#025 - who needs red string of fate when we have matching jeans? - Ohno/Aiba
Title: who needs red string of fate when we have matching jeans?
Pairing/Group: Ohno Satoshi/Aiba Masaki
Length: ≈5800 words
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Ever since the world glowed in crimson, Aiba did his best to get used to it: the ones with faint light meant that they hadn't met the person on the other end; the threads which kept on blinking meant that they were ready for the other person, the ones with extremely rich and lovely deep red meant that they were stable and secure - happy; and then the strings which looked like they were about to break were the ones in trouble. He helped almost everyone in the last category and was happy that he could.
But he never met a man like this - pinky unthreaded, red string unseen.
Warnings: sex. drama. possible OOC-ness IDK
A.N.
- Written for rainbowfilling with the prompt Soul mates
- This story was actually in the works since last year but with a different pair. It didn't quite work out so I tried with the tennen pair but unfortunately, that required a lot of edits and stuff.
Do you believe in fate?
Aiba Masaki wasn't sure when it exactly happened, but when it did, all he saw was a world of red - gentle glowing lights connecting people populated his vision, whether it be the old couple who looked like they would celebrate their golden anniversary walking hand in hand, the pair of children playing in the sandbox, the teenager girls who looked like they were best friends, or the guy pushing another weaker looking guy to the ground.
He was walking in the park one minute, and the next, he could see soft looking threads around the pinkies of every human being he saw with the exception of himself - all with varying gradation of carmine. People, connection, fate - it wouldn't take a genius to know what he was.
Aiba was a guardian.
--
"Look out!" Aiba shouted as his pair of washed out jeans come flying when a particular strong wind blew as he hung his laundry and hit his neighbor below right in his face, causing the man to fall on his back. "Sorry! I'll be right down there!" and then Aiba climbed down the flight of stairs in order to say sorry up close.
Ever since the world glowed in crimson, Aiba did his best to get used to it: the ones with faint light meant that they hadn't met the person on the other end; the threads which kept on blinking meant that they were ready for the other person, the ones with extremely rich and lovely deep red meant that they were stable and secure - happy; and then the strings which looked like they were about to break were the ones in trouble. He helped almost everyone in the last category and was happy that he could.
But he never met a man like this - pinky unthreaded, red string unseen.
It was like his own.
"It's okay." The man smiled and despite being hit by Aiba's jeans, he looked almost sleepy.
Cute, adorable puffy cheeks though, Aiba thought. And beautiful slender hands.
"It's a good thing it didn't get blown away to another apartment." The man spoke again but Aiba was so fixated at his pinky that the man drew his hands upward and examined it closely. Aiba could only laugh.
"I'm truly sorry about that." Aiba cleared his voice as he spoke. "My name is Aiba Masaki. I live in the floor above you but not directly above you and I'm very sorry and thankful that you saved my pants by letting it hit your face." Aiba bowed but only gained chuckles from the rather attractive shorter man.
"Ohno Satoshi." The man held his hand for Aiba to shake. Aiba shook Ohno's hand and smiled.
--
They hung out for a few days after that at a ramen stand in the neighborhood (to which Ohno said that it's the only thing he could afford, only to be treated by Aiba time and time again). Ohno, it seemed, was very fond of fishing to the point where he would get talkative once the topic was brought out. So when Aiba was curious about Ohno's definition for fun and expressed his will to tag along, Ohno's eyes practically glowed, became full of life as excitement painted his face.
Aiba couldn't possibly say he didn't have money for the fishing equipment.
Aiba didn't have to though as Ohno invited him a day before their promised fishing date, showing him Ohno's collection of fishing rods, asking which of them would Aiba like to borrow.
"You don't have any rods right? I figured I should lend you one." Ohno stated.
They spent the rest of their day with a fishing simulation in the older man's apartment, Ohno instructing Aiba regarding the proper stance and how to reel, even going as far as acting as a fish that would tug at a reel should they take Aiba's bait. Ohno patiently taught him, going behind him and putting his hands over his, telling him to relax his hold. And although he cannot relax altogether what with the way Ohno was holding him close (why was he nervous anyway?), he followed the instructions as much as he can and felt relief when Ohno gave him the thumbs-up.
Aiba didn't know if he'd enjoy the actual fishing but he had a feeling that he would be happy tomorrow with Ohno regardless.
--
Weeks passed since the successful fishing trip (with Aiba getting more than Ohno, much to the older man's demise) and then followed by two more in between their ramen rendezvous when Ohno brought it up.
"We should go to a zoo."
Aiba just looked at him, eyes already sparkling, but stopped himself to jump the gun immediately.
"I figured we should do something you like too. And I would love to see you interacting with tigers too." Ohno added.
Days later, Aiba and Ohno toured the zoo with much enthusiasm, which made Aiba think that Ohno must love animals too. The zoo was full of people with stable red strings and it always elated Aiba when he visited but for some reason, with Ohno beside him, he was happier (Ohno's goofy expressions and adorable gestures towards different types of animals aside).
Ohno didn't see Aiba wrestle with the tigers like Aiba said he did when he became an exchange student in South Africa but they visited almost everything: from pandas mating until they were shut down for public view because it might distract the pandas to the slithering snakes which were put around their necks and have their pictures taken in that span.
Sooner than Aiba would have liked, the sun was almost setting and even if he was reluctant, he knew they had to go home.
"Ohno-kun-"
"One more." Ohno interrupted him and pointed to the comedy pair that was gathering a crowd in a well-lit stage at the center of the zoo - an old man and a monkey.
"Good evening! I'm Shimura Ken and this is Pan-kun and we are now requesting participants from the audience and prove to you that Pan-kun is truly unbeatable!"
The crowds cheered louder as they settled on their seats until the old man Shimura pointed at Aiba to come join them in stage. Ohno laughed at him and even pushed him to do exactly what the crowd wanted them too.
At first, Aiba wanted to connive with Shimura to purposely fail just in case Pan-kun wasn't as talented as he was claiming him to be. But then he saw Ohno and he decided he could show off a little. Even a game won out of five wouldn't change much, right?
Pan-kun, it appears, was invincible.
From the pull-ups to the banana fetching with a rubber attached to their bodies, to the bamboo stick race and even tightrope walking, down to the dance number, Aiba was floored whilst trying his very best, making the rest of the audience go crazy. Aiba didn't even have the time to feel humiliated as he watched Ohno burst out in laughter (and are those tears?), and felt even proud that the usually sleepy Ohno looked very much awake thank to him. (And Pan-kun, of course, Aiba would not forget.)
When he came back to his seat, Aiba feigned annoyance but couldn't continue doing so when Shimura Ken asked for Ohno next.
Needless to say, Ohno didn't win a single game as well.
It was hilarious, watching Ohno struggle as his flexibility was being tested while Pan-kun's was impossible to even measure. Ohno was shaking due to laughter when it was clear that Pan-kun cheated because of his irregular push-ups but still, he held on (very unlike Aiba who complained about being cheated, causing more laughter to erupt from the audience).
When Ohno came back and two more volunteers were called before the show ended, Pan-kun appeared in front of them and started picking their noses when almost everyone left.
"Pan-kun does that whenever he liked people." Shimura said from behind as Pan-kun shifted from Ohno's nose to Aiba's.
