Out of Reach [One-Shot]
Title: Out of Reach
Pairing: Ohmiya
Genre: Drama, Romance
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Nino worked as a window cleaner, and it was such a dull and boring job, until one day he found a pair of brown eyes staring at him from behind the thick window.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, nope
A/N: As you guys might've guessed, this story is inspired by the latest anishi, in which Nino held a concert while cleaning windows XD This is completely AU though, so don't worry about any spoilers! Well, enjoy! Comments will be loved! <3
The sun was shining brightly, and yet Ninomiya Kazunari was out to work.
He wiped the sweat in his forehead with a worn-out towel that he always hung around his neck for the nth time that day; he squinted his eyes towards the sun, who glared back at him with all it strength as if it was offended. Sighing, Nino put on his cap sideway as he pulled down the leverage of the gondola.
He was all alone today. Alone. An old man named Kojima was supposed to accompany him today, but the man had called in sick earlier this day - not that Nino believed him though, especially when he heard the name of horses that’d be racing today. “Bastard.” He had hissed it for the old man before hanging up, but it was always nice to repeat the word anytime, anywhere, because it felt good to curse at someone.
He spread his sight at the building’s windows that he needed to clean; this building wasn’t too high, but still, cleaning all of the windows by himself would definitely took more than 3 hours of his precious time, not to mention how much it was hurting his back.
But well, he needed the money so bad; they didn’t pay much, but Nino needed the money anyway for his living expenses.
Or, if he was being honest, he needed the money to buy a new game console.
He let another sigh escaped his dry lips as he stopped at one floor; he took the wiper, and, without words, he started to work. People inside the building were casting a glance at him, but that was it. No one usually bothered to take a second glance at him - Nino hated this company with all his might. No one in this company was nice to someone like him; they were arrogant and saw people like Nino as nothing more than trash - they’d even complained when he took a lift together with him by chance. It annoyed him, but again, he couldn’t help it. If there was anything this company was good at, was that they paid him, and they taught him on how to repress his anger.
I’ll stop once I have enough money. Nino swore inside his mind; for the meantime, he could only ducked his head down when he saw a bunch of girls laughing at him from inside the building.
Bitches.
He quickly got his work done on that floor, and then he lowered the gondola yet again.
He remembered this floor though. It was the floor for the CEO; Nino could see the vast, almost empty lounge, and he always loved this floor so much. There wasn’t much people around except for the secretary, but she was usually so busy that she wouldn’t pay attention to Nino, which was good; he always spend so much time in this floor, because it was relaxing to do his works without judging eyes, and because he should make sure that the windows on the CEO floor was extra clean or else he’d get fired.
But today was different. There was someone - a young man in casual clothes, who was sitting near the window with a sketchpad on hands. He was drawing something vigorously on it; his hand was moving steadily, and Nino could only stared in amazement at the way the tip of his pencil touched the paper gracefully, slowly creating a picture of the lounge that he was in at the moment.
Nino stopped his gondola not too far from him, but then the man’s hand stopped moving. He looked up, probably noticing the sudden shadow that was blocking the light, and then his eyes met Nino.
And Nino dared to say that he was the most beautiful human that God had ever created in the whole world - screw that top model Matsumoto Jun, this one was even more stunning. Nino gazed wordlessly at the man’s brown, sleepy eyes for a while, before then he leaned back a bit to take in his whole feature. This man has short brown hair, chubby cheeks, thin eyebrows, and plump, pink lips that were glistening a bit. His skin was a bit tanned, but Nino could tell that it was probably because he has been staying outdoor for too long, because his collarbone’s color was a bit different with his neck; it also seemed like this man was around his height, if not shorter. Satisfied, Nino’s eyes went back to stare back at the man’s eyes; he half expected him to scold Nino for staring at him like that, or maybe even tell him to go away.
But to his surprise, he was smiling.
Nino was taken aback with the warm smile; he took off his cap nervously, and then he bowed a bit at the man. The man was chuckling from behind the window, and oh, how Nino wished that he was inside - he wanted to hear his voice. The man suddenly turned the page in his sketchpad, and he scribbled something in it before showing it to Nino.
‘Isn’t it hot out there?’
Nino nodded timidly. “Very.” He said, while the man on the other side of the window was staring at him intently, maybe because he was trying to guess what Nino was saying. “It’s so hot here.”
The man frowned, and then he wrote again; this time he took a while before showing him his sketchpad.
‘Have you put on sunblock? Or else you’ll be tanned like me.’
Nino chuckled, and the man chuckled along with him, eyes crinkling cutely as he did. “I’ll never be tanned.” Nino said slowly, so the man could catch his words. “I’ll just turn pink.”
The man giggled as he wrote something more.
‘Lucky.’
Nino grinned at that, and he was about to ask something more but then the man was turning his head around. Nino watched another man approaching him; they talked in a rush, before the man that approached him left first to the CEO room. The man looked at Nino apologetically, as if trying to say sorry, then he wrote something again in his sketchpad, showing it briefly to Nino before he closed it and rushed inside the CEO room - his jacket flapping behind him. Nino stared at him until he disappeared behind the thick, mahogany door, and then he quietly continued his work.
But the man’s scribbled words had given Nino strength to keep on going despite the heat.
‘Ganbatte!’
***
He met him again a few weeks later.
Again, that day he had to clean the windows alone because Kojima was ditching out on him. But Nino didn’t really cared much; ever since he met that mysterious man, he had been looking forward to stop the gondola at the CEO’s floor, but he never appeared there anymore. Nino had even tried to look out for him in each floor, but the man was nowhere to be found. He concluded then that the mysterious man wasn’t a worker in this company; but then, why he was there in the CEO’s lounge? His clothes were too casual to meet up with the CEO - but maybe he was a designer or something?
He felt stupid, but Nino couldn’t stop thinking about that man.
This day, too, he worked with the hope of meeting the mysterious man, and this time, he wasn’t disappointed. The mysterious man was sitting near the window again - this time, he was wearing an oversized sweater with jeans, and again, he was fully focused on his sketchpad. Nino couldn’t help the grin that was spreading on his face as he purposefully stopped the gondola in front of him; as expected, the man looked disturbed with the sudden shadows, and he turned around. “Ah!” The man exclaimed as he pointed at Nino. He returned Nino’s grin, and then he flipped the page to write something there.
‘Long time no see! XD’ was written neatly on the sketchpad; Nino nodded sheepishly at it. “Long time no see.” He said.
The man wrote something again, and then he placed it against the window for Nino to read.
‘How are you?’
“I’m fine.” Nino smiled; this man was really kind, and he couldn’t believe that he cared much about Nino - this kindness was really new for him. “I put this on.” He pulled out a sunblock from his pocket for the man to see, and the man immediately laughed cheerfully at the sight of the sunblock.
Gosh, how I wished I could heard his voice.
