[Multi-chapter] The Watches Series: Affinity (3/??)
Title: The Watches Series: Affinity
Authors: syunikiss1990 & tsuchi8562
Beta: andreja1989 <-- as always arigatou ♥
Pairing: SakurAiba
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Romance
Rating PG-15
Disclaimer: No, we don't own anything... We're just Border Watch's glaziers and we get paid awfully well!
*MASTERPOST*
He knew it. He shouldn’t have let his feelings lead him towards something that could never end well. Still, the answer the taller man gave was even harder and colder than anything he could have expected. He tried his hardest to keep his face without any emotions, not wanting anyone, especially Aiba, to notice his distress of the situation.
“Sachiko, could you please make sure our luggage gets there. We are going back to Tokyo tonight, the sooner we get there the better it will be.” Sachiko nodded and bowed before she quickly left the room, following the others who had already left. Sho turned around to face the man who he thought loved him.
“Aiba-san, can you make sure you are ready to leave tonight. I want to get back and get over with this as soon as possible.”
“Sho-chan…”
“Don’t worry, you…” He couldn’t finish his sentence as his head suddenly started to spin and he grabbed the chair next to him to stay on his feet. His vision faded away for a short while but came back almost right after, revealing the worried face of Aiba really close.
“Are you all right? Sit down.” Two hands on his shoulder pushed him down in the chair he was holding.
“I’m fine.” He said, batting the hands away. The last thing he wanted right now was the, probably fake, concern of the younger man. He just sat in silence for a while, staring at the hole in the ground until he felt well enough again to get away from this room. In front of him Aiba hadn’t moved or said anything and the air around them tensed up every second. Sighing he finally stood up.
“Please make sure you are ready by seven, I want to catch the train at 8 o’clock.”
“Sho…”
“I have to go, maybe Sachiko needs some help.” He started to walk away but a hand around his wrist stopped him.
“Sho wait, I think you don’t understand.”
“I don’t understand what? I made a mistake, I know that now but it’s my own fault. You really are perfect to be a vessel, I know that now.”
“What do you mean?” The confused tone of the other man made him turn around. He wanted to say something but he didn’t know what he could say. Somehow he was afraid of saying out loud how he felt inside, how he felt betrayed by those words, how much they had hurt him. Did the other man really feel nothing for him? Aiba sighed and shook his head, answering to his thoughts.
“I had to keep it a secret. If I told them the truth they wouldn’t let me be the vessel. It was part of the final test.” Part of the final test? How could something like that be part of the final test? Apparently his confusion was shown on his face.
“I don’t really understand it myself either but when you asked me the question I understood there was only one right answer. If I would have told the truth I wouldn’t have passed. If I would have lied I wouldn’t have passed either, so I needed to lie but at the same time make the machine believe I told the truth. Only someone like me, someone who has a closed mind could do that and they know.” Sho tried to grasp the thing the other man just told him but it made his head spin a bit.
“Then how did they know you were lying?”
“They don’t. I don’t understand it completely myself either, I don’t even know if they know I lied or if they think I told them the truth. I thought it was part of the test and that you would know.” Sho slowly shook his head. They hadn’t told him anything in advance and he was really surprised to see the last question on his paper. Still something kept bothering him.
“But then how do I know you are not lying to me right now?” In a way he knew the younger man wasn’t lying about it but at the same time he just wasn’t sure anymore. Was it really a part of the character to be a vessel, to be able to lie without being found out? Or wasn’t it a lie and spoke Aiba the truth at the test and right now he was lying? But what was the point at lying to him about this? His own thoughts confused him very much at the moment and made him completely oblivious of his surroundings and the man in front of him until two words broke them.
“Kiss me.” Aiba’s eyes were sparkling in a strange way and refused to look away.
“What?”
“Kiss me.” Still refusing to look away Aiba stepped closer. Sho wasn’t sure what he had to do, even though it was obvious what the other man wanted him to do. He was just confused by the sudden request.
“You want to be sure I am not lying to you, so kiss me. You will know if I lie or not.”
