Hold My Hands, I'm Yours 1/2
Title: Lotus
Pairing: Nino/Jun, Aiba/Kanjiya Shihori, Sho, Ohno, and Yoshitaka Yuriko
Rating: NC-17
Word count: 13,460
Summary: Nino lives above Aiba and Kanjiya’s Lapin. Yuriko frequents it for Aiba’s cocktails; Sho for Kanjiya’s cheesecake, and; Jun for Nino.
Notes: Written for ninoexchange, where this ended up as Nino’s birthday fic in a literal sense, filled with silliness, domesticity, and some manga and food trivia. This also features a fusion of Aiba’s Bartender and other j-drama universes as background. To the dear mod, thank you thank you thank you!
It’s gyoza night and silence falls in Lapin as everyone sports their utmost concentration for the best results.
The large trays perched on the counter are filled with lines of folded gyozas. Aiba is gracefully and deftly folding one gyoza after another. On one side, almost as good as Aiba but a bit slower is Yuriko. In front of them are bowls of gyoza filling and its wrappers on several small plates.
Yuriko takes a closer look at Sho’s gyoza next to hers and squints. “Sakurai, these are ugly.”
“In this case, Yoshitaka, quantity is definitely more important than quality.”
“Well, true. They are edible but your gyozas look wonky,” she says, unable to find fault in the logic. The arrangement is for them to fold their own gyoza and only get to eat the ones they fold themselves-unless someone is willing to sharing their gyoza with you.
Kanjiya has pulled an extra chair out, since Aiba is sitting in her usual chair. She puts down two glasses of wine for Aiba and Yuriko before sitting down and joining them both with her own glass.
“Thank you,” Aiba says distractedly. “And Shii, why don’t you tell Matsujun that he should have left work back at the office and start joining the fun?”
“I can hear you just fine, Aiba-kun,” Jun says. On the other side of the counter, Jun has his laptop and weekly planner in front of him, typing madly into his unfinished documents, making tsk-ing sounds every now and then, and scribbling down his notes when needed.
Sho is finally satisfied with his latest piece and sets another messily folded gyoza on the tray in front of Yuriko. “Nino is not going to get home for another hour, you know.”
“That is the reason why I want this done now,” Jun mutters darkly.
“Maybe Masaki should ban working on the premises, so you can just join us and stop working,” Kanjiya suggests.
Jun sighs, before turning to make a notation in his planner. “It was Yuriko-san who assigned this to be sent no later than midnight. So maybe you should ban her instead.”
“Hey!” Yuriko says. “I said that so you can finish that at the office before you headed here, Matsujun.”
“I know.“ Jun only scowls harder at his laptop screen. “But it’s already late at night, and I’d rather work here while waiting for my boyfriend than at the office. You all can’t stop me. Plus, Kanjiya-chan is not doing anything.”
“Masaki is going to share his with me,” Kanjiya says with confidence. “Plus, I made cheesecake, so I’m kind of off the hook.”
Sho lets out a happy hum. “I’ll share mine with you too, Kanjiya-chan, in exchange for your amazing cake.”
“See? Totally off the hook.” Kanjiya turns to Jun with a smile. “You do know Nino likes gyoza, right?”
“He does?” Jun finally looks up from his screen, meeting everyone’s stare, but a deadline is a deadline. “Then he should be here soon, right?”
“Satoshi-kun is doing revisions tonight,” Sho says. “He wants all his team to be around to catch the night deadline.”
“Ugh,” Jun says, pressing down on his keyboard loudly. “At least Ohno-san is still at his office, supervising his workers.”
Yuriko is about to say something when they all hear the front door slide close and find Ohno already standing by the entryway.
“Actually,” Ohno says, “Ohno-san has already left his office.”
“Oh! Welcome, Ohno-kun,” Kanjiya says. “Come in, come in.”
“Satoshi-kun. You’re all finally done with revisions?”
“We’re finally done for the day,” Ohno says with a tired smile. He steps forward to join the others and pulls Nino with him. “I brought Nino home with me, Matsujun. No need to worry.”
“I was not,” Jun says, even as his frown has turned into a beam the moment he sees Nino standing behind Ohno.
Aiba doesn’t even look up from his work. “Welcome home, Nino.”
“From I what I heard, you were, a bit.” Nino smiles wide as he strides toward Jun and his chair. He slides into his chair next to Jun and sets his bag next to him. “Is it going to be gyoza for dinner?”
“Matsujun hasn’t made anything though. You’re in a tough race, Nino,” Aiba answers. “Better move your hands faster.”
“See, Matsujun, Nino’s here now. Just stop it with work,” Yuriko says again as she puts another neatly folded gyoza on the tray.
“I’m almost done. You made me work on it anyway. I’ll have it sent in few minutes,” Jun says in annoyance, before turning up and softening his tone as he speaks to Nino. “You don’t mind waiting up a bit, right? I’ll be done soon.”
Nino nods, and turns his sight to the others who are observing him and Jun with smiles on their faces. He sends a glare to all of them. “Stop staring at us and go back to you wine or unfinished gyoza immediately.”
“Why?” Kanjiya says, and Aiba adds with a snicker, “Why, when new love is blossoming so beautifully before our eyes?”
“You guys are the worst,” Nino says with a hand stretched forward, unsuccessfully blocking everyone’s view.
Ignoring the others’ laughter, he then turns to reach out to run his other hand soothingly along Jun’s arm, giving him silent encouragement. “Let me just wash my hands first and then we can have gyoza for dinner.”
Jun nods and grunts in answer, his focus intent on his laptop screen.
On the other side of the bar, Ohno begins chuckling and gets everyone’s attention as he points to the row of Sho’s gyozas. “Sho-kun, what are these?”
“Gyoza,” Sho says, sending Ohno a genuinely confused look. “What? I’ve been doing my best for us too.”
Yuriko sets another perfectly wrapped gyoza on the tray and says, “As I said, aesthetic, Sakurai. Employ some aesthetic.”
。。。
Jun’s lips are wet and warm and patient, and Nino doesn’t want anything else. He feels Jun’s palm rubbing his cheeks and he tightens his hold around Jun’s waist, keeping them both pressed together against the wall. Nino tiptoes further, and softly moans in delight as the kiss deepens.
At this rate, they will never get through the morning without going for another round, probably heading back upstairs to Nino’s warm apartment and repeating what they’ve been doing all night. Not that it seems like a very good idea now.
The sliding door opens, and they falter a bit, before breaking the kiss.
An amused chuckle follows. “Guys, it’d definitely be safer to not do it by the door. So if you please?” Aiba says.
“Masaki, don’t disturb the lovebirds!” Kanjiya’s voice comes from somewhere behind the empty bar, but the amusement in it reaches them all the same. “Matsujun was trying to go to work, and Nino is sending him off. This is such an important moment for them.”
Nino has to regulate his breathing, pressing his hands on Jun’s chest for strength before turning with a glare.
With Aiba’s laughter fading away in the background, Nino feels Jun’s arm tightening around his waist, followed by a warm chuckle. He turns his focus back to Jun and finds him smiling. Nino fakes a pout. “I’m going to get those two back, for the two of us.”
“I trust you on it.”
“Have a good day,” Nino says, hands pressing to smooth Jun’s shirt over his chest. “Don’t miss me too much.”
Jun is smiling as he drops another peck on Nino’s flushed cheek. “See you next week, Kazu.”
Nino reluctantly lets go, and Jun silently goes to the sliding door. When the door is shut, Nino puts his pout back on his face and saunters to the bar with a vengeance.
Aiba has his chin propped on his hands, watching him with a wide grin. “Things are going good, I see?”
Nino rolls his eyes as he takes his seat in his chair. “For that comment alone, I demand a free breakfast.”
“Coming right up,” Kanjiya answers for him. She emerges from the kitchen, expertly juggling three plates of omelets in her hands. “In fact, while we’re having breakfast, you can tell us everything.”
Nino buries his face in his hands. “You guys are the worst.”
“I know,” Aiba says. He shifts his attention to the beeping coffee machine. “Fresh coffee?”
“Please. And why are you already dressed up so early in the morning?” Nino asks Kanjiya who’s already receiving her coffee from Aiba.
“It’s a full office day for me today. We’re having a conference and they want all of part-timers to help out by working full days for a week. It will be fun, so I didn’t refuse.”
“Mhmm,” Nino only says. The eggs are fluffy and perfect and almost worth the teasing he’s getting so early in the morning. Almost, though. He’ll get even with these two later tonight.
。。。
By the time he submits the assigned drawings for today, it’s already late afternoon. Nino slowly arranges his working pens back into place, taking his time. He’s so tired and there’s going to be an early start tomorrow with the new batch Ohno is definitely going to send his way tonight.
Nino’s done with everything and is already heading to the door when he hears Sho’s voice from the front office.
“Going home already?”
Nino only nods before turning to head to the shoe cabinet.
“Mind walking back together?” Sho comes out of the office, turning the light off, and joins him at the entryway. “I’m heading there as well.”
“Sure,” Nino says. “I just need to let Oh-chan know I’m going now.”
“I already told Satoshi-kun we’ll going first,” Sho says. He quickly puts his shoes on and smiles at Nino. “We’re done with our monthly budget meeting early. I feel like celebrating a little.”
The walk is quiet and slow. Sho knows that Nino doesn’t like to go through the main streets-even if it’s closer in distance-so they are walking through the small alleys, with Sho letting Nino take the turns. They walk in silence, passing a quiet neighborhood, before emerging to the main street.
“Long day? You seemed more tired than usual.”
