[matsumiya] Companionship
TITLE: Companionship
PAIRING: Nino/Jun, Nino/Aiba (friendship)
RATING: R
GENRE: AU, romance, friendship
LENGTH: 6988 words
SUMMARY: Nino works in Aiba’s pet shop. Jun becomes a frequent visitor despite his disinterest in pets. Shenanigans ensue?
A/N: Written for my first ninoexchange , for mynamelessname:) ♥ Originally posted here.
UNFAMILIARITY
Jun had never wanted a pet. It wasn’t because he didn’t like small animals, for he did tend to find fluffy puppies and kittens (more so puppies than kittens) cute to look at, rather it was that they just never seemed to express the same amount of interest towards him as he offered to them. Eventually, after numerous experiences of holding desperately squirming puppies and kittens at arms length in order to prevent himself from marring his adequately flawless face, he’d decided that he and animals were probably never meant to be. Which is why he thought himself crazy to be once again standing with his nose almost-pressed against the glass window of his local pet store, seemingly watching a small droopy-eared puppy chew on its bright yellow rubber duck toy.
It all started about a month ago, when Jun was walking past his local pet store on his way to work one afternoon and saw him. He who was seated behind the cash register with a bored expression plastered on his youthful face had somehow managed to capture Jun’s attention. Jun didn’t know what it was, for the man’s scruffy hair and unkempt appearance did not sit well in his books, but he immediately found the man intriguing, if not incredibly cute. He hadn’t meant for it happen, but it had happened, and from that day on Jun found himself leaving his house an extra 10 minutes early before work to make a trip to the pet store. There, he would simply stop a safe distance behind the window of the pen which this puppy called home, and discreetly observe the man. It was an excellent vantage point.
The first time the tall, brown-haired shopkeeper had come to greet him Jun had almost jumped, feeling like he had been caught in the middle of an inappropriate act (not that anyone would classify observing someone on a daily basis from afar was appropriate), quickly averting his eyes down to the white puppy in the pen instead and putting on his best ‘aww’-face (whatever those were supposed to look like). However, the tall man hadn’t seemed to pick up on his strange behaviour and proceeded as usual with exchanging pleasantries, his smile bright enough to compete with the fluorescent lights of his store.
Jun had kept his gaze on the puppy throughout the mostly one-sided conversation, not daring to look up and risk revealing his real target of interest, and much too polite to interrupt the other man’s flow of speech. It must have made him appear extremely interested in the dog, though, because soon after, the shopkeeper began trying to sell it to him. “Isn’t he cute? He’s our most popular puppy!” the other man had piped, before turning his head and yelling across the store to his co-employee behind the register asking how much they were selling him for, even though Jun had never even mentioned being interested in the dog and let alone purchasing it.
The dark-haired boy had looked up briefly, his hair flopping with the movement, and stuck up a few stubby fingers indicating the price before immediately going back to the tattered magazine (about guitars, it seemed) he’d been flipping through. He hadn’t even looked at Jun, which was probably a good thing because Jun had gawked at the figure, and Jun was pretty sure he wasn’t his most attractive when he was gawking.
After muttering a brief word of thanks, the shopkeeper had turned back to Jun, who still seemed a little incoherent. “He’s purebred, vaccinated and microchipped, that’s why.” he had offered in explanation, reaching out a long finger to the glass and tracing a pattern on its surface, interesting the puppy which more than happily obliged to follow the finger in excitement. Jun had nodded dumbly, continuing to stare at the curious ball of fluff. Unbeknownst to him, the more he looked at the dog, the more it reminded him of the boy behind the counter. Especially when it got disinterested in the shopkeeper’s finger only a few moments later and curled back up into the far corner, eyes drooping lazily.
Each day he visited, the resemblance became stronger, and Jun just couldn’t stop himself from staring. He decided that they had the same eyes. The same round, innocent-looking eyes typical of the ‘puppy-eyes’ descriptor. Not only that, but the white puppy had shaggy, soft-looking fur which was neither too long nor too short, its length perfectly framing its small face in the most adorable way possible. But probably the most uncanny resemblance was the small speck of black near the puppy’s nose, dark enough to stand out against its otherwise white appearance but not large enough to overshadow its other features. Jun was certain that the man who sat behind the cash register also had adorable beauty spots decorating his youthful face (either that or he just always had chocolate on his face, which Jun also thought adorable if it were the case). Jun left the pet store that day deciding he would make his move on his next visit. If this wasn’t a sign, he didn’t know what was.
***
“You’re back!” the shopkeeper noted, flashing the frequent visitor a magnificent smile. He didn’t even wait for the other man to acknowledge his greeting (if it could be called one) before going on to blabber about the weather, what he had for lunch, what his dog did last night, and generally stuff Jun really couldn’t care less about. But of course Jun was his polite self and kept up his part of being an active listener, muttering “Oh?”’s and “Is that so?”s every now and then to keep the man’s rambling going, using the time to again peak through the glass of the puppy-pen to the messy-haired man perched on a stool behind the cash register.
This is it, Matsumoto. Jun cleared his throat, stopping the owner mid-sentence. “Um, excuse me,” he squinted at the storekeeper’s hand-scrawled name badge, “Mr. Aibardo-”
Aiba frowned, looking around the store in confusion, catching Nino sniggering but not pursuing the cause. It was empty at this hour of morning, so he had no idea who on earth was this person addressing. He turned back to the mysterious man, who gave him an equally questionable look before continuing with resolve, “Um, what’s his name?”
Jun was looking through the glass at the man behind the counter, but from Aiba’s angle it wasn’t surprising that it looked like he was looking at the dog behind the glass. Aiba stared at the fluffy white puppy rolling happily on his back, then back at the customer. “Whatever you want! He’ll know you’re his master.” he said brightly, voice radiating customer service.
Jun quirked an eyebrow unbelievingly, deciding not to bother trying to clarify that he had been referring to cute employee and not the (almost equally cute) dog. Not today anyway. With one last glance over the storekeeper’s shoulder and a curt nod of his head, Jun left.
***
It seemed like that one chance he had taken to ask for the shop attendant’s name had sucked away a large part of Jun’s courage, and for the next week he found his stomach filled with butterflies before he even got close enough to see the man through the glass. It kind of scared Jun, how much this mysterious man was impacting his daily routines, from the choices of clothing he made each morning when he got out of bed (even though he’d get changed into his work uniform later anyway), to the flickering thoughts he had moments before he drifted off to sleep each night. Always aware that he had a pretty face, he had never been so self conscious before, and Jun couldn’t help but feel like a teenage girl discovering her first crush.
Jun tried but couldn’t bring himself to just forget about the pet store employee, so his visits to the store continued even though he found himself to be lurking from afar far more often than actually entering the store and making conversation with the storekeeper (more often than not about the same fluffy white puppy).
However, the storekeeper was more observant than most people gave him credit for.
***
“I think he likes you, Nino-chan,” said Aiba with a giggle to the smaller boy sat behind the cash register, hands rapidly shuffling a deck of Bicycle cards. The boy didn’t even look up at the remark, already immune to his best friend telling him that he thought every second customer who looked towards the register was interested in him.
“Hmm?” he hummed a response, just to make sure Aiba wouldn’t start whining that he was being ignored. He cut the deck in half again, reshuffled, then asked Aiba to pick a card. Aiba did as he was told, staring at his chosen card for a few seconds to make sure that he thoroughly remembered it (because last time he had forgotten Nino had called him a goldfish for weeks) before following Nino’s instructions and replacing the card to the centre of the deck. Whilst Nino worked his magic reordering and reshuffling the deck of cards with trained precision, Aiba stared blankly, wondering yet again how someone with such thick hands could perform such intricate movements so quickly. “Is this your card?”
The magic had stopped so abruptly Aiba had to take a moment to catch up with what had happened and consider the card Nino was holding up. 8 of hearts. His card was definitely red. And definitely a heart. But was it the 8? Silently cursing himself for letting himself be distracted by Nino’s hands (once again), he decided to just take his chances and utter a “Yes! Nino is amazing!” (because if he had waited any longer Nino most definitely would have gauged that he had forgotten his card anyway). Thankfully, it had been his card, but the smirk on Nino’s face could only have meant that his guesswork had been found out. He’d just been left off the hook this time.
“Ah, by the way Aiba-kun someone left you a message,” Nino continued, the topic of his potential crush being forgotten altogether. He threw the yellow pad of post-it notes in Aiba’s direction before swiftly reshuffling again.
‘Those fish aren’t called “Nemo”, they’re “Clownfish’ it read.
