like branches.
“Could you live out here, Nino?” Jun asked, as they passed a series of greenhouses.
“Out in the countryside?” Nino hummed, switching songs on the car stereo. “Probably not. It’s not very convenient and I like to move as least as possible, you know that.”
“True.” The winter sun was high in the sky now, and Jun imagined what the fields looked like in the summer when everything was lush and green and alive. “I probably couldn’t, either. I want to do too much…but a summer home would be pretty nice, I bet.”
“When you marry Sho-chan, the both of you can have a cute little summer house in Gunma. We’ll visit and Aiba-chan will bring homemade cake,” Nino grinned, the sun highlighting his moles like little periods at the end of his sentences. “We can watch fireflies and light fireworks and eat hot dogs roasted on a fire.”
“That sounds really nice, actually,” Jun mused, putting his hands behind his head and turning to look at Nino. “Maybe we should have a camping trip this summer. Ohno-kun would like it, he’d be able to fish all our food.”
“Do you really want to go camping with Aiba-chan? He’ll insist on putting the tent up, so it’s only going to fly away in the middle of the night,” Nino said, his voice accusatory.
“We’ll rent a cabin,” Jun amended.
“We’re here,” Nino announced not long afterwards, cutting the ending as they pulled front of a stately traditional Japanese house. “I know Sho-chan is loaded but sometimes it’s disgusting how much.”
“Are you ready for this talk?” Jun asked with a sigh, fixing his hat in the sun panel mirror. He tucked his sunglasses back in their case and set it on the arm rest. “You told him we’re coming, right?”
“Nope,” Nino said cheerfully, getting out of the car and closing the door before Jun could stop gaping at him.
“Why not?” Jun spluttered as he quickly got out of the car to follow Nino as he walked up to the doorbell.
“Because he would tell us not to come. You know him! He’s almost as stubborn as you are. This way he can’t turn us away. His grandmother would throw a fit because it would be rude.” Nino rang the doorbell and put on his best ‘I’m Charming’ smile. “It’s Ninomiya Kazunari and Matsumoto Jun, we’re here to see Sho-chan.”
Jun waved weakly at the intercom from behind Nino.
“Ah, I’ll let him know you’re here,” a female voice said. “Please come in.”
The gates opened and they walked into the courtyard together. As large as it was, it wasn’t especially elaborate - there was a small garden separated into rows, currently bare because of the season, and an expanse of grass to the right side of the walkway. A very shaggy dog was asleep on the grass, his paws twitching as he dreamed.
“I’m sorry for intruding,” Nino and Jun chimed when they stepped through the front door and toed their shoes off.
“It’s wonderful to have you,” Sho’s grandmother greeted with a smile. She was a lady of small stature, but her clothes were impeccable and her hair was perfectly styled. “Sho hasn’t had many visitors. He’s up and walking again, but it does take him some time. Please wait for him in the living room.” She gestured in the direction of the room.
“We brought this,” Jun said, taking out a giftwrapped box of sweets they’d picked up before they left Tokyo. “It’s nothing much, but we hope you enjoy it.”
“Oh! That’s wonderful,” she said happily, taking the box with a slight bow. “Please sit down and I’ll make tea.” They followed her through multiple rooms, past framed family photos, until they reached an elegantly decorated living room.
“Make yourselves comfortable, and I’ll be right back,” she gestured to the large leather sofa before bustling out of the room.
“This looks just like his living room in Tokyo,” Nino said in a low voice as they glanced around. One wall was actually a sliding door that led onto a traditional veranda. There was a large chestnut tansu chest against the wall opposite of the veranda, covered in various trophies and family photos.
“Hi,” Sho said, finally appearing in the doorway. He had a cane to support himself as he walked, his pace slow.
“It’s been a while, Sho-kun,” Jun said, standing up to make room for him on the couch. Instead Sho headed for an armchair, and Jun sat back down, biting his lip.
“You’ve been busy,” Sho acknowledged as he sat down gingerly. “Winning medals and stuff.”
