When Noiz opened his eyes, he knew instantly that something was different. Surrounded by a sea of pitch black, he found himself completely alone. He didn't like the environment at all. His senses were shot, as if he'd gone deaf and blind in the same time. Scanning his surroundings, or lack thereof, he supported himself into a sitting position. Black. Standing up, he tried to catch a hint of light but it was nothing but black. Realizing that there was nothing much he can do just by standing here alone, he started moving around cautiously as he tried to figure out where he was and where was the way out, if there was one.
Then he saw it. The bright flicker which flashed across his very eyes and, before he could glimpse, it was gone. He turned, trying to capture a vague hint again, but a loud explosion nearby stole his attention away. A sign of hope. Noiz turned again and suddenly his vision returned to him.
His world around him was suddenly painted with visuals, like sea water washing over him. It was in that moment he realized why his usually attentive senses never alerted him to any signs of danger. He knew this place all too well.
He was in a Rhyme field.
However, this wasn't his Rhyme field. He knew it the instant his vision came into focus. He was standing in a sea of blue, surrounded by blues, and everything he saw was blues. Another explosion and Noiz snapped back to reality. He saw the flickers again and instinctively walked towards it, curiosity burning in his chest. All he felt was a pounding, burning need to meet the owner because he knew exactly who this Rhyme field belonged to.
His quick footsteps were rapid and hushed. He wanted to run towards the source of noise but he knew he needed to stay cautious. Running into a situation without knowing anything was the stupidest thing to do. Nonetheless, he continued rushing forward, his heart skipping a beat when a shadow of a person he was very familiar with came into view, the outline becoming clearer and sharper with every new step he took. The person was facing his back towards him, but there was no mistaking the wave of blue hair and that scrawny body size. Noiz moved closer, enough to have a full view of the Rhyme player's body and…
"Aoba."
There was a huge discrepancy between the conservative surroundings he was now in and the contemporary environment Aoba had become accustomed to ever since he moved to Germany with Noiz. As he walked along the long, never-ending corridor, he listened to the echoes of his own footsteps. He knew the corridor; he knew the place itself; he knew this uninviting atmosphere all too well despite having experienced it only once. That one and only experience was more than enough for him to discover how unappealing it was he wouldn't be able to forget about it even if he wanted to.
Aoba walked mindlessly along the corridor without a sign of worry, finding trust in his legs to lead him to where he should go. Whilst looking around fleetingly, his legs stopped in front of a well-carved wooden door. Assuming that this was where he was supposed to be, Aoba raised his hand warily and knocked on the door. No answer. Again, faster. No answer again. Frustrated, he put his hand on the door knob and gave it an experimental turn. It was unlocked. Beaming, Aoba turned the door knob, heard a click, and pushed the door open.
At first, he thought he'd walked into an empty room. It was dimly lit, soundless, and unfilled. Closing the door behind him and walked further in, he stayed alert with each step he took. It was then he heard something that made him stopped his tracks. It was the sound of someone typing rapidly on a keyboard. Following the vague sound and he only stopped again when he saw a small boy sitting in front of his laptop. The small figure typed away hastily without paying any attention to his surroundings. He didn't even look up when Aoba stood right in front of him.
Aoba thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. It was practically impossible for him to witness a sight like this. But no matter how much Aoba wanted to deny his thoughts, there was no mistaking the expressionless profile and the soft blonde hair he was all too familiar with. Aoba swallowed as he squatted down to face the boy.
"Noiz."
No, this is not the Aoba I know.
Aoba launched another devastating attack at his challenger which flung him into the air, then dropping him to the ground with a loud thump. The victorious grin that appeared on his face the moment he was pronounced the winner was devilish yet charming in the same time. The instant skipped of heart Noiz felt when he saw it informed him that although he might not be the same Aoba he knew, yet he was still Aoba, becauseAoba was the only person Noiz knew who could make him feel this way. He firmed his nerve and walked towards him as he mustered all his guts to stay composed.
