this isn't an Aiba post
like i said, this isn't an Aiba post....
the story i'm going to post would be mentioning very little of Aiba...
and i mean, very little...
but i just have to say this out loud...
i just watched the VS Arashi episode when Oguri Shun was the plus one guest and they were going against the team lead by Ogura-san...
and to be honest, those two are my motivations why i wanted to watch that ep...
plus a little bit that had something to do with the story i'm about to post...
but i noticed something that isn't connected to those...
I've always thought that as juniors, Aiba was the most good-looking out of all of them...
in fact, looking through their chibi pics, i'd say the most good-looking juniors i'd ever seen were Tackey and Aiba...
but i've read somewhere before that Aiba hadn't aged that gracefully,
and well, as much as i hate to admit it, whoever posted that was right...
Aiba was a whole lot more good looking in his junior years...
but back to the VSA ep (which is probably the most recent ep i watched...
i can't help but say "D@mn! Aiba seems to be getting back that glow he had in his younger years!"
so, Nino might not have aged at all but Aiba mastered something else...
he mastered aging and then looking young again!
(LOL, i know i'm crazy... i would admit that...)
so, onto the fic....
TITLE: Gaku
CHARACTERS: Ninomiya Kazunari, Nagasawa Masami, Matsumoto Jun, Ohno Satoshi, Sakurai Sho, Aiba Masaki
PAIRING: NinoxMasami
RATINGS: PG
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
SUMMARY: Nino was more affected than what he's letting on...
Nino was more disturbed than what he’s letting on.
That much was known to the four other members of his group as they all prepared to leave the set of VS Arashi after another set of shooting.
Sure Nino acted like nothing happened. He was still the snarky and energetic Nino as they went on with the shoot. He even had a little chat with Shun when the guy stopped by their greenroom to greet them.
“You told Jun-chan you were guesting in the show that expressly prohibits you telling him and you didn’t tell him on the one that allows you to spill the beans? Really Shun-kun?” he told the guy causing the rest of the occupants of the room, Shun included, burst into laughter.
“It flew out of my mind,” Shun chuckled. “I’ve been busy lately. Oh, by the way, when Masami-chan heard that I’d be here for promotions, she told me to say hello to you guys, and that she hopes to work with you too next time.”
“Must be referring to Jun-kun,” Nino said in a nonchalant tone everyone knew he was faking. Even Shun knew that.
The four guys, after all, and Shun, noticed the very slight change in Nino’s facial expression when Gaku’s trailer was shown on set while they were filming and Masami’s face was flashed for about a split second.
That instance, in itself, is rare. Never had the girl’s face been shown in any of their shows ever since her and Nino’s drama. Even during their promotion for Kakushi no Toride, she didn’t appear on their show to promote. At that time, it seemed reasonable, Jun was already there to promote after all, her presence is not needed.
But they all know that it was mostly because the effects of what happened years ago was still too strong to ignore. Even Nino could not ignore it, no matter how hard he tried to show otherwise.
This was why when he suddenly disappeared right after Shun excused himself for another shoot, the rest of Arashi knew that he still is strongly affected. With just one look shared at the greenroom, Sho, Aiba, Ohno and Jun had dispersed to look around the building for their friend, particularly because his cellphone and his PSP were both on the bag he had left behind on the couch.
They tried to act nonchalant though, not wanting to alert the others in the building of the fact that Nino is lost. Technically speaking though, it can’t even be said that Nino is lost for the mere fact that there’s no way a guy can be lost in a building he’s been working on for years.
For his part, Jun is hoping he won’t be the one to find out where Nino is. Personally, he’d prefer it if it was Aiba, who had been close to Nino since they were juniors, or Ohno, for the mere fact that there’s a reason why Ohmiya exists, and even Sho for that matter, who remains to be their den mother.
He and Nino had something more in common as compared to the rest of the group in the respect that they don’t really like to talk about their feelings. And so it follows that Jun really isn’t that comfortable talking about what Nino may or may not feel for his former co-star.
But this time, wishes don’t come true like that because ironically, it was still him who found Nino at the rooftop where the (slightly) older guy is smoking.
Nino had a distant look in his eyes as his eyes trained on the horizon. He looked really lost in his thoughts, something that none of them were used to seeing him in.
Jun even had to clear his throat really loudly before he could attract Nino’s attention.
When Nino looked around though, he almost pulled off the look that says nothing is going on. Just almost because Jun noticed the distant look remained in Nino’s eyes.