Nino didn’t realize he was staring at the man, but the man seemed to realize it; he was blushing a bit as he ducked down to write some more, and then he lifted the sketchpad shyly.
‘My name is Ohno Satoshi.’
Nino’s heart leaped in joy - he couldn’t believe he got to know his name. “Satoshi.” He said the name, but judging by the deep blush in the man’s face, Nino quickly settled with “Oh-chan.”
Ohno nodded happily, and then he pointed at Nino. Nino pushed himself forward a bit to show his nametag, and then Ohno nodded. “Ninomiya Kazuya?” He asked voicelessly, and Nino shook his head. “Kazunari. Ka-zu-na-ri.”
Ohno nodded again, this time in understatement, and then he said. “Nino.”
Nino smiled widely, but then his curiosity was perked as Ohno suddenly wrote something in his sketchpad energetically. He showed it to Nino with a smile then.
‘Do you want to meet up?’
Nino blinked; now, he’d love to do that, of course. But he still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that this cute man wanted to meet up with him - him, the worthless window cleaner that no one usually glanced at.
Ohno broke him out of his daze by knocking his fist impatiently on the window. He lifted the sketchpad once again, asking without words, and Nino could only nod in daze. “S-sure.” He stuttered.
Ohno smiled widely, and then he wrote something in a hurry as the same man from last week was approaching him again. He showed it to Nino for a moment, and without waiting for agreement, he closed it again and he followed the other man into the CEO room, while Nino gazed blankly at him.
The words written were ‘Meet me in the cafeteria when you’re done.’
Nino rubbed his face with his stubby fingers. “Oh God.” He groaned.
He was happy - of course he was happy. It’s just - the thought of meeting up in this company’s cafeteria wasn’t really appealing to him. He didn’t like it there, especially because it was always crowded with workers that looked down on him. He vaguely remembered his choice of clothes today - a simple t-shirt and jeans with old sneakers and a jacket, and Nino groaned once more.
Maybe he should buy new clothes with his payment today.
He finished cleaning the windows in the evening; all his bones were squeaking in protest as he walked tiredly into the changing rooms, but he paid no attention to it because he needed to hurry. He was sure that Ohno must’ve been waiting for long, and he felt sorry for that, but Nino ended up taking a shower because he couldn’t possibly meet the cute man with a body that was stink of sweat. He put on his clothes with care, trying to make sure that it didn’t wrinkle or anything, and then he brushed his hair too - he groaned in dismay when his hair couldn’t be tamed, so he decided to put on his cap anyway since it was better than his ugly hair. With a long, last glance on the mirror, Nino finally dashed out of the changing room to the cafeteria.
He must’ve left. Nino thought as he was nearing the cafeteria. Why would he wait for so long for Nino anyway? He grew more and more nervous as he finally stepped into the cafeteria. As expected, it was filled with other workers, and some of them were already staring at him as if they wanted to ask ‘What do you think you’re doing here?’ Rubbing his sweaty palm on his jeans, Nino looked around the cafeteria, and then his heart stopped when he saw him sitting near the window.
Ohno was still here.
He felt relief washing over him as he approached the man - Ohno was, as expected, scribbling something on his sketchpad again. The evening light was shining over his face, and Nino almost trembled at how beautiful he was. He stopped in front of him, and, ignoring the glares that people directed at them, he greeted. “Hey.”
Ohno looked up; eyes blinking at him for a while, before then a smile broke his lips. “Nino.” He breathed happily.
Ugh. His voice was too much to handle for Nino - it was soft and almost melodious, and Nino fought hard to keep his blushes from sprouting. “I’m sorry to keep you waiting.”
“I don’t mind. I just finished an hour ago after all.” He motioned for Nino to sit down in front of him, and Nino did it gladly - he was tired after all. “Otsukare, Nino.”
“Ah, thanks.” Nino said shyly. Ohno closed his sketchpad and then he called the waitress. “You should eat.” He said, and then he added before Nino could cut in. “I’ll pay for it.”
Nino didn’t want him to, but Ohno left no room for arguments; he shoved the menu to Nino and waited. Sighing in defeat, Nino half-heartedly ordered Omurice with a cup of coffee. After the waitress left, Nino turned his attention to Ohno. “Thanks a bunch.”
“Don’t mention it. You deserved it after doing that kind of work.” Ohno said with a smile. “So, tell me about yourself, Nino.”
And Nino did. He told him all that he could think about himself; he told him that he was still in college and was currently living in a worn-down apartment until he graduated. He also told him that actually his mother still paid for his college tuition, and that he worked just so he didn’t have to ask them for any pocket money. “This isn’t the kind of work that I’d like to do, but this is the best that I could get.” He finished then; his Omurice arrived, and Nino started digging on it.
Ohno listened to his words intently but when he was done, Ohno was frowning a bit. “But if you’re still in college, then doesn’t this kind of work tire you out? Doesn’t it disturb your study?”
“A bit.” Nino admitted with his mouth full of Omurice; that was true though. There were days when he had to skip his classes because he was so tired to even move out to bed. There were also days when he accidentally fell asleep in classes and was getting scolded by his lecturers. “But I haven’t found any other job.”
Ohno went silent; it seemed like he was deep in thoughts, so Nino left him at that while he kept on bringing the Omurice to his mouth - it was so delicious after all, not to mention that he was actually really hungry.
“Do you like animals?”
The question was so random and sudden that Nino needed to ask Ohno to repeat it again before he answered it. “Not really. I mean, I don’t particularly like them, but I don’t hate them either. Why?”
“Well, Aiba-chan - err, my friend was running a pet shop. It was pretty successful that he decided to open another branch, but it seemed he was getting short of hands now, so maybe you want to work there?” Ohno offered with a smile playing on his lips. “Aiba-chan is a very nice person, and he’s generous too. If you did your best, I bet he’d shower you with money.”
That, of course, was something that attracted Nino the most. Well, he didn’t mind working at a pet shop - it’d be definitely less tiring, and what’s more, pet would definitely not judging him. “I’d love to.” He said eagerly.
Ohno looked pleased as he leaned back against his chair. “I’ll tell Aiba-chan then, and after that I’ll - oh.” He pulled out his phone from his pocket and then he offered it to Nino. “Your number, please. In case I need to contact you about the work.” He added shyly. Nino took it and he entered his phone number before giving it back to Ohno; the other man dialed the number and Nino’s phone was vibrating on his pocket - he didn’t pulled it out though. He just told Ohno that his phone has vibrated and that he’d save the number later, and Ohno nodded at that. “Good.”
“So, do you work here?” It was Nino’s turn to ask; he really was curious on why Ohno was always in the CEO lounge after all. Ohno shook his head on Nino’s question, and then he sighed. “Nope. I’m working on a magazine publisher as their designer.”
“Then why are you here?” Nino asked as he brought the cup of coffee to his lips to sip it.
