so many, many people
Reveals are up at je_ficgames - I'll try to get onto responding to comments and posting some recs after work today! For now, I've re-posted and unlocked some fics on my journal:
Saudade [ Part One | Part Two]
Arashi RPS | Ohno/Nino | PG-13 | ~13,000 words
In That Certain Time (sequel to Saudade)
Arashi RPS | Gen, implications of Ohno/Nino | PG-13 | ~3,000 words
Round-up of ficlets from last week's drabble meme:
"First," Nino said, and Sho had to keep reminding himself that it was Nino, even with Jun's face and Jun's smile (which usually wasn't this wide or this deliberately, gleefully fiendish), "I am going to go order a pizza. Or maybe two."
Jun visibly stiffened, and if it was weird to see Jun's body wandering around grinning like a maniacal elf and groping Leader in full view of staff, it was even weirder to see Aiba's face looking completely, utterly murderous. "You will do no such thing."
"Just stop it, you two." Sho crossed his arms, slightly weirded out by being suddenly a couple of inches shorter than the bandmates he could usually meet eye to eye. "We need to work together to figure this out."
"Working on it!" Aiba said, from where he and Ohno were examining the now spilled contents of Aiba's Super Excellent Perky Juice. Ohno was poking curiously at his newfound muscles. "I think it might be because I added that extra habenaro..."
"Just get on with it, then," Jun snapped. "I want my body back before he damages it permanantly."
---
"Here." Nino dumps the plastic bag in Aiba's lap before flopping onto the couch beside him.
Aiba shoves the bag off his lap. "Can't you hold your own bag - oh, it's heavy today." He picks the bag up again, peeking inside.
"It's your birthday present, idiot." Nino shoves his feet into Aiba's lap, shifting to get comfortable against the arm of the couch. "Open it."
"That isn't going to take a lot." Aiba pulls out a package of trump cards from the open plastic bag. "Don't you believe in wrapping stuff?"
Nino rolls his eyes. "What point is there in that? A wad of paper and some ribbons doesn't make it any more special."
Aiba puts the cards aside in the bag again, putting it on the coffee table. "Yes, it does. It's suspense. Like -" He moves, and suddenly he's straddling Nino's lap, warm and heavy. He slides his fingers into the waist band of his jeans, letting them slide down his hips a few inches. Nino's eyes track the movement.
"Isn't it better like this?" Aiba countered, voice low and husky. He arches his body closer against Nino's. "When you get to unwrap your present slowly, inch by inch?"
Nino's hands found Aiba's waist, sliding up his sides and rucking up his t-shirt under his arms. "I'm still not wrapping your present."
"That's okay." Aiba kissed the tip of Nino's nose, grinning. "I've got better things to unwrap."
---
"Sho," Jun says and it occurs to Sho that it isn't the first time Jun has said his name, standing in the doorway of his hotel room, trying to catch his attention. "What are you doing?"
Sho stares up at Jun, eyes bleary from staring at his notes. "...exploring problems of aggregate fluctuation as a coordination failure?"
"It's almost 1:00AM." Jun walked over to where Sho was crouched over the coffee table, gently closing his notebook. "You've been studying since we wrapped up at eleven. You need to get some sleep before we brief in the morning."
"My exam is in one week." Sho stretched his arms above his head, feeling his muscles cramp. He knew that he was pushing himself, but he also knew that if he didn't do well, he'd regret not pushing himself even harder. "I won't have to do this much longer."
"You shouldn't do it now." Jun hauled Sho to his feet. Jun was taller than him now, Sho realized with a bit of a start. He had changed a lot in the past few years, actually. He was less skittish and moody and he took charge of every situation. He was warm and perceptive with a maturity that was almost surprising. "I'm putting you to bed."
Sho leaned his head back against Jun's shoulder. "Are you?" he asked, amused and tired.
"Mmm." Jun kissed Sho's temple, fingers already working on his belt. "At least then I can make sure that you don't sneak out of bed at 4:00AM to visit your textbooks."
---
In his mind, Sho is still trying to work out the series of events that led to him standing on top of a half-frozen waterfall in Canada in the middle of December, freezing his ass off in a suit and a soft stylish white scarf (Matsujun had coordinated all of the wedding party's outfits) and holding Nino's hand tightly, trying to listen to Ohno mumble his way through the officiation over the roar of the pounding water.
