[fic] Step by Step; Light and Shade - (8/?)
TITLE: Step by Step; Light and Shade
PAIRINGS: Sakuraiba, Matsumiya, Aimiya, Ohmiya, ShoxMaki, and JunxMao
LENGTH: Multi-chaptered
BANDS: Arashi (with Horikita Maki and Inoue Mao)
GENRE: Romance, drama... etc.
RATING (by chapter): PG-13/14
WARNINGS: AU, language and potentially sexual situations in later chapters.
SUMMARY: "To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak" - Indian Proverb
Sakurai Sho is the Chief Financial Officer for a large corporation, he has a loving girlfriend, a strange (but friendly) co-worker, and a best friend who teaches a ballroom dance class (which Sho has been guilted into attending). At the class, Sho's encounter with another unorthodox dancer -and his partner- will be the spark needed to kindle new relationships and end others.
PREVIOUS: Step01 | Step02 | Step03 | Step04 | Step05 | Step06 | Step07 |
NOTE: I've tried to do my research but I am neither a dancer or a business person, so please excuse any incorrect information!!
Step 8.
Panting and stumbling over his own feet, Sho nudged his office door open with his foot and backed in, trying not to drop everything that he was carrying.
“You’re late.” Ohno spoke up, sitting on the corner of Sho’s desk. “It’s after eleven, you know? And you missed a meeting. Dad wasn’t pleased… I think he wanted you to meet Inoue-san. The older Inoue-san, I mean. Mao-chan’s back at my office, working on her aim. She’s getting better, I think-”
Sho dumped some of his bags on the floor to the left of the doorway and then turned around to shove a small kennel into Ohno’s arms. “Hold that, please.” He breathed, swinging the door shut and dropping to his knees.
Ohno blinked, staring wide-eyed at the fur ball attempting to lick him through the kennel’s metal-barred door. “Um… Sakurai-kun…?” His brows pulled together as he watched Sho pull a ridiculously large stack of old newspapers out of one of his many bags and begin papering the entire floor of his office. “…What happened?”
Sho laughed, sounding mildly hysterical. “I don’t know! I bought him last night, on a whim!” He slumped from his knees into a sitting position. There were dark circles beneath his eyes and his hair looked like it was only barely tamed. “He was so calm and sleepy at the pet store! And I thought it might be nice, you know, if it wasn’t just me in the house all the time...”
“But, Sakurai-kun,” Ohno interrupted, “couldn't Maki-?“
Sho closed his eyes and held up a finger to silence him. “No, Ohno-kun. Let’s not go there right now.”
Ohno raised his eyebrows.
“The point is, that I’m an idiot. A big, stupid, idiot. Aiba-san told me why he was having trouble selling him but it was like his warning flew right out the window the second I saw him sleeping and looking so damn cute.”
“Who, Aiba?”
“No, Chubby. The dog.” Sho sighed heavily and ran his hands over his face. “He perked up as soon as I got him home, and he destroyed everything! He barks at nothing, chews on the furniture, is not even remotely house trained… I’m at my wits end, already, and I haven’t even had him 24 hours yet!”
“You look stressed.” Ohno agreed, sticking his fingers into the kennel and grinning when the puppy began slobbering on them.
“I hardly got any sleep last night.” Sho mourned. “I didn’t mean to miss the meeting this morning, but I realized that I’d bought a dog without buying anything to care for a dog with. I didn’t even have any dog food in the house, so I had to go shopping as soon as the stores opened. And then it occurred to me that I couldn’t possibly leave him alone all day. That was my reason for not getting a dog in the first place!” He sighed again. “So that’s why he’s here. I couldn’t think of anything else to do.”
“Do they have babysitters for pets?”
Sho raised his head. “Do they?!”
Ohno shrugged. “It would be a cool idea, though.” He paused to make cooing noises at the puppy through the bars. “He sure is cute, even if he’s trouble.”
“The trouble is really outweighing the cuteness right now.” Sho grumbled, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes.
“Well, once you get him trained, he’ll be a good boy.” There was a click as Ohno undid the latch on the kennel’s door. Sho cracked an eye open to watch the older businessman lift the wriggling, rotund, dog into the air from behind his forelegs. “Isn’t that right, Fatty~?” His nose and eyes scrunched up with laughter when the puppy responded by licking him on the cheek.
“His name’s Chubby.” Sho corrected, unable to keep from chuckling.
“Oh,” Ohno got off the desk and knelt in front of it. “My apologies, Chubby-san.” He said seriously, sitting the puppy down and petting him on the head.
Chubby yipped and suddenly began running circles around the brown haired man. Sho laughed right along with Ohno, up until the dog darted under his desk and proceeded to squat. “Chubby, no!” Sho exclaimed, eyes going wide. He scrambled to get newspaper onto the section of floor he’d yet to cover, and then groaned, too late to stop the mess from being made.
Ohno clutched his stomach and rolled onto his side. He laughed so hard his face turned red, and only laughed harder when the dog reappeared to play tug-of-war with his sleeve.
“This is insane.” Sho moaned, sure the secretary would be concerned by the amount of noise they were making and hoping dearly that she wouldn’t try to check on them. “This is absolutely insane.”
+++
Nino stopped just outside of the pet store to recount the wad of cash in his hand. “…220… 230.” He sighed. “230,000 yen.” It had been a while since he’d last had so much spare cash on him at once. He shoved the bills into their envelope and nodded to himself, determined to see this through even if it took all day to get Aiba to agree to take it.
… Well, no. Actually, he only had an hour before his shift at the video store started.
“Let’s do this.” He murmured to himself before marching forward and into the cheery store. He ignored Becky’s greeting of ‘Welcom- Oh, it’s just you’ and locked his gaze on the tall figure sweeping in the room full of fish aquariums. “Masaki!” He called, striding across the store.
Aiba turned to face him, and his expression went from mildly confused to bright as sunshine.
Nino valiantly ignored the flutter in his chest. He had a job to do, and he refused to be distracted from his quest by boys with charming smiles and sparkling eyes.
“Masaki, the sale ends tomorrow and I’m insisting that you accept this.” He held out the envelope, still advancing on the other man. “Consider it both my intention to help, and to pay you back for all the clothes. If you don’t accept it, I will never go to that class again and- and I’ll purposely sabotage all your attempts to sell that dog, so-“
To his surprise, Aiba’s grin only widened upon hearing the empty threat. The broom clattered to the floor, startling all the nearby fish, and Nino quickly found himself with an armful of bouncing, clingy, Aiba.
“…What-?...”
Aiba practically squealed. “NinoNinoNino! Someone bought him! Someone bought Chubby! He was sold!!!”
Nino winced. His ears were ringing, but Aiba’s cheer was infectious and he found himself laughing and hugging the older man back. “Seriously?! Today?”
“Last night!” Aiba exclaimed, so happy that he was breathless. He pulled away to beam at Nino from an arm’s length. “Becky-chan said some guy came in right before closing and bought him! He didn’t even look at the other dogs, he went right for Chubby! Isn’t that great?!”
“I guess your posters must have worked then!” Nino was honestly a little surprised. He’d booked off of work so that he’d have the time to comfort Aiba on Friday night when things ended badly, as he’d feared they would.