“What are you doing here?” Jun asked as he stepped closer.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Nino snorted, raising the hand that’s holding his cigarette stick a bit as emphasis.
Jun snorted himself as he leaned on the railway, mimicking Nino. “You know that’s not what I meant,” he said.
There was silence between the two of them for a while before Jun broke that silence with “Have you been in contact with her?”
He needn’t mention who exactly “her” was. The way Nino snorted before talking a huge puff of his cigarette confirmed that.
“Why should I?” he said. “It’s not like we’re ever going to act together again.”
“Nothing is impossible,” Jun tried shrugging but Nino chuckled sarcastically.
“We both know this one is,” Nino said, throwing the stick in his hands to the ground to step on it. “People don’t forget that easily. There’s a reason why it’s only Shun-kun who appeared in our show to promote their movie.”
Jun shrugged in reply. He knew what Nino meant and knew too that it was true.
“Acting and work isn’t the only thing that connects two people…” Jun said eventually.
Nino snorted again, this time with a bit of laughter included. “Geez! Am I really having this conversation with you?” he said as he shook his head.
Jun, too, laughed as he scratched the back of his head. “I’m just saying…” he laughed. “Look at me, I still remained close with some of those I worked with in the past. You and Masami-chan could at least be friends, after all, you two were more than that once. And you never really said the reason behind your break up, if it was because you no longer like each other that way or something else…”
When Nino simply shrugged, Jun shook his head, understanding what that meant.
“Really Nino?” he said. “I thought you, out of everyone of us, would be the last person who’d allow the media and everyone else affect who you live your life.”
“Easy for you to say,” Nino said. “People loved you and Mao-chan together, they still do. I read some poll just recently asking the people who would be the celebrity couple they’d love to admit their relationship in public and be happy about it, the top answer was you and Mao-chan.”
That was actually the reason, more than anything else, why Jun wanted not to be the one talking to Nino right now. He’d be the last person among them who could tell the guy that he knows how he feels. He doesn’t. He was never in the position with any of his previous co-stars, Mao included, where Nino was once with Masami.
He still shrugged though.
“I’m just saying. You’ve never been in a serious relationship after everything that happened, and Shun-kun tells me that Masami never said anything about a boyfriend,” he said. “Besides, it doesn’t have to be that you two have to start dating or something.”
When Nino still didn’t say anything, Jun said “Just think about it…”
“We’ll see,” Nino sighed before he ended up chuckling. “I never thought I’d be having this kind of conversation with you.”
“Yeah,” Jun chuckled. “Here’s hoping no one ever hears about this,” he added meaningfully. After all, image-wise, he was supposed to be the cool-but-at-times-dorky Matsumoto Jun, not the love guru one.
Nino immediately got his drift though as the guy laughed.
“Yeah,” Nino nodded. “This time, you can count me in on the secret,” he said and Jun believed him. After all, Nino was supposed to be the smarter one (Jun just happens to be the more serious one) between the two of them. And he also believed that Nino would be seriously thinking of what he just said.
-----
Nino wanted to claim that Jun’s words had no effects on him whatsoever. He thought he wasn’t.
Back in the shuttle on their way out of the studio, he can easily say that he isn’t as he laughed and joked around with the rest of his group mates. Even after they dropped him off at his apartment with Sho saying “Are you really going to be all right?”, he honestly thought that he was being honest when he said “I’m fine!”
But it turns out he isn’t. He isn’t fine and he isn’t unaffected by Jun’s words and what happened earlier. How could he when he’s suddenly in a place he wasn’t supposed to be in? Outside Masami’s apartment.
It wasn’t the apartment she used to have years ago when they were still together. He knew that she had transferred out of it about a month after they officially broke it off because the photographers were hounding her. The reason why he knew where she lives now was not because he is tracking her but because they just happened to have shot a CM nearby and he saw her car there.
He’s not even sure how he got there too. He was only in his apartment for about 30 minutes when he had the sudden feeling that he wanted to go out for a ride. That ride landed him in front of her apartment building.
He’s not sure which floor exactly is hers and he’s not planning to even appear. Somehow, he just felt like being there.
He knew he shouldn’t be though, that’s why he’s standing by the shadows next to the door, staying hidden just in case someone passes by. What he didn’t expect though was that someone would come out, directly from the building. And that someone to be Masami.
