rikke_leonhart | Fic: Stars

Title: Avow (III)
Series: Stars
Pairing(s): Suggested Ohmiya
Rating: PG-13.
Disclaimer: Do. Not. Own. Unfortunately.
Summary: AU. It's a time where Gods and magic is tightly entwined and Nino is coming of age.
Un-beta'd.
Author's Notes: Third installment. This one is longer...and this is my favourite piece, yet. For Suvi, because I love you.

*

Nino’s fingers clenched tightly in Jun’s sleeve as he watched Ohno.

Ohno was clad in deep green robes and he walked close to the wall, a thin vial of blue glass in his hands and a look of concentration on his face. He walked past close to where Nino and Jun were seated and then headed into the middle of the temple, holding a thin vial of blue glass in his hands. He bowed deferentially to the man in the priest’s robes standing by the statue of a beautiful woman.

Ohno gave the man the vial and turned to bow to the statue before leaving the way he came.

Nino really wanted to go after Ohno, but he couldn’t very well leave in the middle of the ceremony. Sadly. It wasn’t as if he’d be missed, anyway, but you just didn’t. Leave. The. Ceremony. Period.

Jun smirked as if he knew what Nino was thinking.

Nino pinched Jun’s arm and scowled when Jun only smirked wider.

*
“Will you come to my coming of age celebration?” Nino asked out of the blue.

Ohno was lying on his back in the garden that belonged to the temple, Nino sitting beside him with a book in his lap. Ohno opened his eyes.

“When?”

“Next week,” Nino replied, feeling nervous for some reason he didn’t want to think about at the moment. “On Wednesday.”

Ohno closed his eyes again. “Of course I will.”

“It’s nothing fancy,” Nino elaborated quickly. “Just a gathering, some food and-”

“Nino,” Ohno interrupted softly, and Nino’s stomach fluttered. He hadn’t really got over how Ohno could say his name. “Don’t make it seem less than what it is.”

“I don’t want it to be something big,” Nino retorted. “I don’t want people to make a huge fuss over it. My mother is constantly asking whether or not I want this or that.”

Ohno looked at him, quietly, searchingly.

Nino continued. “Why is it such a huge deal?”

Ohno reached up to lay a hand on Nino’s shoulder and gently motioned for him to lie down.

“My coming of age,” Ohno began, “was a quiet affair. Only my closest family came to Kyoto to celebrate with me.”

“Did you choose it yourself? That you wanted so few people with you?” Nino prompted.

“It’s…not exactly normal to hold large festivities when you’re in the service of the Gods,” Ohno explained. “If I wanted to, I could have come back to Tokyo and celebrate all I wanted, but that’s not how I saw my coming of age.”

“But didn’t your parents object?”

Ohno smiled wryly. “My father wanted a big celebration, but my mother knew that I’d be happier by staying in the temple. I wouldn’t know half the people anyway, if I came back.”

“Hmm, at least I’ll know the people coming,” Nino said a moment later, then raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you ever want to come back to Tokyo?”

Ohno blinked against the blue sky. He folded his hands under his head. “Not really. Not until now, anyway.”

“Did you really only come because the position was open and it’s closer to your home?”

“It is closer to home,” Ohno agreed, “but no. I did have another reason to come here.”

“What?”

Ohno smiled faintly. “The stars,” he said with the same slightly glazed look in his eyes Nino noticed he had whenever he talked about the stars. “It was written in my stars.”

Nino knew that for every child born, there was a unique pattern in the stars. The pattern could and would change as the child grew, and just about everything could be read there. It was unclear whether or not it was possible to read specific occurrences, accidents, incidents or events, but it was definitely not ruled impossible. However, it was dangerous to know so much, it was a dangerous territory and a frightening power to hold.

Nino realized that Ohno was exactly the kind of person he would entrust the gift of reading the future to.

“Would you have come here otherwise?”

“I don’t know,” Ohno said with a little more than a breath. “I was happy there.”

Nino couldn’t rationally explain the stinging sensation in his heart as Ohno mentioned happiness somewhere else, not here.

Nino rolled on to his side, his head resting on his hand, propped up on his elbow. He looked down, anywhere but at Ohno. “Do you think that you could be happy…here?”

Ohno didn’t say anything for a few moments, but then he turned his head and smiled brilliantly at Nino. “I think I will.”

Nino found himself smiling back.

*
“Anything in particular you’re wishing for?”

Nino twinkled. Sho snickered.

