Nino Mod (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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ninoexchange2018-06-23 08:19 am
nino_mod) wrote in ninoexchange2018-06-23 08:19 am
Entry tags:
fic for nana9!
For: nana9
From: :3.
Title: Steal Your Thunder (Or Your Heart)
Pairing/Focus: Sho/Nino
Rating: PG
Word count: 3,400
Warnings: N/A
Summary: Thief Nino and Stolen Goods Recovery Consultant Sho cross paths attempting to acquire a rare, valuable statue.
Notes: Dear nana9, I had a lot of fun writing this and hope you enjoy it! Huge thanks to my beta AP for your astute suggestions.
Nino checked his watch. 10.43pm. He rolled his head from side to side and winced as his neck cracked. Crouching in a shadowed pocket between a high concrete fence and the garbage collection point for an hour wasn’t high on Nino’s list of enjoyable activities, but he wanted to be absolutely certain that the house was empty before approaching.
A stray grey cat wandered up to him, letting out a soft “mrrpt” as Nino gave it a little scratch behind the ears.
After what seemed like an eternity, Nino was rewarded with the sound of a car starting, and he slipped on a pair of leather gloves. The cat headbutted his ankle affectionately, then curled up to sleep on the ground next to Nino’s feet. The garage door of the house opposite opened and a car pulled out, headlights flashing in the darkness.
As soon as the garage door closed, Nino was on his feet and moving swiftly across the street, avoiding the circles of light cast by street lamps. Nino shimmied up the fence, soft shoes barely making a sound. With a thud, he landed on a garden bed and darted across the grass, flattening himself against the back wall.
Nino paused, listening to the noise of the distant trains on the line nearby, the blast of music from a pachinko parlour, the sound of teenagers chatting outside a nearby convenience store. It seemed strange that an extremely valuable statue was sitting in a modest house in this unassuming residential neighbourhood of Tokyo, but it certainly made his job much easier.
Nino pulled out his phone as he moved along the wall to the front door. He tapped at the screen for a few seconds, and smirked to himself as the security system shut off. Developing the app to hack these systems had been a piece of cake. To avoid suspicion, Nino set the system to restart in fifteen minutes, plenty of time for him to get in, nab the statue, and be home in time for a scheduled gaming raid session.
Picking the lock proved to be more difficult than developing the security hack app. Nino muttered to himself in annoyance as he eased the pick between the lock tumblers, wiggling it ever so slightly. He thought the lock would be a breeze, having spent hours practicing on an identical lock after scoping the house out, but the real thing was annoyingly sticky from use and the elements.
With a satisfying click, the lock finally opened, and Nino eased himself into the genkan. He could only make out the shapes of neat rows of slippers on a shoe rack, an umbrella, and a pair of galoshes in the gloom.
The house was definitely empty. He’d been watching it most of the day, from various vantage points - the shrine next door, the roof of the school on the street behind, then finally the garbage collection point. The owner was divorced, lived alone, and his daughters visited rarely.
With a silent apology to the carpet, Nino left his shoes on and stepped up into the hallway, making his way through the main living area and up a narrow wooden staircase. Here, the floors were covered in tatami mats, and separated by sliding shoji screens.
If he’d calculated correctly, the statue would be placed in the tokonoma in the room that opened on to the back balcony. Strangely, the owner appeared to have left a light on in the room. Whatever, makes it easier for me, Nino thought as he padded silently across the floor, and slid open the door to reveal the statue sitting in the tokonoma next to an ikebana arrangement, about seven inches high and made from shining blue porcelain.
Unfortunately, someone else was standing in front of it.
“Who the hell are you?” Nino said before he could stop himself.
The stranger turned, and Nino raised an eyebrow.
He wore an immaculate suit and tie, black leather gloves similar to Nino’s own, and had a briefcase next to his feet. Nino’s immediate reaction was that he’d stumbled in on an extremely handsome banker who also enjoyed breaking into the homes of people with unique taste in statues.
Even more surprising was the stranger’s reaction to Nino’s appearance. He reached into his breast pocket, pulled out a business card and bowed, holding it out. With a shrug, Nino bowed back and accepted it. At least it wasn’t a gun.
“Sakurai Sho, Senior Consultant, Antique Acquisitions,” Nino read out loud.
“At your service,” replied Sho with a small smile. “However, I am about to conclude my business here and need to be on my way.” He knelt in front of the tokonoma, hands flat on his knees, bowed his head, then picked up the statue and opened his briefcase.