Aiba frowned. As far as he knew those orange and white stripy had always been called Nemos. But obviously someone thought otherwise. Curious as to who was questioning his pet store owner expertise, he asked his best friend who it was from.
“I dunno, just some sleepy-looking guy who told me to call him ‘Fishing Leader’. He must be right.” Nino shrugged, not caring the least about the correct nomenclature of fish. Recrossing his legs at an awkward angle on the stool he was always perched on, he reached into the top drawer and replaced his cards with a sky blue DS.
***
“You know that guy? The guy who comes all the time and talks to you about that white dog?” Nino blurted randomly one day, successfully distracting Aiba from his stocktaking.
“Ah, Eyebrows Guy! What about him?” the shopkeeper responded eagerly, dropping his pencil and giving all his attention to his best friend who was now rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“You think he likes me, right?” Nino continued carefully, wondering if his friend would catch on. Unfortunately not.
“Yeah, so?” Aiba questioned, already growing tired of the build-up.
“So I say let’s play a game. I bet we could make him buy the dog.” Nino completed, his own excitement growing as he saw the other man’s face light up. He liked games. He knew it was good at them. So, while Aiba started firing off a list of potential prizes for the winner, Nino had already started scheming in his head. If it was true that Eyebrows Guy had a thing for him, he would definitely take his bait. Jun was predictable, and Nino was prepared. Game on.
***
CAUTION
When Jun walked past the pet store that day, he immediately noticed something was different. The dog was gone. His body had entered the store before his mind had time to process much more, but two steps into the store he stopped dead in his tracks. There in front of him stood the person he had been pining over for weeks, and that person was holding the puppy that uncannily resembled himself. Jun’s mind went blank, his ability to speak or even think straight faltering. The only thing he was sure of in that moment was that he was gawking. Gawking unattractively. And oh god everything was so awkward Jun wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. Or apparate. Apparition would have been really useful.
Nino hadn’t been expecting this great a reaction, and it was doing great things for his ego. He decided to let the man gawk a little longer, taking the extra time he had to take in Eyebrow Guy’s appearance properly for the first time. Eventually he came to the decision that beyond the eyebrows this man was actually quite pretty (even more so if he would let his fringe down), and perhaps he wouldn’t mind if this guy really had a crush on him. After two rounds of observing the newcomer from head to toe (he dressed smart too, another plus), Nino spoke, voice clear and strong. “May I help you?”
“Uh, um...” Jun stuttered, mentally smacking himself for acting the way he was. He was pretty sure all chances of creating a good first impression had vanished. Pull yourself together, Matsumoto!
“Nino,” the shorter man offered, shifting the puppy in his arms so that he could free a hand and offer the frequenter (soon-to-be customer) one of his signature salutes. It seemed to go down well with the ladies, so who was to say it wouldn’t work on Eyebrows Guy too?
Jun bit his lip, channelling all of the fireworks which had just exploded in his head at the learning of the smaller man’s name into a polite tip of his head, acknowledging the employee’s self-introduction. His tongue rolled in his mouth, tracing the edge of his teeth as he tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t make himself sound completely stupid. Thankfully, Nino beat him to it.
“So, what can I do for you today?”
“Um...” Jun started again, hating how low in vocabulary he was as soon as the syllable was out. “Where’s Mr. Aibardo?” he finally managed to ask.
Nino smiled. Step 1, check.
“You come here a lot,” the shop attendant noted, deciding not to answer the man’s question. “Fancy him?” he asked blatantly, a smug grin tugging at his lips as he saw the man’s ears fire up. The smugness only amplified when the handsome guy stammered in denial. Step 2, check.
“Then?”
“T-the dog...” Jun answered, the dog being the first plausible excuse to come to mind. There was no way he was going to admit to fancying Nino (who seemed to have a rotting personality, judging from their interactions thus far), and he sort of had been coming for the dog too so it wasn’t a complete lie.
“Ah, this little guy?” Nino replied in understanding, ruffling the puppy’s fur before bringing it up to his face and touching noses with it. Jun heartbeat thumped irregularly at the heartwarming sight, his attachment to the animal and the man holding it skyrocketing. “He’s cute, ne? If you like him so much you should buy him,” Nino suggested, winking at the man playfully before bringing the puppy back into his arms and scratching the back of its ears affectionately. The puppy leaned into Nino’s touch naturally, its tongue sticking out while it panted happily, its large glassy eyes sparkling under the shop lights.
Jun savoured the sight, though a slight twinge of jealously did run through his veins. He wished that at the very least he could be as good with animals as Nino was. His point was reinstated when Nino offered the puppy to Jun to hold and the puppy let out a whine of disapproval. “I’m not too good with animals, as you can probably see,” Jun said disappointed, sighing when the puppy went so far as to cling to Nino’s shirt, its tiny body noticeably quivering against the fabric.
Nino patted the dog on the head, his touch calming the animal immediately. He smiled at the look of amazement on the taller man’s face. “Don’t worry, all he needs is a little familiarity, I’m sure he’d like someone like you!” Nino said brightly, reassuringly, choosing his words carefully. Just as he had expected, the taller man looked unconvinced. Step 3, check.
“I can help you, if you’d like. I’m sure I can make him like you,” the scheming employee offered, finally bringing out his bait.
It took a lot of bargaining, but that day, Jun walked out of the pet store hundreds of dollars poorer, with nothing more than the digits of Nino’s phone number scrawled on a scrap piece of paper as evidence of a transaction. Needless to say, it was the most expensive and troublesome price he had ever paid for companionship, and the only thing keeping his wallet from bleeding was the clarity and reality of Nino’s voice in his mind.
***
“He bought it,” Nino bragged, showing Aiba the days’ sales history.
Aiba’s eyes widened. “How?”
“You were right, he’s into me. That and I’m good at flirting,” Nino said simply, throwing a wink at his best friend, who rolled his eyes but otherwise accepted the explanation. Nino bustled about the shop collecting dog-owning necessities before placing the puppy into a carrying cage and telling Aiba he was off.
Aiba said his goodbyes, albeit suspiciously. Home deliveries weren’t something their store offered.
***
Nino triple-checked the address before ringing the doorbell, feeling strangely nervous. When the door finally opened and he was greeted by a very casual-looking Matsumoto with his fringe down and a pair of spectacles resting on the bridge of his nose, Nino forgot what he was going to say. There was an awkward exchange of greetings before Nino piled the animal cage and accessories into the taller man’s arms and left swiftly with the excuse that he had somewhere to be.
Jun watched Nino’s slouchy figure recede quickly down his hallway, feeling more than a little suspicious that the awkwardness the two of them had shared that day was not just that of strangers. He felt a little hopeful that the other man might have felt sparks fly, until the puppy in the cage made a noise and threw him back into reality, a reality where he was now the inexperienced owner of a dog which really didn’t seem to like him too much.
Sighing, he trudged back into his living room, putting the cage down and settling the puppy’s bed in the corner of his living room by the couch before lifting the front of the cage and letting the animal out. Not to his surprise, the poor puppy stayed in its cage, cowering in the furthest corner of the already cramped space. If it weren’t for its helplessly adorable face, Jun would have gotten very annoyed at the animal by now. He wasn’t that scary, for gods sake!
He decided to give it some space, moving away and kicking his legs onto his couch, watching the puppy cage from afar. “I’d better take you back to Nino tomorrow morning so he can get started on this making you like me thing. We can’t live like this...” he said more to himself than to the dog, smiling to himself (thank god he was in the comfort of his own home) as the smaller man’s face appeared in his mind, clearer than ever after their multiple encounters that day.
“Nino...” Jun mused again out loud, testing the name again and finding it rolled easily off his tongue. The puppy’s fluffy head peeked out of the cage, looking at him with curious eyes. Jun frowned.
“Nino?” he tried again, wondering if it was the name that had caused the puppy’s change in behaviour. His suspicions were confirmed when the dog stopped trembling, his tail twitching slightly and his eyes showing the tiniest bit of interest in his new owner and environment.
“Nino, huh...”
***
FAMILIARITY
“I thought I was paying you to walk my dog.” Jun said bluntly.
Nino looked up from his manga and glanced briefly at the puppy that was despairingly circling the pole it had been tied to. “He’s walking, isn’t he?”
“Is this how you walk all your customers’ dogs?” Jun scoffed, disbelieving that he was paying as much as he was for this kind of service. If tying a dog to a pole was what entailed ‘dog-walking’ then he could be saving a hell of a lot of money. And he was pretty sure this kind of interaction wouldn’t improve his relations with his pet.
