Code Purple

[learashi]

Pairing: Sakumoto

Genre: fluff

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Arashi or its members – this is a work of fiction.

Summary: Nino was surprised when Sho flung the door open while his knuckles were still in contact with the wood. His hair was standing on end and there were black smudges on his cheeks. He reached out and dragged them inside.

A/N: This is a Purple Month bonus for matsupie. Surprise!!!




"Nino. You have to help me."

"Aiba is just about to treat me to a free dinner. Can I drop around afterwards?"

"No. It's an emergency. If you both come straight away I'll have whatever food you want delivered and you can eat when you both get here."

"Fine by me. As far as I'm concerned one lot of free food is as good as another.

They gave Sho their order and promised to be there in half an hour. He figured that he could hold off his panic for that long since Jun and Ohno weren't due back from their trip to Los Angeles until the morning, when he figured that his life would be over.

++++

Nino was surprised when Sho flung the door open while his knuckles were still in contact with the wood. His hair was standing on end and there were black smudges on his cheeks. He reached out and dragged them inside.

Aiba immediately began to cough and pulled out his inhaler. The apartment was filled with the smell of burning and wisps of smoke were lingering around the ceiling. Sho, seeing Aiba's difficulty, dragged them into the bathroom where the air was fresher as he had the extractor fan running on full tilt.

"You have to help me. Jun is going to kill me when he gets home." Sho said shakily as he sat on the edge of the bath.

"It can't be that bad Sho-chan. Jun loves you. You can't have done anything that he wouldn't forgive you for," the ever optimistic Aiba said.

"I was cooking..." Sho began.

"In Jun's kitchen?" Aiba shrieked.

"OK Aiba, let's go. Nothing to be done here. Do you want flowers at your funeral?" Said Nino as he took Aiba by the hand and headed towards the door. "Just give us the food and we'll take it with us."

"Noooo!" Sho flung himself on the floor and grabbed them around their legs.

Aiba was the first to relent, asking Sho "What actually happened?"

"I just wanted to make myself a quick snack.”

Nino and Aiba shared an expression of disbelief and horror and they opened their mouths to tell Sho that it had been his first and biggest mistake.

Sho continued “I know, I know, you don’t have to tell me. Something went wrong and the pan caught fire a bit but I ...." he hesitated and the panicked look returned to his eyes "Perhaps I should just show you."

He led them to the kitchen which was full of foam from the fire extinguisher, the sink full of burnt dishcloths and one badly burnt pan. None of it looked worse than his usual handiwork until he cleared some of the foam away to reveal the large scorch mark on Jun’s brand new oak bench top. Sho grabbed his potential saviours by their shirt fronts and began to babble incomprehensibly. They couldn’t really make out more than a few random words amongst his panicked whining, but by his gestures and many years of practice at interpreting Sho-speak, they managed to figure out that he had set a saucepan on fire and he had tried to put the fire out with the cloths, which only made things worse. He’d then tried to get the pan to the sink but the handle was too hot so he put it down on the bench while he got the fire extinguisher, which put the fire out but it was too late and Jun’s precious new kitchen was pristine no longer.

“What am I going to doooooo?” he wailed. “Jun is home in eleven hours and fifty nine minutes.”

“Get plastic surgery, change your name and move to South America?” Nino asked unhelpfully.

“Get the bench top replaced before Matsujun comes home so he’ll never know the difference and you won’t have to die?” Aiba asked after having a sudden moment of inspiration.

“There’s no way it can be done tonight.”

Nino began to pace up and down thinking out loud. "Wait, this could actually work. Obviously not by the time the Princess arrives home tomorrow, but... Sho, Jun has the next couple of days off doesn't he?"

"Well yes, because Jun is always wiped out when he flies home from the U.S.”

"So if you could stop him from coming back to the apartment for a couple of days there might just be enough time to have this disaster fixed up."

