fic for yumenosete (2/2)

[nino-mod.livejournal.com]

For: yumenosete
From: phrenk

Part 1

===

An hour later, Nino was sweaty, dirty, and tired. His face actually hurt from smiling.

The sun was going down, so the three of them traipsed down to the lake to make themselves semi-presentable before they ate. Jun couldn't stop talking about how good it had felt to play baseball again, like nothing had changed since they were kids, and Aiba's face seemed to be stuck on high-beam.

Nino, because he wanted to and because he could right then, sneaked over to Aiba's side of the trail and held his hand.

When they got to the lake, Jun took Nino's other hand and he and Aiba just kept going, ignoring Nino's protests and increasingly alarmed wiggling.

"But my phone!" Nino tried.

Jun paused, but Aiba shook his head and continued walking. "He left it in Super Soul."

Accepting the inevitable, Nino went limp so they'd at least have to drag him. His feet were in the water--

"You could've at least let me take off my shoes," he complained at once.

--then his legs were submerged, there was the shock of cold water in sensitive places, and they ducked Nino under and left him to swim free.

Nino pushed to the surface, gasping, but the water wasn't deep enough to be scary, nor was it cold enough to be unpleasant, so he dipped back under and rubbed the sweat and dirt off himself as best he could. It felt good, far better than he was planning to let on to his traitorous friends.

When he surfaced again, he looked for Aiba and Jun with thoughts of revenge.

First he saw Jun, but his old friend was nearly to the float already, and Nino was only about half the distance there. Nino noticed Ohno's lower body still sticking out from the umbrella, but Gakky was sitting on the other side, feet in the water, watching the three of them. When Nino met her eyes, she smiled and waved a little shyly, so he smiled and waved back.

Aiba ducked him again. Nino's mouth filled with water as he tried to yell, and when he came back up he was pointing at Gakky.

"You could've told me he was coming!" he screeched, but Aiba was giggling in his ear, high-pitched and evil, and Nino resigned himself to going under once more.

This time he let himself drop, and when his questing hands found Aiba's skinny ankles, he yanked.

The ensuing tussle was fairly evenly matched. Aiba had longer limbs and was generally stronger, but Nino was sneakier and less easily distracted. They were circling each other for the third or fourth time, joyful battle fury in their eyes, when their heads whipped around at a sound from nearby that was like a panic-stricken whale.

It seemed Jun had rolled Ohno right off the float and into the water.

"Did that noise come from Ohno-san?" Nino asked, awed, and Gakky spared him a nod from where she was fending Jun off with the umbrella. She was a lot closer now: it seemed that Nino and Aiba had unwittingly splashed their way toward their companions during their duel.

Gakky said, "He kicked him awake before he pushed him... probably so he didn't drown."

Ohno splashed up and out of the water, still making whale sounds but extremely angry ones now, and Jun turned away from his pursuit of Gakky to give him a wary look.

Gakky, seeing her chance, shoved him into the water, at which point Ohno stopped thrashing around and started purposefully around the float to get to Jun.

Nino turned to Aiba, eyes wide, and they nodded together in agreement. It didn't seem at all prudent to stay in the water with an enraged Ohno on the loose.

They were squelching their way into the lawn chairs within minutes, laughing and holding hands. Nino didn't try to pull his hand away even before Aiba whispered that Sho could come back at any minute so they had to stay convincing.

It was easy to go along with it, horribly easy to let all his defenses drop. It was almost embarrassing: except for that one kiss he couldn't remember, he'd kept his self-control for nearly two decades, and now here he was, giggling and clinging onto Aiba with his heart on his sleeve.

And yet, Nino found he didn't care that much. He might hate himself for it in the future, when he was off away again and trying to forget, but right then he had all his pent-up affection and a free pass to use it nearly any way he pleased. He didn't know if it had been in the water, or playing baseball, or maybe even while talking to Jun, but he'd given up spending every second reminding himself it wasn't real.

He had this one chance to live his fantasy. Angsting over it any longer felt like wasting it, and soon enough he'd be gone.

Nino eyed Aiba, who was watching the drama unfold in the lake with a light in his eyes no future recollection would capture correctly.

"Look, Gakky's going to ambush Oh-chan and--" Aiba cut off with a winded noise as Nino plopped down into his lap.

"Like you said," Nino said smugly, settling himself across Aiba with his head rested back on Aiba's shoulder. "Sho-san could be back at any moment."

Aiba didn't say anything, and the silence lasted long enough that Nino, despite his resolution, started to get antsy. It was true that he still had to keep it within the realm of a fake relationship between comfortably tactile best friends, and maybe he'd--

Then Aiba's arms came up and wrapped snugly around Nino's waist. His voice was pleased and rumbly as he said, "Wanna make this interesting? My money's on Jun-kun."

Nino considered the tableau as his body, which he knew logically was cold and clammy, warmed up from the inside out. Jun did seem to have an edge now that Gakky and Ohno had turned on each other, but Nino couldn't forget that wheezing bellow Ohno had let out as Jun pushed him into the water. He was thinking that eventually Ohno would decide that avenging that moment came before all else. And that single-mindedness might then put him at a disadvantage.

"Gakky," Nino said at last, following the motion of Ohno's dive for Jun. "Loser does all our chores for the rest of the trip."

"It seems like I'm doing all of them anyway," Aiba grumbled, but before Nino could say anything, he shouted, "C'mon, Matsujun! Go for her feet!"

Gakky turned in the water with a glint in her eye that had Nino yelling hurriedly, "I'm for you, Yui-chan! Jun-kun's weak if you come at him from behind!"

"He'll remember that," Sho said from behind them. "Did I hear something about a bet? Because my money's on Captain."

They exchanged solemn, damp handshakes. Sho sat in the empty chair with a yelp at the puddle Nino had left, and Nino curled up in Aiba's lap with a hidden smile. Together they watched the chaos on the lake as the sun sank into the mountains behind it.

===

Nino spent the rest of the evening in a fog of mundane happiness. It was full of good things, from food to scenery to weather to company, but it shouldn't have been as good as it was just from that.

The very fact that he could show his feelings for Aiba, even if the person he loved didn't know it was for real, lifted a weight from his mind that he'd been bearing so long he hadn't known how heavy it had grown. The respite was temporary, but he didn't stop to mourn, only set all his self-aware tendencies to one side and lived in the moment as best he could.

