A Familiar Stranger - Part 10
Nino couldn’t sleep that night. Tossing here… tossing there… that was what he had been doing on the bed. He glared at the sofa, feeling jealous to see Ohno sleep. This was so unfair! Grrr!!!
Why couldn’t he sleep? Probably because of the man sleeping on the sofa. A few things were in his mind and all of them concerned the sleeping man. After dinner, they both returned to the room they shared. Nino took a shower first followed by Ohno. As Nino lazily scrolled his phone on the bed, Ohno went out of the bathroom with only a towel around his waist. His eyes almost bulged when he saw the man’s bare chest. He didn’t expect it to be so well-built. His hands were itchy to touch it so he quickly turned his eyes away from Ohno.
“Oops,” uttered Ohno when he realised Nino was still awake. “I thought you were sleeping,”
The smirk that was on Ohno’s face indicated that it was not a mistake. Once again, the man was teasing him. Nino chose to ignore him.
With a sigh, Nino shut his eyes again, hoping sleep would claim him this time. However, it didn’t happen. Instead, he was thinking about the conversation he had with Ohno during the rehearsal dinner.
“This event was dull,” said Nino as he looked around the hall. The comment was for himself but Ohno was close enough to hear it. “I thought Masaki’s wedding would be chaotic,”
Ohno responded with a chuckle. “Pretty sure Sho’s father is responsible for this. He wants everything to be perfect. So, he must be rejecting Aiba-chan’s idea. Thus, the dull event,”
Nino nodded in agreement. He didn’t know Sho’s father but based on what he saw so far, Ohno’s explanation made sense. He must be rejecting any fun idea that Aiba had. So, the event turned up solemn.
“What kind of wedding would you like, Kazunari?” Asked Ohno. “A small wedding or a grand wedding?”
“What do you think?”
Ohno tapped his chin and appeared to be thinking. But, his stance made Nino think that the man already had an answer. He was just pretending to think.
“Well, a small wedding,” answered Ohno. “You don’t seem to like having a lot of people around. So, I guess you will just invite your family and close friends to our wedding ceremony,”
“Our wedding?” Nino rolled his eyes but as usual, Ohno remained calm.
“Of course, honey,” said Ohno. “I need to ask so that I can start planning our wedding,”
“Okay, whatever,” responded Nino. “But, your answer is wrong,”
His words earned a frown from Ohno. “You want a big wedding? That seems weird,”
Nino smirked. It seemed like the man didn’t know him well enough.
“Eloping?”
This time, Nino’s eyes widened upon hearing what Ohno said. How did he know?
This time, it was Ohno who smirked. But, Nino smiled amusingly at Ohno. For the first time, Nino wasn’t annoyed at the man. Maybe, Ohno deserved more credits than he thought.
“Did I tell you about it that night?”
“Nah…” said Ohno. “We didn’t venture on that topic. It is just my assumption. So, was I right?”
“Well, at the moment, you might be right,” answered Nino truthfully. After seeing how Aiba prepared for the wedding, Nino didn’t think he wanted to go through the process too. It would just make him miserable.
“I have the same thought too,” said Ohno. “I mean… it is tedious, right? There will be a lot of work too. I think we should just register our marriage without having a ceremony,”
“Agreed,” said Nino. “And, since we live together, nobody will suspect anything,”
It was too late when Nino realized what he had just said. For the first time, he just went along with Ohno’s teasing and it shocked the other man too. Ohno’s eyes widened, surprised by what he said.
“Err… I will go to get dessert for us,”
Nino quickly left the table before Ohno could recover from the shock. What he said just now was so stupid. Why did he entertain Ohno with a conversation about marriage?
“So…” A familiar voice behind him said. It was his mother’s voice. “You and Satoshi are talking about getting married?”
Nino sighed as he turned around to look at his mother. He didn’t like the triumphant smile on her face.
“It was just a joke, Mama,” retorted Nino. “It is still early to get married. I barely know him,”
“Ah…” His mother tapped her chin. “But, it looks like a serious discussion,”
“Mama!” Nino stomped his feet. It looked childish but whatever. He was just frustrated with himself, regretting talking about the wedding with Ohno.
“Hahahaha,” his mother laughed. “Okay, Kazunari. I will stop teasing you,”
Nino responded with a pout. He didn’t trust himself to talk right now, afraid that he would say something embarrassing again.
“But, I want you to know this,” said Kazuko before Nino could excuse himself. He wondered what else she wanted to talk about. She looked serious this time.
“What is it?” Asked Nino, curious.
“When you register your marriage with Satoshi, please let me know,”
Nino rolled his eyes. He almost cursed himself for letting his mother trick him to think they were having a serious conversation. He should know better. Of course, she was still in the mood to tease him.
“I am serious,” said Kazuko. “If you elope with Satoshi… but you didn’t tell me… and I find out about it myself… I will make sure you will have the grandest wedding ceremony ever,”
“Mama!”
Kazuko simply laughed and left him dumbfounded.
“Kazunari…” Nino opened his eyes when he heard Ohno’s voice. The other man looked at him with concern. “Are you okay?”
“I cannot sleep,” answered Nino with a grunt. He rose from the sleeping position and sat on the bed. “Your snoring is too loud,”
“No, I didn’t snore,”
“How do you know?” retorted Nino. “You were sleeping,”
Ohno chuckled in response to his remark.
“Okay, I apologize for snoring,” said Ohno. “Do you want me to sing you a lullaby so that you can sleep? My voice is soothing, you know,”
“I don’t want you to sing a lullaby to me,” said Nino, pouting. “I want you to make love to me,”
Oops… what did he just say?