Another sigh; Ohno looked reluctant to say it out loud, but then he said, “Because my dad want to see me.”
Nino choked on his coffee as Ohno’s words fully dawned on him. Ohno reached out to pat him in the back worriedly as Nino coughed, sighing as he said, “See, this is why I don’t like to tell anyone about it.”
“Why - you… You’re the CEO’s son?!” Nino asked in disbelief. Ohno shushed him by putting his finger on Nino’s lips, and now Nino’s mind was torn on either on focusing with the fact that Ohno was the CEO’s son, or the fact that his long, delicate finger was there, on Nino’s lips, and that he could felt how soft it was against his lips. “I am.” Ohno answered then.
“But your family name is -“
“My parents divorced and my mother married another man. I took my stepfather’s family name.” He explained as he pulled his finger away while murmuring ‘sorry’. Nino still looked at him in disbelief though - well, it did explained why Ohno was always staying in the CEO lounge, and it did explained why the people around them were always sneaking glances at them the whole time - probably they were wondering why the son of the CEO was having a friendly chat with someone like him.
But then - “Why are you being kind to me though?” Nino spoke up after a while; Ohno looked up to stare at him in confusion. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“No one in this company has been kind to me before.” Nino stated as a matter of fact. “I mean, usually they’re so…arrogant. They think I’m just a trash.”
“They’re wrong about that. They’re just so full of their selves - someone needed to clean the window despite the harsh conditions, and you took it on; that’s really brave, you know. Those people, who always stayed in their comfortable, squeaky chair while bossing around other people, got no right to judge you.” While he said that rather loudly, Ohno was looking around the cafeteria; all the people that used to steal a glance at them ducked their head down in shame, and Ohno shook his head disappointedly at that. “Someone needs to fix their morals.” He mumbled to himself before then he smiled at Nino. “Don’t mind them. To me, you’re more valuable than them.”
Nino couldn’t help but blush at those words; they spent the rest of the evening chatting happily about their lives, before then they finally parted ways.
That night, Nino slept with the warmest feeling he had ever felt.
***
He got accepted to work at Aiba’s pet shop.
Aiba was exactly the same as how Ohno described him; he was cheerful, friendly, and kind even though he was a bit on the tennen side. But Nino didn’t mind that at all; they got along well in the end of the interview, and Nino could even arrange his shift so it wouldn’t disturb his study. Aiba promised him a good amount of payment each month, and of course Nino was happy for that - there were no weird animals in Aiba’s pet shop either. Only tons of cats and dogs and rabbits and hamsters - probably the most dangerous pet in here was iguana, but Nino wasn’t scared of it, much.
Ohno accompanied him when he was being interviewed; he and Aiba was such a good friend that it almost made Nino jealous. But as if Aiba could read his mind, he nonchalantly said, “You should meet Becky, my girlfriend. She usually helps out whenever she got time.” Aiba winked at him then, and Nino couldn’t help but blush, while Ohno was being oblivious with their secret exchange.
They went home after a very satisfying dinner made by Aiba; it was pretty late already that when they rode the train, it was almost empty but for the two of them. They sit side by side, full and happy and sleepy; Nino turned to look at Ohno, and the other man was staring back at him with a smile. “I’m glad everything turned out well.” He spoke softly.
“Yeah.” Nino mumbled with a smile. “It’s thanks to you.”
Ohno laughed; his voice so melodious that it made Nino’s heart skipped a beat. “It’s not.” Ohno said then. “I’m just helping a little.”
He loved Ohno’s humbleness, really.
Or maybe, if he was being honest, he loved everything about this man.
Ohno, realizing that Nino wasn’t laughing along with him, finally stop to turn to stare back at him. Nino watched how the other man suddenly started blushing thanks to how close they were; but even then, Ohno kept his gaze on Nino. He reached out, fingers tracing Ohno’s chubby cheeks as he drank in the sight of flushed Ohno.
And then, as if he was on a trance, he tilted his head and brushed his lips gently against Ohno’s.
The kiss didn’t last long though; Nino could only briefly taste the lingering taste of tea that they drank at Aiba’s house in Ohno’s lips before the other man was pushing him away. He did it rather gently, but still, Nino took it as rejection, and he felt disappointment welling up in his chest as their contact broke. Nino stared questioningly at Ohno, but the older man refused to stare at him. Instead, he looked down with one of his hand covering his lips. “Nino… I’m sorry but -”
Nothing good would ever come out with a sentence that started with ‘I’m sorry’.
The train halted into a stop, and Nino stared at the opened door. He still needed to ride the train for a while longer, but without thinking, he stood and strode towards the door. “Wait! Nino!”
Nino couldn’t wait - not when his eyes were getting teary. He got off from the train and he kept on walking despite how Ohno kept on calling for his name. He listened to the sound of the closed door, and then the train started moving again.
That was when he looked back.
But Ohno wasn’t there anymore.
But that was something to be expected, wasn’t it? Nino was getting carried away, that was for sure. Perhaps Ohno just pitied him, and that was why he wanted to become his friends - perhaps the rich, older man just pitied his poor-self, and Nino took his kindness as something more. How stupid he was to think that everything would work out between them, somehow? Of course it wouldn’t. He was nothing but a poor college student - if he was compared to Ohno, who was the son of a CEO and currently working in a magazine publisher…
Yes, he should just forget about Ohno. It was about time for him to wake up from his dreamland.
But he wouldn’t lie that it hurts. It hurts so bad that even though he willed himself to sleep, he couldn’t.
It didn’t help that his lips still remembered how it felt like to kiss Ohno.
Nino decided then that he wouldn’t work at Aiba’s place. He called the older man to say sorry; fortunately, Aiba didn’t ask him any questions, but he kindly said, “If you still want to work here after you sort out your problem, just come, okay?”
Nino wondered how Aiba knew that he was having a problem, but perhaps Ohno had already told him - he was also getting suspicious that the two was actually seeing each other, and that Aiba was only teasing him the other day; damn, he was probably laughing at how stupid Nino was now.
But he knew that he was just overthinking, and Nino actually hated himself for getting suspicious and accusing people like that - especially Aiba, who looked as innocent as a newborn puppy - but he couldn’t help it. His head was a complete mess, and for now, it was best for him to just lock himself inside his room, playing games all day and turning down the call from Kojima; it was his turn to ditch his work. Ohno was sending him messages too, but Nino deleted them before even reading it, and then he focused himself to play the game again.
He only came out for classes, but when he did, he dropped by at the window cleaner’s company he worked at to resign from his work.
“Of course you can resign.” His supervisor told him. “But we need you to clean the window at the usual company until we could find your replacement.”
“But I don’t want to.” Nino insisted. “I want to resign now.”
“We’ll look for a replacement immediately but you still have to work tomorrow.” His supervisor said firmly. “We’ll even give you a little bonus - how’s that?”
