The Wizardly Ways of Ninomiya Kazunari (Chapter 15)
“You sure you are not interested to accompany me?” Ohno asked for the umpteenth time and Nino groaned as he forced himself to sit up and look at his lover with a frown.
Ohno chuckled and went closer to the other. He cupped his cheek and kissed his forehead. Nino had been nursing a nasty headache most of the morning. Still, Ohno had wanted to make sure he wouldn’t decide otherwise. It was partly because some days when Nino had a headache it helped the other to leave the house later on the day but he supposed not today.
“Okay, then I’ll leave you on your own. Take care and drink something.”
“Uhn, I’m not invalid. So don’t worry. I can be on my own for a bit without getting worse.”
“I know. But I don’t like to leave you when I know you don’t feel well.”
Nino smiled at the pout of the other and closed his eyes a bit when Ohno caressed his temple for a second before finally letting him go. “Bring me something nice,” Nino asked then.
“Chocolates?” Nino nodded with a happy smile and Ohno put another kiss on top of his lips and then made sure the blanket around Nino was tight.
Nino giggled but diligently lied back on the sofa and got comfortable where he was, already half closing his eyes before Ohno fully turned around to leave him alone and do the grocery shopping they still needed to do to last for the rest of the week. They had planned to do it together and decide what to eat during the trip but he trusted Ohno fully to decide on dishes that they both would enjoy. He just felt a tiny bit bad that Ohno would have to carry it alone, but he had made sure to secretly enchant his bags so that it should be okay even if Ohno would scold him once he realised that he had used magic when he had felt so awful.
But in the end, it was just a headache, nothing that rest and sleep wouldn’t be able to heal. And he was sure that Ohno would bring painkillers back with him. So he would be fine then the latest.
Nino was woken up a while later by the ringing of their phone, breaking through the silence and making the raging headache worse for a second in a way that his vision turned fussy. He rubbed his head with a small sigh, before moving the blankets back and reaching for his phone as it wouldn’t stop ringing, much to his annoyance.
“Ninomiya speaking?” he grumbled slightly and pulled the blanket more over himself again.
“Hi, Nino! It’s me Jun.”
Nino bit his lips and tried hard not to make any sound. Of course, it was Jun. He needed to keep calm, he thought with a frown. Today was the worst day after the double date thing or whatever it was they did. Being calm and hiding what he thought was already hard with Jun and then being cranky at being woken up and the headache in general… not a good mix.
“Ah J…” he said and then trailed off since he had no idea what to say otherwise.
“Why so silent?”
“I have a headache all day already. Oh-chan is out getting food and medicines,” Nino said, hoping that it would mean that Jun would hang up. He was very insecure about what to do right now. He shouldn’t be, he knew but it was hard. Jun was such a dear friend and he just wanted the best for him.
And he just didn’t like his date. He couldn’t help it.
“Oh pity. I hope you feel better soon.”
“Thank you,” Nino mumbled already ready to end the call when Jun cleared his throat slightly. A clear sign that he was nervous and Nino knew he wouldn’t be able to hang up now.
“Thank you for coming. You were very silent that evening. Did you already feel bad then? We could have rescheduled.”
“No… You know I can’t deal easily with strangers,” Nino said silently. “I like to be prepared.”
“I know but I would have chickened out,” Jun said with a chuckle. “I mean, it is like inviting the family.”
Nino blushed and hid his face behind his knees as he moved on the sofa restlessly. “I don’t think it is that serious,” he said and bit his lips. “You like him?”
“Yes,” Jun said, and he sounded way too dreamy in Nino’s opinion.
“Did you enjoy the evening at least?”
Nino stayed silent and then sighed. “The food was great, and it was nice to see you again.”
“But?”
“Mh?” Nino hummed, acting dumb and playing with the blanket slightly to calm down.
“Nino, what do you think of him?” Jun’s voice was low and almost warning but Nino knew he couldn’t lie to Jun. He would never be able to even if that meant hurting the other man.
“I don’t know… I just met him…” he tried to avoid still. “And we didn’t do that much but talk about your job and how you met and…”
“Nino be honest.”
Nino nibbled his lower lip and then sighed. “I can’t tell, honestly. I don’t get why you like him,” he said in the end. “He doesn’t seem to be honest with his feelings for you. There was not a lot I could tell and very unbalanced.”
“You don’t know him!”
“I said so already!” Nino said a bit more loudly. “I don’t know him. But you pester me to tell. I don’t like him. I don’t think he is a good fit for you and that you deserve better than him. I don't know what his deal is.”
“I love him,” Jun said and Nino could tell he was unhappy. “I can understand that you don’t know him yet and that I splurged him on you which might have been unfair, but saying that he doesn’t love me is going too far. You have no idea what you are talking about!”
“You do remember that I have that stupid curse of being an empath right? I can tell what people feel. I am sorry. I feel like he has an ulterior motive or anything. I have no idea.”
“You are going too far. I am sorry for not meeting your expectations, but I think I should not call you again when you are feeling like that and think it is great to insult my boyfriends.”
Nino winced as Jun’s voice was so icy and he closed his eyes. “I just want the best for you and warn you to be careful. I care for you.”
