give me that cardigan, you snotty scoundrel

04. stars (ohno/nino, g)

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:43:54 GMT

Title: stars
Pairing: Ohno/Nino
Rating: G
Words: 441
Notes: Short and pointless, written at work. Not beta-ed :x
Based on the Popolo October interview, translated by saladesu here.

Sakurai: And the lovey-dovey-ness between you and Nino has increased too, hasn't it?
Aiba: The two of you, are you dating? An intra-group love?
Matsumoto: It's okay if you use our 10th anniversary as a coming-out, you know.
Ninomiya: And what would you do, if we were serious (laughs)?
Matsumoto: If that's the case, do it quietly.

“You can’t blame him, Nino,” Ohno said patiently, knowing perfectly that Nino didn’t need to hear it.
“I know. I don’t blame him, I just wish…” Nino sighed, shrugging slightly. “He’s always the first to get all hyped up when we talk about it, and yet…”
He made a frustrated noise and sat on the couch awkwardly, legs and arms crossed, face closed.
“But that’s the point, right?” Ohno said quietly. “We’re just for fun, something to joke about, to make fans and journalists excited.”
“But it’s Sho, it’s different,” Nino insisted, pouting slightly, and for a second, he sounded small and lonely. “He could understand,” he said. “Should understand.”
“Maybe he doesn’t want to,” Ohno replied softly. “They can’t all take the news like Jun did.”
At that, Nino let out a quiet, breathless laugh, ducked his head shyly.
Jun was not stupid. When Nino had come to him after the interview, all smile and tease, and said “That was a pretty serious answer, Jun-kun~!” Jun had stared at him blankly for a while. And then, he had said, in this soft and serious tone that said Arashi means more to me than it does to you and you know it, “I meant it.”
Nino’s lips quirked into a tiny, thoughtful smile.
“They can’t, right?”
Ohno slowly made his way to the couch and sat beside him, bumping their shoulders together. Nino picked at something on Ohno’s jeans.
“Do you think they’ll make us choose?”
Ohno shrugged.
“No.”
There was a silence.
“Doesn’t mean we won’t have to.”
Nino nodded quietly, eyes on the pattern of Ohno’s pants. For a moment, Ohno wondered if Nino was going to ask him what he would choose, but he knew better, and Nino didn’t ask.
“We should go back.”
Nino nodded again. They stood up, and looked at each other. Then Ohno made an incredibly stupid face, puffing his cheeks, crossing his eyes and scrunching up his nose all at the same time. Nino giggled and punched his shoulder weakly.
“You’re stupid.”
Ohno laughed and shrugged, humming an indifferent “if you say so.” When they left the room, Nino put a bright smile on his face and took Ohno’s hand, threading their fingers together loosely. He didn’t squeeze, didn’t hold tighter than usual.
Two hours later, when the journalist asked “Isn’t Ohno-san and Ninomiya-san's relationship strange?” Sho, Jun and Aiba burst out laughing.
“It is, right?” Aiba nodded cheerfully.
Ohno and Nino grinned at each other.
“We’re just for fun, seriously,” Nino answered with a smirk. “There’s nothing more to it than what you see on TV.”
Under the table, his fingers were tracing stars on Ohno’s knee.

03. Koki's eyebrows' magical adventures (3, g)

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:56:16 GMT

Title : A few more or less realistic hypotheses on the hows and whys of Takana Koki's eyebrows
Fandom : KAT-TUN OTL
Rating : G
Genre : utter crack
Summary : Tanaka Koki used to be a very cute kid. No, really.
Notes : I do not know anything about Kat-tun, but brvd has a fetish for Koki's eyebrows. Being the considerate friend that I am, I had to do something to help her satisfy her obsession. These were written mostly on the train. Since they don't require a lot of intellectual work, there might be more. (please, brvd, don't make me write more.)
Warning : the author is being mean to Kamenashi Kazuya.
Beta : are you kidding? I would never inflict that on my beta, she doesn't deserve something so horrible. Expect terrible grammar and various (but hopefully creative) mistakes!