“Hold it,” said Nino, jumping in front of Sho. “That’s what my business is here. I’m here to collect that statue.”
Sho frowned. “You are a thief?”
“Only as much as you are, mister,” shot back Nino. “Hands off that statue.”
“I am no thief,” Sho replied, vexed. “This is my job.”
“Stealing shit is your job? Well, uh, I’m stealing this statue back on, uh, behalf of the original owner, so really it’s my job,” said Nino quickly, thinking fast.
Rolling his eyes, Sho pointed to a sheaf of papers in the briefcase. “Nice try. That’s my contract of engagement from the owner. I am here for work, so if you would kindly get out of my way --”
Nino made a grab for the statue, but Sho dodged to one side and tucked the statue under his arm.
“Give it here! I need it, that piece of porcelain is going to pay my rent for the next year,” Nino hissed, yanking the hem of Sho’s trousers and grinning evilly as his enemy crashed to his knees.
The statue rolled, undamaged, out of reach as they tussled. Sho grabbed Nino around the shoulders and attempted to heave him to one side as Nino tried to worm out of Sho’s grip. Nino winced as Sho got a knee to his back and he hooked his arm under Sho’s other leg, trying to break out of his grip.
They both froze as an alarm suddenly started to blare. Sho, his suit rumpled and hair mussed, immediately let go in surprise and they both jumped to their feet.
“But I hacked the security system! I’ve still got another --” Nino grabbed Sho’s left wrist and checked the other man’s expensive-looking watch -- “Seven minutes!”
“You hacked the security system? But… my superiors also arranged a hack, the alarm was off when I arrived,” Sho yelled back, face aghast.
Nino grimaced. “They must have cancelled each other out and security will be here any minute, shit!”
Looking around, Nino spotted the statue and dove for it.
“No fucking way --” Sho began, and stopped short, cocking his head. Over the din of the alarm, Nino heard the sound of security vehicles outside. He shoved the statue in a pocket of his backpack and scanned the room for the balcony door.
“Sorry buddy, the best man wins,” said Nino with a wicked grin and a careless salute. He flung open the balcony door, vaulted over the barrier, and landed with a thump on a soft patch of grass in the back garden.
A loud crash made Nino turn as he prepared to take flight. Sakurai Sho’s leap had unfortunately landed him in a bush. Nino’s mouth twitched as Sho stood; he was still holding his briefcase, but his suit was crumpled and he had twigs in his hair.
“Let it go, my dude, you’ve lost,” said Nino with a taunting wave, and ran for the side wall that separated the house from the temple beside it. He started to climb, and let out a yelp as Sho grabbed his ankle.
“Give it back,” Sho said, yanking on Nino’s leg.
“No way,” Nino said, kicking back with his other foot, connecting solidly with Sho’s forehead. Sho grunted in pain, let go, and Nino scrambled up and over the wall. Pity, he was cute, Nino thought, landing neatly in the temple garden. He took a deep breath, patted the compartment of his backpack to check the statue was safe, and scanned the temple grounds. Despite the noise from the alarm, there seemed to be no movement within.
Nino turned at the sound of scraping behind him, his mouth falling open. A grappling hook was wedged into the top of the wall, and Sakurai Sho’s face appeared over the top.
“That statue is not your property,” Sho said, before he swung himself over the wall, unhooked the grapple and landed next to Nino with surprising agility, given his outfit. Who commits a theft in a suit, Nino wondered, trying not to be impressed.
Somehow he still had his ridiculous briefcase, now slung over his shoulder by a strap, leaving his hands free to grab at Nino’s shoulder. Nino blinked; Sho was breathing a little harder from his escape over the wall, and they were face to face, the warmth of Sho’s breath on his cheek.
He felt himself blush, and was suddenly thankful for the dark of the night.
“This place is going to be crawling with security in a minute,” Nino muttered, and as if to prove his point, two men holding torches appeared at the front of the temple grounds. Nino and Sho had climbed over the fence near the back of the temple, but it was only matter of time before the security guards found them.
“Follow me if you don’t want to get caught,” Nino hissed at Sho, before shrugging off Sho’s hand and quickly moving towards towards the back of the temple grounds. The sound of Sho’s feet confirmed that the other man was in fact following him.
There was a scuffling of gravel as they ran through the zen garden -- Nino sent a mental apology to the deity of the temple, and the priest who would have to clean it up -- and just as he’d remembered from his scouting, the narrow gap between the temple wall and the backstreet was still there, just wide enough to admit a child or a small adult. Pulling his backpack to his front to protect the statue, Nino squeezed through the opening and emerged in the street, in front of the back gate of a school. Perfect.
