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ninoexchange2016-06-23 07:26 am
nino-mod.livejournal.com) wrote in ninoexchange2016-06-23 07:26 am
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silver_crystall (2/2)
For: silver_crystall
From:gomushroom
Part 1
*
Nino sits in the middle of their unmade bed, waiting for Aiba to change out of his day clothes, staring at the dusky sky outside their window.
Aiba, now clean and fresh, then joins Nino on the bed. Instead of diving into a stretch as Nino has expected, Aiba settles across him, not too close but still within arms’ reach. With Aiba in front of him, eyes patient and kind, everything seems so easy now.
Nino realizes that it was because Aiba always makes it easy for him, for them. While he doesn’t think that he can dismiss what Ohno said to him before, that Aiba worries for him, the fact that Aiba doesn’t show any of it in front of him is a form of encouragement for Nino.
And since he knows Aiba won’t say anything until he starts, Nino begins with the first thing he needs to clarify. “Before we start, I need to say that Oh-chan was exaggerating.”
Aiba simply nods.
“But you don’t buy that,” Nino says.
“At all.” Aiba reaches out to touch his knee, the touch comforting and reassuring.
Nino sighs with mild frustration and rubs his face, keeping his face against his palm. “I don’t know where to start.
Aiba’s tone doesn’t change. “Okay.”
Nino starts to arrange his story in his head. The case was simple, yet that premature assessment was exactly their first of many faults. Jun had been so eager to solve the case quickly, skipping procedures by way of excusing them out of too much paperwork, jumping into rash conclusions. Nino wasn’t any better, blatantly dismissing his suspicion that the case was not simply about a random theft.
“I don’t know if I’m planning to go back to the Bureau.” Knowing that there’s no getting around his story, Nino decides he should just cut to the chase, not attempting to soften the story. “So, my last case almost killed me and I’m currently on unauthorized leave.”
Aiba’s hand stiffens on his knee, and Nino feels his heart sink. For a while the only sound flowing into the room is the distant hoots of owls at the edge of the forest. Nino gives his face another rub before he braces himself to look up and meet Aiba’s gaze.
Which is a mistake because he sees Aiba’s eyes swimming with tears.
“What happened?”
Nino closes his eyes again, not wanting to have the pain currently stabbing his chest, tears filling his eyes. “I better not—“
“What happened, Kazu? I am fully aware that you work dangerous murder cases but this is the first time you’ve been so shaken you’ve needed to go home. What happened?”
Aiba’s painful look is exactly why he didn’t want to tell anyone about it. This is why he chose to stay quiet and deal with his problem himself. “I don’t want to make you worry. I don’t ever want you to worry about me. And now you’re crying.”
“But I still worry. Immensely and all the time,” Aiba says. One tear falls down on his cheek and he does nothing about it. “I thought we talked about this. I am free to worry about you all I want. And you will keep your safety first and foremost. That is our arrangement.”
“But—“
“Kazu.” Aiba’s tone is lower and painfully kind. “I know you’ve been having nightmares.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” Nino feels his eyes hot with tears now. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
More tears fall down Aiba’s cheeks, and his eyes are now burning with annoyance. “I don’t need that apology. Why should you apologize for something that’s not your fault?”
Nino swallows hard. He knows that it is not as simple as apologizing. He knows that Aiba will react exactly like he is right now. He knows that his effort to keep his work out of his home has failed—when he only wished for all the grime of dark magic to be away from his precious home.
Aiba scoots forward to enclose Nino around his legs, his hands reaching up to hold Nino’s face and tilting it gently to meet his eyes. “Kazu, have you been keeping yourself safe? Taking all the best precautions?”
“Yes,” Nino says in soft voice. His hands move to rest against Aiba’s chest and he holds their gaze, feeling the steady heartbeat. “Always.”
“Then you keep hold of your part of our arrangement just fine. Just let me worry about you. Knowing that you are safe but still worry about you because I could only do as much.” Aiba leans forward to press a soft kiss on the track of tears along Nino’s cheeks. “Now, tell me what happened. Or I can call Matsujun and unnecessarily embarrass you further.”
In Aiba’s embrace, Nino begins his story. “We were careless, not checking all the facts before we went for a raid. We thought it was a simple and random murder theft. And I was held hostage.”
Nino skips the grisly details as best as he can when he continues. Aiba doesn’t need to know that he was stripped off of his power and under gunpoint. “The man had his own blood dripping on his hand. It was not until then I noticed the ancient sandglass, and that he and I was standing inside a blood sigil.”
Aiba’s hold tightens and he lets out a loud gasp. “Oh fuck.”
Slight relief washes inside Nino, hearing Aiba’s expletive, something that he doesn’t hear often, and the instant understanding.
“He knew you have wings?”
“Unfortunately, I still don't know how, he did,” Nino says. “He kept on screaming and screaming in dark delight when we saw J coming down from the sky with Sakura-chan.”
“Oh fuck.” Aiba’s voice is quivering, another tear falling from his eyes at the full realization of the danger Nino has faced. “He’d have had the dragon tears to complete his time travel spell.”
This time Nino inches forward and lowers his hand to hold Aiba closer to him. “Masaki, you don’t have to hear this if you don’t want to.”
“I want to,” Aiba says with a firm determination in his voice. “I need to. Just finish it up.”
“It was J’s fault for being so flashy and a show off bat-head, taking Sakura-chan with him. The man had expected exactly that and we fell right into his trap.” Nino has to take few calming breaths, and Aiba’s hand soothingly rubbing his back helps him continue to the most important part of his story. “The sound of that man screaming stayed in my head for days. His hue was nothing but dark and vicious welts of blaze, and for a short while I let it get past me.”
“Is that what your nightmare is about?”
Nino nods. He opens his wet eyes again, not realizing that they have been closed all along, finding Aiba’s teary eyes.
“I couldn’t close my eyes without hearing his scream and seeing his face right after the case. And then I went home and it has lessened so much right now. ”
“Good.” For the first time since Nino began his story, Aiba lets out a weak smile.
“I saw the knife on the man’s belt,” Nino continues. “And I grabbed it, stabbed his foot with it, and broke his mind shield. I was screaming into J’s mind, ordering him to send Sakura-chan away, telling him about the man’s evil plan, when the man managed to restore the shield.”
Nino can hear Aiba’s breath hitches but he pushes on. “I thought we were done for, until I looked up and saw Sakura-chan soaring away and J’s flying down toward us.”
“You do have the coolest partner,” Aiba says with another smile on his face, wider this time.
Nino snorts, realizing that the worst is over and now what’s left from his story is, as Aiba has said, the marvel that is his cool partner.
“Well, J has this new sword he’s so fond of using these days and he slashed right through the shield and bounced right off it. The impact weakened the shield again and I finally could push a spell to break it. J sprang back to action with a vengeance for the kill.”
Nothing is said for a long while. Nino rests his head on Aiba’s shoulder, grateful for the rub on his back, a sign that Aiba is still with him.
“I really like the last part of the story,” Aiba finally says.
“I’m sorry that you had to hear it.” Nino desperately needs to apologize, knowing that this will not be last time but for now they have done everything they can.
Aiba closes the remaining space between them and hugs him, tight and warm. “Thank you,” for trusting me, for your courage, for coming home.
Nino lets himself be held before he leans back a bit. Wiggling in Aiba’s embrace, he reaches up to frame Aiba’s cheeks, reveling in the intense gaze the man send him, all focused and on him, and only him.
“You,” are amazing, are everything, are mine, Nino achingly wants to say, but his voice stuck on throat and his eyes are hot again.
And Aiba smiles, with soft understanding in his eyes owning Nino equally, and completes him. “You too.”