There also seemed to be a sort of alchemy in the mix of people. Sure, Jun and Sho were awkward together, mostly because they never seemed to touch (Nino watched them whenever he remembered to and still hadn't seen them so much as brush fingers), but it was a weirdly comfortable awkwardness, like maybe it was what worked for them. (Aiba was unconvinced.) They certainly seemed to trust each other, if the way Jun felt safe loosing his sharp tongue on Sho and the way Sho depended on Jun without worrying Jun would ever be disdainful was any indication. In a quiet way, they clearly cared about each other, as Nino realized when he noticed that every time Sho laughed, Jun looked over to see why so he could understand and join in on the amusement, and sometimes Sho would catch his gaze and point out whatever he thought was funny without even stopping laughing to say it in words.

Then there was Gakky, who rarely seemed fully in tune with the group's atmosphere while always seeming fully relatable, and Ohno, whose unassuming demeanor revealed an instinctive flair for genius within, whatever he turned it to. Nino didn't partake in any of the alcohol, not about to decrease his fallen inhibitions any further, but even so he somehow found his hands amiably groping Ohno's butt more than once before the evening was out. Aiba just laughed, delighted, and Jun and Sho had looked startled and amused, but Gakky had shrugged and said that sometimes she got Ohno to come with her to weightless yoga classes just because it gave the teachers such a thrill to be able to touch Ohno like that. When Nino had replied that it must be Ohno's butt's healing aura, she had grinned and agreed completely. Ohno had been busy cleaning his fish.

Gakky and Ohno together were quietly bantering mixed with moments of almost painful sweetness. She'd chide him about not helping wash the dishes, and he'd snap back, but the next second he'd be kissing her cheek and murmuring about how glorious she'd been in her triumph over Jun in the lake, how he'd wanted to throw himself at her feet. And Gakky would laugh and stammer her thanks, Nino saw, and she'd find a way to touch him soon after that, something simple, like resting a hand on his shoulder while he, as promised, washed the dishes.

Having a barbecue with two couples made it natural for Nino to be in one with Aiba. He didn't have to act when Aiba offered him a bite of meat to take from his hand, and he didn't have to fake his contented look when he settled back against Aiba on a log by the fire and Aiba put his arms around him. They told stories about when they were kids, and held hands, and made sure the other was comfortable and well-fed. Aiba got a little drunk, and Nino used it as an excuse to be even more handsy.

He'd hate himself later. Right then, it was wonderful.

When Aiba produced a guitar from the motor home and handed it to Nino, it was almost creepily idyllic.

Nino looked up at him with an arrested expression. "If you'd told me we were shooting a heartwarming music video, I would have worn more stylish clothes, you know."

After his first simple song, some psychic wavelength had Nino playing seriously and Ohno singing comically without their even having to discuss it. For the first time all evening, Aiba wasn't by Nino's side, but he sat across the circle and watched Nino with a small smile. The firelight flickering over his face made him even more beautiful than usual.

For his third song, Nino picked something rousing, and everyone joined in just as he'd hoped. He thought about how it wasn't just the couples whose chemistry was good: Ohno and Sho really were like an old married couple, so much so that they laughed at each other's jokes sometimes before the other even got to the punchline. And Jun seemed to make Gakky smile more than anyone else, and her droll, easygoing complaints made him laugh without any thought of dignity. Jun positively doted on Ohno, and Sho and Aiba had so much fun together that Nino was almost jealous. But not quite, because at least for that night, with the eating and the singing and the heat of the fire and the way they were (Nino assumed; he still didn't actually know their location) the only people around for miles, it was right, just as it was.

Nino was glad to be a part of it. Feeling glad made him quiet, made him pull back, just a bit, to observe and record his own impressions, but no one took offense. After a while, when the guitar had long been in its case, Aiba came back around to sit by him, and wordlessly they fit themselves together again.

It was late when they all retired to Super Soul, and whether drunk or sober, each of them had an arm around whoever was nearest. Nino stuck close to Aiba with a sort of contentment he didn't remember feeling before.

As Nino belatedly found out, Sho and Jun always brought a tent, preferring privacy to the stability of the RV, and they headed off into the woods with a wave and several shouts goodbye. Ohno and Gakky stumbled back to their tiny, doorless cabin, and Nino made sure Aiba made it up the ladder safely into their cramped bunk before following him up.

They lay together in close silence. Nino didn't let himself try to puzzle out who made the first move, but as they dropped off to sleep, they were holding hands.

===

The rain started when Nino had only been asleep for what felt like an hour or so. It might not have woken him up except that he'd been having uneasy dreams for a while, dreams about leaving, or losing, when the distant boom of thunder nudged him into consciousness.

He was lying awake, taking comfort in the steady drumming of rain on the roof so close to his head, when he heard noises outside.

For a while, he tried to ignore them, sure they were a remnant of his foreboding dream. At a particularly loud rustling, though, he felt around on the bunk until he found Aiba's arm and shook it, Ohno's bears plaguing his mind.

Aiba mumbled, "I know," and rolled over on top of Nino, still asleep.

Thoughts of the ominous noises disappeared in a wave of utter longing, though the practical part of his brain whispered that his lightheadedness was probably partly because Aiba's weight was giving him some trouble breathing.

Even so, that wasn't the only reason. There were endless reasons, all wrapped up in the person lying on top of him, from the spark in Aiba's eyes as he'd chased Nino around the forest to the feel of the baseball mitt from earlier, a real present for their fake anniversary, from the sucker-punch of desire of that one moment in the lake when Aiba had his arms around him from behind and their bodies aligned--fit--to the way Aiba (Nino was almost sure it had been Aiba) had reached out in the darkness and taken Nino's hand with no one watching and no reason to pretend.

There was also, quite simply, the guilty, glorious heat of Aiba's body on his--even if it was making it difficult to breathe in a less than romantic manner.

Slowly, ready to stop if Aiba so much as twitched, Nino raised his hands and rested them carefully on Aiba's waist.

Aiba made a tiny snuffling noise and turned his face. His mouth brushed Nino's jaw, banishing the last dregs of rationality from Nino's mind, and he shifted his hips, just slightly, in a way that had Nino stifling a whimper.

"Wake up, Aiba-chan."

Nino knew he was the one saying it, but he hated it anyway. He didn't want Aiba to stop--and he didn't want Aiba to do things sleeping that he wouldn't ever do awake.

It was so hard, so hard, but Nino stroked his hands up from Aiba's waist to his shoulders (broader than they used to be, and the perfect place for Nino's hands if only--) and pushed him away.

Halfway off Nino, with one leg still sprawled across Nino's hips, Aiba went stock-still.

Nino swallowed hard, trying to figure out what to say, and decided to go with something light. "My goodness, darling, not in front of our friends."

Aiba's tone was quiet, but there was nothing light about it. "Nino, would you let me tell you something?"

