[fic] step by Step; Light and Shade - (12/?)
TITLE: Step by Step; Light and Shade
PAIRINGS: akuraiba, Matsumiya, Aimiya, Ohmiya, ShoxMaki, and JunxMao
LENGTH: ulti-chaptered
BANDS: rashi (with Horikita Maki and Inoue Mao)
GENRE: omance, 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 Step08 Step09 Step10 | Step 11 |
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 12.
“Ouch!” Aiba yelped, jumping back a step as Nino trod on his toes for the third time.
“Sorry.” Nino replied curtly, red-faced with embarrassment and frustration. The couple to their right was looking on curiously and, from the corner of his eye, Nino could see Matsumoto eyeing them with awkward hesitancy. No doubt he wanted to intervene and correct whatever was wrong, but couldn’t bring himself to come over. “This is so humiliating.” Nino hissed as Aiba took his hand again and they returned to the routine.
“Just relax, okay?” Aiba said with a kind smile that only further darkened Nino’s foul mood. “We can do this.”
“No. We can’t.” Nino countered through clenched teeth. Every other couple in the room had clearly improved from the beginning of the classes, but for some reason Nino and Aiba seemed to still be stuck in the early awkward -and painful- stages.
“Hey.” Mao interrupted them quietly, perhaps a little uncomfortably. Across the room, Matsumoto was completely avoiding looking in their direction. “Can I help?”
Nino pursed his lips while Aiba smiled and nodded, welcoming the assistance. “Thanks, Inoue-san.”
Mao returned the smile. “Aiba-san, your technique is looking really good. Just keep it up.”
Aiba beamed.
“So that means I’m the problem?” Nino asked, a little more stiffly than he meant to. “I don’t understand. When I practice by myself I have no problem with the steps.”
“The problem isn’t your footwork.” Mao clarified. “I think you just need to learn to relax when you’re with your partner.”
“’Relax’.” Nino repeated bitterly.
“It’ll come naturally if you practice together more often.”
“That’s just not possible. Our schedules don’t match up these days.” Nino said and then sighed, seeing the guilt suddenly weigh on Aiba’s features. “It’s not your fault, Masaki.”
Mao looked awkwardly between them. “It’s not too late if you want to get extra help from Matsumoto-kun and I.”
Nino shot a glance in Matsumoto’s direction. The instructor met his gaze for a split second and then quickly turned away. “… I don’t think that would be a comfortable situation for any of us.” Nino answered somberly, turning back to Mao.
She sighed but didn’t argue that point.
“Okay, that’s it for tonight guys!” Matsumoto called, shutting off the music.
Nino slipped out of Aiba’s hold and made for the door, not bothering to stay for the closing pep-talk. He pulled his coat on as he hurried down the old staircase, hearing Aiba’s footsteps close on his heels.
“Nino! Wait up!” Aiba called, bursting out of the building and onto the sidewalk. Big flakes of snow were floating gently down from the sky, melting as they hit the ground. He caught Nino by the arm, forcing him to stop and turn. “Hold on a second.”
“Look, Masaki. I just-…” Ohno was huddled against the wall of the building with a cigarette between his fingers. He averted his curious gaze when Nino noticed him. “…I just don’t think we can do this. For whatever reason, I keep screwing us up.”
“It’s okay-“
“No, it isn’t.” Nino sighed, clearly stressed out. “Maybe you’re okay with screwing up in front of crowds of people at the competition, but I can’t do that. And realistically we just don’t have time to get better.” He paused, watching as the other members of the class trickled out of the building. “…The competition is in three weeks.”
Aiba bit his lip and let go of Nino’s arm. “… So you want to drop out of the competition?”
“I-…” Nino hesitated. It hurt to meet Aiba’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Masaki.”
“Please don’t.” Said another voice. They both turned to see Mao standing in the doorway. Ohno looked on with raised eyebrows as she too stepped out onto the sidewalk. “Please don’t quit, Ninomiya-san.”
Nino frowned, but Mao continued before he could question her.
“This is a selfish request, but please stay. Or at least think about it.”
Nino looked between Mao and Aiba’s sincere expressions, not sure what he should say.
Aiba’s phone rang, and he looked hesitantly between Nino and Sakurai’s name on the display screen before deciding to answer. “Hello?” A crease formed in his brow as he listened to the voice on the other end. “Uh, tonight?...” His gaze turned to Nino again.
Nino sighed, rolling his eyes a little. “Fine, I’ll think about it.”
