[Fic] Ten days, eight hours, twenty five minutes
Title : [Fic] Ten days, eight hours, twenty five minutes - Bonus 2 + Epilogue
Author : Jadey
Rating : PG to R
Pairing : Ohmiya (Ohno/Nino)
Disclaimer : fiction, yo!
Summary : On the day Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami, the Jimusho gathered all of its artist for a headcount. All were present except for one : Arashi's Leader, Ohno Satoshi, was missing.
Word count : around 2600 words
Note : Done! *does the happy dance* Thank you to everyone who was with me all throughout this fic, I wouldn’t have done it without you guys, I love you! Enjoy this part and see you on the next one!
( Ten days, eight hours, twenty five minutes - Bonus 1)
The kiss remained achingly sweet, gentle, but it was still enough to make Nino tremble. His arm bracing himself over the bed, over Ohno, was shaking he had to pull completely away, from and Ohno and from Ohno’s lips, panting hard and pressing his forehead against Ohno’s own briefly to ground himself.
He took a step back and Ohno was immediately there to tug him back, fingers warm round the side of Nino’s neck.
“Nino,” Ohno whined; he was already reaching for Nino, and for a moment, Nino found himself unconsciously going with it, and stopped only when he remembered where they were. An embarrassed whine tore itself from the back of his throat, stepping back just the tiniest bit, ignoring Ohno’s mumbles of protests and turning around with all the intention of apologizing to whoever was around to witness him and his leader kissing only to find out there was none.
It was only then that he realized that they were alone, and that the doctor who came in with him was nowhere to be found, the door to the room shut close.
“What’s wrong?” asked Ohno; Nino turned to find Ohno was frowning at him.
“The doctor -“
“He left, long before you started talking,” Ohno chuckled and tugged at his hand. This time, Nino no longer fought against it; he went to Ohno willingly, Ohno’s lips finding his with so little difficulty as Nino sighed into the kiss. There was so much that had to be said between them, things Nino needed to settle on top of everything else aside from kissing Ohno to oblivion, but it was difficult.
Ohno’s hand cupped Nino’s cheek, firm but still distractingly gentle, and Nino felt himself sighing blissfully into Ohno’s mouth despite the odd angle. The kiss was like nothing Nino had ever experienced before, incomparable really, the way his and Ohno’s lips fit like two complimenting pieces of a puzzle. His chest ached with emotion that didn’t have anything to do with pain, not anymore, found himself gripping the sleeves of Ohno’s hospital robe as he kissed Ohno back with all he had.
Chest heaving hard, he pulled away, but still close enough to breathe Ohno in, leaning in to the warmth of Ohno’s hand against his cheek. There was a moment of breathless stillness until Ohno shifted, and Nino felt Ohno’s lashes fluttering gently against his skin, and Ohno’s lips quirking into a small, private smile that Nino wished he could see but was too busy soaking Ohno’s warmth in to even bother.
When Ohno spoke, it was with utter tenderness that made every single thing about the past ten days, about the past decade loving the older man in secret all worth it.
“I love you too, you know?” Ohno confessed, softly, against Nino’s skin and Nino just had to kiss Ohno again for it, his chest too full it honestly felt like it was going to burst with affection he hardly able to contain.
+
“TWO HOURS!” Jun yelled from the other end of the line Nino was afraid Jun had just rendered him temporarily deaf with how loud Jun was, wincing as he tugged his phone away from his ear and stared at it as if it had miraculously produced teeth and bit him.
It took Nino a while to get the ringing sound off his ear and when it did, he went back to lean against the wall on the hallway a little further away from Ohno’s room where it was allowed to use his phone. He had to place a call to Ohno’s parents first to inform them about their son’s well-being and whereabouts, had told them someone from the company would be coming by to pick them up from their house and drive them straight to the hospital. Ohno’s mother, as expected, sounded relieved, happy, despite the fact that Nino had to listen to her sob her heart out the second Nino delivered the news about her son. Getting them here would probably take half an hour, one max, so he figured since his bandmates were already here, they could all go and see Ohno first before Ohno’s parents arrived.
