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1. When Nino woke up.
Nino snapped awake with a violent jerk. He was confused for several moments, blinking as he clung to the warm person in front of him as he tried to gather his bearings. Thin sunlight was drifting through the gap between Sho's curtains and his bedroom window and it cast a bar of light across the center of the bed.
The room was silent. Nino wondered, vaguely, what had caused him to wake, but as he pressed the butt of his palm into his left eye he realized he really didn't care. He also realized, as he wiggled and flopped sleepily on the bed, that Jun was sleeping on his right arm.
Rolling closer to Jun again, Nino did his best to prop himself up so he could look over the boy's shoulder. Jun was out cold but still looked upset. Even through the morning twilight Nino could see the dull streaks on Jun's face, clear evidence that he'd cried sometime last night.
"Oh, Jun-chan," Nino sighed, suddenly feeling so sad for his friend. Reaching up he pulled back a few dark strands of hair, dragging the blanket they shared further up Jun's body.
Ignoring the aches in his own body - the consequence of one too many beers the night before - Nino laid back down. Snuggling up as close as he could get, Nino looped his left arm around Jun's waist in a tight hug, burying his nose into the soft, worn fabric of Jun's shirt.
2. When Sho fell asleep.
Sho had originally almost fallen asleep on the floor in front of his own bedroom door. He was a little worried about Nino, but honestly he was more upset with him. Nino wasn't the only one concerned about Jun, about why he might be so angry. Especially why he might be angry with Aiba. Sho had seen the pair squabble plenty of times, but it was always with a tinge of affection. Last night, Jun had seemed furious.
Ohno had eventually tugged Sho away from the door. He didn't say anything, he didn't have to explain to Sho how stupid it was to camp outside his own bedroom waiting for the two boys inside to decide they wanted to let anyone else in. With a tired, slightly drunken pout Sho had let himself be led to the series of futons that had all been laid out in the front room. Where they were all supposed to have slept together to bring in the new year.
"Satoshi," Sho stopped, sitting back up before his friend could pull a blanket up over him. Ohno looked up curiously. It wasn't fair how sober and calm he seemed to be and Sho felt himself flush in embarrassment for losing it when the pair of them were supposed to be oldest and responsible.
"You're too good for the rest of us," Sho sighed, so tired that he didn't really realize he'd spoken out loud.
"Mm," Ohno hummed, easing Sho back down into his bedding. "I think the same thing about you all of the time. But it's bedtime now. Good night, Sho-chan."
"'Night," Sho yawned, eyes closed before his head even hit the pillow.
3. When Aiba left.
Aiba didn't sleep. He curled up on the couch and closed his eyes, let the others think he'd fallen asleep so that they wouldn't fuss over him too. Jun deserved their focus right now. Aiba wanted to give it, but he was pretty sure that wouldn't be helpful.
He kept thinking back to just a few hours earlier. The scent of the city air on Jun's cheek, the sharp gasp of his name. Aiba hadn't been all that drunk, he'd been more than sober enough to know better. He should have been able to recognize that Jun's expression hadn't just been surprise but had been fear. He'd just... he'd hoped...
Clenching a fist against his knee, Aiba chanced lifting his head. Sho and Ohno were sleeping on the floor and there was light coming through the windows. Aiba wasn't sure how long they'd been out, but he knew that the bedroom door hadn't opened. Pausing for the count of several heartbeats, Aiba finally uncurled his legs from the couch. Carefully, he picked his way through the littered front room and made his way to the hall.
Slipping on his shoes, Aiba only looked back to make sure he eased the door shut as he left.
4. When Jun woke up.
Rain drummed its silver fingertips along the window in a lazy rhythm. Jun tried to ignore it for as long as possible, but after a certain amount of time his body just couldn't sleep anymore. Squeezing his eyes closed all the more tightly, Jun tried to ignore it all and hold the coming day at bay.
"Damn it," Jun spoke softly, his body deflating with a sigh. Blinking his eyes open, he stared directly ahead at the off-white of Sho's bedroom wall.
"G'morning," Nino mumbled against his shoulder, not sounding very awake.
"Does it have to be?" Jun asked, not expecting a reply. Of course, he got one anyway.
"Nah. It could be pretty shitty," Nino grunted, pulling at his right arm until Jun shifted to let it go. "I was just trying to be optimistic, since it's a new year and all."
Jun gave a humorless chuckle, grunting in soft acknowledgement as he felt Nino drop a kiss on his shoulder before scooting his way out of bed.
