Lost & Found (Chapter 34)
“What do you think?” Ohno asked as he turned around in the biggest room of the house that they were visiting.
Nino looked around before his eyes landed on Ohno. “I think it’s a stupid waste of money,” he mumbled.
Ohno rolled his eyes as he came closer and bopped his nose. “It’s not.”
“It is, we don’t need so much space. We are mostly in one room, Jun and I are still in university,” he said with a frown. “Or Jun will be soon.”
“It is an investment, Nino,” Ohno argued as he stepped to the window to lean against the window sill and look outside for a bit.
Nino frowned as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “How?”
“I want to continue to make art, so I need a space to put my canvasses, preferably somewhere you won’t moan about them being in the way or them being in danger of pushed over. You want to be a professional musician. So you need space for your instruments, as well as for your practises and maybe even a small studio for recording.”
“My grandfather’s…”
“That house is your grandfather’s house, not yours or even ours. And I know that you can’t stand living there without him. I don’t want to make you, neither does Jun. I want us to build our own home, and for that, we would need a house that belongs to us.”
Nino stiffened as he looked at the floor to his feet. He realised that the other was right. “And Jun?”
“There is space for Jun to use as his own, how he wishes to, and how it will benefit him. He said he wanted to study architecture, right?”
“Yes, interior architecture,” Nino agreed with a smile as he remembered the happy look on Jun’s face when he had come over one day and told them about his plans. “It fits him, right?”
“It does,” Ohno agreed with a smile of his own. He stepped closer to Nino and cupped his cheek. “I know this decision is hard, but I think it is a good present for his graduation. His parents agreed with us. And I want to have a place where you can put the things you want to keep from your grandfather’s home as you sell it. We need to clean it out, and sadly we don’t have enough space at home to put them safely.”
Nino flinched at the reminder. They had gone over once to take some more clothes of him, but because of Jun’s exams, they hadn’t spent a lot of time there. They also had stopped because soon enough, the problem of where to store everything had come up. It was always in the back of his mind that it was still something he had to do. It was hard to find his peace or say his farewells entirely that way.
“Okay,” Nino agreed in the end. “But, I can’t contribute much to the costs…”
“Not yet,” Ohno agreed.
The will of his grandfather had left almost everything to him, and he had the inheritance of his parents. The money was enough for a deposit, but since it was all still in the chaos, he couldn’t use it yet.
“But I have earnings from my part-time job when you both went still to school, and I did a few exhibitions of my earlier works and sold art pieces. I never had to use any of that money. So please don’t worry about that just yet. You can give me your share when it’s there.”
Nino frowned as he looked into Ohno’s eyes. “That doesn’t feel right. If it’s a present from us, I want to contribute.”
“I know, and you will,” Ohno whispered as he kissed his lips lovingly. “I promise.”
Nino frowned profoundly, but in the end, he nodded in agreement. If Ohno would not turn down his money on a later date, it was okay with him.
“But I want Jun to decide how we’ll decorate it,” Nino said with a small frown, which made Ohno laugh against his lips.
“I promise we will not do anything to the interior… Oh well, maybe a bed, a sofa, and your things, but just so that we could spend at least a comfortable night here,” he grinned with a wink.
Nino giggled against him as he pressed his face against his shoulder. As his chuckles turned to sobs, Ohno’s arms were there, tightly around him as he caressed his back with warm, gentle fingers.
“It’s okay. I promise everything will be fine,” Ohno whispered. Nino was shaking in his arms as he clung to Ohno, crying onto his shoulder in memory of his grandfather and parents, and this step he was about to make, leaving his childhood finally entirely behind.
And how much he wished for their blessings to these steps.
-
“Hey J! We have a present for your graduation,” Nino said with a bright grin as he and Ohno stood in front of the school awaiting Jun after his classes.
“I haven’t graduated yet,” Jun said with a sceptical frown on his face as he looked Nino up and down.
Nino chuckled as he took Jun’s hand to tug him closer. “Details, details,” he said as he pecked his cheek and led him to Ohno, who did the same.
“Are you scared that you don’t pass?” Ohno asked with laughter evident in his voice.