*
Aiba drags him downstairs for dinner despite Nino’s protest that they could just have owl deliveries right to their bedroom window.
“No,” Aiba simply says, taking a seat on the kitchen chair. “Since we have the house for ourselves, we might as well use the opportunity.”
“For kitchen sex?”
Aiba can still blush prettily at the suggestion and Nino hopes he can always tease.
“Not necessarily,” Aiba says with a small cough. He has his wand on his hand and is summoning the takeout menus from living room. “That would traumatize Sho-chan completely. And speaking of Sho-chan, he said that you missed the Internet badly.”
“Another exaggeration.” Nino rolls his eyes, walking toward the cabinet and taking out two cans of beer. He strokes the top of the cans lightly and charms them cold. He opens one of them and sets them in front of Aiba. “He was just cross that I didn’t tell him what’s been bothering me.”
“You really got everyone worried this time,” Aiba says, taking a sip of his beer. “They are planning an intervention operation. Or, you can say Sho-chan is planning something.”
“I’d have killed him if he hasn’t been dead for a hundred years.”
Aiba laughs at Nino’s dark tone. “How about Chinese?”
“You just want spring rolls for dinner.”
“True.” Aiba’s eyes are still full of smile. “But I also want some vegetable stir-fry.”
Nino takes another sip of his beer, trying to sound disappointed at the prospect of having a vegetable dish. “I knew it.”
They eat dinner at the kitchen table, sitting close next to each other, with Nino complaining that Aiba keeps on elbowing him, and Aiba elbowing him for real just to tease him.
“And why are you inching on my food now?”
“You barely touched it. And you still have all your spring rolls,” Aiba says, waving his chopstick and steals one of Nino’s spring rolls.
Nino elbows Aiba’s side but he eats his stir-fry and sets another spring roll aside on his plate for Aiba to steal.
*
It was like the worst is over, but no one is making an effort to nudge Nino to do something about his unauthorized leave. Days gone by and Nino settles into a light routine.
The daily trip to the arcade continues to send him into a good mood. Sho said that it’s good that he goes out of the house at times, which Nino dismisses entirely because Sho is probably just wants to use the kitchen for his cooking practice without him.
Ohno has shifted back into his canine form, less clingy but still willing to accompany him to the village every day.
“I’m going to head to the arcade first. Kato-san must have been expecting me,” Nino tells Ohno who is once again in his tow, taking the turn to the end of the shopping street. “And then we can get some lunch.”
Ohno woofs in agreement as they enter the premises.
Nino takes a look around, zeroed in on Kato-san who’s glaring knowingly in welcome at the cashier table, and grins widely. “Good afternoon, Kato- san.”
“Why are you still haven’t gone back to Tokyo, young man! I’m going to ban you soon enough, Ninomiya!” The old man waves his wand threateningly and conjuring a large plastic bag to materialize next to Nino. “You better not empty that machine today!”
“We’ll see,” Nino says, flicking his hand to send a gold coin floating to Kato-san’s table. “Half dozen games up front. I’ll get that bonus later.”
Nino spends the next half hour in full concentration as he maneuvered the claws and successfully craned out two basset hound plushies, pink and orange teddy bears, a sock monkey, and a stuffed bunny rabbit.
Kato-san’s hue is brighter when Nino walks away from the arcade carrying a large plastic bag full of plushies. He shouts his threats louder as Nino waves goodbye cheerfully.
“I saw another new stack of stuffed toys downstairs,” Aiba calls from the washroom that night. “The pile is growing taller and taller by the day.”
Cuddled up in blankets on his side of the bed, Nino doesn’t look up from his DS screen. “Blame the UFO machines for making it all too easy.”
“You are simply too good for them,” Aiba replies. “Soon enough, Kato-san is going to truly ban you for life.”
Pausing his game, Nino sets Aiba’s pillow next to his and turn over half of the blanket. “He already banned me from all the other machines. At least I can get a small revenge by emptying the UFOs.”
There’s the sound of water running and the muffled sound of Aiba laughing into his towel. “And soon record-breaker Ninomiya is going to be completely banned from the village arcade.”
“What can I say, I am just exceptionally good. And Kato-san had it long coming his way.”
Nino hears Aiba’s muffled laugh and smiles as he continues his game. He doesn't turn when he hears Aiba enters the bedroom. The light on Aiba’s side is off with a flick of wand and Aiba climbs into bed to join him. Without looking up, Nino raises his arm and lets Aiba snuggle up close.
“Once the batch settles, I’m going to take an afternoon off and send everyone away so we can be take long naps and do things to each other again.”
Nino leans down to land a good night kiss on top of Aiba’s head. “Okay.”
“Do you want some sleep draught?” Aiba says. “I can summon and prepare it for you.”
Nino knows his answer this time. “No. Your being here is enough.”
Aiba snuggles closer and the night goes. With the soft sound of chirping coming out from the DS, Nino continues his game one-handedly and feels Aiba falls asleep on his other arm.
*
After sending Toma along with Ohno and Sho off, Aiba walks back to the living room to join Nino who has been perching on the left corner of the couch for the last few hours with his DS in his hand. He drops himself on the opposite corner, and sighs as he stretches both his legs, grazing Nino’s, and closes his eyes.
They sit in the quiet peace. Nino keeps his main focus at the small screen, yet knowing completely that this is also a precious shared time. He simply basks in their closeness and silence. Aiba has been rushing the work today, out of the promise of spending the whole afternoon with him. It doesn’t quite sit right with him to have Aiba shifting his work schedule only to spend time together but Aiba has insisted on keeping his promise.
“You know, you don’t have to send them away,” Nino says quietly with a hint of embarrassment in his voice. “It’s more or less their home too.”
“Toma’s been working hard too. Oh-chan and Sho are going to make sure he has some rest. They can have their own fun.”
Nino glances at Aiba next to him, long limbs spread with one of his hands covering his eyes. His hue reflects contentment but there’s a dim fatigue layered underneath it. He splits his focus to keep on his game and Aiba. “And here we are having ours.”
Aiba drops his hand and stretches out, flopping his legs on Nino’s lap securely.
“Are we going to go somewhere?”
“I was thinking that we can go to the bathhouse after you finished with your game.”
Nino pauses his game to look up at Aiba with a glare. “Was that your way of telling me I smell?”
“Maybe,” Aiba grins innocently. “It’s going to be empty at this hour. You don’t like it when it’s crowded. What do you think?”
“I already finished all my new games,” Nino says instead of agreeing to anything.
Aiba laughs, deepening the crinkles on the corner of his eyes. “You have not yet been here for a full week and you’re already done with all of them?”
Nino answer sulkily, “Well, I didn’t plan on going home and failed bringing ample supplies.”
Aiba replies with nothing but a short and low ‘Mhmm’. He closes his eyes again, content on waiting for Nino to decide, displaying his bottomless patience when it comes to Nino, a trait that Nino comes to fiercely hate and love. He could almost hear Aiba’s mind telling him that if he wants to talk, they’ll talk; if he doesn't want to talk, they will keep silent. Aiba has made time for him, for them, and now it is up to him to use it.
Nino tsk-tsks when the low battery icon blinks again on his screen for the umpteenth time. He’s not going to complete this level from the look of it. Giving a few more last jabs on the level, his DS then shuts down completely. He flips it close, half-throws it to the table, and shifts in his seat.
“Okay, you can have me now,” he tells Aiba, placing both his palms on Aiba’s knees.
Aiba slowly opens his eyes with a smile, and Nino’s heart melts at the sight. One of Aiba’s leg stretches on Nino’s side, his hand reaching out to take Nino’s hand. “I already have you. What’s the hurry?”