Jun groaned. “I cannot give you that,” he said while rolling his eyes. “You need to do it yourself. Besides that, what do you want?”

“You’re a bit late, aren’t you? It’s in two days,” Nino grinned. He looked at Sho on his other side, who shrugged.

“It’s not me, it’s Satoshi.”

Nino’s belly warmed pleasantly. “Oh. Really?”

“Yes, really. So, anything?”

“No,” Nino breathed. “He doesn’t have to give me anything.”

“Ew, please don’t drool,” Jun snapped. “You’re disgusting.”

“He’s in love,” Sho commented mildly, “and I’ll provide him with a bucket if the drooling gets out of control, okay?”

“As long as it doesn’t get on my clothes,” Jun said, “I’ve finally got rid of that purple stuff Aiba managed to get all over himself and me.”

Nino chuckled. “One of his finer moments,” he said and deftly stepped to the side as Jun swatted his shoulder.

“No violence,” Sho intervened, stepping between them. “We can’t have either of you dying before you’re of age. It’d be tragic.”

“Horrible,” Nino agreed.

Jun’s lips twitched into a smile. “So, what should I tell him?”

“‘Surprise me.’”

*
“Kazunari, stop twitching,” Nino’s mother hissed while continuing to smile charmingly at the guests. “Why are you so fidgety?”

“I’m not fidgety,” Nino responded and ducked his head. This was so embarrassing. So many people here, congratulating him, congratulating his family on raising such a fine young man.

Actually, he just wanted his friends and that one other person here.

Get a grip, he thought furiously though he knew it was useless. Since he had met Ohno, he had hardly thought of anything or anyone else.

Beside him, his mother made a sound of oh really and shook her head as she wandered away to entertain. And probably tell embarrassing stories about his childhood.

He shuddered at the thought.

“Congratulations!!” Someone called.

Nino turned and was barely able to keep on his feet as Aiba tackled him.

“Aiba-chan, get off,” Sho said as he tried to pry Aiba off. Jun grinned at the futile attempts.

“You’re actually grown up now,” Sho said, giving up on unwinding Aiba’s arms. Nino stomped down hard on Aiba’s foot.

“Air,” he said desperately and Aiba looked fittingly guilty as he let go. “No suffocating me today.”

“Tomorrow?” Jun asked hopefully.

“Your attitude wounds my feelings,” Nino said with the air of long suffering.

“You have feelings?” Sho asked seriously, but laughed when Nino looked affronted.

“Nino-chan,” Aiba said and ruffled his hair. “Happy birthday~”

Nino looked properly at his friends.

And promptly hid a shy smile. He debated whether or not he should say something, when Jun’s expression suddenly turned fond.

The younger male leaned forward, resting a hand on Nino’s shoulder, his words of whisper; “Someone’s here to see you.”

Nino couldn’t help it; he quickly turned and his eyes found the person he had been waiting for. In the doorway, with guests behind him and in front of him, Ohno stood in beautiful silky dark red robes, looking a bit awkward and out of place. His hands were clutching a long thin parcel wrapped in grey cloth.

Nino had hoped that Ohno would come. He had hoped. If he was to be entirely honest with himself, he had feared (and kind of set himself up to believe) that Ohno wouldn’t show up. Of course, that hadn’t stopped his expectations from building.

And Ohno really was here.

He didn’t hear the noise from the guests mingling. He only heard his own pounding heart when Ohno finally spotted him and smiled tentatively.

He crossed the room, walked up to Ohno, and without even thinking about it, he grabbed Ohno’s thin wrist and tugged him along to somewhere quieter. Ohno’s skin was warm under his fingers.

Ohno looked timid when Nino finally let go of his wrist. They were standing in a dimly lit corridor, the talking voices from the guests only a faint buzz in the edge of their hearing.

“You came,” Nino said, sounding more surprised than he would have liked.

Ohno smiled his crooked smile. “Of course.”

He tightened his hands around the grey cloth before offering it to Nino.

“It’s not much,” Ohno said quickly, when Nino’s eager fingers took it and started unwrapping. Ohno’s slender hands stopped him.

“Later, open it when your guests have left.”

“Why? Is it something dangerous?” Nino grinned.

“Of course,” Ohno replied without skipping a beat. “If you show it to anyone else, I’d have to kill you.”

Anyone who had only heard the last sentence of the conversation would probably have found it disturbing how widely Nino beamed at that.