“Really?” Aiba covered the phone with his hand and asked, wide-eyed and hopeful.
“Just go.” Nino couldn’t help letting an amused smile creep onto his face. “Don’t keep your boyfriend waiting.”
Aiba frowned at him in mock annoyance. “Thanks Nino.” He said, giving Nino a quick one-armed hug before darting to the crosswalk and speaking into the phone again. “Sure! I’m on my way…”
Nino watched until Aiba had safely reached the other side of the street before fixing Mao with a curious frown. “…Why?” He asked. “I understand that Aiba wants me to stay, but why do you?”
Mao looked away sheepishly. “Because, Jun-kun will blame himself if you quit. I know him, and I know he’ll feel like he failed himself as a teacher if you leave. Even if the awkward situation between you and him isn’t your reason for going. Plus, this may be his last opportunity to be a dance instructor -at least for a while. The program is closing after the competition, so this is kind of the grand finale. I want it to be a happy ending, if possible… Do you understand?”
Nino nodded. “… I’m sorry, Inoue-san. I never wanted to get between you and Matsumoto-san. It just… got out of my control.”
Mao smiled. “No hard feelings. Just… let Ohno-kun give you a ride home. Okay?”
Nino blinked, startled. Mao’s smile turned into a grin, and from the corner of his eye Nino saw Ohno’s jaw drop. “Huh?” Both men echoed at the same time.
Mao laughed, a little evilly, and beckoned Ohno over. “Borrow my bike, okay?”
“And how the hell are you planning to get home?” Ohno demanded, crushing the butt of his cigarette beneath the toe of his boot.
“With Jun-kun, of course. I’m sure he’ll give me a lift.” She winked, thumping Ohno on the back before shoving a set of keys into his hand and returning to the building.
Ohno pinched the bridge of his nose and cursed under his breath as the door shut behind her.
“I… didn’t agree to this.” Nino pointed out, feeling a little bewildered.
“Me neither.” Ohno replied, glaring at the keys in his hand.
“Well, you don’t have to. I can walk to the station.”
“No,” Ohno shook his head. Looking up, they could see Mao already watching from the studio windows on the third floor. She waved cheekily. He sighed. “She’ll murder me if I don’t go along with whatever she’s up to.” He began walking the short distance to the blue motorbike that was parked against the curb. “Sorry, but keeping her happy is kind of my side-job these days.”
Nino sighed, giving in and accepting the helmet that was offered to him. While he buckled it under his chin and buttoned up his coat, he watched Ohno check an incoming text message on his phone. He couldn’t see the contents, but Ohno’s frown deepened and he fixed Nino with an odd look before putting the cell away and straddling the bike. It rumbled to life, and Nino climbed on awkwardly behind him.
+++
“Sakurai-san?” Aiba called as he stepped into the entranceway. Chubby came bounding over immediately, wriggling and tripping over all the scattered shoes with unbeatable enthusiasm. Aiba set his own shoes aside and dropped to a crouch, letting the gangly dog clamber into his arms and lick his chin. “Hey, Chubby-chan.” He cooed. “You’re such a big boy, aren’t you? Such a good puppy dog.”
“In the kitchen, Aiba-kun!” Sho called.
Aiba placed a quick kiss on the top of the dog’s head before letting him run free and standing up. He found Sho setting two plates on the kitchen counter beside a pizza box. “Hey.” He greeted.
Sho looked up and smiled at him. “Hey,” he responded. “Um, sorry for inviting you over so suddenly. I felt like having a pizza and movie night, but thought it would be pretty depressing alone…” He turned to open the fridge. “Beer?”
“Sure.” Aiba chuckled at Sho’s slightly frazzled demeanor. “Thanks for inviting me. I can never pass up free pizza.”
+++
+++
“H-here.” Nino stammered. “This is my building.”
The silence around them was almost deafening when Ohno pulled up to the curb and killed the loud growl of the engine. “Sorry.” Ohno said as Nino released the iron hold around his midriff and got shakily to his feet. “I haven’t driven one of these in years, and my mind’s somewhere else tonight… even more than it usually is.”
“Well.” Nino swallowed, heart pounding from the ride. “That’s reassuring…” He pulled the helmet off his head, careful not to disturb his wig, and put it down on the seat. “Good night, Ohno-san. Thanks for the drive.” He bowed his head and then hurried to stride past the bike and up the walk to his apartment building. He could feel Ohno’s eyes on him as he walked, and he was almost within reach of the staircase when his name was called.