Cursing, Sho appeared next to him, brushing vines and dirt from his suit jacket, which was looking very much worse for wear after the fight in the living room, the drop off the balcony into a bush, and scramble over the wall into the temple grounds. Nino refused to admit that Sho still look damned good, despite the worse-for-wear suit and mussed hair.
Nino paused, shushing Sho’s curses and listening. He could hear the security guards talking, and while they hadn’t found the gap, he didn’t want to take chances. Seeing a car come down the street in front of them made Nino grab Sho’s hand, staying back against the temple wall until it had passed. “C’mon -- one more climb and we’re home free.” He laughed under his breath as Sho groaned quietly, clearly unhappy at the prospect of another climb. They ran across the street and along the fence til he found a gate.
“I’ll give you a boost,” Nino said, and squatted down, holding out his hands.
“This doesn’t mean I’m letting you get away with that statue,” Sho warned, putting one socked foot into Nino’s hands, and resting his hands on Nino’s shoulders. They were pleasantly warm, despite the chill in the air.
“Yeah, yeah, just get over the fence,” Nino replied as he stood, helping Sho grab on to the the top of the fence and swing over. Nino shimmied up the gate easily as the sound of the security guards arguing got louder and closer.
“There’s a storage shed over there, quick,” Nino said, making a dash for the western corner of the school yard. He pulled at the door handle and cursed. It hadn’t been locked the day before, but it was shut fast now, and Nino didn’t have picks small enough for it. Sho stopped behind him, and reached around to remove Nino’s hand from the lock.
Nino shivered.
“Move,” ordered Sho, and Nino could have sworn he meant to step sideways, but his traitorous feet made him step back into Sho’s solid chest. He felt, rather than heard, Sho’s low laugh as he took a piece of wire from his suit pocket, expertly picked the lock, and opened the door in under ten seconds
They hurried into the storage shed, Sho yanking the door closed behind them. He started to speak, presumably to try persuade Nino to hand over the statue, and Nino jerked his head towards the door, clapping his hand over Sho’s mouth. As Sho fell silent, Nino realised that he still had his hand on Sho’s mouth, feeling Sho’s lips against his palm. He dropped his hand and stumbled backward, trying to find his footing, but he didn’t get far before hitting the wall of the shed with a thud. The space was tiny, filled with shelves and crates of sports equipment and barely a few feet square of floor to stand up in.
“Stay quiet and we should be okay,” whispered Nino. He slumped on the floor, leaning back against a pile of crates and rolling his shoulders. With barely any space to move, Sho shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.
“You can sit, I won’t bite,” Nino murmured.
Sho bit his lip, then clearly gave in and wedged himself in next to Nino, sitting cross-legged and his knee pressing against Nino’s thigh.
Sho sighed. “Okay, I guess. I’m getting that statue off you later though,” he warned.
Nino pulled out his phone, checked it was set to silent, and sent a message to a gaming friend, letting them know that he would miss the planned session. The light from his phone screen threw a dim glow over Sho’s face, the line of his throat as he loosened his tie, his eyes closed.
Nino grinned, and shifted slightly to press closer, kicking gently at Sho’s ankle. In response, Sho elbowed him in the ribs.
“I can’t believe you took your shoes off to commit a burglary,” Nino said. “And left them in the genkan. You’re probably going to get caught because of that, you know.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t, it’s beyond rudeness to wear shoes on the tatami mats,” Sho replied. “And I have no idea what you’re talking about -- my shoes are in my briefcase. I’m not that stupid.”
“That’s a relief. It’s almost as stupid as wearing a suit to steal a statue. Not exactly designed for subterfuge work, are you?” Nino said.
“I like to be professional during work hours,” replied Sho, brushing some dirt off one sleeve. “Besides, it looks far better on me than casual clothing.”
“It definitely looks good on you,” said Nino without thinking. “Really good.”
There was a long pause.
“Oh. Thank you, that’s. Um,” Sho stuttered. His cheeks were very red in the dim light.
“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to be a creep,” said Nino, shutting off his phone. The shed was almost completely dark, a little moonlight seeping in from the skylight.
“No, no, it’s fine.”
“Sorry,” Nino repeated, staring at the floor. He tried to wiggle away, but there was no space, and Sho’s leg was still pressed against his, shoulder pressed against shoulder, warm and solid.