"What timessit?" Jun asked, words slurring as he bent so far backwards on the bed he could practically grab his ankles. The burn in his limbs from the stretch felt good, letting him flop bonelessly against the mattress once his muscles released their tension.
Nino glanced at the alarmclock atop the right-side nightstand. "Four-thirty."
"In the afternoon?!" Jun frowned, twisting around to try and see the clock to confirm.
"It's easy to lose time in that bed," Nino called from the bathroom. He left the door open and light on and Jun could hear when Nino started to pee.
"Gross," Jun grumbled, dragging a hand over his face and collapsing against the mattress again.
As Nino busied himself taking advantage of the facilities, Jun studied the ceiling. He was so embarrassed about how he'd acted the night before. It had just been a kiss (okay, more than one), there wasn't any reason to lose his shit over everything and ruin everyone else's night.
The problem was that it hadn't just been any kiss, not for Jun. And that was the problem. Aiba kissed everyone, he hugged everyone. While Jun had been getting better about not being so closed off, he just wasn't like that. When he'd kissed Aiba back he'd wanted it to mean something. He wanted it to be more than Aiba just being Aiba, just being affectionate and flirty. He'd wanted it to be because Aiba wanted him and not just because anyone would do. When he'd pulled back and seen the glassy-eyed, drunken look on Aiba's face Jun had realized his mistake.
"Oh god," Nino's voice startled Jun out of his thoughts and he lifted his head to look at Nino at the foot of the bed. Nino's eyes were wide and his expression seemed more than a little horrified. "You didn't—you did."
Jun realized, belatedly, that he'd been tracing the curve of his mouth with his fingertips as he'd been thinking. Pulling his hand away from his lips quickly (and quite guiltily) Jun scowled at Nino and rolled over to sit up.
"What're you babbling about?" Jun demanded grumpily, avoiding Nino's gaze. He felt the dip in the bed as Nino's weight joined him but still refused to look up.
There was a very long moment of silence before Nino gave a besotted sigh.
"Well. I'm going to have to kill him," he said matter-of-factly. Jun rolled his eyes before finally looking at Nino.
"Don't be so dramatic. It wasn't anything," Jun spoke dismissively, and he knew he was trying to convince himself as well as Nino.
Nino opened his mouth to say something but then snapped his jaw shut. That pissed Jun off even more than the unsolicited sympathy because it was something Nino usually only did when he thought Jun wasn't 'ready' to hear something. He was tired of being handled with the fucking kid gloves.
"I'm done talking about this," Jun's hands crossed firmly as his body language, for once, communicated the exact same thing as his words. Determinedly ignoring Nino's gaze, Jun stalked to the bathroom and slammed the door, locking it behind him.
5. When Ohno woke up.
Ohno heard the click of the door opening and the swish of the rubber insulation at the bottom scraping the linoleum by the front door. He didn't want to wake up, but after everything that had happened, Ohno knew he probably should at least go look.
Groaning, Ohno gave a pout at the floor and the early morning light. He also wasn't enjoying the sharp pain pulsing from the top of his skull to just above his left eyebrow, but that was at least one unpleasantness he'd expected. Dragging himself to his feet, he noticed Aiba missing immediately.
It was lucky that Ohno knew the neighborhood better than Aiba did. He'd been around this area longer, even before he had the excuse of visiting Sho. The city was still sleeping, not even morning communters out and crossing the distant bridges or overpasses yet. Ohno found Aiba just a few blocks up the street, having a cigarette while leaning against the blank wall of a small grocery chain.
"I thought you quit," Ohno said by way of hello, slowing to a stop just by Aiba's side.
Aiba glanced at his feet sheepishly even as he took another drag, releasing the smoke through his nose.
"I did. I just... I needed to do something where I didn't have to think," Aiba shrugged, offering the cigarette to Ohno for a puff.
Accepting the cigarette, Ohno held it between his index and middle-finger as he drew a slow, measured puff from it. Scratching along his jaw with the ring-finger of the same hand, Ohno nodded as he released smoke into the morning air.
"I'm not sure I want to know what happened," Ohno said, passing back the cigarette. And it was true, he wasn't sure.
Aiba gave a weak smile before looking away. The cherry of the cigarette blazed and crawled quickly towards the filter, shining meditatively as Aiba pulled at it with his lips. It was a strange moment, but Ohno wished he had a camera to catch the scene. The red embers seemed so bright compared to the rest of their gray world.