“Ninomiya-san, wait!”
Nino stopped and turned.
Ohno was standing beside the bike now, helmet in his hands, looking incredibly anxious. He hesitated for a long moment before putting his helmet next to Nino’s and taking a few steps forward. “I-… I don’t want to have to ask you this, but Mao texted me before we left and-… Well, we’re kind of desperate at this point. The party is in two days, and we need-… well, I need-…”
Nino frowned, watching Ohno search for the right words and grow increasingly more red-faced and agitated. “Can I assume that this time you are trying to ask me out?”
Ohno turned even redder, shoulders slumping in defeat. “Kind of.” He admitted. “But not on a date! This is… a business arrangement, so you’ll be compensated for--” He cut himself off with an expression of horror and practically dove down to bow on his hands and knees. “No! I’m so sorry, that makes it sound like I think you’re some sort of prostitute! I didn’t mean it like that, I swear.” He groaned pitifully, hanging his head. “This is mortifying…” He whined to himself.
“Uh, just calm down.” Nino stepped forward to pull him into an upright kneeling position. “Explain it clearly, okay? You’re confusing me.”
Ohno took a deep breath, looking completely forlorn with a smudge of dirt on his forehead. “I need someone to pretend to be my secret girlfriend at a dinner party with mine and Mao-chan’s parents this Saturday. I’m not actually trying to date you, so don’t worry about that. This is all Mao’s scheming, and she wanted me to ask you because you said you’ve been having trouble with your dancing.”
Nino frowned. “…Yes. So?”
“If you do this for us, then I can help you get better before the competition.” He hesitantly got back to his feet. “If there’s anything I’m confident about, it’s my dancing. And this way you can get extra help without needing to make things more awkward between you and Matsumoto. It’d clear my conscience a bit with regards to that incident too, for that matter…” He bit his lip, watching Nino consider the offer. “…Please, Ninomiya-san? It’d mean the world if you could help us.”
There was something about the way Ohno was looking at him with such an honest, hopeful, expression. The way the snow was settling on his messy helmet-hair, and the way he didn’t seem to care or notice that his clothes were dirty from kneeling on the ground. It made Nino’s pulse stutter uncomfortably. It reminded him of the way Aiba had made him feel when he first fell head-over-heels.
It was terrifying.
“O-okay.” He stammered before he could clearly think things through.
Ohno’s face broke into a stunning grin that left Nino so momentarily star-struck that he actually let out a squeak of surprise upon being swept into a tight embrace. “Thank you so much!” Ohno exclaimed, relief evident in his tone. “Thank you thank you thank you!”
+++
“… Any tattoos or piercings?”
After the movie ended, their calm pizza and movie night had somehow turned into a short-lived drinking game and then a game of 20 questions.
Aiba grinned. “No tattoos. One piercing, here.” He pushed his hair back and pointed to the ring in the middle of his left ear. “What about you?” He retorted, setting his empty beer bottle down on the coffee table among the growing collection. “Ah, what a waste of a question. I’m sure you don’t, Mr. Sensible. Can I take it back?”
Sho chuckled, popping the cap off another bottle and handing it over. “I actually did have a couple piercings.” He scratched the back of his neck self-consciously, met by Aiba’s wide-eyed surprise and interest. “One in my earlobe, the other… my navel.” He took a large gulp of his own drink. “But it’s been awhile since then. I took them out when I started job-hunting in college.”
“Whoa…” Aiba breathed in awe. “You must have been pretty wild back in the day, huh?”
“Not at all!” Sho laughed, waving him off with clear embarrassment. “I don’t think I even know how to be wild… I mean, I got the piercings done in high school, sort of because I wanted to rebel against my parents… but mostly because my friends were egging me on.” He chuckled. “You should have seen the panic attack I had when it was being done… Not cool at all.”
Aiba laughed. “I can imagine that perfectly. No offense, Sakurai-kun.”
“The wildest thing I’ve done since then… is probably adopting Chubby on a whim.”
“Do you regret that?”
“Adopting Chubby?” Sho let his gaze roam to the dog sprawled out on the floor in front of the television, snoring obnoxiously with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Sho smiled. “Of course not. You’ve been a lifesaver when it comes to managing him, really, and I really do love having the company. It makes a big difference to me.”