“I said, it’s fine,” Sho insisted, voice barely above a whisper. Without waiting for a response, he reached up to grasp Nino’s chin, and twisting awkwardly, kissed him.
Nino’s thoughts ground to a halt. Makeouts with a complete stranger in the storage shed of a school was definitely not how he’d planned his evening, but why waste the opportunity?
“Is this okay?” Sho whispered against Nino’s mouth. Nino felt his stomach swoop as Sho’s eyelashes brushed against his cheek, Sho’s gloved hand on his neck.
“Y-yeah, yeah. This is definitely okay,” Nino said breathily. “In fact, I bet I can make it so okay you’ll let me keep the statue.”
“Is that so?” said Sho with a smirk almost as devilish as Nino’s own. “I can be quite persuasive myself, you know,” he continued, trailing one leather-covered finger down Nino’s neck to his collarbone. Nino shivered in spite of himself. “See?” taunted Sho.
“Oh, you’re in for it, buddy,” Nino said and grinned.
He shifted, pushing Sho back against the crates and moving to sit in Sho’s lap, locking his legs around Sho’s waist and leaning in to prove that he could kiss well enough to get exactly what he wanted.
Sho let out a soft ‘ah’ of surprise as Nino kissed the corner of his lips, his jaw, his mouth. Encouraged by Sho’s positive response, kissing back eagerly, Nino slid his hands beneath Sho’s suit jacket, untucking his shirt and touching the soft skin of Sho’s back, feeling the muscles jump under his hands. He kissed Sho languidly, confident as Sho writhed beneath him. Rocking his hips minutely, Nino grinned as Sho let out a gasp.
With a growl under his breath that sent a warm shudder down Nino’s spine, Sho wrapped one hand around the back of Nino’s neck and locked the other around Nino’s wrist, squeezing tightly.
“You think you’ve got me, huh?” murmured Sho, pulling Nino flush against him and biting down on his earlobe. Nino couldn’t stop the moan that escaped him, and as Sho trailed kisses down his neck, tangled his hand in Nino’s hair and tugged firmly, Nino suddenly suspected that this plan to get the statue might have backfired.
A sudden bang on the wall nearly made Nino jump out of his skin with fright. The door opened and torchlight flooded in, making Nino squint and cover his eyes.
“Oi, you two, -- oh.” The stranger’s voice fell silent as Sho grabbed Nino’s face with both hands and kissed him with considerable enthusiasm. He quickly broke the kiss, and glared at the interruption.
“Do you mind,” Sho said, sounding for all the world like an aggrieved member of the public who had been rudely interrupted in the middle of a theatre performance.
“We’re looking, uh, looking for a thief… have you seen anything?”
Sho frowned, and Nino tried not to laugh. “Does it look like we’d have seen anything?” he replied icily. “We’ve been here for --” Sho checked his watch “ -- about an hour. And I’ve seen nothing but my esteemed friend here.”
Nino swallowed a laugh, letting out a strangled cough, and buried his face in Sho’s shoulder.
“Ah, is that so…”
Nino felt Sho nod. “My business card, if you need to be touch at all.” Sho pulled a card out of his breast pocket and handed it to the security guard. “And now, if you’d be so kind,” he said, pointedly placing a firm hand on Nino’s back.
“Of course, erm, certainly. Thank you, Kimura-sama.” The security guard closed the shed door quietly, and Nino let out a sigh a relief.
“Good save. How’d you convince them to leave so quickly?” Nino asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
Sho smiled. “I have several business cards. I just chose the one that implied I was a very highly ranked employee at the security firm.”
Nino whistled, impressed. “Nicely done. But don’t think that means I’ll let you get that statue,” he said, punctuating his words with a firm kiss.
“I guess we’ll have to continue this… discussion until it’s decided. But I have a suggestion,” Sho replied, licking a hot stripe up Nino’s neck and smirking at the Nino’s resulting shiver.
“Mmm?”
“Let’s take it to a bedroom. I’m cold, this suit is going to need a serious dry clean, and sexy as getting caught is, I don’t want to hang around if the security team figures out that I’m not actually Kimura Takuya, Vice-President, Strategic Operations.”
Nino laughed. “Done. Let’s get out here.”
After a thorough and prolonged negotiation at a nearby hotel, Sho offered Nino a job and half the bonus from successfully returning the statue.
Nino accepted, as long as he didn’t have to wear a suit.
~fin~
nana9From: :3.