There was a knock on the door.

Nino, suddenly remembering about the bears (or the ax-murderer or the avalanche or any of many other terrible wilderness things that could be coming for them in the meager protection of the motor home), clutched at Aiba's shoulders and said, far too late, "There were noises."

Aiba startled away from him, and it was only then that Nino remembered that bears (and avalanches, and many of the other things on his list) wouldn't knock on the door. That did still leave ax-murderers, but--

But it was clearly Jun's voice saying, "I'm coming in," as the door opened. It was just like the flimsy shelter Super Soul provided not even to have been locked, Nino mused bitterly.

There was a bright light, then Jun stepped up and into view, phone held in front of him as a flashlight. Even in the dimness, Nino could see he was drenched.

"Are you all right, Matsujun?" Aiba asked, the barest hint of laughter in his voice. There was something funny about the way Jun looked, though Nino needed to be able to see better to put his finger on it.

"I'm sorry, I have to turn on the lights," Jun said, letting the door slam behind him. The restrained temper in his voice had Nino wondering just what had happened to Sho, but then the door opened again.

"Ah, so cold!" Sho said, then flinched as the lights blinded him.

Nino, seizing his opportunity, had buried his face in Aiba's chest. Aiba wrapped an arm around his shoulders and made unnecessary soothing noises.

When Nino opened his eyes, Jun was converting the dinette to a bed with a single-minded intensity that was a little frightening. Nino realized that the funny thing about the way Jun looked was that even when he was soaking wet, Jun was still intensely and attractively Jun, like his strong facial features just couldn't help themselves.

"You promised me you fixed the tent," he said, his back to Sho.

"I did fix the tent," Sho said. He stripped off his soaked shirt and opened a cabinet door so he could hang it up. "I'll admit it's obvious I didn't fix the tent very well."

Jun paused in unscrewing the support for the table and looked over his shoulder, clearly about to say something nasty. When he saw Sho, half-naked and wet and shivering, he cursed and stood up, then pushed past him and right out the door back into the rain.

Sho looked up at Aiba and Nino. "It's not that I can't see why he's upset."

"Did it leak?" Aiba asked, fascinated.

Nino, more to the point, asked, "Shouldn't you go after Jun-kun?"

"It collapsed, actually," Sho said, scratching his head sheepishly. "I think the weight of the water snapped the mended support and it came down on us... and we might have been, uh."

Aiba's laugh was so sudden it sounded like a hiccup.

"Occupied?" Nino offered, and Aiba laughed again.

Jun came back in with a bag in hand. This time, he closed the door quietly behind him, though it seemed impossible that Gakky and Ohno hadn't woken up by then.

"Sit." His voice was quiet, too, but it brooked no disobedience.

Sho slinked two feet to his right and perched on the bench next to the upturned table.

"Take everything off," Jun said next, kneeling and rummaging in the bag.

Crossing his arms over his chest protectively, Sho said, "But--"

"Hey remember that time in the bathhouse when we pretended our junk was in a beauty pageant?" Aiba said, laughing even more at Sho's misplaced prudery.

Sho snickered, then sighed. He pulled off his remaining clothes just in time for a towel to hit him in the middle of the chest.

Aiba whispered to Nino, "Mine won, but his got Miss Congeniality."

Nino stifled his laughter in Aiba's shirt, and the humor helped distract him from the continuing embrace Aiba didn't even seem to notice.

Sho'd gotten the towel around his waist and was sitting with his legs crossed at the knee, looking serene.

Jun, who'd stripped so quickly Nino half-suspected his clothes were held together by velcro, had his towel fastened securely as well, but he had another in his hands. It was a matter of two steps before he was in Sho's space and using the towel to carefully dry Sho's hair.

"I read a manga that had a scene like this in it once," Aiba said. "I think it was porn, but before I got to the good part I loaned it to Oh-chan and he lost it."

"Ah, sorry," Sho said, a little muffled by the towel. "He loaned it to me and I forgot to give it back."

"No porn for you in this one either," Jun said to Aiba. He ran a hand through his wet hair and flicked the water at Aiba's face.

Aiba yelped and squirmed but kept holding tightly to Nino's shoulders.

Nino, who'd been watching Jun and Sho with his chin resting on Aiba, felt his eyelids getting heavy. He decided it was time to go back to sleep while he still had an excuse to lie so close, so he promptly laid his cheek on Aiba's chest and sighed in a blatantly drowsy way. He was surprised into a shudder when Aiba's hand slipped up and stroked his hair.

"Goodnight, Nino," Aiba said softly.

Nino didn't trust himself to respond, so he didn't. Snuggled up under a blanket with the person he loved, with his own warmth and comfort even more apparent after seeing the amusing discomfort of others, he realized that he was swiftly falling back asleep for real.

The second to last thing he remembered was hearing Ohno's monotone voice say, "Matsujun should put looking good wet on his resume." The last thing was the feeling of Aiba's delighted laugh.

===

He woke up to Aiba's face.

It was not, as would have given him a shameful thrill, the face of a person lying beside him in their bed, but the face of a weirdo who was peering at him over the edge of the bunk.

"Aiba-chan?" Nino said stupidly, sleep still clogging his throat.

Aiba smiled. "You're awake," he cheered.

Nino blinked. It felt good, so he let the next one keep his eyes closed completely.

"No, no, no, it's time to gather firewood," Aiba said, shaking Nino roughly.

"Stop with any of your first three words and you've got my answer," Nino gritted out. He kept his eyes firmly shut.

What ensued next was an embarrassment of limbs, squawking, and terror that somehow ended with Nino safely out of the bunk and into Aiba's arms.

"I knew I'd get to princess-carry you," Aiba said smugly. He made for the door and promptly smacked Nino's head on the resurrected dinette table.

Nino flailed desperately, trying to shield himself or escape or both, and they ended up tangled together in the aisle of the motor home laughing and cursing and elbowing each other when they got breath enough to manage another attack.

A stern voice came from outside. "Aiba-san, I really need that firewood, please."

"Five more minutes, Mom," Nino whined, grinning when Aiba guffawed.

"Aiba-san."

Nino laughed at Jun's serious tone, but Aiba went still. He sounded apologetic when he said, "We should probably go."

Without Aiba's laughter, Nino came back to himself to realize he was entwined on the floor with someone who was only pretending to be his boyfriend, so he didn't argue as he extracted himself, got himself ready, and followed Aiba back into the dreaded wilderness.

Well, he did argue, but not as much as he wanted to.

Aiba groaned as he strode along forcefully. "Because Matsujun said we needed more firewood, and that's our job," he said for the fourth time, giving Nino a shove.