"Pan-kun, stop! I have pollen allergy today! My nose would drip!" Aiba complained. Ohno and Shimura giggled in almost the same tone.
When Pan-kun seemed bored at alternating their noses, they didn't expect Shimura to thank them. They were even offered positions to the troupe to which they politely declined.
"But we'll visit again soon" Ohno said.
"We will?" Aiba asked, hopeful.
"We will" Ohno smiled at him so serenely that Aiba couldn't help returning it.
--
"Would you like to meet my friend?"
Aiba became fidgety then because Ohno still hasn't responded after a minute or two. It sounded nicer and more casual in his mind. Like he'd include Ohno in his circle and hang out more often. How he phrased it though seemed like he was about to introduce him as a boyfriend to Nino, his best friend, who Aiba knew loved him as much as he did, if not more even if the words spilling out of the slighter man's mouth spoke otherwise.
"Okay. I was also thinking about introducing you to mine." Aiba blinked a few times before digesting what Ohno replied.
Ohno asked him if his jaw hurt when he couldn't stop his smile throughout the day.
--
They gathered at Aiba's apartment with Nino begrudgingly buying their beer for the night while Aiba cleaned his place and ordered pizzas.
"He better be so hot that even I would turn tables because if not, you are paying me twice for the beers"
"I don't know if you'd find him hot." Aiba spoke, already calculating the amount of money he had to dish out (with difficulty) if Nino didn't approve of Ohno. Nino laughed as he pouted.
"I'm just joking! He makes you happy right?" Aiba nodded as an answer.
"But we're just friends."
"For now."
Or forever, Aiba thought. It was not like he was connected to Ohno by a red string to expect more. Or it was not like Ohno said he liked him directly (He could somehow feel it though. It was just an Aiba thing).
At that moment the doorbell rang, and when Ohno greeted him with a bright smile with two friends in tow, Aiba heard Nino whispering a "you better make him yours fast."
"Or what?" He whispered back distractedly as Ohno introduced his friends Sakurai and Matsumoto, who Aiba noticed to have their pinkies threaded to each other. Stable, he smiled to himself.
"Or I might not wait." He watched as Nino immediately cling to Ohno like they were long-lost Siamese twins and then processed Nino's words belatedly before he cursed himself for inviting Nino.
--
They played Old Maid of all things, with Ohno losing miserably because of his unfortunate nose-twitching habit. Aiba wasn't faring better because he couldn't concentrate whenever he saw at the corner of his eye Nino whispering in Ohno's ear, and observed that Ohno was trying to stifle his guffaws when his best friend did so. He tried chatting with cute intellectual Sakurai (Sho-chan!) and the beautiful man who looked like he was carved out of a marble Matsumoto (Matsujun!, his mind provided…but he would only call him that next time when he stopped glaring at him whenever he called ‘Sho-chan') to shift his attention but to no avail. At the end of their fifth game, Ohno and Aiba were chased away by the other three to the kitchen to fetch cans of beers, claiming that they could finally play a serious game without them.
"Are you not enjoying this?" Ohno asked as they brought out Aiba's emergency potato chips and chocolates at times like these and pouring them out in bowls.
"What makes you think that?"
"I don't know. You seem distant today…" Ohno pouted and really, how could he stay in a bad mood when Ohno was acting so cute like this? But then Aiba would be reminded time and time again about Ohno and Nino's sudden closeness, which would in turn make him sulk. He never became that close with Ohno all these time while Nino managed to overturn that gap within a night.
And he was supposed to be the people's person.
"Nino had been sharing stories about you."
"What stories?"
"Like the fact that you tried flying once you were in a bird suit and so you ended with a full body cast. He also shared the episode when you had the ambition to be invisible, which made you drag Nino to make yourself a mirror suit, only to break most of them when you started walking and falling to the ground. He also-"
"Okay stop." Aiba was now blushing. It was stupid to get jealous at Nino once he knew what the content of their conversation was. How many stories had Nino shared? "Aside from my embarrassing episodes, did he tell you anything else?"
Ohno looked like he was contemplating on things before he said "That he'd kill me if I ever tried hurting you."
"Oh." Aiba uttered. "Nino never speaks that way."
"That was the censored, non-gore version." Ohno supplied without missing a beat. Aiba could not help laughing.
"What did you say?" Aiba asked.
"I said that I wouldn't, if you would just let me in." Ohno replied, closing their distance. Aiba felt his heart thumping once, twice before he realized that Ohno's lips were mere centimeters away and if he would just-
They suddenly jumped away from each other when they heard Matsujun groan from Aiba's living room. They quickly took the snacks and beers, immensely aware of Ohno's stare unwavering from his face.
--
"So where would you want to eat?" Aiba asked as he arrived at Ohno's place.
"Here."
"Here? Oh. Okay. What food would you want to be delivered then?"
"Nothing. I did my groceries last night and hoped that I could cook."
"You can cook?"
Ohno grinned at him like a child. Aiba felt his heart skip.
Ohno seemed to have mastered the way of cooking one of most delicious fried rice Aiba had tasted in his entire existence (second to his dad's) when Ohno asked for a taste test. Aiba decided to contribute to their dinner when he realized that Ohno also had the ingredients for mabo tofu. Before he even thought of putting a handful of salt to his dish, Ohno stopped him.
"Shouldn't it be a pinch?" Ohno asked before Aiba smiled sheepishly. Ohno pinched his his sides literally in response and they ran after one another before they realized that the mabo tofu did not look like a proper mabo tofu anymore as they left it on fire for too long. Aiba sulked at his failure as they settle in Ohno’s dining table, and before long, Ohno was serving his fried rice with something else.
"Karaage?"
"Karaage." And then Ohno popped a piece into his mouth and soon, Aiba exclaimed that it was delicious. It was only on his third piece that he felt self-conscious at the fact that Ohno was feeding him, But Ohno wouldn't budge no matter how hard he tried to stop the older man's hands (Ohno would just let him eat another piece of chicken, or another spoonful of fried rice whenever he tried to talk).
Aiba did what was logical then - feed Ohno back, and Ohno was surprisingly receptive of his actions.
They ate their dinner in silence like that and when Aiba was brave enough to look at Ohno's face long enough, he noticed how Ohno's cheeks were tinged red, most probably mirroring his.
--
When Aiba finally cooked a mabo tofu to which even Nino agreed to be delicious, he decided to surprise Ohno by visiting him in his place (he knew Ohno's schedule when he asked Sho. How Sho knew, he didn't think he would like to know).
He was the one who was surprised instead.
Ohno opened his front door with an almost full white hair and flour smearing his face, particularly his nose. Aiba was stoned, torn between laughing at Ohno and licking at Ohno's nose because he looked adorable. Ohno finally noticed his own appearance and apologized for the mess since he was baking.
"You bake?"
"Ocassionally. I usually just bake art clays though."
When he was lead to the kitchen, he saw the different assortment of bread on Ohno's dining table. Some of them were burned, some of them didn't seem to have been in the oven too long, but there were appetizing breads too - croissants, French bread, bagels, and even dessert breads.
"So why are you here?" Ohno asked.
"Oh. I just wanted to bring you my best mabo tofu for you to eat. If I'm bothering you-"
"Thank you! Would you like to bake a bread which would go along with this?"
"I get to bake?"
"With me." Ohno affirmed.