“Well your way of showing it is not appreciated,” Jun replied and ended the call just seconds after without giving Nino the chance to answer.
Nino stared at the phone in his hand for a minute or two blankly before letting it fall to the floor and curling up under his blanket. His headache was worse than ever and it was this time accompanied by the feeling of having lost someone very dear and important to him. And he felt like the most awful person in existence as well.
To say he was surprised was the understatement of the century, Ohno thought as he entered their home way later than he had liked to - but there had been a line at the pharmacy and he knew that it was best to make sure to stock up their medicine cabinet to make sure they were settled for situations like today.
He had thought he would find Nino asleep on the sofa or maybe staring at their ceiling in silence. If he was feeling better then might be accompanied by music but Ohno didn’t count on that. To find Nino in a fetal position, under the blanket and crying.
“Kazu…” he whispered and flinched when there was a surge of energy coming from the other man, pushing him away.
“Go away,” he cried.
“You won’t succeed in pushing me away. I thought you already learnt that” Ohno said calmly but resolutely as he picked the crying bundle up and pulled him to the floor with him to hug the trashing man tightly. “What happened?”
Nino tried to get away but finally gave up exhausted and leant against his shoulder. “Jun called.”
“And the call didn’t go as planned?”
“I told him the truth,” Nino murmured.
“And I get that he didn’t like it?”
Nino shook his head mutely and sniffled. “He hates me now.”
“No, he doesn’t.”
“He said so.”
“Did he know?”
“He implied it heavily,” Nino murmured.
Ohno sighed and rocked him from side to side, kissing his temple. “I promise nobody will come between your friendship. But of course, he is hurt now. Come on, love, I brought pain killers, you should take it now, then lie down and later you can call and apologise.”
“You think that will help?”
Ohno shrugged and rubbed the tears from his cheeks. “It will be a first step.”
“I can’t just start liking him though.”
“I know.”
“And I am so sure he will hurt Jun. I don’t want that.”
“When it comes to that you will comfort him with open arms and without saying horrible things like Told you so.”
“I would never!”
Ohno smiled and nodded and patted his back lovingly before looking into his face. “Medicine?”
Nino nodded mutely and allowed Ohno to put him back on the sofa. “Not sure I deserve being taken care of now,” he murmured with a sigh.
“Good that I don’t care about what you think you deserve or not,” Ohno said and ruffled his hair. “Try to sleep.”
Nino nodded again and Ohno rubbed his forehead with a sigh after he was sure Nino was resting. He hoped they would figure it out together.
As people asked I made a ko-fi account, no pressure, I am still not sure I am comfortable with having one. But here it is: https://ko-fi.com/reveetoile11366
Ohno chuckled and went closer to the other. He cupped his cheek and kissed his forehead. Nino had been nursing a nasty headache most of the morning. Still, Ohno had wanted to make sure he wouldn’t decide otherwise. It was partly because some days when Nino had a headache it helped the other to leave the house later on the day but he supposed not today.
“Okay, then I’ll leave you on your own. Take care and drink something.”
“Uhn, I’m not invalid. So don’t worry. I can be on my own for a bit without getting worse.”
“I know. But I don’t like to leave you when I know you don’t feel well.”
Nino smiled at the pout of the other and closed his eyes a bit when Ohno caressed his temple for a second before finally letting him go. “Bring me something nice,” Nino asked then.
“Chocolates?” Nino nodded with a happy smile and Ohno put another kiss on top of his lips and then made sure the blanket around Nino was tight.
Nino giggled but diligently lied back on the sofa and got comfortable where he was, already half closing his eyes before Ohno fully turned around to leave him alone and do the grocery shopping they still needed to do to last for the rest of the week. They had planned to do it together and decide what to eat during the trip but he trusted Ohno fully to decide on dishes that they both would enjoy. He just felt a tiny bit bad that Ohno would have to carry it alone, but he had made sure to secretly enchant his bags so that it should be okay even if Ohno would scold him once he realised that he had used magic when he had felt so awful.
But in the end, it was just a headache, nothing that rest and sleep wouldn’t be able to heal. And he was sure that Ohno would bring painkillers back with him. So he would be fine then the latest.
Nino was woken up a while later by the ringing of their phone, breaking through the silence and making the raging headache worse for a second in a way that his vision turned fussy. He rubbed his head with a small sigh, before moving the blankets back and reaching for his phone as it wouldn’t stop ringing, much to his annoyance.
“Ninomiya speaking?” he grumbled slightly and pulled the blanket more over himself again.
“Hi, Nino! It’s me Jun.”
Nino bit his lips and tried hard not to make any sound. Of course, it was Jun. He needed to keep calm, he thought with a frown. Today was the worst day after the double date thing or whatever it was they did. Being calm and hiding what he thought was already hard with Jun and then being cranky at being woken up and the headache in general… not a good mix.
“Ah J…” he said and then trailed off since he had no idea what to say otherwise.
“Why so silent?”
“I have a headache all day already. Oh-chan is out getting food and medicines,” Nino said, hoping that it would mean that Jun would hang up. He was very insecure about what to do right now. He shouldn’t be, he knew but it was hard. Jun was such a dear friend and he just wanted the best for him.