Nino wasn’t really happy because there was a chance that he’d meet Ohno in that company, but for now, he didn’t have any choice - that, and the word ‘bonus’ was actually tickling him. So he reluctantly agreed, and the next day, he came to the company to work. All the while, he hoped that Ohno wouldn’t be there at the CEO’s lounge. Nino had wanted to take a different route, but he was alone, again, and since that means he have to clean the windows on the CEO’s lounge anyway, he finally decided to do it just like the usual.
He put on his cap sideway, and, while praying in his heart, he pulled the leverage down.
He cleaned all the windows before the CEO’s floor carelessly; meh, this was his last day anyway so he didn’t really care if it wasn’t clean as usual. He spent unnecessary times on those floors though, simply because he didn’t want to get to the CEO floor that fast. But in the end he should anyway, so, albeit a little reluctant, he was finally lowered down to the CEO’s floor slowly.
And he was there.
Ohno was sitting near the window, again, with his sketchpad on hands. Nino stared at him as he descended; if he stared at Ohno like this, it was almost like the first day he met Ohno. The beautiful man that was secured behind the window, away from Nino’s reach.
And it should’ve stayed that way.
Ohno suddenly looked up though, and when their eyes met, Nino could see the relief that was shining on his brown eyes; without thinking, Nino kept on pulling the leverage down as he ducked down, refusing to stare at Ohno. The older man knocked against the window frantically, trying to get his attention, but Nino ignored him; his eyes were fixed to the next floor.
He didn’t realize that he was holding his breath until he reached the next floor. He also didn’t realize the pain that was hammering his chest until now; for a moment, he wondered if he had made a mistake. His fingers lingered on the leverage, tempted to pull himself back up to see Ohno.
Don’t be stupid. He lives in a different world than you.
Nino took a deep breath as he shook his head a bit; his grips on the wiper tightened, and after assuring himself that he had made the right choice, he began his dull work.
But Nino wondered if it was true that he had made the right choice, then why did it hurt so bad?
He continued his work half-heartedly; in the end, he was working half-assed - none of the windows were cleaned properly because his mind was elsewhere, thinking of a certain man in the upper floor. He managed to finish his work though, somehow, and then he moved the gondola up again. In the back of his mind, he was sure that Ohno had left, probably disappointed in his cold attitude, and that he should’ve given up on him either.
He ignored the voice of protest that was ringing on his mind though.
But Ohno was really something; as Nino passed the CEO’s floor, the older man was still there. Nino immediately averted his eyes, but rather than trying to get Nino’s attention again, Ohno simply placed his sketchpad against the window, hoping for Nino to read it. Unable to contain his curiosity, Nino finally peeked to read the words.
Written hastily in the piece of paper was: ‘I like you’.
Nino didn’t know how to respond to that, but if there was one thing that he was sure of, was that he was angry. Really angry. This seemed like some kind of bullshit - if Ohno did like him, then why did he pushed Nino away in the train? He turned to glare at Ohno, but what he saw made him froze.
Because Ohno’s eyes were teary, and he looked like he was ready to cry.
And just like that, Nino’s anger vanished into the air - he stared at Ohno, who was staring back at him hopefully, and then he finally said. “Go to the roof.”
Ohno blinked, and with that a tear rolled down to his cheek. “Huh?”
“Go to the roof.” Nino repeated as he pointed to the roof. “Go up. Up.”
Ohno seemed to understand, because he nodded eagerly and then he closed the sketchpad. With another glance at Nino, he finally turned around and rushed to the lift, and Nino himself quickly pulled himself up to the roof; he was suddenly getting impatient. Nino wasn’t sure on what he was going to do exactly; well, maybe he should listen to Ohno’s explanation first, and then…
Ah, he couldn’t really think. His heart was beating fast just because of those simple words written in the sketchpad.
‘I like you.’
He finally reached the roof, and he was just climbing out of the gondola when Ohno finally appeared. “Nino.” He breathed out as he approached him. Nino stared at him as he took off his cap and threw it carelessly inside the gondola; at his teary eyes and his messy brown hair and -
“Nino, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to push you away that time!” Ohno said sadly as he stopped midway. “It’s just, I was actually really nervous. Even though I’m older than you, but that’s actually my first kiss. I was so inexperienced in such things, and I just…” Ohno was blushing hard right now. “I’m so sorry Nino. I’m so sorry.”
God, so that was the reason? Nino was walking towards him now, and the smaller man looked down in fear - Nino was sure that his expression right now was unreadable and that Ohno couldn’t even guess what he was thinking at the moment. “I’m so sorry, Nino. I must’ve hurt your feelings. I should’ve explained it before but -“
Nino grabbed Ohno’s face and he pressed their lips together.
At first, Ohno didn’t kiss back; Nino didn’t mind though, because if what he said was true, then Nino had to show him how first. He moved his lips against Ohno softly, taking his sweet time in mapping Ohno’s luscious lips. It took Ohno a while, but finally he kissed back shyly, awkwardly, but that was enough to send Nino to heaven. He guided him until their lips were finally moving in unison; Ohno was flushed against him as he finally gotten the hang of it, fingers clutching on Nino’s shirt as he tilted his head for Nino to kiss him deeper.
So this is what heaven taste like. Nino wasn’t sure when or how his hands has gotten all the way down to Ohno’s waist to pull him even closer, nor he was sure about when Ohno’s hands were already circled around his neck - when they pulled away to breathe, Nino only found himself being unable to thanks to the sight of Ohno in his embrace. He was flushed; his face was red and he was panting a bit - red, glistening lips half-opened with his tongue peeking from inside it. Nino gulped, but instead he decided to just hug Ohno, burying himself completely in the older man’s scent as he hugged him tight. “I thought you hated me.” He mumbled.
Ohno sighed; he hugged Nino back as he shook his head. “Don’t be stupid.” He breathed out. “Why would I?”
“Because I’m just a poor college student you can find anywhere.” Nino mumbled half-heartedly. “Because I’m not…rich.”
“Seriously now…” Ohno pulled away a bit from Nino’s embrace to stare at him; his brown eyes were shining in determination as he said, “I don’t care about something like that. After all, what I like is not money - I like the Nino that’s working hard for money.”
Ah, this guy is… “You’re such an idiot, you know?” Nino muttered as he pulled Ohno back into his embrace. “Such an idiot…”
“Well, forgive me for that.” Ohno pouted.
“I promise…” Nino started, hand reaching out to caress Ohno’s hair. “I promise that I’ll keep on working hard until you can become proud of me. Do you mind waiting for that time while staying by my side?”
Ohno laughed; his voice filling Nino with warmth that could possibly last for forever. “Of course.”
And Nino meant it, of course. Maybe he still got a long way to go, but he was determined to become a man that Ohno could be proud of; he was determined to become a successful man, even more than anyone in this company with his own hard work.
But at the moment, he wondered if Aiba would take him back to work at his pet shop.