“My battery just died.”
Aiba’s hearty laughs fill the living room as he grabs Nino’s hand, pulling Nino to lie on top of him. Nino can only let out a hitch of breath as he finds himself in Aiba’s loose embrace.
“This is not us going to the bathhouse,” Nino says, a little bit breathless, letting out a short chuckle before leaning down to nuzzle Aiba’s neck.
“Now aren’t you glad that I sent them away?” Aiba says with silly pride. His hands giving several slow rubs on Nino’s back before moving further down.
Over a firm squeeze on his ass, Nino snorts. “Okay. That is definitely not us going to the bathhouse.”
Aiba laughs again. He cranes his neck to get to Nino’s lips, and when Nino evades playfully he settles for his jaw.
“You’ve planned this.”
“Not exactly.” Aiba flushes prettily. “My plan is hot steamy sex in bed tonight after dinner, but I’m definitely game for any kind of similar detours.”
Nino wiggles his hips on top of Aiba’s, getting the hints clearly. He moves his hands to settle beside Aiba’ head before leaning down for a hot open mouth kiss. They can do steamy later. At that very moment Nino wants Aiba, hot and fast, here and now, and Aiba is willing, welcoming the kiss, moaning against Nino’s lips.
“Kazu.” Aiba’s breath is already short and wheezy. “Are you confusing me with sex so we’re not going out and instead staying home and making out?”
“Depends. Is it working?”
In answer, Aiba hooks his legs on Nino’s lower body and locks him close. His hand brings Nino’s back lower, pressing them both ever tighter, and takes Nino’s mouth into a wet and messy kiss. “I could’ve used a bit more convincing.”
Nino takes a hold of Aiba’s shirt, making a small swiping gesture, charming it to vanish into thin air.
“Mhmm,” Aiba says, eyes glinting with laugh and delight. “You’re quite convincing already.”
Nino leans to run his hand across Aiba’s chest, dropping soft and yielding kisses in a trail. At Aiba’s collarbone, he whispers, “Why should we go all the way to the bathhouse to get wet and naked when we could do this easily here?”
“Points,” Aiba says with a chuckle. His hands begin to pull the hem of Nino’s, trying to get Nino out of it unhurriedly. “You could easily be naked to if you charm this off too.”
“And deny you the pleasure?” Nino smiles coyly, letting Aiba tug his shirt off slowly. “Where’s the fun in that?”
Nino arches back and closes his eyes as Aiba’s hands gliding against his back send pleasant shivers all through him. His ring necklace hangs down onto Aiba’s chest and glimmers.
“Did you do something to it?” Aiba’s eyes focuses on the ring while his finger traces the chain and finds it shining softly.
Nino’s cheeks grow hot. “I re-charmed it again.”
“You what?”
“I kind of found an ancient troth spell in one of J’s spell book,” Nino says quietly. “For good luck and safety.”
“For precaution,” Aiba says with warm understanding, smiling fondly at the band before looking up to meet Nino’s cute embarrassment. “Did you charm it with mine?”
Nino nods. “A pledge spell.”
Still with his eyes fixed on Nino’s, Aiba wraps his left hand on Nino’s ring necklace. It sparks off small fiery flashes around the same band around Aiba’s ring finger before for one instant jet of amber and green hues entwines the two bands together.
“That’s some cool ancient stuff,” Aiba says, his eyes are filled with awe.
“It is.” Nino presses their chest together again, trapping Aiba’s hand that is still holding their bands together in between. He is content, his heart heavy with affection and warmth. “Now, since you mentioned about more convincing gestures...”
*
Aiba has brought the idea up very early in the morning and has Nino grumpily agreeing to it even before he’s fully awake. Two minutes later, when Aiba is already humming happily, Nino needs to ask. “Why are we doing this again?”
“Toma has procured some top level fancy beef from Kobe and because we haven’t had a proper get-together since you got home.”
“But I met them every day. I ate Sho-chan’s omurice valiantly. I walked to the market with Oh-chan every other day. And I can’t see why Toma so suddenly had some top level fancy meat. What’s happening? Why the heck do we need a get-together?”
“Maybe calling it a party is better?” Aiba sits on the side of their bed, leaning down to give Nino a few playful pokes and avoiding Nino’s eyes. “You did say few days ago that we kept on sending them away. We’re going to have a good time. It’s going to be fun.”
“Is it really?” Nino can sense that something is not entirely true but he cannot somehow pin it down. He finally just nods and lets Aiba has his way.
Later that night, Nino immediately realizes that they have all been plotting against him the instant he hears a random series of knocks on the front door and sees how Aiba jumps immediately to feet and scrambles inside the house with Sho right behind him as Toma and Ohno rush back into the kitchen in glee.
“I knew it!” Nino makes a run to the living room. “No! Don’t invite him in!”
Aiba does just that and welcomes their guest with a wide warm smile. “Matsujun! You made it!”
“Good evening.” Decked out in his black fine garb, his cape billowing, Jun stands in the middle of the living room. He finds Nino’s scowl and beams a tired smile. “Always with the warm welcome, Nino.”
“I thought you’re flying down here,” Aiba says. “We’ve been secretly watching the sky.”
Ohno bumps his head into Jun’s knee. Toma and Sho crowd around him. “Where’s Sakura-chan? How do you get here then, Matsujun?”
Jun grins at the warm greetings. “She’s back at home. I thought of using the public transport for once as per Nino’s request from last time.“
Toma groans his disappointment and Aiba—how dare he—sends a look that blames Nino for the absence of Jun’s pet dragon.
Ignoring Aiba’s look, Nino watches the exchange with a deep frown. “At least for once, you listen to me. Did you really take the train?”
Jun shrugs, looking uncomfortable for a moment as he relives his experience. “Yeah. And people were staring at me. Openly.”
“You with your stunning face clad in a dark suit. What’s not to stare?” Nino walks to Aiba’s side and hides half of his body behind the man. “Still, why are you even here?”
“Nino,” Aiba chides him, elbowing Nino lightly. “He’s here on our invitation.”
Turning to Toma and Sho, Jun says, “Next time I’m just going to take Sakura-chan again. She’s definitely faster.”
Toma lets out a small ‘yay,’ causing Nino to turn so fast and glare to him too. Ohno woofs cheerfully and pads to Nino to bump his head into Nino’s knees.
“You don’t need to impress these idiots. As you can see, they already are,” Nino says.
“A bit of a boost never hurts,” Jun grins. He turns to Aiba with a grin. “Did I make good time?”
“You did,” Aiba says before Nino can let out another remark. “Impeccable timing. We’re just going to get started.”
“How about a beer to start off?” Toma offers, already heading back to the kitchen. “I think the grill is about to be ready, you guys.”
Sho steps forward with a polite smile, “And let me take that cape and jacket for you.”
Jun shrugs out of his cape, sending one last smile to Nino, and heads to the back of the house, following Toma with Ohno on his heels.
Nino stays where he is, sending dark look at Aiba, and scowls. “You are a filthy liar.”
“I know you miss him.” Aiba flashes his brightest grin and kisses Nino full on the lips. “Come on, let’s get the party started.”
*
At the end of the small porch, Sho is adding more and more meat to the grill while Aiba and Toma have their chopstick at the ready to find the ones that are already cooked, each holding their bowls of rice.
“You’re so calm and content,” Jun says as he settles at the lounge chair beside Nino. He turns, finding Nino with a fond expression on his face as he watches Aiba from his seat, and smiles widely. “I don’t see it often enough.”
Nino hides his smile with a snort. “Does this mean you’re staying the night?”