#1
Words : 768

When Koki was fifteen, there was this girl who lived in his neighborhood. Her name was Mika, she was small, delicate and nice, and Koki liked her. They would walk to school together, and she would laugh at every joke Koki made and say "Koki, you're so silly!", hitting his arm playfully and laughing some more. When he was still half-asleep after a night of wild fantasies (not that he had these kind of thoughts about her, no! It was his brain, you see), she would nudge his shoulder gently until he managed to break out into a goofy-yet-not-totally-there smile and say "Aw, Koki you're cute!" Sometimes, she would even hold his hands and play with his fingers (it never failed to make Koki go rigid and his eyes turn dreamy). Needless to say, he was completely head over heels for her, and stared at her adoringly every time she smiled, or talked to him. One day, after ten months of burning (yet as-contained-as-possible) passion, Koki decided to confess. On their way to school, he gathered all his courage to tell her to meet him at the school gate at the end of her classes.
"I have something I want to tell you," he said, eyes glued to the ground, his cheeks a wonderful shade of pink.
"What is it?" she asked, oblivious, smiling brightly, her eyes shining in the sunlight. She looked so beautiful that Koki thought he would cry.
"It's…it's a secret!" he mumbled hastily before running away (trying not to make it look like he was actually running, because that would have been sort of really un-cool, you know.) In his attempt at fleeing without being too obvious about it, he only had the time to hear a sweet "Ah, Koki's so cute~!" and had to clench his jaw to keep from sobbing with happiness. He spent the whole day trying to find the best confession, the perfect way to tell her how much exactly he loved her, and got repeatedly scolded by his teachers for not paying attention to the class. He ignored them. Today was no day to get concerned about school. Today was an important day. Today, Koki was on a mission, and he was going to succeed! Mika was going to become his girlfriend. And then, in a few years, she was going to become his wife! And then, they were going to have kids, and they were going to live in a small house near the sea and Koki was going to become a famous rapper, and they were going to be the happiest couple in Japan, and it was going to be absolutely perfect. And, and… of course, having kids meant that they were going to… Ohhh… Ahh….
"TANAKA KOKI! THE CLASSROOM IS NOT THE PLACE TO DO THAT SORT OF THINGS!"
He hit his hand loudly against his desk when he tried to get it out of his pants.
When the bell rang at the end of the class and Koki realized that school was over for the day, he almost fainted from a sudden rush of nervousness, and had to run to the nearest bathroom to count all the tiles between the window and the third tap to calm himself.
When he reached the school gate, Mika was already waiting for him. The light breeze was blowing gently through her hair. She was so stunning just standing there that Koki's heart ached, and he would probably have stood where he was, simply watching her, if someone had not bumped into him, making him fall face first onto the floor (a painful, yet effective way of getting him out of his trance.)
"Ah, sorry, sorry!" the guy said as he helped Koki back up. Koki waved his hand dismissively, still staring lovingly at Mika's lonely figure. Clenching his fists, he took a deep breath and walked resolutely towards the gate.
To this day, Koki still does not know where things went wrong. One minute he was telling her that he loved her and would do anything for her ("Really? Oh! Koki! I am so happy!" she had hugged him and Koki had cried), and the next, he was waking up wearing a pink dress, purple tights, high heels, a blond wig, some flashy blue powder on his eyelids and very artistically shaped eyebrows. It was only after he found the note ("Thank you so much, Koki-chan! That was so nice of you to agree to my silly request! I've always wanted a little sister, and Koki is just so cute! Let's play again sometime, ne? ♥") that Koki realized that, maybe, they were not going to be the happiest couple in Japan, after all.

