And now, some more Finding Nino.

[ciircee]

ETA: BEFORE YOU READ THE FIC.

Some of you know that I play a part in beinghuman_rp. Short story: It's a game set in modern day NYC, only the mythical beings of stories aren't so mythical. They live and work and play right along with everybody else.

I play misono_soup and the reason I am actually talking about it instead of pretending I don't play a total loon is because I was talking to sunny_yesung and we've decided that Misono and Yesung could use an adult. A Siwon adult. As in: I am kind of clawing the walls because SIWON. With MISONO AND YESUNG. And they're nuts and Siwon is a gentleman and wouldn't that be awesome? Don't you want to be our Siwon? No? Nobody wants to be Siwon and complete our happy, functionally dysfunctional family? You wouldn't have to visit the porn shop where Misono works! You wouldn't have to eat the weird ass food at Yesung's job!

Please think about it? We could really use more Koreans even if you DON'T want to be the adult in our happy household.

And now for what you're REALLY here for: Fic.

Links to past parts! NOW IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER: First and second. Even though this was written after some other stuff, this is three. Reposted to my own journal and backdated, there is part four. Then--after a jump of several months time-- part five. After, we come to part six, part seven, eight, and part nine. I hate you, deadfic.

This takes place directly before part six.



He's waiting to ambush Nino outside the pet shop when Nino's sister ambushes him. "Satoshi-kun," she says softly, right in his ear from directly behind him.

Ohno's spent ten years dealing with Aiba flinging himself on his back and being loud in his ears so Kazue's approach actually startles him deeply. He nearly elbows her in the face as he leaps. "Ah! Kazue-san," he manages once he's no longer flailing, his heart still rabbiting in his chest. A quick glance at the shop window shows him that Nino is watching him, laughing openly. So much for surprising Nino and getting to drive him home; Nino is devious enough to go out the backdoor or the window and take the long way home. "Aw, crap," Ohno sighs.

Kazue smiles at him. "Come walking with me, Satoshi-kun," she says. She's smiling and so sweetly that Ohno knows she's up to something. Whenever Nino has that smile, that's what it means. "Mom's invited you round for dinner anyhow, so he can't avoid you if he wants to come home and have free food tonight."

This makes Ohno smile. "Okay. I really want to see him again. He's been avoiding me."

"Mmm," Kazue hums in agreement and starts walking. Ohno falls into step with her automatically. For a while, as they pass through the village, Ohno thinks it is going be a silent—and perhaps mildly uncomfortable—walk. But once they hit the outskirts of the village, Kazue sighs. "My mother will never say anything against Kazunari's choices," she says.

"Uh." Ohno stuffs his hands in his pockets. "She's a good mom. I really like her."

Wrong thing to say, he thinks, as Kazue gives him an annoyed, sidelong glance. "She won't because she made her own bad choices so who is she to make a judgment, right? That's the way she feels."

Ohno has a bad feeling about this in the pit of his stomach but he doesn't say anything about it. "It takes courage to let go?" he offers.

This time Kazue's look is not sidelong, it's full on and definitely annoyed. "She won't say anything but I will," she tells him, stopping at the bend in the road that will take them to the Ninomiya house. "My brother is an idiot when he has feelings for somebody. If they hurt him, he'll blame himself. If they're hurting, he'll blame himself. When they leave him, it's his fault. Because of this, he'll give his all when he's in a relationship, do you understand?"

Nino is fearless in love is what Ohno understands. Nino is fearless of being himself; whatever anybody else might think, Nino will do as Nino will do. Ohno envies him and is at times almost a little afraid of him. "Yes," he says.

Kazue puffs up her cheeks and blows out a breath. And though she and Nino don't look much alike, he can suddenly see it in her. That same impish charm, that charming irritation, the ill-disguised impatience. "Then I'm going to be very frank with you, Satoshi-kun. If there comes a time when you think you can say forever to him, you had better do it openly or else I'll destroy you."

"What?" Ohno is not sure what she's talking about anymore.

Pressing her hands to her cheeks and looking at him in despair, Kazue looks even more like her brother than before. "Look, there are plenty of people who will have Kazunari but they all do it in secret. Kazunari agrees because…well, who knows why? People will judge any guy who spends a lot of time with him. Because he's openly a gay. So he lets people lie to spare them."

Despite only having had one tiny, surprise kiss with Nino, Ohno is still a little jealous when he hears about Nino's past lovers. And a little turned on, truthfully, but more jealous than anything. "Yes?" he tries without much hope. He's not sure what, if anything, Kazue wants from him right now. Kazue pull her hands down, dragging on her face and she looks so much like her brother. "You're cute," Ohno says without thinking. "You look just like Nino."

She punches him hard on the arm. "Pay attention, you spacey brat!" she barks. But she's smiling at him, just a little. It's not truly happy but it's truly there. She folds her arms and they're tight to her stomach, almost as though she's feeling a little sick. "My brother was born illegitimately, the product of a forbidden relationship," she tells him bluntly.

It's a little shocking. Ohno has known that Nino and Kazue are only half-siblings—their last names make that obvious—but he hadn't known this. "Oh."

Kazue is still smiling. "He was such an ugly little baby," she says softly. "My ugly little brother." She sighs. "All his life he's been somebody's dirty laundry. It hurts him but he accepts it for love. He's always thinking about ways to protect the ones he loves from being hurt. He really likes you a lot, Satoshi-kun. Out of everybody who isn't his family, you could hurt him the most."

"I'm not going anywhere," Ohno says the first thing that comes to mind. He can't imagine his life without Nino in it. Not on Niijima, not anywhere.

"He's used to being left, that's nothing to him anymore," Kauze waves her hands dismissively. "But if you take him, do it openly. If you keep him as your shameful secret, it'll hurt him until it's a poisonous wound." She puts her hand on his wrist and squeezes, tight and painful until Ohno stares at her with wide, wide eyes. "I won't let anybody hurt him. If I can, I won't let anybody hurt Kazunari, you understand?"

Ohno nods dumbly. "But I—"

"I know you can't come out openly to all of Japan about this," Kauze makes a sound of impatience. "There is a lot to consider with your career as an idol star. But in this place? With friends in that one? Do it openly or not at all."

Nodding again, Ohno manages to say, "I—"

"You've been doing good so far, Satoshi-kun!" Kauze says almost chirpily as she lets go of him. "Properly being his friend despite knowing he was a gay, keeping after him when he tries to walk off. Those are admirable qualities, especially when I think he's just begging for a kick in the ass. So keep it up!"

For a moment Ohno just stands there as Nino's sister walks away from him, up the slope of the drive to the house. He scrambles after her. "About this—" he says.

"It's chilly out here," Kazue interrupts. "Mom's making curry rice and you know she's not going to bother reheating it if we're late, so hurry up!"

He catches up to her at the door. "About this—I've got your seal of approval, right?" Why would she warn him if he didn't? Or tell him to keep it up? "If I can do this right, you approve?"

Kazue snorts and goes inside.

Ohno stands outside the door for a moment longer. Not only does he have approval, he realizes, but he's got a chance. A real one. Grinning, he goes inside. Nino's going to be home soon and he wants to be firmly ensconced when he shows up. Because he's not going anywhere and he's not changing his course and it's time Nino knows it if he doesn't already. "Sorry for intruding!" he calls and he's never meant it less in his whole life.

Comments

[still-ciircee.livejournal.com]

I'm glad that you still love it! It's been so long since I've done anything with it. Thank you~!

[littlealex.livejournal.com]

don't worry about that! I forget how long it's been since the last one anyway ;)