[Mini-series] A house called Happiness, Chapter 3
Happy Easter! And happy birthday to walking_orgy and all you other March babies that I may have missed!
Title: A house called Happiness
Chapter: 3
Pair: Ohba friendship! Ohmiya! :D :D
Rating: PG
Genre: Friendship, Humor
Summary: Mortgage Adviser Ninomiya tries to convince Ohno and Aiba not to buy the beach house, but not very hard, and has a few misunderstandings along the way.
Note: For the ever awesome eufry. Lots of artistic licence. This chapter was fun. I know this is supposed to be a challenge where I write pairings that aren't Ohmiya...but...at least this is a slightly different Ohmiya? DOES THIS MEAN I'VE FAILED? DOES IT?
Ohno fiddled with the button on the fine leather chair. He glanced at Aiba, who was nervously flicking through a magazine.
Ohno felt a little nervous too. The bank office was high end, more so even than his dad’s office. It wouldn’t have been so bad if they didn’t have to sit and wait. The secretaries kept staring at them.
Aiba happened to glance up, and Ohno offered an encouraging smile.
“I’m glad you’re here.” Aiba said, a little shy, “I’d be too nervous by myself, I’d mess something up.”
Ohno gave Aiba’s arm a comforting pat, “I’m glad you’re here too.”
Aiba clasped his hand over Ohno’s firmly. “I know I’ve said it a lot already, but thank you. Really, really, thank you.”
“It’s nothing.” Ohno cleared his throat, feeling his cheeks burn a little. It was difficult getting used to Aiba’s endless gratitude and compliments, which Ohno didn’t feel he entirely deserved.
Someone nearby suddenly coughed, and Ohno jumped, looking up to find a young man in the bank’s black suit uniform standing directly in front of them.
It was his eyes. His eyes smiled as if in on a joke. He had an air of witty intelligence, Ohno deduced, but not in that pushy obnoxious way that led Ohno to cut off from his old friends once they had gone into university and left Ohno behind.
“Misters Ohno and Aiba, I presume?” Asked the man in front of them, with a professional but friendly smile.
“Yes, hello! I’m Aiba Masaki!”
“It’s a pleasure, Mr. Aiba. I’m Ninomiya Kazunari, I’ll be handling your case.”
Ninomiya Kazunari. Ohno had expected him to look like his dad’s banking advisors. Old and grey and smelling of mothballs.
Not young, attractive and whatever he was wearing to smell so good Ohno felt it should be illegal.
Being prone to impulse, Ohno was used to his instincts that attracted him to things and people on sight. It was how he came to fall in love with the house and how he decided to take the leap with Aiba in buying it. And now they were telling him that this person was, if not a lifelong love, than a shot at the best one night stand of his life.
“You must be Ohno Satoshi?”
“Yes?!” Ohno yelped, realizing he was being addressed, and that Ninomiya was holding out his hand.
They shook hands, and at once Ohno’s attention jerked from Ninomiya’s face to his hands, which were so small, so cute, so-“squishy!”
“Excuse me?”
“S…Squishuu! I keep sneezing. Dust or something. Sorry. ” Ohno faked a sniffle. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh do you need a tissue? I have some.” Aiba searched his back pocket and produced a packet of tissues.
“Uh…thanks.” Ohno took one and passed the packet back, pretending to blow his nose.
“You’re very prepared, Mr. Aiba.” Observed Ninomiya with a smile that made Ohno feel a little dizzy and a lot warm.
“I always carry some because I never know when hay fever will attack.”
“Shall we relocate to my personal office? It will be less dusty in there, I promise.” The banker smiled, and then winked.
Ohno nodded. And nodded.
“Um, Oh-chan, here, take another tissue, your nose is bleeding.”
“Please, have a seat.”
The first thing Aiba noticed about Ninomiya’s office was how radically different it was from Matsumoto’s office. Matsumoto’s furniture was not only high end, but was the epitome of retro chic.
Ninomiya’s office, although neat and tidy, and modern, looked as if his hobbies were more important to him than his image to his clients. There was a parade of gombas on the desk, and a Gameboy something or other charging on his windowsill.