“Nah, I have a hot date after midnight. Will just fly back to Tokyo after that promised night cap.”
“What’s that I hear? That you only came for free food and booze? I thought better of you, J.”
“Well, it was good food, completely worth the awful Shinkansen ride.” Jun scoots his chair closer to Nino. He lowers his head, staring at his beer can. “And I wanted to see you. It’s good to see that you’re well.”
Nino bumps his shoulder lightly to Jun and they fall into comfortable silence. They watch the grill that now has set ablaze with fire because Sho thought that it was good idea to throw some more fuel, and now Aiba and Toma have their wands out trying to control the fire while shouting their complaints at Sho. At the sound of Aiba’s laughing, Nino feels the truth in Jun’s right-on-the-mark comment, that he is calm and content.
Although he doesn’t feel the need to let Jun know about it.
“You blocked your comm, right?” Jun begins. “I would have come sooner if not for Sho-kun’s reply telling me that you’re home and well.”
“I blocked it for a reason,” Nino says. He has anticipated this, but he had thought that Jun, at the very least, would understand. “Still, you don’t really have to travel all the way here to check up on me.”
“I just wanted to be sure.” Jun straightens his feet to lean against the back of the chair. “And Aiba-chan sounded so excited about the get-together-party when he called me yesterday.”
“So that’s why he couldn’t barely hold his grin since morning. I should’ve guessed.”
Jun laughs quietly. “The office has been asking about you but I told them that you needed a week off. I even submitted your leave notice.”
Nino nods his thanks half-heartedly.
“That last case was just too much.” Jun finally says after another long silence between them.
Hearing Jun voice what Nino has been worrying about for the last week gives him an unexpected sense of relief. Nino’s mind reaches out to touch Jun’s hue—the swirling jet-black of warmth—and finds a trace of distress similar with his. He sends his slice of appreciation to Jun’s mind, somehow grateful for the reassurance. Knowing that his strong and capable undead partner was equally affected by the case says so much about their bond, their strengths and weaknesses.
Although he still doesn’t feel the need to let Jun know about it. After all, Jun probably figured it out already.
Jun turns to him with his warmest smile. “I didn't realize you were gone until the end of the first week because I took a 2 day leave.”
“I wasn’t actually planning to go back,” Nino says quietly. All the cheerful noise from around the grill dims a bit for a while. He wasn’t planning to tell Jun that but now that he has managed to say that out loud, it does not seem heavy on his tongue any longer.
“I suspected so,” Jun says. He takes another sip of beer. “But you now think differently, or at least are thinking about it differently?”
The noises—layered with twirling hues of his husband, his friends, his home, and Jun’s—floats back into Nino’s view. Trouble and worry seem so faraway at the moment, but he knows better and is fully aware that they could be just a blink away.
“Maybe.”
“So, when are you coming back?” Jun says, his tone light but Nino knows quite well that this is the question Jun has been wanting to ask him tonight, this is why Jun came all the way here to his home.
So Nino gives him honesty and answers with the first thing that comes into mind. “I still don’t know.”
Jun hums thoughtfully, a sign that he is not completely agreeing with Nino but is willing to give the opinion a consideration. “I am going to be the second to know, right?”
Nino closes his eyes and feels the hue of Jun’s effortless understanding that comes from trust and respect of their partnership, and smiles. “Yeah. Masaki will convince me to go back soon enough.”
“I thought so too,” Jun says, his tone lighter now. “I did suspect that you will keep being difficult a bit longer now that you’ve dealt with your mind.”
“When you’re the best you are totally entitled to be difficult,” Nino says with an airy tone, holding his chuckles in check.
“Well, true.” Jun laughs at Nino’s tone before correcting him. “We are the best.”
“Now you only want some free praise.”
“At least I’m being humble about it.”
“This is coming from the vampyre who jumped into his dragon’s back first chance, chasing bad guys across Kanagawa?”
“She’s fast and gets me to where I want to go,” Jun says, before letting out a snort. “And pretty.”
“I still won’t ride her with you. Ever.”
“There will come the day, Nino. You just wait,” Jun says with a laugh, clinking his almost empty beer can with Nino’s.
With a laugh Nino realizes that he is telling the truth. “I am not really saying I can’t wait, but maybe I am.”
Jun smiles and bumps his shoulder with Nino’s. “I’ll see you when you get back then.”
*
They all send Jun home with a flourish at the end of the night. Toma was constantly beaming because Jun chose to take his offer of fine brew over Sho’s leftover dish. Aiba whispered something into Jun’s ear just before he departed, and Nino, knowing that it is a thank you and promise on his behalf, pretended to pat Ohno’s head unknowingly.
He’ll be seeing Jun soon enough and there’s plenty of opportunity to get back at him for meddling and being comfortably in cahoots with Aiba.
Back at the bedroom as they settle in for the night, Nino realizes that Aiba is not as drunk as Nino has predicted but still looks tired and happy. So he lets Aiba settle into bed first and takes his turn of the bathroom last.
“I still wish that he’d stay the night though,” Aiba says from the bedroom. “I did offer our couch, since you turned our guest room into a wreck. It’d be dangerous to fly back to Tokyo at this time of night.”
“Why are you worrying for a fierce vampyre for? He probably freezes his ass off on his way flying back to Tokyo, but at least he’d be happy with it,” Nino says. “He wanted to come here and he’ll deal with the travel.”
“He came all the way to make up with you.”
“We didn’t have a fight in the first place. We didn’t have anything significant to make up with.” Nino rolls his eyes with a smile. “And he came all the way here because you invited him for some stupid get-together.”
“Well, we had our fun,” Aiba says. “And it’s good to see you clear things up with him.”
Nino turns the washroom light off and walks back to the bedroom. He stops in his tracks when Aiba takes one long look at Nino and his face blooms with a wide smile.
“What?”
“Why haven’t I seen that Jordan shirt of mine for a long while?”
The answer is simple; Nino has brought it to Tokyo with him, along with Aiba’s other old shirts, sneaking out one shirt every time he went back after coming home. Not that he’s going to admit it that half of his small closet in Tokyo is filled with Aiba’s shirts. Not that he’s going to say that he has stole them so he could sleep in Aiba’s shirt, bundled up in faint gleam of Aiba’s hue, when they are apart.
“Because your side of the closet is a messy heap,” Nino says instead, feeling flush up his cheeks, turning away to climb onto bed. He buries his face in his pillow, relieved for the smooth coolness and the silly way to evade Aiba’s further question.
“Mhmm.” Aiba wraps his arm around Nino’s waist. “It’s messy because I keep on needing to toss and turn things over to find the shirt I want to wear.”
“That’s because you have so many of them. I just took some so I can use them when I sleep.” Nino sneaks one of his arms and wraps it around Aiba’s waist. He mumbles into the pillow, knowing that Aiba will at least catch the truth of it. “And they smell like you.”
Aiba holds him tighter and drops a kiss on Nino’s hair. They cling to their closeness for a little while before Aiba leans back and let Nino takes his face off the pillow.
Aiba smiles at him with the same warm smile that greets him home, tangling his legs up with Nino’s, taking Nino’s breath away. “So do you need me to help pick more of my old t-shirts when you’re packing?”
“Oh, shut up.” Nino laughs in Aiba’s face and brings their lips to meet slowly.
“Everything will be okay,” Aiba says on Nino’s lips, his voice sure and confident. “You’ll be okay.”
“We’ll be okay,” Nino corrects him as he lets his wings ensconce them with softness. He’ll be missing this when he gets back to Tokyo—which will be most probably next week—but repeating his own words in his mind, they both will be okay. Nino smiles as he drops one last deep kiss before holding Aiba close and letting them be taken by slumber.