Aiba swallowed dryly as Sho made eye contact with him again. He was feeling too warm, and the alcohol wasn’t entirely to blame. “… Whose company?” The question left his lips before he could stop it, but he wanted an answer more than he wanted to take the words back. “… Mine, or Chubby’s?” He continued when Sho seemed confused.
“Uh-…” Sho hesitated, looking alarmingly like a deer caught in headlights. The awkward tension rapidly became unbearable
“Sorry, I asked way more than one question-“ Aiba started, but Sho surprised him by blurting out an answer before he could properly diffuse the situation.
“Both.” Sho said, maybe a little louder than necessary. He licked his lips and continued a little cooler. “Both of you, of course. I think… well, you’re a good friend. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me. Or-… everything that you’ve done for Chubby, I guess.” He chuckled awkwardly.
Aiba took a short breath and looked away, lifting his bottle to his lips again. “Both…” He said quietly. “I’m here for both of you.”
+++
Mao’s phone buzzed in the pocket of her thick leather jacket and she struggled to pull it out around the seatbelt. “Ah, here’s good Jun-kun. Just pull up here.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind driving you right up to the door…”
“No, no, no. Just in case my mother’s looking out the window… I don’t want to chance her seeing you.” She finally got the phone free. “It’s just, I’m supposed to be with Ohno right now.” She explained, and then slid the phone open with a raised eyebrow. “Speak of the devil…” She murmured, eyes scanning over the message intently. “Yes!” She suddenly shrieked, startling Jun into bumping the curb as he parked.
“Jesus, Mao.” He cursed quietly, straightening out.
“Sorry!” Mao replied, only mildly abashed. “It’s just- this is so exciting. You have no idea how relieved I am right now. Oh thank god she said yes!” She squealed, wriggling around in her seat with almost childlike excitement.
“What?” Jun questioned, utterly bewildered. “Who? Who said yes, to what?”
“It doesn’t matter!” She laughed giddily, unbuckling her seatbelt and putting her phone away again. “I’m saaaaaaaaved!” She reached out, impulsive in her elatedness, squeezing him in a tight hug at an awkward angle and then planting a kiss on his cheek before hopping out of the car with a wave and a grin.
Jun watched her practically skip down the sidewalk through the falling snow. As she turned the corner, he let his fingers tentatively rest on his assaulted cheek, feeling even more bewildered than before.
+++
“Let’s get you to bed~”
“I’m not that drunk.” Sho complained.
“You’re drunk enough to need help getting up the stairs.” Aiba countered, supporting him from behind as they made their way slowly up the staircase.
“I don’t need help to go up.” Sho frowned. “I just don’t want to go up. And you’re nearly as drunk as I am!”
“You have work tomorrow! You need to sleep this off.”
Sho continued to grumble, but let Aiba guide him to his bedroom.
“Get changed, okay? I’ll go get you some water.” But when Aiba came back, tall glass of cold water in hand, Sho was sitting on the foot of his bed in the dark with his shirt mostly unbuttoned but otherwise still fully-clothed. “… Don’t tell me you need help?” Aiba sighed warily.
“And if I said I did?” Sho asked cheekily.
Aiba sighed again, set the glass down on Sho’s dresser, and then strode with determination to the bed. He would normally never have had the nerve to reach out and finish slipping the buttons free on Sho’s shirt, or at least would have had the presence of mind not to purposely, daringly, let his fingers brush over the bared skin of Sho’s chest and abdomen in the process. Obviously, it was the beer influencing him. “Sakurai-san, are you always so helpless when you’re drunk?” He chuckled, finishing with the buttons and pushing the shirt’s white material off of Sho’s muscular shoulders.
Sho laughed with obvious surprise, and maybe a little nervous shiver as his skin was bared to the air. “Why, are you planning to take advantage of me Aiba-san?”
Aiba paused, leaving the shirt bunched up and effectively pinning Sho’s arms behind his back. “I could leave you like this…” He mused with a grin.
“So the animal lover is secretly a sadist?” Sho raised an eyebrow.
Aiba’s grin widened but he shrugged innocently. “Maybe, but I guess I’ll go easy on you tonight.” That said, he freed Sho’s arms and tossed the shirt aside.
+++
+++
Nino grunted irritably, staring up at the annoying blankness of his ceiling. He’d been lying there for four hours, staring at the same unchanging blank slate.
He felt like he was about to go completely bonkers.
“The hell with that.” He grumbled to himself, kicking his blankets off with unnecessary aggression and clambering out of the bed. “I clearly lost it hours ago.”