("Next year, we should all marry each other here!" Aiba says excitedly, before Jun thwacked him over the head and threatened to send him over the falls in a barrel.)
&
Ohno would make a good husband because he's a quiet and simple person and he could live peacefully with someone else, easily letting someone else's needs slide before his own.
Aiba would make a good husband because he got excited about everything, he approached the world with a sense of wonder and he would make each new day a treasure; he would never, ever stop re-discovering love.
Jun would make a good husband because he was reliable and serious and passionate; his marriage wouldn't just be a priority, it would be his life.
But Sho knew that Nino, despite his protests, would also make a good husband, because he was action, not words and he was warmth and sensibility, making a hot dinner even when he arrived home tired, using his magic tricks to make Sho forget his headache. Nino would make a good husband because when he loved someone, he didn't just love them halfway.
("He'd make a good wife, too," Aiba added around a mouthful of soup, and it was only his quick duck that saved him from getting his face dunked in it.)
---
Ohno holds out his hand and Jun wrinkles his nose at him, glancing sideways at the television cameras, wary.
Jun's weird, Ohno thinks. He can't figure out the younger boy. He's sweet and shy and awkward by turns, too serious and at the same time excited and happy in a way that Ohno still can't understand.
"No one cares," Ohno tells Jun. He and Nino have done it over and over again, after all.
Jun gives him a look that's both surprised and exasperated. "Why do you even want to?"
Ohno shrugs. "Would it really be so bad?" he says lightly, trying to make a joke out of it.
Jun's hand is warm and steady in his own as they all face the cameras, and Ohno lets the feeling ground him, lacing his fingers through Jun's like a lock.
*
Ohno reaches out his hand as they head off-set and Jun slides his automatically into Ohno's, fingers clasping together with the practice of long years.
---
Jun was getting better at Smelling things every day. Nino had taught him the basics, back when he was still tiny, but he was sour and crabby about it, especially when he realized that Jun was a natural and soon started discovering things on his own pretty well. Jun loved catching a scent, following it like a string and never letting go, going forever until he found out what it was. He wanted to be the best hunting dog in the entire county. He worked hard too, which is why he had wandered farther into the woods today, chasing a sweet, gingery scent on the wind. He had never smelled anything like it before and it made him curious.
He was determined to find it.
"What're you doing?" came a voice above him, bright and inquisitive, as Jun followed the scent into an empty tree log.
"Tracking," Jun answered vaguely, too engrossed in the scent to really notice or care who was talking to him. He was really close now, he could tell.
"Tracking what?" The scent was stronger now. Jun really liked it, it smelled warm and sweet and good, like his favourite biscuits or the old blanket that he and Nino slept on by the stove indoors in the winter time.
"I don't know yet." Jun whiffed with all of his might, nose to the ground. He sniffed, the scent lingering just in front of his face - and he opened his eyes to find a pair of bright brown eyes blinking back at him, the full blast of his sought-after scent almost overwhelming. "It's oh, - it's you!" He sat back on his haunches and gave his best tracking bark. "We always have to do that when we find what we're been tracking," he added importantly.
"You're funny." The bright-eyed creature jumped off of the top of the log, smiling at Jun. "I'm a fox! My name is Aiba. What's your name?"
"My name's Jun." Jun padded closer to Aiba, sniffing at his ears. He liked Aiba's scent. "I'm a hound dog." He nudged at Aiba, pushing him onto his back. Aiba giggled, kicking playfully up at Jun with his paws.
They play for what seems like hours, and Jun feels happier than he's ever felt in his life. Aiba is bouncy and fun and not grumpy or tired like Nino. He tells Jun about where he lives with a Captain in a little cottage across the field and Jun tells him about Nino, about learning how to track and hunt. Jun has never had a real friend before.
"Oi, brat!" Nino's sharp bark rings out across the hill. "You'd better get back here, wherever you are."
Jun untangles himself abruptly from Aiba. "I have to go," he stammers.
"You'll play with me again, right?" Aiba asks. "Please?"
Jun knows that it's a bad idea, but Aiba's grin is so bright, his own want so strong that he can't say no. "Yeah," he says. "Yeah, I will."
"Yay!" Aiba tackles him one final time. "Let's be best friends forever, Jun-chan!"