Jun snorted, but then he shrugged. He was pretty sure he passed. “Okay, so what is it?” he asked instead of opening his hand for the present.
Nino grinned cheekily as he closed his hand around Jun. “Later,” he said as he led him from the school grounds.
“Are you drunk?” Jun asked with a small frown.
Nino giggled but shook his head. “No, I’m not, sorry, just feeling giddy.”
“Did you have lunch already?” Jun asked, looking at the older men.
“No,” Ohno said with a chuckle as he ruffled Jun’s hair. “We should probably go to eat. I believe Nino got light-headed.”
“Seems like it.”
“You know I can hear you, right?” Nino asked sarcastically.
“Yes, but you are clearly out of your mind,” Jun teased him as he squeezed his hand.
Nino stuck out his tongue, but then he hummed as he followed Ohno’s lead to a ramen shop. He looked at the other two, rolling his eyes but ignoring that they talked through their minds about him.
He knew he was freaking them out with his mood swings, but it was nothing he could help. And anyway he couldn’t change that.
Is he really okay?
I think so. He woke up like that…
What are you not telling me, Satoshi?
It’s about your present. So I can’t tell you just yet. I promised Kazu that he could tell you. Ohno chuckled slightly in their mind, which intensified as the Nino nudged him.
“Hungry.”
“I get it. Chose your seats, and I will order for you. Curry Ramen?”
“Yep!” Nino said with a grin as he sat down, still humming happily as he sat across from Jun, who watched him in amusement.
“What are you humming?”
“A melody…”
“What kind of song is it?”
Nino grinned cheekily. “A song that you can find anywhere.”
Jun frowned before his eyes widened as he realised that he didn’t know that song, which could only mean that Nino was composing again.
“It’s your song?!”
Nino winked slightly when Jun cried out in joy and jumped up to run around the table and hug Nino tightly. “That’s the best present ever for today,” he said happily.
“You can have the song when it’s finished. But it’s not your gift,” Nino said with a grin.
“Oh, I was wondering what song it was,” Ohno said thoughtfully as he sat now down across the other two as Jun had sat down beside Nino. “But since I know so little about music, I thought it’s just something I missed so far.”
Jun shook his head at those words. “No, it’s an original song,” he sighed as he thanked a waiter when he brought them their food. “So, what is my present?”
“Patience,” Nino said as he slurped his noodles. Jun glared slightly as he made to hit Nino, who dodged him. “You remembered me of food. So let me eat in peace. Then we will bring you.”
“You’re a brat.”
“I know.”
Jun stared at Nino, who was ignoring him now with a little smile on his face, before looking at Ohno helplessly.
Ohno chuckled but pointed at his bowl. “Eat before they get soggy.”
“You’re both horrible,” Jun decided as he finally started eating.
Nino had finished his food first - which was a feat in itself - and was scribbling in his notebook as he held Jun’s hand in his own. Jun and Ohno exchanged exasperated but very fond looks at his antics but let him be. If Nino was well enough to write a song, it was always better to let him be.
So they took their time with the meal, and Ohno ordered them some dessert and coffee while Jun tried to be patient. He wanted to know what his lovers had thought of for him now, but he was also too excited about a possible song, which made the waiting a little bit easier.
Nino finally put his pen down with a small but happy sigh.
“Finished?” Ohno asked curiously, and Nino shrugged.
“It needs a bit more tweaking, but that’s for later. I want to show Jun his present. Can we go?”
“First, he lets us wait, and then he rushes us,” Jun said with an amused frown on his face. Ohno shrugged as he stood to pay for their food while the others put their things away and followed him to the exit.
“So, what is it?” Jun asked as they stood outside.
Nino grinned as he retook Jun’s hand and led him through the city. Jun groaned but followed the older nonetheless.
-
Nino led them through the park until they almost reached the suburbs of the city. Ohno nibbled at his lip as he realised how further away their home would be from their apartments in the town or Nino’s grandfather home. But there was public transportation close by that would bring them into the city and right to their universities in around thirty minutes, so it should be fine, he hoped.