He was just wasn’t expecting Jun yelling on his face the second the call was connected.
“NINOMIYA, I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU HANG UP ON ME, I WILL DEVISE SOMETHING SO PAINFUL THAT NOT EVEN YOUR MOTHER OR JOHNNY-SAN CAN SAVE YOU FROM -“
“Leader just requested his doctor to let you guys in,” he cut in before Jun could do further damage to his eardrums, grinning despite himself. “I think the security guy he called is on his way to where you guys are right now to get you.” he said, only vaguely surprised hearing someone else’s voice joining itself on the conversation, followed by the tell-tale sound of the phone as it was being shuffled around.
“Nino, it’s me,” unsurprisingly, it was Sho. “You just said Leader, so does that mean -“
“Yes, Sho-chan,” he said, basking on the warmth blooming in his chest, not only for the fact that they’ve found their Leader alive and well, but also at the memory of himself as Ohno kissed him senseless.
“I…please tell me he’s okay,” Sho said, ever the great worrier. Nino’s heart swelled for him, for Sho’s immeasurable love for the four of them.
“He is,” he said, shutting his eyes closed, already missing Ohno’s presence, his warmth, his kisses. “At least as far as I can tell,” he said, then, with a smirk, “Sorry it took me a while to get back at you guys. I was busy kissing the crap out of him to even remember -“
“Nino!” Sho whines, though even that sounded half-hearted.
He grinned, knowing for a fact that he would possibly be grinning still for God-knows-how-long. “Well, I did tell you to be here and stop me before I do the kissing part, right, Sho-chan?” he said as he stepped away from the wall. “Anyway, I’ll see you guys in a bit. Remind Matsumoto to keep his opinions to himself or he’s never getting his big mouth anywhere near our leader. Aiba-chan, too.”
“Shall we expect you with your tongue down Satoshi-kun’s throat when we come in or is it better if we knock first?”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll be good,” he said, “Maybe once, just this time, at least.”
Sho chuckled in return as the sound of Jun’s irritated grunts resumed. “Thank you, Nino.”
“See you, Sho-chan.”
+
Nino would be lying if he said he didn’t expect this.
He looked on with affection as his friends took turns hugging their Leader, Jun and Sho looking like they were barely keeping their tears at bay while Aiba didn’t even bother hiding it. He had to manfully tug Aiba away just so he wouldn’t end up accidentally suffocating Ohno with how tightly Aiba had his arms around Ohno, sniffing wordlessly against their Leader’s neck.
“Aiba-chan, you’re going to choke him to death,” he said, elbowing Aiba out of the way and ignoring Aiba’s exaggerated groans of pain. “and I swear if you accidentally kill him, I’m going to skin you alive you will end up wishing it was you who died instead.”
“Geez, Nino-chan, I told you to quit watching those creepy massacre movies!” Aiba hollered without heat. He was, to Nino’s amusement, still trying to get his hands to whatever Ohno’s part he could get his fingers on, eyes brimming with happy tears. Nino wanted to be selfish by wanting to keep Ohno to himself, at least for now, but he knew that he shouldn’t. He hadn’t been the only who had lost Ohno for ten days, after all, but also Ohno’s family, Sho and Jun and Aiba, too.
“Aiba-chan, why don’t you sit down for a bit,” Ohno said, smiling softly at Aiba, who, in turn, looked like he was seconds away from bawling embarrassingly again. “I’m not going anywhere, you know?” Ohno followed, and it earned him a wobbly, grateful smile from Aiba, even though Aiba still wouldn’t let go of Ohno’s toe where Aiba had managed to attach his fingers into without Nino knowing it.
“Listen to the old man, Aiba-chan,” Nino said; he was really trying his hardest here, keeping himself from elbowing Aiba out of the way so he could settle himself next to Ohno (or above him, if he could get away with it) because, well, Jun. Nino had to avoid looking at him, their youngest friend really was scary if he wanted to be and he wasn’t even doing anything; he was just giving Nino this looks that made the hairs at the back of Nino’s neck stand on end just by being there.