*
"You're worrying too much, Shomama," Aiba says. "Jun-chan is my best friend."
Shomama puffs out his chest, looking exasperated. "I know that, Masaki, but there are certain Rules of Nature. Jun is a dog, you are a fox. Dogs hunt foxes. He may be all right now that he's a puppy, but..."
"Not my Jun-chan," Aiba says decisively. "He'll never change."
*
"Sorry," Jun whispers, as Aiba lies beneath the train tracks, shivering and scared, the hunter's yells getting closer. "I'm sorry, sorry, I'm so sorry..."
---
"No," Sho says, and that would be that if he was talking to anyone except Aiba - Aiba, who cheerfully bulldozes his way through any brush-off like it's a hug and has already painted Sho's littlest toe electric purple while Sho was still protesting. "Gross, what are you doing?"
"Don't be such a baby." Aiba grabbed Sho's foot again when he tried to swing it away, wedging it firmly between his knees and shifting so that his weight fell on Sho's other foot, pinning it down. "It's not like anyone's going to see it."
"Yes, they would, because I know you and I know that you would want to show it to everyone." His feet were pinned down by Aiba's solid weight, so he tried to grab the tiny bottle out of Aiba's hand, to no avail. He finally slumped back in his chair. "Ah, I give up. Do what you want."
"Just one foot," Aiba coaxed him.
"You might as well do both if you're going to do that," Sho replied grumpily.
Aiba bent down, carefully uncapping a little blue bottle and stroking the brush across the nail of Sho's big toe. "Leader first," Aiba muttered, completely absorbed, and Sho wasn't sure if he even even talking to him at all, "Because he's the leader..."
Sho quietly sat and watched Aiba work, trying his hardest not to smile.
---
It's not that Nino isn't busy himself, but watching Jun and Sho makes him feel positively lazy sometimes. He's had some time off this week, and he spent an entire day just lying on his couch napping, waking up occasionally to eat something or flip on the television to watch bad variety shows and drama re-runs.
He knows that Jun hasn't had a day off in two weeks and is running on pure caffeine and nerves at the moment between movie promotions and planning for their upcoming concerts. He knows that Sho is stressed almost to the point of breaking, writing a new rap, meeting athletes, getting ready for Beijing and trying to find a quick heal for his hand.
They both work hard, they both burn themselves out to the point of unbelievable exhaustion, but they never complain, because it's for Arashi, and Arashi is their pride.
Nino knows this, and that's what filters through his mind when he tugs a compliant and mellowed Jun back to his apartment after drinks, Sho following uncertainly behind. The air is thick with inhibition, questions, reasons, but they float away like cobwebs when Nino presses Sho up against the back of the door to his apartment, kissing him while Jun watches them through half-lidded eyes.
---
1. It isn't when Jun takes the check without comment, opening his wallet like there's no need for questions or arguments.
2. It isn't when Jun gives him one of his rings as a present and after the necessary teasing about Matsujun's girly accessories collection, Nino slides it onto a chain and wears it pretty much everywhere for the next month.
3. It isn't when Sho asks him, half-jokingly, where Jun is taking him out to tonight?
4. It isn't even when Nino's lying on his back, eyes squeezed shut as Jun slides a second finger into him, trying to focus on Jun's soft reassurances, his other hand stroking Nino's cock when even his own skin feels stifling and he's too hot, he's going to break -
5. It's when Nino finds himself in Jun's kitchen at 7:00AM in the morning getting increasingly pissed off because his heart-shaped pancakes look more like Mickey Mouse ear pancakes, and realizing that he was getting serious about something he thought was just a joke in the first place.
(That and when Jun kisses his him softly for bringing him breakfast in bed, right after he calls Nino a moron who's going to get crumbs all over his sheets.)
---
"We're not filming anymore," Jun said crossly, batting the drawing Aiba had shoved in his face out of the way.
"But it's an experiment!" Aiba said, like that would make it all good. He jumped onto the couch, straddling Jun's legs. "You're my assistant, aren't you?"
Jun loves Aiba, which is why he chooses to tear up the drawing instead of Aiba himself.
"Hey!" Sho said, from the table where Jun could see that he and Ohno and Nino were setting up something that looked suspiciously like a chocolate fountain. Well, Sho was setting things up. Nino was feeding Ohno cherries. "That was my drawing!"
