Nattergal 7/16
Title: Nattergal
Pairing(s): Ohno/Sho
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Nope
Word count: 1,849
Summary: AU. Forced to marry against their wills, Sho and Ohno embark on a journey to salvage the rest of their lives and their life together.
Authors' notes: Damn, I have a splitting headache. And guys, forgive me for I have gotten waaaay behind on my replying of comments.
Nino’s eyes are knowing when Sho is getting ready for dinner that night.
“He really isn’t that bad,” Sho admits and he catches sight of Nino’s silent agreement.
“You could’ve done much, much worse,” Nino says and grins a little. “I suppose that if it had to be this way, you did luck out.”
It is weird to think about this situation with words such as luck, but Sho finds that it applies.
“And you know,” Nino continues, smiling slyly as if his next words are a secret Sho is fortunate to be hearing. “Ohno-san personally made sure you got home safely from your night out with Aiba and Jun?”
Sho cannot breathe for a moment.
Nino is feline in his smugness that Sho has allowed for as long as they have known each other. “He is handsome when he cares for you,” he says.
“He doesn’t - ” Sho starts but stops again before he can say words that he doesn’t know are true. Nino seems secure in the knowledge he obtains from being able to flitter in and out of almost all rooms in the compound.
“Sho,” Nino says and steps closer, clasping at his arm, fingers stopping short just of his blistered skin. “You are lucky. Accept that for what it is and don’t put him through more than he has to.”
It feels like the first time in too long when he allows his mouth to curve into a smile.
*
At dinner, Ohno visibly sees that Sho has relaxed.
He doesn’t know what prompted the change, but he welcomes it. Sho allows him to place a hand on his elbow to guide him to his seat, and he knows that his fathers see it.
Dinner is almost pleasant; something Ohno hadn’t even dared to wish for with the rate things were going before they left for the island. He even manages to make Sho chuckle, and Sho successfully fends for himself in a discussion about the economics in the market now.
Briefly, Ohno allows himself to relax. He should have known that it wouldn’t continue.
A messenger enters, bows and speaks. “There is news from the Sakurai house.”
As his fathers rise, shooting glances at Sho, Ohno feels his heart sink to his stomach and even further down. He imagines he can hear it rattle and clang against the floor. He drops the cutlery to his plate and he whips around to look at Sho.
Sho has gone completely white, fingers tightening impossibly on his fork and knife, and for a brief instant, Ohno is afraid that Sho will break.
The messenger speaks in hushed tones even as they leave the room, and Ohno awaits the thunder as he knows it will surely come.
*
Sho’s father flickers to life on the hologram; the image seems to embody how Sho feels - shaken and static.
“Father,” he says but he already knows that he will be brushed off.
“There’s nothing you can do,” his father says briskly. “We are doing everything we can.”
“But surely they are mistaken!” Sho says, feeling rather desperate, but he hides it as well as he can. His father doesn’t need his hysteria, too. “Corruption? They must have lost their minds! None have served them truer!”
Sho’s father clenches his jaw. “Not everyone is of that opinion. Of course they are wrong, and we are doing what we can to prove it.”
Sho takes a deep breath. “How long has this been going on?”
The silence meeting him confirms his suspicion and his sharp intake of breath must have been audible even through to the Sakurai compound.
“This is not your worry anymore,” he is told and he bows his head.
Maybe not, but there are still things he need to know. He knows where to get the answers.
*
“You knew!” Sho accuses, barging into Ohno’s quarters without even as much of a word of warning. “You didn’t tell me. Why?”
The fragile trust built between them shatters in that instant and Sho feels betrayed. He had trusted Ohno.
“There was nothing you could do,” Ohno says, but Sho only hears an excuse for words he had needed to hear. The anger he had buried for days now comes crashing back like a tidal wave and it makes him seethe.
“I needed to know! It’s my house!”
But Sho only realizes too late that he cannot overstep his boundaries too many times, because there is an end to Ohno’s patience. “You are of our house now,” he says, voice clipped. “Your name is Ohno Sho, don’t forget.”
Sho almost snarls, but his manners rein him in before he can say and do things he will truly regret when the red-hot anger has abated, but the reminder of his status stings, and Sho thinks that Nino doesn’t know what he thinks he does.
He doesn’t wait to be dismissed, but he recognizes the temporary defeat when it settles, and he leaves before Ohno can say anything more.
His sleep that night, is restless and loud with worried breaths.
*
“Bring me Ninomiya,” Sho tells a passing servant in the morning, urgency gripping his windpipe.
The servant bows and hurries off, boots click click clocking on the marble floor.
When Nino arrives in Sho’s quarters, Sho almost flies at him.
“Nino,” he half-pleads, fingers grasping at the edges of Nino’s garments. “Do you know anything more about this than I do?”