Even with Aoba's back still facing him when they were only a foot apart, Noiz knew this wasn't the Aoba he knew. It was not just the appearance which changed. The expression; the way he spoke; the way he smiled; it was all different. Before Noiz could call out to him, he heard a light "hmph". As 'Aoba' turned, Noiz swore his courage was at the verge of deserting him. The collected front he was trying hard to uphold whisked away by a feral and vicious expression.
"I was wondering why I'm still stuck in this Rhyme field and oh, look, we've got another challenger."
'Aoba''s stare was knife-like, so sharp Noiz could feel him analyzing him from head to toe, inside out, the moment their eyes met. Upon hearing the word "challenger", however, he felt his senses returned in a rush. He was not here for a battle. He was here for another reason, and he needed to find out what the reason was before he got himself into more delusions. He tried desperately to clear his mind, but a rush of questions filled his thoughts. Who is this? Where is Aoba? Aoba's eyes roamed across him and he laughed, causing Noiz to scowl.
Looking down at his own clothing Noiz realized that he was dressed in the clothes he had worn when he used to participate in Rhyme. The 'Aoba' didn't seem to recognize him; but Noiz knew this was none other than the Aoba he knew. Ren's avatar stood beside him was the best proof he needed for that.
"What's your name?" Noiz blurted out firmly tone, trying hard to even out the slight shakiness in his voice.
"You're here without even knowing who your opponent is?" 'Aoba''s tone was full with taunts. "A newbie?"
When Noiz didn't answer, 'Aoba' gave out a loud laugh as he inched forward towards Noiz and stared into his eyes with full intensity.
"Let me tell you who am I, then. Just so you'll remember who kicked your ass when you kneel down and beg for your life later."
'Aoba' moved a few steps back and brought out his player interface. The name that was projected in front of Noiz made him smirked instantly.How can I forget? He stepped a few steps back as well and instead of telling his opponent his name, Noiz said with a sweet yet gratifying voice.
"Found you. Let's play."
"Noiz?" Aoba asked slowly.
No response.
He coughed loudly and raised his voice. "Are you Noiz?"
"Keep quiet. I can hear you."
Noiz's voice was soft, almost like a whisper. Nonetheless, it was a voice Aoba knew well and a smile broke across his face.
"What do you want? Are you another tutor?"
With eyes still glued to the laptop, he seemed without any intention to look up at Aoba.
"No, I'm not." Aoba answered. This 'Noiz' didn't know who he was. To Aoba, it seemed to be a time before they met. As he looked around the room – noting this may be the case – he soon realized that this must be Noiz's room. The room he was locked in for years. It was a room he never had the chance to see. Something he had never asked Noiz about, nor intended to. It was a part of Noiz that he was dying to know when the chance arrived – a chance to understand not only about Noiz's childhood life, but Noiz as a person as well. This was it.
Found you.
Aoba returned his attention to Noiz, who was eyeing him suspiciously, his gaze filled with caution and curiosity. Aoba gave him a bright smile and reached out his hand.
"Let's play."
This was a part of Aoba Noiz had been dying to meet.
He still remembered the adrenaline rush he got when he found him. He was at the verge of giving up on Rhyme but he was the one who brought his hope back. And he was the one who brought him to Aoba. Everything started with him.
The game started.
It was the same aggression he experienced in his last Rhyme game with Aoba, except that this 'Aoba' was far more unswerving and brutal when it came to his commands. Noiz had no time to breathe, each attacks he dodged were becoming more vicious as they progressed. There was no mercy and no leniency in those attacks. All of them aimed for his weak spots he never knew he had. The glimpses he caught of Slyblue's expression were always filled with a sense of goading. Slyblue's amusement grew in tangent to Noiz's humiliation as the younger struggled to survive. It wasn't as if Noiz minded it in the slightest because his focus was not on the game. Instead, he found it didn't even matter if he won or lost anymore.
With his mind roaming elsewhere, it was not before long that he felt himself at the verge of losing. Before the final blow he could see Slyblue's sneer. He clearly doubted his Rhyme techniques and skills, commenting that he shouldn't try to even challenge him without knowing who he was up against. Noiz smirked; his expression was unwavering and genuine.