Title: Steal Your Thunder (Or Your Heart)
Pairing/Focus: Sho/Nino
Rating: PG
Word count: 3,400
Warnings: N/A
Summary: Thief Nino and Stolen Goods Recovery Consultant Sho cross paths attempting to acquire a rare, valuable statue.
Notes: Dear nana9, I had a lot of fun writing this and hope you enjoy it! Huge thanks to my beta AP for your astute suggestions.
Nino checked his watch. 10.43pm. He rolled his head from side to side and winced as his neck cracked. Crouching in a shadowed pocket between a high concrete fence and the garbage collection point for an hour wasn’t high on Nino’s list of enjoyable activities, but he wanted to be absolutely certain that the house was empty before approaching.
A stray grey cat wandered up to him, letting out a soft “mrrpt” as Nino gave it a little scratch behind the ears.
After what seemed like an eternity, Nino was rewarded with the sound of a car starting, and he slipped on a pair of leather gloves. The cat headbutted his ankle affectionately, then curled up to sleep on the ground next to Nino’s feet. The garage door of the house opposite opened and a car pulled out, headlights flashing in the darkness.
As soon as the garage door closed, Nino was on his feet and moving swiftly across the street, avoiding the circles of light cast by street lamps. Nino shimmied up the fence, soft shoes barely making a sound. With a thud, he landed on a garden bed and darted across the grass, flattening himself against the back wall.
Nino paused, listening to the noise of the distant trains on the line nearby, the blast of music from a pachinko parlour, the sound of teenagers chatting outside a nearby convenience store. It seemed strange that an extremely valuable statue was sitting in a modest house in this unassuming residential neighbourhood of Tokyo, but it certainly made his job much easier.
Nino pulled out his phone as he moved along the wall to the front door. He tapped at the screen for a few seconds, and smirked to himself as the security system shut off. Developing the app to hack these systems had been a piece of cake. To avoid suspicion, Nino set the system to restart in fifteen minutes, plenty of time for him to get in, nab the statue, and be home in time for a scheduled gaming raid session.
Picking the lock proved to be more difficult than developing the security hack app. Nino muttered to himself in annoyance as he eased the pick between the lock tumblers, wiggling it ever so slightly. He thought the lock would be a breeze, having spent hours practicing on an identical lock after scoping the house out, but the real thing was annoyingly sticky from use and the elements.
With a satisfying click, the lock finally opened, and Nino eased himself into the genkan. He could only make out the shapes of neat rows of slippers on a shoe rack, an umbrella, and a pair of galoshes in the gloom.
The house was definitely empty. He’d been watching it most of the day, from various vantage points - the shrine next door, the roof of the school on the street behind, then finally the garbage collection point. The owner was divorced, lived alone, and his daughters visited rarely.
With a silent apology to the carpet, Nino left his shoes on and stepped up into the hallway, making his way through the main living area and up a narrow wooden staircase. Here, the floors were covered in tatami mats, and separated by sliding shoji screens.
If he’d calculated correctly, the statue would be placed in the tokonoma in the room that opened on to the back balcony. Strangely, the owner appeared to have left a light on in the room. Whatever, makes it easier for me, Nino thought as he padded silently across the floor, and slid open the door to reveal the statue sitting in the tokonoma next to an ikebana arrangement, about seven inches high and made from shining blue porcelain.
Unfortunately, someone else was standing in front of it.
“Who the hell are you?” Nino said before he could stop himself.
The stranger turned, and Nino raised an eyebrow.
He wore an immaculate suit and tie, black leather gloves similar to Nino’s own, and had a briefcase next to his feet. Nino’s immediate reaction was that he’d stumbled in on an extremely handsome banker who also enjoyed breaking into the homes of people with unique taste in statues.
Even more surprising was the stranger’s reaction to Nino’s appearance. He reached into his breast pocket, pulled out a business card and bowed, holding it out. With a shrug, Nino bowed back and accepted it. At least it wasn’t a gun.
“Sakurai Sho, Senior Consultant, Antique Acquisitions,” Nino read out loud.
“At your service,” replied Sho with a small smile. “However, I am about to conclude my business here and need to be on my way.” He knelt in front of the tokonoma, hands flat on his knees, bowed his head, then picked up the statue and opened his briefcase.
“Hold it,” said Nino, jumping in front of Sho. “That’s what my business is here. I’m here to collect that statue.”
Sho frowned. “You are a thief?”
“Only as much as you are, mister,” shot back Nino. “Hands off that statue.”
“I am no thief,” Sho replied, vexed. “This is my job.”