Sho sees a smart comment making its way from Nino’s eyes to his lips and he intercepts it.
“No-one will tell me anything else. I - can’t even talk to Ohno-san anymore. I don’t have anybody else - Nino please, no more riddles -” Hopelessness claws at Sho’s chest. The Sakurai house concerns him, concerns him more than it concerns any other person in the Ohno house, and yet, he is the only one who -
Nino’s eyes are serious, calm and steady. He squeezes Sho’s shoulder slowly. Comfort spirals all the way to Sho’s toes. Nino places a finger on his lips, eyes darting around nervously. Sho waits impatiently for him to close the door, fingers twitching around the edges of his sleeves.
“Sho, you’re not supposed to know what I’m going to tell you,” Nino’s voice has lowered until an impossible level. Sho nods.
He continues. “It has been put forth that your father has committed crimes against the Emperor. His crimes ‘include but are not limited to’ corruption and treason.”
“How long has it been?” Sho’s knees are all of a sudden, impossibly weak. He falls into a chair, chest deflated.
Father? The man who held on to him as he took his first steps, who sat down and taught him about supply-and-demand despite the piles of documents on his desk, who made Papa giddy with happiness and filled their house with loud guffawing laughter at mealtimes? Not Father, no - never Father.
“Just after you got married. Two weeks ago.” Nino’s hand is still on Sho’s shoulder, grounding him and reminding him that this is not the end.
“I have to do something,” Sho digs his blunt fingernails into the heel of his palms, as hard as he can to remind himself that this is not a dream, this is not some horrid alternate universe, not some out-of-body experience. This is real. “I need to do something, I need to -”
“But what?” Nino, ever-present, ever-pragmatic, those questioning eyes of his, piercing into Sho’s soul, the core of his being.
“But what -” Sho trails off. His feet are pacing anxiously, up and down, up and down the length of his room. The beautiful sunlight streaming into his window reflects none of the storm in his heart. “I can draw up documents, I can convince people, I can argue. I can do something -”
“Sho,” Nino’s fingers are gentle around his elbow, but his face is all determined, hard edges. “Don’t forget that you’re a part of the Ohno house now. Don’t get too carried away.”
Sho imagines what he must look like now, wild-eyed and impulsive. He is lost, helpless, blind, alone in this, all alone.
“Sho,” Nino says softly, and Sho looks up to meet his eyes. “Give Ohno-san a chance. He is all you have left now.”
I have you, Sho is tempted to say, because Nino has been a friend for as long as he can remember and he has always been steady, and there.
“I don’t count; I have always and will always be a servant boy. Useless for anything except eavesdropping and cleaning floors.” Nino’s eyes are sad, but he is grinning. He steps back and bows. “Fight for your father on my behalf too.”
Sho nods and watches Nino’s retreating back until it disappears from view.
*
Sho has dinner by himself.
Ohno and his fathers are in the study, the servant that serves Sho tells him. They have been in there since they woke in the morning, she says respectfully, with her head bowed and hands together.
Sho has too much on his mind to eat. The potato rolls around on his tongue tasteless and lumpy. He retreats even before the main course is served.
“I’m tired,” he tells the servant girl to relay to the cook, and tells her to apologize for him.
The silence reminded him too much of his inability.
*
Nino’s words plague Sho.
He speaks the truth, Sho knows. He knows that he has been more than disrespectful in his fury and struggle for information.
He still cannot bring himself to trust Ohno, but when it is time for him to apply the cream on his arm, Sho makes his way down hallways anyway.
*
Ohno is at his desk in his room.
His elbows are propped up on the desk. His head is in his hands, his sunken shoulders bear testament to his tiredness. There remains stationery and paper strewn across the desk. He looks up when Sho knocks.
“Satoshi,” Sho greets softly and holds the tube of cream out in his hand. “I can’t do this as well as you.”
Sho notices Ohno throw a glance at his desk, and is about to apologize and back away when Ohno smiles. His smile is weaker than Sho’s seen all week, and it scares Sho somehow. It is as if life is draining out of Ohno, bit by bit.
“I’ll help you,” Ohno goes to sit on the edge of his bed, and Sho follows. Ohno’s hands are slower and slightly clumsier than they had been at the island. Upon a closer look, Sho finds that Ohno’s lips are cracked and bleeding.
Ohno sees him staring and shakes his head.
“I bite my lips when I’m nervous. Haven’t been drinking enough water either,” Ohno is careful with Sho’s blisters.
“I’m sorry,” Sho says into Ohno’s bent head.
Ohno meets his eyes for a second and smiles a drawn sideways grin. “The blisters should start bursting soon. Don’t mind it, it’s normal.”
Sho doesn’t reply.
He still doesn't trust Ohno, but Ohno is the only person Sho has left.