Stumbling through the apartment to his cramped bathroom, he relieved himself in the dark and didn’t bother flicking on the light until he had already washed and dried his hands.
“Oh sweet Jesus.” He glared at the mirror. His hair was a sweaty mess from the wig cap, and he’d done a half-assed job of removing his makeup before going to bed. Some ungodly combination of mascara and eyeliner was smeared and smudged on his skin like two nasty black eyes. He reached for the bottle of makeup remover and poured a couple globs directly on his face before rubbing it into his skin with force that would have made an aesthetician cringe.
He was frustrated, and in his mind reasonably so.
“Stupid stupid stupid…” He muttered, blindly turning on the faucet and then bending down to splash the freezing water on his face.
By the time he crawled back into bed, face a little numb, he’d ordered himself to shut off any more troublesome feelings for Ohno or any other men- at least until after this ridiculous cross dressing thing was over with. He didn’t want to break any more hearts, least of all his own for a second time.
+++
Sho wasn’t entirely sure how he came to be lying shirtless on his bed with Aiba Masaki sprawled beside him. Well, he remembered the ‘shirtless’ part, and his skin was still tingling at the memory. He also vaguely recalled grabbing Aiba’s wrist and pulling him down onto the mattress with some sort of bizarre, whiny, excuse. In the hour or so since then, there had been a lot of pointless slurred conversation, and bubbly laughter, but Sho couldn’t remember what was said or what had been so funny.
He turned his head to see what was visible of Aiba in the dark room. Aiba was breathing a little heavily, trying to get his breath back after laughing so hard, there was still a toothy smile on his face.
“I don’t blame Ninomiya for having a crush on you.” Sho spoke suddenly, surprising himself just as much as Aiba.
“Huh?” Aiba looked at him, perplexed.
“I mean, you’re good looking. And nice.” Sho elaborated. “You must have girls falling for you all the time!”
“Uh…” Aiba looked away. “Well, not really. You definitely have more success with women than I do.”
“No way!” Sho exclaimed, rolling onto his side to face Aiba fully. “I was really shy and geeky up until I finished university, so hardly anyone was interested in dating me. I’ve only had three girlfriends, and all of them left me in the end. I think I’m hopeless.” He laughed. “But what about you?”
“…Hm?”
“How many girlfriends have you had?”
Aiba stared up at the ceiling, chewing his lip for a long moment before speaking. “One.” He said. “For a couple months in junior high.”
Sho gaped at him. “…You’re kidding. One?! Seriously?”
Aiba nodded.
“In junior high?!” Another nod. “And you’ve seriously gone single ever since?!” Sho shook his head in awe. “That’s crazy, man.”
“No, I-… I’ve had a few relationships since then. Only one was really serious though.”
“Oh.” Sho blinked and frowned. “But you just said…” He trailed off in confusion.
Aiba, still biting his lip, glanced nervously at Sho from the corner of his eye for a moment before turning back to the ceiling.
“Oh.” Sho said again, realizing what this probably meant. “… Relationships with men?” He asked tentatively.
Aiba glanced at him again, releasing his lip with a shaking breath. “Yeah.”
“Oh.” Sho said a third time, not sure what else he could say. “I see.”
Aiba held his gaze for another heartbeat before suddenly sitting up. “I guess I should go.”
“No, wait.” Sho reached out and caught his wrist. “You don’t have to.”
Aiba looked back at him, expression uncertain. “…It’s late.”
“Exactly. We’re both drunk, and tired. It’s late, so you might as well just stay here.” He pulled gently, imploringly, on Aiba’s wrist.
“’Here’ on your bed?” Aiba questioned, though he did lie back down. “You don’t think this is weird?”
“Of course not.” Sho said seriously, though his heart was racing at the bizarre audacity of what he was suggesting. He wriggled and kicked the covers down until they could both get under them. “It doesn’t bother me at all.” He declared, and then for good measure added: “I want you to stay tonight, Aiba-kun.”
Aiba studied his sincere expression for a long moment before letting a tentative smile brighten his anxious features. “Thanks.” He said quietly, pulling the covers up to his neck and closing his eyes.
Sho forced himself to try and sleep as well.
+++
to be continued...
+++
to be continued...
A/N: University is finished for the summer months, so I'm hoping the updates might not be so far apart at least for the next few months. Sorry as always for the long wait! Probably only a few chapters left to go though :)
Thanks for reading!!
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