Pairing: Ohmiya
Genre: Drama, Romance
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Nino worked as a window cleaner, and it was such a dull and boring job, until one day he found a pair of brown eyes staring at him from behind the thick window.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, nope
A/N: As you guys might've guessed, this story is inspired by the latest anishi, in which Nino held a concert while cleaning windows XD This is completely AU though, so don't worry about any spoilers! Well, enjoy! Comments will be loved! <3
The sun was shining brightly, and yet Ninomiya Kazunari was out to work.
He wiped the sweat in his forehead with a worn-out towel that he always hung around his neck for the nth time that day; he squinted his eyes towards the sun, who glared back at him with all it strength as if it was offended. Sighing, Nino put on his cap sideway as he pulled down the leverage of the gondola.
He was all alone today. Alone. An old man named Kojima was supposed to accompany him today, but the man had called in sick earlier this day - not that Nino believed him though, especially when he heard the name of horses that’d be racing today. “Bastard.” He had hissed it for the old man before hanging up, but it was always nice to repeat the word anytime, anywhere, because it felt good to curse at someone.
He spread his sight at the building’s windows that he needed to clean; this building wasn’t too high, but still, cleaning all of the windows by himself would definitely took more than 3 hours of his precious time, not to mention how much it was hurting his back.
But well, he needed the money so bad; they didn’t pay much, but Nino needed the money anyway for his living expenses.
Or, if he was being honest, he needed the money to buy a new game console.
He let another sigh escaped his dry lips as he stopped at one floor; he took the wiper, and, without words, he started to work. People inside the building were casting a glance at him, but that was it. No one usually bothered to take a second glance at him - Nino hated this company with all his might. No one in this company was nice to someone like him; they were arrogant and saw people like Nino as nothing more than trash - they’d even complained when he took a lift together with him by chance. It annoyed him, but again, he couldn’t help it. If there was anything this company was good at, was that they paid him, and they taught him on how to repress his anger.
I’ll stop once I have enough money. Nino swore inside his mind; for the meantime, he could only ducked his head down when he saw a bunch of girls laughing at him from inside the building.
Bitches.
He quickly got his work done on that floor, and then he lowered the gondola yet again.
He remembered this floor though. It was the floor for the CEO; Nino could see the vast, almost empty lounge, and he always loved this floor so much. There wasn’t much people around except for the secretary, but she was usually so busy that she wouldn’t pay attention to Nino, which was good; he always spend so much time in this floor, because it was relaxing to do his works without judging eyes, and because he should make sure that the windows on the CEO floor was extra clean or else he’d get fired.
But today was different. There was someone - a young man in casual clothes, who was sitting near the window with a sketchpad on hands. He was drawing something vigorously on it; his hand was moving steadily, and Nino could only stared in amazement at the way the tip of his pencil touched the paper gracefully, slowly creating a picture of the lounge that he was in at the moment.
Nino stopped his gondola not too far from him, but then the man’s hand stopped moving. He looked up, probably noticing the sudden shadow that was blocking the light, and then his eyes met Nino.
And Nino dared to say that he was the most beautiful human that God had ever created in the whole world - screw that top model Matsumoto Jun, this one was even more stunning. Nino gazed wordlessly at the man’s brown, sleepy eyes for a while, before then he leaned back a bit to take in his whole feature. This man has short brown hair, chubby cheeks, thin eyebrows, and plump, pink lips that were glistening a bit. His skin was a bit tanned, but Nino could tell that it was probably because he has been staying outdoor for too long, because his collarbone’s color was a bit different with his neck; it also seemed like this man was around his height, if not shorter. Satisfied, Nino’s eyes went back to stare back at the man’s eyes; he half expected him to scold Nino for staring at him like that, or maybe even tell him to go away.
But to his surprise, he was smiling.
Nino was taken aback with the warm smile; he took off his cap nervously, and then he bowed a bit at the man. The man was chuckling from behind the window, and oh, how Nino wished that he was inside - he wanted to hear his voice. The man suddenly turned the page in his sketchpad, and he scribbled something in it before showing it to Nino.
‘Isn’t it hot out there?’
Nino nodded timidly. “Very.” He said, while the man on the other side of the window was staring at him intently, maybe because he was trying to guess what Nino was saying. “It’s so hot here.”
The man frowned, and then he wrote again; this time he took a while before showing him his sketchpad.
‘Have you put on sunblock? Or else you’ll be tanned like me.’
Nino chuckled, and the man chuckled along with him, eyes crinkling cutely as he did. “I’ll never be tanned.” Nino said slowly, so the man could catch his words. “I’ll just turn pink.”
The man giggled as he wrote something more.
‘Lucky.’
Nino grinned at that, and he was about to ask something more but then the man was turning his head around. Nino watched another man approaching him; they talked in a rush, before the man that approached him left first to the CEO room. The man looked at Nino apologetically, as if trying to say sorry, then he wrote something again in his sketchpad, showing it briefly to Nino before he closed it and rushed inside the CEO room - his jacket flapping behind him. Nino stared at him until he disappeared behind the thick, mahogany door, and then he quietly continued his work.
But the man’s scribbled words had given Nino strength to keep on going despite the heat.
‘Ganbatte!’
***
He met him again a few weeks later.
Again, that day he had to clean the windows alone because Kojima was ditching out on him. But Nino didn’t really cared much; ever since he met that mysterious man, he had been looking forward to stop the gondola at the CEO’s floor, but he never appeared there anymore. Nino had even tried to look out for him in each floor, but the man was nowhere to be found. He concluded then that the mysterious man wasn’t a worker in this company; but then, why he was there in the CEO’s lounge? His clothes were too casual to meet up with the CEO - but maybe he was a designer or something?
He felt stupid, but Nino couldn’t stop thinking about that man.
This day, too, he worked with the hope of meeting the mysterious man, and this time, he wasn’t disappointed. The mysterious man was sitting near the window again - this time, he was wearing an oversized sweater with jeans, and again, he was fully focused on his sketchpad. Nino couldn’t help the grin that was spreading on his face as he purposefully stopped the gondola in front of him; as expected, the man looked disturbed with the sudden shadows, and he turned around. “Ah!” The man exclaimed as he pointed at Nino. He returned Nino’s grin, and then he flipped the page to write something there.
‘Long time no see! XD’ was written neatly on the sketchpad; Nino nodded sheepishly at it. “Long time no see.” He said.
The man wrote something again, and then he placed it against the window for Nino to read.
‘How are you?’
“I’m fine.” Nino smiled; this man was really kind, and he couldn’t believe that he cared much about Nino - this kindness was really new for him. “I put this on.” He pulled out a sunblock from his pocket for the man to see, and the man immediately laughed cheerfully at the sight of the sunblock.
Gosh, how I wished I could heard his voice.