“How will I…” Masaki didn’t give him the chance to finish his sentence as he crossed the last distance between them and placed his lips on Sho’s. The last couple of kisses they had shared felt like nothing compared to this. His heart started to beat faster as he returned the kiss, wanting to taste more of the sweetness of it. When they broke apart they were both breathing heavily, but Masaki still managed to say:
“What do you think now?”
“I think I want to kiss you again.” Masaki smiled and gave him a quick peck on his lips before getting serious again.
“The head of the Border Watch started to ask questions. She made me realize it is not wanted for someone as important as the Treaty to have something as ‘human’ as love. I think it’s clear I don’t agree with her but we have to be careful.” Sakurai nodded in agreement. The younger man was right and now he was able to see the full picture of the answer Masaki gave a little while ago.
“Let’s go before they will get even more suspicious. We have that train to catch.” Masaki smiled widely and Sakurai followed him closely behind as he walked out of the room.
***
“We are gathered to witness the exchange of the Treaty from Border Watch officer Sakurai Sho to the newly trained vessel Aiba Masaki.” The soft voice of the head of his Watch filled the small room inside the office of the Border Watch. Sho was sitting across Aiba and he was feeling a bit nervous. The past two days in Tokyo had been exhausting, with Ohno’s and his gangs trial and at the same time keeping the Treaty inside. It felt like it was getting harder and harder with every passing minute and random images kept crossing in front of his eyes. It didn’t feel like it had any consistency at all and more than half of it felt like missing. Even now parts were flashing in front of his eyes every time he blinked. He felt the eyes of the three other people in the room on him and Aiba. His own eyes were resting on the younger man’s eyes, feeling like this was the only thing that kept him sane at the moment.
“Sakurai Sho, are you ready to pass the Treaty on?” The voice of the leader of the Border Watch broke his thoughts as he nodded, his eyes still not leaving Aiba’s.
“Aiba Masaki, are you ready to receive the Treaty and with that the vow you will keep it save and protect it with your life until you can pass it on?” Slowly Aiba nodded, as if he was still thinking about it but his eyes had a determinate sparkle. Sho took a deep breath as they waited for the liberating words.
“Please start the exchange.” Aiba looked a bit puzzled at him but leaned in when Sho moved forward. His mind was suddenly feeling strangely calm as he was sure this was the right and only way to do this. The moment his lips touched Masaki’s he could feel the Treaty inside him stir. Slowly he could feel the pressure it had on his body disappear, flowing inside the younger man across him through their locked lips. It felt almost the same as the first time, when the Treaty was passed on to him, the only difference this time that instead of the increasing pressure on him, his freedom was returned. It didn’t take long until he was feeling completely empty once again but he refused to break their kiss right away. Nobody would notice a few seconds more right?
###
Every single thing he learned and every fact he discovered during so-called training was worthless now. He suspected it, of course, but now he was sure - neither of the side knew what is like to be the Treaty and theories they had were interesting, yet useless. As soon as Masaki’s lips were pressed to the Border Watch officer’s he felt strange warmth that spread across his body, filling his blood with hot coals. It wasn’t painful though, just unpleasant, but the feeling was pushed aside by the sensation of sweet kiss of his beloved man. Aiba couldn’t stop himself from smiling as he tugged Sho’s sleeve and moved few inches closer. He didn’t care if anybody noticed it or not, he wanted to share the, probably most important moment in his life with the man that was standing in front of him. The Treaty was one thing and Sakurai’s closeness was somehow more important to the taller man, who was few weeks ago just a mere citizen. With every passing millisecond the letters filled his mind, carving the sentences in it and showing him the rules that he will have to obey as the most important thing in the universe. This thought hit him with a huge force, so he had to hold on the older man’s arm to prevent from fall. Soon the exchange was finished and Masaki moved away, looking at the man in front of him with knowledge that from now on everything will be different; that they will be watched closely - at least the Treaty…
“Aiba-sama, are you all right?” The Border Watch’s chief asked, concerned.