After hours of mixing ingredients, kneading, and baking, the dinner bread was finished. Ohno immediately heated the food Aiba brought and went to eat it with the dinner bread when that was done.
"Delicious" Ohno's eyes were twinkling and Aiba couldn't describe the joy he was feeling there and then. "You should try it too" Ohno promptly prepared another piece for Aiba to eat, only Aiba didn't quite get the timing right when Ohno nudged the food in his mouth, causing a smudge of mabo tofu's sauce to trickle down Aiba's chin. He was about to wipe sauce with his hand when Ohno halted him.
"Don't move. You'd only dirty your face even further." Ohno gestured at his hands and indeed the amount of flour was no joke.
"If I could just-"
"Don't move." Ohno repeated, this time with much more force as the older man walked towards him. He remained frozen and felt so small even if he was taller than the man before him. Ohno looked him in the eye as Ohno darted his tongue out to lick his own lips. Aiba gulped at the action and when Aiba made no move to protest, Ohno licked his chin slowly, leaving a wet hot trail up towards the side of his mouth as he lapped the sauce.
Aiba stopped breathing.
"Breathe" Ohno whispered in his ear and when he started inhaling and exhaling, Ohno's tongue was back. It trailed the shell of Aiba's ear towards his cheek. Ohno pecked it briefly before he went back to lick his way towards Aiba's mouth. He paused just when he could almost land his lips on Aiba's and that's when Aiba realized the reason why he stopped.
He was waiting for Aiba.
Aiba made his move then, taking the initiative to meet Ohno's lips. Aiba hadn't kissed anyone for a long time but he knew that the one he was currently sharing with him was so good he didn't even want to part. The way Ohno willingly parted his mouth for Aiba to explore, the way Ohno returned the favor back by exploring every nook of his mouth, how he was shivering when Ohno tickled the roof of his mouth, and how Ohno didn't even give him the time to recover by the way he was sucking on his tongue.
By the time they broke for air, they were both panting. Aiba did not even hide the fact that he was staring at Ohno's flushed cheeks, glazed orbs, and those lips, which were now red due to him.
He wanted more.
And so he took it by kissing Ohno once more and Ohno answered with the same intensity. He carded his fingers through Ohno's already powdered hair while Ohno did the same to his own, not caring if Ohno's hands were as grubby as his because this was Ohno, and it was his slender fingers gently massaging his scalp, with the occasional pulling on his hair.
Those slender hands whose pinky remained unthreaded. Or maybe it was just invisible.
Slowly, Aiba drowned in his thoughts about Ohno's pinky. Why couldn't he see Ohno's red string? Was Ohno like him? Was he a guardian too and that's the reason why he couldn't see his own red string as well? Was that the indication that someone was a guardian?
But what if Ohno was just an exception he hadn't met yet? What if he was messing up with Ohno's own fate by liking him and because he couldn't even see Ohno's thread, he could not fix it?
"Aiba-chan?" Ohno stopped kissing him all together and that was when he realized he wasn't moving.
"Sorry. I just-sorry." Aiba grew quiet. Ohno just held him there until Aiba decided that leaving for now would be best. Nothing could lift up his mood even if he stayed with Ohno - not if Ohno was the reason he was so torn.
--
Aiba opened his mailbox to find that there was already a box almost filling it. He retrieved it and opened it in his own apartment and saw that there was a painted clay sculpture there of what appears to be a miniature Ohno, holding a lure with a broken steel string and some weird plastic on its end in one hand and a heart-shaped mobile phone in another.
Inside the box is a note.
I haven't seen you in days. Are you okay? I kept looking at my phone if you'd call or mail me but you didn't. You know how I don't like bothering with it except when I need to check the weather but I don't like to miss it when you call me this time.
I don't know if I'm allowed to but I miss you.
Contact me any way you like, even if it's just to tell me you're okay. You could also just hang your pants in your laundry pole if that's too much. I haven't seen your laundry in days.
Ohno Satoshi
"Stalking idiot." Aiba spoke with fondness. "If you're that worried, why didn't you call me?" But Aiba knew why Ohno didn't anyway.
He hanged five pairs of jeans the next day.
--
“Do you believe in fate?”
“Fate.” Nino repeated.
“You know, how one thing is supposed to happen no matter what, or how people are meant to be for one another no matter the circumstance. That fate.” Nino just kept silent.
“I believe in it, Nino. I am sure it exists. But what if what I want is not what is fated to happen? What if I am making a mistake?”
“You like him that much, huh?” Nino sighed. “You idiot. What would happen if you think about what is fated or not the whole time?” Aiba didn’t reply.
“It may not be fate.” Nino stated. “But what if it is? Is he not worth a try?”
--
Aiba arrived at his front door to find a package in front of it with his name on it. When he entered his apartment with the box, he opened it carefully to find a miniature of him this time, wearing a tiger hat and holding a fishing rod with a cut-off string some familiar plastic cap on its end.
Aiba immediately retrieved the Ohno miniature and confirmed that it has complementing ends. It was cheesy as hell, and how could Ohno take the time to make these miniatures anyway? But Aiba couldn’t help the tears that welled his eyes when he finally connected the caps.
They fit perfectly.
--
When he showed up unannounced at Ohno’s doorstep, he didn’t really have a plan or a speech prepared. He just knew that he had to see him.
And see him he did. Ohno looked like he was suffering from insomnia with the dark circles in his eyes.
“I…” Aiba trailed. “I-” at that moment, Ohno grabbed and dragged him in his living room before he was squashed in a hug. Aiba hugged back, missing the older man’s warmth and wondering how he could’ve lasted that long without it.
They could’ve stayed like that and talk about what matters at that point, but then Ohno was suddenly all over him - his mouth covering his, his hands all over his body and although Ohno gave him chances to say no, Aiba didn’t. More like Aiba wouldn’t because he wanted this for so long too.
He let Ohno undress him completely and watched Ohno as he stripped himself of his own clothes slowly. He let Ohno fill him with the desire to want nothing else but him with every touch, every graze, and every kiss they shared. He wanted to own Ohno’s pert butt now that he saw it but wouldn’t really be adverse to its opposite. He let Ohno take and take and Aiba wouldn’t really have it any other way today.
It was uncomfortable when he let Ohno finger him and it burned when Ohno finally entered him, but Aiba would gladly feel those again if it’s accompanied with this pleasure. Aiba wasn’t sure how Ohno did it but here he was, writhing in Ohno’s bed as Ohno kept pounding into him, holding onto his headboard like it’s the only thread that’s keeping his sanity - it felt like Aiba would remember and forget all at the same time. Aiba kept screaming for more, more please, and let Ohno know what he was doing to him although Aiba wasn’t sure if he could take it if Ohno did give him more than this. Ohno bit his lip as if in concentration, but when he couldn’t even stop the gasps and the moans in between the mentions of his name, Aiba couldn’t help but clench in response, drawing out more sounds. It was then that Ohno threw his inhibitions away.
The more Ohno lost himself, the more Aiba became aware of everything else: the sound of the squeaking mattress, the heat of each other’s body; the sweat dropping from Ohno and onto him and the sensation it created; the feel of Ohno’s cock sliding in and out of him, the way it buried deeper with each thrust and how unfair it was that Ohno could graze his prostate with multiple succession only to avoid it when he clenched too much; his body bent to an unbelievable angle and how it didn’t bother him as it should; and his own leaking erection only getting some contact when Ohno was generous enough to let his taut stomach slide against it as he grinded.
