rinoahyuna

Breathe
Ohno/Nino, PG/Fluff, 1k words
Wonderlove : The story of how Ohmiya came to be, part 3
Also available in AO3

The other three have long been asleep, their exhaustion evident in the way they’ve foregone going back to their own rooms to sleep and just decided on camping there, squeezed tight on Ohno’s relatively small bed and giving him and Ohno just enough space to crawl through, Ohno’s back on the wall and Nino squeezed so close to him that Nino could very well feel Ohno’s every release of breath against his forehead.

He’d wanted to go back to the room he was sharing with Aiba, but Ohno had insisted he stay as well, saying he didn’t want him to feel lonely since he would be sleeping alone. He would have declined, really, but Ohno’s invitation had felt genuine that he was unable to say no. Besides, it wasn’t like he had every reason to complain, not really, especially when Leader was warm and he was kind of the best when it came to cuddling.

“We were supposed to talk about Arashi, right?” he sighed when Ohno’s fingers lifted from shoulder to his hair and settled there, his fingernails scratching Nino’s scalp in a way that should be anything but blissful, though it really was. Nino hadn’t realized this was something he would enjoy; Ohno obviously had a lot on his sleeve that was to make Nino content and pliant next to him like this.

Nino often wondered if it should scare him, these moments of quiet stillness with Ohno knowing they weren’t all that to begin with. How could they be, when he could feel the way his heart beating unevenly in his chest at the closeness? When not only that, but the way his body reacted in the most inappropriate way when he could smell Ohno’s aftershave like this?

In a way, it was terrifying; he got that, but what choice did he have besides hating himself for feeling this way? It wasn’t like all of it was intentional; far from it, really. Somehow, he could only accept it, the same way he would about everything else that made him who he was, now.

Ohno hummed in that soft, soft way that made him sound old, older than he was as he pulled Nino closer. It should be illegal, Nino thought, the way Ohno held him close and made him feel so goddamn vulnerable when he was anything but.

“I’d prefer it better if you try and use words, Leader,” he murmured into Ohno’s chest, meaning it to sound as if he was teasing but it only came out a little husky instead. What the hell was happening to him? “Seriously.”

That obviously tickled Ohno, for some reason, because then he was chuckling, the sound bordering laughter, and Nino’s heart backflipped in his chest. Jesus Christ.

“I thought Yuuji doesn’t need Taka to talk to understand him?” Ohno said, sounding serious though Nino was certain that was just his brain telling him that. Ohno was also pulling at him and soon, Nino felt something soft against the start of his hair, before drifting to his eyebrow and staying there.

God, what was he supposed to say to that? “Don’t be stupid,” he snapped, but even that sounded flat in his ears. He sighed and just gave up pretending he wasn’t digging this, folding his arm around Ohno’s waist and burying his face against Ohno’s clavicle to nuzzle that spot. “Sometimes, Yuuji needs to hear words, too, from Taka. How could Yuuji know what to do, if Taka doesn’t tell him?”

“Taka’s love would make Yuuji understand, of course,” Ohno whispered, as if it was a secret he intended for Nino’s ear and Nino’s ear alone.

“I’m not sure Yuuji is that clever,” he countered, breathless, feeling Ohno’s palm sweeping a hand across the small of Nino’s back, his touch was warm as was his breath against Nino’s temple. “He could be dumb too, you know?”

“I doubt it,” Ohno said, as if he was sure, chuckling just the tiniest bit. Nino shivered before he could stop it, and Ohno’s arms tightened around him on cue. “Yuuji is the smartest there is. Taka trusts him his life, and his everything.”

“That’s kind of stupid, you know?” he countered, only because he didn’t know what else to say, not when his voice felt like it was shaking something bad along with the rest of him. “Why would Taka even think that?”

Ohno chuckled again, and this time, Nino was certain Ohno’s lips was pressed into his ear, so close that he could very well feel the tremble in Ohno’s tone that Nino couldn’t hear in his voice.

“Does Yuuji need Taka to say it? Isn’t it obvious already?”

He swallowed hard, if only to clear the lump blocking his windpipe, and then raise his head to give Ohno a look despite the difficulty. The room was bathed with just the barest amount of light filtering from the lamppost outside, and the semi-darkness made Nino bolder, braver. His fingers reached up without volition, fingertips landing against Ohno’s warm cheek to his jaw, tracing the rough start of stubbles growing there.

“Tell me,” he found himself whispering, as his thumb rested against the corner of Ohno’s mouth. Ohno blinked sleepily at him, offered Nino a smile that just about broke Nino’s heart into pieces, before Ohno’s next smile fixed it back together effortlessly.

He vaguely wondered how Ohno could be so oblivious like this, for the way he was tearing Nino’s heart to shreds in frustration and something else, when Nino was seconds away from throwing caution to the wind and just tugging him right down for a kiss.

Ohno offered him another smile, then scrunched his nose in a way that made him look about ten and leaned down to peck Nino’s nose lightly. Nino was certain his heart skidded to a complete stop.

“Aishteru-yo,” Ohno murmured, before pulling him in, crushing him into a tight embrace and making him feel so much like weeping. Until Ohno followed it with, “Yuuji.”, then he wasn’t sure anymore.