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60 Seconds to Go
Aiba smiles as he spots Ohno running through choreography as he stands at the bottom of the stairs that lead to the stage. Only his upper body moves as he nods to the beat in his head. Aiba is captivated by the image; he’s always appreciated the effortless grace with which Ohno moves.
45 Seconds to Go
He ascends the stairs and wraps his arms around Ohno from behind. He leans in, resting his chin on the plane of his shoulder and squeezes lightly. He doesn’t say anything, doesn’t need to say anything, and just breathes as Ohno’s movements still and a laugh bubbles up from his throat.
“I’m all sweaty!” Ohno protests weakly.
Aiba ignores him and hangs on, pressing a chaste kiss into Ohno’s cheek and nuzzling into the curve of his neck, eliciting yet another laugh.
30 Seconds to Go
He hears the time called in his monitors and knows the others will join them soon. It’s the last encore of the last night on tour and Aiba isn’t sure whether he wants to laugh or cry more right now. With one last squeeze he steps away from Ohno and moves to stand beside him instead. Nino appears from behind, coming to stand beside Aiba on his other side, Jun and Sho rounding out the line as they join as well.
15 Seconds to Go
Aiba lights up when Ohno reaches out for his hand, tingles running up his arm as Ohno’s thumb rubs absently against his skin as they wait for the mark. He turns, mouth open to speak, but stops as he sees the content smile on Ohno’s face and instead yanks his hand to bring him flush once more.
10 Seconds to Go
He can see the surprise flicker across Ohno’s face at his movement, but persists, pulling him in for a quick kiss. He registers Jun’s squawk of surprise and Nino’s dry save it for the stage but chooses to focus instead on the way Ohno’s breath is coming in small gasps and a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth.
5 Seconds to Go
Aiba feels the adrenaline rushing through him as the lights start to come up. The sound of the crowd is almost deafening and presses in on him like a wall of sound. He relishes the feeling of being overwhelmed by the noise and gives raises his and Ohno’s joined hands as they step out onto the platform. He feels electric as they move across the stage, the instrumental of “Sakura Sake” filtering in through his monitor. They’ve all drifted apart by now, but as the chorus kicks in he looks over and shares a grin with Ohno. Together, they take off, running towards the far end of the stage where Sho waits for them. The fireworks booming on top of the crowd’s singing is more than enough to send him over the edge. He feels the tears on his cheeks and turns to Ohno. He’ll swear later it’s the smoke dissipating around him that sparks the tears (no one will believe him) Ohno’s arms wrap around him, holding him close and steadying him.
Thirty Minutes Later
They stand together at the top of the stage bowing deeply as they offer their thanks. Aiba stares out at the sea of people and takes it all in, blinking back yet another wave of tears. He’s still surprised that after all of these years that they have so much support, that all of this is for them. He turns to leave with the rest and relaxes into Ohno as he drapes an arm around Aiba’s waist.
“You are the perfect leaning height.” Aiba informs him happily as they head back towards the staircase. He can feel the exhaustion lingering on the corners of his consciousness as the excess energy from the concert begins to dissipate.