"But I shouldn't have to do chores because Gakky won the water-fight--"

"Results were inconclusive," Aiba said and stuck his nose in the air like the point was decided.

"Inconclusive between Gakky and Oh-chan, maybe, but Jun-kun was the loser and you know it."

Aiba harrumphed and grabbed Nino's wrist to pull him through the forest even faster. "I concede that point, but the real reason we're out here is to practice!"

Nino went cold, then hot, then tripped over his own feet. The sting of his knees hitting the ground barely registered with the sudden, urgent anticipation he felt.

And one really good kiss.

"Why didn't you catch me," he complained, trying not to look as flustered as he felt.

Aiba ignored that. He hauled Nino back to his feet and--oh god--took both of his hands.

"Imagine, we're in the clearing, and Matsujun and Sho-kun are watching, and I tell you I love you, that I really really love you, right?"

Nino made a little croaking noise that was apparently taken as assent. Aiba's handsome face was getting closer and closer.

"And I take your hands, and I step in close, and..." Aiba trailed off.

Nino could see each of Aiba's eyelashes, could hear Aiba's uneven breathing, could feel--

Could feel Aiba's mouth on his.

At last.

He tilted his head and closed his eyes and felt it all, and he wanted to remember it forever. It was Aiba, Aiba touching him, from the nervous grip of his hands to the soft parting of his lips against Nino's own. There was nothing but the taste of his mouth, the sound of his sigh, the way he pressed even closer like he didn't want to stop either.

Nino let his mouth open, just a little, just in case Aiba would want to practice more, just enough to hint without it being indefensible later, but Aiba didn't laugh or pull away.

Aiba didn't even hesitate. At the first touch of Aiba's tongue, Nino couldn't keep in a small, needy noise, and then Aiba was kissing him deeply. The idea of pretending, of holding back or explaining later, was as distant as everything but Aiba.

They kissed until Nino wasn't sure he'd ever be able to close himself off again.

Even when Aiba finally moved his mouth away, he didn't let go of Nino's hands. For a while, all either of them did was breathe.

Nino kept his eyes closed, feeling shattered, and far too late he tried to look--well, there wasn't any good way to look, but he tried to look a little less desperately in love.

"I bet breakfast is ready," Aiba said. Nino didn't have any time to process that before Aiba was pulling him back toward camp, muttering to himself, "Let's go, let's go."

Nino managed inconsequentially, "The firewood?" but Aiba just shook his head and kept going. Nino struggled to keep up when his whole body seemed intent on reliving the past five minutes in torturous detail.

They hit the edge of the clearing and kept going. Aiba was moving so fast and Nino was so dazed that it was a moment before he saw there was a huge banner hanging on the RV, that the whole group was gathered and looking at them, and there was no breakfast in sight.

Somehow the first thought Nino had about this was, I might get another kiss soon, if this is what it looks like.

It seemed it was time to perform, time for their really good kiss to sway the course of Jun and Sho's relationship, and Nino was embarrassingly ready to say anything that would get Aiba's mouth back on his, even if it meant it was the last time.

They stopped in front of the group, who looked variously interested (Sho), concerned (Jun), sleepy (Gakky), and confused (Ohno). Aiba spun Nino to face him, took his hands, and said breathlessly, "Nino, I love you. I really really love you."

Nino did his best to blush adorably, wondering if he had any lines in this script before they got to the kissing. He heard a cheer, muffled a little too late, that might have been from Ohno.

Jun snapped his fingers, startling Nino out of his contemplation of Aiba's pretty eyes. "That's our cue," he said briskly.

Nino said, "Huh?"

A second later, he heard Ohno echo it. It gave him a small measure of satisfaction that at least one other person was as confused as he was.

Jun pulled a folding chair from behind him and set it up for Nino, who sat in it when Aiba gave him a gentle push. Gakky picked up a plastic bag from Super Soul's step and plopped it into Nino's lap. Sho took something big, flat, and white that had been leaning against the back of his legs and hung it from Super Soul's rolled-up awning.

Ohno said again, "Huh?"

After the bustle of activity was over, Jun, Gakky, and Sho lined back up with the slackjawed Ohno next to what Nino realized was a whiteboard. He looked at his incomprehensible best friend, wondering just what part he was supposed to be playing right then, and settled on looking affectionately expectant.

Aiba said grimly, "We are go go go go," and knelt down in the grass at Nino's feet. Nino's brain chose that moment to realize that when Aiba had hustled him out of bed and into the woods for firewood, he'd spared an extra minute for Nino to brush his teeth because he already knew they were going to be kissing.

"Nino. Um... so the purpose of this trip is three... four... many-fold. Number one, I wanted to help Matsujun and Sho-chan, though after hearing about them in the tent last night maybe they don't need our help."

"Tent?" Jun interrupted, tone flatly terrifying, but Aiba just flapped his hands at him and kept going.

"Number two, I wanted to get you out of the city, to take you into the woods, the mountains, to swim with you and play baseball, and I'm counting that one as a success also."

Nino snickered despite himself. "Also? So you're saying that in the tent because of us--" He broke off as he realized that if Aiba was discussing the plan so openly, it almost certainly meant his fake relationship was over. He crossed his arms over his chest and hugged himself tightly.

Aiba didn't seem to hear him at all, he was so intent on his plan. "Number three, I wanted you to have more friends so it'd be less likely you'd leave again. Number four, I needed to be utterly sure of my feelings before I could carry out number five, and number five, I wanted to get you somewhere where you couldn't run away."

"Like a serial killer would?" Nino wondered aloud. It was remarkable how calm he sounded when he felt like his head might pop off into the sky at any moment like an untied helium balloon. He noticed Sho was taking notes of Aiba's speech on the whiteboard, and that reminded him to look up to see what the stupid banner said.

It said, in English, Moment of Truth. At least Nino assumed it was supposed to, but Aiba seemed to have done the writing himself because the first word, no matter how he looked at it, was momo.

He stared, then shifted his gaze back to Aiba. "Though I'm the one who's feeling a bit violent. What do you mean, make it so I couldn't run away?"

"Wait, there's another list... I knew I should have brought my notes. I've been planning this for so long and I forget to bring my notes," Aiba said, running his hands in a frantic motion through his increasingly rumpled hair. "The other list was about asking my friends, our friends, to come along as observers."

Ohno repeated with more vigor, "Huh?" Jun and Gakky both turned to pat him on the shoulder consolingly.

"Sho-chan was the objective observer, since he'd never met you, and Gakky was in charge of supplies--"

"He said to pick out the cheapest things in the convenience store," Gakky said, pointing at the bag in Nino's lap.