“More like dreading the long day tomorrow,” Nino says. His walking pace is slow and he just doesn’t want to use up more energy than he’s supposed to. “We need to finish everything tomorrow, and I’m beat.”
Sho gives a nod of understanding. “The Saturday deadline.”
They stop at an intersection as they wait for the light to turn green. Sho turns to him with a question. “Do you know what Kanjiya-chan’s specialty is tonight?”
Nino remembers that Kanjiya-chan has to work full time for the rest of the week, but he is not entirely sure. There was a heavenly smell from kitchen this morning, but not the usual. “I think it’ll be Aiba’s turn for the specialty instead tonight.”
Sho frowns at that. “Why? I’ve been wanting a slice, or two, or perhaps three slices of her blueberry cheesecake since lunchtime. Ah, just talking about it makes me even more excited.”
Nino pats Sho’s arm and gives him a small smile. “Sho-chan, control yourself. We’re in public.”
The light turns green and they walk another two blocks. If Nino notices that Sho’s steps are lighter with the anticipation, he doesn’t comment.
They take the last turn into the alley, passing two large traditional houses with a tall shrub fence before stopping in front of a non-descript sliding door, only with a dark blue, small short curtain on top.
Sho slides the door open and Nino follows him inside. He breathes in the faint scent of curry and smiles at the familiarity-so it’s Aiba’s curry night then. Kanjiya’s voice welcomes him, and Sho goes straight inside without waiting for Nino to close the door.
Nino enters the counter area and finds Yuriko and Kanjiya sitting at the counter, both holding their cocktail glasses, and Aiba’s nowhere to be seen. Sho is already hanging his coat behind his chair at the far end of the counter, and is smiling hopefully.
“Good evening, Nino,” Kanjiya greets him. Yuriko raises her glass to do the same.
“Good evening,” Nino replies. He goes to his usual chair but doesn’t do more than stand beside it. “Sho-chan here is dying for cheesecake.”
Aiba emerges from the kitchen, his hair a little bit askew and holding a small plate with some curry roux on it. He hands the plate to Kanjiya-chan for tasting before turning to Sho to welcome him. “Sho-chan, nice to have you here, even if there’s no cheesecake today.”
“What?” Sho’s face falls. “But I’m here for the cheesecake.”
“Shii has been working overtime lately, so there’s no cheesecake,” Aiba says.
“Why?”
“Sakurai, control yourself,” Yuriko says with a giggle.
Nino has to laugh at that. “That’s what I said.”
“Yoshitaka, you are not helping as usual,” Sho says with a pout. He now slides onto the counter in desperation. “You too, Nino!”
“Don’t be too mean to him.” Kanjiya elbows Yuriko lightly. “I’m so sorry Sho-kun, I just don’t have time to make any this week. We have Masaki’s curry special tonight, though.”
Sho turns to Aiba, who is smiling wide with pride. “Aiba-chan, please tell me it’s not mabo tofu flavored curry.”
Aiba has the gall to look offended. “What the hell is that? You think so little of me, Sho-chan. And just for that comment, you’re having my curry and I’m going to have you say it is super delicious before the night ends.”
Sho still doesn’t look convinced but he shrugs in defeat. “Just bring me some beer first, please.”
“Coming right up,” Aiba says cheerfully. He turns to find Nino still standing by his chair. “And what will it be for you, Nino?”
“I have an early day tomorrow. I’m just going to head right up.”
“No dinner?” Aiba tries with a smile.
“I’m good.”
“I also have an early day tomorrow, but I’m not heading anywhere right now,” Yuriko says, her smile sharp and teasing as she drowns the last drops of her Bijou. “Aiba-chan, another one please.”
“You’ll be regretting that tomorrow morning,” Nino says with a laugh. “Or maybe not, since you’ll be dumping everything on Jun-kun anyway.”
“One of the perks of being a boss, of course,” Yuriko says, turning to Nino and winking playfully. “Have a good rest.”
“Just don’t start with the karaoke after midnight, okay!”
As the others give Nino laughter as their answer-which means they’re probably going to start the karaoke after midnight anyway-Nino heads up to the stairs. The short climb brings him to his personal space and he sighs in relief as he closes the apartment door behind him, breathing the familiar scent of home.
He sets his backpack on his table and heads straight to shower. In his bathroom, he still can hear Yuriko and Sho bickering, Aiba and Kanjiya laughing.
He finishes his shower quickly, changing into his comfortable ratty shirt before heading to bed. After charging his phone and setting his alarm, he puts on his headphones and plugs in his game. As the background music starts, Nino has his summer blanket on and falls asleep without even playing it.
。。。
Tonight’s dinner is ramen and chahan, combining Nino’s favorite ramen from the shop near the station and Aiba’s quick work with leftover rice at the kitchen. Since it’s the last day of Kanjiya-chan’s full-time week, they all decide to take the night slow and have delivery instead.
Nino is slowly enjoying his ramen, knowing that tomorrow is Sunday and he can finally have the day for himself-he’s been neglecting his latest game and there’s two Jump weekly magazines he hasn’t even read yet. Aiba is also at the counter, next to him, noisily gobbling down his own chahan and praising his own cooking skills.
Next to him, Kanjiya-chan is trying to slow Aiba’s pace down to no avail, so she’s just focusing on her own ramen instead.
Yuriko sets down her chopsticks and takes a sip of her beer. “Matsujun is coming home tomorrow, Nino.”
“I know,” Nino says. Yuriko has sent Jun for an out-of-town trip again and it has been a few days since Nino has seen him.
“Although I have to say, now that he’s with you, he’s definitely going to come home tomorrow.”
It’s Kanjiya who asks the question. “What does that mean?”
“Matsujun usually took an extra day or two whenever he was on an out-of-town trip, giving him personal time to go sightseeing.”
“And now it’s different?” Kanjiya asks.
Yuriko smiles. “I didn’t receive any extended day requests. I’m sure it’s because he can’t wait to come home to Nino.”
“That’s so cute,” Aiba joins in, even if he still has a mouth full of rice. “Very cute.”
“It is not,” Nino says with an eye roll.
Yuriko says, “In a way, I'm glad he's with you now because all he did was work and work, sometimes scaring our junior partners.”
“I bet you scare your junior partners more,” Nino says with a smile.
“True. But we’re talking about Matsujun here.”
Aiba lets out a laugh. “You two are equally scary.”
“I am not scary,” Yuriko says with her scary smile. “Matsujun is.”
Nino doesn’t let the topic change opportunity go to waste though. “I bet even the security guards in your office building find you super scary.”
“They do not!” Yuriko says with a laugh. “We’re good friends, the security guards and I.”
“Because they’re scared of you.”
“They are not,” Yuriko says with emphasis, before squinting in Nino’s direction. “I’m very nice in the morning, unlike your boyfriend.”
Nino smiles sweetly. “You just need to give him coffee first.”
“Well, the security guards might not know that,” Yuriko says with finality.
“Why are we talking about the security guards anyway? I thought we were talking about Matsujun,” Aiba says. He’s already finished his chahan and is now stealing Nino’s.
Kanjiya laughs. “Nino is so good at deflecting focus and changing topics. That’s why.”
Aiba turns to Nino with a smile. “As expected of Nino.”
Nino shrugs at the attention and says, “I remember we’d had the same conversation not so long ago, something exactly like this. You two over there just want to brag.”
Yuriko beams with pride. “It’s such a great achievement, right Shii?”
“We have the most brilliant ideas indeed,” Kanjiya says with the same proud smile.
Nino has to roll his eyes again. “Closing the bar just because you want to leave us alone is so cliché. Not to mention causing a considerable dent in Aiba-shi’s business right here.”
“I didn’t mind,” Aiba says, being totally unhelpful. He even smirks proudly just like the other two. “I can afford a day or two without business. Moreover, it’s for you, so I totally don’t mind.”
And for that Nino kicks his shin under the counter.
“I will forever hold onto all of you spying on us from the kitchen. No respect whatsoever,” Nino says grumpily.
He hasn’t been able to live that one fact down-that everyone witnessed his first kiss with Jun; Aiba even has a photo of the moment on his phone. He just needs an intricate plan to steal Aiba’s phone and delete the evidence-if only Jun had not been laughing with the others and asking him to let it go, saying that he has the best friends and they all care about his happiness.
Nino is still not convinced enough to let it go.
Aiba leans back against his chair, sipping his beer quietly as he says, “You do know that these two,” pointing at Kanjiya and Yuriko, “have been practicing reenacting that cute moment every chance they get.”
Set by Aiba’s prompt, Yuriko sets her ramen bowl and begins to slide her hand up Kanjiya’s arm. “Jun-kun!”
In return, Kanjiya sends Yuriko a goofy smile, her voice pitching up a bit. “Yes?”
“You’re sitting in my chair.”
“Am I? This can’t be. I was wondering why it’s so soft and fluffy,” Kanjiya says with exaggerated gestures.
Nino shifts in his chair-his special chair, the one Aiba has had customized for him since the early days. Unlike the other stools in the establishment, Nino’s chair has a soft cushion. And even if Nino’s own memory of Jun unknowingly sitting in his chair is a dear one, he doesn’t need these horrible friends of his reminding him about that moment every now and then.
“Aiba-shi, control your wife,” Nino says. He can feel his cheeks flushed out of embarrassment, but he’s planning to not lose to these clowns anytime soon.
“She's making a perfect impersonation of Matsujun. All those hours of practice,” Aiba says with pride. “And Yuriko-chan, I think you need to frown a bit to get Matsujun’s thick eyebrows right. There you go.”
Kanjiya and Yuriko are laughing out loud now and obviously having the time of their lives as they continue with the cute skit. And Aiba’s encouragement is exactly the push they need to do more.
