[Fic] Finders Keepers 9/10
Title : [Fic] Finders Keepers (9/10)
Author : Jadey
Rating : R
Genre : AU
Pairing : Ohno/Nino, Ohno/(girl!) Jun
Disclaimer : fiction, yo!
Word count : 2423 words
Summary : He was prepared to marry her, but something had to happen just when he's decided to spend the rest of his life with her; he fell in love... not with her, but with her best friend.
Note : ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO. /squeal
PREVIOUS CHAPTERS HERE
Chapter 9
22. Ninomiya
He still wasn’t drunk enough.
Surely not because he could still remember things clearly, could still recall the way it left him broken when he’d been dumped like he was nothing - dropped like a piece of garbage and was treated the same way too; he could still very well remember how damn painful it’d been when he woke up finding himself alone, and realizing belatedly that he’d probably been alone far longer than he thought he’d been.
He remembered the conversation, well, at least most of it and nothing about it was enough to hint him that he’d be gone the next time he opened his eyes. He remembered the way he’d been loved thoroughly the whole night, the way he’d been reduced to nothing but a clinging mess of sweaty limbs and shuddering nerves all the way to the end.
“At least he left me with a pair of dirty socks to remember him with,” he told the glass in front of him, smiled an empty smile while he squinted at the half-finished bottle of vodka he’d found behind her bestfriend’s champagne glasses collection; he didn’t know why he suddenly felt like the world’s dumbest guy for even thinking then that he’d come back, that he’d make things right, that he’d - “Damn it, but I loved you!” he spat to the glass, and his vision turned even more blurry with the impending tears even though he’s trying hard not to cry. “ - and love you still after all these fucking years,” he added, albeit more softly, resignedly.
He had walked out on him when he thought he’d stay, left him with nothing but memories he didn’t know if he could even call his; he never found out where he’d gone to when he left, and he was stupid enough not to ask for his address and phone number before he’d let him fuck him for the whole week straight.
But he loved him despite the short time, despite the fact that it started with a drunken encounter behind their university’s cafeteria; he didn’t think he’d even want him after the first time, but then he woke up the next morning with his arms wrapped around him, his face so close to his that when he opened his eyes and smiled at him, he smiled back and realized that even without the alcohol, he wanted him the same way again.
“You had me thinking that you wanted me as much as I wanted you,” he told the glass as he blindly reached for the bottle beside it, trying to keep his eyes open even when he’s mostly doing a poor job at it; “ - had me thinking that for once, someone was dumb enough to love me despite -“
“Oh god, please don’t tell me you’re confessing to my tabletop or I’m seriously gonna laugh at your ugly face,”
He paused to think that he might be dreaming, that there was no way his bestfriend was anywhere near him, telling him about a confession he was sure he wasn’t saying because shouldn’t she be sexing her boyfriend up to make up for the time she cheated on him?
He raised his head and saw her standing opposite him, her perfectly groomed hair framing her lovely face, and hating her for being so fucking perfect as well as loving her for being just the way she was.
“I hate you,” he mumbled shakily as he wiped his face with the back of his hand because again, those damn tears wouldn’t let him be.
She smiled knowingly, reached out to cup his cheeks as she stared at him like she didn’t even need him to say anything, because she knew - because she knew him long enough to figure out what he wanted even without him opening his mouth.
“Oh, the feeling is absolutely mutual, Ninomiya,” she said before she leaned down to peck his nose and grimaced at the same time. “Ugh, you smell like my grandfather after he’s done consuming a whole bottle of sake in the middle of the fucking afternoon,” she said as she pulled back up, her expression softening as she reached down to thumb his tears away.
His lips were quivering when he caught her hand, pressing gentle kiss against her knuckles. “I only want you to be happy; you know that, don’t you?”
She nodded. “Of course,” she replied, rounding the way until she was already standing close to him and he found nothing wrong with wrapping his arms around her waist, pressing his face against her belly. “The same thing I want for you,” she whispered, running her fingertips through his messy hair. “And that’s exactly what I am going to do,”
He lifted his face and stared at her. “Huh?”
“I am doing all of these for you, Kazu,” she said, and he could swear he saw something different in her eyes, something that wasn’t there before; “For the bestest best friend a girl could ever hope to have, a simple thank you for all the things you have done for me - for being there, for being the gay brother I never had,” she added with a tiny giggle.
But he’s still a little bit woozy to be thinking properly; just squinting at her in a way that he knew would probably earned him a good whacking across the head if he were sober.