It was also then that Aiba realized how much Ohno meant to him.
Aiba didn’t know if it took mere minutes or an eternity but when they came, all he could think of was Ohno, and as if his mind was read, Ohno kissed him passionately at first which gradually turned sweeter as they rode their high.
No one bothered to clean that night, but when Aiba cradled Ohno in his arms, despite being sticky, it was perfect.
--
Aiba saw Ohno “modifying” one of his old, unused jeans one Saturday.
“What are you doing?”
“Making a pair that would match mine.” Ohno spoke with his orbs twinkling, while Aiba’s eyes were drawn to the shockingly unique jeans Ohno was sporting (Ohno was more of the comfortable type when it came to fashion). He probably used a lot of fabric glues, sparkly sequins, some green and blue cloth, and a whole lot of materials that Aiba could not identify.
When Ohno was done, he let Aiba wear the jeans and declared that Saturday was their Matching Jeans day.
--
“Gross” their three friends exclaimed when they arrived at Jun’s house wearing their pants.
“It’s jeans day.” Ohno said. Aiba blushed and never felt happier.
--
The whole fate thing didn’t really bother Aiba anymore until Sho and Jun fought. Jun was complaining about the time they spent together while Sho said that Jun was too clingy when he exploded. They exchanged venomous words at each other; words they probably never meant but it still damaged what they had all the same. Needless to say, Aiba was shaken when Jun left and saw that their string about to break.
He never saw a stable thread take a dive that low.
“What’s wrong?” Ohno asked him and Aiba was brought back to the reality that he was watching a movie with Ohno.
“Nothing,” he replied with a smile. If both Sho and Jun could almost break, what were the chances that Aiba and Ohno wouldn’t, knowing they weren’t connected at all?
“You don’t have to pretend in front of me Aiba-chan.” Aiba dropped his grin then. “Tell me what’s wrong?”
“What if this doesn’t work?” Aiba gestured to their entwined hands.
“Are you having doubts about what we have?” Ohno answered after a while.
“It’s just that what we have…it’s not certain.”
“Nothing in this world is certain.”
“There is!” Aiba claimed, thinking about the red strings that he saw everyday - things he could not tell Ohno.
“…but you think that’s not us.” Ohno whispered, dropping his hold of Aiba’s hand.
“I-”
“I get it. If you don’t like me anymore you could’ve just said so.” Ohno tracked towards the door.
“Ohno, wait!”
“Oh right.” Ohno said laughing sarcastically like he never saw before; Aiba didn’t think that Ohno was capable. “You never even said it.” This time it was Aiba’s turn to be hurt.
“Neither did you!” Aiba countered.
“Well I really, really like you Aiba-chan. How about you?”
“I…” Aiba trailed, almost in tears.
“Right.” Ohno said. “Thank you for everything you’ve shared up to this point. I hope you have a good life.” Ohno turned and Aiba saw the tears that trickled the older man’s face before he quickly wiped it.
“Ohno!” Aiba tried going after him but when his front door closed, he just let himself drop to the floor and cried.
“I really, really like you, Ohno”
--
“You’re a guardian.” Aiba exclaimed when Nino just fixed Sho and Jun’s relationship by playing the bad guy at the bar. The way they both breathe out in relief when they saw their string turn into bright red was too coincidental. Nino just shrugged.
“Took you long enough. And here I thought you were my best friend.”
Aiba’s eyes enlarged. “How did you know I was one?”
“Like I said, best friend.” Aiba reminisced the times when Nino gave off-handed comments that eventually brought couples together, or helped people to move on, hopeful about their future partner. Maybe he really didn’t pay attention enough.
“We’re gonna have so much fun, Nino! We would save the troubled couples together!” Aiba squealed. Nino smiled as he tried prying his best friend’s hands around him half-heartedly.
“Shouldn’t we do something about yours first?” Aiba froze.
“What do you mean?”
“You know, Oh-chan. Why did you break up?”
“It was not meant to be.” Aiba stated as he went back to his chair. Nino raised his eyebrow.
“What do you mean you’re not meant to be?”
“We are not connected by a red string.”
“According to who? You?”
“Yes!”
“You can’t even see your own so how can you be so sure?” Aiba looked at him.
“So I have one?”
“Of course you do.”
“And you can’t see your own thread too?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t worry Nino, you haven’t met him or her yet.”
“Not the point right now!” Nino shouted.
“Then how come I cannot see Ohno’s?” Aiba asked.
“I think you know the answer.”
Aiba spread his palms over his face. “I screwed up, didn’t I?”
Nino gazed at his pinky. “Big time.”
“What do I do?”
“What you haven’t yet.”
--
Aiba prepared all of the jeans he had and went to the balcony the next Saturday. He called Ohno then and begged for him to get out of his apartment and that’s when Aiba executed his so-called “plan”. If Ohno wouldn’t accept him back, he would understand with a heavy heart. Right now, he just needed to tell him how he really felt. Ohno deserved as much.
The first pair of jeans flew earlier than expected and it landed on the floor below him. The second pair fared better, but it didn’t arrive at Ohno’s doorstep. On his third pair, the wind suddenly blew just in time for Ohno to actually open his door and hit him square on the face. Again.
“I’m not sorry for that!” Aiba shouted but rushed immediately towards Ohno who was still on the floor, probably due to shock.
When Aiba arrived in front of Ohno’s apartment, Ohno was already standing and holding Aiba’s jeans to him.
“I’m not sorry for my jeans hitting your face this time.” Aiba said, his smile grew as he saw Ohno wearing their matching jeans, just like him. “But I am sorry for pushing you away.” Ohno kept his silence.
“I like you a lot-no I like you too much. I would explain everything if you want me to and then you can decide if you’d still like me when you know the truth but right now I want you to know that I like you.” Aiba said in one breath and Ohno was blinking rapidly before he broke into a laugh. Aiba pouted before Ohno walked towards him and kissed him.
“I think you still need to say sorry about your pants hitting me.”
“Not gonna happen.” Aiba said.
“Then I guess I just have to teach you.” Ohno smirked and dragged him inside his apartment.
Aiba still wasn’t sorry when Ohno “taught” him.
--
“So…in the end, you and I are connected only you could not see it?” Ohno asked.
“So it seems, according to what Nino hinted anyway.”
“Hmm…interesting”
“Indeed. He said that it would be unfair if we always depended on what we see to fix even our own relationships”
“But you did depend on it. You’re still depending on it now.”
“I know. But I cannot do it in the future, especially since I want to be with you. If problems arise someday I would need to fix it on my own.”
“We would fix it” Ohno said. “Did you regret it? Not saying all these things before I left?”
“Every single day.”
“Then you need to make up for it.”
Aiba smiled, “Gladly.”
--
“You know, we don’t really need a red string to tell us that we are meant for each other.” Ohno stated as they were making breakfast. Aiba told Ohno to go on.
“We have our matching jeans.” Ohno said. Aiba smiled and nodded in return. Who needs red strings if Ohno and his jeans are with him?
Still, he couldn’t help but gaze fondly at the modified miniatures that now decorated their apartment.
