Pairing : Chiaki/Nodame

Rating : I'll go with Mature. Just trying to preserve the innocence of the underage ;)

Disclaimer : Not even in my wildest dream I could create characters as strong as she could. By she I meant Tomoko Ninomiya, creator of Nodame Cantabile.

Clockwork

Chiaki was not a prude.

He realized from the core of his heart, that it is just the way the world works. That nothing is certain until the very moment it happened, which was led to by millions of fragments from natural and causal decisions taken or not taken, acted or not acted. Some may call it luck, some may call it destiny, but Chiaki believed that it was mere antique clockwork, able to tick because of the unseen tiny screws and chains that run the machine.

He tried to imagine if Nodame was born in a family much like his. She would already be studying music aboard before meeting him in Momogaoka. Then he would still be in Japan even now, unable to conquer his phobia (yes, mother already told him the truth about Nodame's surprising ability). Maybe he would be working in Uncle Take's company and still in a relationship with Saiko; married with her even.

God forbid. And that was even the least scary what-ifs situations he could think of.

His trains of thought were beginning to be philosophic that he let out an annoyed smirk from the corner of his lips. His troubles were actually far from philosophical. It was romance. With a certain brown haired girl, lying next to him, their limbs tangled under the warm blanket.

He shifted his body so he can look at her sleeping face better. What he saw made his tummy turned. Definitely NOT because the looking pretty while sleeping crap. Why again did he ever marry such a klutz? Her hair is tousled, her complexion is a little bit pale due to exhaustion, and her expression is freakish, with a stupid smile and saliva running down her chin to her pillow.

He remembered the time he decided to join her Weirdo Forest. He still couldn't decide whether it was a wise decision even until now. But that was not the trouble.

He remembered the time he gave her a proposal ring, and the time when they finally got married. That was also not the trouble, even if he sometimes contemplate whether he was downright a lunatic too or Nodame had rubbed on him too much to cloud on his judgment like THAT.

Then he remembered last night. That was definitely NOT the trouble. It was the single thing that now kept him from going frantic and pulling a runaway stunts much like she did then. It was amazing to say the least. Aside from her piano of course.

But last night reminded him about the first time they ever did it, and..his mind recalled an obvious feeling that he missed something. At that time, Shinichi only brushed it off because his mind was heavily occupied by other more important things (like the girl in front of him doing stuffs to him), and mainly, because he believed from the core of his bones, that Nodame couldn't possibly do that. Could she?

The realization led to him thinking awake for twenty minutes without moving an inch from his position in bed until recently.

So long story short, the trouble was, and it is humiliating to admit, is that back then, he didn't feel the resistance when they did it, not like the one he felt the time he and Saiko had the experience. And it was both their first time. Which only meant one thing, doesn't it?

He felt somewhat silly overthinking this, but he acknowledged that their relationship isn't like normal couples he'd seen in dramas and movies (if that's what they call normal). Their love was based on other's love for music. He realized that if he wasn't any good at it, Nodame wouldn't even blink at him. And the feeling goes both ways.

They never focused on the romance, rather the romance come to them while they're focusing on music, like jumping in the lake and a splash that comes with the momentum. Like Nodame's version of Ravel's Jeaux D'Eau. Which means they rarely (or ever at all?) talk about their past lovers or first love stories. Chiaki was not remotely interested, and more likely to believe that Nodame is not capable in romance. Nodame already know about Saiko, and more likely to focus on their relationship (even the time when the relation is non-existent).

"Shinichi? Daydreaming already?"

He blinked. She's already awake. And he's a little bit lost at words.

"Yeah, um.."

Nodame grinned from ear to ear, and Shinichi instantly could hear what she's thinking, and she's about to voice it in a..

"Darling, we already spent ALL night, could it be you can't have enough of Nodame?"

"You pervert freak." He mumbled with a sigh. After all the minutes he spent thinking about philosophy of romance, his brain couldn't catch up with a quick tsukkomi like he usually do.

And Nodame is a professional bokke, aside from a professional pianist. She realized instantly that her partner of eight years is not in top condition.

"Senpai, are you hungry or something? Should Nodame make some onigiri?"

He smirked at the not-so-subtle change of tone. She has gradually able to be sensitive to his moods.

"Nah, I'm good. Just, um, sluggish."

She didn't buy it. Her husband is the type to get sick or tired only when facing a dead track on work. What they did the night before was anything but tiring, it was even supposed to be recharging for the both of them. They were both on a quick getaway holiday of three days in Vienna; Nodame just finished a recital and Shinichi happened to have day off from his unbelievable schedule from ruler of hell (Elise).

"Senpai, spit it." She rolled closer to him, forcing to have an eye to eye conversation. They're both sitting on the bed; Shinichi leaned back while Nodame was pushing herself towards him, her hands on both of his sides.

"I said I'm fine, scoot! You're invading my personal space."