“Seriously, listen to him,” he said, “He’s just lucky the security person outside is always here to keep an eye on him because if not, I would have taken him away myself the first chance I got.”
“Nino -“ Sho cuts in, sounding pained.
“So, you know, if I were you, I’m going to enjoy him and his presence while you still can. Because I’m telling you, once he’s allowed to go home, you’re not going to be able to see him for a very long time.”
“Jesus, Nino,” it was Jun this time, looking like he was torn between wanting to throw up and kicking Nino in the face. Next to him, Sho was smiling. When Nino chanced a glance at Ohno, he realized Ohno was smiling too. He couldn’t help it, he took the few steps forward, crossing the distance between them and ducking down to press a kiss against Ohno’s smiling mouth despite his bandmates shrieking in surprise, glee and disgust simultaneously in the background.
“You,” he said, patting Ohno’s cheek tenderly. “I’m going to keep you, with me, forever, just so you know.” He said. “And for the record, I’m not asking.”
“Oh,” Ohno murmured, his smile as beautiful as the man himself and Nino was so in love with him. “Sounds good.”
“You think?” he hummed, cupping Ohno’s cheek and nosing Ohno’s temple. “I’m a possessive freak and a certified asshole rolled into this one, complicated package, if you haven’t noticed it yet, so if you don’t think you can handle it -“
“I can,” Ohno told him, and Nino loved the way Ohno’s eyes crinkle with glee, the way his mouth twitched with silent mischief. Nino found himself touching the side of Ohno’s mouth before he realized it, pressing his fingertip against Ohno’s lips, feeling his smile beneath Nino’s palm. “And I’m not scared of you, no,” Ohno followed, leaning into Nino’s touch. “I’m only afraid of not being with you, not after everything we’ve been through.”
“Aww, Nino-chan, Leader -“
“Um, guys?” Sho cut in, but Nino ignored him. At this point, with him and Ohno pretty much confessing to the whole damn world (or just the rest of Arashi, really) that they were (and maybe always have been) disgustedly in love with one another, Nino was certain he could ignore anything and everything and he wouldn’t have minded it.
“You’re not going to regret this?” he whispered, his fingers on Ohno’s cheek. “There’s no going back once we decide to do this, you know.”
“Try me.” Ohno said.
Nino gave himself a quarter of a minute to look Ohno in the eye and for a moment there it was as if the past ten days he thought he’d lost Ohno forever didn’t happen.
He smiled and leaned down to press his and Ohno’s foreheads together, his fingers tender against Ohno’s cheek.
“Oh, I plan to, old man,” he said, voice breaking at the last syllable; “I can’t wait to give you and I a try.”
-end-
Epilogue
“So you’re saying it was me who helped you find…me?” Ohno says. Nino doesn’t even hesitate as he meets Ohno’s eyes and nods his head. “I don’t get it. I mean, I do, but - how?”
Nino laughs, his eyes going all crinkly-like, like he can’t believe he’s saying these things either and Ohno just wants to cuddle the fuck out of him. Five months since the incident, five months since he and Nino have gotten together officially and until now, it still catches Ohno off-guard seeing these surprisingly gentle and adorable sides of Nino he hadn’t seen before despite being friends with Nino for so long.
“Well, yeah,” Nino agrees easily. He is lying on top of Ohno, his chin propped up on his folded arms; Ohno wants to protest, but the sight of Nino on top of him, smiling at him like he can’t be bothered to go anywhere else because he’s way comfortable lying there on top of Ohno - kind of make up for the way Nino’s weight will surely leave Ohno numb in all the places that counts. “You called me up from Fukui, from a payphone that hasn’t been working for years and you appeared in my dream, at exactly the same way Risa-Sensei told me you arrived in the hospital.”
Ohno blinks. This is the side of the story that took Nino five long months to tell him, something Ohno is not entirely sure he will believe either.