“Nah, just yours,” Nino said airily.
“And why is that?” Jun shot back, not missing a beat.
“You named him Nino. Ninos don’t like walking, trust me, I’d know,” the dog-walker replied simply, flashing another sickeningly sweet smile before continuing to flip through the worn pages of his (probably borrowed) manga.
Jun cringed, memories from the day he had told human Nino he had named his pet dog Nino flooding back as clear as if it had happened yesterday. He was more than certain that his “Not after you!” and awkwardly hurried explanations on how the dog had calmed down when he said his name were unconvincing, and that the other man had more than a little clue about the huge crush he had on him. He remembered the shocked look on human Nino’s face, the way he slightly clenched his teeth as he tried to think of how he should respond to such news. Jun didn’t know what Nino had been thinking, but he was glad that he hadn’t freaked out and cut all ties with him. The smaller guy had even found the ability to make a joke, saying that Jun was sweet and that he would have named his DS after him if it hadn’t already had a name. It was still hope, regardless.
“The pay is superb, might I add!” Nino spoke again, noticing the taller man had dropped into one of his zoned out states again.
Jun scowled, getting ready to rebut, but he really was going to be late to work if he lingered any longer. He didn’t have time for this mindless arguing, he really didn’t. Without another word, he walked off, determined to make this annoying man give him his money’s worth one way or another.
Waiting until Jun was long out of sight, Nino got up off the park bench, quickly dusting off his trousers and shoving the manga into his pocket before reaching to untie the dog. “Come on, Nino, let’s walk!” The puppy got to its feet immediately, wagging its tail happily as it bounded down the footpath behind Nino.
***
“Your dog.” said Nino, holding out the hideously purple leash to its owner.
Without any words of thanks, Jun took the leash off Nino and bent down to pick up his puppy, only to have it run in the opposite direction back towards the dog-walker, pawing at his worn converses. Nino picked up the puppy and held it with ease in his arms, bouncing lightly. While Jun watched in what could only be jealousy and outrage, Nino smirked. “Maybe he’s just not used to seeing humans with such sharp features yet.” He shoved the resisting puppy back into Jun’s arms, turned on his heels and left.
Jun snarled. That damned man’s bratty smirk was really getting to him. Placing the struggling puppy back onto the floor and sighing when he saw it scatter away quickly back to its basket, he headed to his pristine marble-benched kitchen and started to make dinner. The entire time, he couldn’t stop thinking about the other man, and how he could get him to behave.
***
A month passed with nothing out of the ordinary happening. Every morning Jun would make a visit to the store to drop off Nino before work, and every afternoon he would come home and wait for Nino to show up on his doorstep with his puppy in his arms. Every day consisted of insults and snide remarks, but every day they had continued on with their arrangement, neither man growing tired of the other. Occasionally he and the shop attendant would send each other mails, but it was almost always about the dog. The few times they did text each other about happenings in their lives, though, Jun made sure to commit to memory every new detail he learned.
One day, Jun found a note inside Nino’s cage.
Jun-pon, I think you’ll find Nino likes you a bit more now ;)
Tucked behind the scrap piece of paper was a photograph, a photograph of Nino holding the fluffy white puppy, with two hideously bushy fake eyebrows plastered over his own sparse pair. Jun stared at the picture, unsure whether to be offended or grateful. His dog definitely seemed to have warmed up to him in the past few weeks, to the point it would whine pathetically if Jun didn’t let him sleep on his bed.
Jun stuck the photo in the frame on his bedside table. It was cute and contained two of his favourite things, after all.
***
“Um, do you want to come in?” Jun asked the next time Nino dropped by with his dog, barely holding back the nervousness in his voice. The man refused politely, saying he had to get to work extra the next morning. Not that it was even late. Jun nodded in understanding, though he didn’t understand why this had to be so difficult. “Next time, then?” he tried. Brave today, Matsumoto.
Nino raised an eyebrow, the second invitation confirming the suspicions which had surfaced at the first. This guy was making a move on him. And what was more surprising to Nino was that he didn’t mind. At all. He wouldn’t admit it to Aiba yet, but only because the incessant pestering he received now was probably infinitely better than the teasing that would come after he confessed. Still, Nino was definitely interested in the way things were going to head.
“Fancy me, Matsumoto?” he teased, leaning against Jun’s doorframe relaxedly despite the excited beating in his heart.
“As if,” Jun scoffed, his denial coming questionably quickly, eyes looking anywhere but at Nino.
“But you think I’m cute,” the shorter man teased again, his face growing smug in understanding when he saw Jun begin to show even more signs of discomfort.
“N-no, you’re just a brat,” Jun said, breathing deep in a bid to control the feelings in his heart.
“But a cute one, eh?” Nino prodded, smirking broadly now, his eyes triumphant. He added a wink to prove his point.
Then, Jun suddenly grabbed Nino by the neck of his worn tee (was everything he wore this daggy?) and crashed his lips into his, almost animalistically kissing that damned smirk off his smug face. Nino stepped back at the suddenness of it all, only to find himself backed up against the wall of Jun’s hallway, the coldness seeping through his shirt and raising goosebumps across his back. He shivered, the contrast cold against his back and Jun’s mouth hot against his causing him to mewl just a little and his knees to buckle. Jun continued to ravish the smaller man against his wall, not once letting his attempts to dominate or break the kiss pass. He kissed him hard until he was a whimpering mess, then stepped away. Nino sank to the floor, panting hard. Jun stood above him, his own face growing smug as he watched the boy’s heaving chest. With a satisfied wipe of his lips he moved to open his front door, signalling for the other man to leave. Nino scrambled to his feet (albeit with difficulty), his face flushed. He left quickly without a word, not daring to even glance at the other man.
Once Nino was gone, Jun relieved himself in the bathroom, the image of Nino’s swollen lips and milky white neck spurring him on to orgasm faster than he thought was normal.
***
“I’m being sexually harassed by a customer.” Nino couldn’t help but complain to Aiba the next day. Unsurprisingly, his best friend seemed to only have caught onto the words ‘sex’ and ‘customer’ and dropped what he was doing to excitedly ask “How was it?!”
Nino slapped him on the head, hard. “I’m serious, Masaki.”
Aiba grimaced, apologising slightly. “Who was it? Was it that Eyebrows Guy?! I bet it was! It was the Eyebrow Guy wasn’t it?!” Questions spluttered from his mouth unimpeded.
Nino sighed, the mention of Jun causing his lips to tingle, a familiar warmth spreading down his spine. He hadn’t been able to get the feel of Jun’s body violent against his out of his mind, the memory enough to make him need to excuse himself to the bathroom occasionally over the past few days. He gave a small nod and the grin which Aiba gave in response was blinding. “I knew it! He likes you, Nino-chan!” he blabbed loudly, not noticing a couple of customers’ heads had turned in their direction.
Nino shut him up quickly, groaning and rubbing his face for having brought up this topic in the first place. Why did he have to mention Jun? It only ever left his pants uncomfortably tight. He should have known better, but he just couldn’t help it.
“Ne, ne, you liked it right? What did he do?” Aiba continued to probe, a little softer now (thank god), but all the equally incessant.
Nino shifted awkwardly in his seat again, memories of what little he had done enough to make his ears flare crimson and Aiba, being someone who didn’t really read the atmosphere, to tease and inquire all the more further.
Nino ignored Aiba’s questions, eventually managing to croak “C-customer” and motioning over to the right where an old lady was looking troubled over the dozens of cat foods on the shelves before her. Aiba hopped away cheerfully, pet-store owner mode back on. Meanwhile, Nino slipped away to the bathroom.
***
OBEDIENCE
“Well somebody’s keen,” Jun noted as he reached the top landing of the stairs to his apartment block, pleasantly surprised to see Nino sitting cross-legged with his back against the wall, his small white puppy placed comfortably in his lap.
“You didn’t pay me enough, so I only walked him for half an hour.” Nino shrugged.
Jun smirked. “How about dinner to make up for it?” he asked, opening his front door and holding it open for the other man, offering him entrance. Almost immediately the puppy bolted through the door and into its basket by the couch. Nino had to stop himself from grinning like an idiot.
“Dinner sounds lovely.”
Dinner turned out to be an exquisite three-course menu complete with salad, white-wine cream pasta and strawberry shortcake. It was better than anything Nino had ever treated himself to (despite Jun apologising a few times too many about the cake being leftovers from his friend’s birthday last night) and Nino could only wonder what luck he had stumbled across to deserve the attention of a man as attractive and skillful as Jun.