“Y-yes, I am fine. Just… too much for me at once…” Masaki smiled but gladly accepted the hand of some unidentified officer who led him to the chair in the corner of the room. To be honest he wasn’t feeling that bad because of the Treaty itself but because of the information he gathered with it. The knowledge was breathtaking and made the blood in his veins freeze. It won’t be that easy now; the responsibility he took on his shoulders was far too big for him, not mentioning the fact that he is in love with a human… To make it even worse, his beloved person was one of the people who cherish and admire the Treaty the most. Every kiss will be for Sho like a profanation of sacred; like the biggest sin and for Aiba - something the most egoistic you can imagine. Normal couples’ problems are nothing, comparing to this shit… Masaki thought and laughed bitterly. Suddenly the world spun around and everything blurred in front of his eyes, changing in darkness few seconds later.
Waking up wasn’t that bad. He was lying in a comfortable bed in a room with light green walls surrounded by dim light. At first Aiba thought that he is alone but soon he heard Sakurai’s concerned voice quite near him.
“Hey there… How are you?”
“I am fine Sho-chan… Just maybe lack of sleep hit me just now. Don’t worry.”
“I will worry! You need to be careful now since you are the Treaty. Your health is the most important thing in the entire world…”
“You will worry only because of this?” Masaki looked straight in the Border Watch’s officer’s eyes with steel-cold eyes.
“Excuse me?”
“Never mind…” The taller man smiled shyly and sighed. “I think I will take a nap now, I feel dizzy a bit. Can you leave me alone?” Masaki turned around, facing the wall. He wasn’t sleepy at all but he had to think about few more things regarding his future. Their future. The universe’s future…
“I will go soon, just have some news for you… I was assigned as your protector, which means that I will spend a lot of time with you, practically we will live together. I am really happy. Now rest, I’ll be outside if you need me.” Sho closed the door without any noise and Aiba held his breath for a while. Living together? Of course he was really happy about it; he loved this Border Watch’s officer very much and a perspective of sharing the same apartment was really tempting and great. But from the other hand all doubts have to disappear to make him fully happy, so he has to learn more about the essence of the Treaty itself. Masaki knew very well that he won’t find out any interesting detail in books; he can’t ask Sakurai about it either (the Border Watch’s officer didn’t know much about it). The man sighed and stared at the ceiling from which white, awful paint was slowly peeling off. The Treaty… The only thing that keeps balance between good and evil, that’s the commonly known fact. It’s obvious that having such important thing in your body brings some responsibility and orders to act in a honorable way, but that wasn’t the hardest. His “job” is one thing; his personal life is other. Aiba stood up, took a piece of paper and a pencil and started to note all his doubts and thoughts; he believed that this way everything will become clearer. When he pressed the graphite to the white sheet he frowned. Just why he has to worry about everything or anybody else?! True, he is the Treaty but he is also a human being and nothing can forbid him to love; even if it’s tough and hard love… Masaki decided that he will act without worrying about the world… Love can’t bring any harm, right?
“Sho-chan…?” Aiba shouted and kept staring at the door, waiting for his beloved man to appear. When nothing like that happened, he stood up and came closer to the entrance and repeated the Border Watch’s officer’s name. Still nothing. Masaki started to be scared that something happened, so he opened the door and looked around. Sakurai was talking with a man - shorter than him and Aiba could’ve sworn that he knows him. After a short while, when the taller man was wondering if he should come closer or wait, he decided to go with the first option. With every step he made, his certainty that he indeed met this man before rose. Before he could utter a word, the shorter man bowed and thanked Sho for something, disappearing soon after.
“I thought that he lost his memories...” Aiba giggled, seeing Sho startle by his voice. “I called you...”
“Sorry, I just saw Ninomiya-san here and he asked me about direction to the exit... I was just curious how he is doing, so I talked with him a bit... Seems that he is doing great without the Watches...” Sakurai smiled and turned around, blushing because of a sight of Masaki in hospital’s nightwear. The Border Watch’s hospital sure had the great budget but is seemed that it was saving on material for this skimpy shirts. “You should go back to bed...”
“I am fine, Sho-chan... I can even go back to my apartment today.”
“No... Forget about your apartment, the top rented the apartment for us near the headquarters.”
“Us?” Masaki frowned, looking at the older man in puzzlement. Of course it could be predicted that Sakurai, as his personal bodyguard (which still sounds funny) will stay with him but now it became so real that Aiba was a bit afraid. Obviously he was happy that he can live together with the person he loved, that he will see his beautiful face again every single morning but now things will be harder. Especially because of one aspect that changed since he became the Treaty.