At that moment of time, he realized that he was, in fact, looking at himself. His past self – a self that knew nothing about life, about moments to treasure and about love. He was looking at the self who was filled with self-hatred, anger, frustration; a self who thought that nothing in the world mattered anymore. He felt a tinge of pain in his chest and a surge of emotions rushing through him.
Slyblue gave him a final blow, sending Noiz flying and landing roughly on the ground. He smiled and stood up weakly, limping as he made his way towards Slyblue with shaky and unstable footsteps. He was surprised at first, but as the seconds passed Slyblue's expression returned to a snarky one. It wasn't long before Noiz was already standing right in front of him.
"You're a sore loser, huh?" Slyblue mocked.
Noiz continued to smile gently at him – something which shocked Slyblue even more as his expression softened at the sight – and reached out to stroke the blue-haired man's hair, caressing it gently and treating it with so much care it made Slyblue gulp. Confusion struck him, why he was allowing this man who looked only a bit older than him to lay his hands on him.
"What're you doing?" Slyblue shot him a firm question. "Why are you so persistent? Why are you standing up? Just lie down already! It's over!"
Noiz smirked lightly. He was indeed looking at himself. In his eyes were all the questions he would undoubtedly have throw at his opponent in this situation.
"I need to tell you that winning and losing isn't everything. Rhyme is not all about that." Noiz said slowly, feeling the familiar ring in his ears. He knew this situation all too well. He was there, physically. And the one who told him all of this was in fact, standing right in front of him. "And I didn't want to give up on you, not in the past, not now, not in the future. So you mustn't give up."
His hand retreated from Slyblue's hair. "But I'm not too worried about that. You'll understand it one day."
Slyblue shot him a suspicious glare. "How would you know? Who are you?"
The urge to blurt out "your future husband" was so strong it made Noiz laugh at himself.
"Of course I know. You saved me."
Feeling the last ounce of energy leave him, Noiz collapsed. Before Slyblue was able to grab Noiz's arms to support him, he hesitated and let him fall to the side. Standing beside Noiz as he witnessed him writhe in pain, Slyblue felt an unexplainable sensation pool within him. Although his senses urged him to leave, he stood rooted at the same spot, unable to move away.
Noiz looked up at him, still smiling.
"I don't understand why you're so persistent." Slyblue blurted out. Despite his voice still being devoid of expression, it had obviously softened.
From the ground, Noiz tried to say something to him but it was so soft that Slyblue had to squat down to move his head closer to Noiz in order to hear him.
"I'll wait for you in the future." He repeated. "I'll show you how beautiful human connections are."
He raised his hand weakly and placed it on the back of Slyblue's neck, gave it a rough pull, and pressed their lips together.
"We'll meet again. I'll be waiting for you."
After that, Noiz's world drowned back into darkness.
Although Aoba was trying to be friendly with Noiz, it was clear that the effort was one-sided. The laugh he gave was awkward as he gave up and looked around the room instead to try and find something to help the conversation.
"Wow, you sure read a lot. Look at all these books!" Aoba exclaimed as he fumbled upon the mountain of books on the study desk.
No response.
He laughed dryly and shifted his attention to the wall of paintings instead, then to the drawings scattered on the floor, and lastly – out of desperation – to his bed, which he complimented on the softness and on how comfortable it was to sleep on. But Noiz didn't respond to him at all and they fell into complete silence again, save for the non-stop typing sound coming from Noiz.
Aoba walked back towards him, disappointed and hopeless. Sitting beside him, he tried to peek at what Noiz was doing but gave up the moment he realized he was looking at a screen full with languages he couldn't understand. He sighed and leaned his back against the wall, placing his hands floppily by his sides when his fingertips touched on something soft and furry. Turning his head to his side, he saw a bandaged plush rabbit sitting limply beside him. Raising his hand with intent to fiddle with the lopsided ears, he balked as Noiz suddenly reacted, rushing from his seat to claim the rabbit away and place it in between his legs. That was when Aoba spotted a chance.
