Little Idiot
Oct. 3rd, 2016 10:51 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
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Title: Little Idiot
Author: krystalkatz
rating: PG
Length: Chaptered
Genre: AU, Angst
Pairings: Aiba Masaki/Ninomiya Kazunari
Disclaimer: I only own the plot,
A/N: Reworking of my story…With Edits for spellings and just to make it sound better (I hope)
“You have to do your homework Masa” Ninomiya Kazunari mumbled barely looking up from the Mario on his game to look at the boy he was meant to be looking after. He only agreed to babysit because his older sister was busy with a date and the Aiba’s had the games machine…Okay it didn’t exactly hurt that they paid well. He was here to look after 5-year-old Aiba Yusuke and 9-year-old Aiba Masaki. Yusuke was no problem, going to bed at exactly 7 o’clock but Masaki was a nightmare, running around like a mad man and almost screaming the place down as he stuffed his face with cookies and sweets. But Nino had remembered that somewhere Mrs Aiba had asked him to make sure that Masaki did his homework as he was falling behind. Masaki gave an animal like whine a kicked a chair across the room shouting
“I can’t do it! Help me Nino-chan!”
“Don’t call me ‘Nino-chan’… Why should I? I’m only paid to look after you… I’m not paid to help with homework…” Nino scoffed clicking his tongue with irritation when the 9-year-old came storming in from the kitchen to stand in front of him holding up his English homework book. He actually was a pretty cute kid being blessed with a perfectly oval face and truly almond shaped eyes. The only blemishes were a trail of moles scattered over the right side. His were already starting to form a pout and were looking perfectly heart shaped but even with all of that he looked boyish, and one day, Nino thought in the privacy of his own mind at least, that in a few years he was going to be completely adorable to look at.
“Please! I’ll do whatever you want…” Masaki pleaded jutting out his plump bottom lip and looking on the very edge of crying. It was annoying to look at, but only because it worked a voice in the back of his mind said filled with a large amount of snark and trying to push it away Nino rolled his eyes, growling with irritation when Mario was hit by a fire ball, killing him instantly and losing the last life he had.
“Fine whatever… Don’t be such a cry baby” He grumbled switching off the game and motioning for Masaki to sit at the coffee table. “Sit down then…”
Masaki did as he was told wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his super sentai pyjamas and Nino scanned quickly through the book vaguely remembering that he had done these lessons a few years ago, having to admit that English really wasn’t his strongest subject. Not wanting to let Masaki know that though they slowly they worked through the problems together and it wasn’t long before they had finished the sheet of problems. Nino was positive that a few of them were using the wrong tense but he quickly decided that he would check through it for him again once the little idiot had gone to bed
“Did it!” Masaki shouted loudly, throwing down the pencil and grabbing him around his neck, squeezing him so tightly that the air supply was cut off “Thank-you Nino-chan…”
“I told you not to call me Nino-chan!” Nino huffed hotly struggling out of his grip and changing his mind about going through the questions again, what did it matter to him if the idiot failed his class?
“Nino-chan” Masaki gasped again completely ignoring his irritation as he darted forward and kissed him lightly on the lips “you can be my boyfriend if you want!”
“What? You really are a complete little idiot” Nino hissed pulling completely away from the boy and hitting him none too lightly on the top of the head “Who would want a stupid cry baby as their boyfriend?”
“Nino-chan… Is mean… But really cute” Masaki laughed rubbing at the spot, while managing to look completely none phased by the attack to the top of his head as he ran off upstairs. On the landing he paused and stuck his face between the bars and grinning at him with all his might. “Nighty night, Nino-chan, you really can be my boyfriend if you want!” He shouted before vanishing into his bedroom and slamming the bedroom door closed. Nino rolled his eyes running his tongue over his lips frowning when he tasted the sweet stickiness that was clinging to them.
“He really is a little idiot…” He mumbled to himself trying to ignore the fact that he was smiling. He picked up the pencil and chewed his tongue going over each of the problems again and doing his best to copy Masaki’s hand writing as he changed them slightly to make sure that they were right.
-9 years later-
Nino opened his eyes slowly giving a groan wondering why he had been dreaming about that. It had been 8 years since he had even seen Masaki, or any of the Aiba’s for that matter, he thought rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palm. He had gone away to college and when he came back they had moved leaving no forwarding address so it felt weird for him to be thinking about them now. With a sigh he cast his eyes around the staff room as he stretched out his aching back and giving a loud yawn his heart sinking when he saw that the old curmudgeon of a matron seemed to have just started giving the daily report to the dozen or so nurses that were hanging around.
He had been working the graveyard shift again, he really hated that name for it, working on the cancer ward was bad enough without it being referred to as that, for the fourth night in a row, so he really didn’t have to listen to the speech but from the glare the matron was giving him, it seemed like he would be listening to it. He had become a nurse after college, not through any great love of people or even a desire to make people better it was simply because of a throw away comment a 10-year-old Masaki had said after he had bandaged up his arm, Nino remembered wondering why the memories seemed so strong at the moment.
“Ah, Ninomiya-san, I’m so glad you decided to wake up… As I was saying earlier” The old battle-axe sneered, casting him a stern look before her eyes went back to the chart “There is a new patient coming in today, Aiba Masaki”
“Aiba Masaki?” Nino questioned his voice hitching more than he would have liked, as he scrambled to his feet and peering over her arm, looking at the chart. His heart stopping when he saw in black printed ink, as clear as day, was; Name: Aiba Masaki, Age: 17, diagnosis: ALL. But Nino forced himself to read and re-read the chart several times to make sure that it had read it correctly and then still refused to believe it.
ALL stood for Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and if he was being admitted to his ward that meant that it was already pretty severe. His stomach churned as he thought about the bright, idiotic Masaki being riddled with such an illness. Swallowing down the hot painful lump from the back of his throat he glanced at the clock on the wall seeing that his shift was meant to end in about an hour.
“Ninomiya-san?”