And he just didn’t like his date. He couldn’t help it.
“Oh pity. I hope you feel better soon.”
“Thank you,” Nino mumbled already ready to end the call when Jun cleared his throat slightly. A clear sign that he was nervous and Nino knew he wouldn’t be able to hang up now.
“Thank you for coming. You were very silent that evening. Did you already feel bad then? We could have rescheduled.”
“No… You know I can’t deal easily with strangers,” Nino said silently. “I like to be prepared.”
“I know but I would have chickened out,” Jun said with a chuckle. “I mean, it is like inviting the family.”
Nino blushed and hid his face behind his knees as he moved on the sofa restlessly. “I don’t think it is that serious,” he said and bit his lips. “You like him?”
“Yes,” Jun said, and he sounded way too dreamy in Nino’s opinion.
“Did you enjoy the evening at least?”
Nino stayed silent and then sighed. “The food was great, and it was nice to see you again.”
“But?”
“Mh?” Nino hummed, acting dumb and playing with the blanket slightly to calm down.
“Nino, what do you think of him?” Jun’s voice was low and almost warning but Nino knew he couldn’t lie to Jun. He would never be able to even if that meant hurting the other man.
“I don’t know… I just met him…” he tried to avoid still. “And we didn’t do that much but talk about your job and how you met and…”
“Nino be honest.”
Nino nibbled his lower lip and then sighed. “I can’t tell, honestly. I don’t get why you like him,” he said in the end. “He doesn’t seem to be honest with his feelings for you. There was not a lot I could tell and very unbalanced.”
“You don’t know him!”
“I said so already!” Nino said a bit more loudly. “I don’t know him. But you pester me to tell. I don’t like him. I don’t think he is a good fit for you and that you deserve better than him. I don't know what his deal is.”
“I love him,” Jun said and Nino could tell he was unhappy. “I can understand that you don’t know him yet and that I splurged him on you which might have been unfair, but saying that he doesn’t love me is going too far. You have no idea what you are talking about!”
“You do remember that I have that stupid curse of being an empath right? I can tell what people feel. I am sorry. I feel like he has an ulterior motive or anything. I have no idea.”
“You are going too far. I am sorry for not meeting your expectations, but I think I should not call you again when you are feeling like that and think it is great to insult my boyfriends.”
Nino winced as Jun’s voice was so icy and he closed his eyes. “I just want the best for you and warn you to be careful. I care for you.”
“Well your way of showing it is not appreciated,” Jun replied and ended the call just seconds after without giving Nino the chance to answer.
Nino stared at the phone in his hand for a minute or two blankly before letting it fall to the floor and curling up under his blanket. His headache was worse than ever and it was this time accompanied by the feeling of having lost someone very dear and important to him. And he felt like the most awful person in existence as well.
To say he was surprised was the understatement of the century, Ohno thought as he entered their home way later than he had liked to - but there had been a line at the pharmacy and he knew that it was best to make sure to stock up their medicine cabinet to make sure they were settled for situations like today.
He had thought he would find Nino asleep on the sofa or maybe staring at their ceiling in silence. If he was feeling better then might be accompanied by music but Ohno didn’t count on that. To find Nino in a fetal position, under the blanket and crying.
“Kazu…” he whispered and flinched when there was a surge of energy coming from the other man, pushing him away.
“Go away,” he cried.
“You won’t succeed in pushing me away. I thought you already learnt that” Ohno said calmly but resolutely as he picked the crying bundle up and pulled him to the floor with him to hug the trashing man tightly. “What happened?”
Nino tried to get away but finally gave up exhausted and leant against his shoulder. “Jun called.”
“And the call didn’t go as planned?”
“I told him the truth,” Nino murmured.
“And I get that he didn’t like it?”
Nino shook his head mutely and sniffled. “He hates me now.”
“No, he doesn’t.”
“He said so.”
“Did he know?”
“He implied it heavily,” Nino murmured.
Ohno sighed and rocked him from side to side, kissing his temple. “I promise nobody will come between your friendship. But of course, he is hurt now. Come on, love, I brought pain killers, you should take it now, then lie down and later you can call and apologise.”
“You think that will help?”
Ohno shrugged and rubbed the tears from his cheeks. “It will be a first step.”
“I can’t just start liking him though.”
“I know.”
“And I am so sure he will hurt Jun. I don’t want that.”
“When it comes to that you will comfort him with open arms and without saying horrible things like Told you so.”
“I would never!”
Ohno smiled and nodded and patted his back lovingly before looking into his face. “Medicine?”
Nino nodded mutely and allowed Ohno to put him back on the sofa. “Not sure I deserve being taken care of now,” he murmured with a sigh.
“Good that I don’t care about what you think you deserve or not,” Ohno said and ruffled his hair. “Try to sleep.”
Nino nodded again and Ohno rubbed his forehead with a sigh after he was sure Nino was resting. He hoped they would figure it out together.
As people asked I made a ko-fi account, no pressure, I am still not sure I am comfortable with having one. But here it is: https://ko-fi.com/reveetoile11366