The miniatures were now wearing matching jeans and Ohno changed their connected thread into red.
Pairing/Group: Ohno Satoshi/Aiba Masaki
Length: ≈5800 words
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Ever since the world glowed in crimson, Aiba did his best to get used to it: the ones with faint light meant that they hadn't met the person on the other end; the threads which kept on blinking meant that they were ready for the other person, the ones with extremely rich and lovely deep red meant that they were stable and secure - happy; and then the strings which looked like they were about to break were the ones in trouble. He helped almost everyone in the last category and was happy that he could.
But he never met a man like this - pinky unthreaded, red string unseen.
Warnings: sex. drama. possible OOC-ness IDK
A.N.
- Written for rainbowfilling with the prompt Soul mates
- This story was actually in the works since last year but with a different pair. It didn't quite work out so I tried with the tennen pair but unfortunately, that required a lot of edits and stuff.
Do you believe in fate?
Aiba Masaki wasn't sure when it exactly happened, but when it did, all he saw was a world of red - gentle glowing lights connecting people populated his vision, whether it be the old couple who looked like they would celebrate their golden anniversary walking hand in hand, the pair of children playing in the sandbox, the teenager girls who looked like they were best friends, or the guy pushing another weaker looking guy to the ground.
He was walking in the park one minute, and the next, he could see soft looking threads around the pinkies of every human being he saw with the exception of himself - all with varying gradation of carmine. People, connection, fate - it wouldn't take a genius to know what he was.
Aiba was a guardian.
--
"Look out!" Aiba shouted as his pair of washed out jeans come flying when a particular strong wind blew as he hung his laundry and hit his neighbor below right in his face, causing the man to fall on his back. "Sorry! I'll be right down there!" and then Aiba climbed down the flight of stairs in order to say sorry up close.
Ever since the world glowed in crimson, Aiba did his best to get used to it: the ones with faint light meant that they hadn't met the person on the other end; the threads which kept on blinking meant that they were ready for the other person, the ones with extremely rich and lovely deep red meant that they were stable and secure - happy; and then the strings which looked like they were about to break were the ones in trouble. He helped almost everyone in the last category and was happy that he could.
But he never met a man like this - pinky unthreaded, red string unseen.
It was like his own.
"It's okay." The man smiled and despite being hit by Aiba's jeans, he looked almost sleepy.
Cute, adorable puffy cheeks though, Aiba thought. And beautiful slender hands.
"It's a good thing it didn't get blown away to another apartment." The man spoke again but Aiba was so fixated at his pinky that the man drew his hands upward and examined it closely. Aiba could only laugh.
"I'm truly sorry about that." Aiba cleared his voice as he spoke. "My name is Aiba Masaki. I live in the floor above you but not directly above you and I'm very sorry and thankful that you saved my pants by letting it hit your face." Aiba bowed but only gained chuckles from the rather attractive shorter man.
"Ohno Satoshi." The man held his hand for Aiba to shake. Aiba shook Ohno's hand and smiled.
--
They hung out for a few days after that at a ramen stand in the neighborhood (to which Ohno said that it's the only thing he could afford, only to be treated by Aiba time and time again). Ohno, it seemed, was very fond of fishing to the point where he would get talkative once the topic was brought out. So when Aiba was curious about Ohno's definition for fun and expressed his will to tag along, Ohno's eyes practically glowed, became full of life as excitement painted his face.
Aiba couldn't possibly say he didn't have money for the fishing equipment.
Aiba didn't have to though as Ohno invited him a day before their promised fishing date, showing him Ohno's collection of fishing rods, asking which of them would Aiba like to borrow.
"You don't have any rods right? I figured I should lend you one." Ohno stated.
They spent the rest of their day with a fishing simulation in the older man's apartment, Ohno instructing Aiba regarding the proper stance and how to reel, even going as far as acting as a fish that would tug at a reel should they take Aiba's bait. Ohno patiently taught him, going behind him and putting his hands over his, telling him to relax his hold. And although he cannot relax altogether what with the way Ohno was holding him close (why was he nervous anyway?), he followed the instructions as much as he can and felt relief when Ohno gave him the thumbs-up.
Aiba didn't know if he'd enjoy the actual fishing but he had a feeling that he would be happy tomorrow with Ohno regardless.
--
Weeks passed since the successful fishing trip (with Aiba getting more than Ohno, much to the older man's demise) and then followed by two more in between their ramen rendezvous when Ohno brought it up.
"We should go to a zoo."
Aiba just looked at him, eyes already sparkling, but stopped himself to jump the gun immediately.
"I figured we should do something you like too. And I would love to see you interacting with tigers too." Ohno added.
Days later, Aiba and Ohno toured the zoo with much enthusiasm, which made Aiba think that Ohno must love animals too. The zoo was full of people with stable red strings and it always elated Aiba when he visited but for some reason, with Ohno beside him, he was happier (Ohno's goofy expressions and adorable gestures towards different types of animals aside).
Ohno didn't see Aiba wrestle with the tigers like Aiba said he did when he became an exchange student in South Africa but they visited almost everything: from pandas mating until they were shut down for public view because it might distract the pandas to the slithering snakes which were put around their necks and have their pictures taken in that span.
Sooner than Aiba would have liked, the sun was almost setting and even if he was reluctant, he knew they had to go home.
"Ohno-kun-"
"One more." Ohno interrupted him and pointed to the comedy pair that was gathering a crowd in a well-lit stage at the center of the zoo - an old man and a monkey.
"Good evening! I'm Shimura Ken and this is Pan-kun and we are now requesting participants from the audience and prove to you that Pan-kun is truly unbeatable!"
The crowds cheered louder as they settled on their seats until the old man Shimura pointed at Aiba to come join them in stage. Ohno laughed at him and even pushed him to do exactly what the crowd wanted them too.
At first, Aiba wanted to connive with Shimura to purposely fail just in case Pan-kun wasn't as talented as he was claiming him to be. But then he saw Ohno and he decided he could show off a little. Even a game won out of five wouldn't change much, right?
Pan-kun, it appears, was invincible.
From the pull-ups to the banana fetching with a rubber attached to their bodies, to the bamboo stick race and even tightrope walking, down to the dance number, Aiba was floored whilst trying his very best, making the rest of the audience go crazy. Aiba didn't even have the time to feel humiliated as he watched Ohno burst out in laughter (and are those tears?), and felt even proud that the usually sleepy Ohno looked very much awake thank to him. (And Pan-kun, of course, Aiba would not forget.)
When he came back to his seat, Aiba feigned annoyance but couldn't continue doing so when Shimura Ken asked for Ohno next.
Needless to say, Ohno didn't win a single game as well.
It was hilarious, watching Ohno struggle as his flexibility was being tested while Pan-kun's was impossible to even measure. Ohno was shaking due to laughter when it was clear that Pan-kun cheated because of his irregular push-ups but still, he held on (very unlike Aiba who complained about being cheated, causing more laughter to erupt from the audience).
When Ohno came back and two more volunteers were called before the show ended, Pan-kun appeared in front of them and started picking their noses when almost everyone left.
"Pan-kun does that whenever he liked people." Shimura said from behind as Pan-kun shifted from Ohno's nose to Aiba's.
"Pan-kun, stop! I have pollen allergy today! My nose would drip!" Aiba complained. Ohno and Shimura giggled in almost the same tone.