"--and Matsujun, of course, knew you really well before, so he got the most important job. See, you've had so much practice that you're really, really good at lying to me, so I asked Matsujun... his job was to find out if you're in love with me."

Nino stood up abruptly. The bag from Gakky fell on the ground between him and Aiba. Then he sat back down with as much suddenness because he realized his legs weren't going to hold him.

"I think I missed something there. Jun-kun, could you repeat what your role is?" he asked, looking over at Jun. He couldn't muster a betrayed expression, couldn't even feel it, really, but he was sure after the shock wore off that he'd be mad.

Jun shrugged, face calm. "I agreed to try to find out because I already wanted to know, but I never said I'd tell him my conclusion."

Nino looked back down at Aiba, who looked put-upon. "And he wouldn't tell me! Some good as an observer, right?"

"If you're asking me for an opinion about something, I'd be happy to write you a list of my current objections," Nino said, tone controlled, words careful, heart in chaos. "And what is your role in all this, Aiba-chan?"

"Main," Aiba said at once, then tried, "Starring? You know, part of the main couple. Hero!"

Nino waited him out, mostly because he found he was incapable of speech. If Aiba suspected Nino's feelings for him, it was uncharacteristically cruel to ask him to pretend to be his boyfriend. If Aiba suspected his feelings... it really did make Nino want to run away.

Aiba pulled himself together to say, "My role was to confirm what I knew about myself already, plus to do all the things I thought might make you leave again, but do them here, where you couldn't. Start a new list, Sho-chan!"

Sho moved to a blank space on the whiteboard and waited expectantly.

"Come out as bisexual to you," Aiba said loudly. "Hold your hand all the time! Have Matsujun say you were in love with me in high school!"

Jun interjected urgently, "Which is a thought he had on his own, Nino, and not something I suggested--neither of us know if it's really true, right?"

Nino closed his eyes in humiliation as Aiba continued.

"Sleep in the same bed! Feed each other by hand!" He concluded triumphantly, "And one really good kiss!"

There was silence for a long stretch of seconds, silence broken only by Sho's rapid scribbling with the squeaky dry-erase marker. Nino looked over at the board, which had the list of Aiba's goals, of everyone's role in the prank, and now the list of what Aiba had thought would make Nino run away.

Aiba said carefully, "There's one more thing that I thought for sure would make you run."

Nino held up a hand to stop him. Something in his face must have warned Aiba not to push forward despite it.

This time when Nino stood, his legs didn't buckle. He took one step away from Aiba. When his legs still supported him and his heart didn't break, he kept going.

It was a relief when Aiba didn't follow.

===

Nino was back by the lake when Jun found him. It hadn't escaped his notice that he was sitting right in the place where he'd told Jun the truth the day before.

He met Jun's eyes mockingly, but Jun spoke before he could say anything.

"How's running away working out for you?"

Pushed beyond reason, Nino burst out, "Sometimes running away is the right choice, and whose place is it to decide, anyway, except for mine?"

After a beat, Jun sat in the chair next to him. He grimaced. "You might have told me this chair was soaking wet, Nino."

Nino squished from side to side in his own uncomfortable seat. "You know better than any of us how much it rained last night, Matsujun."

Jun sighed. "He figured you'd need to run away. He didn't want to take that choice from you, so I'm here instead of him, okay? What he didn't want was for you to be alone."

"Why did you go along with all this?" Nino asked, but he didn't wait for Jun's answer. There was something that he needed to know more than anything else. "Why is he doing this?"

The problem was, he could think of one really good reason, but there were other possible reasons, too, and all of them were devastating. Even the good one (which couldn't be true, it couldn't) would turn his whole life upside-down, and the bad ones...

"Jun-kun, is he that worried about me leaving again that he's trying to force me to stay? How could he think outing my feelings would keep me--or does he think it's all a joke?" His worst fear, that Aiba knew his feelings and hated him for it, was something he couldn't say out loud even to Jun.

Jun reached over and took his hand. Nino didn't move away, but he didn't reciprocate either. "You know him better than I do, Nino, but you're not going to figure this out just by thinking about it on your own. You're going to have to go back and listen to him."

Nino muttered, "But he's being so fucking ridiculous," and Jun huffed a laugh that sounded like agreement. "I mean, really? What's with the banner? Why did he haul a whiteboard to the middle of nowhere?"

"You could ask him," Jun suggested hesitantly. He squeezed Nino's limp hand. "Go ask him, Nino."

Nino didn't move.

Jun let him sit in silence for a minute or two, but then he said seriously, "I can't make you go. But if you run away for real, if you're too scared to hear him out, you'll torture yourself over it, you know that, right? There's nowhere in the world you can move to that'll keep this from hurting. Go back and rip off the bandaid."

Nino made a grumpy noise. "Ripping off a bandaid is getting the pain over with quickly, so this doesn't fit. This could hurt forever; keep your metaphors to yourself."

Despite himself, he turned his hand over and laced his fingers through Jun's. It really did help, just a little bit, to have Jun there.

"How is that different from what you're feeling already? Just because I didn't tell Aiba-chan doesn't mean I can't see it," Jun said.

Closing his eyes, Nino whispered as if to himself, "Why are my friends so brutal..."

Jun laughed. "Be brutal yourself for once, huh? Make him deal with your feelings properly if he's going to bring them up at all."

"There's no coming back from that," Nino said, resignation in every syllable. "Things will never go back to how they were."

Jun made a noise like he wanted to say more, but he stopped himself.

After another minute of shameless cowardice, Nino stood up. He felt surprisingly steady for someone about to face a conversation he'd put off for nearly twenty years.

"Fine. Let's go back. But you have to pick up the pieces after."

"I'll be there," Jun promised, and they walked back up the path together.

===

Nino walked over and sat down in his chair as Jun took his place by the whiteboard again, though Sho was sitting on the motor home's step and Gakky was lying in the grass with her head in Ohno's lap. Ohno, somewhat comfortingly, still looked confused, if also a little drowsy.

Aiba was the only one who hadn't moved. He knelt where Nino had left him, looking disturbingly patient.

After fishing some melon bread out of the bag at his feet, Nino settled back with as calm an expression as he could muster. "I admit nothing," he said unencouragingly. "Explain yourself."

Aiba took a deep breath. It was somehow shocking to Nino to hear the catch in it, as if Aiba might be almost as nervous as he was.

"I was just figuring out I wasn't straight, you see, and then you left," he said. "It took me a while of you refusing to tell me exactly where you were--let me say for the millionth time that that's really weird, Nino, okay?--and only visiting once a year, and not drinking when you did, before I started to think that maybe..." He cut off for a second, studying Nino's expression.