“I’ll take this…” he told the matron quickly wanting to make sure that it wasn’t really his Masaki. It was possible, it wasn’t such an uncommon name after all. The Matron’s lips parted in surprise and Nino wasn’t in the least bit offended by her reaction, they both knew that the reason he spent most of his time doing the graveyard shift was so he didn’t have to take on direct contact with too many patients. Of course there were other reasons, such as doing the graveyard shift meant that he could be at home for his twin sons not wanting to leave them with his increasingly unstable wife, but this was important and he almost stole the chart out of her hand when she asked;
“If you’re sure, Ninomiya-san?” “Yes…” He said taking the chart and hurrying out of the waiting room praying that it wouldn’t be the Masaki that had given him the sticky sweet kiss.
Of course the fates weren’t so kind though, even before going into the room he knew that it was his idiot. Just walking out into the hall told him that as he was met by Mr and Mrs Aiba. There was confusion on their faces for a moment and then realisation and somehow both of them managed to flashed him the watery smiles. He knew those looks well, they were the looks of parents that were fighting to stay strong but were losing the battle.
“Nino-kun” Mr Aiba said and Nino gave him the best reassuringly warm smile that he could manage in the circumstance.
“Mr Aiba, Mrs Aiba… I’m sorry that we have to meet again like this” He whispered, trying to keep his voice from shaking, “I just want to tell you that I will be Masaki’s personal nurse while he’s here… He’s strong, he’ll be able to fight it”
Mrs Aiba gave a nod her tears flowing more freely as she reached forward and hugged him so tightly it felt as if she was going to burst a lung. It was the same kind of hug that Masaki might have given him and Nino patted her back gently, secretly glad of an excuse of staying out of the room for a few more minutes. He had been so positive that it wasn’t going to be Masaki he hadn’t thought about what was going to happen if it was him.
“Masaki will be glad that it’s you” Mr Aiba told him as he was released from the hug and Nino was surprised that he would still be remembered but he nodded before saying carefully;
“I want to be with Masaki throughout his treatment here but if anyone finds out that I know him… They might suggest you have another nurse…”
“We understand…Thank-you, Nino-kun” They said again and Nino gave them another smile his eyes going to the green door before he took a deep breath and stepped forward slowly.
*~* The past*~*~*~
“Yay! We get Nino-chan again!” Masaki shouted doing a strange wiggly dance in the middle of the floor the top of his pyjamas riding up and showing his belly complete with ample amounts of puppy fat. Nino rolled his eyes poking the belly with his finger smiling when Masaki gave him a loud laugh his eyes shining as he continued to wiggle his hips.
“I told you not to call me, Nino-chan…” Nino growled without any real feeling, knowing that it would be a miracle if the little idiot actually did stop calling him it. To prove his point Masaki gave a bright laugh, his eyes shining brightly. He had an amazing laugh and right now it was echoing around the room and Nino had to turn away from him and ask “Where’s Yusuke-kun?”
“Ah!” Masaki gave a startled cry running off upstairs as fast as his legs could carry him and panicked, praying that Masaki hadn’t left the boy in the bath or something. With that terrifying thought in mind he darted up the stairs after him sighing with relief when he found him sitting in the middle of the bedroom floor with his head stuck up the sleeve of his pyjama top with his foot down the other. Nino stared in shock for a moment or two wondering how he had managed to get like that.
“Yusuke-kun” He called out softly hurrying into the room and dropping down in front of him. The boy began sobbing loudly holding his arms out to him and almost tripping over his own feet. Nino struggled to hold back his laughter at the sight and quickly started to untangle him from the t-shirt before ruffling his slightly damp hair before wiping away his tears with a handkerchief asking “Are you two hungry?
“No” Masaki muttered darkly from his bed his arms folded across his chest and his bottom lip sticking out with a wobble. His voice was flat and completely deflated while Yusuke was smiling again and giving an enthusiastic nod.
“And why aren’t you hungry?” Nino asked with long suffering sigh wishing that he hadn’t agreed to babysit again. He had decided last time that it would be better to stay away from Masaki and his stupid yo-yoing emotions. Masaki glared at him for a few minutes the tears rolling thick and fast down his cheeks as his lops wobbled dangerously before he screamed;
“Because I’m your boyfriend but you’re nicer to Yusuke!”
“Masaki…” Nino tried his heart plummeting to somewhere in his stomach before Masaki got to his feet again and ran out of the room and into his parents one slamming the door closed. Nino stared at the closed door with his mouth open in shock that it was almost dragging on the floor. He didn’t move until he felt Yusuke pull at his shirt sleeve looking up at him with his little finger stuck up his nose as he asked in his bubbling childish voice;
“Nino-san… What’s a boyfriend?”
“Nothing it’s just a boy that’s your friend” He lied quickly praying that Masaki hadn’t gone around telling anyone else that he was his boyfriend, more so the Aiba’s though, if he thought about it clearly, if he had told them they wouldn’t have let him babysit. He chewed on his lip flushing a little when he became aware that Yusuke was still studying him. “Come on Yusuke-kun, what do you want to eat?”
“Um… croquettes!” The boy said taking Nino’s hand tightly as they walked slowly down stairs. Nino nodded absently his eyes going to the closed door again as he wondered there were any ingredients in for croquettes and hoping that the smell would draw down the little idiot.
There was plenty of ingredients, something that shouldn’t really have surprised him since both of the Aiba’s were chiefs, but unfortunately the smell didn’t draw out his wayward cry baby and as much as he was tempted he couldn’t just leave him alone. Yusuke was already nearly finished when Nino dragged himself back upstairs hoping to convince him to at least come out of hiding. When he around into the room he found a Masaki shaped lump in the centre of the bed, the pink flowery cover pulled firmly over his head.
“Oi, little idiot…” He called refusing to admit that he was concerned and the little bundle quivered at his words proving that he was awake and Nino hurried to the bed and sat down poking hard at the soft lump “Are you being a cry baby again?”
“I’m… Not… A cry…Baby…” Masaki through broken sobs and the thick sheets and Nino sighed tugging the sheets down from his face and murmured gently;
“Masaki, you’re not my boyfriend…”
“Why?! Why can’t I be your boyfriend?” He wailed kicking his legs like a baby having a tantrum and Nino gave yet another sigh scraping his fingers through his hair pushing the black locks away from his eyes deciding that he really hadn’t signed on for this when he had agreed to start babysitting.