“I think he probably knew you, Aiba-kun.” Becky interjected. “He asked about you.”
“Knew me?” Aiba frowned thoughtfully.
“Was your name on the posters?” Nino questioned.
Aiba shook his head. “No, just the name of the store… That’s weird.”
“The guy was weird.” Becky said. “He acted like he only came here to see you, and then he didn’t want to tell me his name. You don’t have any freaky stalkers do you?”
Nino scowled and Aiba shook his head again. “Not that I know of.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if you had no idea you were being stalked, Aiba.” Nino growled, crossing his arms.
Becky laughed at him, and Aiba ruffled his hair. “It’s okay, Nino-chan. The important thing is that Chubby-chan found a home.”
“You’re lucky you had the day off yesterday.” Nino pointed out. “For all you know, he was planning to jump you in the parking lot after closing.”
Aiba laughed, like he wasn’t the least bit concerned. “I actually wish I had been here.”
Nino’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “Why?” He demanded.
Aiba chuckled again, waving him off. “No, I mean I wish I’d been here to say goodbye to the little guy.” He sighed, surveying the store. “I’ll miss him.” He paused, and then walked over to pick up his broom. “I am happy for him though. Of course.”
Nino nodded his understanding.
“So… wait, what’s the envelope all about?” Aiba questioned, as if only just processing what Nino’s purpose for coming had been. “You… wrote me a letter?” Aiba stared at the envelope suspiciously.
Behind them, Becky whistled. “Ninomiya-kun’s finally confessing?”
Nino glared over his shoulder at her. “No. And it’s not a letter.” He shoved the envelope into Aiba’s hand. “Take it. And… no give-backs.”
Aiba raised an eyebrow, but opened it anyway. His eyes widened. “…Nino, no-“
Nino raised his hands, palms outwards, as Aiba tried to pass it back to him. “No, Aiba-chan. I told you, it’s yours.”
“I can’t accept this.” Aiba looked concerned. “Seriously. This is… Where did you even get all of this?”
Nino shrugged.
Aiba leant in, brows pulled together, and lowered his voice to a whisper. “…Legally?”
Nino frowned and shoved him away. “Of course! What do you think I’m doing? Selling drugs behind the video store or something?”
“Well, I don’t know! You’re not the type to randomly give away your money…”
Nino sighed. “It’s to repay you. For your rainy day savings.”
Aiba had a hard time hiding that he was touched, even if he still didn’t want to accept the money. “Nino-chan…”
“Look, if you feel bad about taking it…” Nino looked away, “…you can use it to take me out for drinks. And food.”
Aiba laughed.
“I have Friday night off.” Nino continued. “We can celebrate Chubby’s adoption, ‘k?”
“Mm.” Aiba nodded. “Okay then. I’ll pick you up, and we’ll make it a party.” He grinned.
Nino grinned back.
+++
Ohno yawned and leaned against the wall, watching the couples in the room stretching out their limbs under Matsumoto’s instruction. To his left, Mao was following along with the exercises, even if she wasn’t a participant.
“You know,” Ohno started, catching her attention. “If you want, we could ask Matsumoto-san to let us join. I wouldn’t mind being your partner, or paying for the lessons.”
“Thanks Ohno-kun, but I have a better idea.”
Ohno raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, watching her shoot a determined glance at the Aiba/Ninomiya pair. The two of them were stretching obliviously, unaware of whatever diabolical plan Mao was concocting. As much as Ohno wanted Mao to be successful in her pursuit of Matsumoto, he still felt a little bad for the nervous, flighty, Ninomiya woman. He hoped there was nothing really going on between her and the dance instructor.
“Jun-kun!” Mao called out, startling Ohno out of his thoughts. When had she moved? She was halfway to the front of the room already.
Jun stopped stretching, leaving the class to continue on their own as he turned to her attentively.
“Can I have a moment? I’ve got a suggestion…”
“Hey, it’s Ohno-san, right?”
Ohno looked up to meet eyes with Aiba-san. “Yeah?” He couldn’t hear what Mao or Matsumoto were saying anymore anyway so he redirected his full attention to the brown haired man in front of him.
“Is Sakurai-san running late or something?”
Ohno smiled. “He’s not coming tonight, actually. He’s… got his hands full.” Sho had indeed been too frazzled over the issue with the dog to come to the class, but Ohno figured he wouldn’t have come anyway. Whatever had happened between him and Maki -Sho still wasn’t willing to tell him any details- had probably left him at least temporarily partner-less.
“Oh.” Aiba looked disappointed.
“Want me to tell him a message or something?” Ohno asked, eyes drifting beyond the brown haired man to meet Ninomiya’s stare. The woman promptly turned away and began fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.
“Sure.” Aiba chirped, perking up at the suggestion. “Can you let him know that Chubby, that dog I asked him to pass out flyers for, got adopted by someone?”
Ohno had the impression that ShunTaro’s CFO was prone to being secretive, and overly concerned with what people thought of him. If Aiba didn’t yet know who had bought the dog, then Ohno didn’t feel it was his position to inform give him the news. Sho had said nothing to the effect, but perhaps the dog’s adoption was supposed to be a surprise. Ohno didn’t want to spoil any surprises, so he just chuckled. “Sure. I’ll let him know.”
Aiba beamed. “Thanks!”
“No problem.”
“Alright, everyone.” Jun spoke up. Aiba bowed quickly and excused himself, letting Ninomiya drag him away to an empty space of floor. Ohno watched curiously when everyone in the class turned their attention to the instructor, but Mao remained standing by Jun’s elbow, looking entirely pleased with herself. “As promised, today we’re going to try the tango. The tango is quite different from the waltz. For one, each step should take your feet off of the ground, rather than slide along. Your steps could be compared to the sneaking or stalking action of a cat. And the tango has no rise and fall as you move. Your body should stay at the same level the whole time. The way you hold your partner is different as well.” Jun explained, and turned to the girl beside him. “This is Inoue Mao. We were dance partners years ago, and she’s offered to be my partner again now so it will be easier for me to teach through demonstration.”
Ohno laughed silently to himself, honestly impressed with her determination.
“Here is the proper hold.” Jun continued, reaching for her hand and curving his other arm around her back. “Your hands should be clasped at about the lady’s eye level, and you’ll notice that my hand on her back is further in than it would be in the waltz position. The man’s fingers should be at about her spine, as opposed to her shoulder blade.” He turned so the class could view them from the other side. “Your bent arm should be held higher than it would be for the waltz.”
“The lady can rest her hand on his upper arm, which is a little more formal, or hook her arm across the back of the man’s shoulders.” Mao explained, and abruptly demonstrated. The new hold left her pressed tight up against his chest. Jun looked surprised by her sudden proximity, but he hid it fairly well. “The tango is a dance of passion. It originated from the brothels in Buenos Aires but was modified as it travelled through countries and through upper classes. This position is considerably more intimate, as you and your partner’s torsos should have no space between them. It also makes following your partner’s movements easier when you are literally connected. The tango is a very sexy dance.”
