How Dare You! - Part 8A
“Ah… Me?” Nino pointed to himself, sneering at her. He wasn’t surprised to know she wanted to see him. In fact, he was looking forward to it. He wanted her to know that she chose the wrong person to mess with. “But, I don’t want to see you,”
Nino could see from her reaction that she was annoyed by him. But… well… he didn’t care.
“You have an attitude, huh…” She remarked, trying to remain composed.
“Not as good as you,” He answered, hoping to annoy her more. “I’m a busy man. I don’t have time for you. Same goes for Satoshi. So, stop bothering him, okay?”
She only laughed in response. “We are so similar. Maybe that’s why Satoshi is attracted to you. He sees me in you,”
Nino tried not to scoff at her. He wasn’t angry because she said Ohno saw her in him. But, he was angry because she said they were similar. Urgh, he didn’t want to be in the same category as her.
“Whatever… Like I care,”
She gritted her teeth in response. His lack of interest to hear what she wanted to talk about angered her and he enjoyed watching how she glared at him with hatred.
Sensing the weird tension between the two of them, Sho decided to interfere. “Miss, I think it’s better…”
“Shut up!”
This time, she glared at Sho. And even though Jun and Aiba didn’t say anything, she gave them the same look. So rude! Seriously, how did Ohno fall in love with her? Was she really nice to him? Ever since Nino met her, she had been nothing but rude. He didn’t mean to belittle her but… seriously… he didn’t think she was capable to use anyone. She didn’t seem smart. But, maybe staying too far from Ohno had made her rusty.
“Gloat all you want, Ninomiya,” She threatened him. “But, this isn’t over yet. Why don’t you leave Satoshi? It will spare you from the humiliation that you will get when he realizes he is still in love with me,”
Nino disregarded her by putting on his earphone and staring at the computer to do his work, ignoring her completely.
“Serina nee-chan…”
He heard Ohno’s voice and immediately lifted his face to see Ohno in the office. Serina was delighted to see him and immediately went for a hug with her arms stretched open. But, Ohno avoided her and went to Nino, putting a kiss on his forehead.
“What are you doing here, Serina nee-chan?”
“To see you, Satoshi…” Serina answered. Once again, she tried to act cute with her voice. Urgh, annoying. “But, Ninomiya san told me you have a meeting. Did he lie because he didn’t like to see us together?”
Liar… Didn’t she say she was here to see Nino?
“It wasn’t a lie. My meeting was cancelled,” Ohno said, quickly picking up on what had happened before he arrived. “Why do you want to see me?”
“Oh, I thought he didn’t allow us to meet because he’s jealous,”
Ohno responded with a laugh. “No, nee-chan. He is not jealous at all. So, why do you want to see me?”
“Do I need a reason to meet you? I just miss you and that’s why I come here. Let’s eat together today. I’ve forgiven you for what happened on Saturday,”
As always, she had no shame. She completely disregarded Nino and his friends as if they weren’t here. And what was this thing about forgiveness? Ohno didn’t need her to forgive him just because he failed to show up at her house as she wanted. Geez, if this was how she treated Ohno in the past, Ohno must be blinded by love to let her do as she pleased.
Nino noticed the way Jun, Sho and Aiba looked at him, curious to know what she had meant. They, especially Aiba, would definitely ask him for details later.
“I’m sorry, nee-chan," Ohno said. But, something in his voice seemed to indicate that something was wrong with him. "I cannot eat with you,”
“Why?” As expected, she was whining. Was she so thick to understand what Ohno had told her on Saturday?
“Nee-chan…”
“Because I don’t want him to go with you,” Nino cut him off before Ohno could explain. Ohno would offer the same explanation as before. If she did not understand the previous explanation, what difference would it make this time? So, it’s better if Nino was the one who talked to her.
“Ah…” She sounded amused. “So, you’re jealous,”
Jealous? Well, not really. Nino wasn’t doing this because he was jealous. He was doing this because of something else.
He glanced at Sho, Aiba and Jun, noticing the confused look on them because of the drama that he had presented to them. Beside him, Ohno was trying to stop him from continuing. But, of course, he ignored him. He had reached this point so it’s better to just continue.
“Nah… I just don’t want someone like you near my boyfriend,”
“Someone like me?”
“Yes. I don’t want my boyfriend to be as thick as you who do not understand when someone doesn’t want you around them,”
Her mouth opened wide in surprise. But, once the meaning of what he said sunk into her, she pressed her lips together and her nostrils flared.
“Satoshi!” She stomped her feet like a small kid. “Are you going to let him insult me?”
Ohno looked at the two of them, clearly troubled by what had happened. A small part of Nino was worried when Ohno couldn’t decide who to side on this matter. What if he blamed Nino? Nino might have gone overboard with his words but he’s only doing this because she didn’t respect Nino as Ohno’s boyfriend. He was totally fine to let them continue their friendship but she kept thinking of Ohno as hers and that was unacceptable.
“Satoshi!” She yelled again when Ohno didn't say anything. "Fine. If what he said is true and you don't want me around, you will not see me anymore. But, remember, I will not forgive you this time!"
And off she went without sparing a glance at all.
Ohno was shaken once she left and it worried Nino to see his boyfriend like that. Not knowing what to do, he stood up from his chair to let Ohno sit. He held Ohno's hands tightly and told him to take a deep breath, hoping it would calm him. Sho went to the pantry and when he's back, he brought a cup of tea. He offered the drink to Ohno. Ohno did as he was told and not long after that, he had stopped shaking.
"Are you okay, Ohno san?" Sho asked.