“Because, little idiot, you’re too young for me…You’re only a kid…” Nino muttered feeling almost sick that he probably would be very happy with a boyfriend like Aiba. He was going to be a complete heartbreaker when he was older after all “And…I can’t have a boyfriend that’s an idiot, a cry baby and a kid!”
Masaki turned around slowly, giving a loud sniff as he wiped his face on the blanket leaving a nice gooey mess that the Aiba’s would have to sort out later asking;
“So… When… I get to your age… Will you be my boyfriend then?!”
Nino opened his mouth very tempted to refuse, knowing that he had to refuse, but them decided against it, if he did that there would be another round of tears and he didn’t want that not know Masaki was almost smiling again.
“Fine when you get to be my age you can be my boyfriend… Now come and eat your tea…” He growled getting up from the bed rolling his eyes when Masaki gave a whoop and jumped out of the bed and followed him his tears forgotten.
Present Day
The nurse griped the plastic door handle tightly in his hand and, after taking a deep breath, he opened it with more confidence than he was actually feeling. When he had first heard the name he hadn’t wanted it to really be Masaki but now that he knew it was he was going to make sure he could do the best he could to look after him.
After taking another deep breath, trying desperately to calm his heart down, he stepped inside seeing the figure on the bed. Masaki had his back to the door, facing the window and for moment Nino managed to find a smile remembering the sulky Masaki that had been jealous of his brother. His heart still pounding slowly against his ribs he took two steps towards him his feet tapping of the polished green speckled floor but Masaki made no sign that he had heard him. The closer he got to the bed the more that he could see that the soft green blankets were shaking, another step and he heard that there was a loud sniff indicating that he was crying.
“Aiba-kun” He said softly, hating that his voice wasn’t displaying any of the confidence that he was trying to pull into himself, and the figure in the bed froze for just a second. A gasp filled the room and there were a few hurried movements indicating that he was hurriedly wiping his eyes, trying to be strong. The sheets moved again and the bed springs squeaked loudly as Masaki rolled over. He was thinner and older than the boy he had looked after all those years ago but the tear tracks that marked his chalk white face were the same and somehow in spite of everything he was still giving the huge idiotic grin.
“Hello?!” He hummed looking a little confused and Nino’s smile very nearly slipped away from his lips as he realised, that just like Nino had predicted years ago, he really was adorable to look at and the nurse wondered how many hearts he had already broken with his innocent, cute expression and warm wide grin.
“Hello little idiot” Nino murmured softly coming closer to him and Masaki’s smile slipped and for a fraction of a second he frowned chewing his lip and looking thoughtful before realisation dawned in his beautiful brown eyes and his plump pouty lips parted in a gasp.
“Nino-chan!” Masaki shouted, his newly adult voice sounding broken and strangely husky. It still had the same, stupidly optimistic note to it and to his horror Nino felt like crying in relief that he wasn’t as far gone as he had first thought. He was surprised and glad that Masaki had recognised him even with the separation of the years and to fight the happy tears he forced a mock glare onto his face
“How many times have I told you not to call me Nino-chan?” He sighed folding his arms across his chest and pointing to the badge that was pinned to his yellow scrubs “It’s nurse Ninomiya to you…”
“You’re a nurse?! Here?! In this hospital?!” Masaki shouted almost bouncing up and down on the bed quickly filling Nino with a strong sense dread, Masaki really wasn’t ideal patient material he had always been too hyperactive. He soon stopped though wariness coming to his face as his whole body sagged, there was a lot of pain in his eyes too and quickly Nino pushed him into a laid down position.
“Of course in this hospital, if you’d stop shouting and let me do my proper introduction you’d know that I’m going to be your main nurse while you’re staying here…I promise that I’m going to take care of you…”
“Really? Yay, I get to be with Nino-chan again!” Masaki gasped, his face shining with the same excitement he had shown those years ago and Nino suspected that if he had the energy he would be doing his strange little wiggle dance and if that was the case he would have been happy to spend his time poking his stomach. “Wow this is amazing! I can’t believe it’s Nino-chan… It’s been a long time!”
“Yep it really has…” the nurse mumbled sitting down on the edge of the bed and flipping through the chart his heart hammering out a beat on his ribs. Masaki’s reaction to treatments had been pretty erratic throughout most of his illness. Some days it looked really good for him but others it seemed that his illness was winning. Those days were becoming increasingly more frequent and Nino felt almost felt his eyes welling with tears that he had to squish down determined to be the professional that he was. He swallowed turning to the last page and seeing that the next treatment that they were suggesting was a bone marrow transplant with Yusuke being the lucky donor. It was probably his last option and that was only going to be available if he recovered enough energy to make it through.
“I’m going to die aren’t I?” Masaki asked his voice, heartbreakingly soft and shaky with new tears, cutting through his own thoughts which had been drifting in the same direction. He dropped the chart down snapping his head up to look at him his eyes fixed into a stare knowing that mental health was just as important right now.
“Are you going to be a cry baby again?” He snapped using his best teenage Nino voice that he could manage as he got up from the bed, his arms crossing over his chest as he tapped his foot on the floor “Because if you are going to be a cry baby, I’ll give you to somebody else…”
“No! I want Nino-chan! I won’t cry!” Masaki said with as much enthusiasm as he would have when he was a child his hands quickly going up to wipe at his eyes. His bottom lip stuck out, as did his chest, and Nino realised that he was trying hard to look serious. Nino gave a smile, something that he really didn’t feel like doing, and reached out and ruffled the cap that he was wearing.
“Good boy little idiot…” he mumbled pulling his hand away as the door opened and the Aiba’s came in looking a lot calmer than he had seen them in the hallway. “I promise that I’m going to take good care of you and Yusuke-kun…”
“Just like you always did, ne!”
“Yup…You should get some rest and I’ll come and see you again later…” He said gently squeezing Masaki’s hand before nodding to the Aiba’s and exiting the room. He managed to make it back to the staff room before he collapsed dropping to the floor sobbing like a baby. He wasn’t completely sure how long he had been there before he realised that he had to be strong, so he could keep his promise.