*
/To be continued
Pairing(s): Ohno/Sho
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Nope
Word count: 1,849
Summary: AU. Forced to marry against their wills, Sho and Ohno embark on a journey to salvage the rest of their lives and their life together.
Authors' notes: Damn, I have a splitting headache. And guys, forgive me for I have gotten waaaay behind on my replying of comments.
Nino’s eyes are knowing when Sho is getting ready for dinner that night.
“He really isn’t that bad,” Sho admits and he catches sight of Nino’s silent agreement.
“You could’ve done much, much worse,” Nino says and grins a little. “I suppose that if it had to be this way, you did luck out.”
It is weird to think about this situation with words such as luck, but Sho finds that it applies.
“And you know,” Nino continues, smiling slyly as if his next words are a secret Sho is fortunate to be hearing. “Ohno-san personally made sure you got home safely from your night out with Aiba and Jun?”
Sho cannot breathe for a moment.
Nino is feline in his smugness that Sho has allowed for as long as they have known each other. “He is handsome when he cares for you,” he says.
“He doesn’t - ” Sho starts but stops again before he can say words that he doesn’t know are true. Nino seems secure in the knowledge he obtains from being able to flitter in and out of almost all rooms in the compound.
“Sho,” Nino says and steps closer, clasping at his arm, fingers stopping short just of his blistered skin. “You are lucky. Accept that for what it is and don’t put him through more than he has to.”
It feels like the first time in too long when he allows his mouth to curve into a smile.
*
At dinner, Ohno visibly sees that Sho has relaxed.
He doesn’t know what prompted the change, but he welcomes it. Sho allows him to place a hand on his elbow to guide him to his seat, and he knows that his fathers see it.
Dinner is almost pleasant; something Ohno hadn’t even dared to wish for with the rate things were going before they left for the island. He even manages to make Sho chuckle, and Sho successfully fends for himself in a discussion about the economics in the market now.
Briefly, Ohno allows himself to relax. He should have known that it wouldn’t continue.
A messenger enters, bows and speaks. “There is news from the Sakurai house.”
As his fathers rise, shooting glances at Sho, Ohno feels his heart sink to his stomach and even further down. He imagines he can hear it rattle and clang against the floor. He drops the cutlery to his plate and he whips around to look at Sho.
Sho has gone completely white, fingers tightening impossibly on his fork and knife, and for a brief instant, Ohno is afraid that Sho will break.
The messenger speaks in hushed tones even as they leave the room, and Ohno awaits the thunder as he knows it will surely come.
*
Sho’s father flickers to life on the hologram; the image seems to embody how Sho feels - shaken and static.
“Father,” he says but he already knows that he will be brushed off.
“There’s nothing you can do,” his father says briskly. “We are doing everything we can.”
“But surely they are mistaken!” Sho says, feeling rather desperate, but he hides it as well as he can. His father doesn’t need his hysteria, too. “Corruption? They must have lost their minds! None have served them truer!”
Sho’s father clenches his jaw. “Not everyone is of that opinion. Of course they are wrong, and we are doing what we can to prove it.”
Sho takes a deep breath. “How long has this been going on?”
The silence meeting him confirms his suspicion and his sharp intake of breath must have been audible even through to the Sakurai compound.
“This is not your worry anymore,” he is told and he bows his head.
Maybe not, but there are still things he need to know. He knows where to get the answers.
*
“You knew!” Sho accuses, barging into Ohno’s quarters without even as much of a word of warning. “You didn’t tell me. Why?”
The fragile trust built between them shatters in that instant and Sho feels betrayed. He had trusted Ohno.
“There was nothing you could do,” Ohno says, but Sho only hears an excuse for words he had needed to hear. The anger he had buried for days now comes crashing back like a tidal wave and it makes him seethe.
“I needed to know! It’s my house!”
But Sho only realizes too late that he cannot overstep his boundaries too many times, because there is an end to Ohno’s patience. “You are of our house now,” he says, voice clipped. “Your name is Ohno Sho, don’t forget.”
Sho almost snarls, but his manners rein him in before he can say and do things he will truly regret when the red-hot anger has abated, but the reminder of his status stings, and Sho thinks that Nino doesn’t know what he thinks he does.
He doesn’t wait to be dismissed, but he recognizes the temporary defeat when it settles, and he leaves before Ohno can say anything more.
His sleep that night, is restless and loud with worried breaths.
*
“Bring me Ninomiya,” Sho tells a passing servant in the morning, urgency gripping his windpipe.
The servant bows and hurries off, boots click click clocking on the marble floor.
When Nino arrives in Sho’s quarters, Sho almost flies at him.
“Nino,” he half-pleads, fingers grasping at the edges of Nino’s garments. “Do you know anything more about this than I do?”
