Tell me your wish, Genie
Long time no see, studying has kept me really busy these last month - too busy for my taste. And it's not getting better. But I managed to finish this story and after keeping it on my harddrive for a really long time now, I finally took the time to revise it. So I hope you'll like it.
Have fun reading :)
________________________________
Titel: Tell me your wish, Genie
Author: cherry_chan24
Pairing: Matsujun/Ohno
Rating: PG-13
Summary: When Jun gets an antique oil lamp from a mysterious antiques dealer, he has no idea that a real genie lives inside. After the first shock and disbelief, Jun soon gets accustomed to the genie and feelings start to grow. But Ohno has to leave after fullfilling three wishes for Jun...
Jun woke from the annoying beeping sound of his alarm clock, as always way too early for his taste. Moaning he turned around with his eyes still closed and reached for the clock. That was when he discovered the arm around his waist. With a startled gasp he jumped up and nearly fell out of the bed. “The hell, Satoshi! I told you not to sneak up into my bed while I’m sleeping,” he snapped at the sleeping man next to him. Ohno groaned reluctantly and opened his eyes. When he saw Jun, a sleepy smile appeared on his face, “Ah… good morning Jun-chan,” he rubbed his eyes. “Did you sleep well?”
“It’s not ‘good morning’, you…,” Jun got worked up, but then he stopped and sighed. He didn’t know why he still got startled after all this time. After all, this had become a nearly daily event. Apparently, Ohno hated sleeping alone and therefore he sneaked in Jun’s bed nearly every night. The first time he had done so, Jun had gotten the shock of his life after waking up next to a complete stranger. Of course at that point of time, he hadn’t been aware that he had become the owner of a genie over night.
***Two month ago…
“What are you looking for anyway?” Jun asked impatiently. Without much interest he turned a little statue of the Indian god Ganesha around in his hands while he was waiting for Sho’s answer. “Nothing in particular. I just thought maybe they have a nice little table I could use in the living room or a mirror for my entrance.” Sho looked fascinated at an ancient looking book under the glass of a display case. Colorful drawings adorned its pages.
Jun sighed. He didn’t even knew why he had agreed to come along when Sho told them about this new antique shop he had discovered and asked if it would be okay with them to just take a quick look before lunch. From experience he knew that Sho could take hours in such a shop. His friend was interest in anything that looked old and/or historical and he loved antiques. His whole flat was decorated with stuff he had collected from different stores around the country. Sure, there were some beautiful things, but most of them were just old in Jun’s eyes. He couldn’t understand Sho’s interest. Especially because all shops looked the same. This one - the entrance sign designated it as “Katori’s Antique Collection” - wasn’t an exception.
“Sorry,” Sho forced his eyes away from the drawing and turned to Jun, “I totally forgot that you don’t have much time. You want to visit your mother later, don’t you?”
Jun made a wry face. “It’s okay.”
Sho’s look turned sympathetically. “How is she?”
“Her condition got worse again,” Jun tried to sound indifferent, but failed, “but for now she seems to be stable.”
“I’m sorry.”
Jun smiled tiredly. “Why? It’s not your fault.”
“I know, but still…”
“Thanks.” Jun didn’t want to talk about his mother now. One year had passed since she had been diagnosed with cancer. A really nasty one moreover. The chemotherapy hadn’t shown any particular effects and her condition worsened fast. Last time Jun had spoken to the doctor, he hadn’t sounded promising. According to him, his mother would be dead within a few weeks if it went on like this and until now there was no sign of improvement.
In this moment Aiba appeared from somewhere in the back of the shop. “I found one,” he announced triumphantly.
Sho and Jun turned around. “Really? How does it look like?” Sho asked excitedly.
Jun chuckled, “I’m pretty sure it looks just like any other table: Four legs and a top.”
Sho rolled his eyes, but couldn’t suppress a smile while Aiba was already dragging him to the back of the room.
“I’ll wait here,” Jun shouted after them. At least it seemed like they would get to leave soon.
Bored he peeked into the second showroom which was filled up with hundreds of old books piled up in bookshelves that reached to the ceiling. Slowly he strolled along the corridors between the shelves. Thinking he was the only one in the room, he flinched back startled when suddenly a face appeared on the other side of the bookshelf he was just looking at. His back bumped into the shelf behind him which swayed dangerously.
“Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” the man apologized and rounded the shelf. He was about ten centimeters taller than Jun with a round face and brown hair. With a wide smile that could keep up with the one of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, he approached Jun. “I just thought you look like someone who could use this,” he explained without spending time on a proper greeting and held up an antique oil lamp that looked like it came directly out of Arabian Nights.
Taken by surprise Jun stared at it for a moment. “I don’t think so,” he then refused.
“But this is the oil lamp Sheikh Schahhriyâ had specially made as a wedding gift for his queen Scheherazade by the most skillful craftsman of his time,” the man extolled the merchandise.
“I’m sure it is,” Jun said little convinced, “but I really don’t need it.”
“I’ll give it to you as a present,” the man offered.
Jun raised an eyebrow. It seemed as if this man wasn’t the business type. “Thanks, but no thanks,” he was slowly getting irritated with this antique dealer. Fortunately Aiba appeared in this moment at the end of the bookshelves, “Sho has decided to buy the table.”
“Great,” relieved Jun turned away from the strange man and hurried over to Aiba. “Did he tell you what his plan is for getting that thing home?”
Aiba shrugged.
“Well, it’s his problem not mine,” Jun said. “Let’s go.” With a last look back at the man, he pushed Aiba out of the room.
When he came home four hours later after visiting his mother in the hospital, he felt exhausted. Although, surprisingly, the table had fit in the trunk of Sho’s car, he hadn’t made any further plans on how to get it into his flat. He lived on the fourth floor and because the elevator was chronically broken, they had to carry the table up the stairs which turned out to be quite difficult for the damn thing was weighing three tons at least.