"Captain put in too much detail in his," Aiba said, almost wistfully. "The staff got rid of it when I accidentally mixed it in with the regular A no Arashi cards."
"Accident, right," Nino said, "You would have done it on-air if they would have let you."
"I would not," Aiba shifted so that he was pinning Jun's hips down. "This is a private experiment."
Jun gave. "What's the experiment, then?" he asked, reaching up to tangle his fingers in Aiba's belt, pulling Aiba's hips flush against his.
Aiba laughed, low and excited. "If you lick chocolate off someone else, does it taste better?" he asked, nuzzling and licking a path up Jun's neck under his ear.
Jun shivered. "You're retarded," he said finally, tilting his head to afford Aiba better access.
"HOT HOT HOT," Sho screamed. Jun looked over to see Sho flailing, his torso smeared in melted chocolate. "NINO, YOU ARE SO DEAD."
"Time to test your prediction, Captain," Nino said, pushing Ohno forward. "Have at 'em."
---
It isn't very often that the two of them are stuck in a green room alone, but Jun is late and Aiba and Sho are on-location for Himitsu today, and Ohno is very, very grateful for this, because he's feeling hungover and tired and zoned out in a way that demands minimum quiet and a good amount of time to just stare blankly at the walls.
Nino, on the other hand, seems to have other ideas about empty green rooms. Ohno honestly doesn't even notice until Nino's got his zipper down and is pushing Ohno's pants down his thighs, kneeling on the floor between Ohno's legs.
"Hey," Ohno protests, trying to grab at his pants, even though Nino is much quicker than he is.
"Oh-chan's so slow today." Nino kisses him teasingly, tongue slicking into between Ohno's lips. He lets his free hand slip under Ohno's shirt, cold fingers ghosting across Ohno's abs, brushing over his ribs and reaching up to tweak a nipple.
"Nino," Ohno grunts in between kisses, hands gripping Nino's shoulders. He can't decide if he wants to push him off or pull him closer. Nino's hand reappears from under Ohno's shirt, rubbing his heel hard against the front of Ohno's underwear and Ohno groans, hardening under Nino's touch.
Nino watches him with half-lidded eyes, smirking affectionately. "The walls are really thin here," he whispers, nosing the shell of Ohno's ear. "Think you can keep quiet?"
It's always a game with Nino, and Ohno doesn't mind playing along. "Easy," he replies, voice low, arching his hips into Nino's hand, just to see Nino's eyes narrow.
When it comes to Nino, Ohno thinks, pulse fluttering madly as Nino moves down Ohno's torso, teasing down Ohno's boxers inch by inches as he bites and licks across Ohno's skin, he doesn't mind making bets he's going to lose.
---
They're halfway through their break when the call comes through, Jun's manager dashing into the room out of breath and still clutching his cell phone. "Early labour," he wheezed, holding out the phone to Jun, "Gone to the hospital, about an hour ago."
Jun went absolutely white, standing up from the couch where he had been lounging with Ohno in one smooth, sharp movement. "She's okay?" he demanded. "Everything's okay?"
Sho's newspaper crumpled. "Oh my god," he said. "THE BABY IS COMING?"
"It's not your baby," Nino snapped, but he was already pacing the corners of the room, looking pale and wide-eyed himself.
"Does she have her cell?" Jun asked their manager. "I need to call her, I need to tell her that I-" He stopped, seeming to remember that yes, he was miles and miles away in the middle of Osaka and they were mid-way through a gruelling rehearsal for the weekend's concerts.
Aiba's hand landed heavy on his shoulder, making him glance around.
"You can leave right now," Aiba told him, his voice warm and reassuringly calm. "We'll handle things here."
"I-" Jun protested.
Ohno came over from where he had been rummaging in his bag, passing a small bundle wrapped in brown paper to Jun. "We were saving this to give to you as a birthday present next week," he said, smiling, "It's a good thing I finished early."
"Leader knitted it," said Aiba proudly. "And I picked out the colours!" he added, as Jun wrapped the soft, warm rainbow blanket.
Jun held the blanket in both hands, staring at it. "You guys," he said, his voice thick.
"Would you just leave already?" Nino tossed his jacket and bag at him. "Hurry up and go, I got the manager to arrange a car for you."
Jun nodded, holding onto his stuff. "I'll definitely call," he promised, before running out the door in long strides.