He left the hospital after filling in his paperwork and took the train to his small, run down, apartment building already hearing the screams and curses from his wife in his ears. Each and every day he wished to all the gods under the sun that he had never married her, but if he hadn’t then he wouldn’t have been granted with the greatest treasures that he could ever have asked for.
“Your kids were playing up again” His wife Ren screeched as soon as he walked through the door and Nino had to force back a biting retort. His nerves were already stretched to breaking point and the image of Masaki laying there in the hospital bed still grinning like a simpleton was plaguing his mind and flashing before his eyes every time his closed his eyes.
Even if refused to admit it he had always loved Masaki like a little brother, he knew he didn’t have the easiest personality in the world to like but Masaki had always gotten his jokes and laughed with his stupid but beautiful laugh even when they had been directed at him.
Ignoring his wife, he went into the living room where the three-year-old boys were playing about with blocks knocking them over with chubby hands. He wasn’t a complete moron he knew that his sons were about as biologically his as toast would be, he was just one of the many people that his wife had slept with in what had to be a world record attempt. But he loved both of them and right now he pulled them both into a hug and once again started to cry onto their shoulders until he had almost passed out.
“What the hell do you think you’re playing at!” Ren screamed cutting through his mind again forcing himself awake. “Why the hell are you going to sleep?! You’ve been gone all night and all day! You’ve got to look after your kids now!”
“I will…Go out like you know that you want to!” Nino grumbled back still not bringing himself to look at the hateful woman. “We’ll be here whenever you decide to come back…” Ren gave a scream and then thankfully left the room and Nino gave a loud sigh closing his eyes in a tight frown trying to push away the sleep that was collecting behind his eyes. “How about I tell you how I decided to become a nurse…”
*~*The Past~~*
"Nino-chan... What do you want me to be when I grow up?" Masaki asked, coming to sit beside him on the bed and putting an arm around his back, his head resting on his shoulder. Nino frowned finding it unfair that at only ten the little idiot was almost as tall as he was and while he had just about finished his growth Masaki still had a few years left, meaning that he was going to be more than a little bit taller than him.
"Huh? Why are you asking me?" he asked moving away from him and trying to study the entrance exam questions he needed to know by next Monday.
"Well if I'm going to be your boyfriend I want to know what you want me to be...I don't want to be something that Nino-chan hates" Masaki said easily with a shrug pressing up against his side again and Nino wondered if this conversation could get any stranger. But then he remembered that he had already been informed last week that both Mr and Mrs Aiba approved of him as a future son-in-law which.
"Idiot, what's important is that you do something that you want to do..." Nino said rolling his eyes keeping his eyes fixed on the school books in front of him, uncomfortably aware of the fact that he was pressed up against the sofa arm and couldn't move any further from the stifling heat which was wrapped around him. "Anyway go and play with Yusuke-kun for a while I'm trying to figure out what I want to be"
"Huh!? You're going to be my boyfriend I'm going to take care of you, you just have to stay at home and look after the babies" Masaki gasped, his eyes widening with more surprise than was strictly necessary, and Nino had to stop himself from laughing at this strange idea of their future.
"And where are these babies coming from genius? Because if you and I are going to be boyfriends neither of us can have them" Nino scoffed really not wanting to be having this conversation with him. He had hoped that Masaki would grow out of his crush but that seemed unlikely.
"I know that! But we can have lots of animals and then they can be our babies, ne?!" Masaki said unfazed by the new information that it wouldn't be possible for them to have their own children or maybe he really had already known that. Nino sighed deciding that he really had to admire the boy’s determination to them dating one day. It had been a year since Nino had made that promise to him to get him to stop crying but the offhand remark had become Masaki’s only hope and dream.
“Fine we can have lots of animals… Go and play with Yusuke-kun…” He said again with more force and irritation in his voice. This time Masaki got the hint and nodded running off out of the living room leaving him alone with his books. The peace lasted for only about three minutes and then a loud piercing scream cut through the air.
“Nino-san!” Yusuke shouted, the panic in his voice enough to cause his heart to freeze inside his chest before he worked on instinct diving over the sofa and running into the room they had been playing in.
“What’s going on?” Nino asked breathlessly, his blood running cold when he saw Masaki face first on the ground his arm twisted out in an unnatural position behind his back. His face was pale and he was sobbing his little heart out. “What happened?” Nino asked rushing to his side and Masaki tried to look up at him his mouth opening and closing and Nino shook his head shouting “Don’t move! You might have broken it!”
“Nino-chan! It hurts!” Masaki screamed the sound enough to almost break Nino’s heart. He checked the arm carefully, trying to remember everything he had ever seen or read about arm injuries.
“Don’t be a cry baby, my little idiot” He whispered and Masaki quickly gave a loud sniff, to his credit though he did try his best after that. Nino checked the arm carefully his hands moving up and down his arm glad that he couldn’t feel any broken bones. “I think it’s just dislocated…but you’re going to have to go to the hospital…Yusuke-kun will you bring me the phone?”
“Yes Nino-san!” The boy shouted running out to the living room. Once they were alone Nino carefully turned Masaki over and was shocked to see that his face was as white as a ghost’s, while his eyes were red with the tears that he didn’t want to shed.
“You’re being brave Masa-chan” He whispered dropping a kiss onto his forehead smiling when, even in all his pain, Masaki looked like Christmas had come early.
“… Nino-chan… Should be a nurse!”
*~*~*~ Present Day*~*~*~*
Nino blinked hotly cuddling his now sleeping children to his chest realising that he was crying. He had worked hard to become a nurse like Masaki had suggested and then again to be a specialised nurse in cancer treatment. He wanted to believe that it was fate, that all of his life had been leading up to this moment and that because of that he would be able to save his little idiot. Rubbing away the tears with the ball of his hands he tucked moved the children and then fell to sleep with the promise in his heart that Masaki would be okay.