She all but gently pried his arms off of her, before she was turning to her fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and handing it to him.
He sniffled. “What?”
“Drink that,” she said, turning the lid off and handing him the bottle again. “You need to be sober for this,”
He blinked. “For what?”
She smacked him instead. “For everything,” she muttered, “ - now drink up and show me that your head’s clear enough before I start talking,”
“You’re crazy,” he muttered against the bottle; he didn’t really know when the roles were reversed, why he’s the one being preached now instead of the other way around.
“You’ll definitely take that back once I’m done,”
“Whatever,”
“Hmph,”
23. Ohno
He couldn’t believe this.
“But you two were - I remember you and him were - I saw the pictures and -“ he stopped because he didn’t really know how to proceed anymore; her expression told him that she was really trying hard not to laugh at his expense but she’s having a hard time keeping herself from doing so. He pouted and crossed his arms tightly over his chest, watching and waiting till she’s done with her unnecessary giggling.
“Done?”
She coughed behind her hands. “Barely,” she said. “You’re so funny, god!”
“I’m glad you think that way, but can you please enlighten me with the facts between you and N-Ninomiya-san before I -“
“I already told you,” she said, her eyes twinkling with silent mischief. “We’re friends - best of friends, actually, and not more than that,”
“Right,” he breathed, suddenly feeling the need to get drunk if only to forget that this was actually happening; first, she’s dumping him and calling the wedding off days before they get married, then she was off to telling him that she’s doing it because she knew she was not the one he’s in love with but someone else -- her bestfriend - the same man whom he had met and screw around with a week before his graduation.
The man who was also somewhere around the apartment, doing only god-knows-what at the moment.
Her expression was serious the next time he looked up to her, and he knew then that there was something more - something more to this that she wasn’t telling him yet.
“W-What is it?”
She didn’t even blink when she raised her head and met his gaze halfway, squaring her shoulders defiantly.
“I’m letting you go so you can finally have your second chance at making things right for you and Kazu,” she said with all the seriousness she could probably muster, but it only seemed to make him want to reconsider even asking her in the first place. “But that doesn’t mean I am letting you off the hook for what you have done to him before - for leaving him behind and for not considering the consequences it might entail in the long run,”
He froze; of course, there was no such thing as free pass, most especially after what he had done in the past. He suddenly remembered that night in such perfect clarity like it only happened the night before, seeing his younger self as he was bent on doing what he thought then was right.
“I saw him about two weeks before graduation and I thought he was beautiful,” he found himself saying, staring past June’s pretty face and onto the purple wallpaper adorning June’s wall. “And then I saw him again that night, a week before graduation day, throwing up behind the school’s cafeteria and I thought he’s still the most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes on,”
He really couldn’t remember that day June said she came up to him to ask for his name, only that he was staring at the slouched form of a man sitting so far away from him, with expressive eyes and equally expressive mouth. All he remembered was the feeling like every single part of him was alive when the man looked up to him, and smiled.
“I brought him back to his apartment and we --- and we -“
“ - did something nasty that I really don’t have any desire to know now, or ever,” she griped with a scowl. “You can bypass that part and move on to the next, if you please,”
He looked her in the eye and wished it were so much easier said than done, but he wasn’t born yesterday and because he knew that even now, there was no easy way to right the wrongs he’d made - to correct the mistakes that he’d willingly committed because he thought then that he was the one getting in the way of Nino’s happiness.
“I wish I can tell him how sorry I am for leaving,” he said instead, because right now, he didn’t think his reasons still mattered - not after so many years of hiding this part of him which was now being bared open. “ - and for making him feel like he meant nothing, because when I look back at how disgustingly happy I was when we were together, I only end up blaming myself for not trusting myself enough to ask him then,”
“So you really were the reason,” she said, mostly to herself and he found himself nodding back.