*
silver_crystallFrom:
gomushroomPart 1
*
Nino sits in the middle of their unmade bed, waiting for Aiba to change out of his day clothes, staring at the dusky sky outside their window.
Aiba, now clean and fresh, then joins Nino on the bed. Instead of diving into a stretch as Nino has expected, Aiba settles across him, not too close but still within arms’ reach. With Aiba in front of him, eyes patient and kind, everything seems so easy now.
Nino realizes that it was because Aiba always makes it easy for him, for them. While he doesn’t think that he can dismiss what Ohno said to him before, that Aiba worries for him, the fact that Aiba doesn’t show any of it in front of him is a form of encouragement for Nino.
And since he knows Aiba won’t say anything until he starts, Nino begins with the first thing he needs to clarify. “Before we start, I need to say that Oh-chan was exaggerating.”
Aiba simply nods.
“But you don’t buy that,” Nino says.
“At all.” Aiba reaches out to touch his knee, the touch comforting and reassuring.
Nino sighs with mild frustration and rubs his face, keeping his face against his palm. “I don’t know where to start.
Aiba’s tone doesn’t change. “Okay.”
Nino starts to arrange his story in his head. The case was simple, yet that premature assessment was exactly their first of many faults. Jun had been so eager to solve the case quickly, skipping procedures by way of excusing them out of too much paperwork, jumping into rash conclusions. Nino wasn’t any better, blatantly dismissing his suspicion that the case was not simply about a random theft.
“I don’t know if I’m planning to go back to the Bureau.” Knowing that there’s no getting around his story, Nino decides he should just cut to the chase, not attempting to soften the story. “So, my last case almost killed me and I’m currently on unauthorized leave.”
Aiba’s hand stiffens on his knee, and Nino feels his heart sink. For a while the only sound flowing into the room is the distant hoots of owls at the edge of the forest. Nino gives his face another rub before he braces himself to look up and meet Aiba’s gaze.
Which is a mistake because he sees Aiba’s eyes swimming with tears.
“What happened?”
Nino closes his eyes again, not wanting to have the pain currently stabbing his chest, tears filling his eyes. “I better not—“
“What happened, Kazu? I am fully aware that you work dangerous murder cases but this is the first time you’ve been so shaken you’ve needed to go home. What happened?”
Aiba’s painful look is exactly why he didn’t want to tell anyone about it. This is why he chose to stay quiet and deal with his problem himself. “I don’t want to make you worry. I don’t ever want you to worry about me. And now you’re crying.”
“But I still worry. Immensely and all the time,” Aiba says. One tear falls down on his cheek and he does nothing about it. “I thought we talked about this. I am free to worry about you all I want. And you will keep your safety first and foremost. That is our arrangement.”
“But—“
“Kazu.” Aiba’s tone is lower and painfully kind. “I know you’ve been having nightmares.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” Nino feels his eyes hot with tears now. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
More tears fall down Aiba’s cheeks, and his eyes are now burning with annoyance. “I don’t need that apology. Why should you apologize for something that’s not your fault?”
Nino swallows hard. He knows that it is not as simple as apologizing. He knows that Aiba will react exactly like he is right now. He knows that his effort to keep his work out of his home has failed—when he only wished for all the grime of dark magic to be away from his precious home.
Aiba scoots forward to enclose Nino around his legs, his hands reaching up to hold Nino’s face and tilting it gently to meet his eyes. “Kazu, have you been keeping yourself safe? Taking all the best precautions?”
“Yes,” Nino says in soft voice. His hands move to rest against Aiba’s chest and he holds their gaze, feeling the steady heartbeat. “Always.”
“Then you keep hold of your part of our arrangement just fine. Just let me worry about you. Knowing that you are safe but still worry about you because I could only do as much.” Aiba leans forward to press a soft kiss on the track of tears along Nino’s cheeks. “Now, tell me what happened. Or I can call Matsujun and unnecessarily embarrass you further.”
In Aiba’s embrace, Nino begins his story. “We were careless, not checking all the facts before we went for a raid. We thought it was a simple and random murder theft. And I was held hostage.”
Nino skips the grisly details as best as he can when he continues. Aiba doesn’t need to know that he was stripped off of his power and under gunpoint. “The man had his own blood dripping on his hand. It was not until then I noticed the ancient sandglass, and that he and I was standing inside a blood sigil.”
Aiba’s hold tightens and he lets out a loud gasp. “Oh fuck.”
Slight relief washes inside Nino, hearing Aiba’s expletive, something that he doesn’t hear often, and the instant understanding.
“He knew you have wings?”
“Unfortunately, I still don't know how, he did,” Nino says. “He kept on screaming and screaming in dark delight when we saw J coming down from the sky with Sakura-chan.”
“Oh fuck.” Aiba’s voice is quivering, another tear falling from his eyes at the full realization of the danger Nino has faced. “He’d have had the dragon tears to complete his time travel spell.”
This time Nino inches forward and lowers his hand to hold Aiba closer to him. “Masaki, you don’t have to hear this if you don’t want to.”
“I want to,” Aiba says with a firm determination in his voice. “I need to. Just finish it up.”
“It was J’s fault for being so flashy and a show off bat-head, taking Sakura-chan with him. The man had expected exactly that and we fell right into his trap.” Nino has to take few calming breaths, and Aiba’s hand soothingly rubbing his back helps him continue to the most important part of his story. “The sound of that man screaming stayed in my head for days. His hue was nothing but dark and vicious welts of blaze, and for a short while I let it get past me.”
“Is that what your nightmare is about?”
Nino nods. He opens his wet eyes again, not realizing that they have been closed all along, finding Aiba’s teary eyes.
“I couldn’t close my eyes without hearing his scream and seeing his face right after the case. And then I went home and it has lessened so much right now. ”
“Good.” For the first time since Nino began his story, Aiba lets out a weak smile.
“I saw the knife on the man’s belt,” Nino continues. “And I grabbed it, stabbed his foot with it, and broke his mind shield. I was screaming into J’s mind, ordering him to send Sakura-chan away, telling him about the man’s evil plan, when the man managed to restore the shield.”
Nino can hear Aiba’s breath hitches but he pushes on. “I thought we were done for, until I looked up and saw Sakura-chan soaring away and J’s flying down toward us.”
“You do have the coolest partner,” Aiba says with another smile on his face, wider this time.
Nino snorts, realizing that the worst is over and now what’s left from his story is, as Aiba has said, the marvel that is his cool partner.
“Well, J has this new sword he’s so fond of using these days and he slashed right through the shield and bounced right off it. The impact weakened the shield again and I finally could push a spell to break it. J sprang back to action with a vengeance for the kill.”
Nothing is said for a long while. Nino rests his head on Aiba’s shoulder, grateful for the rub on his back, a sign that Aiba is still with him.
“I really like the last part of the story,” Aiba finally says.
“I’m sorry that you had to hear it.” Nino desperately needs to apologize, knowing that this will not be last time but for now they have done everything they can.
Aiba closes the remaining space between them and hugs him, tight and warm. “Thank you,” for trusting me, for your courage, for coming home.
Nino lets himself be held before he leans back a bit. Wiggling in Aiba’s embrace, he reaches up to frame Aiba’s cheeks, reveling in the intense gaze the man send him, all focused and on him, and only him.
“You,” are amazing, are everything, are mine, Nino achingly wants to say, but his voice stuck on throat and his eyes are hot again.
And Aiba smiles, with soft understanding in his eyes owning Nino equally, and completes him. “You too.”