“Oh, Jun-kun, what are you doing here?”
“I wasn’t expecting you.” Kanjiya pauses briefly before lowering her voice. “You look cute.”
Yuriko actually giggles in delight. “You look cuter.”
“No, you look cuter.”
They both end up facing each other, throwing heart eyes at each other; Yuriko’s hand on Kanjiya’s cheek, and Kanjiya’s hand on Yuriko’s neck. Aiba’s clutching his stomach as he tries to tone down his laughter.
Nino is definitely not amused. “If you are recreating the kiss next, I’m going to throw all this ramen back up. It’d be more than ugly.”
Kanjiya only continues. “But Jun-kun…”
“K-Kazu…” Yuriko whispers.
Their faces are inching closer to each other, and Nino cannot take it anymore. He groans exasperatedly, burying his heated face in his hands, and surrenders.
They all then break into loud laughter. Aiba turns to rub Nino’s back consolingly. And it is Kanjiya who says next, “We are so happy for you, Nino.”
After a long deep breath Nino finally looks up, finding his friends all looking at him with a huge smile. Yuriko even adds a playful wink, matching Kanjiya’s pretty smile, all directed at him.
Nino cannot contain his smile even as he rolls his eyes. “You guys are the worst.”
Aiba beams at him. “More beer?”
。。。
Ohno shows up with a large cooler box one day-just as he’d promised Aiba many months ago, with a medium size tuna in it. Aiba has to run back home to get his knife set, but soon enough the entire counter is focused on Aiba and the tuna behind the counter.
“It’s going to smell fishy around here all night!” Nino tries to protest, but even as he covers his nose with his hand, he can’t help but crane his neck to see what’s happening behind the bar.
Kanjiya, who shares the same concern as Nino along with the same doubtful expression during the whole initial excitement, also expresses her disapproval. “You are sleeping on the couch tonight if I can as much as smell a hint of fishiness on you, Masaki.”
Yuriko on the other hand is smiling in delight at the prospect of fresh sashimi. “Look at those beautiful tuna eyes. Oh my!”
“Tuna dead eyes, you mean,” Nino says. “Ugh.”
“You have no appreciation whatsoever for quality fish, Nino. Shame on you,” Yuriko says with a wave of hand. “Don’t listen to these two, Aiba-chan. I’m totally rooting for you.”
“And for that comment,” Aiba says, holding up from his perfect slice of ootoro, smiling wickedly still with a large knife in his hand, “you can join the tuna party. Right, Ohno-san?”
Ohno is seated next to Yuriko, sipping his tall beer glass with a serene and satisfied expression. “I have complete faith in you, Prince of Knife.”
Nino and Kanjiya share a look, both rolling their eyes together as Yuriko and Ohno end up chuckling at Aiba’s salute.
“It’s almost 10 PM and you‘re all here having a tuna ceremony?” Jun is both amused and confused when he arrives. After greeting Nino with a short kiss, he doesn’t take his seat but only keeps on standing beside Nino to get a good look at Aiba’s knife work.
“But it’s Friday night,” Ohno says as if it explains everything.
“Matsujun, Ohno-san has just returned from his adventure.”
“That’s one large tuna,” Jun comments.
Nino tugs Jun’s sleeves, asking for attention. “All this is Oh-chan’s fault. I haven’t had my dinner yet, thanks to this tuna madness.”
“Masaki basically threw me out of my own kitchen, Nino,” Kanjiya says with a shrug. “He’s all to blame.”
“It’s for the greater good, Shii. Patience, everyone! We’re almost ready.”
Yuriko and Ohno both give loud cheers, as impatience has gotten them both completely.
“It’s so lively here. I thought I was coming to a nostalgic karaoke night instead… That’s definitely one large tuna.”
“We all try to please,” Aiba looks up to meet Jun’s eyes. “What can we have for you tonight, Matsujun? Would some fresh ootoro sashimi be satisfactory?”
“Oh my god. Yes, please.”
“Traitor,” Nino says, elbowing Jun, and only getting a smirk instead.
Kanjiya is laughing beside them. “Now you know.”
Nino could only send his best scrunched up face at her in reply.
After a few more exciting minutes, Aiba manages to cut the tuna into workable pieces, setting the rest aside in various containers for later use, and begins to cut the ootoro into perfectly edible slices. At this stage, Ohno and Yuriko have left their seats to see Aiba’s performance. And to Nino’s further disappointment, even Kanjiya and the heartless traitor Jun join the audience.
As Nino stays in his seat, sipping his cold tea, he’s not completely down but still he has to keep his fake-reluctance in view. It feels so good to be surrounded by these people at the end of the day, even if they all annoy him sometimes. Nino is startled out of his thoughts when unison cheers erupt. Aiba has finished the servings and Ohno and Yuriko and that heartless traitor Jun are scrambling for chopsticks, already busy arranging their shouyu plates.
Aiba puts the three plates of sashimi on the counter, grinning as Yuriko and Ohno make the first attack, and turns to Kanjiya. “Should I set a saucepan to boil for your miso?”
Kanjiya gives him a dark look. “Oh, now I’m allowed to be in my kitchen.”
“I didn’t want you to get all fishy,” Aiba says with an apologetic smile. “I’ll set the pan and clean up, okay? The kitchen will be all yours again in a minute.”
When Kanjiya doesn’t grant Aiba a reply even if anyone knows that she’s forgiven him already, Nino says, “Now you know.”
Kanjiya turns to him and sends a way better scrunched up face in reply.
。。。
An hour later, more and more sets of sashimi plates have been dished out before Yuriko and Ohno decide they’ve had enough for tonight. Nino has finally gotten his dinner-just simple miso soup and rice-and Jun finally settles beside him with a glass of beer.
They have just finished another round of laughter at Ohno’s story about his favorite fishing ship Captain when the door slides open and a few seconds later Sho appears.
“Sho-chan!”
“You’re so late, Sho-kun. We all have started without you.”
“And you missed out on the amazing tuna ceremony. Shame on you, Sakurai.”
“And also the super delicious fresh sashimi. It was so good, Sho-kun, you’d have loved it.”
“And do you know that- Ah, what’s that in the bag? Is it a souvenir from Akita?”
“And if you've just gotten back from Akita why are you here instead of passed out at home?”
Sho stands with an exaggerated pout in the middle of the bar. His backpack straps are starting to slide dangerously off his shoulders and a large bag of something is in his right hand. “And I thought you all would be more welcoming.”
Kanjiya is the first one to take pity, rising from her chair to guide Sho to his usual chair. “Come here, let’s get you seated. Have you had dinner yet?”
“Not yet.”
Ohno gives Sho comforting rubs as Sho sets his backpack down and takes off his coat. “Thank you for your hard work today. Aiba-chan and I made the best Carpaccio, if you want?”
“Oh,” Sho turns to Ohno with a thankful expression. “Yes, please.”
“And what’s that in the bag, Sakurai?”
Sho straightens up quickly, hugging his souvenir bag protectively. “Yoshitaka, you are only nice to me when I have something you want.”
Yuriko perks up at Sho’s action and the answer. “Oh, is it something that I would want then?”
“It’s what you all want,” Sho says in a serious tone, even as his excitement betrays him a beat later. With trembling pride in his voice, he declares, “I have brought with me the limited-to-only-400-pieces-a-day, infamous strawberry warabi mochi!”
When no one reacts to his announcement, Sho simply slides into a slump in his seat again and groans in frustration. “You guys are the worst!”
“I didn’t know that they have that-“
“You managed to sightsee during an accounting conference?”
“Is it something special from Akita?”
“-I thought it was only sold in early spring or something?”
Sho ignores all the protests, giving dismissive waves of his hand to the room. “I’m just going to eat this by myself and not take any of your begging for me to share it with you.”
“I’ve heard reviews. People say it’s delicious,” Jun says. “You must have lined up for a long while to purchase it.”
Sho brightens up a little bit. “For Matsujun over there, for being nice to me when everyone is so mean, you’re getting two of them.”
Jun raises his arms in celebration. “Yay.”
“Traitor,” Yuriko and Aiba say in unison while both turn to glare at Jun.
“It’s going to be worth it,” Jun says in confidence. He walks to Sho’s corner and receives packets of the snack with a bow. “Trust me on this.”
“And that’s for you only,” Sho says. “Don’t share it with that cheeky boyfriend of yours.”
Jun beams, mischief in his eyes. “I’ll share anything I want with my cheeky boyfriend, so sorry about that.”
Sho was about to say something else, but Kanjiya slides a tray of steaming miso, rice, and tuna Carpaccio over to Sho.
“Dinner first, Sho-kun. This is what we have left, though,” she says. “You can have an extra slice of my cheesecake if you’re still hungry after.”
“Kanjiya-chan, you are instantly forgiven.” Sho sets his souvenir bag aside after giving Kanjiya a packet. When Aiba lets out a yay, Sho adds, “Don’t share it with that guy.”
Kanjiya laughs as she walks to return to Aiba’s side. “But I want to share it with that cheeky husband of mine.”
“You guys are the worst,” Sho grumbles as he immediately picks up the chopsticks and partakes in the food.
Meanwhile Nino is elbowing up to Jun the moment Jun returns to his seat. “Cheeky boyfriend, you said?”
“You called me traitor like ten times already,” Jun says, chuckling amusedly. “I get to call you cheeky thanks to Sho-kun.”
“I hope this strawberry thing is worth it,” Nino says unconvinced as he watches Jun unpack the snack and put it on the small plate.
“It is. Trust me, I’ve been hearing rave reviews about this.”