Nino didn’t realize he was staring at the man, but the man seemed to realize it; he was blushing a bit as he ducked down to write some more, and then he lifted the sketchpad shyly.
‘My name is Ohno Satoshi.’
Nino’s heart leaped in joy - he couldn’t believe he got to know his name. “Satoshi.” He said the name, but judging by the deep blush in the man’s face, Nino quickly settled with “Oh-chan.”
Ohno nodded happily, and then he pointed at Nino. Nino pushed himself forward a bit to show his nametag, and then Ohno nodded. “Ninomiya Kazuya?” He asked voicelessly, and Nino shook his head. “Kazunari. Ka-zu-na-ri.”
Ohno nodded again, this time in understatement, and then he said. “Nino.”
Nino smiled widely, but then his curiosity was perked as Ohno suddenly wrote something in his sketchpad energetically. He showed it to Nino with a smile then.
‘Do you want to meet up?’
Nino blinked; now, he’d love to do that, of course. But he still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that this cute man wanted to meet up with him - him, the worthless window cleaner that no one usually glanced at.
Ohno broke him out of his daze by knocking his fist impatiently on the window. He lifted the sketchpad once again, asking without words, and Nino could only nod in daze. “S-sure.” He stuttered.
Ohno smiled widely, and then he wrote something in a hurry as the same man from last week was approaching him again. He showed it to Nino for a moment, and without waiting for agreement, he closed it again and he followed the other man into the CEO room, while Nino gazed blankly at him.
The words written were ‘Meet me in the cafeteria when you’re done.’
Nino rubbed his face with his stubby fingers. “Oh God.” He groaned.
He was happy - of course he was happy. It’s just - the thought of meeting up in this company’s cafeteria wasn’t really appealing to him. He didn’t like it there, especially because it was always crowded with workers that looked down on him. He vaguely remembered his choice of clothes today - a simple t-shirt and jeans with old sneakers and a jacket, and Nino groaned once more.
Maybe he should buy new clothes with his payment today.
He finished cleaning the windows in the evening; all his bones were squeaking in protest as he walked tiredly into the changing rooms, but he paid no attention to it because he needed to hurry. He was sure that Ohno must’ve been waiting for long, and he felt sorry for that, but Nino ended up taking a shower because he couldn’t possibly meet the cute man with a body that was stink of sweat. He put on his clothes with care, trying to make sure that it didn’t wrinkle or anything, and then he brushed his hair too - he groaned in dismay when his hair couldn’t be tamed, so he decided to put on his cap anyway since it was better than his ugly hair. With a long, last glance on the mirror, Nino finally dashed out of the changing room to the cafeteria.
He must’ve left. Nino thought as he was nearing the cafeteria. Why would he wait for so long for Nino anyway? He grew more and more nervous as he finally stepped into the cafeteria. As expected, it was filled with other workers, and some of them were already staring at him as if they wanted to ask ‘What do you think you’re doing here?’ Rubbing his sweaty palm on his jeans, Nino looked around the cafeteria, and then his heart stopped when he saw him sitting near the window.
Ohno was still here.
He felt relief washing over him as he approached the man - Ohno was, as expected, scribbling something on his sketchpad again. The evening light was shining over his face, and Nino almost trembled at how beautiful he was. He stopped in front of him, and, ignoring the glares that people directed at them, he greeted. “Hey.”
Ohno looked up; eyes blinking at him for a while, before then a smile broke his lips. “Nino.” He breathed happily.
Ugh. His voice was too much to handle for Nino - it was soft and almost melodious, and Nino fought hard to keep his blushes from sprouting. “I’m sorry to keep you waiting.”
“I don’t mind. I just finished an hour ago after all.” He motioned for Nino to sit down in front of him, and Nino did it gladly - he was tired after all. “Otsukare, Nino.”
“Ah, thanks.” Nino said shyly. Ohno closed his sketchpad and then he called the waitress. “You should eat.” He said, and then he added before Nino could cut in. “I’ll pay for it.”
Nino didn’t want him to, but Ohno left no room for arguments; he shoved the menu to Nino and waited. Sighing in defeat, Nino half-heartedly ordered Omurice with a cup of coffee. After the waitress left, Nino turned his attention to Ohno. “Thanks a bunch.”
“Don’t mention it. You deserved it after doing that kind of work.” Ohno said with a smile. “So, tell me about yourself, Nino.”
And Nino did. He told him all that he could think about himself; he told him that he was still in college and was currently living in a worn-down apartment until he graduated. He also told him that actually his mother still paid for his college tuition, and that he worked just so he didn’t have to ask them for any pocket money. “This isn’t the kind of work that I’d like to do, but this is the best that I could get.” He finished then; his Omurice arrived, and Nino started digging on it.
Ohno listened to his words intently but when he was done, Ohno was frowning a bit. “But if you’re still in college, then doesn’t this kind of work tire you out? Doesn’t it disturb your study?”
“A bit.” Nino admitted with his mouth full of Omurice; that was true though. There were days when he had to skip his classes because he was so tired to even move out to bed. There were also days when he accidentally fell asleep in classes and was getting scolded by his lecturers. “But I haven’t found any other job.”
Ohno went silent; it seemed like he was deep in thoughts, so Nino left him at that while he kept on bringing the Omurice to his mouth - it was so delicious after all, not to mention that he was actually really hungry.
“Do you like animals?”
The question was so random and sudden that Nino needed to ask Ohno to repeat it again before he answered it. “Not really. I mean, I don’t particularly like them, but I don’t hate them either. Why?”
“Well, Aiba-chan - err, my friend was running a pet shop. It was pretty successful that he decided to open another branch, but it seemed he was getting short of hands now, so maybe you want to work there?” Ohno offered with a smile playing on his lips. “Aiba-chan is a very nice person, and he’s generous too. If you did your best, I bet he’d shower you with money.”
That, of course, was something that attracted Nino the most. Well, he didn’t mind working at a pet shop - it’d be definitely less tiring, and what’s more, pet would definitely not judging him. “I’d love to.” He said eagerly.
Ohno looked pleased as he leaned back against his chair. “I’ll tell Aiba-chan then, and after that I’ll - oh.” He pulled out his phone from his pocket and then he offered it to Nino. “Your number, please. In case I need to contact you about the work.” He added shyly. Nino took it and he entered his phone number before giving it back to Ohno; the other man dialed the number and Nino’s phone was vibrating on his pocket - he didn’t pulled it out though. He just told Ohno that his phone has vibrated and that he’d save the number later, and Ohno nodded at that. “Good.”
“So, do you work here?” It was Nino’s turn to ask; he really was curious on why Ohno was always in the CEO lounge after all. Ohno shook his head on Nino’s question, and then he sighed. “Nope. I’m working on a magazine publisher as their designer.”
“Then why are you here?” Nino asked as he brought the cup of coffee to his lips to sip it.