He heard her gasp the moment she turned around and noticed him there, the black trash bag she had in her hands, obviously the reason why she’s going out in the middle of the night, dropping to the ground in her surprise.
“Hi,” he smiled as he hesitantly stepped out of the shadows.
-----
“I wasn’t expecting to see you,” Masami started as she placed a cup of coffee on the desk in front of where Nino was seated in her living room. She had invited him in after reeling in from the initial shock and after realizing that they’d be in bigger trouble if they remained outside.
“Not here of all places,” she added as she sat down on the seat adjacent the sofa Nino was in.
“I wasn’t expecting to be here too,” Nino simply said as he raised the cup and took a sip. “Wow, your coffee still tastes good!” he exclaimed before turning to her and asking nonchalantly “How are you?”
“Busy,” Masami shrugged, her eyes trained on her cup. “But it looks like you’ve been busier.”
“Not that much,” Nino shrugged, trying to downplay everything before he looked up and saw Masami looking at him with a slightly raised eyebrow and a disbelieving look. They both ended up chuckling.
When the laughter died down though, an awkward silence took its place. Something that took Nino quite a hard time breaking because he didn’t really know what to say.
“Shun-kun guested in our show to promote your movie,” he chose to inform her. “We did the shoot this morning.”
“Yeah.” Masami smiled. “He told me about it. I’m glad he was able to promote our movie.”
“Yeah,” Nino echoed. “The movie looks interesting by the way.”
“Thank you,” Masami smiled.
“Yeah, I missed seeing you onscreen with long hair though,” Nino suddenly said.
When Masami first opened her mouth, it was probably to say something lighter, but then she sighed, shook her head, chuckled a bit ironically before she said “Well, you and I are very familiar with things we need to do because of our line of job.”
‘Like breaking up,’ Nino knew she wanted to add which she didn’t. It’s not necessary anyway since Nino still heard those words echoing in his ear as his eyes took in her suddenly melancholic look. But then, a split-second later, that look was good and in place is a strong determined one as she sighed.
“Look, I don’t think it’s really a good idea for you to be here right now,” she said suddenly.
Nino snorted but he nodded his head. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he said as he stood up.
He saw her breathe a relieved sigh at his (unexpected) agreement and he was just about to let it slide when Masami made the wrong move of standing up, presumably to walk him to the door, putting between the two of them a very close distance. He breathed her scent in, a lot stronger than the scent of her he breathed the moment he entered her living room, and he could almost feel the heat emanating from her skin.
And then she made an even further mistake by turning around to face him.
With nothing more than a gasp, he crossed that close distance and claimed her lips.
She tasted like cherries, that was the first thing that entered Nino’s mind when their lips met, maybe due to the lip gloss she’s wearing. But after a split second and when her lips started responding to his, he could think nothing more but how she tasted sweeter than any fruit he had ever tasted, and how right it felt kissing her again.
He took his time savoring the taste of her as his tongue darted into her mouth. And if not for the fact that they both needed to breathe, he wouldn’t even have stopped. But they needed to, and he did.
And while they both breathed, letting the air enter their lungs, it seems that it was enough time for her to get back to her senses.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” she suddenly said. “That was a big mistake.”
Nino’s hands, trained from years and years of playing games and baseball, was fast enough to pull her back towards him before she could go any further, aided by the presence of Masami’s furniture by the back of her leg.
“That wasn’t a mistake,” he breathed as he pulled her towards him. He wasn’t hugging her though because his hands are on her wrists but he pulled her in a distance that would make it easy for him to claim her lips again.
“No!” Masami cried, a little louder this time as she tried to buck her hands off of his. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”
Nino gritted his teeth, his eyes being the only part of his body betraying him by showing her how painful it is for him hearing her say that.
“Tell me, why should this be wrong?” he challenged.
Masami’s eyes looked quickly away from his. “Be-Because I, I already have someone else,” she said.
It should be enough reason for Nino to let go of her but instead, he let go of her right wrist only for his hand and arm to encircle her waist, pulling her closer to him and he chuckled sarcastically.
“Liar!” he called her. “You wouldn’t be responding to me this way if you had somebody else.”
Masami gasped at the physical contact and when she looked into his eyes, she could not deny what he just said. “Yeah, you’re right. You’re just a tad bit too difficult to forget,” she admitted.
Nino was stricken, not only by her words but the look she had in her eyes when she said that. It was defiant and he knew why. It had been difficult for him that they had to break up but it was a lot more difficult knowing that it was because there’s nothing he could do anything about it and that it was, to a great degree, his fault.