Ohno then manages to steal two, three, even four of the strawberry mochi packets from the open box that Sho has neglected to guard due to his intent focus on dinner and light bickering with Yuriko. He silently passes them to Aiba over the counter, who then passes them to Kanjiya, who then slides one over for Jun, and then the other one for Yuriko.
Sho catches wind of this and ends up protesting in defeat. Ohno patiently gives him warming back rubs as Sho slumps onto the counter again, praising how good the strawberry mochi is.
Yuriko lets out a loud satisfied noise as she claps her hands. “Okay, this is impressive!”
“Right?” Sho leans back against his seat, smug and happy and not grumpily hungry now, as he continues shoving more rice scoops into his mouth. “I told you all so!”
Nino has to hold himself back to not reach out and start dabbing a napkin to Jun’s cheek where it’s gotten dirty with some of the powder from the strawberry. “Jun-kun, you're almost as bad as Sho-chan.”
Jun actually looks offended for real, even with powder messily adorning his lips. “I am not.”
Nino laughs seeing that frown on Jun’s face and makes a little adjustment. “You're cuter though.”
“Oi!” Sho is shouting from the other side of the bar. “You’re so not getting my second souvenir!”
“You have another?”
“I might,” Sho says with a sly smile. “But you will never know, Yoshitaka.”
Kanjiya perks up at the possibility of having more strawberry mochi. “Sho-kun, you can’t be serious!”
“Bring him the precious akami sushi tray we saved for later, Aiba-chan,” Ohno says with a serious tone. He sends a firm nod to Aiba. “I really want more of those strawberries.”
“Right on, Captain,” Aiba says with a salute and a wide smile.
。。。
Nino quietly slides the front door open. After staying there for a few years he has gotten better at not making noise. Today’s workload has been nothing but draining and he’s ready to head to shower immediately, having more homework to be done before the midnight deadline. Yet, the serious tone of Jun’s voice from the counter is stopping him. Jun is supposed to be back today from another out of town trip, but Nino hasn’t expecting him to come over-assuming that they will meet tomorrow night instead.
He stays silent and listens from the darkness, leaning on the wall at the end of the entry way as he takes a view of the counter.
Jun is seated next to Nino’s chair with a glass of beer-that’s his usual seat since last month. Yuriko is already there, and on her second Manhattan. Kanjiya is setting up a nabe pot between Jun and Yuriko.
“Don’t you think you need to promote more if you want more costumers?”
Aiba emerges from the kitchen with a tray of vegetables and meat. He hands it to Kanjiya before settling in front of Jun. “You think so?
“I can give you pointers,” Jun says. “Yuriko-san can give you even better pointers. She's very good.”
Yuriko turns to send Jun a salute. “Matsujun, you flatterer.”
Now that he has Aiba’s attention, Jun continues, “You guys aren't even serious in putting up your signboard. No one can see it.”
Kanjiya sets the nabe pot lid down, and steps back from the little stove. She walks back to behind the counter, tapping Jun’s shoulder in response as she walks by. “That was the original intent.”
“What?”
“They're just want to have fun, Matsujun,” Yuriko says. And when Jun only frowns deeper she takes pity and gives the answer. “Aiba-chan has won too many awards and too much money as a professional bartender. He’s set for life.”
“I am not,” Aiba says, waving his hand frantically.
“And Shii doesn't even need to work a single day in her life because of her inheritance,” Yuriko continues, ignoring Aiba and Kanjiya who are now shushing her. “But here we are.”
“While Yuriko is definitely exaggerating, I think we’re fine as we are now, Matsujun.”
“You guys are weird,” Jun can only say after a moment of silence.
Aiba notices Nino first and smiles. “And here comes the weirdest of us all.”
Everyone turns to the door and finds Nino standing there in silence.
“Good evening, Nino,” Kanjiya greets him as usual.
Yuriko raises her glass to do the same. “How long have you been standing there by the way?”
“Long enough to listen to all of you gossiping about Aiba-shi.”
Jun extends his hand in welcome, and Nino goes to his side, accepting the hand and holding it tight. He presses his body forward to hug Jun’s back and decides that he is going to have dinner together first with everyone before going up to the privacy of his room to have his time with Jun. “And what’s for dinner?”
“Shii made chicken nabe,” Aiba says cheerfully. “You’ll have some before going up, okay?”
Nino nods and sets himself on his chair. He turns to look at Jun, who’s looking at him with a smile. Nino wants to kiss him but not now, not in the presence of this gossip troop. “Make it fast, I have my boyfriend coming over tonight.”
Jun laughs at that and gives one last squeeze to Nino’s hand before turning to pour beer for Nino.
。。。
Full and content, an hour later Nino sets his apartment key on his desk. Jun is closing the door behind him, and just now Nino notices that Jun still has his large suitcase with him.
“You didn't tell me you were coming back tonight,” Nino says.
“I wasn't planning to,” Jun says, setting his suitcase on the far side of Nino’s kitchen, and finally meeting Nino in the small living room. “They scheduled me to go back tomorrow morning, but I just wanted to go home.”
“Yet, you are here,” Nino says with a large grin, knowing what was implied by the statement. “You must miss me.”
Jun grins openly. “I must. And Aiba invited me for dinner when I rang him earlier.”
“You told him but not me you’re coming over?”
“I only asked what's on the dinner menu, and then I went here straight from the station,” Jun says. “I do hope you allow me to stay over.”
“Sure,” Nino says. He takes a closer step before finally giving Jun the hug he wanted to give since earlier. “I don't think I have energy for mad bouts of sex though.”
“I appreciate that but I don’t think I’d be able to do as much.” Jun’s laugh makes his chest rumble and Nino breathes in the comfort.
Nino looks up, tiptoeing slightly before he captures Jun’s lips with his. Their kiss is slow and long and wet and patient, and Nino presses closer, welcoming Jun home while seeking the closeness and warmth he has been missing all through the week.
When they part, Jun is smiling and Nino is sighing.
“Unfortunately I have homework so you can go on with your shower,” he says. “I'll join you later. You look like you're going to drop dead or something.”
Jun hums his weak protest as he nuzzles lazily against Nino’s neck, refusing to release Nino from his hold easily.
Nino lands another kiss before he pushes Jun lightly. “I’ll make the bed for you.”
Jun complies and snatches Nino’s oversized T-shirt on the way to the bathroom, and soon Nino can hear the water running.
After tidying the bed a little bit, Nino settles on starting his homework immediately. He takes out his tracing papers and sets them on his desk carefully; and thinking the sooner he’s done with this, the sooner he can join Jun on the warm bed. That’s motivation enough.
Nino has just finished spreading his papers on this desk when he hears Jun calling him from near the bathroom.
“I can hear the revelry downstairs from the bathroom.”
Nino makes a slow turn and is unable to keep from gasping when he finds Jun only in a short towel around his waist, wet and dripping, fresh out of the shower-or in mid-shower. “Oh my.”
Jun grins, because he knows what Nino’s seeing. “It’s just your bathroom…”
“Yeah.”
“I can hear Ohno-san and Sho-kun joining the revelry,” Jun continues.
“Okay.”
“And I think they're talking about us.”
“Okay,” Nino says, unconsciously licking his lips.
Jun let out a chuckle. “You were not listening to me at all.”
“I was.”
“But?”
Nino finally looks up to meet Jun’s eyes and feels his cheeks flush because Jun is now staring right back at him with apparent amusement. “It's just- It’s always like that at the bathroom. If they get rowdier we can hear them from here. If you're taking a bath I can offer you my headphones.”
“A shower is fine. I'm exhausted enough. It's just weird.”
Nino only grins in reply. “Sorry.”
“It’s nothing. I'll just go back to that weird bathroom,” Jun says.
“Okay”. Nino has glazed sight again, and he almost whistles in appreciation when Jun turns to walk back to the bathroom, giving a clear view of that backside. He definitely needs a moment to breathe before going back to his papers.
Jun comes back fresh and sleepy. He heads to bed, and Nino experiences an unfamiliar happiness seeing Jun tucked under his blanket.
“You really don't mind?”
“I really don't. Just go on first.“
“Really?”
“I really really don't.” Nino sends Jun a reassuring smile and makes his way to his bed. He hums in delight as Jun shifts to make a space for Nino to join him. His bed has never been this enticing-with Jun in it, but priority is priority. Still, Nino lies down beside Jun for a moment and allows Jun to tackle him down for a hug. “I missed you.”
“Thank you for having me,” Jun speaks softly.
“Sure, but now you need to give me a goodnight kiss so I can go back to work. The sooner I finish this annoying homework, the sooner I can join you.”
Jun chuckles as he pulls Nino closer, pressing their bodies together. And Nino allows himself, and Jun, this moment before anything else. Their lips meet without rushing, and both of them lose themselves in each other. Jun tightens his hold around Nino’s waist and Nino doesn’t hesitate to deepen the kiss, sliding his legs to rub against Jun’s.
But when Jun’s hands begin to slide inside his shirt, Nino finally puts a stop on it. “Okay. We need to stop right there. I’m not going to leave this bed if I allow you to do that.”
“Spoilsport.” Jun groans unhappily but he finally lets Nino go.
“Now, sleep. I’ll join you later.” Nino chuckles and leaves the bed to go back to his desk.
For the next half an hour, Nino softly mumbles aimlessly about his tracing papers, and his deadline, and the annoying mistake he made this morning, resulting in him bringing work home now; the next thing he notices is Jun’s slow breathing and that he’s already asleep.
Nino smiles as he turns back to his papers. He hums a song as he works all through the night with Jun sleeping next to him.