Sho sees a smart comment making its way from Nino’s eyes to his lips and he intercepts it.
“No-one will tell me anything else. I - can’t even talk to Ohno-san anymore. I don’t have anybody else - Nino please, no more riddles -” Hopelessness claws at Sho’s chest. The Sakurai house concerns him, concerns him more than it concerns any other person in the Ohno house, and yet, he is the only one who -
Nino’s eyes are serious, calm and steady. He squeezes Sho’s shoulder slowly. Comfort spirals all the way to Sho’s toes. Nino places a finger on his lips, eyes darting around nervously. Sho waits impatiently for him to close the door, fingers twitching around the edges of his sleeves.
“Sho, you’re not supposed to know what I’m going to tell you,” Nino’s voice has lowered until an impossible level. Sho nods.
He continues. “It has been put forth that your father has committed crimes against the Emperor. His crimes ‘include but are not limited to’ corruption and treason.”
“How long has it been?” Sho’s knees are all of a sudden, impossibly weak. He falls into a chair, chest deflated.
Father? The man who held on to him as he took his first steps, who sat down and taught him about supply-and-demand despite the piles of documents on his desk, who made Papa giddy with happiness and filled their house with loud guffawing laughter at mealtimes? Not Father, no - never Father.
“Just after you got married. Two weeks ago.” Nino’s hand is still on Sho’s shoulder, grounding him and reminding him that this is not the end.
“I have to do something,” Sho digs his blunt fingernails into the heel of his palms, as hard as he can to remind himself that this is not a dream, this is not some horrid alternate universe, not some out-of-body experience. This is real. “I need to do something, I need to -”
“But what?” Nino, ever-present, ever-pragmatic, those questioning eyes of his, piercing into Sho’s soul, the core of his being.
“But what -” Sho trails off. His feet are pacing anxiously, up and down, up and down the length of his room. The beautiful sunlight streaming into his window reflects none of the storm in his heart. “I can draw up documents, I can convince people, I can argue. I can do something -”
“Sho,” Nino’s fingers are gentle around his elbow, but his face is all determined, hard edges. “Don’t forget that you’re a part of the Ohno house now. Don’t get too carried away.”
Sho imagines what he must look like now, wild-eyed and impulsive. He is lost, helpless, blind, alone in this, all alone.
“Sho,” Nino says softly, and Sho looks up to meet his eyes. “Give Ohno-san a chance. He is all you have left now.”
I have you, Sho is tempted to say, because Nino has been a friend for as long as he can remember and he has always been steady, and there.
“I don’t count; I have always and will always be a servant boy. Useless for anything except eavesdropping and cleaning floors.” Nino’s eyes are sad, but he is grinning. He steps back and bows. “Fight for your father on my behalf too.”
Sho nods and watches Nino’s retreating back until it disappears from view.
*
Sho has dinner by himself.
Ohno and his fathers are in the study, the servant that serves Sho tells him. They have been in there since they woke in the morning, she says respectfully, with her head bowed and hands together.
Sho has too much on his mind to eat. The potato rolls around on his tongue tasteless and lumpy. He retreats even before the main course is served.
“I’m tired,” he tells the servant girl to relay to the cook, and tells her to apologize for him.
The silence reminded him too much of his inability.
*
Nino’s words plague Sho.
He speaks the truth, Sho knows. He knows that he has been more than disrespectful in his fury and struggle for information.
He still cannot bring himself to trust Ohno, but when it is time for him to apply the cream on his arm, Sho makes his way down hallways anyway.
*
Ohno is at his desk in his room.
His elbows are propped up on the desk. His head is in his hands, his sunken shoulders bear testament to his tiredness. There remains stationery and paper strewn across the desk. He looks up when Sho knocks.
“Satoshi,” Sho greets softly and holds the tube of cream out in his hand. “I can’t do this as well as you.”
Sho notices Ohno throw a glance at his desk, and is about to apologize and back away when Ohno smiles. His smile is weaker than Sho’s seen all week, and it scares Sho somehow. It is as if life is draining out of Ohno, bit by bit.
“I’ll help you,” Ohno goes to sit on the edge of his bed, and Sho follows. Ohno’s hands are slower and slightly clumsier than they had been at the island. Upon a closer look, Sho finds that Ohno’s lips are cracked and bleeding.
Ohno sees him staring and shakes his head.
“I bite my lips when I’m nervous. Haven’t been drinking enough water either,” Ohno is careful with Sho’s blisters.
“I’m sorry,” Sho says into Ohno’s bent head.
Ohno meets his eyes for a second and smiles a drawn sideways grin. “The blisters should start bursting soon. Don’t mind it, it’s normal.”
Sho doesn’t reply.
He still doesn't trust Ohno, but Ohno is the only person Sho has left.
*
/To be continued