TBC
A/N: This was requested by another of my patreon supporters…I absolutely promise that I will finish it this time…I’m sorry for those that have already these parts before >.< will be posted on Mondays :)

Author: krystalkatz
rating: PG
Length: Chaptered
Genre: AU, Angst
Pairings: Aiba Masaki/Ninomiya Kazunari
Disclaimer: I only own the plot,
A/N: Reworking of my story…With Edits for spellings and just to make it sound better (I hope)
“You have to do your homework Masa” Ninomiya Kazunari mumbled barely looking up from the Mario on his game to look at the boy he was meant to be looking after. He only agreed to babysit because his older sister was busy with a date and the Aiba’s had the games machine…Okay it didn’t exactly hurt that they paid well. He was here to look after 5-year-old Aiba Yusuke and 9-year-old Aiba Masaki. Yusuke was no problem, going to bed at exactly 7 o’clock but Masaki was a nightmare, running around like a mad man and almost screaming the place down as he stuffed his face with cookies and sweets. But Nino had remembered that somewhere Mrs Aiba had asked him to make sure that Masaki did his homework as he was falling behind. Masaki gave an animal like whine a kicked a chair across the room shouting
“I can’t do it! Help me Nino-chan!”
“Don’t call me ‘Nino-chan’… Why should I? I’m only paid to look after you… I’m not paid to help with homework…” Nino scoffed clicking his tongue with irritation when the 9-year-old came storming in from the kitchen to stand in front of him holding up his English homework book. He actually was a pretty cute kid being blessed with a perfectly oval face and truly almond shaped eyes. The only blemishes were a trail of moles scattered over the right side. His were already starting to form a pout and were looking perfectly heart shaped but even with all of that he looked boyish, and one day, Nino thought in the privacy of his own mind at least, that in a few years he was going to be completely adorable to look at.
“Please! I’ll do whatever you want…” Masaki pleaded jutting out his plump bottom lip and looking on the very edge of crying. It was annoying to look at, but only because it worked a voice in the back of his mind said filled with a large amount of snark and trying to push it away Nino rolled his eyes, growling with irritation when Mario was hit by a fire ball, killing him instantly and losing the last life he had.
“Fine whatever… Don’t be such a cry baby” He grumbled switching off the game and motioning for Masaki to sit at the coffee table. “Sit down then…”
Masaki did as he was told wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his super sentai pyjamas and Nino scanned quickly through the book vaguely remembering that he had done these lessons a few years ago, having to admit that English really wasn’t his strongest subject. Not wanting to let Masaki know that though they slowly they worked through the problems together and it wasn’t long before they had finished the sheet of problems. Nino was positive that a few of them were using the wrong tense but he quickly decided that he would check through it for him again once the little idiot had gone to bed
“Did it!” Masaki shouted loudly, throwing down the pencil and grabbing him around his neck, squeezing him so tightly that the air supply was cut off “Thank-you Nino-chan…”
“I told you not to call me Nino-chan!” Nino huffed hotly struggling out of his grip and changing his mind about going through the questions again, what did it matter to him if the idiot failed his class?
“Nino-chan” Masaki gasped again completely ignoring his irritation as he darted forward and kissed him lightly on the lips “you can be my boyfriend if you want!”
“What? You really are a complete little idiot” Nino hissed pulling completely away from the boy and hitting him none too lightly on the top of the head “Who would want a stupid cry baby as their boyfriend?”
“Nino-chan… Is mean… But really cute” Masaki laughed rubbing at the spot, while managing to look completely none phased by the attack to the top of his head as he ran off upstairs. On the landing he paused and stuck his face between the bars and grinning at him with all his might. “Nighty night, Nino-chan, you really can be my boyfriend if you want!” He shouted before vanishing into his bedroom and slamming the bedroom door closed. Nino rolled his eyes running his tongue over his lips frowning when he tasted the sweet stickiness that was clinging to them.
“He really is a little idiot…” He mumbled to himself trying to ignore the fact that he was smiling. He picked up the pencil and chewed his tongue going over each of the problems again and doing his best to copy Masaki’s hand writing as he changed them slightly to make sure that they were right.
-9 years later-
Nino opened his eyes slowly giving a groan wondering why he had been dreaming about that. It had been 8 years since he had even seen Masaki, or any of the Aiba’s for that matter, he thought rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palm. He had gone away to college and when he came back they had moved leaving no forwarding address so it felt weird for him to be thinking about them now. With a sigh he cast his eyes around the staff room as he stretched out his aching back and giving a loud yawn his heart sinking when he saw that the old curmudgeon of a matron seemed to have just started giving the daily report to the dozen or so nurses that were hanging around.
He had been working the graveyard shift again, he really hated that name for it, working on the cancer ward was bad enough without it being referred to as that, for the fourth night in a row, so he really didn’t have to listen to the speech but from the glare the matron was giving him, it seemed like he would be listening to it. He had become a nurse after college, not through any great love of people or even a desire to make people better it was simply because of a throw away comment a 10-year-old Masaki had said after he had bandaged up his arm, Nino remembered wondering why the memories seemed so strong at the moment.
“Ah, Ninomiya-san, I’m so glad you decided to wake up… As I was saying earlier” The old battle-axe sneered, casting him a stern look before her eyes went back to the chart “There is a new patient coming in today, Aiba Masaki”
“Aiba Masaki?” Nino questioned his voice hitching more than he would have liked, as he scrambled to his feet and peering over her arm, looking at the chart. His heart stopping when he saw in black printed ink, as clear as day, was; Name: Aiba Masaki, Age: 17, diagnosis: ALL. But Nino forced himself to read and re-read the chart several times to make sure that it had read it correctly and then still refused to believe it.
ALL stood for Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and if he was being admitted to his ward that meant that it was already pretty severe. His stomach churned as he thought about the bright, idiotic Masaki being riddled with such an illness. Swallowing down the hot painful lump from the back of his throat he glanced at the clock on the wall seeing that his shift was meant to end in about an hour.
“Ninomiya-san?”