Nino pretended to be made of impenetrable stone, which was extremely difficult with a mouth full of melon bread.

Aiba shifted uncomfortably in his position on the grass. "Well, once I thought you might have feelings for me, it seemed like the only thing that made sense. Especially since you would practically drag a stranger off the street to talk about rather than talk to me about kissing you--"

"I said I was sorry," Nino said, keeping his head up as best he could when he wanted to sink through his chair and into the ground. The food had been a mistake; it felt like swallowing chalk. "What else did you need to hear?"

Sho said, "Should I still be taking notes?" but Jun hissed immediately, "Only in your thick head, Sho-kun." Nino spared a glance at Jun's worried face and remembered that he should probably try to breathe.

"Nino..." Aiba said, face painfully earnest. "You idiot, I kissed you."

Nino snorted. "Who's the idiot? I got super drunk and kissed you, and I apologized; we don't have to make this production out of it."

Aiba didn't say anything. It was clear from his face that he wasn't taking back what he'd said, which was unfathomable...

But after a second, Nino unwillingly began to process it. He wouldn't believe it--couldn't believe it. The fact that he'd lost control and kissed Aiba was an underpinning of his life for the past five years. If that wasn't the truth, what could he trust to be as he thought?

Then suddenly, it made a nasty kind of sense. He said without thinking, "Ah, you were figuring out you were into guys? Don't worry, I forgive you for using me as your drunken experiment."

"I wasn't--Nino, you're not listening!" Aiba said. He sounded impatient for the first time.

"I never said I would," Nino said, and he took another bite of his melon bread just to be mean.

Ohno's soft voice came unexpectedly. "Don't give up, Aiba-chan."

Aiba, startled, turned to look at him with wide eyes. His hair was still sticking up in all directions, and Nino had an overwhelming urge to put it to rights, or maybe he just wanted to touch him. Now that their fake relationship was over, he might not get to touch Aiba like that again, especially with Aiba detonating this grenade in the middle of their friendship.

Looking a little embarrassed, Ohno gestured at Nino. "I'm an observer, right? Though I noticed you didn't give me a role..." he trailed off petulantly.

"Sorry, Oh-chan," Aiba said automatically.

Ohno nodded his regal acceptance before gesturing at Nino again. "Well, as an observer, I ob-obverse--"

"You can't even say it," Jun objected, and Sho chuckled.

Gakky poked at Ohno's forehead like she was encouraging him. Nino, with a break from everyone looking at him, took a shuddering breath.

Except Ohno was looking at him, and Ohno said, "He's terrified."

All eyes shifted to Nino, who sat frozen. It was kind of horrifying that he was going through this ordeal with a mouth that seemed it would never be free of melon bread sludge. He forced himself to swallow it and shoved the rest back in the bag so he wouldn't be tempted again.

Aiba took a deep breath and nodded. When he spoke, it was with more patience and entirely renewed enthusiasm.

"I have no intention of giving up. Nino, hasn't the past day together been good? Hasn't it been really good?" he asked, dark eyes intent on Nino's face.

"Of course," Nino said coldly. "I am an excellent actor."

Aiba scooted a little closer, then moved the bag--which Nino realized now was the promised breakfast--out of the way and moved closer still. "And me?"

Nino could have reached out and touched Aiba's pink cheeks, his messy hair, his soft mouth--but he forced himself to look considering instead of tender. He got out, "I admit that it turns out you have hidden depths."

"I don't," Aiba said simply. "I don't have hidden depths, Nino, I'm just in love with you."

Nino felt like he might throw up. It wasn't that he hadn't seen it coming, at least as something that might possibly, maybe, potentially be what was going on, but it was hard to balance nearly two decades of unrequited love against a new and uncertain hope.

"Say that again."

Aiba moved even closer, eyes beseeching. He also looked suddenly happy, like getting his feelings out into the open was a joyful thing. Nino couldn't relate, but he was trying his best to listen.

"Nino, I'm in love with you. I'm sorry it took me so long."

Nino just stared for a moment longer, then snapped, "Everybody out."

"We're already outside..." Sho whispered, and Gakky stifled a nervous chuckle.

"The lake," Ohno said with rare decisiveness. "Grab the fishing gear!"

Jun said, unimpressed, "Grab it yourself." He gave Nino a guts pose before helping Sho up and walking with him out of the clearing.

"Aiba-chan," Nino said as Ohno and Gakky left, he with the fishing gear, she with the umbrella. Despite the tension of the moment, he was unable to help sharing what he'd seen with his best friend. "Jun-kun and Sho-san were just holding hands."

Aiba, who'd been staring at Nino like the world could end and he still wouldn't move, snapped his head around as if the pair might still be in sight. "No way! Holding hands, them?! I can't believe I missed it..."

Before he looked back around, Nino said as fast as he could, "I love you, Aiba-chan."

He thought Aiba might launch himself forward, and the tiniest part of him, the one that still suspected this might all be a prank, thought Aiba might laugh, but instead Aiba just met his eyes and went very, very still.

Then he grinned. "Say it again."

"I love you--" Nino got out, and then he was in Aiba's arms. He pressed his face against Aiba's neck and tried not to babble his whole heart out. It was a close call.

Then the first rush of happiness faded, and that's when another one of Nino's ugly fears, the very newest one he had, became pressing. He sighed, and for a second he hated his feelings so much he wanted to break something. "You don't need to let go, but I have to ask..."

"Anything," Aiba said fervently. He pulled Nino out of the chair so he could embrace him properly, and somehow Nino ended up back in Aiba's lap. It felt just as right as the last time, which didn't make Nino's next words any easier.

"You made this whole plan, but did you ever figure out what to do if the person you love--"

"That's you," Aiba interrupted, obviously about a second away from laughing or singing or some other expression of euphoria.

Nino hugged him tighter and said softly, "What if it's been too long? What if I'm too used to loving you on my own, and I don't know if I'm able to try it together?"

Aiba tensed, but he didn't let go. He sat there, Nino in his lap, arms twined around Nino's waist, for what felt like forever. Then he said, "It's true that I didn't make a plan for that."

Nino wasn't sure how he could feel so warm, so safe, and so loved, and simultaneously feel like he was about to have a heart attack from terror. He'd spent years imagining out romantic relationships with Aiba, but to actually have one now seemed like an act of bravery he'd never be able to muster. He could just imagine what Jun would say, but it didn't change the sick anxiety trying to take him over.