When Jun wanted to pull his keys out of his pocket, he had to detect that they weren’t there. A few seconds of panic later, he remembered that he had put them into his backpack earlier. Relieved he rummaged through his bag. When his fingers hit something hard and smooth, he frowned. What was that? His hand got hold of something that felt like a handle and he pulled the questionable object out of the bag. Confused he stared at the oil lamp in his hand. It looked exactly like the one the dubious man in the antique shop had offered him. The one that had been bought by Sheikh something for his wife Scheherazade - as if. How did it get in his bag? He definitely hadn’t taken it. The man must had put it in his bag somehow, but how? And when? Although he had stood next to him while Sho had paid for the table, Jun couldn’t remember a moment in which it would have been possible for the shop owner to snatch the lamp in his bag without him noticing.
Annoyed he went back to search for his keys. When he had finally found it, he opened the door to his flat and went inside. He left his shoes in the entrance and went over to the living room where he placed the lamp on the little table in front of the television. He would think about what to do with it later, though he was pretty sure he wouldn’t keep it. It wasn’t of any use for him. Exhausted he slumped down on the sofa and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes until he brought himself to go over into the kitchen. A look in the fridge reminded him that he forgot to stop by the supermarket, but he found a pizza in the freezer and shoved it into the oven.
After dinner he thought shortly about doing his stuff for university - he had to hand in a paper at the end of the week and it wasn’t even half-done yet - but decided, he was too tired for that. Instead, he zapped listless through the television program for about half an hour, but when he didn’t find something interesting he decided that he could as well go to bed early.
His head had barely touched the pillow when he was asleep already.
He didn’t see the smoke that slowly climbed up the neck of the oil lamp and formed a cloud above the table. And he also didn’t see how the smoke floated towards his bedroom door and sneaked through the space between door frame and door into his room. What he did see was the man who lay next to him in the bed when he woke up the next morning giving him the shock of his live time.
And that had been the start of all this.
***Back in present time…
Jun ran his finger through his hair and looked at Ohno who had already closed his eyes again. Even if he admitted it only reluctantly, somehow, waking up next to Ohno didn’t feel as bad as he had thought at the beginning. A smile appeared on his lips while he watched the other one. Seeing him like this, it was hard to believe that he was an actual genie who could fulfill wishes with just a snap of his fingers. He just looked like any other normal guy. But in the last weeks Jun had seen what Ohno was capable of.
After the first panic and confusion his sudden appearance in Jun’s bed had caused, Ohno had explained to him that he was a genie and here to fulfill Jun three wishes. Of course Jun hadn’t believed him at first and that was why he now had about 100 Million Yen in his bank account and didn’t know what to do with it. After that it had been clear what to wish for with his second wish. Now he had only one wish left and…
“If you don’t get up now, you’ll be late for work,” his mother appeared in the door of his room, as usually without knocking first. In the blink of an eye Ohno turned into a cloud of smoke and disappeared into his lamp on Jun’s bedside table. Jun’s mother blinked confused, but Ohno had been too fast for her to actually see him and therefore she blamed it on her imagination and went on as if nothing had happened, “Breakfast’s ready.”
“Coming,” Jun answered. He waited until his mother had closed the door before falling back in his pillow again with a relieved sigh. That had been a close call! He hadn’t told his mother the whole truth about Ohno yet and he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to. How do you explain to your mother that the man you introduced to her right after she had been released from the hospital was in truth a genie which had just cured her from a deadly disease - which the doctors had declared a miracle - on the wish of her son? According to her information, Ohno was a new friend of Jun from university who spend the night at their flat from time to time.
“You can come out now, she’s gone,” Jun informed the genie and finally got up. “Oi!” he repeated and knocked at the lamp, but still no reaction. Frowning, he took the lamp and held it next to his ear. It was as if he could hear faint snorting. Typical of Ohno. Sleeping was one of his hobbies. Right after fishing - which had already brought Jun his first fishing experience of his life. Ohno had kept on pestering him to go until finally he had given in. “Oi!” He shook the lamp until an annoyed grumble from inside told him that Ohno was awake. Smoke appeared at the neck of the lamp and poured on the ground where it formed a grey cloud which got bigger and bigger and in the next moment Ohno stood yawning in front of him.
“Good morning again,” Jun mocked.
Ohno groaned.
“I’m off to work now,” Jun informed him. “And I have a lecture in the afternoon so I’ll be late today.” Ohno’s look turned sad. “Okay,” he answered unexcited. “Have fun.”
Jun sighed. “I’m sorry, but I can’t take you with me all the time. You know that, don’t you?” Last time he had brought Ohno with him to university Sho and Aiba had discovered the lamp in his bag and had started to ask awkward questions. Jun had toyed with the idea of introducing Ohno back then, but hadn’t for the same reason he hadn’t told his mother. And why should he even go through the difficult explanation when Ohno wouldn’t be here for that much longer? As soon as Jun made his third wish, he would be gone.
Ohno nodded. It was an annoying fact that he was bound to the lamp and couldn’t be separated from it more than a few meters.
“But you can think of something you want to do at the weekend,” Jun suggested to cheer him up. “I was thinking of taking a day off after this annoying paper is finally done.” It worked. A smile appeared on Ohno’s face. “You’re sure?”
“Otherwise I wouldn’t suggest it,” Jun grinned.
“Jun, if you don’t get up right now, I’m making you!” his mother shouted from the kitchen. “You’re late!”
“I know,” he shouted back and grinned at Ohno. “You heard her, I better hurry. See you tonight.” He gathered some clothes from the cupboard and disappeared into the bathroom to take a quick shower.
***Exhausted Jun dropped his backpack and slumped down on the sofa. Work had been tiring today. He worked at a depot for a big chain of shops where he spent three days a week with stocking up shelves and packing up things for delivery. It wasn’t an exciting job, but it brought in money and work hours were flexible and that was all that counted for now.
As his mother had foreseen, he had been a little late to catch the bus and had to wait for the next one. Therefore he had arrived five minutes too late for his shift which had brought him a lecture from his boss and after that he had spend the rest of the morning unloading boxes. For some reason there had been a delay in delivery and the trucks had lined up in front of the storehouse.
Moreover the last lecture at university had been the least bit interesting. Maybe because he hadn’t paid attention. However, it had felt like half an eternity had passed until their professor had finally called it a day and released them - not without giving them another assignment to hand in next week.
Tired Jun closed his eyes.