Ohno only nodded his head. He wasn't okay, Nino knew that. But, he didn't know how to talk with Ohno about this. It seemed like the relationship between Ohno and Serina was more toxic than he imagined. Even though a few years had passed since they met, Serina still had some control over Ohno. No wonder she kept talking about forgiveness. It was her way of controlling Ohno. He could totally imagine how Serina had used the same tactic whenever Ohno tried to defy her in the past. Poor young Ohno!
"Kazunari…" His thought was distracted when Ohno called him softly. He looked at his boyfriend and smiled at him. "Let's talk in private,"
Nino hummed in agreement and Ohno led him into his room. When he entered the room, it reminded him of the first time Ohno had reprimanded him for bothering others during work. Ohno was so intimidating at that time, which was a total contrast of what he had seen earlier with Serina.
"Did she always do that?"
No answer from Ohno. Nino let him be, giving him the space that he needed. Ohno might have thought that he could break free from Serina but seeing Serina again had changed that.
"I really want to tell her that I don't want to see her anymore," Ohno finally said something. "But I couldn't do so. I couldn't get the words out of my mouth,"
Nino reached out for Ohno's hand, stroking the hand gently. "Because you're a nice person. That's why you cannot tell her,"
Ohno only gave him a small smile.
"It was easier to do so on a phone," Ohno said, reminding Nino of what happened on Saturday. Of how cool Ohno was when he ended the call with Serina. "But… when I saw her… and… she talked about… forgiveness… I couldn't say anything. Am I a coward, Kazunari?"
"Of course not…" Nino quickly assured him. "You're not the problem here, Satoshi. She is,"
"She will be back," Ohno said, staring into the distance. "She might say she will be gone. But, she always does the opposite. She will bother us again. Maybe we should break…"
Nino put a finger on Ohno's lips, not going to let Ohno continue what he wanted to say. There's no way he's going to give up this relationship.
Ohno gave him another smile and then pulled him to sit on his lap. "So, you want to continue this relationship?"
"Of course," Nino said. "I don't want to end it for a stupid woman,"
Ohno hugged him closer. "But you need to be careful, ne? She doesn't like when things don't go as she wants. She might do something unpredictable,"
Nino nodded his head. He didn't know what Serina might do to them but he's going to be prepared for anything.
The week went by without much trouble from Serina. As she said, she won't see them anymore. But, of course, they still saw her sometimes as they worked in the same company. She pretended not to know them when they bumped into each other and Nino happily did the same. Ohno, however, still looked uncomfortable when they saw her.
Even though she seemed harmless right now, Nino knew better than to trust her. She was up to something and would definitely do something when he let his guard down. So, he had to be prepared for it.
On Saturday, someone rang his bell early in the morning. He took his phone to look at the time. It was only 8 AM! Why disturb his sleep this early on a weekend? He usually slept until 10 AM.
The guest kept on ringing his bell. He was hoping Aiba would answer the door or perhaps the guest would give up when no one answered the door. But, neither had happened. So, he stood up reluctantly to answer the door.
"Wait a moment," He said grumpily as he swung the door open and Ohno stood in front of him, grinning like an idiot.
"Geez…" He let the guy in. "The dinner would be at 8 PM, not 8 AM. Why are you here so early in the morning?"
Today, he's going to meet Ohno's parents for the second time. They invited him to dinner at their house.
Ohno didn't say anything, only putting a kiss on his lips and teasing him for his morning breath. Nino pouted. It's too early so he had no mood to retort. He lied down on the couch, ready to sleep again.
"Who is it, Nino?" Aiba came out of his room, looking as sleepy as he was. "Ah, Ohchan, good morning," He wasn't surprised to see Ohno. "Bringing Nino out on a date?"
"Nah…" Nino was the one who answered. "He doesn't know the difference between 8 AM and 8 PM,"
He shut his eyes, wanting to go to sleep again. However, Ohno pulled him to sit and then sat next to him. Nino glared at him before lying down again, putting his head on Ohno's lap. Ohno didn't give up and pulled him to sit again. But, Nino resisted him and he had no choice but to let Nino sleep. He stroked Nino's hair softly, making it easier for Nino to fall asleep.
He woke up about two hours later. When he opened his eyes, he was lying on the bed but Ohno was nowhere to be seen. Hearing noises from outside of the room, he went out. Ohno was with Aiba in the living room, watching a cooking show together.
"Good morning, honey," Ohno kissed his lips when he noticed Nino came to the living room. "Still so smelly,"
Nino smacked Ohno’s head. "Why are you here?"
"I want to drag you out for breakfast. And then maybe we can go cycling in the park. But, Aiba chan said I should let you sleep because you played games all night. Kazunari, you know it's not healthy, right?"
"I already advised him, Ohchan. But, he's so stubborn," Aiba added.
Nino only stuck his tongue out at both of them. "It's good you're here. Help me with groceries later and then you can help me baking,"
"Baking?"
“Un,” Nino nodded his head. “I’m going to make brownies for your parents. Do you expect me to go there empty-handed?
“Of course not. But, I thought you will buy instead of making,”
“Buying will cost more money,”
“Nino’s brownies are delicious,” Aiba joined the conversation. “They are his family recipe,”
“Really?” Ohno asked. “Can’t wait to taste it, then,”
“It’s for your parents, not you,” Nino said. He stood up from the couch. “I’m going to take a shower then we can go out for lunch and then groceries,”
“Can I join you in the shower?” Nino stuck his tongue out at Ohno and then quickly ran into the bathroom before Ohno could do anything. Ah, he enjoyed playful time like this with Ohno. How long would it be before Serina tried to do something again? He could feel it would happen soon. Sooner than he expected. And it would be worse than what she did before.
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