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The moment he turned twenty-one, Nino should’ve known.
Mom… dog… breakfast… ah, Nino’s birthday!
Nino groaned into the pillow, but he couldn’t help the butterflies in his stomach and the joy he felt at the unexpecting revelation.
They said that when you turned twenty-one, you would be able to hear the thoughts of your soulmate. When Aiba turned twenty-one last year, he had been dejected because he hadn’t been able to hear anything the moment he woke up. Nino had to comfort him with a lot of alcohol and a boys’ night out (at his apartment).
Secretly, Nino had been relieved. Of course he wanted Aiba to be happy, and to be happy with someone he was meant to be. But that meant that Aiba wouldn’t be his anymore. They had been friends forever and while Nino would be happy for Aiba and his partner, Nino wouldn’t be the main focus anymore.
But Aiba was his soulmate. Nino couldn’t help but grin at that. He listened to Aiba ramble on about his mornings before finally cutting in the nonsense.
Are your mornings always this eventful? Nino thought in exasperation, knowing fully well it could be.
There was a long pause and Nino thought that maybe he had been wrong about the whole soulmates thing, or maybe he was in a dream. He was proven wrong (thankfully) when Aiba finally responded, his tone full of disbelief and astonishment.
N-Nino…?
Hi Aiba-chan. Nino grinned when he felt Aiba splutter in surprise before speaking (thinking)?
H-How… w-what? Is it actually you, Nino?
Dummy, Nino thought, rolling his eyes fondly. Who else would it be? Also, you were talking about my gift earlier, what is it?
He grinned when Aiba began scolding him about trying to ruin his surprise.
It was strange, yet very comforting to know that your soulmate was never too far away. If it anyone else other than Aiba, Nino probably would have felt a little nervous or scared that a random stranger was privy to his thoughts. But this was Aiba. Not to say that he wasn’t worried or terrified about the fact that Aiba was able to actually hear his thoughts, but he felt much better knowing that it was his best friend who could hear him.
Nino went through his morning routine, exchanging barbs with Aiba but also listening in on what his best friend was thinking. When he focused on what Aiba was thinking about, the thoughts were amplified. When he wasn’t, it sounded like a faint murmur in the background, similar to chatter in a cafe—it was white noise.
The two of them had agreed to meet up at Aiba’s family restaurant to discuss about the soulmate bond. Even if it was something they both accepted wholeheartedly, they had to talk about it, get themselves registered, and attend classes for soulmate pairs. The two of them hadn’t wanted to tell their family and friends yet, deciding that they wanted to sort things out between them before making the announcement.
When Nino arrived at the restaurant a few hours later, Aiba was working at the front, counting coins, greeting and thanking customers. His expression brightened when he saw Nino approach.
“Nino!” Aiba exclaimed excitedly, grinning at him. Nino wanted to smack him on the head for being so loud.
“You’re going to disturb the customers!” Nino hissed at him but let himself be dragged around the counter so that he was standing next to his friend.
“It’s okay, there’s not that many people anyway,” Aiba pointed out. The lunch rush was dying down and there were only a few tables occupied. Nino waved at Aiba’s mother when their eyes met. “Just give me a second and we can go to my room,” Aiba said, counting the coins faster.
“I can wait, don’t make a mistake in your counting,” Nino said lazily, watching his friend count the money.
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Aiba said, waving off his concern. Nino watched as Aiba quickly finished the rest of the coins before writing something in a black booklet. Several moments later, Aiba announced that he was done and Nino found himself being tugged to his friend’s bedroom.
Nino let himself relax against the wall, taking in the sight of Aiba desperately trying to clean up some of the clothes he had thrown on top of the covers.
“So!” Aiba said excitedly when he moved to sit next to Nino on the bed. “How did it feel for you?”
Nino sent him a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”
Aiba gestured at his head. “When you heard me, I meant.” He looked at Nino expectantly.
Nino blinked and tried to think back to earlier this morning. It had started off with him just waking up with Aiba’s ramblings in his head. He couldn’t recall anything special happening.
“It wasn’t anything major,” Nino answered with a shrug. “I just woke up and heard you. No—” he shook his head and sent Aiba a mock glare. “I’m pretty sure it was your rambling that woke me up.”