They talked pleasantly over dinner, both parties discovering a little more about each other. Jun turned out to be a cook at a fairly reputable restaurant nearby, and Nino, well Nino’s life pretty much involved walking dogs, playing games and learning magic tricks. Nino even managed to keep his tongue in check, his mind too distracted by the delicious food going down his throat and the beautiful features of Jun’s face before his eyes to come up with anything to be snarky about. Jun hadn’t said anything to provoke the smaller man either, deciding to spend the meal admiring how adorable Nino looked feeding himself with his left hand.
By the time Jun had just picked up his fork to start on his shortcake, Nino had already shoved the last bite of his into his mouth and slumped back in his chair, complaining that he was bloated. Jun looked up, biting his lips when he saw the other man stretching his arms behind his back, the curve of his belly protruding from under the stretched fabric of his worn tee. Not wanting to be caught staring, Jun quickly shifted his eyes up Nino’s torso and back to his face, where he discovered a unnoticed splotch of cream. Without thinking, Jun reached over the table and wiped the cream away from the side of Nino’s lips, eliciting a surprised gasp from the smaller man. Things got awkward again.
It was Nino’s turn to chew his lip now, staring silently at the man before him, the man whose hand was still resting on his chin, his thumb at the corner of his mouth. Their eyes met, and Jun withdrew his hand immediately, bringing it back into his lap and shifting uncomfortably in his seat, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks. He didn’t know what to say, nor did he know where to look. He just hoped that his action hadn’t ruined what had been such a wonderful and enjoyable night. Thankfully, Nino spoke first. “Jun?”
Jun’s eyes flickered up to meet Nino’s, but scattered away quickly at the intensity of the older man’s gaze. “Jun,” Nino started again, voice gentle and sincere, “Look at me, Jun...”
The younger man looked into Nino’s eyes again, this time holding his gaze, silently telling the man he was listening. “What are we, Jun?” Nino asked quietly, wanting to know.
Jun blinked at the question, not fully understanding what Nino was trying to get at. “What do you mean?”
“I mean us, Jun,” Nino clarified, voice growing weaker and increasingly uncertain, his stomach churning despite having known for so long. “What am I to yo-”
Jun cut him off with a kiss which he hoped conveyed everything he had to say about what Nino meant to him. His heart unclenched in relief when he felt the smaller man kissing him back equally intensely, and when they eventually tore apart, Nino had a fresh sparkle in his eyes that confirmed to Jun everything he had thought from the first time he had laid eyes on the precious man before him.
His own shortcake forgotten, Jun linked his fingers with Nino’s for the first time across his dinner table. They grinned idiotically at each other before Jun stood up, dragging Nino up with him and leading him to his bedroom, where they made love for the first time.
***
Jun woke naked the next morning to find a distinctly Nino-shaped impression in his blankets, but no Nino. Instead, he found a note.
Jun-pon, I am still your dogwalker, not a prostitute. But perhaps we could agree on a package deal ;) P.S. I’ll pick Nino up at the usual time xx.
Next to the note he found his half open wallet, and discovered the 1000 yen he had short-paid the dogwalker (or was it boyfriend now?) was missing.
***
LOYALTY
The one time Nino didn’t want Aiba to notice something, Aiba noticed. That morning when Nino arrived at work, Aiba hadn’t even said anything and Nino knew Aiba had noticed.
“Fun night, I take it?” the older quipped, eyebrows threatening to fly off his forehead with the rate he was wriggling them at. Nino offered no response, conveniently avoiding the other man’s verbal attacks by rubbing his face vigorously, trying to wake himself up. He groaned loudly when Aiba corrected himself with a proud giggle, “Ah I mean you take it.”
Despite Aiba’s efforts to pry details out of his best friend, Nino did not let up, instead busying himself with the account book and doing some actual work for a change. He sighed happily when finally their first customer for the day entered the store, and wasted no time in shooing the storekeeper away.
Then, Nino jerked alert. He felt two toned forearms slither their way around his waist, pulling him by the hips towards their body. “Hey baby,” he heard Jun whisper velvety smooth into the side of Nino’s neck, raising goosebumps across his skin. He shivered and squirmed, trying to wriggle himself out of Jun’s embarrassing public display of affection, but Jun held him tight, continuing to nuzzle his lips against his nape. When had he walked in? How could he not have seen? Had he been daydreaming again? His beet-red face deepened a shade when he heard Aiba’s loud gush of “Awww aren’t they cute!” to an unfortunate and clearly uncomfortable customer.
“J-Jun...” Nino whined, twisting his body until he finally escaped his recent lover’s grip. He got off his stool and turned, about to scold him for distracting him at work but Jun jumped the gun, stealing Nino’s stool before leaning over to briefly to peck his boyfriend’s lips, making Nino forget everything he had wanted to say. Nino pouted, but still let Jun pull him back into his embrace, their fingers entangled.
Aiba watched the pair’s interaction intently, until the uncomfortable customer cleared his throat. “Ah! Sorry, let me help you with that,” he said, reaching out to take the bag of cat food off the customer’s sloppy shoulders, before bringing the goods to the register for checkout. He tried his best to complete the transaction without being distracted by the honeymooning couple barely a meter away.
***
“Are you just going to keep on underpaying me?” Nino asked slyly from Jun’s lap one night, a finger toying with a loose strand of hair on his boyfriend’s nape.
“If it keeps you coming back to me...” Jun mused, “Then yes, I think I will.” he smirked.
“Ass,” Nino muttered, but the grin on his face removed all bitterness from the insult. Both men knew it was no longer about the money, that Nino would come back to Jun regardless, but Nino had insisted on receiving regular paychecks as a reminder of where they started from, and how far they’d come. Jun knew his lover just really liked money.
Jun laughed, the gears in his head turning, figuring out his next moves. “May I offer you other services as compensation then, Mr. Ninomiya?” he said curtly, teasing, his face invading Nino’s space.
Nino chewed his lip in thought, the action making him look mischievous, a look Jun liked a lot. The taller man closed the distance between them, his left hand working at the buttons of Nino’s shirt as his right played with his hair, pulling their lips together in a biting kiss. Nino moaned into his partner’s mouth when sharp fingers found his nipple, tweaking them playfully and teasing them to hardness. He felt his ego crumbling under Jun’s touch, felt himself giving in to the other man’s ministrations, but couldn’t care less to do anything about it. “If you so much as mention ‘doggy style’ I am leaving.” he warned with his last piece of rationality before swiftly ridding the other man of his pants.
“Oh, I doubt that.” Jun replied, bemused. Clothes and obscenities flew in all directions, then Nino’s snarky remarks obliviated into lusty incoherent moans as Jun proceeded to fuck him over his couch.
Thankfully, by then puppy Nino had learned when his two owners were more interested in each other than him, and was away in Jun’s wardrobe enjoying chewing through one of Jun’s shoelaces.
***
“You know J, naming your dog ‘Nino’ made things really confusing. How am I supposed to know if you’re talking to your dog or to me?” Nino pondered, one hand lightly tracing the forearm that was wrapped tightly around his torso while his other hand scratched the lounging puppy behind its ear.
“Our dog.” Jun corrected, smiling when Nino turned his head and pouted slightly, reminding him that his point hadn’t been addressed yet. He dropped a kiss into Nino’s messy hair. “Are you suggesting we rename him?” he asked, dropping a hand to join Nino’s in patting the happily rolling puppy.
Nino shook his head no, saying something about the dog already knowing that that was his name and that if they changed it then it would get confused. And dogs shouldn’t be confused if they can help it. So they shouldn’t rename their dog. It was an incredibly adorable long-winded ramble and Jun already knew what the other man was trying to get at before he had started. Still, he murmured thoughtfully, pretending he didn’t know. “Then? What do you suggest?” he prodded, wanting to hear the request from the smaller man’s lips himself.
But Nino wouldn’t let up either. Turning around fully so that he was facing his lover, Nino gave his best puppy expression (which was more than comparable with puppy Nino’s expressions) “J...” he said softly.
“Mmm?” Jun pressed further, tilting Nino’s chin up so they their gazes locked. “What do you want?” he asked again. “Tell me,” he said, pecking Nino’s nose quickly, then, losing to his gorgeous, “Tell me, Kazu,” he said.
Nino’s grin spread from ear to ear, his cheeks dusted sunset pink. Body moulding against Jun’s, he kissed his lover over and over again. Never would he have thought that agreeing to work for his airhead of a best friend would someday lead him to someone like Jun. Someone he would always be there for after a hard day, to be by his side and cheer him up when he needed it, 24 hours a day.