“I saw him with a girl that same afternoon before I decided to leave, and he seemed so happy with her,” he said, reminiscing his stupidity. “I thought it was stupid of me to believe that we have something between us, because he clearly had someone -“
“But I told you we weren’t -“
He waved a hand at her, shaking his head. “I didn’t know it at that time!” he gritted, “I didn’t know that - when I saw you guys together, the first thought that came to me was he’s probably just playing with me, to pass the time or whatever the hell it was he wanted; you were there and he looked so happy, and I thought I was stupid for even thinking that he liked me like that,”
She was reaching out to grab his hand before he could even jerk away. “But it’s not -“
“So I went back to his apartment to grab my stuffs, cursing myself to hell and back for being so stupid and before I know it, he was already there and I.. I couldn’t hold myself back when he started -“
“Ohchan, are you here?” Nino called from the doorway and he froze on his feet, dropping his bag on the floor; he could here Nino’s quiet footsteps, closer and closer still, and he knew now that there was no way he could leave without him knowing. Before he knew it, there was a pair of warm arms encircling his waist from behind. “What were you doing, huh?” Nino’s lips skimmed the back of his neck, and then he’s leaning forward to bite at his ear.
“I.. I was just about to take a shower and -“
Nino lipped at his ear, licked at the sensitive flesh before he felt Nino’s small hands working their way to unbuckle his belt before he’s reaching down to cup him through his briefs.
“Shall we shower together then?” Nino asked, whispered actually, and he almost forgot the reason why he’s rushing to go back here; Nino’s expert hands kneaded him through the fabric of his briefs, sucking that ticklish spot beneath his ear that only took him one night to find.
He closed his eyes and told himself, just this once and he’s gone.
He turned in his arms and hugged him back, lips finding the other man’s own with a growl coming deep within his chest.
“Nino,”
“I really don’t want to know anymore,” June spat, massaging her temple; “What I want to hear is your thoughts and plans about these…”
He shook his head. “I just want to apologize to him, that’s all,” It was the only sensible thing to want, afterall, because expecting more than what he supposed he should expect would only make things a lot harder to face in the end.
Besides, he didn’t want any more complications than what he’s currently dwelling into at the moment, and wishing for impossible things would only make him look a lot like a fool for giving in.
“You mean you’re not going to do anything to get him back?! After all the trouble I went through just to get you two to -“
“I’m sorry for that, June-chan, but I don’t think there’s any way he would even want to look at me after everything I have done; you just didn’t see the way he looked at me when I came in - like he was barely holding himself from killing me right then and there,”
She was shaking her head stubbornly and he quietly wished he had her strength, her determination, because if he did, then he wouldn’t be here listening to whatever she needed to say because then he’d be off somewhere, loving every inch of the man he had fell in love at first sight.
If only.
“That’s exactly where you’re wrong, Satoshi,”
Author : Jadey
Rating : R
Genre : AU
Pairing : Ohno/Nino, Ohno/(girl!) Jun
Disclaimer : fiction, yo!
Word count : 2423 words
Summary : He was prepared to marry her, but something had to happen just when he's decided to spend the rest of his life with her; he fell in love... not with her, but with her best friend.
Note : ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO. /squeal
PREVIOUS CHAPTERS HERE
Chapter 9
22. Ninomiya
He still wasn’t drunk enough.
Surely not because he could still remember things clearly, could still recall the way it left him broken when he’d been dumped like he was nothing - dropped like a piece of garbage and was treated the same way too; he could still very well remember how damn painful it’d been when he woke up finding himself alone, and realizing belatedly that he’d probably been alone far longer than he thought he’d been.
He remembered the conversation, well, at least most of it and nothing about it was enough to hint him that he’d be gone the next time he opened his eyes. He remembered the way he’d been loved thoroughly the whole night, the way he’d been reduced to nothing but a clinging mess of sweaty limbs and shuddering nerves all the way to the end.
“At least he left me with a pair of dirty socks to remember him with,” he told the glass in front of him, smiled an empty smile while he squinted at the half-finished bottle of vodka he’d found behind her bestfriend’s champagne glasses collection; he didn’t know why he suddenly felt like the world’s dumbest guy for even thinking then that he’d come back, that he’d make things right, that he’d - “Damn it, but I loved you!” he spat to the glass, and his vision turned even more blurry with the impending tears even though he’s trying hard not to cry. “ - and love you still after all these fucking years,” he added, albeit more softly, resignedly.
He had walked out on him when he thought he’d stay, left him with nothing but memories he didn’t know if he could even call his; he never found out where he’d gone to when he left, and he was stupid enough not to ask for his address and phone number before he’d let him fuck him for the whole week straight.
But he loved him despite the short time, despite the fact that it started with a drunken encounter behind their university’s cafeteria; he didn’t think he’d even want him after the first time, but then he woke up the next morning with his arms wrapped around him, his face so close to his that when he opened his eyes and smiled at him, he smiled back and realized that even without the alcohol, he wanted him the same way again.