“I’ll take this…” he told the matron quickly wanting to make sure that it wasn’t really his Masaki. It was possible, it wasn’t such an uncommon name after all. The Matron’s lips parted in surprise and Nino wasn’t in the least bit offended by her reaction, they both knew that the reason he spent most of his time doing the graveyard shift was so he didn’t have to take on direct contact with too many patients. Of course there were other reasons, such as doing the graveyard shift meant that he could be at home for his twin sons not wanting to leave them with his increasingly unstable wife, but this was important and he almost stole the chart out of her hand when she asked;
“If you’re sure, Ninomiya-san?” “Yes…” He said taking the chart and hurrying out of the waiting room praying that it wouldn’t be the Masaki that had given him the sticky sweet kiss.
Of course the fates weren’t so kind though, even before going into the room he knew that it was his idiot. Just walking out into the hall told him that as he was met by Mr and Mrs Aiba. There was confusion on their faces for a moment and then realisation and somehow both of them managed to flashed him the watery smiles. He knew those looks well, they were the looks of parents that were fighting to stay strong but were losing the battle.
“Nino-kun” Mr Aiba said and Nino gave him the best reassuringly warm smile that he could manage in the circumstance.
“Mr Aiba, Mrs Aiba… I’m sorry that we have to meet again like this” He whispered, trying to keep his voice from shaking, “I just want to tell you that I will be Masaki’s personal nurse while he’s here… He’s strong, he’ll be able to fight it”
Mrs Aiba gave a nod her tears flowing more freely as she reached forward and hugged him so tightly it felt as if she was going to burst a lung. It was the same kind of hug that Masaki might have given him and Nino patted her back gently, secretly glad of an excuse of staying out of the room for a few more minutes. He had been so positive that it wasn’t going to be Masaki he hadn’t thought about what was going to happen if it was him.
“Masaki will be glad that it’s you” Mr Aiba told him as he was released from the hug and Nino was surprised that he would still be remembered but he nodded before saying carefully;
“I want to be with Masaki throughout his treatment here but if anyone finds out that I know him… They might suggest you have another nurse…”
“We understand…Thank-you, Nino-kun” They said again and Nino gave them another smile his eyes going to the green door before he took a deep breath and stepped forward slowly.
*~* The past*~*~*~
“Yay! We get Nino-chan again!” Masaki shouted doing a strange wiggly dance in the middle of the floor the top of his pyjamas riding up and showing his belly complete with ample amounts of puppy fat. Nino rolled his eyes poking the belly with his finger smiling when Masaki gave him a loud laugh his eyes shining as he continued to wiggle his hips.
“I told you not to call me, Nino-chan…” Nino growled without any real feeling, knowing that it would be a miracle if the little idiot actually did stop calling him it. To prove his point Masaki gave a bright laugh, his eyes shining brightly. He had an amazing laugh and right now it was echoing around the room and Nino had to turn away from him and ask “Where’s Yusuke-kun?”
“Ah!” Masaki gave a startled cry running off upstairs as fast as his legs could carry him and panicked, praying that Masaki hadn’t left the boy in the bath or something. With that terrifying thought in mind he darted up the stairs after him sighing with relief when he found him sitting in the middle of the bedroom floor with his head stuck up the sleeve of his pyjama top with his foot down the other. Nino stared in shock for a moment or two wondering how he had managed to get like that.
“Yusuke-kun” He called out softly hurrying into the room and dropping down in front of him. The boy began sobbing loudly holding his arms out to him and almost tripping over his own feet. Nino struggled to hold back his laughter at the sight and quickly started to untangle him from the t-shirt before ruffling his slightly damp hair before wiping away his tears with a handkerchief asking “Are you two hungry?
“No” Masaki muttered darkly from his bed his arms folded across his chest and his bottom lip sticking out with a wobble. His voice was flat and completely deflated while Yusuke was smiling again and giving an enthusiastic nod.
“And why aren’t you hungry?” Nino asked with long suffering sigh wishing that he hadn’t agreed to babysit again. He had decided last time that it would be better to stay away from Masaki and his stupid yo-yoing emotions. Masaki glared at him for a few minutes the tears rolling thick and fast down his cheeks as his lops wobbled dangerously before he screamed;
“Because I’m your boyfriend but you’re nicer to Yusuke!”
“Masaki…” Nino tried his heart plummeting to somewhere in his stomach before Masaki got to his feet again and ran out of the room and into his parents one slamming the door closed. Nino stared at the closed door with his mouth open in shock that it was almost dragging on the floor. He didn’t move until he felt Yusuke pull at his shirt sleeve looking up at him with his little finger stuck up his nose as he asked in his bubbling childish voice;
“Nino-san… What’s a boyfriend?”
“Nothing it’s just a boy that’s your friend” He lied quickly praying that Masaki hadn’t gone around telling anyone else that he was his boyfriend, more so the Aiba’s though, if he thought about it clearly, if he had told them they wouldn’t have let him babysit. He chewed on his lip flushing a little when he became aware that Yusuke was still studying him. “Come on Yusuke-kun, what do you want to eat?”
“Um… croquettes!” The boy said taking Nino’s hand tightly as they walked slowly down stairs. Nino nodded absently his eyes going to the closed door again as he wondered there were any ingredients in for croquettes and hoping that the smell would draw down the little idiot.
There was plenty of ingredients, something that shouldn’t really have surprised him since both of the Aiba’s were chiefs, but unfortunately the smell didn’t draw out his wayward cry baby and as much as he was tempted he couldn’t just leave him alone. Yusuke was already nearly finished when Nino dragged himself back upstairs hoping to convince him to at least come out of hiding. When he around into the room he found a Masaki shaped lump in the centre of the bed, the pink flowery cover pulled firmly over his head.
“Oi, little idiot…” He called refusing to admit that he was concerned and the little bundle quivered at his words proving that he was awake and Nino hurried to the bed and sat down poking hard at the soft lump “Are you being a cry baby again?”
“I’m… Not… A cry…Baby…” Masaki through broken sobs and the thick sheets and Nino sighed tugging the sheets down from his face and murmured gently;
“Masaki, you’re not my boyfriend…”
“Why?! Why can’t I be your boyfriend?” He wailed kicking his legs like a baby having a tantrum and Nino gave yet another sigh scraping his fingers through his hair pushing the black locks away from his eyes deciding that he really hadn’t signed on for this when he had agreed to start babysitting.