When Pan-kun seemed bored at alternating their noses, they didn't expect Shimura to thank them. They were even offered positions to the troupe to which they politely declined.
"But we'll visit again soon" Ohno said.
"We will?" Aiba asked, hopeful.
"We will" Ohno smiled at him so serenely that Aiba couldn't help returning it.
--
"Would you like to meet my friend?"
Aiba became fidgety then because Ohno still hasn't responded after a minute or two. It sounded nicer and more casual in his mind. Like he'd include Ohno in his circle and hang out more often. How he phrased it though seemed like he was about to introduce him as a boyfriend to Nino, his best friend, who Aiba knew loved him as much as he did, if not more even if the words spilling out of the slighter man's mouth spoke otherwise.
"Okay. I was also thinking about introducing you to mine." Aiba blinked a few times before digesting what Ohno replied.
Ohno asked him if his jaw hurt when he couldn't stop his smile throughout the day.
--
They gathered at Aiba's apartment with Nino begrudgingly buying their beer for the night while Aiba cleaned his place and ordered pizzas.
"He better be so hot that even I would turn tables because if not, you are paying me twice for the beers"
"I don't know if you'd find him hot." Aiba spoke, already calculating the amount of money he had to dish out (with difficulty) if Nino didn't approve of Ohno. Nino laughed as he pouted.
"I'm just joking! He makes you happy right?" Aiba nodded as an answer.
"But we're just friends."
"For now."
Or forever, Aiba thought. It was not like he was connected to Ohno by a red string to expect more. Or it was not like Ohno said he liked him directly (He could somehow feel it though. It was just an Aiba thing).
At that moment the doorbell rang, and when Ohno greeted him with a bright smile with two friends in tow, Aiba heard Nino whispering a "you better make him yours fast."
"Or what?" He whispered back distractedly as Ohno introduced his friends Sakurai and Matsumoto, who Aiba noticed to have their pinkies threaded to each other. Stable, he smiled to himself.
"Or I might not wait." He watched as Nino immediately cling to Ohno like they were long-lost Siamese twins and then processed Nino's words belatedly before he cursed himself for inviting Nino.
--
They played Old Maid of all things, with Ohno losing miserably because of his unfortunate nose-twitching habit. Aiba wasn't faring better because he couldn't concentrate whenever he saw at the corner of his eye Nino whispering in Ohno's ear, and observed that Ohno was trying to stifle his guffaws when his best friend did so. He tried chatting with cute intellectual Sakurai (Sho-chan!) and the beautiful man who looked like he was carved out of a marble Matsumoto (Matsujun!, his mind provided…but he would only call him that next time when he stopped glaring at him whenever he called ‘Sho-chan') to shift his attention but to no avail. At the end of their fifth game, Ohno and Aiba were chased away by the other three to the kitchen to fetch cans of beers, claiming that they could finally play a serious game without them.
"Are you not enjoying this?" Ohno asked as they brought out Aiba's emergency potato chips and chocolates at times like these and pouring them out in bowls.
"What makes you think that?"
"I don't know. You seem distant today…" Ohno pouted and really, how could he stay in a bad mood when Ohno was acting so cute like this? But then Aiba would be reminded time and time again about Ohno and Nino's sudden closeness, which would in turn make him sulk. He never became that close with Ohno all these time while Nino managed to overturn that gap within a night.
And he was supposed to be the people's person.
"Nino had been sharing stories about you."
"What stories?"
"Like the fact that you tried flying once you were in a bird suit and so you ended with a full body cast. He also shared the episode when you had the ambition to be invisible, which made you drag Nino to make yourself a mirror suit, only to break most of them when you started walking and falling to the ground. He also-"
"Okay stop." Aiba was now blushing. It was stupid to get jealous at Nino once he knew what the content of their conversation was. How many stories had Nino shared? "Aside from my embarrassing episodes, did he tell you anything else?"
Ohno looked like he was contemplating on things before he said "That he'd kill me if I ever tried hurting you."
"Oh." Aiba uttered. "Nino never speaks that way."
"That was the censored, non-gore version." Ohno supplied without missing a beat. Aiba could not help laughing.
"What did you say?" Aiba asked.
"I said that I wouldn't, if you would just let me in." Ohno replied, closing their distance. Aiba felt his heart thumping once, twice before he realized that Ohno's lips were mere centimeters away and if he would just-
They suddenly jumped away from each other when they heard Matsujun groan from Aiba's living room. They quickly took the snacks and beers, immensely aware of Ohno's stare unwavering from his face.
--
"So where would you want to eat?" Aiba asked as he arrived at Ohno's place.
"Here."
"Here? Oh. Okay. What food would you want to be delivered then?"
"Nothing. I did my groceries last night and hoped that I could cook."
"You can cook?"
Ohno grinned at him like a child. Aiba felt his heart skip.
Ohno seemed to have mastered the way of cooking one of most delicious fried rice Aiba had tasted in his entire existence (second to his dad's) when Ohno asked for a taste test. Aiba decided to contribute to their dinner when he realized that Ohno also had the ingredients for mabo tofu. Before he even thought of putting a handful of salt to his dish, Ohno stopped him.
"Shouldn't it be a pinch?" Ohno asked before Aiba smiled sheepishly. Ohno pinched his his sides literally in response and they ran after one another before they realized that the mabo tofu did not look like a proper mabo tofu anymore as they left it on fire for too long. Aiba sulked at his failure as they settle in Ohno’s dining table, and before long, Ohno was serving his fried rice with something else.
"Karaage?"
"Karaage." And then Ohno popped a piece into his mouth and soon, Aiba exclaimed that it was delicious. It was only on his third piece that he felt self-conscious at the fact that Ohno was feeding him, But Ohno wouldn't budge no matter how hard he tried to stop the older man's hands (Ohno would just let him eat another piece of chicken, or another spoonful of fried rice whenever he tried to talk).
Aiba did what was logical then - feed Ohno back, and Ohno was surprisingly receptive of his actions.
They ate their dinner in silence like that and when Aiba was brave enough to look at Ohno's face long enough, he noticed how Ohno's cheeks were tinged red, most probably mirroring his.
--
When Aiba finally cooked a mabo tofu to which even Nino agreed to be delicious, he decided to surprise Ohno by visiting him in his place (he knew Ohno's schedule when he asked Sho. How Sho knew, he didn't think he would like to know).
He was the one who was surprised instead.
Ohno opened his front door with an almost full white hair and flour smearing his face, particularly his nose. Aiba was stoned, torn between laughing at Ohno and licking at Ohno's nose because he looked adorable. Ohno finally noticed his own appearance and apologized for the mess since he was baking.
"You bake?"
"Ocassionally. I usually just bake art clays though."
When he was lead to the kitchen, he saw the different assortment of bread on Ohno's dining table. Some of them were burned, some of them didn't seem to have been in the oven too long, but there were appetizing breads too - croissants, French bread, bagels, and even dessert breads.
"So why are you here?" Ohno asked.
"Oh. I just wanted to bring you my best mabo tofu for you to eat. If I'm bothering you-"
"Thank you! Would you like to bake a bread which would go along with this?"
"I get to bake?"
"With me." Ohno affirmed.