"That's your rabbit?" Aoba asked, immediately regretting his choice of words upon realizing how stupid his question sounded. As expected, there was no response from Noiz.
"Why is it bandaged up like that? Did someone mistreat it?"
Noiz's hands on his laptop slowed down. He moved his hands away from the keyboard and hugged the rabbit instead.
The fragile outline of Noiz sent pangs of pain straight into Aoba's heart and he reached out to ruffle the small boy's hair out of reflex. Surprisingly, Noiz merely fidgeted at the touch and buried his face into the rabbit's head.
"Is he your friend?" Aoba asked again.
Noiz nodded lightly, instantly painting a relieved smile on Aoba's face, which only got brighter when Noiz finally responded with a soft voice.
"My brother gave it to me as a birthday present," he mumbled quietly.
"That's so sweet." Aoba commented, though he started to feel slight trembling in his voice as the pain in his heart heightened.
"But I didn't know how to handle it properly so it got all torn up when I played with it," Noiz continued, his voice now almost a whisper.
Aoba was at the verge of breaking down. He was trying hard to hold his tears in while he continued patting Noiz's head.
"I didn't want to give up on it because he's my friend, so I treat his wounds every time I accidentally hurt him."
That was all it took for Aoba to grab Noiz and pull him into a tight embrace, wrapping his small body in his arms as he buried his almost-crying face into his soft blonde hair. Noiz squirmed a little in Aoba's embrace but eventually relaxed into it and leaned his face against Aoba's chest. The moment he heard Aoba's rapid heartbeats, he lifted his small hand and placed it against his chest, at the position where Aoba's heart was located and rubbed against it tenderly.
"Why is your heart beating so fast? Are you hurt? Do you need me to treat you?" Noiz asked, innocence obvious in his voice.
You're the one who's hurt, brat! Aoba screamed internally. Tears started to roll down his cheeks and he tightened his hug, as if attempting to absorb away all the sorrows and loneliness Noiz was feeling now. Noiz was too precious, and he deserved so much love for being such a thoughtful and gentle child. He did nothing wrong to deserve all the solitude. At that moment of time, Aoba felt a surge of self-hatred in him for not being able to be there for him when Noiz had to go through all these sufferings.
He was about to release him to give him a kiss on the forehead when someone started knocking furiously on the door. Aoba eyed the door charily. He wanted to stand up when Noiz gripped his wrist firmly.
"Don't go. Please."
His voice was weak and tears had started forming at the corner of his eyes.
"Why?" Aoba asked.
"You're going away from me, right? Like how everyone did."
It was impossible for Aoba to hold in his emotions anymore. He swallowed back his sadness and cupped Noiz's face in his hands.
"Don't worry. We'll meet again." He planted a kiss on Noiz's forehead. "I won't give up on you, not in the past, not now, not in the future. So, don't give up! I'll be waiting for you."
He pulled Noiz in for another tight hug, kissed the both sides of his cheeks, and released him. Noiz was reluctant at first, but when Aoba gave him a small smile and an assuring nod, he released his grip unwillingly and nodded back at him.
Aoba turned away from Noiz and opened the door. Huge waves of bright light rushed towards him and, before he could react, his world drowned into white.
Both Aoba and Noiz woke up simultaneously, drenched with sweat and staring at the ceiling of their bedroom. The room was silent save for the sound of their heavy breathing. When they finally calmed down, they looked at each other and blurted out at the same time,
"I dreamed of you."
They stared at each other, shocked for a brief moment, before both of them smiled as Noiz opened up his arms and beckoned Aoba to come closer. Aoba obeyed and cuddled into Noiz's embrace. Just moments ago he was holding Noiz in his own arms; now that the position has changed, he relaxed himself into the hug and closed his eyes, breathing in Noiz's familiar body scent. Noiz placed his hand around Aoba's waist, feeling the pressure of the weight of Aoba's head on his other arm. He fondled with the tip of Aoba's hair instinctively, pinching it now and then as he indulged in the soft and silky sensation on his fingertips.