“Because, little idiot, you’re too young for me…You’re only a kid…” Nino muttered feeling almost sick that he probably would be very happy with a boyfriend like Aiba. He was going to be a complete heartbreaker when he was older after all “And…I can’t have a boyfriend that’s an idiot, a cry baby and a kid!”
Masaki turned around slowly, giving a loud sniff as he wiped his face on the blanket leaving a nice gooey mess that the Aiba’s would have to sort out later asking;
“So… When… I get to your age… Will you be my boyfriend then?!”
Nino opened his mouth very tempted to refuse, knowing that he had to refuse, but them decided against it, if he did that there would be another round of tears and he didn’t want that not know Masaki was almost smiling again.
“Fine when you get to be my age you can be my boyfriend… Now come and eat your tea…” He growled getting up from the bed rolling his eyes when Masaki gave a whoop and jumped out of the bed and followed him his tears forgotten.
Present Day
The nurse griped the plastic door handle tightly in his hand and, after taking a deep breath, he opened it with more confidence than he was actually feeling. When he had first heard the name he hadn’t wanted it to really be Masaki but now that he knew it was he was going to make sure he could do the best he could to look after him.
After taking another deep breath, trying desperately to calm his heart down, he stepped inside seeing the figure on the bed. Masaki had his back to the door, facing the window and for moment Nino managed to find a smile remembering the sulky Masaki that had been jealous of his brother. His heart still pounding slowly against his ribs he took two steps towards him his feet tapping of the polished green speckled floor but Masaki made no sign that he had heard him. The closer he got to the bed the more that he could see that the soft green blankets were shaking, another step and he heard that there was a loud sniff indicating that he was crying.
“Aiba-kun” He said softly, hating that his voice wasn’t displaying any of the confidence that he was trying to pull into himself, and the figure in the bed froze for just a second. A gasp filled the room and there were a few hurried movements indicating that he was hurriedly wiping his eyes, trying to be strong. The sheets moved again and the bed springs squeaked loudly as Masaki rolled over. He was thinner and older than the boy he had looked after all those years ago but the tear tracks that marked his chalk white face were the same and somehow in spite of everything he was still giving the huge idiotic grin.
“Hello?!” He hummed looking a little confused and Nino’s smile very nearly slipped away from his lips as he realised, that just like Nino had predicted years ago, he really was adorable to look at and the nurse wondered how many hearts he had already broken with his innocent, cute expression and warm wide grin.
“Hello little idiot” Nino murmured softly coming closer to him and Masaki’s smile slipped and for a fraction of a second he frowned chewing his lip and looking thoughtful before realisation dawned in his beautiful brown eyes and his plump pouty lips parted in a gasp.
“Nino-chan!” Masaki shouted, his newly adult voice sounding broken and strangely husky. It still had the same, stupidly optimistic note to it and to his horror Nino felt like crying in relief that he wasn’t as far gone as he had first thought. He was surprised and glad that Masaki had recognised him even with the separation of the years and to fight the happy tears he forced a mock glare onto his face
“How many times have I told you not to call me Nino-chan?” He sighed folding his arms across his chest and pointing to the badge that was pinned to his yellow scrubs “It’s nurse Ninomiya to you…”
“You’re a nurse?! Here?! In this hospital?!” Masaki shouted almost bouncing up and down on the bed quickly filling Nino with a strong sense dread, Masaki really wasn’t ideal patient material he had always been too hyperactive. He soon stopped though wariness coming to his face as his whole body sagged, there was a lot of pain in his eyes too and quickly Nino pushed him into a laid down position.
“Of course in this hospital, if you’d stop shouting and let me do my proper introduction you’d know that I’m going to be your main nurse while you’re staying here…I promise that I’m going to take care of you…”
“Really? Yay, I get to be with Nino-chan again!” Masaki gasped, his face shining with the same excitement he had shown those years ago and Nino suspected that if he had the energy he would be doing his strange little wiggle dance and if that was the case he would have been happy to spend his time poking his stomach. “Wow this is amazing! I can’t believe it’s Nino-chan… It’s been a long time!”
“Yep it really has…” the nurse mumbled sitting down on the edge of the bed and flipping through the chart his heart hammering out a beat on his ribs. Masaki’s reaction to treatments had been pretty erratic throughout most of his illness. Some days it looked really good for him but others it seemed that his illness was winning. Those days were becoming increasingly more frequent and Nino felt almost felt his eyes welling with tears that he had to squish down determined to be the professional that he was. He swallowed turning to the last page and seeing that the next treatment that they were suggesting was a bone marrow transplant with Yusuke being the lucky donor. It was probably his last option and that was only going to be available if he recovered enough energy to make it through.
“I’m going to die aren’t I?” Masaki asked his voice, heartbreakingly soft and shaky with new tears, cutting through his own thoughts which had been drifting in the same direction. He dropped the chart down snapping his head up to look at him his eyes fixed into a stare knowing that mental health was just as important right now.
“Are you going to be a cry baby again?” He snapped using his best teenage Nino voice that he could manage as he got up from the bed, his arms crossing over his chest as he tapped his foot on the floor “Because if you are going to be a cry baby, I’ll give you to somebody else…”
“No! I want Nino-chan! I won’t cry!” Masaki said with as much enthusiasm as he would have when he was a child his hands quickly going up to wipe at his eyes. His bottom lip stuck out, as did his chest, and Nino realised that he was trying hard to look serious. Nino gave a smile, something that he really didn’t feel like doing, and reached out and ruffled the cap that he was wearing.
“Good boy little idiot…” he mumbled pulling his hand away as the door opened and the Aiba’s came in looking a lot calmer than he had seen them in the hallway. “I promise that I’m going to take good care of you and Yusuke-kun…”
“Just like you always did, ne!”
“Yup…You should get some rest and I’ll come and see you again later…” He said gently squeezing Masaki’s hand before nodding to the Aiba’s and exiting the room. He managed to make it back to the staff room before he collapsed dropping to the floor sobbing like a baby. He wasn’t completely sure how long he had been there before he realised that he had to be strong, so he could keep his promise.