PAIRING: Nino/Jun, Nino/Aiba (friendship)
RATING: R
GENRE: AU, romance, friendship
LENGTH: 6988 words
SUMMARY: Nino works in Aiba’s pet shop. Jun becomes a frequent visitor despite his disinterest in pets. Shenanigans ensue?
A/N: Written for my first ninoexchange , for mynamelessname:) ♥ Originally posted here.
UNFAMILIARITY
Jun had never wanted a pet. It wasn’t because he didn’t like small animals, for he did tend to find fluffy puppies and kittens (more so puppies than kittens) cute to look at, rather it was that they just never seemed to express the same amount of interest towards him as he offered to them. Eventually, after numerous experiences of holding desperately squirming puppies and kittens at arms length in order to prevent himself from marring his adequately flawless face, he’d decided that he and animals were probably never meant to be. Which is why he thought himself crazy to be once again standing with his nose almost-pressed against the glass window of his local pet store, seemingly watching a small droopy-eared puppy chew on its bright yellow rubber duck toy.
It all started about a month ago, when Jun was walking past his local pet store on his way to work one afternoon and saw him. He who was seated behind the cash register with a bored expression plastered on his youthful face had somehow managed to capture Jun’s attention. Jun didn’t know what it was, for the man’s scruffy hair and unkempt appearance did not sit well in his books, but he immediately found the man intriguing, if not incredibly cute. He hadn’t meant for it happen, but it had happened, and from that day on Jun found himself leaving his house an extra 10 minutes early before work to make a trip to the pet store. There, he would simply stop a safe distance behind the window of the pen which this puppy called home, and discreetly observe the man. It was an excellent vantage point.
The first time the tall, brown-haired shopkeeper had come to greet him Jun had almost jumped, feeling like he had been caught in the middle of an inappropriate act (not that anyone would classify observing someone on a daily basis from afar was appropriate), quickly averting his eyes down to the white puppy in the pen instead and putting on his best ‘aww’-face (whatever those were supposed to look like). However, the tall man hadn’t seemed to pick up on his strange behaviour and proceeded as usual with exchanging pleasantries, his smile bright enough to compete with the fluorescent lights of his store.
Jun had kept his gaze on the puppy throughout the mostly one-sided conversation, not daring to look up and risk revealing his real target of interest, and much too polite to interrupt the other man’s flow of speech. It must have made him appear extremely interested in the dog, though, because soon after, the shopkeeper began trying to sell it to him. “Isn’t he cute? He’s our most popular puppy!” the other man had piped, before turning his head and yelling across the store to his co-employee behind the register asking how much they were selling him for, even though Jun had never even mentioned being interested in the dog and let alone purchasing it.
The dark-haired boy had looked up briefly, his hair flopping with the movement, and stuck up a few stubby fingers indicating the price before immediately going back to the tattered magazine (about guitars, it seemed) he’d been flipping through. He hadn’t even looked at Jun, which was probably a good thing because Jun had gawked at the figure, and Jun was pretty sure he wasn’t his most attractive when he was gawking.
After muttering a brief word of thanks, the shopkeeper had turned back to Jun, who still seemed a little incoherent. “He’s purebred, vaccinated and microchipped, that’s why.” he had offered in explanation, reaching out a long finger to the glass and tracing a pattern on its surface, interesting the puppy which more than happily obliged to follow the finger in excitement. Jun had nodded dumbly, continuing to stare at the curious ball of fluff. Unbeknownst to him, the more he looked at the dog, the more it reminded him of the boy behind the counter. Especially when it got disinterested in the shopkeeper’s finger only a few moments later and curled back up into the far corner, eyes drooping lazily.
Each day he visited, the resemblance became stronger, and Jun just couldn’t stop himself from staring. He decided that they had the same eyes. The same round, innocent-looking eyes typical of the ‘puppy-eyes’ descriptor. Not only that, but the white puppy had shaggy, soft-looking fur which was neither too long nor too short, its length perfectly framing its small face in the most adorable way possible. But probably the most uncanny resemblance was the small speck of black near the puppy’s nose, dark enough to stand out against its otherwise white appearance but not large enough to overshadow its other features. Jun was certain that the man who sat behind the cash register also had adorable beauty spots decorating his youthful face (either that or he just always had chocolate on his face, which Jun also thought adorable if it were the case). Jun left the pet store that day deciding he would make his move on his next visit. If this wasn’t a sign, he didn’t know what was.
***
“You’re back!” the shopkeeper noted, flashing the frequent visitor a magnificent smile. He didn’t even wait for the other man to acknowledge his greeting (if it could be called one) before going on to blabber about the weather, what he had for lunch, what his dog did last night, and generally stuff Jun really couldn’t care less about. But of course Jun was his polite self and kept up his part of being an active listener, muttering “Oh?”’s and “Is that so?”s every now and then to keep the man’s rambling going, using the time to again peak through the glass of the puppy-pen to the messy-haired man perched on a stool behind the cash register.
This is it, Matsumoto. Jun cleared his throat, stopping the owner mid-sentence. “Um, excuse me,” he squinted at the storekeeper’s hand-scrawled name badge, “Mr. Aibardo-”
Aiba frowned, looking around the store in confusion, catching Nino sniggering but not pursuing the cause. It was empty at this hour of morning, so he had no idea who on earth was this person addressing. He turned back to the mysterious man, who gave him an equally questionable look before continuing with resolve, “Um, what’s his name?”
Jun was looking through the glass at the man behind the counter, but from Aiba’s angle it wasn’t surprising that it looked like he was looking at the dog behind the glass. Aiba stared at the fluffy white puppy rolling happily on his back, then back at the customer. “Whatever you want! He’ll know you’re his master.” he said brightly, voice radiating customer service.
Jun quirked an eyebrow unbelievingly, deciding not to bother trying to clarify that he had been referring to cute employee and not the (almost equally cute) dog. Not today anyway. With one last glance over the storekeeper’s shoulder and a curt nod of his head, Jun left.
***
It seemed like that one chance he had taken to ask for the shop attendant’s name had sucked away a large part of Jun’s courage, and for the next week he found his stomach filled with butterflies before he even got close enough to see the man through the glass. It kind of scared Jun, how much this mysterious man was impacting his daily routines, from the choices of clothing he made each morning when he got out of bed (even though he’d get changed into his work uniform later anyway), to the flickering thoughts he had moments before he drifted off to sleep each night. Always aware that he had a pretty face, he had never been so self conscious before, and Jun couldn’t help but feel like a teenage girl discovering her first crush.
Jun tried but couldn’t bring himself to just forget about the pet store employee, so his visits to the store continued even though he found himself to be lurking from afar far more often than actually entering the store and making conversation with the storekeeper (more often than not about the same fluffy white puppy).
However, the storekeeper was more observant than most people gave him credit for.
***
“I think he likes you, Nino-chan,” said Aiba with a giggle to the smaller boy sat behind the cash register, hands rapidly shuffling a deck of Bicycle cards. The boy didn’t even look up at the remark, already immune to his best friend telling him that he thought every second customer who looked towards the register was interested in him.
“Hmm?” he hummed a response, just to make sure Aiba wouldn’t start whining that he was being ignored. He cut the deck in half again, reshuffled, then asked Aiba to pick a card. Aiba did as he was told, staring at his chosen card for a few seconds to make sure that he thoroughly remembered it (because last time he had forgotten Nino had called him a goldfish for weeks) before following Nino’s instructions and replacing the card to the centre of the deck. Whilst Nino worked his magic reordering and reshuffling the deck of cards with trained precision, Aiba stared blankly, wondering yet again how someone with such thick hands could perform such intricate movements so quickly. “Is this your card?”
The magic had stopped so abruptly Aiba had to take a moment to catch up with what had happened and consider the card Nino was holding up. 8 of hearts. His card was definitely red. And definitely a heart. But was it the 8? Silently cursing himself for letting himself be distracted by Nino’s hands (once again), he decided to just take his chances and utter a “Yes! Nino is amazing!” (because if he had waited any longer Nino most definitely would have gauged that he had forgotten his card anyway). Thankfully, it had been his card, but the smirk on Nino’s face could only have meant that his guesswork had been found out. He’d just been left off the hook this time.
“Ah, by the way Aiba-kun someone left you a message,” Nino continued, the topic of his potential crush being forgotten altogether. He threw the yellow pad of post-it notes in Aiba’s direction before swiftly reshuffling again.
‘Those fish aren’t called “Nemo”, they’re “Clownfish’ it read.