He sighed as he let their foreheads touch, his eyes closing along the way.
“There had never been any woman I loved as much as I love you,” he said.
And when he opened his eyes, he saw that the defiant look in her eyes was gone, in exchange were tears slowly falling.
“You know I don’t like seeing you cry…” he said as his lips made contact to her face, kissing her tears away.
He heard and felt her gasp but then his lips went back to her lips, a lot softer this time around, simply nibbling at her lips before she opened her mouth, allowing him entry. He looked into her eyes briefly, asking if it really was all right and when she just nodded, they both knew what it meant.
There’s no going back now.
-----
It was hours and hours later that Nino and Masami found themselves in her bed, covered only with a thin blanket, not feeling that tired or sleepy despite the exercise they just had.
Masami had her head on Nino’s shoulder as Nino’s arms were around hers. They were like that for a while, breathing in unison as they savored the after glow of what they’ve just done.
And then Masami broke the silence.
“So, where to now?” she asked, looking up to meet Nino’s eyes.
Nino didn’t need to ask what she meant by that because he knew, and he also knew why she’s asking such a question. She needed to know.
Nino smiled. “Forward,” he said as he pulled her closer to him, tightening his arm around her shoulders and he felt Masami smile against his skin.
He knew that she knew that he meant that as together.
-----
“10 days? That’s too soon,” Jun heard Sho reason the moment he entered their greenroom, about ten minutes or so before their scheduled recording for their new album followed by Aiba’s “It’s possible, Sho-chan!”
“What is?” Jun asked, causing the three older men already in there (sans Nino) to turn towards the door to look at him.
“The time it would take Nino to go back to Nagasawa-san,” Aiba replied having noted that he was alone and that Nino isn’t with him.
Seeing the confused look in Jun’s face just by that statement, Sho explained “Well, we all know he was affected by what happened yesterday, we were just talking about how long it’s going to take Ninomiya-kun to get back to his senses and pursue Nagasawa-san again.”
“And you’re talking about it because?” Jun prompted.
“Because it’s interesting!” Aiba exclaimed with a smile. “And because he’s Nino and it’s been a while since we actually had anything real to talk about when it comes to him.”
“Sho-kun was saying it’d take him a month,” Ohno supplied. “Aiba-chan said 10 days.”
“How about you?” Jun asked as he crashed next to their eldest. “How soon do you think?”
Ohno shrugged. “One week, maybe?”
“One week?” Sho exclaimed in disbelief. “That’s sooner than Aiba-chan’s guess!”
Aiba chuckled. “Nino’s not as slow as you, Sho-chan…” he kidded.
Sho simply snorted before turning to Jun and asking. “How about you, how soon do you think?”
Jun thought for a while, remembering how the guy looked the previous afternoon when they talked at the rooftop. And then he asked “What’s at stake?”
This took Sho slightly aback as both Ohno and Aiba grinned.
“Ramen,” Sho said before Aiba piped up and declared “Yakiniku.”
“Good,” Jun smiled first before declaring “One day.”
“One day?!” Sho exclaimed as both Ohno and Aiba looked at Jun in surprise. “That’s too soon! That’s today already!”
“Yeah,” Jun shrugged. “Make that less than a day actually.”
“Do you know something we don’t know?” Aiba asked.
Jun simply grinned. Before any of the three could ask any questions though, the door swung open and in came the last remaining member of the group. And the look Nino had told them heaps and bounds.
He wasn’t smiling, not outwardly at least, and by all intents and purposes he looks like how he always does. But they know better. They noted immediately how relaxed he is, as compared to how he was the previous night. And they all arrived to just one conclusion to why that is.
And that conclusion made Sho groan as he slumped to his chair.
“Yes! We’re going for yakiniku!” Aiba cheered as Jun and Ohno laughed and Nino looked around his friends with a small smile in his lips but with a confused look on his face.
-----THE END-----
this went a whole hell of a lot longer than what i expected when the idea first came after i read about Shun guesting on VSA to promote Gaku and that Masami's face was flashed for the trailer (naturally)...
and it also went to a whole lot of a more serious route than what i first had in mind...
but it's already written down and i said, why not?
oh, and btw...
the last scene, the scene with the five of them, i just had to add it in...
because it'd be a bit too serious if i didn't...
and because i just felt like it...
anyway, comments/critics are welcome! :)
and very much appreciated... :)
the story i'm going to post would be mentioning very little of Aiba...
and i mean, very little...
but i just have to say this out loud...
i just watched the VS Arashi episode when Oguri Shun was the plus one guest and they were going against the team lead by Ogura-san...
and to be honest, those two are my motivations why i wanted to watch that ep...
plus a little bit that had something to do with the story i'm about to post...
but i noticed something that isn't connected to those...