*
Aiba drags him downstairs for dinner despite Nino’s protest that they could just have owl deliveries right to their bedroom window.
“No,” Aiba simply says, taking a seat on the kitchen chair. “Since we have the house for ourselves, we might as well use the opportunity.”
“For kitchen sex?”
Aiba can still blush prettily at the suggestion and Nino hopes he can always tease.
“Not necessarily,” Aiba says with a small cough. He has his wand on his hand and is summoning the takeout menus from living room. “That would traumatize Sho-chan completely. And speaking of Sho-chan, he said that you missed the Internet badly.”
“Another exaggeration.” Nino rolls his eyes, walking toward the cabinet and taking out two cans of beer. He strokes the top of the cans lightly and charms them cold. He opens one of them and sets them in front of Aiba. “He was just cross that I didn’t tell him what’s been bothering me.”
“You really got everyone worried this time,” Aiba says, taking a sip of his beer. “They are planning an intervention operation. Or, you can say Sho-chan is planning something.”
“I’d have killed him if he hasn’t been dead for a hundred years.”
Aiba laughs at Nino’s dark tone. “How about Chinese?”
“You just want spring rolls for dinner.”
“True.” Aiba’s eyes are still full of smile. “But I also want some vegetable stir-fry.”
Nino takes another sip of his beer, trying to sound disappointed at the prospect of having a vegetable dish. “I knew it.”
They eat dinner at the kitchen table, sitting close next to each other, with Nino complaining that Aiba keeps on elbowing him, and Aiba elbowing him for real just to tease him.
“And why are you inching on my food now?”
“You barely touched it. And you still have all your spring rolls,” Aiba says, waving his chopstick and steals one of Nino’s spring rolls.
Nino elbows Aiba’s side but he eats his stir-fry and sets another spring roll aside on his plate for Aiba to steal.
*
It was like the worst is over, but no one is making an effort to nudge Nino to do something about his unauthorized leave. Days gone by and Nino settles into a light routine.
The daily trip to the arcade continues to send him into a good mood. Sho said that it’s good that he goes out of the house at times, which Nino dismisses entirely because Sho is probably just wants to use the kitchen for his cooking practice without him.
Ohno has shifted back into his canine form, less clingy but still willing to accompany him to the village every day.
“I’m going to head to the arcade first. Kato-san must have been expecting me,” Nino tells Ohno who is once again in his tow, taking the turn to the end of the shopping street. “And then we can get some lunch.”
Ohno woofs in agreement as they enter the premises.
Nino takes a look around, zeroed in on Kato-san who’s glaring knowingly in welcome at the cashier table, and grins widely. “Good afternoon, Kato- san.”
“Why are you still haven’t gone back to Tokyo, young man! I’m going to ban you soon enough, Ninomiya!” The old man waves his wand threateningly and conjuring a large plastic bag to materialize next to Nino. “You better not empty that machine today!”
“We’ll see,” Nino says, flicking his hand to send a gold coin floating to Kato-san’s table. “Half dozen games up front. I’ll get that bonus later.”
Nino spends the next half hour in full concentration as he maneuvered the claws and successfully craned out two basset hound plushies, pink and orange teddy bears, a sock monkey, and a stuffed bunny rabbit.
Kato-san’s hue is brighter when Nino walks away from the arcade carrying a large plastic bag full of plushies. He shouts his threats louder as Nino waves goodbye cheerfully.
“I saw another new stack of stuffed toys downstairs,” Aiba calls from the washroom that night. “The pile is growing taller and taller by the day.”
Cuddled up in blankets on his side of the bed, Nino doesn’t look up from his DS screen. “Blame the UFO machines for making it all too easy.”
“You are simply too good for them,” Aiba replies. “Soon enough, Kato-san is going to truly ban you for life.”
Pausing his game, Nino sets Aiba’s pillow next to his and turn over half of the blanket. “He already banned me from all the other machines. At least I can get a small revenge by emptying the UFOs.”
There’s the sound of water running and the muffled sound of Aiba laughing into his towel. “And soon record-breaker Ninomiya is going to be completely banned from the village arcade.”
“What can I say, I am just exceptionally good. And Kato-san had it long coming his way.”
Nino hears Aiba’s muffled laugh and smiles as he continues his game. He doesn't turn when he hears Aiba enters the bedroom. The light on Aiba’s side is off with a flick of wand and Aiba climbs into bed to join him. Without looking up, Nino raises his arm and lets Aiba snuggle up close.
“Once the batch settles, I’m going to take an afternoon off and send everyone away so we can be take long naps and do things to each other again.”
Nino leans down to land a good night kiss on top of Aiba’s head. “Okay.”
“Do you want some sleep draught?” Aiba says. “I can summon and prepare it for you.”
Nino knows his answer this time. “No. Your being here is enough.”
Aiba snuggles closer and the night goes. With the soft sound of chirping coming out from the DS, Nino continues his game one-handedly and feels Aiba falls asleep on his other arm.
*
After sending Toma along with Ohno and Sho off, Aiba walks back to the living room to join Nino who has been perching on the left corner of the couch for the last few hours with his DS in his hand. He drops himself on the opposite corner, and sighs as he stretches both his legs, grazing Nino’s, and closes his eyes.
They sit in the quiet peace. Nino keeps his main focus at the small screen, yet knowing completely that this is also a precious shared time. He simply basks in their closeness and silence. Aiba has been rushing the work today, out of the promise of spending the whole afternoon with him. It doesn’t quite sit right with him to have Aiba shifting his work schedule only to spend time together but Aiba has insisted on keeping his promise.
“You know, you don’t have to send them away,” Nino says quietly with a hint of embarrassment in his voice. “It’s more or less their home too.”
“Toma’s been working hard too. Oh-chan and Sho are going to make sure he has some rest. They can have their own fun.”
Nino glances at Aiba next to him, long limbs spread with one of his hands covering his eyes. His hue reflects contentment but there’s a dim fatigue layered underneath it. He splits his focus to keep on his game and Aiba. “And here we are having ours.”
Aiba drops his hand and stretches out, flopping his legs on Nino’s lap securely.
“Are we going to go somewhere?”
“I was thinking that we can go to the bathhouse after you finished with your game.”
Nino pauses his game to look up at Aiba with a glare. “Was that your way of telling me I smell?”
“Maybe,” Aiba grins innocently. “It’s going to be empty at this hour. You don’t like it when it’s crowded. What do you think?”
“I already finished all my new games,” Nino says instead of agreeing to anything.
Aiba laughs, deepening the crinkles on the corner of his eyes. “You have not yet been here for a full week and you’re already done with all of them?”
Nino answer sulkily, “Well, I didn’t plan on going home and failed bringing ample supplies.”
Aiba replies with nothing but a short and low ‘Mhmm’. He closes his eyes again, content on waiting for Nino to decide, displaying his bottomless patience when it comes to Nino, a trait that Nino comes to fiercely hate and love. He could almost hear Aiba’s mind telling him that if he wants to talk, they’ll talk; if he doesn't want to talk, they will keep silent. Aiba has made time for him, for them, and now it is up to him to use it.
Nino tsk-tsks when the low battery icon blinks again on his screen for the umpteenth time. He’s not going to complete this level from the look of it. Giving a few more last jabs on the level, his DS then shuts down completely. He flips it close, half-throws it to the table, and shifts in his seat.
“Okay, you can have me now,” he tells Aiba, placing both his palms on Aiba’s knees.
Aiba slowly opens his eyes with a smile, and Nino’s heart melts at the sight. One of Aiba’s leg stretches on Nino’s side, his hand reaching out to take Nino’s hand. “I already have you. What’s the hurry?”
