[Fic] Azure (11/?)
Characters: Naoto, Naoki, Tetsuya, Matsu, Makidai, Usa, Hiro
Pairing: Hmm.
Rating: G
Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
=========================
“Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me.”
Naoto stared aghast at Naoki, who was still avoiding his gaze.
“Oi. Listen. It’s not your fault at all. It’s not like I was being cooperative- Dude, look at me dammit.”
The taller man rose from the sofa, making Naoto crane his neck even further in a failed attempt to get eye contact.
“Naoki-”
A blur of ginger streaked into the closet, cutting Naoto off. When Naoto returned his gaze to Naoki, he found that the other had used Naoto’s momentary distraction to scoot into the kitchen. Huffing, Naoto sunk into the sofa, crossing his arms.
Yawning, Tetsuya emerged from the closet, stretching his limbs before plopping himself onto Naoki’s previous seat.
“There’s another box at the gate, if anyone’s interested.”
“Bring it in yourself, why don’t you?” Naoto muttered.
“For someone who prides himself in information gathering, that’s a terrible idea. No one has seen me in human form except the two of you. Wouldn’t it be weird if the neighbours saw this stranger enter your house with a box after appearing out of nowhere?”
“I’ll get it.” Seeing Naoto’s eyes flash, Naoki volunteered hurriedly.
As quickly as he could, Naoki disappeared through the front door, leaving the other two to their impending quarrel.
=========================
A lone raccoon ambled through the bushes surrounding a small standalone, before squeezing itself through the cat flap.
“You’re getting rusty. I could hear you coming from a mile away.”
The raccoon grew in size, taking the shape of a stocky man, who accepted the cloak that was offered to him with a nod.
“Raccoons aren’t exactly quiet creatures, and you know it.”
A wide smile spread across Makidai’s face as he clapped a hand onto Matsu’s shoulder, guiding him to the settee where another man was seated.
“How’re things?” Usa enquired with a smile, taking a sip from the glass in his hand.
“Business is doing well, as expected. And you?”
“Same old, same old.”
The men paused in their conversation at the sound of the door opening. Barely a minute later, a fourth man strode into the sitting room, shrugging off his coat. Motioning to the other three to remain as they were, he settled comfortably into the empty plush armchair by the fireplace.
“Report.” Hiro’s low voice rumbled across the room.
“Takahiro is currently indisposed. One of the local boys is caring for him as we speak,” Matsu began.
“Akira has something to wrap up, and will be joining us by the end of the week,” Makidai chipped in.
“And our last member?”
Usa held up his mobile.
“None of us could get Atsushi. Believe me when I say that we’ve tried many times.”
“He probably forgot to charge his phone again.” Matsu grumbled.
“Or perhaps he’s just hibernating.” A wolfish grin spread across Makidai’s face.
Hiro heaved an exaggeratedly exasperated sigh, elicitating chuckles from the others.
“Alright. Let’s begin.”
=========================
Ever since his confession, Naoto had been trying ways and means to convince him that he was fine, that he was perfectly all right with living as he was.
Now that he thought about it, Naoto had always been a terrible liar. He did not fully mask his uneasiness when they first met in the pet store. Furthermore, despite his loud claims that he had gotten over his ailurophobia, he had scrambled onto a park bench just the other day to get away from an approaching stray.
When he thought that no one was watching, Naoto would look longingly at birds when they took flight, almost as if he wanted to join them in their aerial dance.
With every moment spent with the ‘shifter, Naoki’s own remorse grew.
=========================
“You’re later than usual these days. What’s keeping you?” Tetsuya arched an eyebrow at Naoki.
“I have deadlines to meet.”
“Of course. I’m sure you weren’t just finding excuses to avoid this guy here.” Tetsuya jerked a thumb at Naoto, who was fast asleep on the couch.
“… Of course not. Why would I?” The taller man made his way to his room, loosening his tie as he went.
“He stayed up to wait for you, you know.”
Naoki’s bedroom door shut behind him.
=========================
He was in that cage.
Everything looked as he remembered, the furniture placed neatly in the room, shelves filled with books of varying thickness.
The bowls that usually held seed and water were empty.
The human boy… Where was he?
No. It couldn’t be.
Naoto’s eyes snapped open. The now-familiar sight of his room greeted him, calming him down just a little.
Sitting up, he ran his hands repeatedly through his hair in frustration, messing up the unruly curls even further.
This really needed to stop.
=========================
A quick glance out of the window reaffirmed that dawn was fast approaching.
Silently slipping out of his room, Naoki tiptoed towards the coat rack.
“Oi Naoki.”
Startled, Naoki fumbled with his coat, managing to catch it before it hit the ground. He turned to face the direction where the voice came from, only to find Naoto blocking the only way to the door.
“Naoto-san, it’s still really early. What’re you doing up?”
“Couldn’t sleep.”
It would seem that awkward silences were becoming increasingly common between them these days.
“… Naoto-san, if you don’t mind, I have to go to work-”
“Naoki.”
“… Yes?”
“If you’re really that upset about my inability to fly then…” Naoto hesitated.
“Then?”