"Babies," Sho muttered frantically, clawing at the arm of the sofa.
---
Saudade [ Part One | Part Two]
Arashi RPS | Ohno/Nino | PG-13 | ~13,000 words
In That Certain Time (sequel to Saudade)
Arashi RPS | Gen, implications of Ohno/Nino | PG-13 | ~3,000 words
Round-up of ficlets from last week's drabble meme:
"First," Nino said, and Sho had to keep reminding himself that it was Nino, even with Jun's face and Jun's smile (which usually wasn't this wide or this deliberately, gleefully fiendish), "I am going to go order a pizza. Or maybe two."
Jun visibly stiffened, and if it was weird to see Jun's body wandering around grinning like a maniacal elf and groping Leader in full view of staff, it was even weirder to see Aiba's face looking completely, utterly murderous. "You will do no such thing."
"Just stop it, you two." Sho crossed his arms, slightly weirded out by being suddenly a couple of inches shorter than the bandmates he could usually meet eye to eye. "We need to work together to figure this out."
"Working on it!" Aiba said, from where he and Ohno were examining the now spilled contents of Aiba's Super Excellent Perky Juice. Ohno was poking curiously at his newfound muscles. "I think it might be because I added that extra habenaro..."
"Just get on with it, then," Jun snapped. "I want my body back before he damages it permanantly."
---
"Here." Nino dumps the plastic bag in Aiba's lap before flopping onto the couch beside him.
Aiba shoves the bag off his lap. "Can't you hold your own bag - oh, it's heavy today." He picks the bag up again, peeking inside.
"It's your birthday present, idiot." Nino shoves his feet into Aiba's lap, shifting to get comfortable against the arm of the couch. "Open it."
"That isn't going to take a lot." Aiba pulls out a package of trump cards from the open plastic bag. "Don't you believe in wrapping stuff?"
Nino rolls his eyes. "What point is there in that? A wad of paper and some ribbons doesn't make it any more special."
Aiba puts the cards aside in the bag again, putting it on the coffee table. "Yes, it does. It's suspense. Like -" He moves, and suddenly he's straddling Nino's lap, warm and heavy. He slides his fingers into the waist band of his jeans, letting them slide down his hips a few inches. Nino's eyes track the movement.
"Isn't it better like this?" Aiba countered, voice low and husky. He arches his body closer against Nino's. "When you get to unwrap your present slowly, inch by inch?"
Nino's hands found Aiba's waist, sliding up his sides and rucking up his t-shirt under his arms. "I'm still not wrapping your present."
"That's okay." Aiba kissed the tip of Nino's nose, grinning. "I've got better things to unwrap."
---
"Sho," Jun says and it occurs to Sho that it isn't the first time Jun has said his name, standing in the doorway of his hotel room, trying to catch his attention. "What are you doing?"
Sho stares up at Jun, eyes bleary from staring at his notes. "...exploring problems of aggregate fluctuation as a coordination failure?"
"It's almost 1:00AM." Jun walked over to where Sho was crouched over the coffee table, gently closing his notebook. "You've been studying since we wrapped up at eleven. You need to get some sleep before we brief in the morning."
"My exam is in one week." Sho stretched his arms above his head, feeling his muscles cramp. He knew that he was pushing himself, but he also knew that if he didn't do well, he'd regret not pushing himself even harder. "I won't have to do this much longer."
"You shouldn't do it now." Jun hauled Sho to his feet. Jun was taller than him now, Sho realized with a bit of a start. He had changed a lot in the past few years, actually. He was less skittish and moody and he took charge of every situation. He was warm and perceptive with a maturity that was almost surprising. "I'm putting you to bed."
Sho leaned his head back against Jun's shoulder. "Are you?" he asked, amused and tired.
"Mmm." Jun kissed Sho's temple, fingers already working on his belt. "At least then I can make sure that you don't sneak out of bed at 4:00AM to visit your textbooks."
---
In his mind, Sho is still trying to work out the series of events that led to him standing on top of a half-frozen waterfall in Canada in the middle of December, freezing his ass off in a suit and a soft stylish white scarf (Matsujun had coordinated all of the wedding party's outfits) and holding Nino's hand tightly, trying to listen to Ohno mumble his way through the officiation over the roar of the pounding water.