Another sigh; Ohno looked reluctant to say it out loud, but then he said, “Because my dad want to see me.”
Nino choked on his coffee as Ohno’s words fully dawned on him. Ohno reached out to pat him in the back worriedly as Nino coughed, sighing as he said, “See, this is why I don’t like to tell anyone about it.”
“Why - you… You’re the CEO’s son?!” Nino asked in disbelief. Ohno shushed him by putting his finger on Nino’s lips, and now Nino’s mind was torn on either on focusing with the fact that Ohno was the CEO’s son, or the fact that his long, delicate finger was there, on Nino’s lips, and that he could felt how soft it was against his lips. “I am.” Ohno answered then.
“But your family name is -“
“My parents divorced and my mother married another man. I took my stepfather’s family name.” He explained as he pulled his finger away while murmuring ‘sorry’. Nino still looked at him in disbelief though - well, it did explained why Ohno was always staying in the CEO lounge, and it did explained why the people around them were always sneaking glances at them the whole time - probably they were wondering why the son of the CEO was having a friendly chat with someone like him.
But then - “Why are you being kind to me though?” Nino spoke up after a while; Ohno looked up to stare at him in confusion. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“No one in this company has been kind to me before.” Nino stated as a matter of fact. “I mean, usually they’re so…arrogant. They think I’m just a trash.”
“They’re wrong about that. They’re just so full of their selves - someone needed to clean the window despite the harsh conditions, and you took it on; that’s really brave, you know. Those people, who always stayed in their comfortable, squeaky chair while bossing around other people, got no right to judge you.” While he said that rather loudly, Ohno was looking around the cafeteria; all the people that used to steal a glance at them ducked their head down in shame, and Ohno shook his head disappointedly at that. “Someone needs to fix their morals.” He mumbled to himself before then he smiled at Nino. “Don’t mind them. To me, you’re more valuable than them.”
Nino couldn’t help but blush at those words; they spent the rest of the evening chatting happily about their lives, before then they finally parted ways.
That night, Nino slept with the warmest feeling he had ever felt.
***
He got accepted to work at Aiba’s pet shop.
Aiba was exactly the same as how Ohno described him; he was cheerful, friendly, and kind even though he was a bit on the tennen side. But Nino didn’t mind that at all; they got along well in the end of the interview, and Nino could even arrange his shift so it wouldn’t disturb his study. Aiba promised him a good amount of payment each month, and of course Nino was happy for that - there were no weird animals in Aiba’s pet shop either. Only tons of cats and dogs and rabbits and hamsters - probably the most dangerous pet in here was iguana, but Nino wasn’t scared of it, much.
Ohno accompanied him when he was being interviewed; he and Aiba was such a good friend that it almost made Nino jealous. But as if Aiba could read his mind, he nonchalantly said, “You should meet Becky, my girlfriend. She usually helps out whenever she got time.” Aiba winked at him then, and Nino couldn’t help but blush, while Ohno was being oblivious with their secret exchange.
They went home after a very satisfying dinner made by Aiba; it was pretty late already that when they rode the train, it was almost empty but for the two of them. They sit side by side, full and happy and sleepy; Nino turned to look at Ohno, and the other man was staring back at him with a smile. “I’m glad everything turned out well.” He spoke softly.
“Yeah.” Nino mumbled with a smile. “It’s thanks to you.”
Ohno laughed; his voice so melodious that it made Nino’s heart skipped a beat. “It’s not.” Ohno said then. “I’m just helping a little.”
He loved Ohno’s humbleness, really.
Or maybe, if he was being honest, he loved everything about this man.
Ohno, realizing that Nino wasn’t laughing along with him, finally stop to turn to stare back at him. Nino watched how the other man suddenly started blushing thanks to how close they were; but even then, Ohno kept his gaze on Nino. He reached out, fingers tracing Ohno’s chubby cheeks as he drank in the sight of flushed Ohno.
And then, as if he was on a trance, he tilted his head and brushed his lips gently against Ohno’s.
The kiss didn’t last long though; Nino could only briefly taste the lingering taste of tea that they drank at Aiba’s house in Ohno’s lips before the other man was pushing him away. He did it rather gently, but still, Nino took it as rejection, and he felt disappointment welling up in his chest as their contact broke. Nino stared questioningly at Ohno, but the older man refused to stare at him. Instead, he looked down with one of his hand covering his lips. “Nino… I’m sorry but -”
Nothing good would ever come out with a sentence that started with ‘I’m sorry’.
The train halted into a stop, and Nino stared at the opened door. He still needed to ride the train for a while longer, but without thinking, he stood and strode towards the door. “Wait! Nino!”
Nino couldn’t wait - not when his eyes were getting teary. He got off from the train and he kept on walking despite how Ohno kept on calling for his name. He listened to the sound of the closed door, and then the train started moving again.
That was when he looked back.
But Ohno wasn’t there anymore.
But that was something to be expected, wasn’t it? Nino was getting carried away, that was for sure. Perhaps Ohno just pitied him, and that was why he wanted to become his friends - perhaps the rich, older man just pitied his poor-self, and Nino took his kindness as something more. How stupid he was to think that everything would work out between them, somehow? Of course it wouldn’t. He was nothing but a poor college student - if he was compared to Ohno, who was the son of a CEO and currently working in a magazine publisher…
Yes, he should just forget about Ohno. It was about time for him to wake up from his dreamland.
But he wouldn’t lie that it hurts. It hurts so bad that even though he willed himself to sleep, he couldn’t.
It didn’t help that his lips still remembered how it felt like to kiss Ohno.
Nino decided then that he wouldn’t work at Aiba’s place. He called the older man to say sorry; fortunately, Aiba didn’t ask him any questions, but he kindly said, “If you still want to work here after you sort out your problem, just come, okay?”
Nino wondered how Aiba knew that he was having a problem, but perhaps Ohno had already told him - he was also getting suspicious that the two was actually seeing each other, and that Aiba was only teasing him the other day; damn, he was probably laughing at how stupid Nino was now.
But he knew that he was just overthinking, and Nino actually hated himself for getting suspicious and accusing people like that - especially Aiba, who looked as innocent as a newborn puppy - but he couldn’t help it. His head was a complete mess, and for now, it was best for him to just lock himself inside his room, playing games all day and turning down the call from Kojima; it was his turn to ditch his work. Ohno was sending him messages too, but Nino deleted them before even reading it, and then he focused himself to play the game again.
He only came out for classes, but when he did, he dropped by at the window cleaner’s company he worked at to resign from his work.
“Of course you can resign.” His supervisor told him. “But we need you to clean the window at the usual company until we could find your replacement.”
“But I don’t want to.” Nino insisted. “I want to resign now.”
“We’ll look for a replacement immediately but you still have to work tomorrow.” His supervisor said firmly. “We’ll even give you a little bonus - how’s that?”