“Uh… yes.” Jun looked like he was still trying to assess the situation. “So, a demonstration of the footwork would be something like this. We’ll keep it simple.” He stepped forward, Mao backwards, and they began to slink along together in a circle. It wasn’t too different from the box step. “Notice the lack of rise and fall?” Jun continued to the class, pointedly ignoring the sultry gaze Mao had fixed on him. “When you step, your heel should hit the floor first, followed by your toe.”
“Once you’ve got the basics, you can start getting fancy with moves like these.” Mao cut in, taking a pause in Jun’s movements as an opportunity to hook her leg around one of Jun’s and slide it slowly up the back of his calf. She threw her head back, long hair falling down her back, and sunk down sensually. Jun had to scramble to accommodate her with a dip, and Ohno had to bite down on his fist to keep from laughing at the instructor’s utterly bewildered expression.
The class applauded at the demonstration as the two of them straightened up again, and Jun disentangled himself from his new partner as though she burned him. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “So… partner up and give that a try. Well, no. Not that, but try the basic footwork. Make sure you’ve got the hold right first, of course.”
While Jun was busy directing the class, Mao grinned and flashed Ohno a victory sign.
+++
“Yay~” The two of them cheered, clinking their glasses together and laughing when some of the foam sloshed over the rims.
“Ah, it feels good to relax. Finally.” Aiba sighed happily, grinning and red cheeked.
Nino laughed giddily at him. “You’re more fun when you’re not stressed out.”
“Chubby was adopted!” Aiba cheered, pumping his fist in the air. “Yay! Cheers!”
“Cheers!” Nino echoed, downing the last of his drink and reaching for the last slice of pizza on the table between them. “Mind if I finish this?”
“Go ahead.” Aiba looked across the restaurant at the mall entrance and the few shoppers he could see wandering past the window in the door. He glanced at his watch. “Mall’s closing soon, I guess…”
“Mm.” Nino nodded, swallowing a bite of crust. “Did you want to go somewhere else after this?”
Aiba shrugged.
“Well, I cleaned up at home if you just wanna chill there for a while.”
“Sure.” Aiba agreed. “I think I forgot my scarf there when I picked you up earlier anyway…”
Nino snorted. “Why’d you even take it off?”
“It was itchy. And your apartment was really hot.”
“Obviously ’cuz I was in it.” Nino deadpanned.
Aiba shoved him good-naturedly. “Anyway, before we go there’s something I wanna pick up in the mall.” He dug around in his coat and pulled out the envelope, taking out a handful of bills and shoving them into Nino’s palm. “Deal with the bill, will you? I’ll meet you out front.”
“Alright.” Nino watched Aiba leave, then focused his attention on flagging down their waitress.
+++
Sho sighed, quietly. It felt absurd to be creeping around on his hands and knees like an intruder in his own home. Chubby was asleep on his couch, shedding all over a throw pillow and snoring loudly, and though Sho was taking the opportunity to clean up some of the mess the dog had made while he was at work, he definitely didn’t want to wake the furry monstrosity.
Taking Chubby to work had become impossible by the time Wednesday rolled around -as much as Ohno tried to cover for him, coming into a meeting with dog pee all over one of his legs and a chunk missing from his suit jacket’s sleeve didn’t look very professional, and was hard to explain to his superiors. For the last couple days he’d just had to leave Chubby behind, and try to grow accustomed to coming home and finding that whatever room the dog had been locked in was utterly trashed. Sho wasn’t faring much better than his house; it was obvious from his appearance and it was starting to show in his work as well. He’d spent that afternoon completely redoing a report he’d messed up earlier in the week, and he’d be spending the whole weekend catching up on everything he’d fallen behind on.
“What the hell am I going to do with you…?” Sho muttered, sitting amid the wreckage of his living room. Looking down, he realized the legs of the coffee table he was leaning against were gnawed in several places, and he hung his head. It had been an expensive table. When Sho looked up again, Chubby was staring back at him with dark, sleepy eyes. Sho tensed automatically, but the dog just shifted positions and continued to stare at him, as if waiting for the answer to Sho’s question. What are you going to do with me?
Sho sighed, relaxing again when he realized Chubby was in one of his -rare- sleepy moods, and not about to run rampant and cause more destruction. He reached out and ran his fingers through the coarse hair on the puppy’s head, then scratched beneath one of his floppy ears. Chubby huffed pleasantly and leaned into his hand. Sho smiled fondly and leaned forward to scoop him up, letting the floppy pile of fur and limbs settle comfortably in his lap. In a matter of minutes, with plenty of petting, the dog was back asleep and making soft little snuffling noises against Sho’s chest.
“…I guess we’re stuck with each other now.” Sho breathed. “At least I’m not spending Friday night alone. And you definitely keep things lively.”
Chubby snorted loudly, and then burrowed his snout under Sho’s arm.
Sho chuckled and shifted until he could lean back and rest his head on the table, careful not to disturb the animal sleeping in his lap. In some ways, his decision to adopt Chubby felt like a rebound gone horribly wrong. Trying to tend to the hyperactive dog was certainly keeping him too busy and stressed out to stress out over Maki. But considering Chubby a rebound seemed to imply that things were over between him and Maki, which wasn’t necessarily true- even though it had been almost a week, and he hadn’t had the nerve to try and contact her yet. Sho didn’t want to think it was over, but he also didn’t know what he was still trying to cling to. Was there any reason to continue dating Maki? Sure, he missed her. He cared about Maki, and he felt terrible for hurting her, but somehow continuing to date her seemed like it would only be more hurtful in the long run if he still couldn’t seem to give her what she wanted.
“She deserves better…” He mumbled, letting exhaustion close his eyes. “I’m just too selfish to stop hanging on. Pathetic, right?” He got no answer; the rise and fall of Chubby’s snores lulled him into a much-needed sleep.
When he woke up to high pitched yapping less than an hour later, there was a painful crick in his neck, and the stuffing of the throw pillow Chubby had earlier slept on was strewn around most of the living room as if it had snowed indoors.
Sho groaned, hid his face in his knees, and tugged at his hair in frustration.
He was bound to go bald -or be hospitalized with a stress related heart condition- if this continued for much longer.
+++
“Ahhhh~ It’s so nice out!” Aiba exclaimed, grinning up at the black expanse of sky and spinning with his arms stretched out.
Nino laughed, walking with his hands deep in his pockets and watching his friend bounce along the street ahead of him. “It’s so not.” He countered, hunching his shoulders a little more. It was only a five minute walk or so from the station to his apartment building, but it was nearing late October and the night air was decidedly chilly. “And don’t be so loud. People are probably sleeping around here, you know?”
“It’s a Friday! We’re not the only noisy drunks out and about!”
“We hardly drank anything, you moron.” Nino teased, but he was grinning.
Aiba shrugged happily, falling back into step beside him as the entrance to Nino’s building came into sight, just around the next turn. Aiba bumped up against his side every now and then as they walked, and Nino noticed the crinkling of a shopping bag shoved into the pocket of the older man’s coat.
“Hey,” he started curiously, “what did you buy, anyway?”
Aiba looked caught off guard by the question, but then he broke out into a secretive smile. “That’s a surprise…”
Nino raised an eyebrow and immediately stopped in his tracks. “Tell me.”
Aiba turned around to face him and laughed. “But that would ruin the surprise.”