Nino was talking to Jun about the exams the younger had to do for his university with a smile on his face. Something that Ohno enjoyed very much to watch. He just hoped Jun would accept and even like their decision to buy a house.
He knew it was an over the top present. But it was not only a present for Jun but also for them, so it had seemed like the right thing to do. (And honestly, the vacation they had gotten Nino for his graduation had been similarly over the top. Especially since Ohno had paid the most of that vacation even if they told Nino otherwise.)
“What are we doing here?” Jun asked with a frown when they finally stood in front of the old, small house Nino, and he had found for them. It had two stories with low ceilings and sadly small windows, but it also had one tatami room that would make the perfect living room. Ohno had fallen in love with the space where usually a kotatsu would be, a small bathroom which was typical Japanese and would be a hassle to clean after washing each day. Still, it had a big comfortable kitchen which was fully equipped with three rooms they could take as their own as well as another room they could use as a bedroom.
Nino turned around to look at Jun, pulling his eyes away from the small entryway. With a smile, he pulled out the letter from his pocket, giving it to Jun. “Your present,” he explained with a smile.
Jun frowned in confusion but took the letter without argument. It was surprisingly heavy in his hand. He looked from one to the other, and under Ohno’s slight smile, he opened the envelope carefully.
He blinked in confusion as he pulled out the key and looked again from one to the other. “What does this mean?” he asked curiously.
Nino chuckled at the slight warning tone in Jun’s voice as he pulled him forward. “Your present,” he repeated as he led him to the door. Jun’s frown deepened, but he used the key in his hand to open the door, more surprised than he should be as it swung open.
“You’re both absolutely idiotic,” he breathed as he entered the entryway slowly, his eyes falling on the small banner on top of the threshold, telling him congratulations.
“It was the most logical step,” Ohno said with a small laugh in his voice.
“Oh-chan is right, you know?” Nino said with a smile. “And I told him he couldn’t be serious as well when he told me his idea.”
Jun shook his head as he took off his shoes and went further into their home-to-be. He really couldn’t believe that these idiots could be his lover, he thought as he looked around. Buying him a house, honestly, it was hard to believe.
Nino looked around before his eyes landed on Ohno. “I think it’s a stupid waste of money,” he mumbled.
Ohno rolled his eyes as he came closer and bopped his nose. “It’s not.”
“It is, we don’t need so much space. We are mostly in one room, Jun and I are still in university,” he said with a frown. “Or Jun will be soon.”
“It is an investment, Nino,” Ohno argued as he stepped to the window to lean against the window sill and look outside for a bit.
Nino frowned as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “How?”
“I want to continue to make art, so I need a space to put my canvasses, preferably somewhere you won’t moan about them being in the way or them being in danger of pushed over. You want to be a professional musician. So you need space for your instruments, as well as for your practises and maybe even a small studio for recording.”
“My grandfather’s…”
“That house is your grandfather’s house, not yours or even ours. And I know that you can’t stand living there without him. I don’t want to make you, neither does Jun. I want us to build our own home, and for that, we would need a house that belongs to us.”
Nino stiffened as he looked at the floor to his feet. He realised that the other was right. “And Jun?”
“There is space for Jun to use as his own, how he wishes to, and how it will benefit him. He said he wanted to study architecture, right?”
“Yes, interior architecture,” Nino agreed with a smile as he remembered the happy look on Jun’s face when he had come over one day and told them about his plans. “It fits him, right?”
“It does,” Ohno agreed with a smile of his own. He stepped closer to Nino and cupped his cheek. “I know this decision is hard, but I think it is a good present for his graduation. His parents agreed with us. And I want to have a place where you can put the things you want to keep from your grandfather’s home as you sell it. We need to clean it out, and sadly we don’t have enough space at home to put them safely.”
Nino flinched at the reminder. They had gone over once to take some more clothes of him, but because of Jun’s exams, they hadn’t spent a lot of time there. They also had stopped because soon enough, the problem of where to store everything had come up. It was always in the back of his mind that it was still something he had to do. It was hard to find his peace or say his farewells entirely that way.