。。。
Part 2
Pairing: Nino/Jun, Aiba/Kanjiya Shihori, Sho, Ohno, and Yoshitaka Yuriko
Rating: NC-17
Word count: 13,460
Summary: Nino lives above Aiba and Kanjiya’s Lapin. Yuriko frequents it for Aiba’s cocktails; Sho for Kanjiya’s cheesecake, and; Jun for Nino.
Notes: Written for ninoexchange, where this ended up as Nino’s birthday fic in a literal sense, filled with silliness, domesticity, and some manga and food trivia. This also features a fusion of Aiba’s Bartender and other j-drama universes as background. To the dear mod, thank you thank you thank you!
It’s gyoza night and silence falls in Lapin as everyone sports their utmost concentration for the best results.
The large trays perched on the counter are filled with lines of folded gyozas. Aiba is gracefully and deftly folding one gyoza after another. On one side, almost as good as Aiba but a bit slower is Yuriko. In front of them are bowls of gyoza filling and its wrappers on several small plates.
Yuriko takes a closer look at Sho’s gyoza next to hers and squints. “Sakurai, these are ugly.”
“In this case, Yoshitaka, quantity is definitely more important than quality.”
“Well, true. They are edible but your gyozas look wonky,” she says, unable to find fault in the logic. The arrangement is for them to fold their own gyoza and only get to eat the ones they fold themselves-unless someone is willing to sharing their gyoza with you.
Kanjiya has pulled an extra chair out, since Aiba is sitting in her usual chair. She puts down two glasses of wine for Aiba and Yuriko before sitting down and joining them both with her own glass.
“Thank you,” Aiba says distractedly. “And Shii, why don’t you tell Matsujun that he should have left work back at the office and start joining the fun?”
“I can hear you just fine, Aiba-kun,” Jun says. On the other side of the counter, Jun has his laptop and weekly planner in front of him, typing madly into his unfinished documents, making tsk-ing sounds every now and then, and scribbling down his notes when needed.
Sho is finally satisfied with his latest piece and sets another messily folded gyoza on the tray in front of Yuriko. “Nino is not going to get home for another hour, you know.”
“That is the reason why I want this done now,” Jun mutters darkly.
“Maybe Masaki should ban working on the premises, so you can just join us and stop working,” Kanjiya suggests.
Jun sighs, before turning to make a notation in his planner. “It was Yuriko-san who assigned this to be sent no later than midnight. So maybe you should ban her instead.”
“Hey!” Yuriko says. “I said that so you can finish that at the office before you headed here, Matsujun.”
“I know.“ Jun only scowls harder at his laptop screen. “But it’s already late at night, and I’d rather work here while waiting for my boyfriend than at the office. You all can’t stop me. Plus, Kanjiya-chan is not doing anything.”
“Masaki is going to share his with me,” Kanjiya says with confidence. “Plus, I made cheesecake, so I’m kind of off the hook.”
Sho lets out a happy hum. “I’ll share mine with you too, Kanjiya-chan, in exchange for your amazing cake.”
“See? Totally off the hook.” Kanjiya turns to Jun with a smile. “You do know Nino likes gyoza, right?”
“He does?” Jun finally looks up from his screen, meeting everyone’s stare, but a deadline is a deadline. “Then he should be here soon, right?”
“Satoshi-kun is doing revisions tonight,” Sho says. “He wants all his team to be around to catch the night deadline.”
“Ugh,” Jun says, pressing down on his keyboard loudly. “At least Ohno-san is still at his office, supervising his workers.”
Yuriko is about to say something when they all hear the front door slide close and find Ohno already standing by the entryway.
“Actually,” Ohno says, “Ohno-san has already left his office.”
“Oh! Welcome, Ohno-kun,” Kanjiya says. “Come in, come in.”
“Satoshi-kun. You’re all finally done with revisions?”
“We’re finally done for the day,” Ohno says with a tired smile. He steps forward to join the others and pulls Nino with him. “I brought Nino home with me, Matsujun. No need to worry.”
“I was not,” Jun says, even as his frown has turned into a beam the moment he sees Nino standing behind Ohno.
Aiba doesn’t even look up from his work. “Welcome home, Nino.”
“From I what I heard, you were, a bit.” Nino smiles wide as he strides toward Jun and his chair. He slides into his chair next to Jun and sets his bag next to him. “Is it going to be gyoza for dinner?”
“Matsujun hasn’t made anything though. You’re in a tough race, Nino,” Aiba answers. “Better move your hands faster.”
“See, Matsujun, Nino’s here now. Just stop it with work,” Yuriko says again as she puts another neatly folded gyoza on the tray.
“I’m almost done. You made me work on it anyway. I’ll have it sent in few minutes,” Jun says in annoyance, before turning up and softening his tone as he speaks to Nino. “You don’t mind waiting up a bit, right? I’ll be done soon.”
Nino nods, and turns his sight to the others who are observing him and Jun with smiles on their faces. He sends a glare to all of them. “Stop staring at us and go back to you wine or unfinished gyoza immediately.”
“Why?” Kanjiya says, and Aiba adds with a snicker, “Why, when new love is blossoming so beautifully before our eyes?”
“You guys are the worst,” Nino says with a hand stretched forward, unsuccessfully blocking everyone’s view.
Ignoring the others’ laughter, he then turns to reach out to run his other hand soothingly along Jun’s arm, giving him silent encouragement. “Let me just wash my hands first and then we can have gyoza for dinner.”
Jun nods and grunts in answer, his focus intent on his laptop screen.
On the other side of the bar, Ohno begins chuckling and gets everyone’s attention as he points to the row of Sho’s gyozas. “Sho-kun, what are these?”
“Gyoza,” Sho says, sending Ohno a genuinely confused look. “What? I’ve been doing my best for us too.”
Yuriko sets another perfectly wrapped gyoza on the tray and says, “As I said, aesthetic, Sakurai. Employ some aesthetic.”
。。。
Jun’s lips are wet and warm and patient, and Nino doesn’t want anything else. He feels Jun’s palm rubbing his cheeks and he tightens his hold around Jun’s waist, keeping them both pressed together against the wall. Nino tiptoes further, and softly moans in delight as the kiss deepens.
At this rate, they will never get through the morning without going for another round, probably heading back upstairs to Nino’s warm apartment and repeating what they’ve been doing all night. Not that it seems like a very good idea now.
The sliding door opens, and they falter a bit, before breaking the kiss.
An amused chuckle follows. “Guys, it’d definitely be safer to not do it by the door. So if you please?” Aiba says.
“Masaki, don’t disturb the lovebirds!” Kanjiya’s voice comes from somewhere behind the empty bar, but the amusement in it reaches them all the same. “Matsujun was trying to go to work, and Nino is sending him off. This is such an important moment for them.”
Nino has to regulate his breathing, pressing his hands on Jun’s chest for strength before turning with a glare.
With Aiba’s laughter fading away in the background, Nino feels Jun’s arm tightening around his waist, followed by a warm chuckle. He turns his focus back to Jun and finds him smiling. Nino fakes a pout. “I’m going to get those two back, for the two of us.”
“I trust you on it.”
“Have a good day,” Nino says, hands pressing to smooth Jun’s shirt over his chest. “Don’t miss me too much.”
Jun is smiling as he drops another peck on Nino’s flushed cheek. “See you next week, Kazu.”
Nino reluctantly lets go, and Jun silently goes to the sliding door. When the door is shut, Nino puts his pout back on his face and saunters to the bar with a vengeance.
Aiba has his chin propped on his hands, watching him with a wide grin. “Things are going good, I see?”
Nino rolls his eyes as he takes his seat in his chair. “For that comment alone, I demand a free breakfast.”
“Coming right up,” Kanjiya answers for him. She emerges from the kitchen, expertly juggling three plates of omelets in her hands. “In fact, while we’re having breakfast, you can tell us everything.”
Nino buries his face in his hands. “You guys are the worst.”
“I know,” Aiba says. He shifts his attention to the beeping coffee machine. “Fresh coffee?”
“Please. And why are you already dressed up so early in the morning?” Nino asks Kanjiya who’s already receiving her coffee from Aiba.
“It’s a full office day for me today. We’re having a conference and they want all of part-timers to help out by working full days for a week. It will be fun, so I didn’t refuse.”
“Mhmm,” Nino only says. The eggs are fluffy and perfect and almost worth the teasing he’s getting so early in the morning. Almost, though. He’ll get even with these two later tonight.
。。。
By the time he submits the assigned drawings for today, it’s already late afternoon. Nino slowly arranges his working pens back into place, taking his time. He’s so tired and there’s going to be an early start tomorrow with the new batch Ohno is definitely going to send his way tonight.
Nino’s done with everything and is already heading to the door when he hears Sho’s voice from the front office.
“Going home already?”
Nino only nods before turning to head to the shoe cabinet.
“Mind walking back together?” Sho comes out of the office, turning the light off, and joins him at the entryway. “I’m heading there as well.”
“Sure,” Nino says. “I just need to let Oh-chan know I’m going now.”
“I already told Satoshi-kun we’ll going first,” Sho says. He quickly puts his shoes on and smiles at Nino. “We’re done with our monthly budget meeting early. I feel like celebrating a little.”
The walk is quiet and slow. Sho knows that Nino doesn’t like to go through the main streets-even if it’s closer in distance-so they are walking through the small alleys, with Sho letting Nino take the turns. They walk in silence, passing a quiet neighborhood, before emerging to the main street.
“Long day? You seemed more tired than usual.”