“You had me thinking that you wanted me as much as I wanted you,” he told the glass as he blindly reached for the bottle beside it, trying to keep his eyes open even when he’s mostly doing a poor job at it; “ - had me thinking that for once, someone was dumb enough to love me despite -“
“Oh god, please don’t tell me you’re confessing to my tabletop or I’m seriously gonna laugh at your ugly face,”
He paused to think that he might be dreaming, that there was no way his bestfriend was anywhere near him, telling him about a confession he was sure he wasn’t saying because shouldn’t she be sexing her boyfriend up to make up for the time she cheated on him?
He raised his head and saw her standing opposite him, her perfectly groomed hair framing her lovely face, and hating her for being so fucking perfect as well as loving her for being just the way she was.
“I hate you,” he mumbled shakily as he wiped his face with the back of his hand because again, those damn tears wouldn’t let him be.
She smiled knowingly, reached out to cup his cheeks as she stared at him like she didn’t even need him to say anything, because she knew - because she knew him long enough to figure out what he wanted even without him opening his mouth.
“Oh, the feeling is absolutely mutual, Ninomiya,” she said before she leaned down to peck his nose and grimaced at the same time. “Ugh, you smell like my grandfather after he’s done consuming a whole bottle of sake in the middle of the fucking afternoon,” she said as she pulled back up, her expression softening as she reached down to thumb his tears away.
His lips were quivering when he caught her hand, pressing gentle kiss against her knuckles. “I only want you to be happy; you know that, don’t you?”
She nodded. “Of course,” she replied, rounding the way until she was already standing close to him and he found nothing wrong with wrapping his arms around her waist, pressing his face against her belly. “The same thing I want for you,” she whispered, running her fingertips through his messy hair. “And that’s exactly what I am going to do,”
He lifted his face and stared at her. “Huh?”
“I am doing all of these for you, Kazu,” she said, and he could swear he saw something different in her eyes, something that wasn’t there before; “For the bestest best friend a girl could ever hope to have, a simple thank you for all the things you have done for me - for being there, for being the gay brother I never had,” she added with a tiny giggle.
But he’s still a little bit woozy to be thinking properly; just squinting at her in a way that he knew would probably earned him a good whacking across the head if he were sober.
She all but gently pried his arms off of her, before she was turning to her fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and handing it to him.
He sniffled. “What?”
“Drink that,” she said, turning the lid off and handing him the bottle again. “You need to be sober for this,”
He blinked. “For what?”
She smacked him instead. “For everything,” she muttered, “ - now drink up and show me that your head’s clear enough before I start talking,”
“You’re crazy,” he muttered against the bottle; he didn’t really know when the roles were reversed, why he’s the one being preached now instead of the other way around.
“You’ll definitely take that back once I’m done,”
“Whatever,”
“Hmph,”
23. Ohno
He couldn’t believe this.
“But you two were - I remember you and him were - I saw the pictures and -“ he stopped because he didn’t really know how to proceed anymore; her expression told him that she was really trying hard not to laugh at his expense but she’s having a hard time keeping herself from doing so. He pouted and crossed his arms tightly over his chest, watching and waiting till she’s done with her unnecessary giggling.
“Done?”
She coughed behind her hands. “Barely,” she said. “You’re so funny, god!”
“I’m glad you think that way, but can you please enlighten me with the facts between you and N-Ninomiya-san before I -“
“I already told you,” she said, her eyes twinkling with silent mischief. “We’re friends - best of friends, actually, and not more than that,”
“Right,” he breathed, suddenly feeling the need to get drunk if only to forget that this was actually happening; first, she’s dumping him and calling the wedding off days before they get married, then she was off to telling him that she’s doing it because she knew she was not the one he’s in love with but someone else -- her bestfriend - the same man whom he had met and screw around with a week before his graduation.
The man who was also somewhere around the apartment, doing only god-knows-what at the moment.
Her expression was serious the next time he looked up to her, and he knew then that there was something more - something more to this that she wasn’t telling him yet.
“W-What is it?”
She didn’t even blink when she raised her head and met his gaze halfway, squaring her shoulders defiantly.
“I’m letting you go so you can finally have your second chance at making things right for you and Kazu,” she said with all the seriousness she could probably muster, but it only seemed to make him want to reconsider even asking her in the first place. “But that doesn’t mean I am letting you off the hook for what you have done to him before - for leaving him behind and for not considering the consequences it might entail in the long run,”
He froze; of course, there was no such thing as free pass, most especially after what he had done in the past. He suddenly remembered that night in such perfect clarity like it only happened the night before, seeing his younger self as he was bent on doing what he thought then was right.