After hours of mixing ingredients, kneading, and baking, the dinner bread was finished. Ohno immediately heated the food Aiba brought and went to eat it with the dinner bread when that was done.
"Delicious" Ohno's eyes were twinkling and Aiba couldn't describe the joy he was feeling there and then. "You should try it too" Ohno promptly prepared another piece for Aiba to eat, only Aiba didn't quite get the timing right when Ohno nudged the food in his mouth, causing a smudge of mabo tofu's sauce to trickle down Aiba's chin. He was about to wipe sauce with his hand when Ohno halted him.
"Don't move. You'd only dirty your face even further." Ohno gestured at his hands and indeed the amount of flour was no joke.
"If I could just-"
"Don't move." Ohno repeated, this time with much more force as the older man walked towards him. He remained frozen and felt so small even if he was taller than the man before him. Ohno looked him in the eye as Ohno darted his tongue out to lick his own lips. Aiba gulped at the action and when Aiba made no move to protest, Ohno licked his chin slowly, leaving a wet hot trail up towards the side of his mouth as he lapped the sauce.
Aiba stopped breathing.
"Breathe" Ohno whispered in his ear and when he started inhaling and exhaling, Ohno's tongue was back. It trailed the shell of Aiba's ear towards his cheek. Ohno pecked it briefly before he went back to lick his way towards Aiba's mouth. He paused just when he could almost land his lips on Aiba's and that's when Aiba realized the reason why he stopped.
He was waiting for Aiba.
Aiba made his move then, taking the initiative to meet Ohno's lips. Aiba hadn't kissed anyone for a long time but he knew that the one he was currently sharing with him was so good he didn't even want to part. The way Ohno willingly parted his mouth for Aiba to explore, the way Ohno returned the favor back by exploring every nook of his mouth, how he was shivering when Ohno tickled the roof of his mouth, and how Ohno didn't even give him the time to recover by the way he was sucking on his tongue.
By the time they broke for air, they were both panting. Aiba did not even hide the fact that he was staring at Ohno's flushed cheeks, glazed orbs, and those lips, which were now red due to him.
He wanted more.
And so he took it by kissing Ohno once more and Ohno answered with the same intensity. He carded his fingers through Ohno's already powdered hair while Ohno did the same to his own, not caring if Ohno's hands were as grubby as his because this was Ohno, and it was his slender fingers gently massaging his scalp, with the occasional pulling on his hair.
Those slender hands whose pinky remained unthreaded. Or maybe it was just invisible.
Slowly, Aiba drowned in his thoughts about Ohno's pinky. Why couldn't he see Ohno's red string? Was Ohno like him? Was he a guardian too and that's the reason why he couldn't see his own red string as well? Was that the indication that someone was a guardian?
But what if Ohno was just an exception he hadn't met yet? What if he was messing up with Ohno's own fate by liking him and because he couldn't even see Ohno's thread, he could not fix it?
"Aiba-chan?" Ohno stopped kissing him all together and that was when he realized he wasn't moving.
"Sorry. I just-sorry." Aiba grew quiet. Ohno just held him there until Aiba decided that leaving for now would be best. Nothing could lift up his mood even if he stayed with Ohno - not if Ohno was the reason he was so torn.
--
Aiba opened his mailbox to find that there was already a box almost filling it. He retrieved it and opened it in his own apartment and saw that there was a painted clay sculpture there of what appears to be a miniature Ohno, holding a lure with a broken steel string and some weird plastic on its end in one hand and a heart-shaped mobile phone in another.
Inside the box is a note.
I haven't seen you in days. Are you okay? I kept looking at my phone if you'd call or mail me but you didn't. You know how I don't like bothering with it except when I need to check the weather but I don't like to miss it when you call me this time.
I don't know if I'm allowed to but I miss you.
Contact me any way you like, even if it's just to tell me you're okay. You could also just hang your pants in your laundry pole if that's too much. I haven't seen your laundry in days.
Ohno Satoshi
"Stalking idiot." Aiba spoke with fondness. "If you're that worried, why didn't you call me?" But Aiba knew why Ohno didn't anyway.
He hanged five pairs of jeans the next day.
--
“Do you believe in fate?”
“Fate.” Nino repeated.
“You know, how one thing is supposed to happen no matter what, or how people are meant to be for one another no matter the circumstance. That fate.” Nino just kept silent.
“I believe in it, Nino. I am sure it exists. But what if what I want is not what is fated to happen? What if I am making a mistake?”
“You like him that much, huh?” Nino sighed. “You idiot. What would happen if you think about what is fated or not the whole time?” Aiba didn’t reply.
“It may not be fate.” Nino stated. “But what if it is? Is he not worth a try?”
--
Aiba arrived at his front door to find a package in front of it with his name on it. When he entered his apartment with the box, he opened it carefully to find a miniature of him this time, wearing a tiger hat and holding a fishing rod with a cut-off string some familiar plastic cap on its end.
Aiba immediately retrieved the Ohno miniature and confirmed that it has complementing ends. It was cheesy as hell, and how could Ohno take the time to make these miniatures anyway? But Aiba couldn’t help the tears that welled his eyes when he finally connected the caps.
They fit perfectly.
--
When he showed up unannounced at Ohno’s doorstep, he didn’t really have a plan or a speech prepared. He just knew that he had to see him.
And see him he did. Ohno looked like he was suffering from insomnia with the dark circles in his eyes.
“I…” Aiba trailed. “I-” at that moment, Ohno grabbed and dragged him in his living room before he was squashed in a hug. Aiba hugged back, missing the older man’s warmth and wondering how he could’ve lasted that long without it.
They could’ve stayed like that and talk about what matters at that point, but then Ohno was suddenly all over him - his mouth covering his, his hands all over his body and although Ohno gave him chances to say no, Aiba didn’t. More like Aiba wouldn’t because he wanted this for so long too.
He let Ohno undress him completely and watched Ohno as he stripped himself of his own clothes slowly. He let Ohno fill him with the desire to want nothing else but him with every touch, every graze, and every kiss they shared. He wanted to own Ohno’s pert butt now that he saw it but wouldn’t really be adverse to its opposite. He let Ohno take and take and Aiba wouldn’t really have it any other way today.
It was uncomfortable when he let Ohno finger him and it burned when Ohno finally entered him, but Aiba would gladly feel those again if it’s accompanied with this pleasure. Aiba wasn’t sure how Ohno did it but here he was, writhing in Ohno’s bed as Ohno kept pounding into him, holding onto his headboard like it’s the only thread that’s keeping his sanity - it felt like Aiba would remember and forget all at the same time. Aiba kept screaming for more, more please, and let Ohno know what he was doing to him although Aiba wasn’t sure if he could take it if Ohno did give him more than this. Ohno bit his lip as if in concentration, but when he couldn’t even stop the gasps and the moans in between the mentions of his name, Aiba couldn’t help but clench in response, drawing out more sounds. It was then that Ohno threw his inhibitions away.
The more Ohno lost himself, the more Aiba became aware of everything else: the sound of the squeaking mattress, the heat of each other’s body; the sweat dropping from Ohno and onto him and the sensation it created; the feel of Ohno’s cock sliding in and out of him, the way it buried deeper with each thrust and how unfair it was that Ohno could graze his prostate with multiple succession only to avoid it when he clenched too much; his body bent to an unbelievable angle and how it didn’t bother him as it should; and his own leaking erection only getting some contact when Ohno was generous enough to let his taut stomach slide against it as he grinded.