“More like dreading the long day tomorrow,” Nino says. His walking pace is slow and he just doesn’t want to use up more energy than he’s supposed to. “We need to finish everything tomorrow, and I’m beat.”
Sho gives a nod of understanding. “The Saturday deadline.”
They stop at an intersection as they wait for the light to turn green. Sho turns to him with a question. “Do you know what Kanjiya-chan’s specialty is tonight?”
Nino remembers that Kanjiya-chan has to work full time for the rest of the week, but he is not entirely sure. There was a heavenly smell from kitchen this morning, but not the usual. “I think it’ll be Aiba’s turn for the specialty instead tonight.”
Sho frowns at that. “Why? I’ve been wanting a slice, or two, or perhaps three slices of her blueberry cheesecake since lunchtime. Ah, just talking about it makes me even more excited.”
Nino pats Sho’s arm and gives him a small smile. “Sho-chan, control yourself. We’re in public.”
The light turns green and they walk another two blocks. If Nino notices that Sho’s steps are lighter with the anticipation, he doesn’t comment.
They take the last turn into the alley, passing two large traditional houses with a tall shrub fence before stopping in front of a non-descript sliding door, only with a dark blue, small short curtain on top.
Sho slides the door open and Nino follows him inside. He breathes in the faint scent of curry and smiles at the familiarity-so it’s Aiba’s curry night then. Kanjiya’s voice welcomes him, and Sho goes straight inside without waiting for Nino to close the door.
Nino enters the counter area and finds Yuriko and Kanjiya sitting at the counter, both holding their cocktail glasses, and Aiba’s nowhere to be seen. Sho is already hanging his coat behind his chair at the far end of the counter, and is smiling hopefully.
“Good evening, Nino,” Kanjiya greets him. Yuriko raises her glass to do the same.
“Good evening,” Nino replies. He goes to his usual chair but doesn’t do more than stand beside it. “Sho-chan here is dying for cheesecake.”
Aiba emerges from the kitchen, his hair a little bit askew and holding a small plate with some curry roux on it. He hands the plate to Kanjiya-chan for tasting before turning to Sho to welcome him. “Sho-chan, nice to have you here, even if there’s no cheesecake today.”
“What?” Sho’s face falls. “But I’m here for the cheesecake.”
“Shii has been working overtime lately, so there’s no cheesecake,” Aiba says.
“Why?”
“Sakurai, control yourself,” Yuriko says with a giggle.
Nino has to laugh at that. “That’s what I said.”
“Yoshitaka, you are not helping as usual,” Sho says with a pout. He now slides onto the counter in desperation. “You too, Nino!”
“Don’t be too mean to him.” Kanjiya elbows Yuriko lightly. “I’m so sorry Sho-kun, I just don’t have time to make any this week. We have Masaki’s curry special tonight, though.”
Sho turns to Aiba, who is smiling wide with pride. “Aiba-chan, please tell me it’s not mabo tofu flavored curry.”
Aiba has the gall to look offended. “What the hell is that? You think so little of me, Sho-chan. And just for that comment, you’re having my curry and I’m going to have you say it is super delicious before the night ends.”
Sho still doesn’t look convinced but he shrugs in defeat. “Just bring me some beer first, please.”
“Coming right up,” Aiba says cheerfully. He turns to find Nino still standing by his chair. “And what will it be for you, Nino?”
“I have an early day tomorrow. I’m just going to head right up.”
“No dinner?” Aiba tries with a smile.
“I’m good.”
“I also have an early day tomorrow, but I’m not heading anywhere right now,” Yuriko says, her smile sharp and teasing as she drowns the last drops of her Bijou. “Aiba-chan, another one please.”
“You’ll be regretting that tomorrow morning,” Nino says with a laugh. “Or maybe not, since you’ll be dumping everything on Jun-kun anyway.”
“One of the perks of being a boss, of course,” Yuriko says, turning to Nino and winking playfully. “Have a good rest.”
“Just don’t start with the karaoke after midnight, okay!”
As the others give Nino laughter as their answer-which means they’re probably going to start the karaoke after midnight anyway-Nino heads up to the stairs. The short climb brings him to his personal space and he sighs in relief as he closes the apartment door behind him, breathing the familiar scent of home.
He sets his backpack on his table and heads straight to shower. In his bathroom, he still can hear Yuriko and Sho bickering, Aiba and Kanjiya laughing.
He finishes his shower quickly, changing into his comfortable ratty shirt before heading to bed. After charging his phone and setting his alarm, he puts on his headphones and plugs in his game. As the background music starts, Nino has his summer blanket on and falls asleep without even playing it.
。。。
Tonight’s dinner is ramen and chahan, combining Nino’s favorite ramen from the shop near the station and Aiba’s quick work with leftover rice at the kitchen. Since it’s the last day of Kanjiya-chan’s full-time week, they all decide to take the night slow and have delivery instead.
Nino is slowly enjoying his ramen, knowing that tomorrow is Sunday and he can finally have the day for himself-he’s been neglecting his latest game and there’s two Jump weekly magazines he hasn’t even read yet. Aiba is also at the counter, next to him, noisily gobbling down his own chahan and praising his own cooking skills.
Next to him, Kanjiya-chan is trying to slow Aiba’s pace down to no avail, so she’s just focusing on her own ramen instead.
Yuriko sets down her chopsticks and takes a sip of her beer. “Matsujun is coming home tomorrow, Nino.”
“I know,” Nino says. Yuriko has sent Jun for an out-of-town trip again and it has been a few days since Nino has seen him.
“Although I have to say, now that he’s with you, he’s definitely going to come home tomorrow.”
It’s Kanjiya who asks the question. “What does that mean?”
“Matsujun usually took an extra day or two whenever he was on an out-of-town trip, giving him personal time to go sightseeing.”
“And now it’s different?” Kanjiya asks.
Yuriko smiles. “I didn’t receive any extended day requests. I’m sure it’s because he can’t wait to come home to Nino.”
“That’s so cute,” Aiba joins in, even if he still has a mouth full of rice. “Very cute.”
“It is not,” Nino says with an eye roll.
Yuriko says, “In a way, I'm glad he's with you now because all he did was work and work, sometimes scaring our junior partners.”
“I bet you scare your junior partners more,” Nino says with a smile.
“True. But we’re talking about Matsujun here.”
Aiba lets out a laugh. “You two are equally scary.”
“I am not scary,” Yuriko says with her scary smile. “Matsujun is.”
Nino doesn’t let the topic change opportunity go to waste though. “I bet even the security guards in your office building find you super scary.”
“They do not!” Yuriko says with a laugh. “We’re good friends, the security guards and I.”
“Because they’re scared of you.”
“They are not,” Yuriko says with emphasis, before squinting in Nino’s direction. “I’m very nice in the morning, unlike your boyfriend.”
Nino smiles sweetly. “You just need to give him coffee first.”
“Well, the security guards might not know that,” Yuriko says with finality.
“Why are we talking about the security guards anyway? I thought we were talking about Matsujun,” Aiba says. He’s already finished his chahan and is now stealing Nino’s.
Kanjiya laughs. “Nino is so good at deflecting focus and changing topics. That’s why.”
Aiba turns to Nino with a smile. “As expected of Nino.”
Nino shrugs at the attention and says, “I remember we’d had the same conversation not so long ago, something exactly like this. You two over there just want to brag.”
Yuriko beams with pride. “It’s such a great achievement, right Shii?”
“We have the most brilliant ideas indeed,” Kanjiya says with the same proud smile.
Nino has to roll his eyes again. “Closing the bar just because you want to leave us alone is so cliché. Not to mention causing a considerable dent in Aiba-shi’s business right here.”
“I didn’t mind,” Aiba says, being totally unhelpful. He even smirks proudly just like the other two. “I can afford a day or two without business. Moreover, it’s for you, so I totally don’t mind.”
And for that Nino kicks his shin under the counter.
“I will forever hold onto all of you spying on us from the kitchen. No respect whatsoever,” Nino says grumpily.
He hasn’t been able to live that one fact down-that everyone witnessed his first kiss with Jun; Aiba even has a photo of the moment on his phone. He just needs an intricate plan to steal Aiba’s phone and delete the evidence-if only Jun had not been laughing with the others and asking him to let it go, saying that he has the best friends and they all care about his happiness.
Nino is still not convinced enough to let it go.
Aiba leans back against his chair, sipping his beer quietly as he says, “You do know that these two,” pointing at Kanjiya and Yuriko, “have been practicing reenacting that cute moment every chance they get.”
Set by Aiba’s prompt, Yuriko sets her ramen bowl and begins to slide her hand up Kanjiya’s arm. “Jun-kun!”
In return, Kanjiya sends Yuriko a goofy smile, her voice pitching up a bit. “Yes?”
“You’re sitting in my chair.”
“Am I? This can’t be. I was wondering why it’s so soft and fluffy,” Kanjiya says with exaggerated gestures.
Nino shifts in his chair-his special chair, the one Aiba has had customized for him since the early days. Unlike the other stools in the establishment, Nino’s chair has a soft cushion. And even if Nino’s own memory of Jun unknowingly sitting in his chair is a dear one, he doesn’t need these horrible friends of his reminding him about that moment every now and then.
“Aiba-shi, control your wife,” Nino says. He can feel his cheeks flushed out of embarrassment, but he’s planning to not lose to these clowns anytime soon.
“She's making a perfect impersonation of Matsujun. All those hours of practice,” Aiba says with pride. “And Yuriko-chan, I think you need to frown a bit to get Matsujun’s thick eyebrows right. There you go.”
Kanjiya and Yuriko are laughing out loud now and obviously having the time of their lives as they continue with the cute skit. And Aiba’s encouragement is exactly the push they need to do more.