***He woke from a light touch at his forehead. Slowly he opened his eyes and looked right into Ohno’s face. The genie was kneeling in front of the sofa, one hand still reached out for Jun’s face. When he saw that Jun opened his eyes, Ohno froze in his movement and looked somehow guilty. “Erm… sorry,” he dropped his hand, “I didn’t want to wake you, I just…” he stammered and evaded Jun’s gaze. Quickly he wanted to stand up, but was stopped by Jun whose hand reached out for Ohno’s neck and pulled him close. Jun didn’t know what had gotten into him and where this sudden urge came from, but looking into Ohno’s eyes, his hand had moved on its own. And right now he didn’t care, because right now this was feeling just right. When his lips touched Ohno’s, the genie stiffened for a second, but then he relaxed and returned the kiss. It was the greatest thing Jun had ever felt. Heat ran through his body and he buried his hand deeper in Ohno’s hair as the kiss got more intensive. Ohno moaned and Jun’s mind kicked back in. He broke the kiss and pushed Ohno away. Both of them were breathing heavily. For one moment they stared at each other and Jun could see confusion, insecurity and offence on Ohno’s face. In the next moment Ohno turned into a cloud of smoke and disappeared into Jun’s bedroom where he probably took shelter in his lamp.
Jun couldn’t do anything but to stare at the empty spot where Ohno had kneeled just seconds ago. Slowly he raised his hand to touch his lips. He didn’t kiss Ohno just now, did he?
***He avoided his room for the rest of the day. He even volunteered to do the dishes - to the surprise of his mother - just to push back the moment in which he had to go back inside. When the time came and he finally had to go to bed - he just couldn’t think of a plausible reason why he had to sleep on the couch that would have convinced his mother - it took him nearly one minute to accumulate enough courage to open the door of his bedroom. It was empty. He suppressed a relieved sigh and tiptoed through the room. While he changed into his bed wear he tried to avoid looking at the oil lamp at his bedside, but he couldn’t help but steel a glance now and then. He hadn’t yet decided what to hope for - that Ohno would stay where he was or that he would come out so that they could talk.
The thoughts in his head kept spinning even after he went to bed and it took him hours until he finally found some sleep. In addition the presence of the lamp haunted him, but he couldn’t bring himself to put it away in his cupboard.
The whole evening, he had thought about why he did what he did, but the only reasonable answer was too frightening to acknowledge just yet.
Besides, he didn’t even know if it was possible to have such a relationship with a genie. After all, Ohno had told him that he had to leave right after fulfilling Jun’s third wish. For all he knew, it was some kind of unwritten law for genies. And it was the reason why Jun hesitated to announce his third wish, even though Ohno had asked him several times. Apart from the fact that he couldn’t think of something he really needed and he didn’t want to waste his wish for something trivial, he didn’t want Ohno to leave. Although it only became clear for him this evening after kissing him.
***The first thing Jun noticed when he woke up the next day was that he was alone. Unlike usual, Ohno didn’t snuggle up to him. And although Ohno had gotten on his nerves every morning until now, today it made him sad. For some reason it felt like something important was missing. It was a feeling of emptiness. He threw a careful look at the lamp, but it kept silent. It wasn’t like Ohno at all to be unforgiving. With his sometimes brusque and quick-tempered self, Jun had managed to offend Ohno several times before, but it never kept him away for long. Suddenly Ohno’s offended face after Jun had pushed him away appeared in his head. With a frustrated sigh Jun buried his head under his pillow. Why did he push him? Of course the other one was hurt, even if he didn’t have any feelings for Jun. Everyone would be hurt about such snub. Even more, because Jun had initiated the kiss.
After his mother had thrown him out of bed because Jun refused to hear his alarm, he missed the bus again and was about half an hour late for his first lecture. It didn’t bother him. He couldn’t concentrate anyway because his thoughts drifted back to Ohno in his lamp whenever he tried to force himself to focus on another topic. It was jinxed. Even Sho and Aiba noticed his unusual absent-mindedness, but he managed to blame it on an overall sickness. He struggled through the rest of the day, thinking about returning home as soon as possible, but when the last lecture had ended, he couldn’t bring himself to actually go because it would have meant to face Ohno. While hating himself for his own cowardice he strolled through the town until he couldn’t postpone his return any longer if he didn’t want his mother to worry.
In the end it turned out that his worries had been for nothing. Again Ohno didn’t show for the whole evening and it didn’t help Jun to feel better. On the contrary, he felt even worse. Above all else, he slowly started to really miss Ohno’s presence and it became more and more difficult to deny his feelings.
After another sleepless night, he couldn’t lie to himself anymore. He was in love with Ohno. And he would go crazy if the genie stayed even one more second in that damn lamp.
Without further ado he overthrew his plans for the day, put the lamp in his backpack and left the flat. He ignored the shouted question of his mother about breakfast and followed the way to the park.
***He found a quiet place behind a few bushes which hid him from curious eyes on the pathway, although it was a rather unnecessary precaution. At this hour the park was nearly empty. Jun had only seen a gardener on his way here. He sat down and placed the oil lamp in front of him on the grass. Undecidedly he scrutinized it for a while, before he nudged it carefully. “Satoshi?” he asked quietly. “Can we talk?”
It took some time, but then the familiar smoke gathered next to him on the grass. Jun couldn’t suppress a relieved smile. He had feared that Ohno wouldn’t show. “Hey,” he greeted the genie and tried a smile. Ohno looked at him cautiously. Jun sighed. “First of all, I want to say sorry for what I did,” he began slowly and studied Ohno’s expression. “I shouldn’t have kissed you like that. It just happened, and I most certainly shouldn’t have pushed you away like that,” he noticed himself that he was speaking fast, but the words just stumbled out of his mouth. “And I’m sorry for the last days. It was childish to avoid you- although, actually, that wasn’t all on me, you did the same - but anyway, I’m sorry. And…,” he held up a hand to stop Ohno from saying something, “I did a lot of thinking the last days, about what happened and why, and I think we should talk about it. Well, I need to talk about it, otherwise I’m afraid I’m going crazy. I love you.”
Silence.