“I often work with families with children. My toys distract them.” Ninomiya explained, sitting down himself. “That one is my favorite.”
Ohno suddenly stopped playing with the gomba bobble head closest to him. “Ah, sorry.”
“Don’t be. He’s there to be bobbled.” Ninomiya reached forward and tapped the toy to make it jiggle again.
“Why these little guys though? Why not Marios or something?” Ohno asked, picking up a different toy.
“That…ah…I’ve been told I look like a gomba when I’m grumpy ever since I was little. Then people started giving them too me, and it wasn’t long before I had grown a bit of a collection.”
“What does your grumpy face look like?”
“I’m sorry, it’s a secret.”
“Please show me? I want to see.”
“No, I’m sorry, but I cannot show it to a client.”
“What kind of excuse is that?”
Aiba stared at Ohno. He had known Ohno was nervous even on the ride over, but he didn’t expect it to manifest in giggly, talkative behavior. Aiba had never expected anything to manifest itself in Ohno as talkative behavior.
“Um,” Aiba cleared his throat, “I’m sorry to interrupt but…..”
“Ah yes, that’s right. You’re not here just to chat with me are you?” Ninomiya grinned, and Aiba noticed Ohno’s hand fly up to his nose again. But before Aiba could dig out his packet of tissues, Ninomiya had passed him the box on his desk. “But perhaps we should reschedule…?”
“Yeah, if you aren’t feeling well Oh-chan…” Even though securing the funding for the house was important, Ohno did look a little unwell.
“No, I’m fine.” Ohno twisted a tissue and wedged it up his nose. “Embarrassed, but fine.”
“Maybe it’s the altitude? We are quite a few stories up.” Ninomiya offered, “It’s the weirdest thing, it does happen to my clients occasionally, but none of my coworkers on this floor have ever said it happens to their clients.”
“I wonder why.” Ohno muttered, and Aiba thought for a second he detected sarcasm.
“Maybe it would be better to finish sooner than later? I don’t want Oh-chan to pass out due to loss of blood.” Aiba leaned over and gave Ohno’s knee a comforting pat.
“That would be wise.” Ninomiya nodded, turning to his computer screen, and, after a couple of clicks, adjusted the monitor so that Aiba and Ohno could see. “The realtor you’ve been working with has sent me the details of the property you’re interested in.”
On the screen Aiba saw a picture of the little house and felt a familiar surge of fondness. The rest of the screen was full of tables and numbers that only served to hurt Aiba’s eyes.
“While I’m really not in a position to say this…..this place is a disaster, and the land itself is far from cheap. Personally, I think the two of you should sit back down with Matsumoto and go over your other, much more reasonable options that won’t break the bank. I am the bank, and as the bank, I can tell you, we don’t like being broken.”
“But we have to buy it now.” Aiba ran his hand though his hair, not sure how Ninomiya would take the same love story he had given Matsumoto. “We’ve come so far.”
“I understand that irrationality that drives people into doing things that aren’t good for them. I see it daily with people who try and buy houses beyond their means. While this one isn’t, at face value, beyond your means….when I look at this place I see a financial black hole.” Ninomiya shuddered visibly.
“We’re in love with that house.” Ohno said, tenderly unplugging his nose and examining the bloody tissue. “It’ll cost a lot of money and take a lot of time, but in the end…I don’t think we’ll be happy unless we’re there.”
“What he said.” Aiba agreed, nodding.
“Well, at least you can’t say I didn’t warn you.” Ninomiya said, smiling again.
Aiba chuckled, “Don’t worry, Matsumoto has done nothing but try to dissuade us. He’s a nice guy, have you ever met him?”
“We’ve met a few times in the line of duty.” Ninomiya turned his monitor back towards him, and he typed something as he spoke. “He always tries to send his clients here, because he approves of our policies, for the most part. Which of course, I appreciate.”
“He has a good heart.” Aiba agreed, “Not many people do these days.”
“I agree, he’s definitely one of a kind. Alright now that that’s all done,” Ninomiya made a few last clicks on his mouse before looking up again, “I’ll proceed to go over your options, and then I’ll print out some paper work for you to take home and read. Once you’ve completed and returned the papers, on our end we’ll run final credit checks and will set up the financial channels with the real estate agency where you will obtain the title deed in the end. Sound good?”