Nino wasn’t really happy because there was a chance that he’d meet Ohno in that company, but for now, he didn’t have any choice - that, and the word ‘bonus’ was actually tickling him. So he reluctantly agreed, and the next day, he came to the company to work. All the while, he hoped that Ohno wouldn’t be there at the CEO’s lounge. Nino had wanted to take a different route, but he was alone, again, and since that means he have to clean the windows on the CEO’s lounge anyway, he finally decided to do it just like the usual.
He put on his cap sideway, and, while praying in his heart, he pulled the leverage down.
He cleaned all the windows before the CEO’s floor carelessly; meh, this was his last day anyway so he didn’t really care if it wasn’t clean as usual. He spent unnecessary times on those floors though, simply because he didn’t want to get to the CEO floor that fast. But in the end he should anyway, so, albeit a little reluctant, he was finally lowered down to the CEO’s floor slowly.
And he was there.
Ohno was sitting near the window, again, with his sketchpad on hands. Nino stared at him as he descended; if he stared at Ohno like this, it was almost like the first day he met Ohno. The beautiful man that was secured behind the window, away from Nino’s reach.
And it should’ve stayed that way.
Ohno suddenly looked up though, and when their eyes met, Nino could see the relief that was shining on his brown eyes; without thinking, Nino kept on pulling the leverage down as he ducked down, refusing to stare at Ohno. The older man knocked against the window frantically, trying to get his attention, but Nino ignored him; his eyes were fixed to the next floor.
He didn’t realize that he was holding his breath until he reached the next floor. He also didn’t realize the pain that was hammering his chest until now; for a moment, he wondered if he had made a mistake. His fingers lingered on the leverage, tempted to pull himself back up to see Ohno.
Don’t be stupid. He lives in a different world than you.
Nino took a deep breath as he shook his head a bit; his grips on the wiper tightened, and after assuring himself that he had made the right choice, he began his dull work.
But Nino wondered if it was true that he had made the right choice, then why did it hurt so bad?
He continued his work half-heartedly; in the end, he was working half-assed - none of the windows were cleaned properly because his mind was elsewhere, thinking of a certain man in the upper floor. He managed to finish his work though, somehow, and then he moved the gondola up again. In the back of his mind, he was sure that Ohno had left, probably disappointed in his cold attitude, and that he should’ve given up on him either.
He ignored the voice of protest that was ringing on his mind though.
But Ohno was really something; as Nino passed the CEO’s floor, the older man was still there. Nino immediately averted his eyes, but rather than trying to get Nino’s attention again, Ohno simply placed his sketchpad against the window, hoping for Nino to read it. Unable to contain his curiosity, Nino finally peeked to read the words.
Written hastily in the piece of paper was: ‘I like you’.
Nino didn’t know how to respond to that, but if there was one thing that he was sure of, was that he was angry. Really angry. This seemed like some kind of bullshit - if Ohno did like him, then why did he pushed Nino away in the train? He turned to glare at Ohno, but what he saw made him froze.
Because Ohno’s eyes were teary, and he looked like he was ready to cry.
And just like that, Nino’s anger vanished into the air - he stared at Ohno, who was staring back at him hopefully, and then he finally said. “Go to the roof.”
Ohno blinked, and with that a tear rolled down to his cheek. “Huh?”
“Go to the roof.” Nino repeated as he pointed to the roof. “Go up. Up.”
Ohno seemed to understand, because he nodded eagerly and then he closed the sketchpad. With another glance at Nino, he finally turned around and rushed to the lift, and Nino himself quickly pulled himself up to the roof; he was suddenly getting impatient. Nino wasn’t sure on what he was going to do exactly; well, maybe he should listen to Ohno’s explanation first, and then…
Ah, he couldn’t really think. His heart was beating fast just because of those simple words written in the sketchpad.
‘I like you.’
He finally reached the roof, and he was just climbing out of the gondola when Ohno finally appeared. “Nino.” He breathed out as he approached him. Nino stared at him as he took off his cap and threw it carelessly inside the gondola; at his teary eyes and his messy brown hair and -
“Nino, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to push you away that time!” Ohno said sadly as he stopped midway. “It’s just, I was actually really nervous. Even though I’m older than you, but that’s actually my first kiss. I was so inexperienced in such things, and I just…” Ohno was blushing hard right now. “I’m so sorry Nino. I’m so sorry.”
God, so that was the reason? Nino was walking towards him now, and the smaller man looked down in fear - Nino was sure that his expression right now was unreadable and that Ohno couldn’t even guess what he was thinking at the moment. “I’m so sorry, Nino. I must’ve hurt your feelings. I should’ve explained it before but -“
Nino grabbed Ohno’s face and he pressed their lips together.
At first, Ohno didn’t kiss back; Nino didn’t mind though, because if what he said was true, then Nino had to show him how first. He moved his lips against Ohno softly, taking his sweet time in mapping Ohno’s luscious lips. It took Ohno a while, but finally he kissed back shyly, awkwardly, but that was enough to send Nino to heaven. He guided him until their lips were finally moving in unison; Ohno was flushed against him as he finally gotten the hang of it, fingers clutching on Nino’s shirt as he tilted his head for Nino to kiss him deeper.
So this is what heaven taste like. Nino wasn’t sure when or how his hands has gotten all the way down to Ohno’s waist to pull him even closer, nor he was sure about when Ohno’s hands were already circled around his neck - when they pulled away to breathe, Nino only found himself being unable to thanks to the sight of Ohno in his embrace. He was flushed; his face was red and he was panting a bit - red, glistening lips half-opened with his tongue peeking from inside it. Nino gulped, but instead he decided to just hug Ohno, burying himself completely in the older man’s scent as he hugged him tight. “I thought you hated me.” He mumbled.
Ohno sighed; he hugged Nino back as he shook his head. “Don’t be stupid.” He breathed out. “Why would I?”
“Because I’m just a poor college student you can find anywhere.” Nino mumbled half-heartedly. “Because I’m not…rich.”
“Seriously now…” Ohno pulled away a bit from Nino’s embrace to stare at him; his brown eyes were shining in determination as he said, “I don’t care about something like that. After all, what I like is not money - I like the Nino that’s working hard for money.”
Ah, this guy is… “You’re such an idiot, you know?” Nino muttered as he pulled Ohno back into his embrace. “Such an idiot…”
“Well, forgive me for that.” Ohno pouted.
“I promise…” Nino started, hand reaching out to caress Ohno’s hair. “I promise that I’ll keep on working hard until you can become proud of me. Do you mind waiting for that time while staying by my side?”
Ohno laughed; his voice filling Nino with warmth that could possibly last for forever. “Of course.”
And Nino meant it, of course. Maybe he still got a long way to go, but he was determined to become a man that Ohno could be proud of; he was determined to become a successful man, even more than anyone in this company with his own hard work.
But at the moment, he wondered if Aiba would take him back to work at his pet shop.