Jun ducked his head as Nino shrugged. “No medals for me, Sho-chan,” he said as he stretched nonchalantly. “You’d think parapara music would give me the automatic gold, but I guess I have to actually try for that.”
“You should’ve seen it,” Jun laughed, pointing at Nino with his thumb. “I thought Ohno-kun was going to die, he was laughing so hard.”
Sho nodded slowly, shifting in his seat. He said nothing, but Jun saw him glance at the trophies sitting on top of the tansu.
“When are you coming back to Tokyo?” Jun let the words tumble out of his mouth. “We really miss you. The house isn’t the same. Aiba-chan keeps whining about how much he wants you back and every time it’s Ohno-kun’s turn for dinner, he keeps buying five portions out of habit.”
Sho shrugged, playing with the cane by rolling it between his hands. “You saw me. I can’t even walk all that well yet.”
“But you’re walking,” Nino pointed out. “You can go through rehab in Tokyo, with your coaches and with us. We can help you.”
“I’m only going to slow you down,” Sho shot back, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth tight with anger. “I won’t be able to get on the ice any time soon.”
“Who cares about whether or not you’re skate-ready?” Jun replied, voice exasperated and nostrils flaring. “We want you with us.”
“I can’t place without you,” Nino said softly, staring at Sho. He had picked up one of the couch cushions and he was gripping it tightly. “Whether or not you’re actually on the ice with me, I…it’s just not the same for me, Sho-chan.”
“Nino, that’s bullshit and you know it,” Sho snorted, leaning back in his seat. “You do just fine without me.”
“Maybe I can,” Nino retorted, tossing the cushion to the side. “But that doesn’t mean I want to. Solo skating on its own is boring and I won’t have any partner that isn’t you.”
“Why are you being so stubborn about this?” Jun asked, leaning forward with concern. “Isn’t ice skating what you love?”
“Neither of you have ever had an injury this big, and neither have the other two,” Sho pointed out. “None of you know how this feels.”
“Does that matter?” Nino stood up and moved to stand directly in front of Sho, facing him. “We can’t empathize but it’s not like you’re the first person to ever get injured in this sport. People have been injured worse than you have and they got back on the ice.”
“It’s not like you to give up,” Jun huffed, crossing his arms. “I never would have thought this would be what would make you quit.”
“You think I want to quit?” Sho yelled, shoving Nino away. “You really think I want to give up on this? I’ve been skating since I was three years old! Is this what you think I want? To be delegated to some boring desk job I hate or maybe stuck covering sports events for some news show that just wants a washed-up hasbeen to be the know-it-all so they don’t have to pay for an extra expert on the panel to explain everything to the audience?”
“You’re acting like it!” Jun roared, finally rising to his feet. “You’re whining instead of working, and this isn’t like you!”
“You have to get up eventually, Sho-chan,” Nino said, crossing the room to go stand by the porch door. “That news show is going to be your future eventually and you know it, but it’s going to be after you’ve won all your awards and skated all your shows and retired with grace. But if you’re just going to sit on this couch and whine instead of work, you’re never going to get there. You’re going to rot here in Gunma full of regrets.”
Sho crossed his arms, looking away from either of them. “Fine.”
“Fine?” Jun echoed, his jaw still set with anger.
“I kept my bag packed anyway,” Sho said. His expression was still angry, his voice low, but he slowly rose from the chair. “I’ll go back to Tokyo, but it’s for Aiba-chan and Satoshi-kun.”
“Whatever,” Nino rolled his eyes. “As long as you’re coming.”
Jun breathed out all the air he had in his lungs and sat back down as Sho made his way towards the room’s exit. “All that for nothing. You didn’t have to make me yell.”
“If you didn’t yell I would have known you didn’t actually want me to come back,” Sho threw over his shoulder before he left the room.
His grandmother came in quietly, a small smile on her face, as she placed the tea on the coffee table. “I see you boys have made up,” she sighed as she stood back up. “It’s about time he went back to Tokyo. He’s been so gloomy. He’s never really liked being in Gunma for long stretches of time, it keeps him bored.”