“Then bring me to the park every weekend and help me get to all the tall places that you can reach.”
Pairing: Hmm.
Rating: G
Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
=========================
“Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me.”
Naoto stared aghast at Naoki, who was still avoiding his gaze.
“Oi. Listen. It’s not your fault at all. It’s not like I was being cooperative- Dude, look at me dammit.”
The taller man rose from the sofa, making Naoto crane his neck even further in a failed attempt to get eye contact.
“Naoki-”
A blur of ginger streaked into the closet, cutting Naoto off. When Naoto returned his gaze to Naoki, he found that the other had used Naoto’s momentary distraction to scoot into the kitchen. Huffing, Naoto sunk into the sofa, crossing his arms.
Yawning, Tetsuya emerged from the closet, stretching his limbs before plopping himself onto Naoki’s previous seat.
“There’s another box at the gate, if anyone’s interested.”
“Bring it in yourself, why don’t you?” Naoto muttered.
“For someone who prides himself in information gathering, that’s a terrible idea. No one has seen me in human form except the two of you. Wouldn’t it be weird if the neighbours saw this stranger enter your house with a box after appearing out of nowhere?”
“I’ll get it.” Seeing Naoto’s eyes flash, Naoki volunteered hurriedly.
As quickly as he could, Naoki disappeared through the front door, leaving the other two to their impending quarrel.
=========================
A lone raccoon ambled through the bushes surrounding a small standalone, before squeezing itself through the cat flap.
“You’re getting rusty. I could hear you coming from a mile away.”
The raccoon grew in size, taking the shape of a stocky man, who accepted the cloak that was offered to him with a nod.
“Raccoons aren’t exactly quiet creatures, and you know it.”
A wide smile spread across Makidai’s face as he clapped a hand onto Matsu’s shoulder, guiding him to the settee where another man was seated.
“How’re things?” Usa enquired with a smile, taking a sip from the glass in his hand.
“Business is doing well, as expected. And you?”
“Same old, same old.”
The men paused in their conversation at the sound of the door opening. Barely a minute later, a fourth man strode into the sitting room, shrugging off his coat. Motioning to the other three to remain as they were, he settled comfortably into the empty plush armchair by the fireplace.
“Report.” Hiro’s low voice rumbled across the room.
“Takahiro is currently indisposed. One of the local boys is caring for him as we speak,” Matsu began.
“Akira has something to wrap up, and will be joining us by the end of the week,” Makidai chipped in.
“And our last member?”
Usa held up his mobile.
“None of us could get Atsushi. Believe me when I say that we’ve tried many times.”
“He probably forgot to charge his phone again.” Matsu grumbled.
“Or perhaps he’s just hibernating.” A wolfish grin spread across Makidai’s face.
Hiro heaved an exaggeratedly exasperated sigh, elicitating chuckles from the others.
“Alright. Let’s begin.”
=========================
Ever since his confession, Naoto had been trying ways and means to convince him that he was fine, that he was perfectly all right with living as he was.
Now that he thought about it, Naoto had always been a terrible liar. He did not fully mask his uneasiness when they first met in the pet store. Furthermore, despite his loud claims that he had gotten over his ailurophobia, he had scrambled onto a park bench just the other day to get away from an approaching stray.
When he thought that no one was watching, Naoto would look longingly at birds when they took flight, almost as if he wanted to join them in their aerial dance.
With every moment spent with the ‘shifter, Naoki’s own remorse grew.
=========================
“You’re later than usual these days. What’s keeping you?” Tetsuya arched an eyebrow at Naoki.
“I have deadlines to meet.”
“Of course. I’m sure you weren’t just finding excuses to avoid this guy here.” Tetsuya jerked a thumb at Naoto, who was fast asleep on the couch.
“… Of course not. Why would I?” The taller man made his way to his room, loosening his tie as he went.
“He stayed up to wait for you, you know.”
Naoki’s bedroom door shut behind him.
=========================
He was in that cage.
Everything looked as he remembered, the furniture placed neatly in the room, shelves filled with books of varying thickness.
The bowls that usually held seed and water were empty.
The human boy… Where was he?
No. It couldn’t be.
Naoto’s eyes snapped open. The now-familiar sight of his room greeted him, calming him down just a little.
Sitting up, he ran his hands repeatedly through his hair in frustration, messing up the unruly curls even further.
This really needed to stop.
=========================
A quick glance out of the window reaffirmed that dawn was fast approaching.
Silently slipping out of his room, Naoki tiptoed towards the coat rack.
“Oi Naoki.”
Startled, Naoki fumbled with his coat, managing to catch it before it hit the ground. He turned to face the direction where the voice came from, only to find Naoto blocking the only way to the door.
“Naoto-san, it’s still really early. What’re you doing up?”
“Couldn’t sleep.”
It would seem that awkward silences were becoming increasingly common between them these days.
“… Naoto-san, if you don’t mind, I have to go to work-”
“Naoki.”
“… Yes?”
“If you’re really that upset about my inability to fly then…” Naoto hesitated.
“Then?”
“Then bring me to the park every weekend and help me get to all the tall places that you can reach.”