“My battery just died.”
Aiba’s hearty laughs fill the living room as he grabs Nino’s hand, pulling Nino to lie on top of him. Nino can only let out a hitch of breath as he finds himself in Aiba’s loose embrace.
“This is not us going to the bathhouse,” Nino says, a little bit breathless, letting out a short chuckle before leaning down to nuzzle Aiba’s neck.
“Now aren’t you glad that I sent them away?” Aiba says with silly pride. His hands giving several slow rubs on Nino’s back before moving further down.
Over a firm squeeze on his ass, Nino snorts. “Okay. That is definitely not us going to the bathhouse.”
Aiba laughs again. He cranes his neck to get to Nino’s lips, and when Nino evades playfully he settles for his jaw.
“You’ve planned this.”
“Not exactly.” Aiba flushes prettily. “My plan is hot steamy sex in bed tonight after dinner, but I’m definitely game for any kind of similar detours.”
Nino wiggles his hips on top of Aiba’s, getting the hints clearly. He moves his hands to settle beside Aiba’ head before leaning down for a hot open mouth kiss. They can do steamy later. At that very moment Nino wants Aiba, hot and fast, here and now, and Aiba is willing, welcoming the kiss, moaning against Nino’s lips.
“Kazu.” Aiba’s breath is already short and wheezy. “Are you confusing me with sex so we’re not going out and instead staying home and making out?”
“Depends. Is it working?”
In answer, Aiba hooks his legs on Nino’s lower body and locks him close. His hand brings Nino’s back lower, pressing them both ever tighter, and takes Nino’s mouth into a wet and messy kiss. “I could’ve used a bit more convincing.”
Nino takes a hold of Aiba’s shirt, making a small swiping gesture, charming it to vanish into thin air.
“Mhmm,” Aiba says, eyes glinting with laugh and delight. “You’re quite convincing already.”
Nino leans to run his hand across Aiba’s chest, dropping soft and yielding kisses in a trail. At Aiba’s collarbone, he whispers, “Why should we go all the way to the bathhouse to get wet and naked when we could do this easily here?”
“Points,” Aiba says with a chuckle. His hands begin to pull the hem of Nino’s, trying to get Nino out of it unhurriedly. “You could easily be naked to if you charm this off too.”
“And deny you the pleasure?” Nino smiles coyly, letting Aiba tug his shirt off slowly. “Where’s the fun in that?”
Nino arches back and closes his eyes as Aiba’s hands gliding against his back send pleasant shivers all through him. His ring necklace hangs down onto Aiba’s chest and glimmers.
“Did you do something to it?” Aiba’s eyes focuses on the ring while his finger traces the chain and finds it shining softly.
Nino’s cheeks grow hot. “I re-charmed it again.”
“You what?”
“I kind of found an ancient troth spell in one of J’s spell book,” Nino says quietly. “For good luck and safety.”
“For precaution,” Aiba says with warm understanding, smiling fondly at the band before looking up to meet Nino’s cute embarrassment. “Did you charm it with mine?”
Nino nods. “A pledge spell.”
Still with his eyes fixed on Nino’s, Aiba wraps his left hand on Nino’s ring necklace. It sparks off small fiery flashes around the same band around Aiba’s ring finger before for one instant jet of amber and green hues entwines the two bands together.
“That’s some cool ancient stuff,” Aiba says, his eyes are filled with awe.
“It is.” Nino presses their chest together again, trapping Aiba’s hand that is still holding their bands together in between. He is content, his heart heavy with affection and warmth. “Now, since you mentioned about more convincing gestures...”
*
Aiba has brought the idea up very early in the morning and has Nino grumpily agreeing to it even before he’s fully awake. Two minutes later, when Aiba is already humming happily, Nino needs to ask. “Why are we doing this again?”
“Toma has procured some top level fancy beef from Kobe and because we haven’t had a proper get-together since you got home.”
“But I met them every day. I ate Sho-chan’s omurice valiantly. I walked to the market with Oh-chan every other day. And I can’t see why Toma so suddenly had some top level fancy meat. What’s happening? Why the heck do we need a get-together?”
“Maybe calling it a party is better?” Aiba sits on the side of their bed, leaning down to give Nino a few playful pokes and avoiding Nino’s eyes. “You did say few days ago that we kept on sending them away. We’re going to have a good time. It’s going to be fun.”
“Is it really?” Nino can sense that something is not entirely true but he cannot somehow pin it down. He finally just nods and lets Aiba has his way.
Later that night, Nino immediately realizes that they have all been plotting against him the instant he hears a random series of knocks on the front door and sees how Aiba jumps immediately to feet and scrambles inside the house with Sho right behind him as Toma and Ohno rush back into the kitchen in glee.
“I knew it!” Nino makes a run to the living room. “No! Don’t invite him in!”
Aiba does just that and welcomes their guest with a wide warm smile. “Matsujun! You made it!”
“Good evening.” Decked out in his black fine garb, his cape billowing, Jun stands in the middle of the living room. He finds Nino’s scowl and beams a tired smile. “Always with the warm welcome, Nino.”
“I thought you’re flying down here,” Aiba says. “We’ve been secretly watching the sky.”
Ohno bumps his head into Jun’s knee. Toma and Sho crowd around him. “Where’s Sakura-chan? How do you get here then, Matsujun?”
Jun grins at the warm greetings. “She’s back at home. I thought of using the public transport for once as per Nino’s request from last time.“
Toma groans his disappointment and Aiba—how dare he—sends a look that blames Nino for the absence of Jun’s pet dragon.
Ignoring Aiba’s look, Nino watches the exchange with a deep frown. “At least for once, you listen to me. Did you really take the train?”
Jun shrugs, looking uncomfortable for a moment as he relives his experience. “Yeah. And people were staring at me. Openly.”
“You with your stunning face clad in a dark suit. What’s not to stare?” Nino walks to Aiba’s side and hides half of his body behind the man. “Still, why are you even here?”
“Nino,” Aiba chides him, elbowing Nino lightly. “He’s here on our invitation.”
Turning to Toma and Sho, Jun says, “Next time I’m just going to take Sakura-chan again. She’s definitely faster.”
Toma lets out a small ‘yay,’ causing Nino to turn so fast and glare to him too. Ohno woofs cheerfully and pads to Nino to bump his head into Nino’s knees.
“You don’t need to impress these idiots. As you can see, they already are,” Nino says.
“A bit of a boost never hurts,” Jun grins. He turns to Aiba with a grin. “Did I make good time?”
“You did,” Aiba says before Nino can let out another remark. “Impeccable timing. We’re just going to get started.”
“How about a beer to start off?” Toma offers, already heading back to the kitchen. “I think the grill is about to be ready, you guys.”
Sho steps forward with a polite smile, “And let me take that cape and jacket for you.”
Jun shrugs out of his cape, sending one last smile to Nino, and heads to the back of the house, following Toma with Ohno on his heels.
Nino stays where he is, sending dark look at Aiba, and scowls. “You are a filthy liar.”
“I know you miss him.” Aiba flashes his brightest grin and kisses Nino full on the lips. “Come on, let’s get the party started.”
*
At the end of the small porch, Sho is adding more and more meat to the grill while Aiba and Toma have their chopstick at the ready to find the ones that are already cooked, each holding their bowls of rice.
“You’re so calm and content,” Jun says as he settles at the lounge chair beside Nino. He turns, finding Nino with a fond expression on his face as he watches Aiba from his seat, and smiles widely. “I don’t see it often enough.”
Nino hides his smile with a snort. “Does this mean you’re staying the night?”
“Nah, I have a hot date after midnight. Will just fly back to Tokyo after that promised night cap.”