#2
Words : 546

Koki has a sister three years older than him. They have a typical brother-sister relationship: he tells her she's ugly and dumb and that the only way she could get someone to date her would be to wait on a street corner in a mini skirt with a FREE sign covering her boobs ("Not that there is much to hide anyway."), and she tells him that he's weak and so un-manly that he'll never be able to do anyone, since his balls will probably never come down. They love each other very much.
One evening, Koki's sister holds a small party ("Don't interfere and don't bother us. It's a girls night, you wouldn't understand," she says. Then "Oh, wait.") so he stays in his room, sewing and old shirt, hearing giggles and high-pitched screams erupting from his sister's room from time to time. He doesn't really pay any attention to it until his own door bursts open and his sister and three of her friends come barging into his room, grinning like maniacs. Koki starts, and looks warily at his sister, unconsciously listing all the possible exits.
"You've got a really creepy gleam in your eyes, sis," he says in what he hopes is a soothing voice, trying not to panic (they can smell it when you're afraid.)
"GET HIM!" his sister yells, and Koki doesn't have the time to do anything before he's suddenly pressed into his mattress, his sister's friends pinning him there, holding his hands and feet so tightly that he briefly wonders if they're really girls (he's sure he doesn't have that much strength himself. And NO he is not weak.) For a split second, though, Koki finds himself enjoying the situation: his sister's friends are quite pretty, and the one holding is feet is bending forward and, why that's a very nice shirt she has there, the loose collar is particularly interesting; but then, his sister fishes something out of her pocket. Koki doesn't identify the material at first, but when he does, he starts to panic.
Wax.
"Don't you DARE!" he roars, struggling against the girls.
"Well, none of us have tried before, so we need to know if it really hurt, you see." his sisters says, shrugging.
"I don't care, you can hurt all you want, don't come close to me!"
"It'll be quick! I promise!" she chirps happily.
"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!"
Of course, she doesn't listen and climbs next to him onto the bed, smiling innocently as he squirms frenetically. Her smile disappears when she rolls up his pants, though.
"Oh my god," she gasps, horrified, "you really are a girl."
Koki screeches and tries to free himself.
"Where is your leg hair?" his sister asks, offended.
"I'M ONLY FOURTEEN, I DON'T HAVE ANY, YOU SHAGGY MONSTER!"
He regrets his words as soon as he sees his sister's eyes narrowing dangerously. She stares at him, looking up and down his body, and her face lights up when her eyes stills on his forehead. Koki freezes.
"No," he murmurs frantically. "No, no, no, no, no!"
"It won't hurt, I promise," she says gently, creeping closer.
"No it won't, because you are not putting this thing on me!"
"Girls," Koki's sister says, "hold him!"
Koki shrieks.

#3
Words : 945
Note : maybe not so much crack in this one, huh.

When Tanaka Koki enters Johnny's Entertainment, he is far from being the manliest of the bunch, but he is also far from being the girliest, and takes comfort in that thought (besides, who would even think of finding anything remotely manly in a group of twelve year old Japanese boys, anyway?). He works, makes friends and grows up to be someone he's content to be. When he starts getting more and more exposure, Koki is excited yet slightly nervous. Of course, it doesn't mean anything for sure, but when you enter Johnny's Jimusho, the idea is that, somewhere along the line, you get to debut, right? Koki likes singing and can even write his own lyrics. Given the chance, of course he'd love to show what he can do, but somehow, he's still unsure. And then, one day, he's told that he's been placed in a unit called KAT-TUN with five other boys. He knows their names, has even already talked to them a handful of times. They're not his friends, but at least they're not complete strangers. It's already better than some of them had hoped for.
As soon as they're more or less properly introduced, things get crazy. KAT-TUN was supposed to be a temporary unit, but they gained a lot of attention, and the management decides to keep the formation. Soon, they become a solid unit, and people start talking about image, genre, characters, clothes, new names, advertisements, songs. Koki gets more and more photoshoots. Each one transforms him into a different person. He doesn't really understand what their management is trying to do, but he doesn't say anything. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he is not sure that anyone would listen anyway. Here he is, the proud member of a brand new band produced by Johnny's Entertainment, the shiny commercial pop factory.
His favourite type of music is reggae. Obviously, they don't care about his opinion.
Then, without him having the time to process what's happening, decisions are made, and he's sitting in front of a mirror, a dozen make-up assistant fussing over him, touching him and putting things on his face. It's all a little overwhelming, because now Koki is sure, he knows what it means, so, even if he's still wary, he doesn't complain and thinks of all the things he'll be able to do now. KAT-TUN doesn't sound so bad, after all. He wonders how it will look on the cover of their first single. Maybe he will even be allowed to sing his own lyrics.
Maybe he is actually going to be an artist, a real one.
When the assistants are done with him, and he emerges from the cloud of white powder floating around him, what little hope he had crumbles and dies with a faint whimper.
Koki has always been far from being the manliest, but he has never been the girliest, either. It's what he had always thought. As he sees his reflection, though, all thoughts of "manly", and "real artist" fly from his head, and he can only stare, horrified. "A Johnny's boy," he snorts. For the first time, the words taste sour on his tongue. It's not that he minds, not really. He just wishes they wouldn't have… overdone it. Okay, so his skin looks pretty and smooth, and his eyes shine like he's a healthy and enthusiastic schoolboy. But did they absolutely have to shape his eyebrows that much? The way he sees it now, it is not facial features enhancement. It is creative debacle. He looks like a contestant for the election of Miss Japan. He knows that this look is the result of researches on what sells best, and that he will get used to it, eventually; that doesn't mean he would not have liked to have his word in it, though, or even simply have someone ask him if it was okay with him. His short, manly haircut is the only thing that prevents him to run to the nearest pharmacy to buy of stock of steroids.
He stands up in a daze, and drags himself to the restroom with KAT-TUN written clearly on the door. Kamenashi is the only one in. He looks up when Koki enters, and Koki can see on his face the moment Kamenashi notices the artistic battle that took place on his forehead.
"You look like a girl," Kamenashi states flatly. Hearing the words coming from him makes it ten times worst for Koki, who has to inhale deeply to avoid doing something he might (or might not) regret later.
"Yeah, you should know, huh, Veronica," he deadpans.
Kamenashi glares, but chooses not to answer (with a hairstyle like his, it would only be laughable, anyway, Koki thinks. Kame should just come out and admit he's a transgender, already.)
He leaves the room without another glance at his bandmate, and heads for his manager's office. On the way, he walks by an empty restroom with a TV on. It's a broadcast of Hanamaru Café, with Sakurai Sho as guest. Koki stops, and watches the screen with utter fascination. Sakurai Sho is one of the few Johnny's that the fans consider manly. Koki doesn't know him, but he has always respected him. Sakurai managed to balance Johnny's and Keio at the same time, after all. He is well-spoken. He is not the official leader of Arashi, but even the leader himself says they would have been better off chosing Sakurai instead of him. Sakurai… Koki's eyes widen, and, suddenly, it clicks. He runs to his manager's office, and comes in without knocking.
"Manager-san!"
"Oh! Koki-kun! You're prett…"
"I want to sing rap!"