Ohno stared at him with wide eyes and Jun could do nothing but staring back not less shocked about his last words. That hadn’t been supposed to come out of his mouth like it just did. When he had imagined his confession in his mind before coming here, he hadn’t been able to decide on the right way, but everything would have been better and more romantic than this. He had nearly shouted it at Ohno. But the damage was done and the only thing he could do now was to await Ohno’s answer. His heartbeat seemed to become louder and louder the longer the silence continued. Just when he thought he couldn’t bear it any longer, Ohno opened his mouth, “What?”
That broke the spell. Jun chuckled. “You really make me say it again?” he teased. “It took all my courage to say it just once, you know?”
But it didn’t seem as if Ohno could read the atmosphere right now. He still seemed in a daze. “Sorry, I just - I think I didn’t understand what you said. You spoke so fast and I…”
“I love you,” Jun repeated, slower this time and reached for Ohno’s hand. The genie still seemed to be bothered by something and Jun’s self-confidence slowly began to fade. Did he misinterpret Ohno’s reaction on the kiss? After replaying it over and over again in his head for the last two days, he had been sure the genie was feeling the same. Had it been just his imagination?
“So, you’re not angry?” Ohno asked cautiously.
Jun blinked at him confused. “No, of course not. Why would I be angry?”
“Because I did something unnecessary while you were sleeping and woke you up and then all the other stuff happened…,” Ohno listed. His voice became lower and lower in the end until he broke off.
In disbelieve, Jun looked at him. “Nothing of that was your fault,” he contradicted. “Or did you force the kiss on me?” Embarrassed Ohno shook his head. “No, I just thought that…,” he broke off and an awkward silence followed - again.
“So, can you forgive me?” Jun picked up the threads before the silence could get too deep. “Because the last days without you were a real torture - who would’ve believed I would ever say something like that - and I can’t go on like this. I…,” he was cut short when Ohno throw himself on him and wrapped his arms around his neck. Jun lost his balance and together they fell back on the grass. A relieved laugh escaped Jun when he pulled Ohno close. “I take that as a yes,” he grinned.
“Always,” Ohno grinned back and rolled off Jun. “And I love you too.”
Jun felt the corners of his mouth moving up until he grinned like the Cheshire cat. He probably looked like a total simpleton right now, but he didn’t care.
Side by side they lay on the grass and looked up at the blue sky with their fingers intertwined with each other.
“Was I really that frightening, for you to hide in this lamp for two days?” Jun asked and he couldn’t keep his worry fully out of his voice. He knew that he could be quick tempered and tended to snap easily at little things, but nothing of it applied to the situation. Back then he just had been surprised and shocked about himself.
“I feared you would throw me away,” Ohno confessed quietly. “I knew my own feelings, but I was sure that you would never return them.”
“Because you’re a genie and I’m your master and something like that isn’t allowed?” Jun probed. Ohno didn’t answer. “Oi,” Jun pressed his hand. “If there’s some kind of punishment waiting for us for breaking an ancient genie law, I should know about it, don’t you think?”
“No law, but it never happened before,” Ohno finally said. Jun turned his head to look at him, but Ohno’s eyes stayed fixed on the sky. Jun chuckled. “If I would have wanted you gone, I would have used my last wish.
Now Ohno turned his head. “Is that why you didn’t want another wish?”
Jun nodded and turned his eyes back to the sky. “Although I wasn’t aware of it until now, but I probably just didn’t want you to go.”
Ohno couldn’t suppress a happy grin. “So, you really like me then,” he detected.
Jun squeezed his hand. “More than that, I told you.” Because his eyes were still at the blue sky above them, he couldn’t see Ohno’s smile grew even wider and nearly reached his ears now, but he felt the other’s grip tighten around his hand and that made him smile as well. They went silent again while both of them followed their own thoughts.
Again, it was Jun who broke the silence. “You always fulfill the wishes of others,” he suddenly said, “but don’t you have a wish for your own?” When Ohno didn’t answer immediately - again - he pushed himself up on his elbows to look at his face. The genie had his eyes closed and first Jun thought he had fallen asleep. When he finally answered without opening his eyes, his voice sounded sad, “It’s no use anyway. I told you, I can’t use my skills for myself.”
“Don’t say that,” Jun mocked in an attempt to light up the mood, “you conjured a chocolate cake from nowhere a few days ago. I saw you.”
Ohno grimaced. “That was different. It wasn’t something big and it wasn’t really a wish from the heart.”
“So you do have one?” Jun probed.
Ohno opened his eyes, “Of course I do. But I put up with the fact that it will never be fulfilled.”
“You never know,” Jun contradicted. Somehow he was determined now to make it happen. “Tell me, maybe I can fulfill it for you.”
Ohno smiled sadly. “That would be nice, but still…”
Then Jun had an idea. “What about, I give you my last wish?” He sat up and looked expectantly and excited at Ohno who frowned at the idea. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you tell me what you want and I formulate my wish accordingly. Would it work?”
Ohno hesitated, “In theory, yes, but I think no one has ever tried it before.”
“Then it’s high time to change that,” Jun tried to encourage him, but Ohno still wasn’t convinced. “You would really do that for me? You know I have to leave after your third wish.”
Jun’s smile died away. Damn, why didn’t he think about that? They had just talked about it. He returned Ohno’s insecure look and made his decision. “Of course,” he answered determined, “as long as you are happy.”
Ohno hesitated, but there was also a gleam of hope in his eyes. He looked up at Jun and it seemed like he was searching for something in his face. “It’s a rather selfish wish,” he warned.
Jun felt a hint of doubt, but shook it off. He wouldn’t back out now. He gave Ohno a bright smile and leaned forward until the end of his hair brushed over Ohno’s face and his lips were just inches away from Ohno’s. “It can’t be too bad,” he answered. “Come on, tell me your wish, Genie,” he laughed quietly.
Ohno took his time with his answer. His eyes wandered restlessly over Jun’s face still searching. Then he finally made his decision. “I wish, I could stay with you forever,” he whispered.
Jun’s eyes grew wide in surprise. Of all things, he didn’t expect that. His smile grew even wider and he felt a pleasant warmth running through his body. No, this was better than everything he could have thought of. “Granted,” he whispered back and leaned down to press his lips affectionately on Ohno’s.