"I'm so glad that was a dream." Aoba was the first to break the silence. He shifted a bit in Noiz's embrace and opened his eyes, looking up at Noiz as he continued. "You were so miserable and lonely in there."
"What exactly did you dream about me?" Noiz asked, genuinely curious.
"I saw you when you were younger. And you were holding a bandaged rabbit, saying he was your friend," Aoba recalled slowly. "You looked so fragile," he ended softly and wrapped his arms around Noiz's torso.
Noiz was stunned. He stopped fondling with Aoba's hair and hugged Aoba's body more firmly instead, giving him a kiss on the head. He was sure what Aoba saw in his dream was in fact, what really did happened in the past, and that fact startled him. He didn't know how it happened but apparently both of them – somehow – ventured into each other's past at the same time.
"I'm so glad mine was a dream, too," Noiz muttered after a few seconds of silence.
Aoba didn't ask what Noiz's dream was about but he looked up and smiled brightly at Noiz as he pulled his face down for a deep, passionate kiss. When they separated their kiss, Aoba stared tenderly into Noiz's eyes and mumbled,
"But I'm glad I had that dream."
Noiz responded with a smile and nodded. "Me too."
"I learned so many things about you. It made me realize how –"
" –similar both of us are." Noiz completed the sentence.
At the end of the day, Aoba was relieved that they were to able to find and rescue each other. Even if they missed the chance to go through their past miseries together, what was more important now was the fact that they met each other and fell in love. Nothing could change the fact that they were each other's saviors. They were both important and irreplaceable existence in each other's lives and now that they had found out more about each other, they suddenly realized that this could be no coincidence at all. They were simply meant for each other.
The 'Aoba' Noiz met was the Noiz he had been when he had first started Rhyme; whereas the 'Noiz' Aoba met was the Aoba he had been before he had drowned and surrendered into his own desires.
Fate.
Noiz planted a firm kiss on Aoba's lips again and mumbled into his mouth,
"I would love you all the same, no matter who you are. Because to me, Aoba is Aoba, and this fact will never change."
His words were intended for both Aobas – the Aoba he was currently hugging, and the other Aoba he knew lied deep within him. He loved both of them unconditionally.
Aoba was a bit confused with his confession, but he didn't have the time to ask further as Noiz's tongue started thrusting into his mouth and tangling their tongues together. He submitted into the passion, feeling desire clouding his mind as he moaned softly into Noiz's mouth. Noiz supported his head gently, another hand reaching out to trail his fingertips along his torso, leaving thin trails of scratch marks on his chest. He then started to leave wet kisses all over Aoba's face and neck, urging the older male to lift his hands up so that he could take off his clothes, and continued his trails of wet kisses down his body.
Aoba's stifled moans became uncontrollable when he felt Noiz's mouth stop at his shaft. He opened his eyes to see Noiz looking up at him with a hint of tease in his eyes and Aoba cried out loud as Noiz licked the slit of his dick in such a feather-like way he felt his breath hitch and his body starting to tremble with need. Noiz proceeded to suck on the head of his cock, tasting him and swallowing down the precum leaking from the slit as he continued to tease him.
When Noiz finally pressed the head of his own erection against Aoba's entrance, Aoba was already half-gone, his face flushed, breathing heavily as he grasped a handful of the mattress to suppress he uncontainable pleasure. Noiz's need was heightened the moment he caught sight of Aoba, and he pushed the head of his cock inside him slowly, feeling Aoba's ring of muscle tightening around it with every inch he entered. He leaned over and grabbed Aoba's hand away from his face when he realized that there was something wrong with him. Stopping his movement, he cupped Aoba's face.
"Are you okay?" Noiz asked, his voice breathless but stable.
Aoba did not answer. He was still breathing heavily and it took him a few seconds to finally look at Noiz through half-lidded eyes. Noiz wanted to ask if he was okay again but he found his voice trapped in his own throat when a sly smirk appeared on Aoba's face, accompanied by a knife-like stare and a mocking expression.
"You said you were gonna show me?"
The reverie continues.