“How long will all that take?” Ohno asked.
“It depends on how quickly you return the paper work, but as soon as two months if all goes as planned.”
“Two months?” Aiba groaned, sagging back in his chair.
“Well, six to eight weeks, if you’d prefer to think of it that way.” The advisor smiled, “But if we hit a bump, it could take anywhere from two to six months.”
“Why does it have to take so long?” Aiba sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Good things are usually worth the wait, right?” Ohno said, with a strange hint to his voice that Aiba couldn’t place.
“Exactly. And with a life changing event like buying a house, it’s really better if it isn’t rushed.” Carefully, Ninomiya set his keyboard aside and folded his hands on his desk, leaning forward. “Before we get too deep into the details, I must inform you that our bank does not recognize civil unions in our lending practices. No banks do, given national policy.”
“Civil…” Ohno looked at Aiba.
“Unions…?” Aiba blinked at Ohno.
“It’s not like that. He’s not my lover. He’s not even my type!” Ohno declared, suddenly, hurriedly. “I’m actually single. Very single.”
“I’m not here to judge you two, and I do hope you are blissfully happy, so you don’t need to be shy. In fact I’ve had quite a few people in your situation come in to try to buy houses, and it’s nothing that can’t be worked around.”
“But we’re really not like that.” Ohno implored, now sounding desperate.
“It’s alright; you don’t have to hide it here. I saw how close you two were out in the lobby. Your secret is safe with me.”
“Oh,” Aiba laughed, catching on, “We really aren’t lovers or boyfriends or anything. We just want to buy our dream house together, fix it up together and live there happily forever, right Oh-chan?”
Ohno slowly buried his face in his hands.
“Well, how did it go?” Crackled Matsumoto’s voice over the phone Aiba had set to speaker.
“I learned to never take Aiba clubbing.” Ohno sighed, his forehead pressed against the glass of the passenger side window. “He wouldn’t know how to hit on someone if you gave him a stick.”
“What? I’m a great clubber!” Aiba pouted. “And I know how to hit on people.”
“What does clubbing and hitting on people have to do with securing your mortgage?”
“It went fine.” Aiba laughed at Matsumoto’s terseness. “Mr. Ninomiya explained stuff, gave us paper work.”
“Thought we were a gay couple.” Ohno mumbled.
Over the phone Matsumoto suddenly started laughing. “Did he? I wondered if he would. Not many pairs of straight men try to buy a house together.”
“Yeah, he told us how we’ll have to do the signer and co-signer thing instead of joint owner ship on the loan. And a whole bunch of other stuff.” Aiba added, reflecting on the meeting. “But he seemed to think we’d be able to get it and that’s the important thing, right? More important than his misconceptions.”
“I guess.” Ohno grumbled, determined to drink away his failure at the nearest alcohol selling establishment the instant Aiba dropped him off at the station.
“After you two have returned the paper work to the bank, make an appointment at my office again, and we can discuss the next steps, and look into your insurance options, if there are any.”
“Can do, Mr. Matsumoto!” Aiba said cheerfully. “Hey, can we use that insurance company with the cute duck in the little blue cape?”
“…………………….I’ll look into it. Don’t forget to call back and schedule an appointment soon ok?”
“Ok, talk to you later!” Aiba grabbed the phone off of the dashboard and ended the call.
Ohno sighed, heavily.
“What’s the matter, still not feeling well?”
“No its…I can’t get that smell out of my nose. I wonder what kind of cologne he had on.”
“Who?”
“Him. The mortgage advisor guy.”
“I…didn’t smell anything.”
“You didn’t? It was so strong, like…” Ohno ruffled his hair, searching for the words, “I don’t know how to describe it…maybe man-honey.”
“Man-honey?”
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t smell it. At least I don’t think I did. What does man-honey smell like?”
“Good. Very, very good.”
Title: A house called Happiness
Chapter: 3
Pair: Ohba friendship! Ohmiya! :D :D
Rating: PG
Genre: Friendship, Humor
Summary: Mortgage Adviser Ninomiya tries to convince Ohno and Aiba not to buy the beach house, but not very hard, and has a few misunderstandings along the way.