THE END
A/N: I realized it some time ago now, my one-shots tend to end quit similar every time xD Well, I hope you don't mind. And I hope you liked the story. As always, I'm happy about every comment I receive ;)
Have fun reading :)
________________________________
Titel: Tell me your wish, Genie
Author: cherry_chan24
Pairing: Matsujun/Ohno
Rating: PG-13
Summary: When Jun gets an antique oil lamp from a mysterious antiques dealer, he has no idea that a real genie lives inside. After the first shock and disbelief, Jun soon gets accustomed to the genie and feelings start to grow. But Ohno has to leave after fullfilling three wishes for Jun...
Jun woke from the annoying beeping sound of his alarm clock, as always way too early for his taste. Moaning he turned around with his eyes still closed and reached for the clock. That was when he discovered the arm around his waist. With a startled gasp he jumped up and nearly fell out of the bed. “The hell, Satoshi! I told you not to sneak up into my bed while I’m sleeping,” he snapped at the sleeping man next to him. Ohno groaned reluctantly and opened his eyes. When he saw Jun, a sleepy smile appeared on his face, “Ah… good morning Jun-chan,” he rubbed his eyes. “Did you sleep well?”
“It’s not ‘good morning’, you…,” Jun got worked up, but then he stopped and sighed. He didn’t know why he still got startled after all this time. After all, this had become a nearly daily event. Apparently, Ohno hated sleeping alone and therefore he sneaked in Jun’s bed nearly every night. The first time he had done so, Jun had gotten the shock of his life after waking up next to a complete stranger. Of course at that point of time, he hadn’t been aware that he had become the owner of a genie over night.
***Two month ago…
“What are you looking for anyway?” Jun asked impatiently. Without much interest he turned a little statue of the Indian god Ganesha around in his hands while he was waiting for Sho’s answer. “Nothing in particular. I just thought maybe they have a nice little table I could use in the living room or a mirror for my entrance.” Sho looked fascinated at an ancient looking book under the glass of a display case. Colorful drawings adorned its pages.
Jun sighed. He didn’t even knew why he had agreed to come along when Sho told them about this new antique shop he had discovered and asked if it would be okay with them to just take a quick look before lunch. From experience he knew that Sho could take hours in such a shop. His friend was interest in anything that looked old and/or historical and he loved antiques. His whole flat was decorated with stuff he had collected from different stores around the country. Sure, there were some beautiful things, but most of them were just old in Jun’s eyes. He couldn’t understand Sho’s interest. Especially because all shops looked the same. This one - the entrance sign designated it as “Katori’s Antique Collection” - wasn’t an exception.
“Sorry,” Sho forced his eyes away from the drawing and turned to Jun, “I totally forgot that you don’t have much time. You want to visit your mother later, don’t you?”
Jun made a wry face. “It’s okay.”
Sho’s look turned sympathetically. “How is she?”
“Her condition got worse again,” Jun tried to sound indifferent, but failed, “but for now she seems to be stable.”
“I’m sorry.”
Jun smiled tiredly. “Why? It’s not your fault.”
“I know, but still…”
“Thanks.” Jun didn’t want to talk about his mother now. One year had passed since she had been diagnosed with cancer. A really nasty one moreover. The chemotherapy hadn’t shown any particular effects and her condition worsened fast. Last time Jun had spoken to the doctor, he hadn’t sounded promising. According to him, his mother would be dead within a few weeks if it went on like this and until now there was no sign of improvement.
In this moment Aiba appeared from somewhere in the back of the shop. “I found one,” he announced triumphantly.
Sho and Jun turned around. “Really? How does it look like?” Sho asked excitedly.
Jun chuckled, “I’m pretty sure it looks just like any other table: Four legs and a top.”
Sho rolled his eyes, but couldn’t suppress a smile while Aiba was already dragging him to the back of the room.
“I’ll wait here,” Jun shouted after them. At least it seemed like they would get to leave soon.
Bored he peeked into the second showroom which was filled up with hundreds of old books piled up in bookshelves that reached to the ceiling. Slowly he strolled along the corridors between the shelves. Thinking he was the only one in the room, he flinched back startled when suddenly a face appeared on the other side of the bookshelf he was just looking at. His back bumped into the shelf behind him which swayed dangerously.
“Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” the man apologized and rounded the shelf. He was about ten centimeters taller than Jun with a round face and brown hair. With a wide smile that could keep up with the one of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, he approached Jun. “I just thought you look like someone who could use this,” he explained without spending time on a proper greeting and held up an antique oil lamp that looked like it came directly out of Arabian Nights.
Taken by surprise Jun stared at it for a moment. “I don’t think so,” he then refused.
“But this is the oil lamp Sheikh Schahhriyâ had specially made as a wedding gift for his queen Scheherazade by the most skillful craftsman of his time,” the man extolled the merchandise.
“I’m sure it is,” Jun said little convinced, “but I really don’t need it.”
“I’ll give it to you as a present,” the man offered.
Jun raised an eyebrow. It seemed as if this man wasn’t the business type. “Thanks, but no thanks,” he was slowly getting irritated with this antique dealer. Fortunately Aiba appeared in this moment at the end of the bookshelves, “Sho has decided to buy the table.”
“Great,” relieved Jun turned away from the strange man and hurried over to Aiba. “Did he tell you what his plan is for getting that thing home?”
Aiba shrugged.
“Well, it’s his problem not mine,” Jun said. “Let’s go.” With a last look back at the man, he pushed Aiba out of the room.
When he came home four hours later after visiting his mother in the hospital, he felt exhausted. Although, surprisingly, the table had fit in the trunk of Sho’s car, he hadn’t made any further plans on how to get it into his flat. He lived on the fourth floor and because the elevator was chronically broken, they had to carry the table up the stairs which turned out to be quite difficult for the damn thing was weighing three tons at least.
When Jun wanted to pull his keys out of his pocket, he had to detect that they weren’t there. A few seconds of panic later, he remembered that he had put them into his backpack earlier. Relieved he rummaged through his bag. When his fingers hit something hard and smooth, he frowned. What was that? His hand got hold of something that felt like a handle and he pulled the questionable object out of the bag. Confused he stared at the oil lamp in his hand. It looked exactly like the one the dubious man in the antique shop had offered him. The one that had been bought by Sheikh something for his wife Scheherazade - as if. How did it get in his bag? He definitely hadn’t taken it. The man must had put it in his bag somehow, but how? And when? Although he had stood next to him while Sho had paid for the table, Jun couldn’t remember a moment in which it would have been possible for the shop owner to snatch the lamp in his bag without him noticing.