"Well we both know that's not what Senpai said last night.., umph!"

He had stuffed the blanket to her mouth.

"Shut it you hentai."

"Bhud haimh shcdhill yogh hendhai!" She raised her hand to show off the golden band on her ring finger. She loved to do that, whether Shinichi was in a good or bad mood. He always think it's her cruel way of reminding him of his foolish decision (when in a bad mood) and also her carefree way of reminding him that they got this far because they had each other (when in a good mood).

And this time he's in a funny mood.

It's certainly not a good one, to only realize that he's not her first man after two years of courtship and two years of marriage. Yet it's not bad too. After all they've passed the courtship and entered marriage, two years and counting. He's her last man, and that's final.

It does not matter.

"What's that?" Nodame pulled out the damp blanket out of her mouth. Shinichi realized he was muttering. He took a breath and prepared himself. He's going to say it, once and for all, and be done with this thought burdening his mind.

"Your past lovers do not disturb me at all. I can bet on my life they're by any means no match to the mighty me, and it does not matter to me." And to boost extra confidence he added again, "At all. You hear me?"

Nodame's jaw dropped somewhere so far she needed to search it later. After she deals with her husband. She processed his words repeatedly in her head the way she processed a music score, and realized that Shinichi has just realized a fact that he should have realized years ago.

"Really? Now, after two years of marriage?"

Exactly his thoughts too. Boy, their minds are connected in a percentage.

She's found her jaw, and now her lips were tightly pursed. He recalled the facial expression from her first debut concert with Stresseman. He began to feel a bit wary. His mood was clear to him now, but hers he wasn't too sure. If she's mad that he's not being attentive for years, he can take it. But he hoped that she won't be, since he's already being generous by not succumbing to jealousy and possessiveness. He was being rational and mature. And women like that, right?

And in a millisecond, the tension broke as Nodame broke with a guffaw. Her laughter was not what Shinichi expected, and started to feel that this time, Nodame has somehow got the upper hand. His cheeks started to color while his complexion went paler. He felt silly.

"Sorry, sorry..don't.. mean to laugh..just,imagining..ooohh," she stumbles back to bed, trying to catch her breath. Shinichi sighed," I have no damn clue what you're thinking about."

Nodame's breath was getting slow and relaxed, and she suddenly smiled deviously at him.

"Uhm, Nodame was just,uhm. Thinking. Kinda want to mess with your head a little bit and say something like, 'what past lovers, Nodame's been secretly taking advantage of your delicious morning condition even before we're dating' or something akin to that, but even Nodame thinks it's out of the line. Senpai might even kill me here and now before Nodame get the chance to say it was a joke. Your enraged face would be awesome though…oh!"

She stared at Shinichi's dumbfounded stillness and grinned," I guess that face will do."

The next thing her brain could register was that she's lying face down on the floor, toppled by inhuman force of pillow thrown by Shinichi. He's exploded.

"You're insane! Even within the devils' standard I strongly believe you're more evil that they can ever dare hope to be! Seriously, woman, what is wrong with your head? Here I was, contemplating between getting mad at you because you dare to not tell me about that even after all this years, or getting mad at myself because I didn't even realize nor did I remember, or feeling silly because my pride have clouded my judgment to make me think that you wouldn't even had a boyfriend before me with your freaky nature. And I was even being patient! I didn't wake you for like half an hour to think rationally first to the point I went Plato about it!"

He was now standing above her, pausing his rant to take a deep breath, and continued.

"And then, you lunatic witch, I had just started to think that maybe it really doesn't matter and I should've just let it go, and to never mention about it. But that would mean carrying the thought for the rest of myself and yet still not knowing, and I'd rather..I'd rather.."

"Senpai would rather what?"

Since when has she wrapped her arms around his neck, her body flushed to his, her face inches from his own?

"..I'd rather hear you yourself say that it does not matter, rather than me, repeating it to myself in my head."

There. He said it. Nodame flashed him a smile. Her cheeks flushed, and Shinichi acknowledged this was her sign of a great mood. She pulled him down a little, while she stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his left ear; they both know it's more sensitive than his right.

"Well then. It does not matter, Shinichi."

Poof.

Suddenly his mind can work logically again. And his logical mind can sense his surroundings again. Like the fact that Nodame was naked, and their bodies were pressed together. And he was only in his shorts. And the bed was only five feet from where they're standing. And they still have another two days to spend together, just the two of them.

He smiled contently, holding her closer, inching towards the bed.

As they kissed, he can almost hear the tunes of Nodame's Ravel, and feel the splashes of cold water on his skin.

And of course, Nodame still hold on to her pride of the ability to ruin the mood as she giggled when he caressed her hip and said," But I got to say, my first guy's the best experience I ever had, and you're still a long way to defeat him. After all, Milch is not called a maestro for nothing."

*END*

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