I am terribly sorry m(_ _)m

02. ficlets 01 (5, various pairings/ratings)

Wed, 13 May 2009 11:55:48 GMT

#1
Pairing: none (Sho/Nino friendship)
Rating: G
Words: 124
- Sakurai-kun, what do you think about all of this? Are you happy you got to debut? the reporter asked sweetly, microphone ready.
Sho fidgeted in his seat and cast a quick glance at the boy beside him. Nino hadn't said a single word since the beginning of the interview and had answered to direct questions with short sentences. He'd been polite and had told the reporter exactly what she wanted to hear, but Sho could see how tight his smile was, he could hear how fake his answers sounded and feel how uneasy and powerless Nino felt.
Tomorrow we'll tell them we want to quit, okay Sho-chan?
The reporter looked at him expectantly and Sho smiled warmly.
I hate it, he thought.

#2
Pairing: Aiba/Jun
Rating: PG-13
Words: 174
It starts slowly - always has and, Aiba hopes, always will. Even now, Jun is still shy about some things and not completely comfortable in his own skin, so Aiba doesn't push. He touches gently, kisses slowly. Jun helps him take off his shirt and Aiba smiles, sweet and slightly teasing. Jun smiles back, happy, excited and anxious all at the same time. Aiba reaches for Jun's belt buckle and stops. Jun swallows and nods and Aiba kisses him again, slowly, slowly. He knows Jun wants it and he knows Jun is not going to break if he goes faster, but Aiba still takes his time. Because, Jun is special and Jun deserves it. Because, maybe, just maybe, Aiba is a little in love with Jun, and he wants these moments to last. Because, when he wakes up Jun will be gone and the only way for Aiba to be sure it happened outside of his own mind is to touch Jun long enough to burn the feel of his skin under his fingertips.