I've always thought that as juniors, Aiba was the most good-looking out of all of them...
in fact, looking through their chibi pics, i'd say the most good-looking juniors i'd ever seen were Tackey and Aiba...
but i've read somewhere before that Aiba hadn't aged that gracefully,
and well, as much as i hate to admit it, whoever posted that was right...
Aiba was a whole lot more good looking in his junior years...
but back to the VSA ep (which is probably the most recent ep i watched...
i can't help but say "D@mn! Aiba seems to be getting back that glow he had in his younger years!"
so, Nino might not have aged at all but Aiba mastered something else...
he mastered aging and then looking young again!
(LOL, i know i'm crazy... i would admit that...)
so, onto the fic....
TITLE: Gaku
CHARACTERS: Ninomiya Kazunari, Nagasawa Masami, Matsumoto Jun, Ohno Satoshi, Sakurai Sho, Aiba Masaki
PAIRING: NinoxMasami
RATINGS: PG
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
SUMMARY: Nino was more affected than what he's letting on...
Nino was more disturbed than what he’s letting on.
That much was known to the four other members of his group as they all prepared to leave the set of VS Arashi after another set of shooting.
Sure Nino acted like nothing happened. He was still the snarky and energetic Nino as they went on with the shoot. He even had a little chat with Shun when the guy stopped by their greenroom to greet them.
“You told Jun-chan you were guesting in the show that expressly prohibits you telling him and you didn’t tell him on the one that allows you to spill the beans? Really Shun-kun?” he told the guy causing the rest of the occupants of the room, Shun included, burst into laughter.
“It flew out of my mind,” Shun chuckled. “I’ve been busy lately. Oh, by the way, when Masami-chan heard that I’d be here for promotions, she told me to say hello to you guys, and that she hopes to work with you too next time.”
“Must be referring to Jun-kun,” Nino said in a nonchalant tone everyone knew he was faking. Even Shun knew that.
The four guys, after all, and Shun, noticed the very slight change in Nino’s facial expression when Gaku’s trailer was shown on set while they were filming and Masami’s face was flashed for about a split second.
That instance, in itself, is rare. Never had the girl’s face been shown in any of their shows ever since her and Nino’s drama. Even during their promotion for Kakushi no Toride, she didn’t appear on their show to promote. At that time, it seemed reasonable, Jun was already there to promote after all, her presence is not needed.
But they all know that it was mostly because the effects of what happened years ago was still too strong to ignore. Even Nino could not ignore it, no matter how hard he tried to show otherwise.
This was why when he suddenly disappeared right after Shun excused himself for another shoot, the rest of Arashi knew that he still is strongly affected. With just one look shared at the greenroom, Sho, Aiba, Ohno and Jun had dispersed to look around the building for their friend, particularly because his cellphone and his PSP were both on the bag he had left behind on the couch.
They tried to act nonchalant though, not wanting to alert the others in the building of the fact that Nino is lost. Technically speaking though, it can’t even be said that Nino is lost for the mere fact that there’s no way a guy can be lost in a building he’s been working on for years.
For his part, Jun is hoping he won’t be the one to find out where Nino is. Personally, he’d prefer it if it was Aiba, who had been close to Nino since they were juniors, or Ohno, for the mere fact that there’s a reason why Ohmiya exists, and even Sho for that matter, who remains to be their den mother.
He and Nino had something more in common as compared to the rest of the group in the respect that they don’t really like to talk about their feelings. And so it follows that Jun really isn’t that comfortable talking about what Nino may or may not feel for his former co-star.
But this time, wishes don’t come true like that because ironically, it was still him who found Nino at the rooftop where the (slightly) older guy is smoking.
Nino had a distant look in his eyes as his eyes trained on the horizon. He looked really lost in his thoughts, something that none of them were used to seeing him in.
Jun even had to clear his throat really loudly before he could attract Nino’s attention.
When Nino looked around though, he almost pulled off the look that says nothing is going on. Just almost because Jun noticed the distant look remained in Nino’s eyes.