Note: For the ever awesome eufry. Lots of artistic licence. This chapter was fun. I know this is supposed to be a challenge where I write pairings that aren't Ohmiya...but...at least this is a slightly different Ohmiya? DOES THIS MEAN I'VE FAILED? DOES IT?
Ohno fiddled with the button on the fine leather chair. He glanced at Aiba, who was nervously flicking through a magazine.
Ohno felt a little nervous too. The bank office was high end, more so even than his dad’s office. It wouldn’t have been so bad if they didn’t have to sit and wait. The secretaries kept staring at them.
Aiba happened to glance up, and Ohno offered an encouraging smile.
“I’m glad you’re here.” Aiba said, a little shy, “I’d be too nervous by myself, I’d mess something up.”
Ohno gave Aiba’s arm a comforting pat, “I’m glad you’re here too.”
Aiba clasped his hand over Ohno’s firmly. “I know I’ve said it a lot already, but thank you. Really, really, thank you.”
“It’s nothing.” Ohno cleared his throat, feeling his cheeks burn a little. It was difficult getting used to Aiba’s endless gratitude and compliments, which Ohno didn’t feel he entirely deserved.
Someone nearby suddenly coughed, and Ohno jumped, looking up to find a young man in the bank’s black suit uniform standing directly in front of them.
It was his eyes. His eyes smiled as if in on a joke. He had an air of witty intelligence, Ohno deduced, but not in that pushy obnoxious way that led Ohno to cut off from his old friends once they had gone into university and left Ohno behind.
“Misters Ohno and Aiba, I presume?” Asked the man in front of them, with a professional but friendly smile.
“Yes, hello! I’m Aiba Masaki!”
“It’s a pleasure, Mr. Aiba. I’m Ninomiya Kazunari, I’ll be handling your case.”
Ninomiya Kazunari. Ohno had expected him to look like his dad’s banking advisors. Old and grey and smelling of mothballs.
Not young, attractive and whatever he was wearing to smell so good Ohno felt it should be illegal.
Being prone to impulse, Ohno was used to his instincts that attracted him to things and people on sight. It was how he came to fall in love with the house and how he decided to take the leap with Aiba in buying it. And now they were telling him that this person was, if not a lifelong love, than a shot at the best one night stand of his life.
“You must be Ohno Satoshi?”
“Yes?!” Ohno yelped, realizing he was being addressed, and that Ninomiya was holding out his hand.
They shook hands, and at once Ohno’s attention jerked from Ninomiya’s face to his hands, which were so small, so cute, so-“squishy!”
“Excuse me?”
“S…Squishuu! I keep sneezing. Dust or something. Sorry. ” Ohno faked a sniffle. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh do you need a tissue? I have some.” Aiba searched his back pocket and produced a packet of tissues.
“Uh…thanks.” Ohno took one and passed the packet back, pretending to blow his nose.
“You’re very prepared, Mr. Aiba.” Observed Ninomiya with a smile that made Ohno feel a little dizzy and a lot warm.
“I always carry some because I never know when hay fever will attack.”
“Shall we relocate to my personal office? It will be less dusty in there, I promise.” The banker smiled, and then winked.
Ohno nodded. And nodded.
“Um, Oh-chan, here, take another tissue, your nose is bleeding.”
“Please, have a seat.”
The first thing Aiba noticed about Ninomiya’s office was how radically different it was from Matsumoto’s office. Matsumoto’s furniture was not only high end, but was the epitome of retro chic.
Ninomiya’s office, although neat and tidy, and modern, looked as if his hobbies were more important to him than his image to his clients. There was a parade of gombas on the desk, and a Gameboy something or other charging on his windowsill.
“I often work with families with children. My toys distract them.” Ninomiya explained, sitting down himself. “That one is my favorite.”
Ohno suddenly stopped playing with the gomba bobble head closest to him. “Ah, sorry.”
“Don’t be. He’s there to be bobbled.” Ninomiya reached forward and tapped the toy to make it jiggle again.