Nino pouted, crossing his arms and stalking into Aiba’s personal space. “Tell me!” He stressed in his whiniest tone. “I’m curious now!”
“I’ll show you when we get inside, okay?” Aiba reasoned, looking highly amused but unaffected by Nino’s attempts at persuasion.
“Why? Is it something weird? Something indecent?”
“No! Nothing like that.” Aiba giggled, trying unsuccessfully to back away.
“Then what is it? Why can’t you show it to me now? We’re almost inside anyway.”
Aiba hesitated and then sighed with exaggerated exasperation. “Fine! But we can’t use it ‘til we get inside anyway.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a shopping bag with a rectangular-shaped object inside. “Here.” He said, handing it over. “…It’s for you.”
“Wait,” Nino glanced between Aiba and the bag before reaching tentatively inside. “…For me?”
“Well, yeah.” Aiba shrugged, watching Nino crumple the empty bag in his hand and stare at the video game case. “But you’ll have to let me play with you. It’s a multiplayer one, and a pretty new release.”
“…Masaki, you didn’t have to-“
“But I said I would, didn’t I? Back when you agreed to be my partner.”
Nino frowned, smoothing a thumb over the glossy packaging of the new Mario & Sonic game. He hadn’t counted on Aiba remembering the condition of his agreement. “Still… you shouldn’t spend any more of that money on me.”
Aiba sighed, rolled his eyes, and smiled. “Money you earned by selling your games?” Nino’s head shot up at that. “That’s how you got the money, right? I noticed they were missing when I came by earlier.” He chuckled, and Nino was reminded that Aiba was also a lot more observant than he usually gave him credit for. “You paid me back for the clothes, and I bought you the new Mario game that I owed you. Now we’re even.”
Nino bit his lip; his chest was so full of affection for his friend that it was actually painful.
In the darkness of the street, Aiba’s eyes and smile seemed so bright. “Come on,” He chuckled, patting Nino on the arm and taking the game from his loose grip. “Now we have something to do tonight, right? So long as you didn’t actually sell your Wii…”
“… Aiba.” Nino croaked, stepping forward and catching Aiba by the arm to stop him from walking ahead to the building.
“What?” Aiba laughed, turning back to face him. “Don’t tell me you did sell-“
The end of Aiba’s sentence was muffled when Nino wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and, on his tiptoes, pulled him into a kiss. It was nothing but spontaneous, and even as Nino felt the soft warmth of Aiba’s lips on his own, the silkiness of the hairs at his nape, the slow pulse beating against Nino’s own rapid one… he had no idea what had suddenly prompted the action.
It was a really awkward kiss, like the lame press-and-freeze kisses so often featured in television dramas. Nino desperately wanted some sort of reaction or response, for Aiba to relax his tense posture, reach out and pull him closer, tangle his hands in Nino’s hair and kiss him senseless until they were both gasping for air with lips bruised and swollen.
Aiba’s strong hands reached out and closed around Nino’s arms.
Nino’s hand slipped from Aiba’s neck and hung limply at his side as he was gently pushed away. Aiba’s expression was unbelievably apologetic, and Nino’s stomach dropped. “Well, shit.” He mumbled, taking a step back and staring at the pavement beneath Aiba’s feet. “That was stupid.”
“... Kazu…” Aiba seemed to be searching for something to say. “… I’m sorry.” He said finally, weakly, as though those weren’t the right words but he couldn’t think of anything better to express himself.
Nino chanced looking up, and cursed himself for causing the pained expression on his friend’s previously cheery face. “No, it’s fine.” He forced a smile and walked past Aiba, grabbing the Mario game from him on the way by. “Forget about it.” He stopped after a few steps and turned back when he realized Aiba wasn’t following him. “…You’re not coming in?”
Aiba glanced between him and the apartment building. Nino watched him swallow thickly before shaking his head. “I think I should just catch the last train home. I’m kind of tired and… yeah.” He attempted to smile, but he looked more like he was going to cry. “…Sorry.” He muttered, dropping his gaze.
Nino sighed. “It’s okay, Masaki. I mean it.” The last thing he wanted was for Aiba to start crying, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t always half expected Aiba to reject him anyway. If anything, it was a bit of a relief to finally have things out in the open between them. “… You’re still my best friend, right?”
“Of course!” Aiba blurt and nodded fervently. When he spoke again, his voice dropped and he sounded thoroughly choked up. “Of course I am.”
Nino smiled. “Then it’s okay.”
Aiba eyed him for a moment and then laughed tearfully, looking relieved as he swiped at his eyes. “…Okay.”
Nino waved and watched Aiba begin trudging slowly back down the road. “Text me later, so I know you got home safe.”
Inside his apartment, Nino sat on the couch with his living room lit only by the colorful Mario & Sonic menu screen. The Single or Multiplayer options seemed to taunt him, and the cheerful music was giving him a headache. He closed his eyes, pursed his lips into a thin line, and let himself fall back across the cushions. He held his breath for a long tense moment, counting seconds in the dark behind his eyelids, and then let it out slowly through his nostrils.
Less than half an hour passed before Nino woke up and realized that he’d fallen asleep. His cheeks were damp and growing stiff from drying tears he didn’t remember shedding. The cell phone on his stomach was vibrating.
FROM: Aibaka
SUBJECT: (No Subject)
MESSAGE:
I got home safe.
… Think we should probably talk. R u awake? :S
Nino sighed, albeit fondly, and scrubbed a hand tiredly over his face before sliding the phone open.
TO: Aibaka
RE: (No Subject)
MESSAGE:
Too tired atm. =_=
don’t worry. tomorrow will be normal
goodnight!
He paused before hitting send, and then added a smiling emoticon for good measure. Message sent, and phone switched to silent, Nino curled back up on the couch and buried his face in the upholstery. He had every intention of making good on his assurance that things would still be normal. Lingering on rejection or heartache wasn’t something he liked to do. It was one thing to torment himself with feelings for his best friend before, but now that Aiba was obviously never going to be more than a best friend, moving on was the only option.
It had been so many long years; the thought of finally moving on from Aiba was almost enough to bring a smile of relief to his lips before he drifted off.
But only almost.
+++
to be continued...
A/N: T_T Sorry Aimiya fans! I know the wait was kinda long for this one, so I'm sorry about that too! The good news is that I'm reeeeaaallly inspired to work on the next chapters of this fic, but the bad news is that I've got a troublesome exchange fic hanging over my head that I need to finish *sigh*. It's killing me, seriously. So... there might be a wait for chapter 9 too. Sorry! Please be patient with me? :)
If it helps, I'll tease you with this information: chapter 9 has another kiss scene~ and... it'll be much more passionate than the one in this chapter was. Heh heh heh~
Not telling you which pairing it is though. :P
ALSO, have some random facts/goodies.
1. The 'Light and Shade' in this fic's title is actually a term in ballroom dancing (and I used it mostly because it sounds badass). It refers to creating contrast within a dance, for example by using quick moves here and there in a slow dance or making dramatic pauses to make a routine more exciting.
2. Chubby (in my mind) is a terrier mix. Probably at least part Border terrier. Check out a picture of my mental image of him, HERE! or also HERE! :)
Thanks for reading!!!