Annoyed he went back to search for his keys. When he had finally found it, he opened the door to his flat and went inside. He left his shoes in the entrance and went over to the living room where he placed the lamp on the little table in front of the television. He would think about what to do with it later, though he was pretty sure he wouldn’t keep it. It wasn’t of any use for him. Exhausted he slumped down on the sofa and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes until he brought himself to go over into the kitchen. A look in the fridge reminded him that he forgot to stop by the supermarket, but he found a pizza in the freezer and shoved it into the oven.
After dinner he thought shortly about doing his stuff for university - he had to hand in a paper at the end of the week and it wasn’t even half-done yet - but decided, he was too tired for that. Instead, he zapped listless through the television program for about half an hour, but when he didn’t find something interesting he decided that he could as well go to bed early.
His head had barely touched the pillow when he was asleep already.
He didn’t see the smoke that slowly climbed up the neck of the oil lamp and formed a cloud above the table. And he also didn’t see how the smoke floated towards his bedroom door and sneaked through the space between door frame and door into his room. What he did see was the man who lay next to him in the bed when he woke up the next morning giving him the shock of his live time.
And that had been the start of all this.
***Back in present time…
Jun ran his finger through his hair and looked at Ohno who had already closed his eyes again. Even if he admitted it only reluctantly, somehow, waking up next to Ohno didn’t feel as bad as he had thought at the beginning. A smile appeared on his lips while he watched the other one. Seeing him like this, it was hard to believe that he was an actual genie who could fulfill wishes with just a snap of his fingers. He just looked like any other normal guy. But in the last weeks Jun had seen what Ohno was capable of.
After the first panic and confusion his sudden appearance in Jun’s bed had caused, Ohno had explained to him that he was a genie and here to fulfill Jun three wishes. Of course Jun hadn’t believed him at first and that was why he now had about 100 Million Yen in his bank account and didn’t know what to do with it. After that it had been clear what to wish for with his second wish. Now he had only one wish left and…
“If you don’t get up now, you’ll be late for work,” his mother appeared in the door of his room, as usually without knocking first. In the blink of an eye Ohno turned into a cloud of smoke and disappeared into his lamp on Jun’s bedside table. Jun’s mother blinked confused, but Ohno had been too fast for her to actually see him and therefore she blamed it on her imagination and went on as if nothing had happened, “Breakfast’s ready.”
“Coming,” Jun answered. He waited until his mother had closed the door before falling back in his pillow again with a relieved sigh. That had been a close call! He hadn’t told his mother the whole truth about Ohno yet and he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to. How do you explain to your mother that the man you introduced to her right after she had been released from the hospital was in truth a genie which had just cured her from a deadly disease - which the doctors had declared a miracle - on the wish of her son? According to her information, Ohno was a new friend of Jun from university who spend the night at their flat from time to time.
“You can come out now, she’s gone,” Jun informed the genie and finally got up. “Oi!” he repeated and knocked at the lamp, but still no reaction. Frowning, he took the lamp and held it next to his ear. It was as if he could hear faint snorting. Typical of Ohno. Sleeping was one of his hobbies. Right after fishing - which had already brought Jun his first fishing experience of his life. Ohno had kept on pestering him to go until finally he had given in. “Oi!” He shook the lamp until an annoyed grumble from inside told him that Ohno was awake. Smoke appeared at the neck of the lamp and poured on the ground where it formed a grey cloud which got bigger and bigger and in the next moment Ohno stood yawning in front of him.
“Good morning again,” Jun mocked.
Ohno groaned.
“I’m off to work now,” Jun informed him. “And I have a lecture in the afternoon so I’ll be late today.” Ohno’s look turned sad. “Okay,” he answered unexcited. “Have fun.”
Jun sighed. “I’m sorry, but I can’t take you with me all the time. You know that, don’t you?” Last time he had brought Ohno with him to university Sho and Aiba had discovered the lamp in his bag and had started to ask awkward questions. Jun had toyed with the idea of introducing Ohno back then, but hadn’t for the same reason he hadn’t told his mother. And why should he even go through the difficult explanation when Ohno wouldn’t be here for that much longer? As soon as Jun made his third wish, he would be gone.
Ohno nodded. It was an annoying fact that he was bound to the lamp and couldn’t be separated from it more than a few meters.
“But you can think of something you want to do at the weekend,” Jun suggested to cheer him up. “I was thinking of taking a day off after this annoying paper is finally done.” It worked. A smile appeared on Ohno’s face. “You’re sure?”
“Otherwise I wouldn’t suggest it,” Jun grinned.
“Jun, if you don’t get up right now, I’m making you!” his mother shouted from the kitchen. “You’re late!”
“I know,” he shouted back and grinned at Ohno. “You heard her, I better hurry. See you tonight.” He gathered some clothes from the cupboard and disappeared into the bathroom to take a quick shower.
***Exhausted Jun dropped his backpack and slumped down on the sofa. Work had been tiring today. He worked at a depot for a big chain of shops where he spent three days a week with stocking up shelves and packing up things for delivery. It wasn’t an exciting job, but it brought in money and work hours were flexible and that was all that counted for now.
As his mother had foreseen, he had been a little late to catch the bus and had to wait for the next one. Therefore he had arrived five minutes too late for his shift which had brought him a lecture from his boss and after that he had spend the rest of the morning unloading boxes. For some reason there had been a delay in delivery and the trucks had lined up in front of the storehouse.
Moreover the last lecture at university had been the least bit interesting. Maybe because he hadn’t paid attention. However, it had felt like half an eternity had passed until their professor had finally called it a day and released them - not without giving them another assignment to hand in next week.
Tired Jun closed his eyes.