“Okay,” Nino agreed in the end. “But, I can’t contribute much to the costs…”
“Not yet,” Ohno agreed.
The will of his grandfather had left almost everything to him, and he had the inheritance of his parents. The money was enough for a deposit, but since it was all still in the chaos, he couldn’t use it yet.
“But I have earnings from my part-time job when you both went still to school, and I did a few exhibitions of my earlier works and sold art pieces. I never had to use any of that money. So please don’t worry about that just yet. You can give me your share when it’s there.”
Nino frowned as he looked into Ohno’s eyes. “That doesn’t feel right. If it’s a present from us, I want to contribute.”
“I know, and you will,” Ohno whispered as he kissed his lips lovingly. “I promise.”
Nino frowned profoundly, but in the end, he nodded in agreement. If Ohno would not turn down his money on a later date, it was okay with him.
“But I want Jun to decide how we’ll decorate it,” Nino said with a small frown, which made Ohno laugh against his lips.
“I promise we will not do anything to the interior… Oh well, maybe a bed, a sofa, and your things, but just so that we could spend at least a comfortable night here,” he grinned with a wink.
Nino giggled against him as he pressed his face against his shoulder. As his chuckles turned to sobs, Ohno’s arms were there, tightly around him as he caressed his back with warm, gentle fingers.
“It’s okay. I promise everything will be fine,” Ohno whispered. Nino was shaking in his arms as he clung to Ohno, crying onto his shoulder in memory of his grandfather and parents, and this step he was about to make, leaving his childhood finally entirely behind.
And how much he wished for their blessings to these steps.
-
“Hey J! We have a present for your graduation,” Nino said with a bright grin as he and Ohno stood in front of the school awaiting Jun after his classes.
“I haven’t graduated yet,” Jun said with a sceptical frown on his face as he looked Nino up and down.
Nino chuckled as he took Jun’s hand to tug him closer. “Details, details,” he said as he pecked his cheek and led him to Ohno, who did the same.
“Are you scared that you don’t pass?” Ohno asked with laughter evident in his voice.
Jun snorted, but then he shrugged. He was pretty sure he passed. “Okay, so what is it?” he asked instead of opening his hand for the present.
Nino grinned cheekily as he closed his hand around Jun. “Later,” he said as he led him from the school grounds.
“Are you drunk?” Jun asked with a small frown.
Nino giggled but shook his head. “No, I’m not, sorry, just feeling giddy.”
“Did you have lunch already?” Jun asked, looking at the older men.
“No,” Ohno said with a chuckle as he ruffled Jun’s hair. “We should probably go to eat. I believe Nino got light-headed.”
“Seems like it.”
“You know I can hear you, right?” Nino asked sarcastically.
“Yes, but you are clearly out of your mind,” Jun teased him as he squeezed his hand.
Nino stuck out his tongue, but then he hummed as he followed Ohno’s lead to a ramen shop. He looked at the other two, rolling his eyes but ignoring that they talked through their minds about him.
He knew he was freaking them out with his mood swings, but it was nothing he could help. And anyway he couldn’t change that.
Is he really okay?
I think so. He woke up like that…
What are you not telling me, Satoshi?
It’s about your present. So I can’t tell you just yet. I promised Kazu that he could tell you. Ohno chuckled slightly in their mind, which intensified as the Nino nudged him.
“Hungry.”
“I get it. Chose your seats, and I will order for you. Curry Ramen?”
“Yep!” Nino said with a grin as he sat down, still humming happily as he sat across from Jun, who watched him in amusement.
“What are you humming?”
“A melody…”
“What kind of song is it?”
Nino grinned cheekily. “A song that you can find anywhere.”
Jun frowned before his eyes widened as he realised that he didn’t know that song, which could only mean that Nino was composing again.
“It’s your song?!”
Nino winked slightly when Jun cried out in joy and jumped up to run around the table and hug Nino tightly. “That’s the best present ever for today,” he said happily.
“You can have the song when it’s finished. But it’s not your gift,” Nino said with a grin.
“Oh, I was wondering what song it was,” Ohno said thoughtfully as he sat now down across the other two as Jun had sat down beside Nino. “But since I know so little about music, I thought it’s just something I missed so far.”