Aiba grinned and grabbed one of his pillows, hugging it close to his chest. “But you have to admit, it’s really cool, huh?”
Nino agreed.
“We need to schedule a day where we visit the registry,” Nino pointed out a few moments later after they fell into a comfortable silence.
Huh?
The soulmate registry.
Oh.
What’s with the sudden mind talk?
Nino could feel Aiba shrug beside him. “I wanted to test it out,” he said, placing the pillow on his thighs and placed his hands on top of it.
Nino pursed his lips before nodding. “If not a little annoying,” he said in exasperation.
Aiba jerked beside him and he found his vision blocked Aiba’s face. “Why?” his friend asked in surprise.
Nino frowned, and pushed his friend’s face away. Too close. “You don’t think so?”
Aiba settled back beside Nino again and shook his head. “No… I think it’s kind of cool!” He pulled at the sheets hesitantly. “Do you… do you really don’t like the idea of it?” Aiba asked quietly.
Nino sighed, realizing he had said the wrong thing. “No,” he said in frustration, running a hand through his hair. “I mean—” he added hastily when he saw the stricken look on Aiba’s face. “That’s not what I meant! I just—there’s no privacy…?” he ended weakly, doing a bad job of what he was trying to get at.
“But that’s what the classes are for!” Aiba said, his brow furrowing. “I can’t say I’m all that thrilled about having someone in my head all the time either, but it’s pretty cool… isn’t it?” He shot Nino a soft smile.
Nino pursed his lips. Aiba did have a point. Still, he couldn’t help the fear at the back of his mind. He and Aiba were close, best friends really, but that didn’t mean he wanted Aiba to be privy to all his thoughts. His fears.
As if sensing the unease that fell over him, Aiba shuffled on the bed to move closer to Nino so that he was almost lying on top of him now.
“You’re heavy!” Nino complained, but made no move to push his friend off. Aiba was warm, and he smelled like the food from downstairs. It reminded him of his childhood when things were much simpler.
“You’re just skinny,” Aiba retorted back lightly before pushing off of him and moved to sit next to him again, their legs touching slightly.
“So ummm…. what now?” Nino asked, trying to hide his nervousness with nonchalance. He tried to block out his thoughts from Aiba by thinking about the quest he still had to complete in his latest game.
Aiba made a loud contemplative noise and Nino couldn't help but slap his friend’s arm for the offensive sound in the silence of the room. He smirked when Aiba let out a laugh before he found himself giggling along with that infectious laughter.
“Aiba! Ai-Aiba! S-Stop!” Nino gasped between chuckles, trying to stop himself from chuckling. Aiba’s laughter was loud, bright, and infectious. Nino could never stop himself from laughing along once his friend got started. When he finally managed to get a hold of himself, Nino realized how close his friend’s face was.
Trying his hardest not to blush (he could feel the blood rushing to his ears), he did his best to maintain a straight face when he looked up to meet Aiba’s eyes. He had not been ready to see the look of want in his friend’s expression. He swallowed, heart beating nervously as he saw Aiba move closer. He didn’t reject it, he couldn’t. Not when Aiba was so warm and solid above him, and it was Aiba.
Nino’s immediately closed his eyes when he felt Aiba’s lips against his.
As far as kisses went, this was definitely one of his favourites. Kissing Aiba was exactly how he imagined it would be like: familiar, comforting, and somewhat like the sun on your skin on a warm summer’s day. That feeling that made you feel like nothing could go wrong.
Nino couldn't help but smile when he felt Aiba giggle against his lips before trying to tug him closer. He felt himself being pulled down on top of Aiba, their lips never parting as they slowly explored each other’s taste. He let out a soft moan when Aiba nibbled on his bottom lip teasingly, his back arching as he tried to press himself closer to him.
Nino didn't know how long they were kissing for. When he finally pulled away, he felt a stirring in his stomach at the sight of Aiba’s red and swollen lips. I did that, he thought absentmindedly.
You did! Did you enjoy it?
Nino rolled his eyes at the smug look on Aiba’s face before he grinned and buried his laughter into his friend’s neck.
It definitely wasn’t a bad thing at all to be a soulmate pair with your best friend.