It was also then that Aiba realized how much Ohno meant to him.
Aiba didn’t know if it took mere minutes or an eternity but when they came, all he could think of was Ohno, and as if his mind was read, Ohno kissed him passionately at first which gradually turned sweeter as they rode their high.
No one bothered to clean that night, but when Aiba cradled Ohno in his arms, despite being sticky, it was perfect.
--
Aiba saw Ohno “modifying” one of his old, unused jeans one Saturday.
“What are you doing?”
“Making a pair that would match mine.” Ohno spoke with his orbs twinkling, while Aiba’s eyes were drawn to the shockingly unique jeans Ohno was sporting (Ohno was more of the comfortable type when it came to fashion). He probably used a lot of fabric glues, sparkly sequins, some green and blue cloth, and a whole lot of materials that Aiba could not identify.
When Ohno was done, he let Aiba wear the jeans and declared that Saturday was their Matching Jeans day.
--
“Gross” their three friends exclaimed when they arrived at Jun’s house wearing their pants.
“It’s jeans day.” Ohno said. Aiba blushed and never felt happier.
--
The whole fate thing didn’t really bother Aiba anymore until Sho and Jun fought. Jun was complaining about the time they spent together while Sho said that Jun was too clingy when he exploded. They exchanged venomous words at each other; words they probably never meant but it still damaged what they had all the same. Needless to say, Aiba was shaken when Jun left and saw that their string about to break.
He never saw a stable thread take a dive that low.
“What’s wrong?” Ohno asked him and Aiba was brought back to the reality that he was watching a movie with Ohno.
“Nothing,” he replied with a smile. If both Sho and Jun could almost break, what were the chances that Aiba and Ohno wouldn’t, knowing they weren’t connected at all?
“You don’t have to pretend in front of me Aiba-chan.” Aiba dropped his grin then. “Tell me what’s wrong?”
“What if this doesn’t work?” Aiba gestured to their entwined hands.
“Are you having doubts about what we have?” Ohno answered after a while.
“It’s just that what we have…it’s not certain.”
“Nothing in this world is certain.”
“There is!” Aiba claimed, thinking about the red strings that he saw everyday - things he could not tell Ohno.
“…but you think that’s not us.” Ohno whispered, dropping his hold of Aiba’s hand.
“I-”
“I get it. If you don’t like me anymore you could’ve just said so.” Ohno tracked towards the door.
“Ohno, wait!”
“Oh right.” Ohno said laughing sarcastically like he never saw before; Aiba didn’t think that Ohno was capable. “You never even said it.” This time it was Aiba’s turn to be hurt.
“Neither did you!” Aiba countered.
“Well I really, really like you Aiba-chan. How about you?”
“I…” Aiba trailed, almost in tears.
“Right.” Ohno said. “Thank you for everything you’ve shared up to this point. I hope you have a good life.” Ohno turned and Aiba saw the tears that trickled the older man’s face before he quickly wiped it.
“Ohno!” Aiba tried going after him but when his front door closed, he just let himself drop to the floor and cried.
“I really, really like you, Ohno”
--
“You’re a guardian.” Aiba exclaimed when Nino just fixed Sho and Jun’s relationship by playing the bad guy at the bar. The way they both breathe out in relief when they saw their string turn into bright red was too coincidental. Nino just shrugged.
“Took you long enough. And here I thought you were my best friend.”
Aiba’s eyes enlarged. “How did you know I was one?”
“Like I said, best friend.” Aiba reminisced the times when Nino gave off-handed comments that eventually brought couples together, or helped people to move on, hopeful about their future partner. Maybe he really didn’t pay attention enough.
“We’re gonna have so much fun, Nino! We would save the troubled couples together!” Aiba squealed. Nino smiled as he tried prying his best friend’s hands around him half-heartedly.
“Shouldn’t we do something about yours first?” Aiba froze.
“What do you mean?”
“You know, Oh-chan. Why did you break up?”
“It was not meant to be.” Aiba stated as he went back to his chair. Nino raised his eyebrow.
“What do you mean you’re not meant to be?”
“We are not connected by a red string.”
“According to who? You?”
“Yes!”
“You can’t even see your own so how can you be so sure?” Aiba looked at him.
“So I have one?”
“Of course you do.”
“And you can’t see your own thread too?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t worry Nino, you haven’t met him or her yet.”
“Not the point right now!” Nino shouted.
“Then how come I cannot see Ohno’s?” Aiba asked.
“I think you know the answer.”
Aiba spread his palms over his face. “I screwed up, didn’t I?”
Nino gazed at his pinky. “Big time.”
“What do I do?”
“What you haven’t yet.”
--
Aiba prepared all of the jeans he had and went to the balcony the next Saturday. He called Ohno then and begged for him to get out of his apartment and that’s when Aiba executed his so-called “plan”. If Ohno wouldn’t accept him back, he would understand with a heavy heart. Right now, he just needed to tell him how he really felt. Ohno deserved as much.
The first pair of jeans flew earlier than expected and it landed on the floor below him. The second pair fared better, but it didn’t arrive at Ohno’s doorstep. On his third pair, the wind suddenly blew just in time for Ohno to actually open his door and hit him square on the face. Again.
“I’m not sorry for that!” Aiba shouted but rushed immediately towards Ohno who was still on the floor, probably due to shock.
When Aiba arrived in front of Ohno’s apartment, Ohno was already standing and holding Aiba’s jeans to him.
“I’m not sorry for my jeans hitting your face this time.” Aiba said, his smile grew as he saw Ohno wearing their matching jeans, just like him. “But I am sorry for pushing you away.” Ohno kept his silence.
“I like you a lot-no I like you too much. I would explain everything if you want me to and then you can decide if you’d still like me when you know the truth but right now I want you to know that I like you.” Aiba said in one breath and Ohno was blinking rapidly before he broke into a laugh. Aiba pouted before Ohno walked towards him and kissed him.
“I think you still need to say sorry about your pants hitting me.”
“Not gonna happen.” Aiba said.
“Then I guess I just have to teach you.” Ohno smirked and dragged him inside his apartment.
Aiba still wasn’t sorry when Ohno “taught” him.
--
“So…in the end, you and I are connected only you could not see it?” Ohno asked.
“So it seems, according to what Nino hinted anyway.”
“Hmm…interesting”
“Indeed. He said that it would be unfair if we always depended on what we see to fix even our own relationships”
“But you did depend on it. You’re still depending on it now.”
“I know. But I cannot do it in the future, especially since I want to be with you. If problems arise someday I would need to fix it on my own.”
“We would fix it” Ohno said. “Did you regret it? Not saying all these things before I left?”
“Every single day.”
“Then you need to make up for it.”
Aiba smiled, “Gladly.”
--
“You know, we don’t really need a red string to tell us that we are meant for each other.” Ohno stated as they were making breakfast. Aiba told Ohno to go on.
“We have our matching jeans.” Ohno said. Aiba smiled and nodded in return. Who needs red strings if Ohno and his jeans are with him?
Still, he couldn’t help but gaze fondly at the modified miniatures that now decorated their apartment.
The miniatures were now wearing matching jeans and Ohno changed their connected thread into red.