Aiba frowned. As far as he knew those orange and white stripy had always been called Nemos. But obviously someone thought otherwise. Curious as to who was questioning his pet store owner expertise, he asked his best friend who it was from.
“I dunno, just some sleepy-looking guy who told me to call him ‘Fishing Leader’. He must be right.” Nino shrugged, not caring the least about the correct nomenclature of fish. Recrossing his legs at an awkward angle on the stool he was always perched on, he reached into the top drawer and replaced his cards with a sky blue DS.
***
“You know that guy? The guy who comes all the time and talks to you about that white dog?” Nino blurted randomly one day, successfully distracting Aiba from his stocktaking.
“Ah, Eyebrows Guy! What about him?” the shopkeeper responded eagerly, dropping his pencil and giving all his attention to his best friend who was now rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“You think he likes me, right?” Nino continued carefully, wondering if his friend would catch on. Unfortunately not.
“Yeah, so?” Aiba questioned, already growing tired of the build-up.
“So I say let’s play a game. I bet we could make him buy the dog.” Nino completed, his own excitement growing as he saw the other man’s face light up. He liked games. He knew it was good at them. So, while Aiba started firing off a list of potential prizes for the winner, Nino had already started scheming in his head. If it was true that Eyebrows Guy had a thing for him, he would definitely take his bait. Jun was predictable, and Nino was prepared. Game on.
***
CAUTION
When Jun walked past the pet store that day, he immediately noticed something was different. The dog was gone. His body had entered the store before his mind had time to process much more, but two steps into the store he stopped dead in his tracks. There in front of him stood the person he had been pining over for weeks, and that person was holding the puppy that uncannily resembled himself. Jun’s mind went blank, his ability to speak or even think straight faltering. The only thing he was sure of in that moment was that he was gawking. Gawking unattractively. And oh god everything was so awkward Jun wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. Or apparate. Apparition would have been really useful.
Nino hadn’t been expecting this great a reaction, and it was doing great things for his ego. He decided to let the man gawk a little longer, taking the extra time he had to take in Eyebrow Guy’s appearance properly for the first time. Eventually he came to the decision that beyond the eyebrows this man was actually quite pretty (even more so if he would let his fringe down), and perhaps he wouldn’t mind if this guy really had a crush on him. After two rounds of observing the newcomer from head to toe (he dressed smart too, another plus), Nino spoke, voice clear and strong. “May I help you?”
“Uh, um...” Jun stuttered, mentally smacking himself for acting the way he was. He was pretty sure all chances of creating a good first impression had vanished. Pull yourself together, Matsumoto!
“Nino,” the shorter man offered, shifting the puppy in his arms so that he could free a hand and offer the frequenter (soon-to-be customer) one of his signature salutes. It seemed to go down well with the ladies, so who was to say it wouldn’t work on Eyebrows Guy too?
Jun bit his lip, channelling all of the fireworks which had just exploded in his head at the learning of the smaller man’s name into a polite tip of his head, acknowledging the employee’s self-introduction. His tongue rolled in his mouth, tracing the edge of his teeth as he tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t make himself sound completely stupid. Thankfully, Nino beat him to it.
“So, what can I do for you today?”
“Um...” Jun started again, hating how low in vocabulary he was as soon as the syllable was out. “Where’s Mr. Aibardo?” he finally managed to ask.
Nino smiled. Step 1, check.
“You come here a lot,” the shop attendant noted, deciding not to answer the man’s question. “Fancy him?” he asked blatantly, a smug grin tugging at his lips as he saw the man’s ears fire up. The smugness only amplified when the handsome guy stammered in denial. Step 2, check.
“Then?”
“T-the dog...” Jun answered, the dog being the first plausible excuse to come to mind. There was no way he was going to admit to fancying Nino (who seemed to have a rotting personality, judging from their interactions thus far), and he sort of had been coming for the dog too so it wasn’t a complete lie.
“Ah, this little guy?” Nino replied in understanding, ruffling the puppy’s fur before bringing it up to his face and touching noses with it. Jun heartbeat thumped irregularly at the heartwarming sight, his attachment to the animal and the man holding it skyrocketing. “He’s cute, ne? If you like him so much you should buy him,” Nino suggested, winking at the man playfully before bringing the puppy back into his arms and scratching the back of its ears affectionately. The puppy leaned into Nino’s touch naturally, its tongue sticking out while it panted happily, its large glassy eyes sparkling under the shop lights.
Jun savoured the sight, though a slight twinge of jealously did run through his veins. He wished that at the very least he could be as good with animals as Nino was. His point was reinstated when Nino offered the puppy to Jun to hold and the puppy let out a whine of disapproval. “I’m not too good with animals, as you can probably see,” Jun said disappointed, sighing when the puppy went so far as to cling to Nino’s shirt, its tiny body noticeably quivering against the fabric.
Nino patted the dog on the head, his touch calming the animal immediately. He smiled at the look of amazement on the taller man’s face. “Don’t worry, all he needs is a little familiarity, I’m sure he’d like someone like you!” Nino said brightly, reassuringly, choosing his words carefully. Just as he had expected, the taller man looked unconvinced. Step 3, check.
“I can help you, if you’d like. I’m sure I can make him like you,” the scheming employee offered, finally bringing out his bait.
It took a lot of bargaining, but that day, Jun walked out of the pet store hundreds of dollars poorer, with nothing more than the digits of Nino’s phone number scrawled on a scrap piece of paper as evidence of a transaction. Needless to say, it was the most expensive and troublesome price he had ever paid for companionship, and the only thing keeping his wallet from bleeding was the clarity and reality of Nino’s voice in his mind.
***
“He bought it,” Nino bragged, showing Aiba the days’ sales history.
Aiba’s eyes widened. “How?”
“You were right, he’s into me. That and I’m good at flirting,” Nino said simply, throwing a wink at his best friend, who rolled his eyes but otherwise accepted the explanation. Nino bustled about the shop collecting dog-owning necessities before placing the puppy into a carrying cage and telling Aiba he was off.
Aiba said his goodbyes, albeit suspiciously. Home deliveries weren’t something their store offered.
***
Nino triple-checked the address before ringing the doorbell, feeling strangely nervous. When the door finally opened and he was greeted by a very casual-looking Matsumoto with his fringe down and a pair of spectacles resting on the bridge of his nose, Nino forgot what he was going to say. There was an awkward exchange of greetings before Nino piled the animal cage and accessories into the taller man’s arms and left swiftly with the excuse that he had somewhere to be.
Jun watched Nino’s slouchy figure recede quickly down his hallway, feeling more than a little suspicious that the awkwardness the two of them had shared that day was not just that of strangers. He felt a little hopeful that the other man might have felt sparks fly, until the puppy in the cage made a noise and threw him back into reality, a reality where he was now the inexperienced owner of a dog which really didn’t seem to like him too much.
Sighing, he trudged back into his living room, putting the cage down and settling the puppy’s bed in the corner of his living room by the couch before lifting the front of the cage and letting the animal out. Not to his surprise, the poor puppy stayed in its cage, cowering in the furthest corner of the already cramped space. If it weren’t for its helplessly adorable face, Jun would have gotten very annoyed at the animal by now. He wasn’t that scary, for gods sake!
He decided to give it some space, moving away and kicking his legs onto his couch, watching the puppy cage from afar. “I’d better take you back to Nino tomorrow morning so he can get started on this making you like me thing. We can’t live like this...” he said more to himself than to the dog, smiling to himself (thank god he was in the comfort of his own home) as the smaller man’s face appeared in his mind, clearer than ever after their multiple encounters that day.
“Nino...” Jun mused again out loud, testing the name again and finding it rolled easily off his tongue. The puppy’s fluffy head peeked out of the cage, looking at him with curious eyes. Jun frowned.
“Nino?” he tried again, wondering if it was the name that had caused the puppy’s change in behaviour. His suspicions were confirmed when the dog stopped trembling, his tail twitching slightly and his eyes showing the tiniest bit of interest in his new owner and environment.
“Nino, huh...”
***
FAMILIARITY
“I thought I was paying you to walk my dog.” Jun said bluntly.
Nino looked up from his manga and glanced briefly at the puppy that was despairingly circling the pole it had been tied to. “He’s walking, isn’t he?”
“Is this how you walk all your customers’ dogs?” Jun scoffed, disbelieving that he was paying as much as he was for this kind of service. If tying a dog to a pole was what entailed ‘dog-walking’ then he could be saving a hell of a lot of money. And he was pretty sure this kind of interaction wouldn’t improve his relations with his pet.