Aiba's voice was chiding as he said, "But don't forget that I am master at planning, as I have proved--"

"By dragging me out into the wilderness, making your friends spy on me, and forgetting your notes? And please, if you want to explain what a momo of truth is, I am ready to hear that at any time," Nino laughed, completely in love with this person he could laugh with even as he worried he was going to ruin the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Aiba, using upper body strength that gave Nino an unexpected thrill, set Nino back into his chair. He took Nino's hands and looked into his eyes. "I'm going to ignore your lack of faith."

Nino made himself meet Aiba's gaze as long as he could, then looked away.

Aiba said, "Let's keep pretending."

"What?" Nino asked, his eyes drawn right back to Aiba's. He couldn't have heard correctly.

Aiba leaned in so close that Nino's eyes practically crossed. "We don't have to get together for real, right? If that's so scary, we can just keep pretending! It's obvious we're really good at it."

"Who said I was scared," Nino said, hunching into himself. But Aiba still had hold of his hands, and Aiba was looking at him with conspiratorial certainty that his plan would work, and Aiba said he loved him... and Nino realized in the next moment that despite the idiocy of the plan, something about it was easing his terror. The idea of continuing to pretend with Aiba, or to pretend they were pretending, made a fizzy feeling appear in Nino's heart, like his love had found an escape hatch and there was safety after all.

He imagined a future stretching out in front of him with Aiba, and when his throat started to close up in instinctive panic, he told himself that they were just pretending. Any time it was too scary, he could pretend a little harder, and maybe, someday, when he grew as brave as Aiba, he wouldn't have to pretend at all.

"What about when there aren't other people around?" he asked, but he already knew what Aiba would say.

Aiba smiled, that confident, slightly wicked smile that made his dimples crease just so. "There's always practice, right?"

Nino didn't let himself think for a single second more, because logic had no place in a world where Aiba was looking at him like that. Aiba who loved him.

He swallowed hard, hoped desperately for neither of their hearts to be broken, and said, "Then let's get started already."

Aiba lit up, ecstatic thoughts of love and kissing apparent all over his face. Then he looked confused. Nino found with frustration that he still wasn't being kissed.

"I'm sorry," Aiba said, embarrassed. "I think my legs are asleep, because I have to say that standing up is a little impossible right now."

"You have got to be kidding me," Nino complained, pulling his hands away. "After all your planning, and you can't even stand up!"

When he saw Aiba looked crestfallen, though, he finished quickly, "But since it's my fault for keeping you down there so long without understanding what you were saying so ineptly... I'll come to you."

He took Aiba's red face gently in his hands, leaned down with a smile, and kissed him.

Though Aiba's legs might not have been working, his kisses were still better than any one-sided imagining Nino had ever had.

= = = = = =

One excellent thing about pretending to be in a relationship instead of starting one for real was that they didn't have to use many words to define what was going on. They had their pretend relationship and they were in it together, and other than that it'd be invented on the fly.

That left even more room for kissing, which wasn't something Nino planned to complain about. After what felt like an hour but was perhaps five minutes in reality, Aiba broke away to speak in a voice even huskier than usual.

"Let's push pause for a minute, okay?"

"I'd say that's the worst idea you've had today, but you've really been outdoing yourself," Nino said, clinging to Aiba's shoulders and peppering kisses--practice kisses--on his chin, his mouth, his pretty cheekbones. He pulled back to grin right into Aiba's face. "And it isn't even noon!"

"First off, it's early afternoon," Aiba laughed. "Second, there's one more part to my plan!"

Nino groaned and flopped backwards in despair, secure in the knowledge that Aiba wasn't going to let go of him any time soon.

Aiba reached into the discarded plastic bag and brought out something Nino hadn't noticed at all. It looked like a little horn--

It was a little horn, what the hell, and Aiba was blowing on it for all he was worth.

In the ensuing silence, Nino mused, "I may never hear again. I hope your plan is worth it."

"I bet it'll take a while," Aiba said, gaze dropping to Nino's mouth. "Don't you think we need a little more practice?"

It was tempting to pretend not to hear him, but Nino wasn't made of steel.

They were still kissing when the other four members of their party entered the clearing at a nervous trot. Nino covered his face with both hands, trying to will down his blush, among other things. From the shifting under him he realized he was about to be lifted back into the chair, and it was all he could do to grab the bag of snacks as he went so he could hold them in his lap for whatever ordeal was coming next.

Nervously, he looked at the rest of the group, all of whom he considered friends, though most were of extremely new standing, and all of whom were here because they wanted Aiba to be happy. Was it awful of him that he was going to be fooling them again, even in a gray area sort of thing like pretending--or pretending to pretend--to be with Aiba?

Then he looked back down at Aiba and saw the flush on his cheeks, the glow in his eyes, and the rumpled glory of his well-mussed hair. Aiba looked happy--not just happy, but the kind of happy that expected to get better with time, and with lots of time to do it.

In this case, Nino figured, eyes transfixed by this person who meant more to him than any other, the ends justified the means. He settled back into his chair with a semblance of calm, though he was horrified to realize his hands were itching to haul out the melon bread again.

Aiba looked solemnly at his chosen observers. "It is time," he said, voice sonorous, "to invoke one of our planned post-scripts. I am delighted to announce that I am invoking Code Happy Ending."

Sho cheered, Jun looked smug, Gakky grinned, and Ohno said, "Huh?"

As the four of them huddled up so the code could be explained to Ohno, who apparently had to participate in this part, Aiba leaned up to whisper in Nino's ear, "Pretend happy ending, you know."

Nino laughed and barely kept himself from kissing Aiba again right in front of everyone.

When the observers were back in their line by the whiteboard, Aiba gestured with great condescension at Sho. "Our key words, if you would, Sho-kun."

Sho bowed deeply, smirking, and moved in front of the whiteboard. He wrote something down, and when he was done, he went back and added quote marks with glaring, vehement deliberation.

"Ahhh," Nino said, understanding even before he saw the words. "This is something Aiba-sensei is forcing you to write, hm?"

Sho nodded and moved out of the way so everyone could see the board and its boldly-written message.

"The mend justifies the mean."

Nino snickered, then clapped his hands over his mouth to hold it in.

Gakky asked with careful innocence, "Could you explain just what you mean by that, Aiba-chan?"

Aiba, ignoring the currents of mockery in the air, gestured expansively as he said, "Well, the plan worked, but it was kinda mean, right? But now, as long as we mend it--" Here he gestured at Nino, apparently implying that something in Nino was what they needed to fix. "--it'll be justified!" He seemed to sense that his plan was about to devolve into outright insubordination because he pointed at Sho and snapped, "You first."