“What are you doing here?” Jun asked as he stepped closer.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Nino snorted, raising the hand that’s holding his cigarette stick a bit as emphasis.
Jun snorted himself as he leaned on the railway, mimicking Nino. “You know that’s not what I meant,” he said.
There was silence between the two of them for a while before Jun broke that silence with “Have you been in contact with her?”
He needn’t mention who exactly “her” was. The way Nino snorted before talking a huge puff of his cigarette confirmed that.
“Why should I?” he said. “It’s not like we’re ever going to act together again.”
“Nothing is impossible,” Jun tried shrugging but Nino chuckled sarcastically.
“We both know this one is,” Nino said, throwing the stick in his hands to the ground to step on it. “People don’t forget that easily. There’s a reason why it’s only Shun-kun who appeared in our show to promote their movie.”
Jun shrugged in reply. He knew what Nino meant and knew too that it was true.
“Acting and work isn’t the only thing that connects two people…” Jun said eventually.
Nino snorted again, this time with a bit of laughter included. “Geez! Am I really having this conversation with you?” he said as he shook his head.
Jun, too, laughed as he scratched the back of his head. “I’m just saying…” he laughed. “Look at me, I still remained close with some of those I worked with in the past. You and Masami-chan could at least be friends, after all, you two were more than that once. And you never really said the reason behind your break up, if it was because you no longer like each other that way or something else…”
When Nino simply shrugged, Jun shook his head, understanding what that meant.
“Really Nino?” he said. “I thought you, out of everyone of us, would be the last person who’d allow the media and everyone else affect who you live your life.”
“Easy for you to say,” Nino said. “People loved you and Mao-chan together, they still do. I read some poll just recently asking the people who would be the celebrity couple they’d love to admit their relationship in public and be happy about it, the top answer was you and Mao-chan.”
That was actually the reason, more than anything else, why Jun wanted not to be the one talking to Nino right now. He’d be the last person among them who could tell the guy that he knows how he feels. He doesn’t. He was never in the position with any of his previous co-stars, Mao included, where Nino was once with Masami.
He still shrugged though.
“I’m just saying. You’ve never been in a serious relationship after everything that happened, and Shun-kun tells me that Masami never said anything about a boyfriend,” he said. “Besides, it doesn’t have to be that you two have to start dating or something.”
When Nino still didn’t say anything, Jun said “Just think about it…”
“We’ll see,” Nino sighed before he ended up chuckling. “I never thought I’d be having this kind of conversation with you.”
“Yeah,” Jun chuckled. “Here’s hoping no one ever hears about this,” he added meaningfully. After all, image-wise, he was supposed to be the cool-but-at-times-dorky Matsumoto Jun, not the love guru one.
Nino immediately got his drift though as the guy laughed.
“Yeah,” Nino nodded. “This time, you can count me in on the secret,” he said and Jun believed him. After all, Nino was supposed to be the smarter one (Jun just happens to be the more serious one) between the two of them. And he also believed that Nino would be seriously thinking of what he just said.
-----
Nino wanted to claim that Jun’s words had no effects on him whatsoever. He thought he wasn’t.
Back in the shuttle on their way out of the studio, he can easily say that he isn’t as he laughed and joked around with the rest of his group mates. Even after they dropped him off at his apartment with Sho saying “Are you really going to be all right?”, he honestly thought that he was being honest when he said “I’m fine!”
But it turns out he isn’t. He isn’t fine and he isn’t unaffected by Jun’s words and what happened earlier. How could he when he’s suddenly in a place he wasn’t supposed to be in? Outside Masami’s apartment.
It wasn’t the apartment she used to have years ago when they were still together. He knew that she had transferred out of it about a month after they officially broke it off because the photographers were hounding her. The reason why he knew where she lives now was not because he is tracking her but because they just happened to have shot a CM nearby and he saw her car there.
He’s not even sure how he got there too. He was only in his apartment for about 30 minutes when he had the sudden feeling that he wanted to go out for a ride. That ride landed him in front of her apartment building.
He’s not sure which floor exactly is hers and he’s not planning to even appear. Somehow, he just felt like being there.
He knew he shouldn’t be though, that’s why he’s standing by the shadows next to the door, staying hidden just in case someone passes by. What he didn’t expect though was that someone would come out, directly from the building. And that someone to be Masami.