***He woke from a light touch at his forehead. Slowly he opened his eyes and looked right into Ohno’s face. The genie was kneeling in front of the sofa, one hand still reached out for Jun’s face. When he saw that Jun opened his eyes, Ohno froze in his movement and looked somehow guilty. “Erm… sorry,” he dropped his hand, “I didn’t want to wake you, I just…” he stammered and evaded Jun’s gaze. Quickly he wanted to stand up, but was stopped by Jun whose hand reached out for Ohno’s neck and pulled him close. Jun didn’t know what had gotten into him and where this sudden urge came from, but looking into Ohno’s eyes, his hand had moved on its own. And right now he didn’t care, because right now this was feeling just right. When his lips touched Ohno’s, the genie stiffened for a second, but then he relaxed and returned the kiss. It was the greatest thing Jun had ever felt. Heat ran through his body and he buried his hand deeper in Ohno’s hair as the kiss got more intensive. Ohno moaned and Jun’s mind kicked back in. He broke the kiss and pushed Ohno away. Both of them were breathing heavily. For one moment they stared at each other and Jun could see confusion, insecurity and offence on Ohno’s face. In the next moment Ohno turned into a cloud of smoke and disappeared into Jun’s bedroom where he probably took shelter in his lamp.
Jun couldn’t do anything but to stare at the empty spot where Ohno had kneeled just seconds ago. Slowly he raised his hand to touch his lips. He didn’t kiss Ohno just now, did he?
***He avoided his room for the rest of the day. He even volunteered to do the dishes - to the surprise of his mother - just to push back the moment in which he had to go back inside. When the time came and he finally had to go to bed - he just couldn’t think of a plausible reason why he had to sleep on the couch that would have convinced his mother - it took him nearly one minute to accumulate enough courage to open the door of his bedroom. It was empty. He suppressed a relieved sigh and tiptoed through the room. While he changed into his bed wear he tried to avoid looking at the oil lamp at his bedside, but he couldn’t help but steel a glance now and then. He hadn’t yet decided what to hope for - that Ohno would stay where he was or that he would come out so that they could talk.
The thoughts in his head kept spinning even after he went to bed and it took him hours until he finally found some sleep. In addition the presence of the lamp haunted him, but he couldn’t bring himself to put it away in his cupboard.
The whole evening, he had thought about why he did what he did, but the only reasonable answer was too frightening to acknowledge just yet.
Besides, he didn’t even know if it was possible to have such a relationship with a genie. After all, Ohno had told him that he had to leave right after fulfilling Jun’s third wish. For all he knew, it was some kind of unwritten law for genies. And it was the reason why Jun hesitated to announce his third wish, even though Ohno had asked him several times. Apart from the fact that he couldn’t think of something he really needed and he didn’t want to waste his wish for something trivial, he didn’t want Ohno to leave. Although it only became clear for him this evening after kissing him.
***The first thing Jun noticed when he woke up the next day was that he was alone. Unlike usual, Ohno didn’t snuggle up to him. And although Ohno had gotten on his nerves every morning until now, today it made him sad. For some reason it felt like something important was missing. It was a feeling of emptiness. He threw a careful look at the lamp, but it kept silent. It wasn’t like Ohno at all to be unforgiving. With his sometimes brusque and quick-tempered self, Jun had managed to offend Ohno several times before, but it never kept him away for long. Suddenly Ohno’s offended face after Jun had pushed him away appeared in his head. With a frustrated sigh Jun buried his head under his pillow. Why did he push him? Of course the other one was hurt, even if he didn’t have any feelings for Jun. Everyone would be hurt about such snub. Even more, because Jun had initiated the kiss.
After his mother had thrown him out of bed because Jun refused to hear his alarm, he missed the bus again and was about half an hour late for his first lecture. It didn’t bother him. He couldn’t concentrate anyway because his thoughts drifted back to Ohno in his lamp whenever he tried to force himself to focus on another topic. It was jinxed. Even Sho and Aiba noticed his unusual absent-mindedness, but he managed to blame it on an overall sickness. He struggled through the rest of the day, thinking about returning home as soon as possible, but when the last lecture had ended, he couldn’t bring himself to actually go because it would have meant to face Ohno. While hating himself for his own cowardice he strolled through the town until he couldn’t postpone his return any longer if he didn’t want his mother to worry.
In the end it turned out that his worries had been for nothing. Again Ohno didn’t show for the whole evening and it didn’t help Jun to feel better. On the contrary, he felt even worse. Above all else, he slowly started to really miss Ohno’s presence and it became more and more difficult to deny his feelings.
After another sleepless night, he couldn’t lie to himself anymore. He was in love with Ohno. And he would go crazy if the genie stayed even one more second in that damn lamp.
Without further ado he overthrew his plans for the day, put the lamp in his backpack and left the flat. He ignored the shouted question of his mother about breakfast and followed the way to the park.
***He found a quiet place behind a few bushes which hid him from curious eyes on the pathway, although it was a rather unnecessary precaution. At this hour the park was nearly empty. Jun had only seen a gardener on his way here. He sat down and placed the oil lamp in front of him on the grass. Undecidedly he scrutinized it for a while, before he nudged it carefully. “Satoshi?” he asked quietly. “Can we talk?”
It took some time, but then the familiar smoke gathered next to him on the grass. Jun couldn’t suppress a relieved smile. He had feared that Ohno wouldn’t show. “Hey,” he greeted the genie and tried a smile. Ohno looked at him cautiously. Jun sighed. “First of all, I want to say sorry for what I did,” he began slowly and studied Ohno’s expression. “I shouldn’t have kissed you like that. It just happened, and I most certainly shouldn’t have pushed you away like that,” he noticed himself that he was speaking fast, but the words just stumbled out of his mouth. “And I’m sorry for the last days. It was childish to avoid you- although, actually, that wasn’t all on me, you did the same - but anyway, I’m sorry. And…,” he held up a hand to stop Ohno from saying something, “I did a lot of thinking the last days, about what happened and why, and I think we should talk about it. Well, I need to talk about it, otherwise I’m afraid I’m going crazy. I love you.”
Silence.
Ohno stared at him with wide eyes and Jun could do nothing but staring back not less shocked about his last words. That hadn’t been supposed to come out of his mouth like it just did. When he had imagined his confession in his mind before coming here, he hadn’t been able to decide on the right way, but everything would have been better and more romantic than this. He had nearly shouted it at Ohno. But the damage was done and the only thing he could do now was to await Ohno’s answer. His heartbeat seemed to become louder and louder the longer the silence continued. Just when he thought he couldn’t bear it any longer, Ohno opened his mouth, “What?”