For one, Ohno’s not a religious person, not really, but is there any other way to explain it all without him ending up thinking it was nothing but a horrible prank gone wrong? It’s plausible, what with the fact that everything about the incident feels like it had been patterned perfectly well to even make sense. From how he was found several towns over from where the boat he boarded that night was found, to the time he supposedly placed a call to Nino while he was unconscious, and from a phone booth that hadn’t been working for years either, beats him.
It doesn’t make any sense, really, but so is the fact that he is alive and the others he was with that night aren’t. He could have died that night, too, but didn’t; could have remained there in Fukui with no recollection of what happened to him but didn’t because Nino found him just in time.
They each has a promise to fulfill for each other, after all, and even in his subconscious, he fought to keep his promise to Nino just as Nino fought to keep his.
“Guess that’s how it is when you’re in love with someone,” he teases, shoving his fingers through Nino’s hair. “Even death is not an option. You’re going to find ways for the other person to know you’re waiting.”
“That seriously sounded like the kind of movie plot Jun-kun loves to watch in his free time,” Nino mutters off-handedly but the way his cheeks are tainted with color counters it.
He chuckles. “So, the romantic kind?” he says, squeezing Nino’s chin lightly. “I don’t mind watching it if you’re with me, though.” he says, laughing at the way Nino rolls his eyes to the heaven in answer. “I’m serious!”
“Yeah, right,” Nino says, shifting above him by crawling upwards till they’re almost nose to nose. “Neither of us is the romantic kind, so, why bother?” Nino asks, pecking his lips twice. “So what if you had to defy the odds just to be able to contact me? I’d have expected you to, because you promised me.”
“Nino -“
“It’s miraculous and equal-parts amazing, but you know what’s nice to know?” Nino follows, eyes dark with quiet promises as he ducks down to kiss Ohno, slipping his tongue into the heat of Ohno’s mouth before he pulls away.
“I would have done the same thing for you, Oh-chan,” Nino says, fingers light against Ohno’s cheek. “I would defy the odds, too, just so I could be with you and that’s that.”
Ohno doesn’t answer, he doesn’t, he can’t. He just takes Nino’s face in between his hands and pulls him down for a kiss that is both a promise and a plea as he rolls them over, pinning Nino back to the bed, squirming deliciously beneath Ohno, where they both know he belongs.
Author : Jadey
Rating : PG to R
Pairing : Ohmiya (Ohno/Nino)
Disclaimer : fiction, yo!
Summary : On the day Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami, the Jimusho gathered all of its artist for a headcount. All were present except for one : Arashi's Leader, Ohno Satoshi, was missing.
Word count : around 2600 words
Note : Done! *does the happy dance* Thank you to everyone who was with me all throughout this fic, I wouldn’t have done it without you guys, I love you! Enjoy this part and see you on the next one!
( Ten days, eight hours, twenty five minutes - Bonus 1)
The kiss remained achingly sweet, gentle, but it was still enough to make Nino tremble. His arm bracing himself over the bed, over Ohno, was shaking he had to pull completely away, from and Ohno and from Ohno’s lips, panting hard and pressing his forehead against Ohno’s own briefly to ground himself.
He took a step back and Ohno was immediately there to tug him back, fingers warm round the side of Nino’s neck.
“Nino,” Ohno whined; he was already reaching for Nino, and for a moment, Nino found himself unconsciously going with it, and stopped only when he remembered where they were. An embarrassed whine tore itself from the back of his throat, stepping back just the tiniest bit, ignoring Ohno’s mumbles of protests and turning around with all the intention of apologizing to whoever was around to witness him and his leader kissing only to find out there was none.
It was only then that he realized that they were alone, and that the doctor who came in with him was nowhere to be found, the door to the room shut close.
“What’s wrong?” asked Ohno; Nino turned to find Ohno was frowning at him.
“The doctor -“
“He left, long before you started talking,” Ohno chuckled and tugged at his hand. This time, Nino no longer fought against it; he went to Ohno willingly, Ohno’s lips finding his with so little difficulty as Nino sighed into the kiss. There was so much that had to be said between them, things Nino needed to settle on top of everything else aside from kissing Ohno to oblivion, but it was difficult.