“Stealing shit is your job? Well, uh, I’m stealing this statue back on, uh, behalf of the original owner, so really it’s my job,” said Nino quickly, thinking fast.
Rolling his eyes, Sho pointed to a sheaf of papers in the briefcase. “Nice try. That’s my contract of engagement from the owner. I am here for work, so if you would kindly get out of my way --”
Nino made a grab for the statue, but Sho dodged to one side and tucked the statue under his arm.
“Give it here! I need it, that piece of porcelain is going to pay my rent for the next year,” Nino hissed, yanking the hem of Sho’s trousers and grinning evilly as his enemy crashed to his knees.
The statue rolled, undamaged, out of reach as they tussled. Sho grabbed Nino around the shoulders and attempted to heave him to one side as Nino tried to worm out of Sho’s grip. Nino winced as Sho got a knee to his back and he hooked his arm under Sho’s other leg, trying to break out of his grip.
They both froze as an alarm suddenly started to blare. Sho, his suit rumpled and hair mussed, immediately let go in surprise and they both jumped to their feet.
“But I hacked the security system! I’ve still got another --” Nino grabbed Sho’s left wrist and checked the other man’s expensive-looking watch -- “Seven minutes!”
“You hacked the security system? But… my superiors also arranged a hack, the alarm was off when I arrived,” Sho yelled back, face aghast.
Nino grimaced. “They must have cancelled each other out and security will be here any minute, shit!”
Looking around, Nino spotted the statue and dove for it.
“No fucking way --” Sho began, and stopped short, cocking his head. Over the din of the alarm, Nino heard the sound of security vehicles outside. He shoved the statue in a pocket of his backpack and scanned the room for the balcony door.
“Sorry buddy, the best man wins,” said Nino with a wicked grin and a careless salute. He flung open the balcony door, vaulted over the barrier, and landed with a thump on a soft patch of grass in the back garden.
A loud crash made Nino turn as he prepared to take flight. Sakurai Sho’s leap had unfortunately landed him in a bush. Nino’s mouth twitched as Sho stood; he was still holding his briefcase, but his suit was crumpled and he had twigs in his hair.
“Let it go, my dude, you’ve lost,” said Nino with a taunting wave, and ran for the side wall that separated the house from the temple beside it. He started to climb, and let out a yelp as Sho grabbed his ankle.
“Give it back,” Sho said, yanking on Nino’s leg.
“No way,” Nino said, kicking back with his other foot, connecting solidly with Sho’s forehead. Sho grunted in pain, let go, and Nino scrambled up and over the wall. Pity, he was cute, Nino thought, landing neatly in the temple garden. He took a deep breath, patted the compartment of his backpack to check the statue was safe, and scanned the temple grounds. Despite the noise from the alarm, there seemed to be no movement within.
Nino turned at the sound of scraping behind him, his mouth falling open. A grappling hook was wedged into the top of the wall, and Sakurai Sho’s face appeared over the top.
“That statue is not your property,” Sho said, before he swung himself over the wall, unhooked the grapple and landed next to Nino with surprising agility, given his outfit. Who commits a theft in a suit, Nino wondered, trying not to be impressed.
Somehow he still had his ridiculous briefcase, now slung over his shoulder by a strap, leaving his hands free to grab at Nino’s shoulder. Nino blinked; Sho was breathing a little harder from his escape over the wall, and they were face to face, the warmth of Sho’s breath on his cheek.
He felt himself blush, and was suddenly thankful for the dark of the night.
“This place is going to be crawling with security in a minute,” Nino muttered, and as if to prove his point, two men holding torches appeared at the front of the temple grounds. Nino and Sho had climbed over the fence near the back of the temple, but it was only matter of time before the security guards found them.
“Follow me if you don’t want to get caught,” Nino hissed at Sho, before shrugging off Sho’s hand and quickly moving towards towards the back of the temple grounds. The sound of Sho’s feet confirmed that the other man was in fact following him.
There was a scuffling of gravel as they ran through the zen garden -- Nino sent a mental apology to the deity of the temple, and the priest who would have to clean it up -- and just as he’d remembered from his scouting, the narrow gap between the temple wall and the backstreet was still there, just wide enough to admit a child or a small adult. Pulling his backpack to his front to protect the statue, Nino squeezed through the opening and emerged in the street, in front of the back gate of a school. Perfect.