He heard her gasp the moment she turned around and noticed him there, the black trash bag she had in her hands, obviously the reason why she’s going out in the middle of the night, dropping to the ground in her surprise.
“Hi,” he smiled as he hesitantly stepped out of the shadows.
-----
“I wasn’t expecting to see you,” Masami started as she placed a cup of coffee on the desk in front of where Nino was seated in her living room. She had invited him in after reeling in from the initial shock and after realizing that they’d be in bigger trouble if they remained outside.
“Not here of all places,” she added as she sat down on the seat adjacent the sofa Nino was in.
“I wasn’t expecting to be here too,” Nino simply said as he raised the cup and took a sip. “Wow, your coffee still tastes good!” he exclaimed before turning to her and asking nonchalantly “How are you?”
“Busy,” Masami shrugged, her eyes trained on her cup. “But it looks like you’ve been busier.”
“Not that much,” Nino shrugged, trying to downplay everything before he looked up and saw Masami looking at him with a slightly raised eyebrow and a disbelieving look. They both ended up chuckling.
When the laughter died down though, an awkward silence took its place. Something that took Nino quite a hard time breaking because he didn’t really know what to say.
“Shun-kun guested in our show to promote your movie,” he chose to inform her. “We did the shoot this morning.”
“Yeah.” Masami smiled. “He told me about it. I’m glad he was able to promote our movie.”
“Yeah,” Nino echoed. “The movie looks interesting by the way.”
“Thank you,” Masami smiled.
“Yeah, I missed seeing you onscreen with long hair though,” Nino suddenly said.
When Masami first opened her mouth, it was probably to say something lighter, but then she sighed, shook her head, chuckled a bit ironically before she said “Well, you and I are very familiar with things we need to do because of our line of job.”
‘Like breaking up,’ Nino knew she wanted to add which she didn’t. It’s not necessary anyway since Nino still heard those words echoing in his ear as his eyes took in her suddenly melancholic look. But then, a split-second later, that look was good and in place is a strong determined one as she sighed.
“Look, I don’t think it’s really a good idea for you to be here right now,” she said suddenly.
Nino snorted but he nodded his head. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he said as he stood up.
He saw her breathe a relieved sigh at his (unexpected) agreement and he was just about to let it slide when Masami made the wrong move of standing up, presumably to walk him to the door, putting between the two of them a very close distance. He breathed her scent in, a lot stronger than the scent of her he breathed the moment he entered her living room, and he could almost feel the heat emanating from her skin.
And then she made an even further mistake by turning around to face him.
With nothing more than a gasp, he crossed that close distance and claimed her lips.
She tasted like cherries, that was the first thing that entered Nino’s mind when their lips met, maybe due to the lip gloss she’s wearing. But after a split second and when her lips started responding to his, he could think nothing more but how she tasted sweeter than any fruit he had ever tasted, and how right it felt kissing her again.
He took his time savoring the taste of her as his tongue darted into her mouth. And if not for the fact that they both needed to breathe, he wouldn’t even have stopped. But they needed to, and he did.
And while they both breathed, letting the air enter their lungs, it seems that it was enough time for her to get back to her senses.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” she suddenly said. “That was a big mistake.”
Nino’s hands, trained from years and years of playing games and baseball, was fast enough to pull her back towards him before she could go any further, aided by the presence of Masami’s furniture by the back of her leg.
“That wasn’t a mistake,” he breathed as he pulled her towards him. He wasn’t hugging her though because his hands are on her wrists but he pulled her in a distance that would make it easy for him to claim her lips again.
“No!” Masami cried, a little louder this time as she tried to buck her hands off of his. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”
Nino gritted his teeth, his eyes being the only part of his body betraying him by showing her how painful it is for him hearing her say that.
“Tell me, why should this be wrong?” he challenged.
Masami’s eyes looked quickly away from his. “Be-Because I, I already have someone else,” she said.
It should be enough reason for Nino to let go of her but instead, he let go of her right wrist only for his hand and arm to encircle her waist, pulling her closer to him and he chuckled sarcastically.
“Liar!” he called her. “You wouldn’t be responding to me this way if you had somebody else.”
Masami gasped at the physical contact and when she looked into his eyes, she could not deny what he just said. “Yeah, you’re right. You’re just a tad bit too difficult to forget,” she admitted.
Nino was stricken, not only by her words but the look she had in her eyes when she said that. It was defiant and he knew why. It had been difficult for him that they had to break up but it was a lot more difficult knowing that it was because there’s nothing he could do anything about it and that it was, to a great degree, his fault.