Jun shook his head at those words. “No, it’s an original song,” he sighed as he thanked a waiter when he brought them their food. “So, what is my present?”
“Patience,” Nino said as he slurped his noodles. Jun glared slightly as he made to hit Nino, who dodged him. “You remembered me of food. So let me eat in peace. Then we will bring you.”
“You’re a brat.”
“I know.”
Jun stared at Nino, who was ignoring him now with a little smile on his face, before looking at Ohno helplessly.
Ohno chuckled but pointed at his bowl. “Eat before they get soggy.”
“You’re both horrible,” Jun decided as he finally started eating.
Nino had finished his food first - which was a feat in itself - and was scribbling in his notebook as he held Jun’s hand in his own. Jun and Ohno exchanged exasperated but very fond looks at his antics but let him be. If Nino was well enough to write a song, it was always better to let him be.
So they took their time with the meal, and Ohno ordered them some dessert and coffee while Jun tried to be patient. He wanted to know what his lovers had thought of for him now, but he was also too excited about a possible song, which made the waiting a little bit easier.
Nino finally put his pen down with a small but happy sigh.
“Finished?” Ohno asked curiously, and Nino shrugged.
“It needs a bit more tweaking, but that’s for later. I want to show Jun his present. Can we go?”
“First, he lets us wait, and then he rushes us,” Jun said with an amused frown on his face. Ohno shrugged as he stood to pay for their food while the others put their things away and followed him to the exit.
“So, what is it?” Jun asked as they stood outside.
Nino grinned as he retook Jun’s hand and led him through the city. Jun groaned but followed the older nonetheless.
-
Nino led them through the park until they almost reached the suburbs of the city. Ohno nibbled at his lip as he realised how further away their home would be from their apartments in the town or Nino’s grandfather home. But there was public transportation close by that would bring them into the city and right to their universities in around thirty minutes, so it should be fine, he hoped.
Nino was talking to Jun about the exams the younger had to do for his university with a smile on his face. Something that Ohno enjoyed very much to watch. He just hoped Jun would accept and even like their decision to buy a house.
He knew it was an over the top present. But it was not only a present for Jun but also for them, so it had seemed like the right thing to do. (And honestly, the vacation they had gotten Nino for his graduation had been similarly over the top. Especially since Ohno had paid the most of that vacation even if they told Nino otherwise.)
“What are we doing here?” Jun asked with a frown when they finally stood in front of the old, small house Nino, and he had found for them. It had two stories with low ceilings and sadly small windows, but it also had one tatami room that would make the perfect living room. Ohno had fallen in love with the space where usually a kotatsu would be, a small bathroom which was typical Japanese and would be a hassle to clean after washing each day. Still, it had a big comfortable kitchen which was fully equipped with three rooms they could take as their own as well as another room they could use as a bedroom.
Nino turned around to look at Jun, pulling his eyes away from the small entryway. With a smile, he pulled out the letter from his pocket, giving it to Jun. “Your present,” he explained with a smile.
Jun frowned in confusion but took the letter without argument. It was surprisingly heavy in his hand. He looked from one to the other, and under Ohno’s slight smile, he opened the envelope carefully.
He blinked in confusion as he pulled out the key and looked again from one to the other. “What does this mean?” he asked curiously.
Nino chuckled at the slight warning tone in Jun’s voice as he pulled him forward. “Your present,” he repeated as he led him to the door. Jun’s frown deepened, but he used the key in his hand to open the door, more surprised than he should be as it swung open.
“You’re both absolutely idiotic,” he breathed as he entered the entryway slowly, his eyes falling on the small banner on top of the threshold, telling him congratulations.
“It was the most logical step,” Ohno said with a small laugh in his voice.
“Oh-chan is right, you know?” Nino said with a smile. “And I told him he couldn’t be serious as well when he told me his idea.”
Jun shook his head as he took off his shoes and went further into their home-to-be. He really couldn’t believe that these idiots could be his lover, he thought as he looked around. Buying him a house, honestly, it was hard to believe.