“Oh, Jun-kun, what are you doing here?”
“I wasn’t expecting you.” Kanjiya pauses briefly before lowering her voice. “You look cute.”
Yuriko actually giggles in delight. “You look cuter.”
“No, you look cuter.”
They both end up facing each other, throwing heart eyes at each other; Yuriko’s hand on Kanjiya’s cheek, and Kanjiya’s hand on Yuriko’s neck. Aiba’s clutching his stomach as he tries to tone down his laughter.
Nino is definitely not amused. “If you are recreating the kiss next, I’m going to throw all this ramen back up. It’d be more than ugly.”
Kanjiya only continues. “But Jun-kun…”
“K-Kazu…” Yuriko whispers.
Their faces are inching closer to each other, and Nino cannot take it anymore. He groans exasperatedly, burying his heated face in his hands, and surrenders.
They all then break into loud laughter. Aiba turns to rub Nino’s back consolingly. And it is Kanjiya who says next, “We are so happy for you, Nino.”
After a long deep breath Nino finally looks up, finding his friends all looking at him with a huge smile. Yuriko even adds a playful wink, matching Kanjiya’s pretty smile, all directed at him.
Nino cannot contain his smile even as he rolls his eyes. “You guys are the worst.”
Aiba beams at him. “More beer?”
。。。
Ohno shows up with a large cooler box one day-just as he’d promised Aiba many months ago, with a medium size tuna in it. Aiba has to run back home to get his knife set, but soon enough the entire counter is focused on Aiba and the tuna behind the counter.
“It’s going to smell fishy around here all night!” Nino tries to protest, but even as he covers his nose with his hand, he can’t help but crane his neck to see what’s happening behind the bar.
Kanjiya, who shares the same concern as Nino along with the same doubtful expression during the whole initial excitement, also expresses her disapproval. “You are sleeping on the couch tonight if I can as much as smell a hint of fishiness on you, Masaki.”
Yuriko on the other hand is smiling in delight at the prospect of fresh sashimi. “Look at those beautiful tuna eyes. Oh my!”
“Tuna dead eyes, you mean,” Nino says. “Ugh.”
“You have no appreciation whatsoever for quality fish, Nino. Shame on you,” Yuriko says with a wave of hand. “Don’t listen to these two, Aiba-chan. I’m totally rooting for you.”
“And for that comment,” Aiba says, holding up from his perfect slice of ootoro, smiling wickedly still with a large knife in his hand, “you can join the tuna party. Right, Ohno-san?”
Ohno is seated next to Yuriko, sipping his tall beer glass with a serene and satisfied expression. “I have complete faith in you, Prince of Knife.”
Nino and Kanjiya share a look, both rolling their eyes together as Yuriko and Ohno end up chuckling at Aiba’s salute.
“It’s almost 10 PM and you‘re all here having a tuna ceremony?” Jun is both amused and confused when he arrives. After greeting Nino with a short kiss, he doesn’t take his seat but only keeps on standing beside Nino to get a good look at Aiba’s knife work.
“But it’s Friday night,” Ohno says as if it explains everything.
“Matsujun, Ohno-san has just returned from his adventure.”
“That’s one large tuna,” Jun comments.
Nino tugs Jun’s sleeves, asking for attention. “All this is Oh-chan’s fault. I haven’t had my dinner yet, thanks to this tuna madness.”
“Masaki basically threw me out of my own kitchen, Nino,” Kanjiya says with a shrug. “He’s all to blame.”
“It’s for the greater good, Shii. Patience, everyone! We’re almost ready.”
Yuriko and Ohno both give loud cheers, as impatience has gotten them both completely.
“It’s so lively here. I thought I was coming to a nostalgic karaoke night instead… That’s definitely one large tuna.”
“We all try to please,” Aiba looks up to meet Jun’s eyes. “What can we have for you tonight, Matsujun? Would some fresh ootoro sashimi be satisfactory?”
“Oh my god. Yes, please.”
“Traitor,” Nino says, elbowing Jun, and only getting a smirk instead.
Kanjiya is laughing beside them. “Now you know.”
Nino could only send his best scrunched up face at her in reply.
After a few more exciting minutes, Aiba manages to cut the tuna into workable pieces, setting the rest aside in various containers for later use, and begins to cut the ootoro into perfectly edible slices. At this stage, Ohno and Yuriko have left their seats to see Aiba’s performance. And to Nino’s further disappointment, even Kanjiya and the heartless traitor Jun join the audience.
As Nino stays in his seat, sipping his cold tea, he’s not completely down but still he has to keep his fake-reluctance in view. It feels so good to be surrounded by these people at the end of the day, even if they all annoy him sometimes. Nino is startled out of his thoughts when unison cheers erupt. Aiba has finished the servings and Ohno and Yuriko and that heartless traitor Jun are scrambling for chopsticks, already busy arranging their shouyu plates.
Aiba puts the three plates of sashimi on the counter, grinning as Yuriko and Ohno make the first attack, and turns to Kanjiya. “Should I set a saucepan to boil for your miso?”
Kanjiya gives him a dark look. “Oh, now I’m allowed to be in my kitchen.”
“I didn’t want you to get all fishy,” Aiba says with an apologetic smile. “I’ll set the pan and clean up, okay? The kitchen will be all yours again in a minute.”
When Kanjiya doesn’t grant Aiba a reply even if anyone knows that she’s forgiven him already, Nino says, “Now you know.”
Kanjiya turns to him and sends a way better scrunched up face in reply.
。。。
An hour later, more and more sets of sashimi plates have been dished out before Yuriko and Ohno decide they’ve had enough for tonight. Nino has finally gotten his dinner-just simple miso soup and rice-and Jun finally settles beside him with a glass of beer.
They have just finished another round of laughter at Ohno’s story about his favorite fishing ship Captain when the door slides open and a few seconds later Sho appears.
“Sho-chan!”
“You’re so late, Sho-kun. We all have started without you.”
“And you missed out on the amazing tuna ceremony. Shame on you, Sakurai.”
“And also the super delicious fresh sashimi. It was so good, Sho-kun, you’d have loved it.”
“And do you know that- Ah, what’s that in the bag? Is it a souvenir from Akita?”
“And if you've just gotten back from Akita why are you here instead of passed out at home?”
Sho stands with an exaggerated pout in the middle of the bar. His backpack straps are starting to slide dangerously off his shoulders and a large bag of something is in his right hand. “And I thought you all would be more welcoming.”
Kanjiya is the first one to take pity, rising from her chair to guide Sho to his usual chair. “Come here, let’s get you seated. Have you had dinner yet?”
“Not yet.”
Ohno gives Sho comforting rubs as Sho sets his backpack down and takes off his coat. “Thank you for your hard work today. Aiba-chan and I made the best Carpaccio, if you want?”
“Oh,” Sho turns to Ohno with a thankful expression. “Yes, please.”
“And what’s that in the bag, Sakurai?”
Sho straightens up quickly, hugging his souvenir bag protectively. “Yoshitaka, you are only nice to me when I have something you want.”
Yuriko perks up at Sho’s action and the answer. “Oh, is it something that I would want then?”
“It’s what you all want,” Sho says in a serious tone, even as his excitement betrays him a beat later. With trembling pride in his voice, he declares, “I have brought with me the limited-to-only-400-pieces-a-day, infamous strawberry warabi mochi!”
When no one reacts to his announcement, Sho simply slides into a slump in his seat again and groans in frustration. “You guys are the worst!”
“I didn’t know that they have that-“
“You managed to sightsee during an accounting conference?”
“Is it something special from Akita?”
“-I thought it was only sold in early spring or something?”
Sho ignores all the protests, giving dismissive waves of his hand to the room. “I’m just going to eat this by myself and not take any of your begging for me to share it with you.”
“I’ve heard reviews. People say it’s delicious,” Jun says. “You must have lined up for a long while to purchase it.”
Sho brightens up a little bit. “For Matsujun over there, for being nice to me when everyone is so mean, you’re getting two of them.”
Jun raises his arms in celebration. “Yay.”
“Traitor,” Yuriko and Aiba say in unison while both turn to glare at Jun.
“It’s going to be worth it,” Jun says in confidence. He walks to Sho’s corner and receives packets of the snack with a bow. “Trust me on this.”
“And that’s for you only,” Sho says. “Don’t share it with that cheeky boyfriend of yours.”
Jun beams, mischief in his eyes. “I’ll share anything I want with my cheeky boyfriend, so sorry about that.”
Sho was about to say something else, but Kanjiya slides a tray of steaming miso, rice, and tuna Carpaccio over to Sho.
“Dinner first, Sho-kun. This is what we have left, though,” she says. “You can have an extra slice of my cheesecake if you’re still hungry after.”
“Kanjiya-chan, you are instantly forgiven.” Sho sets his souvenir bag aside after giving Kanjiya a packet. When Aiba lets out a yay, Sho adds, “Don’t share it with that guy.”
Kanjiya laughs as she walks to return to Aiba’s side. “But I want to share it with that cheeky husband of mine.”
“You guys are the worst,” Sho grumbles as he immediately picks up the chopsticks and partakes in the food.
Meanwhile Nino is elbowing up to Jun the moment Jun returns to his seat. “Cheeky boyfriend, you said?”
“You called me traitor like ten times already,” Jun says, chuckling amusedly. “I get to call you cheeky thanks to Sho-kun.”
“I hope this strawberry thing is worth it,” Nino says unconvinced as he watches Jun unpack the snack and put it on the small plate.
“It is. Trust me, I’ve been hearing rave reviews about this.”
