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It was not surprising that the first one to wake up after such a pretty lengthened night was Sho, given their varying states of inebriation. His workaholic instincts had alerted him, stirred him and prodded him to clear his bearings right that instant, but the aftermath of the many drinks he had that was fizzing inside of him like a morning greeting was rendering him non-functional. He resigned himself to it because this, too, was within his expectations.
Last night, after their reservation in a deluxe private room of a restaurant under Jun's name, the four of them were led to their leader's home with an unspoken invitation to come over anytime they would want to from then on. Aiba was elated and incredibly touched because finally, finally, Ohno had given him his address.
They had had a few drinks in the restaurant, but the night was still young and their thirsts were not yet sated, so Ohno took the liberty of mixing their drinks using that wonderful jigger that Sho fancied so much. Their leader had apparently been preparing for that night as he stacked up bottles and bottles of beers and alcohol spirits starting from the time he had thought of how he would like to end the year.
After a sufficient amount of cocktails and heavy liquors later, Sho had found himself getting amused with the scenes unfolding right in front of him.
Aiba had whined again about the loads of pressure he was carrying with inheriting the time slot of Arashi's very well-received program and turning it into a show with his name alone. They knew, though, that rather than an outright complain, this was merely Aiba's way of seeking easement and solace from Ohno. It had been obvious from the way he was clinging into him.
Ohno, with a gentle smile comparable to a guardian deity's, indulged him plenty with pats and caresses on his head.
Nino was quiet yet attentive the whole night. He gave sharp comments and witty comebacks time and time again, but he was precisely and unmistakably focused on their leader. He and Ohno had talks that only the two of them could hear, but Sho was aware that it was simply not important enough to voice it out to the whole group and not because they were purposely withdrawing themselves from them.
They had been this way from back then so Sho did not feel exceptionally left out.
Jun was much like Sho, watchful and cautious but still mirthful enough to join in on the fun. Although sometimes, it was even Jun himself who would create an atmosphere filled with laughter and glee.
He had bickered with Ohno, playfully reprimanding him and calling him out on a random thing that only an extreme perfectionist would pinpoint, but his ways of spoiling him as he attended to him, served him and took care of most of the preparations were plain and apparent to anyone.
Sho would admit that he had started the day with fuzzy feelings of anxiety and edginess. He had not wanted the day to come, he had not fully prepared himself for it. But time, cruel as it was, left him no choice but to face reality.
The reason they presented to back up their hiatus was the desire to take their separate paths and go on their own ways so as for them to grow, mature and flourish as an individual. But this was not entirely true.
At the very least, Sho did not want to take a separate path.
He knew that even the other three still intended for Arashi to go on. Their paths were not even different, to begin with, they had been connected with each other by this link and they wished to grow up without having to remove the name Arashi from them. Sho wanted to be with them for an endless time, they wanted to be together for an endless time.
That said, Sho, Aiba, Nino and Jun chose to respect and accept Ohno's decision despite themselves. If this was how they could relieve one of the members from where he was bound by the shackles that their industry had put on him, then so be it, because no one loved Arashi more than Arashi themselves.
As long as they could see Ohno happy, free and without any trace of suffering, then they would carve a path of their own and walk individually without any bitterness in their hearts while they would look forward to the day that they could be whole again.
Just like Aiba had said, they just had to arrange their schedules and then go to their leader's place. When their leader gave his consent to it, Sho realized that this was nice too. It was not enough to be Arashi again, but it was enough for them to be together again.
With this on his mind, Sho had ended the day with contentment settling in on him.
Even now that he was awake, the feelings he had last night had not subsided yet. Nothing had changed so far. The winter chill was still biting on his skin and the space on the bed left for him was still as compact as he remembered. Ohno and Nino were still entangled with each other and Jun and Aiba were still huddled close together on Ohno's bedroom floor.
Later, he would need to go home and prepare as his work clock would start to tick again. Tomorrow, he would need to go on with his career and begin his path as Sho Sakurai. But for now, he would spend this precious moment the best way that he could and savor it to its fullest extent.
It was the first day of Arashi's hiatus and the first thing that Sho did was to wake up beside Ohno.
The second thing that he did was to throw his arm around Ohno and Nino's entangled form as he went back to sleep.
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-krizza-