Cursing, Sho appeared next to him, brushing vines and dirt from his suit jacket, which was looking very much worse for wear after the fight in the living room, the drop off the balcony into a bush, and scramble over the wall into the temple grounds. Nino refused to admit that Sho still look damned good, despite the worse-for-wear suit and mussed hair.
Nino paused, shushing Sho’s curses and listening. He could hear the security guards talking, and while they hadn’t found the gap, he didn’t want to take chances. Seeing a car come down the street in front of them made Nino grab Sho’s hand, staying back against the temple wall until it had passed. “C’mon -- one more climb and we’re home free.” He laughed under his breath as Sho groaned quietly, clearly unhappy at the prospect of another climb. They ran across the street and along the fence til he found a gate.
“I’ll give you a boost,” Nino said, and squatted down, holding out his hands.
“This doesn’t mean I’m letting you get away with that statue,” Sho warned, putting one socked foot into Nino’s hands, and resting his hands on Nino’s shoulders. They were pleasantly warm, despite the chill in the air.
“Yeah, yeah, just get over the fence,” Nino replied as he stood, helping Sho grab on to the the top of the fence and swing over. Nino shimmied up the gate easily as the sound of the security guards arguing got louder and closer.
“There’s a storage shed over there, quick,” Nino said, making a dash for the western corner of the school yard. He pulled at the door handle and cursed. It hadn’t been locked the day before, but it was shut fast now, and Nino didn’t have picks small enough for it. Sho stopped behind him, and reached around to remove Nino’s hand from the lock.
Nino shivered.
“Move,” ordered Sho, and Nino could have sworn he meant to step sideways, but his traitorous feet made him step back into Sho’s solid chest. He felt, rather than heard, Sho’s low laugh as he took a piece of wire from his suit pocket, expertly picked the lock, and opened the door in under ten seconds
They hurried into the storage shed, Sho yanking the door closed behind them. He started to speak, presumably to try persuade Nino to hand over the statue, and Nino jerked his head towards the door, clapping his hand over Sho’s mouth. As Sho fell silent, Nino realised that he still had his hand on Sho’s mouth, feeling Sho’s lips against his palm. He dropped his hand and stumbled backward, trying to find his footing, but he didn’t get far before hitting the wall of the shed with a thud. The space was tiny, filled with shelves and crates of sports equipment and barely a few feet square of floor to stand up in.
“Stay quiet and we should be okay,” whispered Nino. He slumped on the floor, leaning back against a pile of crates and rolling his shoulders. With barely any space to move, Sho shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.
“You can sit, I won’t bite,” Nino murmured.
Sho bit his lip, then clearly gave in and wedged himself in next to Nino, sitting cross-legged and his knee pressing against Nino’s thigh.
Sho sighed. “Okay, I guess. I’m getting that statue off you later though,” he warned.
Nino pulled out his phone, checked it was set to silent, and sent a message to a gaming friend, letting them know that he would miss the planned session. The light from his phone screen threw a dim glow over Sho’s face, the line of his throat as he loosened his tie, his eyes closed.
Nino grinned, and shifted slightly to press closer, kicking gently at Sho’s ankle. In response, Sho elbowed him in the ribs.
“I can’t believe you took your shoes off to commit a burglary,” Nino said. “And left them in the genkan. You’re probably going to get caught because of that, you know.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t, it’s beyond rudeness to wear shoes on the tatami mats,” Sho replied. “And I have no idea what you’re talking about -- my shoes are in my briefcase. I’m not that stupid.”
“That’s a relief. It’s almost as stupid as wearing a suit to steal a statue. Not exactly designed for subterfuge work, are you?” Nino said.
“I like to be professional during work hours,” replied Sho, brushing some dirt off one sleeve. “Besides, it looks far better on me than casual clothing.”
“It definitely looks good on you,” said Nino without thinking. “Really good.”
There was a long pause.
“Oh. Thank you, that’s. Um,” Sho stuttered. His cheeks were very red in the dim light.
“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to be a creep,” said Nino, shutting off his phone. The shed was almost completely dark, a little moonlight seeping in from the skylight.
“No, no, it’s fine.”
“Sorry,” Nino repeated, staring at the floor. He tried to wiggle away, but there was no space, and Sho’s leg was still pressed against his, shoulder pressed against shoulder, warm and solid.
“I said, it’s fine,” Sho insisted, voice barely above a whisper. Without waiting for a response, he reached up to grasp Nino’s chin, and twisting awkwardly, kissed him.
Nino’s thoughts ground to a halt. Makeouts with a complete stranger in the storage shed of a school was definitely not how he’d planned his evening, but why waste the opportunity?