He left the hospital after filling in his paperwork and took the train to his small, run down, apartment building already hearing the screams and curses from his wife in his ears. Each and every day he wished to all the gods under the sun that he had never married her, but if he hadn’t then he wouldn’t have been granted with the greatest treasures that he could ever have asked for.
“Your kids were playing up again” His wife Ren screeched as soon as he walked through the door and Nino had to force back a biting retort. His nerves were already stretched to breaking point and the image of Masaki laying there in the hospital bed still grinning like a simpleton was plaguing his mind and flashing before his eyes every time his closed his eyes.
Even if refused to admit it he had always loved Masaki like a little brother, he knew he didn’t have the easiest personality in the world to like but Masaki had always gotten his jokes and laughed with his stupid but beautiful laugh even when they had been directed at him.
Ignoring his wife, he went into the living room where the three-year-old boys were playing about with blocks knocking them over with chubby hands. He wasn’t a complete moron he knew that his sons were about as biologically his as toast would be, he was just one of the many people that his wife had slept with in what had to be a world record attempt. But he loved both of them and right now he pulled them both into a hug and once again started to cry onto their shoulders until he had almost passed out.
“What the hell do you think you’re playing at!” Ren screamed cutting through his mind again forcing himself awake. “Why the hell are you going to sleep?! You’ve been gone all night and all day! You’ve got to look after your kids now!”
“I will…Go out like you know that you want to!” Nino grumbled back still not bringing himself to look at the hateful woman. “We’ll be here whenever you decide to come back…” Ren gave a scream and then thankfully left the room and Nino gave a loud sigh closing his eyes in a tight frown trying to push away the sleep that was collecting behind his eyes. “How about I tell you how I decided to become a nurse…”
*~*The Past~~*
"Nino-chan... What do you want me to be when I grow up?" Masaki asked, coming to sit beside him on the bed and putting an arm around his back, his head resting on his shoulder. Nino frowned finding it unfair that at only ten the little idiot was almost as tall as he was and while he had just about finished his growth Masaki still had a few years left, meaning that he was going to be more than a little bit taller than him.
"Huh? Why are you asking me?" he asked moving away from him and trying to study the entrance exam questions he needed to know by next Monday.
"Well if I'm going to be your boyfriend I want to know what you want me to be...I don't want to be something that Nino-chan hates" Masaki said easily with a shrug pressing up against his side again and Nino wondered if this conversation could get any stranger. But then he remembered that he had already been informed last week that both Mr and Mrs Aiba approved of him as a future son-in-law which.
"Idiot, what's important is that you do something that you want to do..." Nino said rolling his eyes keeping his eyes fixed on the school books in front of him, uncomfortably aware of the fact that he was pressed up against the sofa arm and couldn't move any further from the stifling heat which was wrapped around him. "Anyway go and play with Yusuke-kun for a while I'm trying to figure out what I want to be"
"Huh!? You're going to be my boyfriend I'm going to take care of you, you just have to stay at home and look after the babies" Masaki gasped, his eyes widening with more surprise than was strictly necessary, and Nino had to stop himself from laughing at this strange idea of their future.
"And where are these babies coming from genius? Because if you and I are going to be boyfriends neither of us can have them" Nino scoffed really not wanting to be having this conversation with him. He had hoped that Masaki would grow out of his crush but that seemed unlikely.
"I know that! But we can have lots of animals and then they can be our babies, ne?!" Masaki said unfazed by the new information that it wouldn't be possible for them to have their own children or maybe he really had already known that. Nino sighed deciding that he really had to admire the boy’s determination to them dating one day. It had been a year since Nino had made that promise to him to get him to stop crying but the offhand remark had become Masaki’s only hope and dream.
“Fine we can have lots of animals… Go and play with Yusuke-kun…” He said again with more force and irritation in his voice. This time Masaki got the hint and nodded running off out of the living room leaving him alone with his books. The peace lasted for only about three minutes and then a loud piercing scream cut through the air.
“Nino-san!” Yusuke shouted, the panic in his voice enough to cause his heart to freeze inside his chest before he worked on instinct diving over the sofa and running into the room they had been playing in.
“What’s going on?” Nino asked breathlessly, his blood running cold when he saw Masaki face first on the ground his arm twisted out in an unnatural position behind his back. His face was pale and he was sobbing his little heart out. “What happened?” Nino asked rushing to his side and Masaki tried to look up at him his mouth opening and closing and Nino shook his head shouting “Don’t move! You might have broken it!”
“Nino-chan! It hurts!” Masaki screamed the sound enough to almost break Nino’s heart. He checked the arm carefully, trying to remember everything he had ever seen or read about arm injuries.
“Don’t be a cry baby, my little idiot” He whispered and Masaki quickly gave a loud sniff, to his credit though he did try his best after that. Nino checked the arm carefully his hands moving up and down his arm glad that he couldn’t feel any broken bones. “I think it’s just dislocated…but you’re going to have to go to the hospital…Yusuke-kun will you bring me the phone?”
“Yes Nino-san!” The boy shouted running out to the living room. Once they were alone Nino carefully turned Masaki over and was shocked to see that his face was as white as a ghost’s, while his eyes were red with the tears that he didn’t want to shed.
“You’re being brave Masa-chan” He whispered dropping a kiss onto his forehead smiling when, even in all his pain, Masaki looked like Christmas had come early.
“… Nino-chan… Should be a nurse!”
*~*~*~ Present Day*~*~*~*
Nino blinked hotly cuddling his now sleeping children to his chest realising that he was crying. He had worked hard to become a nurse like Masaki had suggested and then again to be a specialised nurse in cancer treatment. He wanted to believe that it was fate, that all of his life had been leading up to this moment and that because of that he would be able to save his little idiot. Rubbing away the tears with the ball of his hands he tucked moved the children and then fell to sleep with the promise in his heart that Masaki would be okay.
TBC
A/N: This was requested by another of my patreon supporters…I absolutely promise that I will finish it this time…I’m sorry for those that have already these parts before >.< will be posted on Mondays :)
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Date: 2016-10-03 10:16 am (UTC)Thanks for sharing!