“Nah, just yours,” Nino said airily.
“And why is that?” Jun shot back, not missing a beat.
“You named him Nino. Ninos don’t like walking, trust me, I’d know,” the dog-walker replied simply, flashing another sickeningly sweet smile before continuing to flip through the worn pages of his (probably borrowed) manga.
Jun cringed, memories from the day he had told human Nino he had named his pet dog Nino flooding back as clear as if it had happened yesterday. He was more than certain that his “Not after you!” and awkwardly hurried explanations on how the dog had calmed down when he said his name were unconvincing, and that the other man had more than a little clue about the huge crush he had on him. He remembered the shocked look on human Nino’s face, the way he slightly clenched his teeth as he tried to think of how he should respond to such news. Jun didn’t know what Nino had been thinking, but he was glad that he hadn’t freaked out and cut all ties with him. The smaller guy had even found the ability to make a joke, saying that Jun was sweet and that he would have named his DS after him if it hadn’t already had a name. It was still hope, regardless.
“The pay is superb, might I add!” Nino spoke again, noticing the taller man had dropped into one of his zoned out states again.
Jun scowled, getting ready to rebut, but he really was going to be late to work if he lingered any longer. He didn’t have time for this mindless arguing, he really didn’t. Without another word, he walked off, determined to make this annoying man give him his money’s worth one way or another.
Waiting until Jun was long out of sight, Nino got up off the park bench, quickly dusting off his trousers and shoving the manga into his pocket before reaching to untie the dog. “Come on, Nino, let’s walk!” The puppy got to its feet immediately, wagging its tail happily as it bounded down the footpath behind Nino.
***
“Your dog.” said Nino, holding out the hideously purple leash to its owner.
Without any words of thanks, Jun took the leash off Nino and bent down to pick up his puppy, only to have it run in the opposite direction back towards the dog-walker, pawing at his worn converses. Nino picked up the puppy and held it with ease in his arms, bouncing lightly. While Jun watched in what could only be jealousy and outrage, Nino smirked. “Maybe he’s just not used to seeing humans with such sharp features yet.” He shoved the resisting puppy back into Jun’s arms, turned on his heels and left.
Jun snarled. That damned man’s bratty smirk was really getting to him. Placing the struggling puppy back onto the floor and sighing when he saw it scatter away quickly back to its basket, he headed to his pristine marble-benched kitchen and started to make dinner. The entire time, he couldn’t stop thinking about the other man, and how he could get him to behave.
***
A month passed with nothing out of the ordinary happening. Every morning Jun would make a visit to the store to drop off Nino before work, and every afternoon he would come home and wait for Nino to show up on his doorstep with his puppy in his arms. Every day consisted of insults and snide remarks, but every day they had continued on with their arrangement, neither man growing tired of the other. Occasionally he and the shop attendant would send each other mails, but it was almost always about the dog. The few times they did text each other about happenings in their lives, though, Jun made sure to commit to memory every new detail he learned.
One day, Jun found a note inside Nino’s cage.
Jun-pon, I think you’ll find Nino likes you a bit more now ;)
Tucked behind the scrap piece of paper was a photograph, a photograph of Nino holding the fluffy white puppy, with two hideously bushy fake eyebrows plastered over his own sparse pair. Jun stared at the picture, unsure whether to be offended or grateful. His dog definitely seemed to have warmed up to him in the past few weeks, to the point it would whine pathetically if Jun didn’t let him sleep on his bed.
Jun stuck the photo in the frame on his bedside table. It was cute and contained two of his favourite things, after all.
***
“Um, do you want to come in?” Jun asked the next time Nino dropped by with his dog, barely holding back the nervousness in his voice. The man refused politely, saying he had to get to work extra the next morning. Not that it was even late. Jun nodded in understanding, though he didn’t understand why this had to be so difficult. “Next time, then?” he tried. Brave today, Matsumoto.
Nino raised an eyebrow, the second invitation confirming the suspicions which had surfaced at the first. This guy was making a move on him. And what was more surprising to Nino was that he didn’t mind. At all. He wouldn’t admit it to Aiba yet, but only because the incessant pestering he received now was probably infinitely better than the teasing that would come after he confessed. Still, Nino was definitely interested in the way things were going to head.
“Fancy me, Matsumoto?” he teased, leaning against Jun’s doorframe relaxedly despite the excited beating in his heart.
“As if,” Jun scoffed, his denial coming questionably quickly, eyes looking anywhere but at Nino.
“But you think I’m cute,” the shorter man teased again, his face growing smug in understanding when he saw Jun begin to show even more signs of discomfort.
“N-no, you’re just a brat,” Jun said, breathing deep in a bid to control the feelings in his heart.
“But a cute one, eh?” Nino prodded, smirking broadly now, his eyes triumphant. He added a wink to prove his point.
Then, Jun suddenly grabbed Nino by the neck of his worn tee (was everything he wore this daggy?) and crashed his lips into his, almost animalistically kissing that damned smirk off his smug face. Nino stepped back at the suddenness of it all, only to find himself backed up against the wall of Jun’s hallway, the coldness seeping through his shirt and raising goosebumps across his back. He shivered, the contrast cold against his back and Jun’s mouth hot against his causing him to mewl just a little and his knees to buckle. Jun continued to ravish the smaller man against his wall, not once letting his attempts to dominate or break the kiss pass. He kissed him hard until he was a whimpering mess, then stepped away. Nino sank to the floor, panting hard. Jun stood above him, his own face growing smug as he watched the boy’s heaving chest. With a satisfied wipe of his lips he moved to open his front door, signalling for the other man to leave. Nino scrambled to his feet (albeit with difficulty), his face flushed. He left quickly without a word, not daring to even glance at the other man.
Once Nino was gone, Jun relieved himself in the bathroom, the image of Nino’s swollen lips and milky white neck spurring him on to orgasm faster than he thought was normal.
***
“I’m being sexually harassed by a customer.” Nino couldn’t help but complain to Aiba the next day. Unsurprisingly, his best friend seemed to only have caught onto the words ‘sex’ and ‘customer’ and dropped what he was doing to excitedly ask “How was it?!”
Nino slapped him on the head, hard. “I’m serious, Masaki.”
Aiba grimaced, apologising slightly. “Who was it? Was it that Eyebrows Guy?! I bet it was! It was the Eyebrow Guy wasn’t it?!” Questions spluttered from his mouth unimpeded.
Nino sighed, the mention of Jun causing his lips to tingle, a familiar warmth spreading down his spine. He hadn’t been able to get the feel of Jun’s body violent against his out of his mind, the memory enough to make him need to excuse himself to the bathroom occasionally over the past few days. He gave a small nod and the grin which Aiba gave in response was blinding. “I knew it! He likes you, Nino-chan!” he blabbed loudly, not noticing a couple of customers’ heads had turned in their direction.
Nino shut him up quickly, groaning and rubbing his face for having brought up this topic in the first place. Why did he have to mention Jun? It only ever left his pants uncomfortably tight. He should have known better, but he just couldn’t help it.
“Ne, ne, you liked it right? What did he do?” Aiba continued to probe, a little softer now (thank god), but all the equally incessant.
Nino shifted awkwardly in his seat again, memories of what little he had done enough to make his ears flare crimson and Aiba, being someone who didn’t really read the atmosphere, to tease and inquire all the more further.
Nino ignored Aiba’s questions, eventually managing to croak “C-customer” and motioning over to the right where an old lady was looking troubled over the dozens of cat foods on the shelves before her. Aiba hopped away cheerfully, pet-store owner mode back on. Meanwhile, Nino slipped away to the bathroom.
***
OBEDIENCE
“Well somebody’s keen,” Jun noted as he reached the top landing of the stairs to his apartment block, pleasantly surprised to see Nino sitting cross-legged with his back against the wall, his small white puppy placed comfortably in his lap.
“You didn’t pay me enough, so I only walked him for half an hour.” Nino shrugged.
Jun smirked. “How about dinner to make up for it?” he asked, opening his front door and holding it open for the other man, offering him entrance. Almost immediately the puppy bolted through the door and into its basket by the couch. Nino had to stop himself from grinning like an idiot.
“Dinner sounds lovely.”
Dinner turned out to be an exquisite three-course menu complete with salad, white-wine cream pasta and strawberry shortcake. It was better than anything Nino had ever treated himself to (despite Jun apologising a few times too many about the cake being leftovers from his friend’s birthday last night) and Nino could only wonder what luck he had stumbled across to deserve the attention of a man as attractive and skillful as Jun.