#3
Pairing: none (implied one-sided Sho/Nino, Ohno/Nino, Aiba/Jun)
Rating: G
Words: 500
Ohno often imagines that Sho will be the first to snap. He imagines that, one day, Sho will enter the break room, go straight to Nino and tell him to stop. He’ll tell him that he's in love with him, has always been, and he can't stand watching him play with Ohno anymore, because, really, if you need it that much, why don't you let me, Nino? Ohno imagines the deafening silence that follows, the panicked expression on Nino's face that says "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," because Nino knew, Nino always knows. Ohno imagines the sudden shock when Sho's words finally sink in, the sound of his blood pounding in his ears until he can't hear anything else and his head starts to spin. He imagines Nino leaving his side, because Nino would never hurt Sho more than he already has, and the sudden cold that settles inside him. He imagines their world falling apart, slowly, inevitably; Nino sticking to Aiba, Aiba torn between Sho, Nino and his own desires, Sho, ashamed, avoiding Nino and reaching for him at the same time, and Jun desperately trying to keep everyone together while Ohno gradually drifts away, silent, unfocused. Ohno imagines how scary and wrong it would be and finds himself suddenly panicking when he thinks that it could happen and when it does, he won't know what to do, he won't be able to fix things, he won't…
- Captain's asleep again!
Ohno blinks and looks up at the other four.
- You shouldn't be sleeping at work, Leader! Aiba giggles happily.
He's sitting next to Jun, leaning on him just enough so that their arms are touching but not enough to bother him while he's reading . Ohno notices that the way Jun holds his book suggests that Aiba might have been reading with him.
- I wasn't sleeping, he says with a slight pout. I was thinking.
He hears Sho chuckle next to him. Sho is standing behind the couch, leaning on the backrest to look at what Nino is doing. Nino is sitting cross-legged right beside Ohno and playing with his cards, probably trying a new trick, Ohno thinks.
- And what were you thinking about? Nino asks without turning his eyes away from his cards.
Sho turns his head to look at Ohno and smiles at him. Ohno smiles back.
- Us, he answers genuinely. We're great.
There's a silence and Jun looks up from his book to stare at Ohno before Aiba and Sho start laughing. Jun sighs painfully and rolls his eyes but there's a tiny smile on his lips when he goes back to reading. Nino doesn't say anything but Ohno sees him tuck his chin in and try to hide his grin.
- You can just tell us when you're not thinking about anything, we won't scold you, you know, Sho says, still laughing.
- Don't worry, Oh-chan, we still love you, Nino says kindly and pats his knee.
Aiba giggles.
Ohno smiles.

#4
Pairing: none (Aiba/Nino)
Rating: PG for violence
Words: 363
Note: AU
The sudden shock of the cold, hard, concrete wall against his back makes him choke and cough a few drops of blood as his legs give up. He slides limply to the floor, his whole body shaking from the pain.
He knows he should get up and run - it's too late to win anyway, he might as well try to save his life - but he cannot detach his mind from what he's just seen.
- Masaki? he coughs. Masaki, is that you?
The man in front of him covers his shoulder hastily and reaches out to grab his throat.
- I don't know what you're talking about.
Raw, smoky voice. Of course you know what I'm talking about, he thinks but the grip on his throat tightens and he cannot talk anymore. It is too late now, so he doesn't even try to struggle out of the hold that is slowly taking his life. Instead, he uses what remains of his strength to keep his eyes open and stare at the mask in front of him where he guesses the eyes of his enemy must be. There is so much he wants to say that his head starts spinning. where have you been, did I hurt you, it's been so long, are you happy, why did you leave, I love you, it's okay if you kill me, I was so worried, I missed you. He doesn't realize he's crying until he chokes on his sobs, the hand on his throat preventing any release. He's fairly sure he can hear someone crying, though, but he wouldn't be surprised if his senses were deceiving him. He can't really have seen the birthmark, after all. The stranger rests his head on his shoulder and shakes slightly as his grip tightens even more.
- I'm not him. I'm not him, Nino, I'm not him.
His whole body feels numb, he would almost laugh if he could breathe. Don't say my name, idiot.
- I guess not, he manages to whisper, throat burning, choking on his words as they struggle to get out. You're not.
He closes his eyes and lets the other cry for him.

#5
Pairing: none (Ohmiya being silly)
Rating: G
Words: 391
- I don't get it, Aiba said, looking at his outfit in the mirror. How are we supposed to do that part where we walk with our hands in our pockets and look all cool if we can't put our hands in said pockets?
On the other side of the room, Jun was already talking to the staff while Sho was still resolutely trying to stuff his hands into his tiny pants pockets (only two knuckles in, he gave up when his face started to become dangerously red.)
They both turned to look at Jun when the young man came back, visibly frustrated.
- So? Sho asked.
- We have to keep these costumes since they're the only ones that fit under the coats we'll be wearing for the song before and, as it is planned, we won't have time for a proper costume change.
There was a short silence before Aiba asked:
- Can't we ask Leader to change the dance? Just for this part?
Jun shrugged, still thinking.
- Captain!
Ohno looked up at the other three. He had pulled on his costume as well and was fiddling with one of the shirt buttons.
- What do you think? Sho asked, indicating his outfit to make sure Ohno knew what they were talking about.
Ohno pouted, tapped his own pockets reflectively and turned to gaze sleepily at the couch where Nino was playing his DS. Nino hadn't bothered to put on his costume, hadn't said anything when the problem was brought up, and seemed to be completely oblivious to the situation, trusting the others to find a solution.
- Nino, Ohno called.
Nino paused his game and looked at Ohno. When the older man said nothing, he asked: "What?" Ohno stared pointedly at Nino's hands and gestured towards his own costume expectantly. Nino blinked, then stood up and went to press himself against Ohno's back before reaching around and sliding his hands into Ohno's front pockets. He wriggled his fingers a little (Ohno giggled) and, two seconds later, both his hands were in up to the wrist. He made a vague questioning sound and, when Ohno nodded happily, rested his head on the older man's shoulder.
- This costume is fine, Ohno said with a big, stupid grin.
Jun ignored them and went back to talking to the staff.