Ohno then manages to steal two, three, even four of the strawberry mochi packets from the open box that Sho has neglected to guard due to his intent focus on dinner and light bickering with Yuriko. He silently passes them to Aiba over the counter, who then passes them to Kanjiya, who then slides one over for Jun, and then the other one for Yuriko.
Sho catches wind of this and ends up protesting in defeat. Ohno patiently gives him warming back rubs as Sho slumps onto the counter again, praising how good the strawberry mochi is.
Yuriko lets out a loud satisfied noise as she claps her hands. “Okay, this is impressive!”
“Right?” Sho leans back against his seat, smug and happy and not grumpily hungry now, as he continues shoving more rice scoops into his mouth. “I told you all so!”
Nino has to hold himself back to not reach out and start dabbing a napkin to Jun’s cheek where it’s gotten dirty with some of the powder from the strawberry. “Jun-kun, you're almost as bad as Sho-chan.”
Jun actually looks offended for real, even with powder messily adorning his lips. “I am not.”
Nino laughs seeing that frown on Jun’s face and makes a little adjustment. “You're cuter though.”
“Oi!” Sho is shouting from the other side of the bar. “You’re so not getting my second souvenir!”
“You have another?”
“I might,” Sho says with a sly smile. “But you will never know, Yoshitaka.”
Kanjiya perks up at the possibility of having more strawberry mochi. “Sho-kun, you can’t be serious!”
“Bring him the precious akami sushi tray we saved for later, Aiba-chan,” Ohno says with a serious tone. He sends a firm nod to Aiba. “I really want more of those strawberries.”
“Right on, Captain,” Aiba says with a salute and a wide smile.
。。。
Nino quietly slides the front door open. After staying there for a few years he has gotten better at not making noise. Today’s workload has been nothing but draining and he’s ready to head to shower immediately, having more homework to be done before the midnight deadline. Yet, the serious tone of Jun’s voice from the counter is stopping him. Jun is supposed to be back today from another out of town trip, but Nino hasn’t expecting him to come over-assuming that they will meet tomorrow night instead.
He stays silent and listens from the darkness, leaning on the wall at the end of the entry way as he takes a view of the counter.
Jun is seated next to Nino’s chair with a glass of beer-that’s his usual seat since last month. Yuriko is already there, and on her second Manhattan. Kanjiya is setting up a nabe pot between Jun and Yuriko.
“Don’t you think you need to promote more if you want more costumers?”
Aiba emerges from the kitchen with a tray of vegetables and meat. He hands it to Kanjiya before settling in front of Jun. “You think so?
“I can give you pointers,” Jun says. “Yuriko-san can give you even better pointers. She's very good.”
Yuriko turns to send Jun a salute. “Matsujun, you flatterer.”
Now that he has Aiba’s attention, Jun continues, “You guys aren't even serious in putting up your signboard. No one can see it.”
Kanjiya sets the nabe pot lid down, and steps back from the little stove. She walks back to behind the counter, tapping Jun’s shoulder in response as she walks by. “That was the original intent.”
“What?”
“They're just want to have fun, Matsujun,” Yuriko says. And when Jun only frowns deeper she takes pity and gives the answer. “Aiba-chan has won too many awards and too much money as a professional bartender. He’s set for life.”
“I am not,” Aiba says, waving his hand frantically.
“And Shii doesn't even need to work a single day in her life because of her inheritance,” Yuriko continues, ignoring Aiba and Kanjiya who are now shushing her. “But here we are.”
“While Yuriko is definitely exaggerating, I think we’re fine as we are now, Matsujun.”
“You guys are weird,” Jun can only say after a moment of silence.
Aiba notices Nino first and smiles. “And here comes the weirdest of us all.”
Everyone turns to the door and finds Nino standing there in silence.
“Good evening, Nino,” Kanjiya greets him as usual.
Yuriko raises her glass to do the same. “How long have you been standing there by the way?”
“Long enough to listen to all of you gossiping about Aiba-shi.”
Jun extends his hand in welcome, and Nino goes to his side, accepting the hand and holding it tight. He presses his body forward to hug Jun’s back and decides that he is going to have dinner together first with everyone before going up to the privacy of his room to have his time with Jun. “And what’s for dinner?”
“Shii made chicken nabe,” Aiba says cheerfully. “You’ll have some before going up, okay?”
Nino nods and sets himself on his chair. He turns to look at Jun, who’s looking at him with a smile. Nino wants to kiss him but not now, not in the presence of this gossip troop. “Make it fast, I have my boyfriend coming over tonight.”
Jun laughs at that and gives one last squeeze to Nino’s hand before turning to pour beer for Nino.
。。。
Full and content, an hour later Nino sets his apartment key on his desk. Jun is closing the door behind him, and just now Nino notices that Jun still has his large suitcase with him.
“You didn't tell me you were coming back tonight,” Nino says.
“I wasn't planning to,” Jun says, setting his suitcase on the far side of Nino’s kitchen, and finally meeting Nino in the small living room. “They scheduled me to go back tomorrow morning, but I just wanted to go home.”
“Yet, you are here,” Nino says with a large grin, knowing what was implied by the statement. “You must miss me.”
Jun grins openly. “I must. And Aiba invited me for dinner when I rang him earlier.”
“You told him but not me you’re coming over?”
“I only asked what's on the dinner menu, and then I went here straight from the station,” Jun says. “I do hope you allow me to stay over.”
“Sure,” Nino says. He takes a closer step before finally giving Jun the hug he wanted to give since earlier. “I don't think I have energy for mad bouts of sex though.”
“I appreciate that but I don’t think I’d be able to do as much.” Jun’s laugh makes his chest rumble and Nino breathes in the comfort.
Nino looks up, tiptoeing slightly before he captures Jun’s lips with his. Their kiss is slow and long and wet and patient, and Nino presses closer, welcoming Jun home while seeking the closeness and warmth he has been missing all through the week.
When they part, Jun is smiling and Nino is sighing.
“Unfortunately I have homework so you can go on with your shower,” he says. “I'll join you later. You look like you're going to drop dead or something.”
Jun hums his weak protest as he nuzzles lazily against Nino’s neck, refusing to release Nino from his hold easily.
Nino lands another kiss before he pushes Jun lightly. “I’ll make the bed for you.”
Jun complies and snatches Nino’s oversized T-shirt on the way to the bathroom, and soon Nino can hear the water running.
After tidying the bed a little bit, Nino settles on starting his homework immediately. He takes out his tracing papers and sets them on his desk carefully; and thinking the sooner he’s done with this, the sooner he can join Jun on the warm bed. That’s motivation enough.
Nino has just finished spreading his papers on this desk when he hears Jun calling him from near the bathroom.
“I can hear the revelry downstairs from the bathroom.”
Nino makes a slow turn and is unable to keep from gasping when he finds Jun only in a short towel around his waist, wet and dripping, fresh out of the shower-or in mid-shower. “Oh my.”
Jun grins, because he knows what Nino’s seeing. “It’s just your bathroom…”
“Yeah.”
“I can hear Ohno-san and Sho-kun joining the revelry,” Jun continues.
“Okay.”
“And I think they're talking about us.”
“Okay,” Nino says, unconsciously licking his lips.
Jun let out a chuckle. “You were not listening to me at all.”
“I was.”
“But?”
Nino finally looks up to meet Jun’s eyes and feels his cheeks flush because Jun is now staring right back at him with apparent amusement. “It's just- It’s always like that at the bathroom. If they get rowdier we can hear them from here. If you're taking a bath I can offer you my headphones.”
“A shower is fine. I'm exhausted enough. It's just weird.”
Nino only grins in reply. “Sorry.”
“It’s nothing. I'll just go back to that weird bathroom,” Jun says.
“Okay”. Nino has glazed sight again, and he almost whistles in appreciation when Jun turns to walk back to the bathroom, giving a clear view of that backside. He definitely needs a moment to breathe before going back to his papers.
Jun comes back fresh and sleepy. He heads to bed, and Nino experiences an unfamiliar happiness seeing Jun tucked under his blanket.
“You really don't mind?”
“I really don't. Just go on first.“
“Really?”
“I really really don't.” Nino sends Jun a reassuring smile and makes his way to his bed. He hums in delight as Jun shifts to make a space for Nino to join him. His bed has never been this enticing-with Jun in it, but priority is priority. Still, Nino lies down beside Jun for a moment and allows Jun to tackle him down for a hug. “I missed you.”
“Thank you for having me,” Jun speaks softly.
“Sure, but now you need to give me a goodnight kiss so I can go back to work. The sooner I finish this annoying homework, the sooner I can join you.”
Jun chuckles as he pulls Nino closer, pressing their bodies together. And Nino allows himself, and Jun, this moment before anything else. Their lips meet without rushing, and both of them lose themselves in each other. Jun tightens his hold around Nino’s waist and Nino doesn’t hesitate to deepen the kiss, sliding his legs to rub against Jun’s.
But when Jun’s hands begin to slide inside his shirt, Nino finally puts a stop on it. “Okay. We need to stop right there. I’m not going to leave this bed if I allow you to do that.”
“Spoilsport.” Jun groans unhappily but he finally lets Nino go.
“Now, sleep. I’ll join you later.” Nino chuckles and leaves the bed to go back to his desk.
For the next half an hour, Nino softly mumbles aimlessly about his tracing papers, and his deadline, and the annoying mistake he made this morning, resulting in him bringing work home now; the next thing he notices is Jun’s slow breathing and that he’s already asleep.
Nino smiles as he turns back to his papers. He hums a song as he works all through the night with Jun sleeping next to him.
。。。
Part 2