Ohno’s hand cupped Nino’s cheek, firm but still distractingly gentle, and Nino felt himself sighing blissfully into Ohno’s mouth despite the odd angle. The kiss was like nothing Nino had ever experienced before, incomparable really, the way his and Ohno’s lips fit like two complimenting pieces of a puzzle. His chest ached with emotion that didn’t have anything to do with pain, not anymore, found himself gripping the sleeves of Ohno’s hospital robe as he kissed Ohno back with all he had.
Chest heaving hard, he pulled away, but still close enough to breathe Ohno in, leaning in to the warmth of Ohno’s hand against his cheek. There was a moment of breathless stillness until Ohno shifted, and Nino felt Ohno’s lashes fluttering gently against his skin, and Ohno’s lips quirking into a small, private smile that Nino wished he could see but was too busy soaking Ohno’s warmth in to even bother.
When Ohno spoke, it was with utter tenderness that made every single thing about the past ten days, about the past decade loving the older man in secret all worth it.
“I love you too, you know?” Ohno confessed, softly, against Nino’s skin and Nino just had to kiss Ohno again for it, his chest too full it honestly felt like it was going to burst with affection he hardly able to contain.
+
“TWO HOURS!” Jun yelled from the other end of the line Nino was afraid Jun had just rendered him temporarily deaf with how loud Jun was, wincing as he tugged his phone away from his ear and stared at it as if it had miraculously produced teeth and bit him.
It took Nino a while to get the ringing sound off his ear and when it did, he went back to lean against the wall on the hallway a little further away from Ohno’s room where it was allowed to use his phone. He had to place a call to Ohno’s parents first to inform them about their son’s well-being and whereabouts, had told them someone from the company would be coming by to pick them up from their house and drive them straight to the hospital. Ohno’s mother, as expected, sounded relieved, happy, despite the fact that Nino had to listen to her sob her heart out the second Nino delivered the news about her son. Getting them here would probably take half an hour, one max, so he figured since his bandmates were already here, they could all go and see Ohno first before Ohno’s parents arrived.
He was just wasn’t expecting Jun yelling on his face the second the call was connected.
“NINOMIYA, I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU HANG UP ON ME, I WILL DEVISE SOMETHING SO PAINFUL THAT NOT EVEN YOUR MOTHER OR JOHNNY-SAN CAN SAVE YOU FROM -“
“Leader just requested his doctor to let you guys in,” he cut in before Jun could do further damage to his eardrums, grinning despite himself. “I think the security guy he called is on his way to where you guys are right now to get you.” he said, only vaguely surprised hearing someone else’s voice joining itself on the conversation, followed by the tell-tale sound of the phone as it was being shuffled around.
“Nino, it’s me,” unsurprisingly, it was Sho. “You just said Leader, so does that mean -“
“Yes, Sho-chan,” he said, basking on the warmth blooming in his chest, not only for the fact that they’ve found their Leader alive and well, but also at the memory of himself as Ohno kissed him senseless.
“I…please tell me he’s okay,” Sho said, ever the great worrier. Nino’s heart swelled for him, for Sho’s immeasurable love for the four of them.
“He is,” he said, shutting his eyes closed, already missing Ohno’s presence, his warmth, his kisses. “At least as far as I can tell,” he said, then, with a smirk, “Sorry it took me a while to get back at you guys. I was busy kissing the crap out of him to even remember -“
“Nino!” Sho whines, though even that sounded half-hearted.
He grinned, knowing for a fact that he would possibly be grinning still for God-knows-how-long. “Well, I did tell you to be here and stop me before I do the kissing part, right, Sho-chan?” he said as he stepped away from the wall. “Anyway, I’ll see you guys in a bit. Remind Matsumoto to keep his opinions to himself or he’s never getting his big mouth anywhere near our leader. Aiba-chan, too.”
“Shall we expect you with your tongue down Satoshi-kun’s throat when we come in or is it better if we knock first?”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll be good,” he said, “Maybe once, just this time, at least.”
Sho chuckled in return as the sound of Jun’s irritated grunts resumed. “Thank you, Nino.”
“See you, Sho-chan.”