(many thanks to cupcake4mafia for the beta :D)

01. Silence (ohno/nino, pg)

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:58:45 GMT

Title : Silence
Pairing : Ohno/Nino
Rating : PG-13
Genre : pure fluff
Words : 707
Summary : Nino doesn't speak, Ohno knows why but sometimes he still wants Nino to tell him.
Notes : First fic, not beta-ed, if you've read the first post of the journal, then you know what to expect. (Come on, you know you want to take a look, if only to satisfy your curiosity)

The first time they made love, Ohno had been surprised to find out that Nino was the silent type. He hadn't really given much thought to how Nino would be in bed - had rather tried to avoid the subject completely - but, as he was trailing kisses along Nino's jaw, his hands sliding along the young man's sides, hips fitting perfectly between his thighs, he couldn't help thinking that, somehow, it made amazing sense. Nino talked to make people comfortable; Nino was loud when someone needed a distraction; Nino whined and complained when everyone else was too tired to.
Here, with Ohno above him, Nino kept his eyes closed, let his hands wander on Ohno's skin and kept quiet. Sometimes, he inhaled sharply before letting out a shuddering breath and pull Ohno just a bit closer, but he didn't speak. No I love you whispered in Ohno's ear, no Satoshi breathed in the space between their lips, not a word but Ohno knew why. The reason made him warm inside and made him want to smile and hold Nino tighter but he knew Nino would laugh at him if he did. Yet, sometimes, only sometimes, he couldn't help it, didn't even want to.
Yielding to his urges, he nuzzled against Nino's neck, kissed the skin behind his ear softly and murmured a playful Nino~ to which Nino didn't answer, but that was okay, because Ohno didn't expect an answer yet. He brushed his lips over the younger man's throat, let one hand rest on his hips while the other skated up his side, long fingers lightly tickling Nino's oversensitive skin, to comb through his hair, gently holding the back of his head. Nino. Nino, Nino, Nino~. Nino, eyes still closed, lifted his head towards Ohno's, silently asking for a kiss, a hint of a smile forming on his lips. Ohno kissed his cheek, his nose, his eyelids, the corner of his lips and Nino laughed quietly and tried blindly to catch Ohno's lips for a proper kiss but Ohno just grinned until Nino gave up and let his head fall back into Ohno's hand. Nino was smiling too now, a small, contended smile that didn't show his teeth and wasn't meant to be charming in any way and Ohno thought that Nino looked happy. Nino, he said again, and Nino sighed dramatically but his smile widened as Ohno laughed and kissed him fully on the lips before moving to any part of Nino he could reach. Nino I love you. Kiss. I love you. Kiss. I love you I love you I love you. Nino laughed breathlessly his boyish, awkward laugh, slapped the back of Ohno's head and used the movement to sneak his arm around Ohno's shoulders and pull him down until he could bury his face in Ohno's neck. Ohno let himself be pulled down and waited, grinning, until Nino dropped his arm and allowed Ohno to pull back just enough to be able to look at him. He pecked Nino on the lips and waited again. The younger man shifted a little under him and, finally, opened his eyes.
- Hi, Ohno said softly.
- Hi, Nino answered, so quietly that Ohno read the word on Nino's lips more than heard it.
Nino was smiling and looking straight into his eyes and Ohno thought again that he looked happy.
- I love you, he said once more.
Nino didn't twitch, didn't bite his lips nor look away. He nodded once and said:
- I know.
Ohno didn't respond but felt his heart explode a little and the warmth spread within him until he couldn't contain himself and hugged Nino tight, tight, tight. Nino hugged back and Ohno's grin was so wide he was sure he looked like a maniac but Nino didn't seem to mind or even care and it was okay because Ohno knew that Nino didn't only look happy, he was, and that was all that mattered. He pulled back again to look at Nino and saw that the look in his eyes had changed. He chuckled.
- I love you.
Nino's smile turned impish as he rolled his eyes and shifted again.
- Sure. Let me top now.
Ohno laughed.