NEXT>>
PAIRINGS: Sakuraiba, Matsumiya, Aimiya, Ohmiya, ShoxMaki, and JunxMao
LENGTH: Multi-chaptered
BANDS: Arashi (with Horikita Maki and Inoue Mao)
GENRE: Romance, drama... etc.
RATING (by chapter): PG-13/14
WARNINGS: AU, language and potentially sexual situations in later chapters.
SUMMARY: "To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak" - Indian Proverb
Sakurai Sho is the Chief Financial Officer for a large corporation, he has a loving girlfriend, a strange (but friendly) co-worker, and a best friend who teaches a ballroom dance class (which Sho has been guilted into attending). At the class, Sho's encounter with another unorthodox dancer -and his partner- will be the spark needed to kindle new relationships and end others.
PREVIOUS: Step01 | Step02 | Step03 | Step04 | Step05 | Step06 | Step07 |
NOTE: I've tried to do my research but I am neither a dancer or a business person, so please excuse any incorrect information!!
Step 8.
Panting and stumbling over his own feet, Sho nudged his office door open with his foot and backed in, trying not to drop everything that he was carrying.
“You’re late.” Ohno spoke up, sitting on the corner of Sho’s desk. “It’s after eleven, you know? And you missed a meeting. Dad wasn’t pleased… I think he wanted you to meet Inoue-san. The older Inoue-san, I mean. Mao-chan’s back at my office, working on her aim. She’s getting better, I think-”
Sho dumped some of his bags on the floor to the left of the doorway and then turned around to shove a small kennel into Ohno’s arms. “Hold that, please.” He breathed, swinging the door shut and dropping to his knees.
Ohno blinked, staring wide-eyed at the fur ball attempting to lick him through the kennel’s metal-barred door. “Um… Sakurai-kun…?” His brows pulled together as he watched Sho pull a ridiculously large stack of old newspapers out of one of his many bags and begin papering the entire floor of his office. “…What happened?”
Sho laughed, sounding mildly hysterical. “I don’t know! I bought him last night, on a whim!” He slumped from his knees into a sitting position. There were dark circles beneath his eyes and his hair looked like it was only barely tamed. “He was so calm and sleepy at the pet store! And I thought it might be nice, you know, if it wasn’t just me in the house all the time...”
“But, Sakurai-kun,” Ohno interrupted, “couldn't Maki-?“
Sho closed his eyes and held up a finger to silence him. “No, Ohno-kun. Let’s not go there right now.”
Ohno raised his eyebrows.
“The point is, that I’m an idiot. A big, stupid, idiot. Aiba-san told me why he was having trouble selling him but it was like his warning flew right out the window the second I saw him sleeping and looking so damn cute.”
“Who, Aiba?”
“No, Chubby. The dog.” Sho sighed heavily and ran his hands over his face. “He perked up as soon as I got him home, and he destroyed everything! He barks at nothing, chews on the furniture, is not even remotely house trained… I’m at my wits end, already, and I haven’t even had him 24 hours yet!”
“You look stressed.” Ohno agreed, sticking his fingers into the kennel and grinning when the puppy began slobbering on them.
“I hardly got any sleep last night.” Sho mourned. “I didn’t mean to miss the meeting this morning, but I realized that I’d bought a dog without buying anything to care for a dog with. I didn’t even have any dog food in the house, so I had to go shopping as soon as the stores opened. And then it occurred to me that I couldn’t possibly leave him alone all day. That was my reason for not getting a dog in the first place!” He sighed again. “So that’s why he’s here. I couldn’t think of anything else to do.”
“Do they have babysitters for pets?”
Sho raised his head. “Do they?!”
Ohno shrugged. “It would be a cool idea, though.” He paused to make cooing noises at the puppy through the bars. “He sure is cute, even if he’s trouble.”
“The trouble is really outweighing the cuteness right now.” Sho grumbled, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes.
“Well, once you get him trained, he’ll be a good boy.” There was a click as Ohno undid the latch on the kennel’s door. Sho cracked an eye open to watch the older businessman lift the wriggling, rotund, dog into the air from behind his forelegs. “Isn’t that right, Fatty~?” His nose and eyes scrunched up with laughter when the puppy responded by licking him on the cheek.
“His name’s Chubby.” Sho corrected, unable to keep from chuckling.
“Oh,” Ohno got off the desk and knelt in front of it. “My apologies, Chubby-san.” He said seriously, sitting the puppy down and petting him on the head.
Chubby yipped and suddenly began running circles around the brown haired man. Sho laughed right along with Ohno, up until the dog darted under his desk and proceeded to squat. “Chubby, no!” Sho exclaimed, eyes going wide. He scrambled to get newspaper onto the section of floor he’d yet to cover, and then groaned, too late to stop the mess from being made.
Ohno clutched his stomach and rolled onto his side. He laughed so hard his face turned red, and only laughed harder when the dog reappeared to play tug-of-war with his sleeve.
“This is insane.” Sho moaned, sure the secretary would be concerned by the amount of noise they were making and hoping dearly that she wouldn’t try to check on them. “This is absolutely insane.”
+++
Nino stopped just outside of the pet store to recount the wad of cash in his hand. “…220… 230.” He sighed. “230,000 yen.” It had been a while since he’d last had so much spare cash on him at once. He shoved the bills into their envelope and nodded to himself, determined to see this through even if it took all day to get Aiba to agree to take it.
… Well, no. Actually, he only had an hour before his shift at the video store started.
“Let’s do this.” He murmured to himself before marching forward and into the cheery store. He ignored Becky’s greeting of ‘Welcom- Oh, it’s just you’ and locked his gaze on the tall figure sweeping in the room full of fish aquariums. “Masaki!” He called, striding across the store.
Aiba turned to face him, and his expression went from mildly confused to bright as sunshine.
Nino valiantly ignored the flutter in his chest. He had a job to do, and he refused to be distracted from his quest by boys with charming smiles and sparkling eyes.
“Masaki, the sale ends tomorrow and I’m insisting that you accept this.” He held out the envelope, still advancing on the other man. “Consider it both my intention to help, and to pay you back for all the clothes. If you don’t accept it, I will never go to that class again and- and I’ll purposely sabotage all your attempts to sell that dog, so-“
To his surprise, Aiba’s grin only widened upon hearing the empty threat. The broom clattered to the floor, startling all the nearby fish, and Nino quickly found himself with an armful of bouncing, clingy, Aiba.
“…What-?...”
Aiba practically squealed. “NinoNinoNino! Someone bought him! Someone bought Chubby! He was sold!!!”
Nino winced. His ears were ringing, but Aiba’s cheer was infectious and he found himself laughing and hugging the older man back. “Seriously?! Today?”
“Last night!” Aiba exclaimed, so happy that he was breathless. He pulled away to beam at Nino from an arm’s length. “Becky-chan said some guy came in right before closing and bought him! He didn’t even look at the other dogs, he went right for Chubby! Isn’t that great?!”
“I guess your posters must have worked then!” Nino was honestly a little surprised. He’d booked off of work so that he’d have the time to comfort Aiba on Friday night when things ended badly, as he’d feared they would.