“Is this okay?” Sho whispered against Nino’s mouth. Nino felt his stomach swoop as Sho’s eyelashes brushed against his cheek, Sho’s gloved hand on his neck.
“Y-yeah, yeah. This is definitely okay,” Nino said breathily. “In fact, I bet I can make it so okay you’ll let me keep the statue.”
“Is that so?” said Sho with a smirk almost as devilish as Nino’s own. “I can be quite persuasive myself, you know,” he continued, trailing one leather-covered finger down Nino’s neck to his collarbone. Nino shivered in spite of himself. “See?” taunted Sho.
“Oh, you’re in for it, buddy,” Nino said and grinned.
He shifted, pushing Sho back against the crates and moving to sit in Sho’s lap, locking his legs around Sho’s waist and leaning in to prove that he could kiss well enough to get exactly what he wanted.
Sho let out a soft ‘ah’ of surprise as Nino kissed the corner of his lips, his jaw, his mouth. Encouraged by Sho’s positive response, kissing back eagerly, Nino slid his hands beneath Sho’s suit jacket, untucking his shirt and touching the soft skin of Sho’s back, feeling the muscles jump under his hands. He kissed Sho languidly, confident as Sho writhed beneath him. Rocking his hips minutely, Nino grinned as Sho let out a gasp.
With a growl under his breath that sent a warm shudder down Nino’s spine, Sho wrapped one hand around the back of Nino’s neck and locked the other around Nino’s wrist, squeezing tightly.
“You think you’ve got me, huh?” murmured Sho, pulling Nino flush against him and biting down on his earlobe. Nino couldn’t stop the moan that escaped him, and as Sho trailed kisses down his neck, tangled his hand in Nino’s hair and tugged firmly, Nino suddenly suspected that this plan to get the statue might have backfired.
A sudden bang on the wall nearly made Nino jump out of his skin with fright. The door opened and torchlight flooded in, making Nino squint and cover his eyes.
“Oi, you two, -- oh.” The stranger’s voice fell silent as Sho grabbed Nino’s face with both hands and kissed him with considerable enthusiasm. He quickly broke the kiss, and glared at the interruption.
“Do you mind,” Sho said, sounding for all the world like an aggrieved member of the public who had been rudely interrupted in the middle of a theatre performance.
“We’re looking, uh, looking for a thief… have you seen anything?”
Sho frowned, and Nino tried not to laugh. “Does it look like we’d have seen anything?” he replied icily. “We’ve been here for --” Sho checked his watch “ -- about an hour. And I’ve seen nothing but my esteemed friend here.”
Nino swallowed a laugh, letting out a strangled cough, and buried his face in Sho’s shoulder.
“Ah, is that so…”
Nino felt Sho nod. “My business card, if you need to be touch at all.” Sho pulled a card out of his breast pocket and handed it to the security guard. “And now, if you’d be so kind,” he said, pointedly placing a firm hand on Nino’s back.
“Of course, erm, certainly. Thank you, Kimura-sama.” The security guard closed the shed door quietly, and Nino let out a sigh a relief.
“Good save. How’d you convince them to leave so quickly?” Nino asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
Sho smiled. “I have several business cards. I just chose the one that implied I was a very highly ranked employee at the security firm.”
Nino whistled, impressed. “Nicely done. But don’t think that means I’ll let you get that statue,” he said, punctuating his words with a firm kiss.
“I guess we’ll have to continue this… discussion until it’s decided. But I have a suggestion,” Sho replied, licking a hot stripe up Nino’s neck and smirking at the Nino’s resulting shiver.
“Mmm?”
“Let’s take it to a bedroom. I’m cold, this suit is going to need a serious dry clean, and sexy as getting caught is, I don’t want to hang around if the security team figures out that I’m not actually Kimura Takuya, Vice-President, Strategic Operations.”
Nino laughed. “Done. Let’s get out here.”
After a thorough and prolonged negotiation at a nearby hotel, Sho offered Nino a job and half the bonus from successfully returning the statue.
Nino accepted, as long as he didn’t have to wear a suit.
~fin~
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I love how awkward both of the thieves are, and it seemed like they were destined to meet ;)
Sho is so "Sho" with his suit and his politeness even though he's stealing lol
I like the idea of sakumiya "negotiating" for a while at the hotel XD
I enjoyed reading your story! Thank you!
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I like the idea of Nino having a chance to work with others now, and I'm glad he helped Sho out even if he could have left him behind to get caught ♥
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