Nino watched as Aiba vacated the position in front of his chair, which was starting to feel more like a throne, or a judge's bench, and Sho took his place.

Sho, though his eyes were smiling, said sincerely enough, "Nino, I'm sorry that even though I just met you, I partook in a plan to deceive you, one that I knew would be, from what Aiba-san explained, hurtful to you at times. I hope you will find it in yourself to forgive me."

He bowed, and Gakky moved forward hastily to take his place. Nino sneaked a glance over to see that Ohno looked dismayed, no doubt because he was going to have to say something when he hadn't even known what was going on.

Gakky gave a little bow to start. "Nino, I'm sorry that I was kind of halfway in on some weird plan... that I could tell, um, was probably huge and life-changing to you, and I hope you'll forgive that I still went through with it even though I didn't know what was going on." She smiled at him. "I would also like to thank you for betting on me in the water-fight, and I'm glad to tell you that Oh-chan and I played rock-paper-scissors a minute ago to decide who actually won, and it was me."

Nino grinned at her and gave her a dashing thumbs-up in recognition of this feat.

As Gakky moved away from the spot of mending, Ohno started to shuffle forward, but Jun put a hand on his chest and pushed him back so he could take the next spot himself.

He stood in front of Nino for a minute, clearly thinking, and then he offered Nino his hand. Nino took it without hesitation only to be hauled up in a fierce hug.

After a moment of surprise, he melted comfortably into it, letting Jun show his feelings in actions rather than words.

Then, softly enough that only Nino could hear, Jun whispered in his ear, "I'm not sorry."

Nino laughed out loud, and Jun hugged him even tighter.

Then, inevitably, it was Ohno's turn. As Jun stepped awkwardly back to his spot by Sho, Nino said, "Come on over here, old man."

Ohno smiled and stepped forward, and that was when Aiba scooted ahead of him and back into the spot in front of Nino. When Ohno made a helpless sound of protest, Jun simply clapped a hand over Ohno's mouth and kept his eyes on Nino and Aiba.

"Nino, I'm sorry," Aiba started, eyes warm with affection. "I know we're going to have to talk about all this more, and I know I'll have more things to apologize for when we do. I hope you realize how much I love you, and how much our plan..."

Our pretending plan...

"... is something I can't wait to do with you every day until you tell me otherwise."

In a rush of bravery, Nino said, "It might be soon," and Aiba's face went quietly incandescent with happiness. He obviously heard what Nino was actually saying: that maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to be with Aiba without any pretending sooner rather than later.

By the whiteboard, Sho said slowly, "Doesn't that mean he might break up with him soon...?"

"It's important to be realistic," Nino said kindly, throwing him a supercilious look. Then he turned back to Aiba and said seriously, "Of course, it might not be soon at all."

Aiba only smiled. "I can wait."

After a moment, he realized he was seeming to say that he'd wait for Nino to break up with him, because he said hastily, "Um, or not wait? Whichever. As long as I'm with you, Nino, and we're trying our best together."

Nino was thinking of kissing once more when Jun said brusquely, "Well then, finish us off, Captain."

Obviously trying not to laugh, Aiba moved out of the way, and Ohno stepped reluctantly forward. He stood in front of Nino for a second, face a mess of confusion and indecision.

Nino offered him his hands, inwardly gleeful when Ohno automatically took them. He urged, "Just speak from your heart, Oh-chan."

Ohno's face went blank. Then he stepped back, bowed as deeply as he possibly could, and yelled, "I'm very sorry for my part in this unforgivable plan!"

Jun stepped forward and smacked him on the head, laughing, and Aiba pointed accusingly at Ohno.

"Ahh, now you've spoiled it, Captain!"

Sho was laughing so hard he looked like he might cry, and Gakky said, "I can't believe I am dating such a terrible man."

Ohno rubbed his head, laughing helplessly, then gestured around at all of them and barked, "You're all the worst! I'm going fishing!" He turned on his heel and walked snappishly away.

Gakky followed him, laughing to herself, and Sho and Jun went after her. Though Nino watched closely, he couldn't see their hands touch at all.

They had to be doing it on purpose.

Just then, he thought of a question he should've asked earlier. "Hey, Aiba-chan?"

Aiba turned inquisitively from where he was erasing the whiteboard. "Nino-chan?"

"Where are we?"

Aiba smiled broadly and walked over to him. "With each other, right?"

Nino buried his face in his hands. "You really are the most ridiculous person."

Aiba just waited him out, and when Nino let his shield drop so he could get a look at that expressive face, Aiba grabbed his hand and towed him off down the path after the others.

"Tell me there's not another part to your plan," Nino complained, holding on tight with an emotion a lot like elation.

"There isn't," Aiba conceded. "I was just thinking that Oh-chan and Gakky are probably headed back out to the float to smooch behind the umbrella."

"So soon in our fake relationship and you're already talking about another couple making out," Nino sighed, only to be stopped short and given an enthusiastic kiss on the cheek.

"No, no, that's not it," Aiba said slyly. "What I'm saying is: why don't we get there first."

Nino stared at him, wide-eyed, heart pounding from Aiba's sudden display of affection. Then he comprehended the evil of Aiba's new plan and his face broke into a grin. "Do you think we can make it?"

Aiba shrugged and started walking again, a little quicker this time. "They don't know they have any competition, now do they?"

Nino laughed and started running. As Nino had known he would, Aiba sprinted along beside him, but what was new and surprising--what was pretty much the thing Nino was most grateful for in life right then--was that he was still holding onto Nino's hand like he'd never let go.

They passed Sho and Jun, and such was the urgency of their mission that they didn't even stop to goggle at the sight of Sho with his arm around Jun's waist, though Aiba gave a cheerful whoop as they flew by.

Nino heard Jun say thoughtfully behind them, "Hey, you don't think they're going to try for the float?"

A few seconds later there was the slapping sound of running footsteps behind them. Nino didn't know if Jun and Sho were coming to watch the battle or join in, but either way it only made him and Aiba run faster.

They caught up to Ohno and Gakky at the rocky beach, just a little past the two damp lawn chairs, and in unspoken agreement they stopped on a dime and tried to look innocent.

Gakky frowned, halfway out of her shirt, and Ohno said, "What'd we forget?"

This time, Nino toed out of his shoes, glad he hadn't had time to put on socks when Aiba forced him out into the woods that morning.

Ohno caught sight of this movement, his eyes tracking Nino suspiciously, but then Aiba bellowed, "Super Soul, we are go go go go!"

Nino charged into the water with Aiba by his side, their eyes fixed with determination on the distant umbrella.