("Next year, we should all marry each other here!" Aiba says excitedly, before Jun thwacked him over the head and threatened to send him over the falls in a barrel.)
&
Ohno would make a good husband because he's a quiet and simple person and he could live peacefully with someone else, easily letting someone else's needs slide before his own.
Aiba would make a good husband because he got excited about everything, he approached the world with a sense of wonder and he would make each new day a treasure; he would never, ever stop re-discovering love.
Jun would make a good husband because he was reliable and serious and passionate; his marriage wouldn't just be a priority, it would be his life.
But Sho knew that Nino, despite his protests, would also make a good husband, because he was action, not words and he was warmth and sensibility, making a hot dinner even when he arrived home tired, using his magic tricks to make Sho forget his headache. Nino would make a good husband because when he loved someone, he didn't just love them halfway.
("He'd make a good wife, too," Aiba added around a mouthful of soup, and it was only his quick duck that saved him from getting his face dunked in it.)
---
Ohno holds out his hand and Jun wrinkles his nose at him, glancing sideways at the television cameras, wary.
Jun's weird, Ohno thinks. He can't figure out the younger boy. He's sweet and shy and awkward by turns, too serious and at the same time excited and happy in a way that Ohno still can't understand.
"No one cares," Ohno tells Jun. He and Nino have done it over and over again, after all.
Jun gives him a look that's both surprised and exasperated. "Why do you even want to?"
Ohno shrugs. "Would it really be so bad?" he says lightly, trying to make a joke out of it.
Jun's hand is warm and steady in his own as they all face the cameras, and Ohno lets the feeling ground him, lacing his fingers through Jun's like a lock.
*
Ohno reaches out his hand as they head off-set and Jun slides his automatically into Ohno's, fingers clasping together with the practice of long years.
---
Jun was getting better at Smelling things every day. Nino had taught him the basics, back when he was still tiny, but he was sour and crabby about it, especially when he realized that Jun was a natural and soon started discovering things on his own pretty well. Jun loved catching a scent, following it like a string and never letting go, going forever until he found out what it was. He wanted to be the best hunting dog in the entire county. He worked hard too, which is why he had wandered farther into the woods today, chasing a sweet, gingery scent on the wind. He had never smelled anything like it before and it made him curious.
He was determined to find it.
"What're you doing?" came a voice above him, bright and inquisitive, as Jun followed the scent into an empty tree log.
"Tracking," Jun answered vaguely, too engrossed in the scent to really notice or care who was talking to him. He was really close now, he could tell.
"Tracking what?" The scent was stronger now. Jun really liked it, it smelled warm and sweet and good, like his favourite biscuits or the old blanket that he and Nino slept on by the stove indoors in the winter time.
"I don't know yet." Jun whiffed with all of his might, nose to the ground. He sniffed, the scent lingering just in front of his face - and he opened his eyes to find a pair of bright brown eyes blinking back at him, the full blast of his sought-after scent almost overwhelming. "It's oh, - it's you!" He sat back on his haunches and gave his best tracking bark. "We always have to do that when we find what we're been tracking," he added importantly.
"You're funny." The bright-eyed creature jumped off of the top of the log, smiling at Jun. "I'm a fox! My name is Aiba. What's your name?"
"My name's Jun." Jun padded closer to Aiba, sniffing at his ears. He liked Aiba's scent. "I'm a hound dog." He nudged at Aiba, pushing him onto his back. Aiba giggled, kicking playfully up at Jun with his paws.
They play for what seems like hours, and Jun feels happier than he's ever felt in his life. Aiba is bouncy and fun and not grumpy or tired like Nino. He tells Jun about where he lives with a Captain in a little cottage across the field and Jun tells him about Nino, about learning how to track and hunt. Jun has never had a real friend before.
"Oi, brat!" Nino's sharp bark rings out across the hill. "You'd better get back here, wherever you are."
Jun untangles himself abruptly from Aiba. "I have to go," he stammers.
"You'll play with me again, right?" Aiba asks. "Please?"
Jun knows that it's a bad idea, but Aiba's grin is so bright, his own want so strong that he can't say no. "Yeah," he says. "Yeah, I will."
"Yay!" Aiba tackles him one final time. "Let's be best friends forever, Jun-chan!"
*
"You're worrying too much, Shomama," Aiba says. "Jun-chan is my best friend."