He sighed as he let their foreheads touch, his eyes closing along the way.
“There had never been any woman I loved as much as I love you,” he said.
And when he opened his eyes, he saw that the defiant look in her eyes was gone, in exchange were tears slowly falling.
“You know I don’t like seeing you cry…” he said as his lips made contact to her face, kissing her tears away.
He heard and felt her gasp but then his lips went back to her lips, a lot softer this time around, simply nibbling at her lips before she opened her mouth, allowing him entry. He looked into her eyes briefly, asking if it really was all right and when she just nodded, they both knew what it meant.
There’s no going back now.
-----
It was hours and hours later that Nino and Masami found themselves in her bed, covered only with a thin blanket, not feeling that tired or sleepy despite the exercise they just had.
Masami had her head on Nino’s shoulder as Nino’s arms were around hers. They were like that for a while, breathing in unison as they savored the after glow of what they’ve just done.
And then Masami broke the silence.
“So, where to now?” she asked, looking up to meet Nino’s eyes.
Nino didn’t need to ask what she meant by that because he knew, and he also knew why she’s asking such a question. She needed to know.
Nino smiled. “Forward,” he said as he pulled her closer to him, tightening his arm around her shoulders and he felt Masami smile against his skin.
He knew that she knew that he meant that as together.
-----
“10 days? That’s too soon,” Jun heard Sho reason the moment he entered their greenroom, about ten minutes or so before their scheduled recording for their new album followed by Aiba’s “It’s possible, Sho-chan!”
“What is?” Jun asked, causing the three older men already in there (sans Nino) to turn towards the door to look at him.
“The time it would take Nino to go back to Nagasawa-san,” Aiba replied having noted that he was alone and that Nino isn’t with him.
Seeing the confused look in Jun’s face just by that statement, Sho explained “Well, we all know he was affected by what happened yesterday, we were just talking about how long it’s going to take Ninomiya-kun to get back to his senses and pursue Nagasawa-san again.”
“And you’re talking about it because?” Jun prompted.
“Because it’s interesting!” Aiba exclaimed with a smile. “And because he’s Nino and it’s been a while since we actually had anything real to talk about when it comes to him.”
“Sho-kun was saying it’d take him a month,” Ohno supplied. “Aiba-chan said 10 days.”
“How about you?” Jun asked as he crashed next to their eldest. “How soon do you think?”
Ohno shrugged. “One week, maybe?”
“One week?” Sho exclaimed in disbelief. “That’s sooner than Aiba-chan’s guess!”
Aiba chuckled. “Nino’s not as slow as you, Sho-chan…” he kidded.
Sho simply snorted before turning to Jun and asking. “How about you, how soon do you think?”
Jun thought for a while, remembering how the guy looked the previous afternoon when they talked at the rooftop. And then he asked “What’s at stake?”
This took Sho slightly aback as both Ohno and Aiba grinned.
“Ramen,” Sho said before Aiba piped up and declared “Yakiniku.”
“Good,” Jun smiled first before declaring “One day.”
“One day?!” Sho exclaimed as both Ohno and Aiba looked at Jun in surprise. “That’s too soon! That’s today already!”
“Yeah,” Jun shrugged. “Make that less than a day actually.”
“Do you know something we don’t know?” Aiba asked.
Jun simply grinned. Before any of the three could ask any questions though, the door swung open and in came the last remaining member of the group. And the look Nino had told them heaps and bounds.
He wasn’t smiling, not outwardly at least, and by all intents and purposes he looks like how he always does. But they know better. They noted immediately how relaxed he is, as compared to how he was the previous night. And they all arrived to just one conclusion to why that is.
And that conclusion made Sho groan as he slumped to his chair.
“Yes! We’re going for yakiniku!” Aiba cheered as Jun and Ohno laughed and Nino looked around his friends with a small smile in his lips but with a confused look on his face.
-----THE END-----
this went a whole hell of a lot longer than what i expected when the idea first came after i read about Shun guesting on VSA to promote Gaku and that Masami's face was flashed for the trailer (naturally)...
and it also went to a whole lot of a more serious route than what i first had in mind...
but it's already written down and i said, why not?
oh, and btw...
the last scene, the scene with the five of them, i just had to add it in...
because it'd be a bit too serious if i didn't...
and because i just felt like it...
anyway, comments/critics are welcome! :)
and very much appreciated... :)