That broke the spell. Jun chuckled. “You really make me say it again?” he teased. “It took all my courage to say it just once, you know?”
But it didn’t seem as if Ohno could read the atmosphere right now. He still seemed in a daze. “Sorry, I just - I think I didn’t understand what you said. You spoke so fast and I…”
“I love you,” Jun repeated, slower this time and reached for Ohno’s hand. The genie still seemed to be bothered by something and Jun’s self-confidence slowly began to fade. Did he misinterpret Ohno’s reaction on the kiss? After replaying it over and over again in his head for the last two days, he had been sure the genie was feeling the same. Had it been just his imagination?
“So, you’re not angry?” Ohno asked cautiously.
Jun blinked at him confused. “No, of course not. Why would I be angry?”
“Because I did something unnecessary while you were sleeping and woke you up and then all the other stuff happened…,” Ohno listed. His voice became lower and lower in the end until he broke off.
In disbelieve, Jun looked at him. “Nothing of that was your fault,” he contradicted. “Or did you force the kiss on me?” Embarrassed Ohno shook his head. “No, I just thought that…,” he broke off and an awkward silence followed - again.
“So, can you forgive me?” Jun picked up the threads before the silence could get too deep. “Because the last days without you were a real torture - who would’ve believed I would ever say something like that - and I can’t go on like this. I…,” he was cut short when Ohno throw himself on him and wrapped his arms around his neck. Jun lost his balance and together they fell back on the grass. A relieved laugh escaped Jun when he pulled Ohno close. “I take that as a yes,” he grinned.
“Always,” Ohno grinned back and rolled off Jun. “And I love you too.”
Jun felt the corners of his mouth moving up until he grinned like the Cheshire cat. He probably looked like a total simpleton right now, but he didn’t care.
Side by side they lay on the grass and looked up at the blue sky with their fingers intertwined with each other.
“Was I really that frightening, for you to hide in this lamp for two days?” Jun asked and he couldn’t keep his worry fully out of his voice. He knew that he could be quick tempered and tended to snap easily at little things, but nothing of it applied to the situation. Back then he just had been surprised and shocked about himself.
“I feared you would throw me away,” Ohno confessed quietly. “I knew my own feelings, but I was sure that you would never return them.”
“Because you’re a genie and I’m your master and something like that isn’t allowed?” Jun probed. Ohno didn’t answer. “Oi,” Jun pressed his hand. “If there’s some kind of punishment waiting for us for breaking an ancient genie law, I should know about it, don’t you think?”
“No law, but it never happened before,” Ohno finally said. Jun turned his head to look at him, but Ohno’s eyes stayed fixed on the sky. Jun chuckled. “If I would have wanted you gone, I would have used my last wish.
Now Ohno turned his head. “Is that why you didn’t want another wish?”
Jun nodded and turned his eyes back to the sky. “Although I wasn’t aware of it until now, but I probably just didn’t want you to go.”
Ohno couldn’t suppress a happy grin. “So, you really like me then,” he detected.
Jun squeezed his hand. “More than that, I told you.” Because his eyes were still at the blue sky above them, he couldn’t see Ohno’s smile grew even wider and nearly reached his ears now, but he felt the other’s grip tighten around his hand and that made him smile as well. They went silent again while both of them followed their own thoughts.
Again, it was Jun who broke the silence. “You always fulfill the wishes of others,” he suddenly said, “but don’t you have a wish for your own?” When Ohno didn’t answer immediately - again - he pushed himself up on his elbows to look at his face. The genie had his eyes closed and first Jun thought he had fallen asleep. When he finally answered without opening his eyes, his voice sounded sad, “It’s no use anyway. I told you, I can’t use my skills for myself.”
“Don’t say that,” Jun mocked in an attempt to light up the mood, “you conjured a chocolate cake from nowhere a few days ago. I saw you.”
Ohno grimaced. “That was different. It wasn’t something big and it wasn’t really a wish from the heart.”
“So you do have one?” Jun probed.
Ohno opened his eyes, “Of course I do. But I put up with the fact that it will never be fulfilled.”
“You never know,” Jun contradicted. Somehow he was determined now to make it happen. “Tell me, maybe I can fulfill it for you.”
Ohno smiled sadly. “That would be nice, but still…”
Then Jun had an idea. “What about, I give you my last wish?” He sat up and looked expectantly and excited at Ohno who frowned at the idea. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you tell me what you want and I formulate my wish accordingly. Would it work?”
Ohno hesitated, “In theory, yes, but I think no one has ever tried it before.”
“Then it’s high time to change that,” Jun tried to encourage him, but Ohno still wasn’t convinced. “You would really do that for me? You know I have to leave after your third wish.”
Jun’s smile died away. Damn, why didn’t he think about that? They had just talked about it. He returned Ohno’s insecure look and made his decision. “Of course,” he answered determined, “as long as you are happy.”
Ohno hesitated, but there was also a gleam of hope in his eyes. He looked up at Jun and it seemed like he was searching for something in his face. “It’s a rather selfish wish,” he warned.
Jun felt a hint of doubt, but shook it off. He wouldn’t back out now. He gave Ohno a bright smile and leaned forward until the end of his hair brushed over Ohno’s face and his lips were just inches away from Ohno’s. “It can’t be too bad,” he answered. “Come on, tell me your wish, Genie,” he laughed quietly.
Ohno took his time with his answer. His eyes wandered restlessly over Jun’s face still searching. Then he finally made his decision. “I wish, I could stay with you forever,” he whispered.
Jun’s eyes grew wide in surprise. Of all things, he didn’t expect that. His smile grew even wider and he felt a pleasant warmth running through his body. No, this was better than everything he could have thought of. “Granted,” he whispered back and leaned down to press his lips affectionately on Ohno’s.
THE END
A/N: I realized it some time ago now, my one-shots tend to end quit similar every time xD Well, I hope you don't mind. And I hope you liked the story. As always, I'm happy about every comment I receive ;)