She paused in the threshold of the room between it and the kitchen. “Take care of him, you two. For me. He’s not very good at taking care of himself.”
They both acknowledged her with a low bow of their heads, standing up in unison as they heard Sho yell for help with his luggage.
-----
When they got back to the house, Aiba hugged Sho tightly before manhandling him inside, babbling through a face full of tears as Nino snuck away in order to avoid helping with the luggage.
Sho really didn’t talk to either Jun or Nino for a few days after that. Aiba was hovering around Sho constantly, making it easy for Sho to ignore them. Jun let him be, still annoyed at Sho’s stubbornness and insistence on making his injury a tragedy.
But then, a full week after they’d brought Sho home, he’d shown up in Jun’s doorway one night after dinner. Aiba had gone to bed early that night after a particularly hard practice, and Jun had to blink at the sight of Sho being unaccompanied.
“Hey,” Sho said awkwardly. He fidgeted with the door’s threshold, and Jun closed his eyes in exasperation before getting up from his desk.
“You can come in,” Jun said, offering his rolling chair. It was ergonomic and he had thrown a cashmere blanket over it and it was Jun’s favorite thing in the world after his slippers.
“No, it’s okay, I told Satoshi-kun I would watch some fishing show with him.” Sho cleared his throat. “I just wanted to say thanks for coming to get me.”
“…You’re welcome,” Jun said. The words felt stuck in his throat. “Thank you for coming back.”
“I wasn’t going to be able to stay away forever,” Sho replied with a small smile, then let go of the doorway. “See you later.”
“Yeah,” Jun echoed, then sat down hard on his bed as Sho walked away.
-----
A few months later, Jun headed for the rink early in the afternoon. It was late spring, and the sakura had already fallen. The smell of the rainy season was in the air.
“Hey, guys,” Jun said when he spotted Aiba and Nino in the locker room, changing into their skates.
“Sho-chan’s already out there,” Aiba said as a greeting. “He’s been out there for a while.”
“Has he taken a break?” Jun asked, setting his bag down and hanging his jacket inside his locker.
“He’s with his coach, it’s fine,” Nino shrugged, tying a towel around his head. “He’s doing better, his strides are getting longer.”
“He’ll probably be up to full speed by Asian Trophy in the summer,” Aiba shut his locker with a sunny smile.
“Complaining as usual,” Nino rolled his eyes. “He’s trying to call the shots on the routine but if he thinks I’m going to do a routine based on the Wall Street Journal, he’s wrong.”
“Hi,” Ohno came into the locker room from the shower, his hair dripping down his face. His towel was wrapped around his waist, and his shower shoes flip-flopped against the floor as he walked.
“You’re done already?” Jun asked, pretending he wasn’t staring at Ohno’s back muscles as he moved. Aiba and Nino had stopped what they were doing and were staring shamelessly.
“Yeah, I’ve been here for a few hours. Have to go to the gym for a little bit, but I want to spend tonight painting.” Ohno scratched his head before grabbing his boxers out of his locker.
“I’m gonna head to Rink 3,” Jun finally said, after silently watching Ohno get dressed. “See you guys later.”
“Byebye, MatsuJun,” Aiba waved, but Nino was busy patting Ohno’s butt “to check for defects.”
As he walked through the arena, Jun could hear Sho’s coach in Rink 1 giving Sho instructions, and Sho laughing as he skated.
Jun gripped the laces of his skates, letting them gently knock against his legs as he walked. He was going to be late to meet his coach, but he couldn’t help entering Rink 1 quietly, watching Sho on the ice. He wasn’t going as fast as he used to, but his form was still perfect, and Jun could already see him back on the winner’s podium.
“Hey, MatsuJun,” Sho said as he skated past, “let me know when you’re done so we can go home together.”
Jun nodded, waving goodbye as he left the rink. He suddenly couldn’t wait to finish his practice and head for the showers.