“I think he probably knew you, Aiba-kun.” Becky interjected. “He asked about you.”
“Knew me?” Aiba frowned thoughtfully.
“Was your name on the posters?” Nino questioned.
Aiba shook his head. “No, just the name of the store… That’s weird.”
“The guy was weird.” Becky said. “He acted like he only came here to see you, and then he didn’t want to tell me his name. You don’t have any freaky stalkers do you?”
Nino scowled and Aiba shook his head again. “Not that I know of.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if you had no idea you were being stalked, Aiba.” Nino growled, crossing his arms.
Becky laughed at him, and Aiba ruffled his hair. “It’s okay, Nino-chan. The important thing is that Chubby-chan found a home.”
“You’re lucky you had the day off yesterday.” Nino pointed out. “For all you know, he was planning to jump you in the parking lot after closing.”
Aiba laughed, like he wasn’t the least bit concerned. “I actually wish I had been here.”
Nino’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “Why?” He demanded.
Aiba chuckled again, waving him off. “No, I mean I wish I’d been here to say goodbye to the little guy.” He sighed, surveying the store. “I’ll miss him.” He paused, and then walked over to pick up his broom. “I am happy for him though. Of course.”
Nino nodded his understanding.
“So… wait, what’s the envelope all about?” Aiba questioned, as if only just processing what Nino’s purpose for coming had been. “You… wrote me a letter?” Aiba stared at the envelope suspiciously.
Behind them, Becky whistled. “Ninomiya-kun’s finally confessing?”
Nino glared over his shoulder at her. “No. And it’s not a letter.” He shoved the envelope into Aiba’s hand. “Take it. And… no give-backs.”
Aiba raised an eyebrow, but opened it anyway. His eyes widened. “…Nino, no-“
Nino raised his hands, palms outwards, as Aiba tried to pass it back to him. “No, Aiba-chan. I told you, it’s yours.”
“I can’t accept this.” Aiba looked concerned. “Seriously. This is… Where did you even get all of this?”
Nino shrugged.
Aiba leant in, brows pulled together, and lowered his voice to a whisper. “…Legally?”
Nino frowned and shoved him away. “Of course! What do you think I’m doing? Selling drugs behind the video store or something?”
“Well, I don’t know! You’re not the type to randomly give away your money…”
Nino sighed. “It’s to repay you. For your rainy day savings.”
Aiba had a hard time hiding that he was touched, even if he still didn’t want to accept the money. “Nino-chan…”
“Look, if you feel bad about taking it…” Nino looked away, “…you can use it to take me out for drinks. And food.”
Aiba laughed.
“I have Friday night off.” Nino continued. “We can celebrate Chubby’s adoption, ‘k?”
“Mm.” Aiba nodded. “Okay then. I’ll pick you up, and we’ll make it a party.” He grinned.
Nino grinned back.
+++
Ohno yawned and leaned against the wall, watching the couples in the room stretching out their limbs under Matsumoto’s instruction. To his left, Mao was following along with the exercises, even if she wasn’t a participant.
“You know,” Ohno started, catching her attention. “If you want, we could ask Matsumoto-san to let us join. I wouldn’t mind being your partner, or paying for the lessons.”
“Thanks Ohno-kun, but I have a better idea.”
Ohno raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, watching her shoot a determined glance at the Aiba/Ninomiya pair. The two of them were stretching obliviously, unaware of whatever diabolical plan Mao was concocting. As much as Ohno wanted Mao to be successful in her pursuit of Matsumoto, he still felt a little bad for the nervous, flighty, Ninomiya woman. He hoped there was nothing really going on between her and the dance instructor.
“Jun-kun!” Mao called out, startling Ohno out of his thoughts. When had she moved? She was halfway to the front of the room already.
Jun stopped stretching, leaving the class to continue on their own as he turned to her attentively.
“Can I have a moment? I’ve got a suggestion…”
“Hey, it’s Ohno-san, right?”
Ohno looked up to meet eyes with Aiba-san. “Yeah?” He couldn’t hear what Mao or Matsumoto were saying anymore anyway so he redirected his full attention to the brown haired man in front of him.
“Is Sakurai-san running late or something?”
Ohno smiled. “He’s not coming tonight, actually. He’s… got his hands full.” Sho had indeed been too frazzled over the issue with the dog to come to the class, but Ohno figured he wouldn’t have come anyway. Whatever had happened between him and Maki -Sho still wasn’t willing to tell him any details- had probably left him at least temporarily partner-less.
“Oh.” Aiba looked disappointed.
“Want me to tell him a message or something?” Ohno asked, eyes drifting beyond the brown haired man to meet Ninomiya’s stare. The woman promptly turned away and began fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.
“Sure.” Aiba chirped, perking up at the suggestion. “Can you let him know that Chubby, that dog I asked him to pass out flyers for, got adopted by someone?”
Ohno had the impression that ShunTaro’s CFO was prone to being secretive, and overly concerned with what people thought of him. If Aiba didn’t yet know who had bought the dog, then Ohno didn’t feel it was his position to inform give him the news. Sho had said nothing to the effect, but perhaps the dog’s adoption was supposed to be a surprise. Ohno didn’t want to spoil any surprises, so he just chuckled. “Sure. I’ll let him know.”
Aiba beamed. “Thanks!”
“No problem.”
“Alright, everyone.” Jun spoke up. Aiba bowed quickly and excused himself, letting Ninomiya drag him away to an empty space of floor. Ohno watched curiously when everyone in the class turned their attention to the instructor, but Mao remained standing by Jun’s elbow, looking entirely pleased with herself. “As promised, today we’re going to try the tango. The tango is quite different from the waltz. For one, each step should take your feet off of the ground, rather than slide along. Your steps could be compared to the sneaking or stalking action of a cat. And the tango has no rise and fall as you move. Your body should stay at the same level the whole time. The way you hold your partner is different as well.” Jun explained, and turned to the girl beside him. “This is Inoue Mao. We were dance partners years ago, and she’s offered to be my partner again now so it will be easier for me to teach through demonstration.”
Ohno laughed silently to himself, honestly impressed with her determination.
“Here is the proper hold.” Jun continued, reaching for her hand and curving his other arm around her back. “Your hands should be clasped at about the lady’s eye level, and you’ll notice that my hand on her back is further in than it would be in the waltz position. The man’s fingers should be at about her spine, as opposed to her shoulder blade.” He turned so the class could view them from the other side. “Your bent arm should be held higher than it would be for the waltz.”
“The lady can rest her hand on his upper arm, which is a little more formal, or hook her arm across the back of the man’s shoulders.” Mao explained, and abruptly demonstrated. The new hold left her pressed tight up against his chest. Jun looked surprised by her sudden proximity, but he hid it fairly well. “The tango is a dance of passion. It originated from the brothels in Buenos Aires but was modified as it travelled through countries and through upper classes. This position is considerably more intimate, as you and your partner’s torsos should have no space between them. It also makes following your partner’s movements easier when you are literally connected. The tango is a very sexy dance.”