"How do I organise the builder? It's after hours. Plus my schedule is jam packed for the next couple of days."

Aiba piped up "Simple, just ring your manager and tell him we have a "Code Purple" on our hands and he and Jun's manager will do anything to prevent a repeat of the last incident. "

All three of them froze and shuddered slightly, still traumatized by the last Code Purple even though it had occurred almost a year ago.

And so they began the first step in a long chain of phone calls that lasted long into the night, but the plan was eventually put in place. It was all relying on Sho being able to complete his part of the mission without a hitch. If he failed they were all doomed.

++++

As Jun and Ohno stepped into the arrivals area, they were greeted by a badly dressed man wearing a bucket hat, large ugly glasses and a hopeful expression.

“Sho, what are you doing here?” Jun asked as his arm grabbed and he was steered away.

“Hi Riida.” Sho called back over his shoulder “It was good to see you. There’s a car waiting out front to take you home.”

Jun was exhausted and just wanted to go home and sleep, but he couldn’t argue with his boyfriend without attracting attention in such a public place. Without face masks on they were too easily recognisable, especially the delusional Sho who might as well have been wearing a flashing sign on his head.

“Hurry up.” Sho urged dragging him along “Or we’ll miss the plane!”

“Did you hit you head on the way over here? I just got OFF the plane!” Jun muttered as they hurried across the terminal.

Before he knew it he had been dragged over to departures and was boarding another flight to somewhere. He hadn’t quite taken it all in as his brain was foggy from the combination of lack of sleep and jetlag. As they settled into their business class seats he turned to Sho who had a most peculiar expression on his face which looked like a strange mixture of relief and triumph, seeking an explanation for his abduction.

Sho, by now an expert at reading danger signals, immediately began his prepared spiel “Welcome to our surprise romantic getaway! I’m taking you away to Thailand for three nights of ultimate luxury and pampering in our own private tropical love nest.”

Jun glared at him with narrowed eyes “Stop talking to me like a game show host and explain why you’ve just dragged me onto another seven hour flight when I’m about to drop dead with exhaustion.”

Sho, who had been too nervous and hyped up before, stopped and took the first proper look at his lover since he’d met him at the airport. Behind his black framed glasses, his eyes were red rimmed and he had large dark circles beneath them, his hair was dry and frizzy and his skin was sallow. He immediately felt guilty for putting him through this, but at the same time he became convinced that a few days off was exactly what Jun needed.

“It’s exactly because you are exhausted that I’m forcing you to rest." he said, giving Jun's hand a quick squeeze while no one was looking.

Jun sighed, and decided to just give in and go along with it. It's not like he could do anything about it now anyway he thought as he reclined his seat and closed his eyes.

Sho carefully tucked the blanket around him and underneath it he took Jun's hand once again and held it until his boyfriend had fallen into a deep sleep.

He had managed to send a quick text message before they boarded alerting the others that the coast was clear and the plan was running smoothly. He was still worried though, because last night the builder had informed them that he no longer had any of the same batch of timber left and there may be slight differences between the original bench top and the replacement. The builder wasn't too concerned because he didn't think anyone would be able to spot the difference. Aiba, who had once replaced a borrowed woollen scarf of Jun's with one from a different dye lot after he stained it, groaned in distress at the memory and spent the next fifteen minutes explaining in a traumatized voice why it had to be completely identical. The builder, whose face had gone quite pale by the time Aiba had finished his tale of woe, which had included descriptive hand gestures, hastily agreed to contact every other builder he knew to find the matching lengths of oak.

Sho spent the rest of the flight worrying and checking his watch every five minutes, hating to be out of contact with the repair squad for so long.

++++

Jun slept for most of the flight, only waking to nibble a little food and drink some water before falling asleep again.

When they emerged from the airport and were hit by the heat and humidity Jun glared at him once again, his hair no longer dry and frizzy, instead clinging damply to his forehead.