+
Nino would be lying if he said he didn’t expect this.
He looked on with affection as his friends took turns hugging their Leader, Jun and Sho looking like they were barely keeping their tears at bay while Aiba didn’t even bother hiding it. He had to manfully tug Aiba away just so he wouldn’t end up accidentally suffocating Ohno with how tightly Aiba had his arms around Ohno, sniffing wordlessly against their Leader’s neck.
“Aiba-chan, you’re going to choke him to death,” he said, elbowing Aiba out of the way and ignoring Aiba’s exaggerated groans of pain. “and I swear if you accidentally kill him, I’m going to skin you alive you will end up wishing it was you who died instead.”
“Geez, Nino-chan, I told you to quit watching those creepy massacre movies!” Aiba hollered without heat. He was, to Nino’s amusement, still trying to get his hands to whatever Ohno’s part he could get his fingers on, eyes brimming with happy tears. Nino wanted to be selfish by wanting to keep Ohno to himself, at least for now, but he knew that he shouldn’t. He hadn’t been the only who had lost Ohno for ten days, after all, but also Ohno’s family, Sho and Jun and Aiba, too.
“Aiba-chan, why don’t you sit down for a bit,” Ohno said, smiling softly at Aiba, who, in turn, looked like he was seconds away from bawling embarrassingly again. “I’m not going anywhere, you know?” Ohno followed, and it earned him a wobbly, grateful smile from Aiba, even though Aiba still wouldn’t let go of Ohno’s toe where Aiba had managed to attach his fingers into without Nino knowing it.
“Listen to the old man, Aiba-chan,” Nino said; he was really trying his hardest here, keeping himself from elbowing Aiba out of the way so he could settle himself next to Ohno (or above him, if he could get away with it) because, well, Jun. Nino had to avoid looking at him, their youngest friend really was scary if he wanted to be and he wasn’t even doing anything; he was just giving Nino this looks that made the hairs at the back of Nino’s neck stand on end just by being there.
“Seriously, listen to him,” he said, “He’s just lucky the security person outside is always here to keep an eye on him because if not, I would have taken him away myself the first chance I got.”
“Nino -“ Sho cuts in, sounding pained.
“So, you know, if I were you, I’m going to enjoy him and his presence while you still can. Because I’m telling you, once he’s allowed to go home, you’re not going to be able to see him for a very long time.”
“Jesus, Nino,” it was Jun this time, looking like he was torn between wanting to throw up and kicking Nino in the face. Next to him, Sho was smiling. When Nino chanced a glance at Ohno, he realized Ohno was smiling too. He couldn’t help it, he took the few steps forward, crossing the distance between them and ducking down to press a kiss against Ohno’s smiling mouth despite his bandmates shrieking in surprise, glee and disgust simultaneously in the background.
“You,” he said, patting Ohno’s cheek tenderly. “I’m going to keep you, with me, forever, just so you know.” He said. “And for the record, I’m not asking.”
“Oh,” Ohno murmured, his smile as beautiful as the man himself and Nino was so in love with him. “Sounds good.”
“You think?” he hummed, cupping Ohno’s cheek and nosing Ohno’s temple. “I’m a possessive freak and a certified asshole rolled into this one, complicated package, if you haven’t noticed it yet, so if you don’t think you can handle it -“
“I can,” Ohno told him, and Nino loved the way Ohno’s eyes crinkle with glee, the way his mouth twitched with silent mischief. Nino found himself touching the side of Ohno’s mouth before he realized it, pressing his fingertip against Ohno’s lips, feeling his smile beneath Nino’s palm. “And I’m not scared of you, no,” Ohno followed, leaning into Nino’s touch. “I’m only afraid of not being with you, not after everything we’ve been through.”
“Aww, Nino-chan, Leader -“
“Um, guys?” Sho cut in, but Nino ignored him. At this point, with him and Ohno pretty much confessing to the whole damn world (or just the rest of Arashi, really) that they were (and maybe always have been) disgustedly in love with one another, Nino was certain he could ignore anything and everything and he wouldn’t have minded it.