“Uh… yes.” Jun looked like he was still trying to assess the situation. “So, a demonstration of the footwork would be something like this. We’ll keep it simple.” He stepped forward, Mao backwards, and they began to slink along together in a circle. It wasn’t too different from the box step. “Notice the lack of rise and fall?” Jun continued to the class, pointedly ignoring the sultry gaze Mao had fixed on him. “When you step, your heel should hit the floor first, followed by your toe.”
“Once you’ve got the basics, you can start getting fancy with moves like these.” Mao cut in, taking a pause in Jun’s movements as an opportunity to hook her leg around one of Jun’s and slide it slowly up the back of his calf. She threw her head back, long hair falling down her back, and sunk down sensually. Jun had to scramble to accommodate her with a dip, and Ohno had to bite down on his fist to keep from laughing at the instructor’s utterly bewildered expression.
The class applauded at the demonstration as the two of them straightened up again, and Jun disentangled himself from his new partner as though she burned him. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “So… partner up and give that a try. Well, no. Not that, but try the basic footwork. Make sure you’ve got the hold right first, of course.”
While Jun was busy directing the class, Mao grinned and flashed Ohno a victory sign.
+++
“Yay~” The two of them cheered, clinking their glasses together and laughing when some of the foam sloshed over the rims.
“Ah, it feels good to relax. Finally.” Aiba sighed happily, grinning and red cheeked.
Nino laughed giddily at him. “You’re more fun when you’re not stressed out.”
“Chubby was adopted!” Aiba cheered, pumping his fist in the air. “Yay! Cheers!”
“Cheers!” Nino echoed, downing the last of his drink and reaching for the last slice of pizza on the table between them. “Mind if I finish this?”
“Go ahead.” Aiba looked across the restaurant at the mall entrance and the few shoppers he could see wandering past the window in the door. He glanced at his watch. “Mall’s closing soon, I guess…”
“Mm.” Nino nodded, swallowing a bite of crust. “Did you want to go somewhere else after this?”
Aiba shrugged.
“Well, I cleaned up at home if you just wanna chill there for a while.”
“Sure.” Aiba agreed. “I think I forgot my scarf there when I picked you up earlier anyway…”
Nino snorted. “Why’d you even take it off?”
“It was itchy. And your apartment was really hot.”
“Obviously ’cuz I was in it.” Nino deadpanned.
Aiba shoved him good-naturedly. “Anyway, before we go there’s something I wanna pick up in the mall.” He dug around in his coat and pulled out the envelope, taking out a handful of bills and shoving them into Nino’s palm. “Deal with the bill, will you? I’ll meet you out front.”
“Alright.” Nino watched Aiba leave, then focused his attention on flagging down their waitress.
+++
Sho sighed, quietly. It felt absurd to be creeping around on his hands and knees like an intruder in his own home. Chubby was asleep on his couch, shedding all over a throw pillow and snoring loudly, and though Sho was taking the opportunity to clean up some of the mess the dog had made while he was at work, he definitely didn’t want to wake the furry monstrosity.
Taking Chubby to work had become impossible by the time Wednesday rolled around -as much as Ohno tried to cover for him, coming into a meeting with dog pee all over one of his legs and a chunk missing from his suit jacket’s sleeve didn’t look very professional, and was hard to explain to his superiors. For the last couple days he’d just had to leave Chubby behind, and try to grow accustomed to coming home and finding that whatever room the dog had been locked in was utterly trashed. Sho wasn’t faring much better than his house; it was obvious from his appearance and it was starting to show in his work as well. He’d spent that afternoon completely redoing a report he’d messed up earlier in the week, and he’d be spending the whole weekend catching up on everything he’d fallen behind on.
“What the hell am I going to do with you…?” Sho muttered, sitting amid the wreckage of his living room. Looking down, he realized the legs of the coffee table he was leaning against were gnawed in several places, and he hung his head. It had been an expensive table. When Sho looked up again, Chubby was staring back at him with dark, sleepy eyes. Sho tensed automatically, but the dog just shifted positions and continued to stare at him, as if waiting for the answer to Sho’s question. What are you going to do with me?
Sho sighed, relaxing again when he realized Chubby was in one of his -rare- sleepy moods, and not about to run rampant and cause more destruction. He reached out and ran his fingers through the coarse hair on the puppy’s head, then scratched beneath one of his floppy ears. Chubby huffed pleasantly and leaned into his hand. Sho smiled fondly and leaned forward to scoop him up, letting the floppy pile of fur and limbs settle comfortably in his lap. In a matter of minutes, with plenty of petting, the dog was back asleep and making soft little snuffling noises against Sho’s chest.
“…I guess we’re stuck with each other now.” Sho breathed. “At least I’m not spending Friday night alone. And you definitely keep things lively.”
Chubby snorted loudly, and then burrowed his snout under Sho’s arm.
Sho chuckled and shifted until he could lean back and rest his head on the table, careful not to disturb the animal sleeping in his lap. In some ways, his decision to adopt Chubby felt like a rebound gone horribly wrong. Trying to tend to the hyperactive dog was certainly keeping him too busy and stressed out to stress out over Maki. But considering Chubby a rebound seemed to imply that things were over between him and Maki, which wasn’t necessarily true- even though it had been almost a week, and he hadn’t had the nerve to try and contact her yet. Sho didn’t want to think it was over, but he also didn’t know what he was still trying to cling to. Was there any reason to continue dating Maki? Sure, he missed her. He cared about Maki, and he felt terrible for hurting her, but somehow continuing to date her seemed like it would only be more hurtful in the long run if he still couldn’t seem to give her what she wanted.
“She deserves better…” He mumbled, letting exhaustion close his eyes. “I’m just too selfish to stop hanging on. Pathetic, right?” He got no answer; the rise and fall of Chubby’s snores lulled him into a much-needed sleep.
When he woke up to high pitched yapping less than an hour later, there was a painful crick in his neck, and the stuffing of the throw pillow Chubby had earlier slept on was strewn around most of the living room as if it had snowed indoors.
Sho groaned, hid his face in his knees, and tugged at his hair in frustration.
He was bound to go bald -or be hospitalized with a stress related heart condition- if this continued for much longer.
+++
“Ahhhh~ It’s so nice out!” Aiba exclaimed, grinning up at the black expanse of sky and spinning with his arms stretched out.
Nino laughed, walking with his hands deep in his pockets and watching his friend bounce along the street ahead of him. “It’s so not.” He countered, hunching his shoulders a little more. It was only a five minute walk or so from the station to his apartment building, but it was nearing late October and the night air was decidedly chilly. “And don’t be so loud. People are probably sleeping around here, you know?”
“It’s a Friday! We’re not the only noisy drunks out and about!”
“We hardly drank anything, you moron.” Nino teased, but he was grinning.
Aiba shrugged happily, falling back into step beside him as the entrance to Nino’s building came into sight, just around the next turn. Aiba bumped up against his side every now and then as they walked, and Nino noticed the crinkling of a shopping bag shoved into the pocket of the older man’s coat.
“Hey,” he started curiously, “what did you buy, anyway?”
Aiba looked caught off guard by the question, but then he broke out into a secretive smile. “That’s a surprise…”
Nino raised an eyebrow and immediately stopped in his tracks. “Tell me.”
Aiba turned around to face him and laughed. “But that would ruin the surprise.”