Sho hastily led him to the air conditioned car he had arranged, while reassuring him that the villa he had rented was fully air conditioned as well.

The villa was on a tiny private island which could only be reached by boat and by the time they arrived Sho was exhausted as well. The boat would return in two days to pick them up. The villa was supplied with everything they could possibly need for their stay. It had been so hastily arranged that Sho hadn't had the time to work out his usual minute by minute holiday schedule and was feeling a bit lost without its comfort and Jun was still looking at him suspiciously, since travelling this way was so out of character for him.

They spent most of the boat trip to the island on opposite sides of the small boat. Jun because he was still fuming at being dragged around like this, and Sho because he was making a futile attempt to receive a phone signal, desperate for an update from their apartment.

++++

All of their worries were forgotten when they finally arrived at their destination. The sun was just dropping down below the horizon bathing the beach in a fiery red glow. Abandoning their bags they walked along the beach to the spot in front of the villa where two deck chairs had been perfectly placed to view the spectacle. The staff had left a bottle of champagne chilling on the low table between the chairs. Beside it were two glasses and a platter of fresh fruit in a covered bowl nestled on a bed of ice.

With collective sigh the pair of them dropped into the chairs and stared at the most beautiful sunset they had ever seen. Hardly noticing what they were doing they both reached out a hand towards the other, meeting midway between their reclining bodies, hands clasping each other as the sky gradually darkened.

They only moved when it was too dark to see and then they drifted inside to the bedroom taking what was left of the champagne with them.

The next two days were spent mostly in the king sized bed as they made up for all the time they were forced to spend apart due to their insane schedules. Even after being together for so long they were able to discover new ways to please each other.

When they weren't making love they explored the gardens and beach surrounding the villa, discovering a crystal clear rock pool only ten minutes’ walk away where they spent hours swimming in the cool water and talking to each other about anything and everything.

It almost felt as if they were on their honeymoon. In fact on their last evening as they stood on the moonlit beach Sho took Jun's hands in his and said "You know that if it was possible I would marry you in a heartbeat and perhaps one day we can, but until then please accept this as a symbol of my love," as he wrapped a strand of seaweed around his finger.

"When you do this for real, there had better be diamonds involved,” Jun said laughing and crying at the same time. "But I'll say yes anyway."

A gleeful Sho picked him up and swung them both around in a circle, before they dropped down onto the sand and into each other’s arms.

All too soon it was time to return to reality, but they vowed to return to this magical place as soon and as often as they could.

++++

They both remained in their bubble of bliss until they arrived at the front door of their apartment when Sho suddenly realized with a start that he forgotten the reason for their holiday in the first place. He had forgotten to check for the all clear message on his phone. In fact for the first time in too many years he hadn't even bothered to switch it on since they arrived back at the airport.

It was too late to do anything about it now. He just had to trust that the repairs had gone well and resigned himself to his fate as Jun headed to the kitchen to put away the groceries they'd picked up on the way home. Jun was excited to cook the first meal in his new kitchen as he hadn't had the chance before his trip with Ohno.

Sho, who had unconsciously tensed his body, expecting the worst, still jumped when his boyfriend shouted "Sho, get in here now!"

He didn't know whether to run away or throw up; instead he gulped and went to face the music.

Instead of disemboweling him with a teaspoon, Jun rushed over and hugged him tightly smothering his face with kisses "You are the most romantic man in the world." Jun said between kisses, pulling Sho into a tight hug.

Over Jun's shoulder he could see the bench top looking just as it had before the incident. Sitting on top of the bench was a large gift basket filled with mangoes and orchids and a large card attached said "Every day spent with you is more perfect than the perfect holiday."

As Jun pulled him towards the bedroom to continue showing him his appreciation, Sho, who had recognized the handwriting on the card, had a sinking feeling that he was going to be indebted to Nino for a very long time. But as his lover began to work magic on his body with his tongue he realized that it was going to be totally worth it.