“I saw him about two weeks before graduation and I thought he was beautiful,” he found himself saying, staring past June’s pretty face and onto the purple wallpaper adorning June’s wall. “And then I saw him again that night, a week before graduation day, throwing up behind the school’s cafeteria and I thought he’s still the most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes on,”
He really couldn’t remember that day June said she came up to him to ask for his name, only that he was staring at the slouched form of a man sitting so far away from him, with expressive eyes and equally expressive mouth. All he remembered was the feeling like every single part of him was alive when the man looked up to him, and smiled.
“I brought him back to his apartment and we --- and we -“
“ - did something nasty that I really don’t have any desire to know now, or ever,” she griped with a scowl. “You can bypass that part and move on to the next, if you please,”
He looked her in the eye and wished it were so much easier said than done, but he wasn’t born yesterday and because he knew that even now, there was no easy way to right the wrongs he’d made - to correct the mistakes that he’d willingly committed because he thought then that he was the one getting in the way of Nino’s happiness.
“I wish I can tell him how sorry I am for leaving,” he said instead, because right now, he didn’t think his reasons still mattered - not after so many years of hiding this part of him which was now being bared open. “ - and for making him feel like he meant nothing, because when I look back at how disgustingly happy I was when we were together, I only end up blaming myself for not trusting myself enough to ask him then,”
“So you really were the reason,” she said, mostly to herself and he found himself nodding back.
“I saw him with a girl that same afternoon before I decided to leave, and he seemed so happy with her,” he said, reminiscing his stupidity. “I thought it was stupid of me to believe that we have something between us, because he clearly had someone -“
“But I told you we weren’t -“
He waved a hand at her, shaking his head. “I didn’t know it at that time!” he gritted, “I didn’t know that - when I saw you guys together, the first thought that came to me was he’s probably just playing with me, to pass the time or whatever the hell it was he wanted; you were there and he looked so happy, and I thought I was stupid for even thinking that he liked me like that,”
She was reaching out to grab his hand before he could even jerk away. “But it’s not -“
“So I went back to his apartment to grab my stuffs, cursing myself to hell and back for being so stupid and before I know it, he was already there and I.. I couldn’t hold myself back when he started -“
“Ohchan, are you here?” Nino called from the doorway and he froze on his feet, dropping his bag on the floor; he could here Nino’s quiet footsteps, closer and closer still, and he knew now that there was no way he could leave without him knowing. Before he knew it, there was a pair of warm arms encircling his waist from behind. “What were you doing, huh?” Nino’s lips skimmed the back of his neck, and then he’s leaning forward to bite at his ear.
“I.. I was just about to take a shower and -“
Nino lipped at his ear, licked at the sensitive flesh before he felt Nino’s small hands working their way to unbuckle his belt before he’s reaching down to cup him through his briefs.
“Shall we shower together then?” Nino asked, whispered actually, and he almost forgot the reason why he’s rushing to go back here; Nino’s expert hands kneaded him through the fabric of his briefs, sucking that ticklish spot beneath his ear that only took him one night to find.
He closed his eyes and told himself, just this once and he’s gone.
He turned in his arms and hugged him back, lips finding the other man’s own with a growl coming deep within his chest.
“Nino,”
“I really don’t want to know anymore,” June spat, massaging her temple; “What I want to hear is your thoughts and plans about these…”
He shook his head. “I just want to apologize to him, that’s all,” It was the only sensible thing to want, afterall, because expecting more than what he supposed he should expect would only make things a lot harder to face in the end.
Besides, he didn’t want any more complications than what he’s currently dwelling into at the moment, and wishing for impossible things would only make him look a lot like a fool for giving in.
“You mean you’re not going to do anything to get him back?! After all the trouble I went through just to get you two to -“
“I’m sorry for that, June-chan, but I don’t think there’s any way he would even want to look at me after everything I have done; you just didn’t see the way he looked at me when I came in - like he was barely holding himself from killing me right then and there,”
She was shaking her head stubbornly and he quietly wished he had her strength, her determination, because if he did, then he wouldn’t be here listening to whatever she needed to say because then he’d be off somewhere, loving every inch of the man he had fell in love at first sight.
If only.
“That’s exactly where you’re wrong, Satoshi,”