Shomama puffs out his chest, looking exasperated. "I know that, Masaki, but there are certain Rules of Nature. Jun is a dog, you are a fox. Dogs hunt foxes. He may be all right now that he's a puppy, but..."
"Not my Jun-chan," Aiba says decisively. "He'll never change."
*
"Sorry," Jun whispers, as Aiba lies beneath the train tracks, shivering and scared, the hunter's yells getting closer. "I'm sorry, sorry, I'm so sorry..."
---
"No," Sho says, and that would be that if he was talking to anyone except Aiba - Aiba, who cheerfully bulldozes his way through any brush-off like it's a hug and has already painted Sho's littlest toe electric purple while Sho was still protesting. "Gross, what are you doing?"
"Don't be such a baby." Aiba grabbed Sho's foot again when he tried to swing it away, wedging it firmly between his knees and shifting so that his weight fell on Sho's other foot, pinning it down. "It's not like anyone's going to see it."
"Yes, they would, because I know you and I know that you would want to show it to everyone." His feet were pinned down by Aiba's solid weight, so he tried to grab the tiny bottle out of Aiba's hand, to no avail. He finally slumped back in his chair. "Ah, I give up. Do what you want."
"Just one foot," Aiba coaxed him.
"You might as well do both if you're going to do that," Sho replied grumpily.
Aiba bent down, carefully uncapping a little blue bottle and stroking the brush across the nail of Sho's big toe. "Leader first," Aiba muttered, completely absorbed, and Sho wasn't sure if he even even talking to him at all, "Because he's the leader..."
Sho quietly sat and watched Aiba work, trying his hardest not to smile.
---
It's not that Nino isn't busy himself, but watching Jun and Sho makes him feel positively lazy sometimes. He's had some time off this week, and he spent an entire day just lying on his couch napping, waking up occasionally to eat something or flip on the television to watch bad variety shows and drama re-runs.
He knows that Jun hasn't had a day off in two weeks and is running on pure caffeine and nerves at the moment between movie promotions and planning for their upcoming concerts. He knows that Sho is stressed almost to the point of breaking, writing a new rap, meeting athletes, getting ready for Beijing and trying to find a quick heal for his hand.
They both work hard, they both burn themselves out to the point of unbelievable exhaustion, but they never complain, because it's for Arashi, and Arashi is their pride.
Nino knows this, and that's what filters through his mind when he tugs a compliant and mellowed Jun back to his apartment after drinks, Sho following uncertainly behind. The air is thick with inhibition, questions, reasons, but they float away like cobwebs when Nino presses Sho up against the back of the door to his apartment, kissing him while Jun watches them through half-lidded eyes.
---
1. It isn't when Jun takes the check without comment, opening his wallet like there's no need for questions or arguments.
2. It isn't when Jun gives him one of his rings as a present and after the necessary teasing about Matsujun's girly accessories collection, Nino slides it onto a chain and wears it pretty much everywhere for the next month.
3. It isn't when Sho asks him, half-jokingly, where Jun is taking him out to tonight?
4. It isn't even when Nino's lying on his back, eyes squeezed shut as Jun slides a second finger into him, trying to focus on Jun's soft reassurances, his other hand stroking Nino's cock when even his own skin feels stifling and he's too hot, he's going to break -
5. It's when Nino finds himself in Jun's kitchen at 7:00AM in the morning getting increasingly pissed off because his heart-shaped pancakes look more like Mickey Mouse ear pancakes, and realizing that he was getting serious about something he thought was just a joke in the first place.
(That and when Jun kisses his him softly for bringing him breakfast in bed, right after he calls Nino a moron who's going to get crumbs all over his sheets.)
---
"We're not filming anymore," Jun said crossly, batting the drawing Aiba had shoved in his face out of the way.
"But it's an experiment!" Aiba said, like that would make it all good. He jumped onto the couch, straddling Jun's legs. "You're my assistant, aren't you?"
Jun loves Aiba, which is why he chooses to tear up the drawing instead of Aiba himself.
"Hey!" Sho said, from the table where Jun could see that he and Ohno and Nino were setting up something that looked suspiciously like a chocolate fountain. Well, Sho was setting things up. Nino was feeding Ohno cherries. "That was my drawing!"
"Captain put in too much detail in his," Aiba said, almost wistfully. "The staff got rid of it when I accidentally mixed it in with the regular A no Arashi cards."