Nino pouted, crossing his arms and stalking into Aiba’s personal space. “Tell me!” He stressed in his whiniest tone. “I’m curious now!”
“I’ll show you when we get inside, okay?” Aiba reasoned, looking highly amused but unaffected by Nino’s attempts at persuasion.
“Why? Is it something weird? Something indecent?”
“No! Nothing like that.” Aiba giggled, trying unsuccessfully to back away.
“Then what is it? Why can’t you show it to me now? We’re almost inside anyway.”
Aiba hesitated and then sighed with exaggerated exasperation. “Fine! But we can’t use it ‘til we get inside anyway.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a shopping bag with a rectangular-shaped object inside. “Here.” He said, handing it over. “…It’s for you.”
“Wait,” Nino glanced between Aiba and the bag before reaching tentatively inside. “…For me?”
“Well, yeah.” Aiba shrugged, watching Nino crumple the empty bag in his hand and stare at the video game case. “But you’ll have to let me play with you. It’s a multiplayer one, and a pretty new release.”
“…Masaki, you didn’t have to-“
“But I said I would, didn’t I? Back when you agreed to be my partner.”
Nino frowned, smoothing a thumb over the glossy packaging of the new Mario & Sonic game. He hadn’t counted on Aiba remembering the condition of his agreement. “Still… you shouldn’t spend any more of that money on me.”
Aiba sighed, rolled his eyes, and smiled. “Money you earned by selling your games?” Nino’s head shot up at that. “That’s how you got the money, right? I noticed they were missing when I came by earlier.” He chuckled, and Nino was reminded that Aiba was also a lot more observant than he usually gave him credit for. “You paid me back for the clothes, and I bought you the new Mario game that I owed you. Now we’re even.”
Nino bit his lip; his chest was so full of affection for his friend that it was actually painful.
In the darkness of the street, Aiba’s eyes and smile seemed so bright. “Come on,” He chuckled, patting Nino on the arm and taking the game from his loose grip. “Now we have something to do tonight, right? So long as you didn’t actually sell your Wii…”
“… Aiba.” Nino croaked, stepping forward and catching Aiba by the arm to stop him from walking ahead to the building.
“What?” Aiba laughed, turning back to face him. “Don’t tell me you did sell-“
The end of Aiba’s sentence was muffled when Nino wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and, on his tiptoes, pulled him into a kiss. It was nothing but spontaneous, and even as Nino felt the soft warmth of Aiba’s lips on his own, the silkiness of the hairs at his nape, the slow pulse beating against Nino’s own rapid one… he had no idea what had suddenly prompted the action.
It was a really awkward kiss, like the lame press-and-freeze kisses so often featured in television dramas. Nino desperately wanted some sort of reaction or response, for Aiba to relax his tense posture, reach out and pull him closer, tangle his hands in Nino’s hair and kiss him senseless until they were both gasping for air with lips bruised and swollen.
Aiba’s strong hands reached out and closed around Nino’s arms.
Nino’s hand slipped from Aiba’s neck and hung limply at his side as he was gently pushed away. Aiba’s expression was unbelievably apologetic, and Nino’s stomach dropped. “Well, shit.” He mumbled, taking a step back and staring at the pavement beneath Aiba’s feet. “That was stupid.”
“... Kazu…” Aiba seemed to be searching for something to say. “… I’m sorry.” He said finally, weakly, as though those weren’t the right words but he couldn’t think of anything better to express himself.
Nino chanced looking up, and cursed himself for causing the pained expression on his friend’s previously cheery face. “No, it’s fine.” He forced a smile and walked past Aiba, grabbing the Mario game from him on the way by. “Forget about it.” He stopped after a few steps and turned back when he realized Aiba wasn’t following him. “…You’re not coming in?”
Aiba glanced between him and the apartment building. Nino watched him swallow thickly before shaking his head. “I think I should just catch the last train home. I’m kind of tired and… yeah.” He attempted to smile, but he looked more like he was going to cry. “…Sorry.” He muttered, dropping his gaze.
Nino sighed. “It’s okay, Masaki. I mean it.” The last thing he wanted was for Aiba to start crying, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t always half expected Aiba to reject him anyway. If anything, it was a bit of a relief to finally have things out in the open between them. “… You’re still my best friend, right?”
“Of course!” Aiba blurt and nodded fervently. When he spoke again, his voice dropped and he sounded thoroughly choked up. “Of course I am.”
Nino smiled. “Then it’s okay.”
Aiba eyed him for a moment and then laughed tearfully, looking relieved as he swiped at his eyes. “…Okay.”
Nino waved and watched Aiba begin trudging slowly back down the road. “Text me later, so I know you got home safe.”
Inside his apartment, Nino sat on the couch with his living room lit only by the colorful Mario & Sonic menu screen. The Single or Multiplayer options seemed to taunt him, and the cheerful music was giving him a headache. He closed his eyes, pursed his lips into a thin line, and let himself fall back across the cushions. He held his breath for a long tense moment, counting seconds in the dark behind his eyelids, and then let it out slowly through his nostrils.
Less than half an hour passed before Nino woke up and realized that he’d fallen asleep. His cheeks were damp and growing stiff from drying tears he didn’t remember shedding. The cell phone on his stomach was vibrating.
FROM: Aibaka
SUBJECT: (No Subject)
MESSAGE:
I got home safe.
… Think we should probably talk. R u awake? :S
Nino sighed, albeit fondly, and scrubbed a hand tiredly over his face before sliding the phone open.
TO: Aibaka
RE: (No Subject)
MESSAGE:
Too tired atm. =_=
don’t worry. tomorrow will be normal
goodnight!
He paused before hitting send, and then added a smiling emoticon for good measure. Message sent, and phone switched to silent, Nino curled back up on the couch and buried his face in the upholstery. He had every intention of making good on his assurance that things would still be normal. Lingering on rejection or heartache wasn’t something he liked to do. It was one thing to torment himself with feelings for his best friend before, but now that Aiba was obviously never going to be more than a best friend, moving on was the only option.
It had been so many long years; the thought of finally moving on from Aiba was almost enough to bring a smile of relief to his lips before he drifted off.
But only almost.
+++
to be continued...
A/N: T_T Sorry Aimiya fans! I know the wait was kinda long for this one, so I'm sorry about that too! The good news is that I'm reeeeaaallly inspired to work on the next chapters of this fic, but the bad news is that I've got a troublesome exchange fic hanging over my head that I need to finish *sigh*. It's killing me, seriously. So... there might be a wait for chapter 9 too. Sorry! Please be patient with me? :)
If it helps, I'll tease you with this information: chapter 9 has another kiss scene~ and... it'll be much more passionate than the one in this chapter was. Heh heh heh~
Not telling you which pairing it is though. :P
ALSO, have some random facts/goodies.
1. The 'Light and Shade' in this fic's title is actually a term in ballroom dancing (and I used it mostly because it sounds badass). It refers to creating contrast within a dance, for example by using quick moves here and there in a slow dance or making dramatic pauses to make a routine more exciting.
2. Chubby (in my mind) is a terrier mix. Probably at least part Border terrier. Check out a picture of my mental image of him, HERE! or also HERE! :)
Thanks for reading!!!
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