“You’re not going to regret this?” he whispered, his fingers on Ohno’s cheek. “There’s no going back once we decide to do this, you know.”
“Try me.” Ohno said.
Nino gave himself a quarter of a minute to look Ohno in the eye and for a moment there it was as if the past ten days he thought he’d lost Ohno forever didn’t happen.
He smiled and leaned down to press his and Ohno’s foreheads together, his fingers tender against Ohno’s cheek.
“Oh, I plan to, old man,” he said, voice breaking at the last syllable; “I can’t wait to give you and I a try.”
-end-
Epilogue
“So you’re saying it was me who helped you find…me?” Ohno says. Nino doesn’t even hesitate as he meets Ohno’s eyes and nods his head. “I don’t get it. I mean, I do, but - how?”
Nino laughs, his eyes going all crinkly-like, like he can’t believe he’s saying these things either and Ohno just wants to cuddle the fuck out of him. Five months since the incident, five months since he and Nino have gotten together officially and until now, it still catches Ohno off-guard seeing these surprisingly gentle and adorable sides of Nino he hadn’t seen before despite being friends with Nino for so long.
“Well, yeah,” Nino agrees easily. He is lying on top of Ohno, his chin propped up on his folded arms; Ohno wants to protest, but the sight of Nino on top of him, smiling at him like he can’t be bothered to go anywhere else because he’s way comfortable lying there on top of Ohno - kind of make up for the way Nino’s weight will surely leave Ohno numb in all the places that counts. “You called me up from Fukui, from a payphone that hasn’t been working for years and you appeared in my dream, at exactly the same way Risa-Sensei told me you arrived in the hospital.”
Ohno blinks. This is the side of the story that took Nino five long months to tell him, something Ohno is not entirely sure he will believe either.
For one, Ohno’s not a religious person, not really, but is there any other way to explain it all without him ending up thinking it was nothing but a horrible prank gone wrong? It’s plausible, what with the fact that everything about the incident feels like it had been patterned perfectly well to even make sense. From how he was found several towns over from where the boat he boarded that night was found, to the time he supposedly placed a call to Nino while he was unconscious, and from a phone booth that hadn’t been working for years either, beats him.
It doesn’t make any sense, really, but so is the fact that he is alive and the others he was with that night aren’t. He could have died that night, too, but didn’t; could have remained there in Fukui with no recollection of what happened to him but didn’t because Nino found him just in time.
They each has a promise to fulfill for each other, after all, and even in his subconscious, he fought to keep his promise to Nino just as Nino fought to keep his.
“Guess that’s how it is when you’re in love with someone,” he teases, shoving his fingers through Nino’s hair. “Even death is not an option. You’re going to find ways for the other person to know you’re waiting.”
“That seriously sounded like the kind of movie plot Jun-kun loves to watch in his free time,” Nino mutters off-handedly but the way his cheeks are tainted with color counters it.
He chuckles. “So, the romantic kind?” he says, squeezing Nino’s chin lightly. “I don’t mind watching it if you’re with me, though.” he says, laughing at the way Nino rolls his eyes to the heaven in answer. “I’m serious!”
“Yeah, right,” Nino says, shifting above him by crawling upwards till they’re almost nose to nose. “Neither of us is the romantic kind, so, why bother?” Nino asks, pecking his lips twice. “So what if you had to defy the odds just to be able to contact me? I’d have expected you to, because you promised me.”
“Nino -“
“It’s miraculous and equal-parts amazing, but you know what’s nice to know?” Nino follows, eyes dark with quiet promises as he ducks down to kiss Ohno, slipping his tongue into the heat of Ohno’s mouth before he pulls away.
“I would have done the same thing for you, Oh-chan,” Nino says, fingers light against Ohno’s cheek. “I would defy the odds, too, just so I could be with you and that’s that.”
Ohno doesn’t answer, he doesn’t, he can’t. He just takes Nino’s face in between his hands and pulls him down for a kiss that is both a promise and a plea as he rolls them over, pinning Nino back to the bed, squirming deliciously beneath Ohno, where they both know he belongs.