"Accident, right," Nino said, "You would have done it on-air if they would have let you."
"I would not," Aiba shifted so that he was pinning Jun's hips down. "This is a private experiment."
Jun gave. "What's the experiment, then?" he asked, reaching up to tangle his fingers in Aiba's belt, pulling Aiba's hips flush against his.
Aiba laughed, low and excited. "If you lick chocolate off someone else, does it taste better?" he asked, nuzzling and licking a path up Jun's neck under his ear.
Jun shivered. "You're retarded," he said finally, tilting his head to afford Aiba better access.
"HOT HOT HOT," Sho screamed. Jun looked over to see Sho flailing, his torso smeared in melted chocolate. "NINO, YOU ARE SO DEAD."
"Time to test your prediction, Captain," Nino said, pushing Ohno forward. "Have at 'em."
---
It isn't very often that the two of them are stuck in a green room alone, but Jun is late and Aiba and Sho are on-location for Himitsu today, and Ohno is very, very grateful for this, because he's feeling hungover and tired and zoned out in a way that demands minimum quiet and a good amount of time to just stare blankly at the walls.
Nino, on the other hand, seems to have other ideas about empty green rooms. Ohno honestly doesn't even notice until Nino's got his zipper down and is pushing Ohno's pants down his thighs, kneeling on the floor between Ohno's legs.
"Hey," Ohno protests, trying to grab at his pants, even though Nino is much quicker than he is.
"Oh-chan's so slow today." Nino kisses him teasingly, tongue slicking into between Ohno's lips. He lets his free hand slip under Ohno's shirt, cold fingers ghosting across Ohno's abs, brushing over his ribs and reaching up to tweak a nipple.
"Nino," Ohno grunts in between kisses, hands gripping Nino's shoulders. He can't decide if he wants to push him off or pull him closer. Nino's hand reappears from under Ohno's shirt, rubbing his heel hard against the front of Ohno's underwear and Ohno groans, hardening under Nino's touch.
Nino watches him with half-lidded eyes, smirking affectionately. "The walls are really thin here," he whispers, nosing the shell of Ohno's ear. "Think you can keep quiet?"
It's always a game with Nino, and Ohno doesn't mind playing along. "Easy," he replies, voice low, arching his hips into Nino's hand, just to see Nino's eyes narrow.
When it comes to Nino, Ohno thinks, pulse fluttering madly as Nino moves down Ohno's torso, teasing down Ohno's boxers inch by inches as he bites and licks across Ohno's skin, he doesn't mind making bets he's going to lose.
---
They're halfway through their break when the call comes through, Jun's manager dashing into the room out of breath and still clutching his cell phone. "Early labour," he wheezed, holding out the phone to Jun, "Gone to the hospital, about an hour ago."
Jun went absolutely white, standing up from the couch where he had been lounging with Ohno in one smooth, sharp movement. "She's okay?" he demanded. "Everything's okay?"
Sho's newspaper crumpled. "Oh my god," he said. "THE BABY IS COMING?"
"It's not your baby," Nino snapped, but he was already pacing the corners of the room, looking pale and wide-eyed himself.
"Does she have her cell?" Jun asked their manager. "I need to call her, I need to tell her that I-" He stopped, seeming to remember that yes, he was miles and miles away in the middle of Osaka and they were mid-way through a gruelling rehearsal for the weekend's concerts.
Aiba's hand landed heavy on his shoulder, making him glance around.
"You can leave right now," Aiba told him, his voice warm and reassuringly calm. "We'll handle things here."
"I-" Jun protested.
Ohno came over from where he had been rummaging in his bag, passing a small bundle wrapped in brown paper to Jun. "We were saving this to give to you as a birthday present next week," he said, smiling, "It's a good thing I finished early."
"Leader knitted it," said Aiba proudly. "And I picked out the colours!" he added, as Jun wrapped the soft, warm rainbow blanket.
Jun held the blanket in both hands, staring at it. "You guys," he said, his voice thick.
"Would you just leave already?" Nino tossed his jacket and bag at him. "Hurry up and go, I got the manager to arrange a car for you."
Jun nodded, holding onto his stuff. "I'll definitely call," he promised, before running out the door in long strides.
"Babies," Sho muttered frantically, clawing at the arm of the sofa.
---