“What’s that I hear? That you only came for free food and booze? I thought better of you, J.”
“Well, it was good food, completely worth the awful Shinkansen ride.” Jun scoots his chair closer to Nino. He lowers his head, staring at his beer can. “And I wanted to see you. It’s good to see that you’re well.”
Nino bumps his shoulder lightly to Jun and they fall into comfortable silence. They watch the grill that now has set ablaze with fire because Sho thought that it was good idea to throw some more fuel, and now Aiba and Toma have their wands out trying to control the fire while shouting their complaints at Sho. At the sound of Aiba’s laughing, Nino feels the truth in Jun’s right-on-the-mark comment, that he is calm and content.
Although he doesn’t feel the need to let Jun know about it.
“You blocked your comm, right?” Jun begins. “I would have come sooner if not for Sho-kun’s reply telling me that you’re home and well.”
“I blocked it for a reason,” Nino says. He has anticipated this, but he had thought that Jun, at the very least, would understand. “Still, you don’t really have to travel all the way here to check up on me.”
“I just wanted to be sure.” Jun straightens his feet to lean against the back of the chair. “And Aiba-chan sounded so excited about the get-together-party when he called me yesterday.”
“So that’s why he couldn’t barely hold his grin since morning. I should’ve guessed.”
Jun laughs quietly. “The office has been asking about you but I told them that you needed a week off. I even submitted your leave notice.”
Nino nods his thanks half-heartedly.
“That last case was just too much.” Jun finally says after another long silence between them.
Hearing Jun voice what Nino has been worrying about for the last week gives him an unexpected sense of relief. Nino’s mind reaches out to touch Jun’s hue—the swirling jet-black of warmth—and finds a trace of distress similar with his. He sends his slice of appreciation to Jun’s mind, somehow grateful for the reassurance. Knowing that his strong and capable undead partner was equally affected by the case says so much about their bond, their strengths and weaknesses.
Although he still doesn’t feel the need to let Jun know about it. After all, Jun probably figured it out already.
Jun turns to him with his warmest smile. “I didn't realize you were gone until the end of the first week because I took a 2 day leave.”
“I wasn’t actually planning to go back,” Nino says quietly. All the cheerful noise from around the grill dims a bit for a while. He wasn’t planning to tell Jun that but now that he has managed to say that out loud, it does not seem heavy on his tongue any longer.
“I suspected so,” Jun says. He takes another sip of beer. “But you now think differently, or at least are thinking about it differently?”
The noises—layered with twirling hues of his husband, his friends, his home, and Jun’s—floats back into Nino’s view. Trouble and worry seem so faraway at the moment, but he knows better and is fully aware that they could be just a blink away.
“Maybe.”
“So, when are you coming back?” Jun says, his tone light but Nino knows quite well that this is the question Jun has been wanting to ask him tonight, this is why Jun came all the way here to his home.
So Nino gives him honesty and answers with the first thing that comes into mind. “I still don’t know.”
Jun hums thoughtfully, a sign that he is not completely agreeing with Nino but is willing to give the opinion a consideration. “I am going to be the second to know, right?”
Nino closes his eyes and feels the hue of Jun’s effortless understanding that comes from trust and respect of their partnership, and smiles. “Yeah. Masaki will convince me to go back soon enough.”
“I thought so too,” Jun says, his tone lighter now. “I did suspect that you will keep being difficult a bit longer now that you’ve dealt with your mind.”
“When you’re the best you are totally entitled to be difficult,” Nino says with an airy tone, holding his chuckles in check.
“Well, true.” Jun laughs at Nino’s tone before correcting him. “We are the best.”
“Now you only want some free praise.”
“At least I’m being humble about it.”
“This is coming from the vampyre who jumped into his dragon’s back first chance, chasing bad guys across Kanagawa?”
“She’s fast and gets me to where I want to go,” Jun says, before letting out a snort. “And pretty.”
“I still won’t ride her with you. Ever.”
“There will come the day, Nino. You just wait,” Jun says with a laugh, clinking his almost empty beer can with Nino’s.
With a laugh Nino realizes that he is telling the truth. “I am not really saying I can’t wait, but maybe I am.”
Jun smiles and bumps his shoulder with Nino’s. “I’ll see you when you get back then.”
*
They all send Jun home with a flourish at the end of the night. Toma was constantly beaming because Jun chose to take his offer of fine brew over Sho’s leftover dish. Aiba whispered something into Jun’s ear just before he departed, and Nino, knowing that it is a thank you and promise on his behalf, pretended to pat Ohno’s head unknowingly.
He’ll be seeing Jun soon enough and there’s plenty of opportunity to get back at him for meddling and being comfortably in cahoots with Aiba.
Back at the bedroom as they settle in for the night, Nino realizes that Aiba is not as drunk as Nino has predicted but still looks tired and happy. So he lets Aiba settle into bed first and takes his turn of the bathroom last.
“I still wish that he’d stay the night though,” Aiba says from the bedroom. “I did offer our couch, since you turned our guest room into a wreck. It’d be dangerous to fly back to Tokyo at this time of night.”
“Why are you worrying for a fierce vampyre for? He probably freezes his ass off on his way flying back to Tokyo, but at least he’d be happy with it,” Nino says. “He wanted to come here and he’ll deal with the travel.”
“He came all the way to make up with you.”
“We didn’t have a fight in the first place. We didn’t have anything significant to make up with.” Nino rolls his eyes with a smile. “And he came all the way here because you invited him for some stupid get-together.”
“Well, we had our fun,” Aiba says. “And it’s good to see you clear things up with him.”
Nino turns the washroom light off and walks back to the bedroom. He stops in his tracks when Aiba takes one long look at Nino and his face blooms with a wide smile.
“What?”
“Why haven’t I seen that Jordan shirt of mine for a long while?”
The answer is simple; Nino has brought it to Tokyo with him, along with Aiba’s other old shirts, sneaking out one shirt every time he went back after coming home. Not that he’s going to admit it that half of his small closet in Tokyo is filled with Aiba’s shirts. Not that he’s going to say that he has stole them so he could sleep in Aiba’s shirt, bundled up in faint gleam of Aiba’s hue, when they are apart.
“Because your side of the closet is a messy heap,” Nino says instead, feeling flush up his cheeks, turning away to climb onto bed. He buries his face in his pillow, relieved for the smooth coolness and the silly way to evade Aiba’s further question.
“Mhmm.” Aiba wraps his arm around Nino’s waist. “It’s messy because I keep on needing to toss and turn things over to find the shirt I want to wear.”
“That’s because you have so many of them. I just took some so I can use them when I sleep.” Nino sneaks one of his arms and wraps it around Aiba’s waist. He mumbles into the pillow, knowing that Aiba will at least catch the truth of it. “And they smell like you.”
Aiba holds him tighter and drops a kiss on Nino’s hair. They cling to their closeness for a little while before Aiba leans back and let Nino takes his face off the pillow.
Aiba smiles at him with the same warm smile that greets him home, tangling his legs up with Nino’s, taking Nino’s breath away. “So do you need me to help pick more of my old t-shirts when you’re packing?”
“Oh, shut up.” Nino laughs in Aiba’s face and brings their lips to meet slowly.
“Everything will be okay,” Aiba says on Nino’s lips, his voice sure and confident. “You’ll be okay.”
“We’ll be okay,” Nino corrects him as he lets his wings ensconce them with softness. He’ll be missing this when he gets back to Tokyo—which will be most probably next week—but repeating his own words in his mind, they both will be okay. Nino smiles as he drops one last deep kiss before holding Aiba close and letting them be taken by slumber.
*