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The sun is still bright, but the warm gleaming is no longer blinding. The clear blue sky has found its way to blush somehow. Parents with toddlers take their leave, albeit the faded screaming from the roller-coaster arena is still lit. The amusement park has not lost its spirit at all, not one bit, but it’s time to go home. Even though it was Aiba who asked him on this particular date, Nino has this unspoken promise to Aiba’s mother to get her son home before dinner time. Unlike him, his partner here has something to wait upon at home.
“Nino, we can’t go home before we ride the Ferris wheel!” defends Aiba, as expected.
“You’ve ridden that thing for like a hundred times since they had this mini version of the wheel in the kindergarten—”
“But I’m a high school student now,”
Nino blinks for a second before he chuckles at that unbelievably innocent remark. “Trust me, the view won’t be that different, Aiba-ssi.”
“Oh, come on. It’s the perfect timing, the sun is about to set! You can’t miss the golden hour view from such height!”
“Uh,” Nino checks his watch in a pretentious manner to tease the taller man. “Actually, the sun will set in at least one hour from now, the ride only lasts for like 15 minutes.”
Aiba quickly checks his watch too, “Crap. You’re right.”
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They still ride the Ferris wheel anyway. Shocker. Nino can never really say no to Aiba. It has always been like that since the day they met (preschool Aiba offered him sand to eat together). One time, Aiba insisted that Nino had to stay over at his house because he wanted to share his new set of dump truck toys he got for his eighth birthday. That was a day away before Nino went home to learn the word ‘divorce’. It did not matter anymore whether the stay-over was actually their mothers’ idea, because from that moment on, Aiba Masaki is his home.
“Nino look! That’s Matsujun’s house!” exclaims Aiba pointing at the glass window. He has his face sticks to the window as soon as they went up minutes ago. Nino leans closer to get a better view.
“Hmm? Can’t see it,”
“No, it’s over there! The white one near the park that has a soccer field, see that square field?”
“Ah, you’re right. You broke your arm there.”
The following minutes consist of another ‘finding house’ game until things suddenly go quiet, mostly because Aiba is in airplane-mode. It is a term Nino uses to describe Aiba’s sudden tranquility when the ride reaches exactly at the top of the wheel. As much as he likes Aiba’s contagious smile and laughter, Nino finds it heavenly to see the stay still Aiba; his gaze does not leave the city view, the sun rays fall on his face, making him looks like he was some kind of unreal painting. Untouchable.
“I wish I could stop time now.” says Aiba suddenly, mostly to himself.
“No, you can’t, Aiba-ssi. We have school tomorrow.”
That earns giggles from Aiba’s face. “No, I mean,” He looks down to find the right words. “The…world seems so small from here, troubles are so far below, and you should never feel alone again because I’m just inches away from you.”
Nino cannot find a word to respond so he just nods.
“Are you okay?” Aiba shoots.
All the whirring machines in Nino’s head freezes to the remark, and the lump in his throat feels heavier. The weeks have been not so okay for him. He has been feeling like his brain is hazed especially when he is alone. Now that he knows that someone is around, it feels like he actually has the chance to feel alright because, yes, the troubles are so far, and that person is only inches away. He feels like he can try a little harder this time. “I will be,” he finally says.
Aiba smiles, the kind of smile that reaches his eyes, the kind that makes Nino wants to smile too. “Good."
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