“I might fight back,” Nino said, still grinning, but his smile faltered when Ohno’s eyes turned serious.

Nino thought that it should be disturbing how intense Ohno’s gaze could be, but he only found it positively enchanting. Ohno’s serious eyes felt like they could scrutinize him, look right through him. It made his skin tingle, knowing he had Ohno’s undivided attention.

Ohno did a wide motion with his right arm – as if he was making a large circle in the air, the centre being Nino’s chest. Then he reached up with both hands to settle on Nino’s shoulders, and he inclined his head, muttering something under his breath. Nino felt as if a light breeze flittered through the house, but nothing was moving.

Ohno lifted his head, looked upwards for a moment while whispering a soft prayer. He removed his hands from Nino’s shoulders.

“I know that you had your ceremony earlier,” Ohno said gently, sounding oddly vulnerable. “And I know you’re not devout, but Rhera’s protection means a lot to me and I’ve asked her for protection. For you, I mean.”

Nino felt a mixture of emotions. He didn’t know why he felt as if he might start crying any moment, but he felt a deep and overwhelming affection for Ohno, standing in front of him and looking so uncertain and exposed. He took a deep breath that came out as a shuddery gasp, and he felt a tear leave the corner of his eye.

He felt marginally better at the fact that Ohno’s eyes looked a bit wet, too.

Nino took one of Ohno’s hands in both of his. Ohno was so close.

He wanted to thank Ohno, for doing this, for being here, for allowing Nino to get this close.

But Ohno preempted him.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Ohno whispered, and Nino somehow felt a certain kind of irony that it was Ohno saying that.

The feeling of gratitude swelled inside him.

Nino squeezed Ohno’s hand.

*
“Aiba-chan, go away, he told me to open it when I was alone!”

Aiba didn’t act as if he had heard Nino. “What do you think it is?”

“I don’t know,” Nino admitted, looking at the thin parcel lying on the table in front of him. It wasn’t particularly heavy and nothing rattled when he shook it.

Ohno had left rather quickly – he had duties. Nino thought he had done a good job of hiding his disappointment, for really, Ohno had been here. That thought had cheered him up.

“I don’t think he would mind,” Jun offered from the chair he was sitting on. “I think he meant people who don’t know him.”

Sho nodded his agreement.

Nino mulled over this. He kind of wanted to open it now.

The party had quieted down. Many guests had left and the ones still here let the younger people be.

“Do you know what it is?” He asked, looking at Jun.

Jun shook his head. “I have a hunch, but I’m not sure.”

“Open it!” Aiba said and plopped down next to Sho.

Nino regarded the innocently looking parcel. With a racing heart and trembling fingers, he unwound the cloth from whatever it hid.

A long roll of parchment appeared on the table.

Nino looked up briefly only to see triumph flash in Jun’s eyes. He unrolled the parchment and they all collectively gasped.

Nino felt shock swirl in his stomach, felt a tiny bit dizzy as if someone had knocked the ground under him askew.

“So pretty,” Aiba breathed and reached out to touch, but Jun slapped his hand away.

It was a chart. A star chart. The date of his birth was written in neat writing in the top left corner, signaling that all these lines, precise and tidy, were revolving around his birthday.

His eyes traced a few lines, stopping at the name of the stars written next to them, stars he had never known existed.

He looked up at his friends. Speechless, for once.

“Nino, do you have any idea how rare these are? And made especially for you?” Sho asked him seriously.

Nino had a feeling.

He looked at the chart. Ohno had personally made this for him. For him.

“Nino,” Jun said softly. “There’s note.”

Nino took the note from Jun’s fingers. (“Can I have one, too, Sho-chan?” “I don’t think so, Masaki.”)

“Today is only today today. Today is only yesterday tomorrow.”

Nino closed his eyes and smiled.

*
/End for this part

AN: I hope you're enjoying this even half as much as I love this universe. The next piece will probably be in what I call the B-side of this universe. The B-side will be the timeline where Nino and Ohno are in a relationship, more or less.
I don't know if you've seen the drawings I made for the series, and if not, they can be seen HERE.
Since I'm technically challenged, I can't make a banner, so I drew something instead XD

Take care of yourselves :)

Current Music: Enya - On My Way Home

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

jonna594.livejournal.com

This is so freaking beautiful. I love this story, it's so different from other Ohmiya stories. AU is sometimes just as good :) Looking forward to reading the B-side of this universe <3

From:

we must go, we must go

Fic: Stars - Avow

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