They talked pleasantly over dinner, both parties discovering a little more about each other. Jun turned out to be a cook at a fairly reputable restaurant nearby, and Nino, well Nino’s life pretty much involved walking dogs, playing games and learning magic tricks. Nino even managed to keep his tongue in check, his mind too distracted by the delicious food going down his throat and the beautiful features of Jun’s face before his eyes to come up with anything to be snarky about. Jun hadn’t said anything to provoke the smaller man either, deciding to spend the meal admiring how adorable Nino looked feeding himself with his left hand.
By the time Jun had just picked up his fork to start on his shortcake, Nino had already shoved the last bite of his into his mouth and slumped back in his chair, complaining that he was bloated. Jun looked up, biting his lips when he saw the other man stretching his arms behind his back, the curve of his belly protruding from under the stretched fabric of his worn tee. Not wanting to be caught staring, Jun quickly shifted his eyes up Nino’s torso and back to his face, where he discovered a unnoticed splotch of cream. Without thinking, Jun reached over the table and wiped the cream away from the side of Nino’s lips, eliciting a surprised gasp from the smaller man. Things got awkward again.
It was Nino’s turn to chew his lip now, staring silently at the man before him, the man whose hand was still resting on his chin, his thumb at the corner of his mouth. Their eyes met, and Jun withdrew his hand immediately, bringing it back into his lap and shifting uncomfortably in his seat, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks. He didn’t know what to say, nor did he know where to look. He just hoped that his action hadn’t ruined what had been such a wonderful and enjoyable night. Thankfully, Nino spoke first. “Jun?”
Jun’s eyes flickered up to meet Nino’s, but scattered away quickly at the intensity of the older man’s gaze. “Jun,” Nino started again, voice gentle and sincere, “Look at me, Jun...”
The younger man looked into Nino’s eyes again, this time holding his gaze, silently telling the man he was listening. “What are we, Jun?” Nino asked quietly, wanting to know.
Jun blinked at the question, not fully understanding what Nino was trying to get at. “What do you mean?”
“I mean us, Jun,” Nino clarified, voice growing weaker and increasingly uncertain, his stomach churning despite having known for so long. “What am I to yo-”
Jun cut him off with a kiss which he hoped conveyed everything he had to say about what Nino meant to him. His heart unclenched in relief when he felt the smaller man kissing him back equally intensely, and when they eventually tore apart, Nino had a fresh sparkle in his eyes that confirmed to Jun everything he had thought from the first time he had laid eyes on the precious man before him.
His own shortcake forgotten, Jun linked his fingers with Nino’s for the first time across his dinner table. They grinned idiotically at each other before Jun stood up, dragging Nino up with him and leading him to his bedroom, where they made love for the first time.
***
Jun woke naked the next morning to find a distinctly Nino-shaped impression in his blankets, but no Nino. Instead, he found a note.
Jun-pon, I am still your dogwalker, not a prostitute. But perhaps we could agree on a package deal ;) P.S. I’ll pick Nino up at the usual time xx.
Next to the note he found his half open wallet, and discovered the 1000 yen he had short-paid the dogwalker (or was it boyfriend now?) was missing.
***
LOYALTY
The one time Nino didn’t want Aiba to notice something, Aiba noticed. That morning when Nino arrived at work, Aiba hadn’t even said anything and Nino knew Aiba had noticed.
“Fun night, I take it?” the older quipped, eyebrows threatening to fly off his forehead with the rate he was wriggling them at. Nino offered no response, conveniently avoiding the other man’s verbal attacks by rubbing his face vigorously, trying to wake himself up. He groaned loudly when Aiba corrected himself with a proud giggle, “Ah I mean you take it.”
Despite Aiba’s efforts to pry details out of his best friend, Nino did not let up, instead busying himself with the account book and doing some actual work for a change. He sighed happily when finally their first customer for the day entered the store, and wasted no time in shooing the storekeeper away.
Then, Nino jerked alert. He felt two toned forearms slither their way around his waist, pulling him by the hips towards their body. “Hey baby,” he heard Jun whisper velvety smooth into the side of Nino’s neck, raising goosebumps across his skin. He shivered and squirmed, trying to wriggle himself out of Jun’s embarrassing public display of affection, but Jun held him tight, continuing to nuzzle his lips against his nape. When had he walked in? How could he not have seen? Had he been daydreaming again? His beet-red face deepened a shade when he heard Aiba’s loud gush of “Awww aren’t they cute!” to an unfortunate and clearly uncomfortable customer.
“J-Jun...” Nino whined, twisting his body until he finally escaped his recent lover’s grip. He got off his stool and turned, about to scold him for distracting him at work but Jun jumped the gun, stealing Nino’s stool before leaning over to briefly to peck his boyfriend’s lips, making Nino forget everything he had wanted to say. Nino pouted, but still let Jun pull him back into his embrace, their fingers entangled.
Aiba watched the pair’s interaction intently, until the uncomfortable customer cleared his throat. “Ah! Sorry, let me help you with that,” he said, reaching out to take the bag of cat food off the customer’s sloppy shoulders, before bringing the goods to the register for checkout. He tried his best to complete the transaction without being distracted by the honeymooning couple barely a meter away.
***
“Are you just going to keep on underpaying me?” Nino asked slyly from Jun’s lap one night, a finger toying with a loose strand of hair on his boyfriend’s nape.
“If it keeps you coming back to me...” Jun mused, “Then yes, I think I will.” he smirked.
“Ass,” Nino muttered, but the grin on his face removed all bitterness from the insult. Both men knew it was no longer about the money, that Nino would come back to Jun regardless, but Nino had insisted on receiving regular paychecks as a reminder of where they started from, and how far they’d come. Jun knew his lover just really liked money.
Jun laughed, the gears in his head turning, figuring out his next moves. “May I offer you other services as compensation then, Mr. Ninomiya?” he said curtly, teasing, his face invading Nino’s space.
Nino chewed his lip in thought, the action making him look mischievous, a look Jun liked a lot. The taller man closed the distance between them, his left hand working at the buttons of Nino’s shirt as his right played with his hair, pulling their lips together in a biting kiss. Nino moaned into his partner’s mouth when sharp fingers found his nipple, tweaking them playfully and teasing them to hardness. He felt his ego crumbling under Jun’s touch, felt himself giving in to the other man’s ministrations, but couldn’t care less to do anything about it. “If you so much as mention ‘doggy style’ I am leaving.” he warned with his last piece of rationality before swiftly ridding the other man of his pants.
“Oh, I doubt that.” Jun replied, bemused. Clothes and obscenities flew in all directions, then Nino’s snarky remarks obliviated into lusty incoherent moans as Jun proceeded to fuck him over his couch.
Thankfully, by then puppy Nino had learned when his two owners were more interested in each other than him, and was away in Jun’s wardrobe enjoying chewing through one of Jun’s shoelaces.
***
“You know J, naming your dog ‘Nino’ made things really confusing. How am I supposed to know if you’re talking to your dog or to me?” Nino pondered, one hand lightly tracing the forearm that was wrapped tightly around his torso while his other hand scratched the lounging puppy behind its ear.
“Our dog.” Jun corrected, smiling when Nino turned his head and pouted slightly, reminding him that his point hadn’t been addressed yet. He dropped a kiss into Nino’s messy hair. “Are you suggesting we rename him?” he asked, dropping a hand to join Nino’s in patting the happily rolling puppy.
Nino shook his head no, saying something about the dog already knowing that that was his name and that if they changed it then it would get confused. And dogs shouldn’t be confused if they can help it. So they shouldn’t rename their dog. It was an incredibly adorable long-winded ramble and Jun already knew what the other man was trying to get at before he had started. Still, he murmured thoughtfully, pretending he didn’t know. “Then? What do you suggest?” he prodded, wanting to hear the request from the smaller man’s lips himself.
But Nino wouldn’t let up either. Turning around fully so that he was facing his lover, Nino gave his best puppy expression (which was more than comparable with puppy Nino’s expressions) “J...” he said softly.
“Mmm?” Jun pressed further, tilting Nino’s chin up so they their gazes locked. “What do you want?” he asked again. “Tell me,” he said, pecking Nino’s nose quickly, then, losing to his gorgeous, “Tell me, Kazu,” he said.
Nino’s grin spread from ear to ear, his cheeks dusted sunset pink. Body moulding against Jun’s, he kissed his lover over and over again. Never would he have thought that agreeing to work for his airhead of a best friend would someday lead him to someone like Jun. Someone he would always be there for after a hard day, to be by his side and cheer him up when he needed it, 24 hours a day.