“Why these little guys though? Why not Marios or something?” Ohno asked, picking up a different toy.
“That…ah…I’ve been told I look like a gomba when I’m grumpy ever since I was little. Then people started giving them too me, and it wasn’t long before I had grown a bit of a collection.”
“What does your grumpy face look like?”
“I’m sorry, it’s a secret.”
“Please show me? I want to see.”
“No, I’m sorry, but I cannot show it to a client.”
“What kind of excuse is that?”
Aiba stared at Ohno. He had known Ohno was nervous even on the ride over, but he didn’t expect it to manifest in giggly, talkative behavior. Aiba had never expected anything to manifest itself in Ohno as talkative behavior.
“Um,” Aiba cleared his throat, “I’m sorry to interrupt but…..”
“Ah yes, that’s right. You’re not here just to chat with me are you?” Ninomiya grinned, and Aiba noticed Ohno’s hand fly up to his nose again. But before Aiba could dig out his packet of tissues, Ninomiya had passed him the box on his desk. “But perhaps we should reschedule…?”
“Yeah, if you aren’t feeling well Oh-chan…” Even though securing the funding for the house was important, Ohno did look a little unwell.
“No, I’m fine.” Ohno twisted a tissue and wedged it up his nose. “Embarrassed, but fine.”
“Maybe it’s the altitude? We are quite a few stories up.” Ninomiya offered, “It’s the weirdest thing, it does happen to my clients occasionally, but none of my coworkers on this floor have ever said it happens to their clients.”
“I wonder why.” Ohno muttered, and Aiba thought for a second he detected sarcasm.
“Maybe it would be better to finish sooner than later? I don’t want Oh-chan to pass out due to loss of blood.” Aiba leaned over and gave Ohno’s knee a comforting pat.
“That would be wise.” Ninomiya nodded, turning to his computer screen, and, after a couple of clicks, adjusted the monitor so that Aiba and Ohno could see. “The realtor you’ve been working with has sent me the details of the property you’re interested in.”
On the screen Aiba saw a picture of the little house and felt a familiar surge of fondness. The rest of the screen was full of tables and numbers that only served to hurt Aiba’s eyes.
“While I’m really not in a position to say this…..this place is a disaster, and the land itself is far from cheap. Personally, I think the two of you should sit back down with Matsumoto and go over your other, much more reasonable options that won’t break the bank. I am the bank, and as the bank, I can tell you, we don’t like being broken.”
“But we have to buy it now.” Aiba ran his hand though his hair, not sure how Ninomiya would take the same love story he had given Matsumoto. “We’ve come so far.”
“I understand that irrationality that drives people into doing things that aren’t good for them. I see it daily with people who try and buy houses beyond their means. While this one isn’t, at face value, beyond your means….when I look at this place I see a financial black hole.” Ninomiya shuddered visibly.
“We’re in love with that house.” Ohno said, tenderly unplugging his nose and examining the bloody tissue. “It’ll cost a lot of money and take a lot of time, but in the end…I don’t think we’ll be happy unless we’re there.”
“What he said.” Aiba agreed, nodding.
“Well, at least you can’t say I didn’t warn you.” Ninomiya said, smiling again.
Aiba chuckled, “Don’t worry, Matsumoto has done nothing but try to dissuade us. He’s a nice guy, have you ever met him?”
“We’ve met a few times in the line of duty.” Ninomiya turned his monitor back towards him, and he typed something as he spoke. “He always tries to send his clients here, because he approves of our policies, for the most part. Which of course, I appreciate.”
“He has a good heart.” Aiba agreed, “Not many people do these days.”
“I agree, he’s definitely one of a kind. Alright now that that’s all done,” Ninomiya made a few last clicks on his mouse before looking up again, “I’ll proceed to go over your options, and then I’ll print out some paper work for you to take home and read. Once you’ve completed and returned the papers, on our end we’ll run final credit checks and will set up the financial channels with the real estate agency where you will obtain the title deed in the end. Sound good?”
“How long will all that take?” Ohno asked.
“It depends on how quickly you return the paper work, but as soon as two months if all goes as planned.”
“Two months?” Aiba groaned, sagging back in his chair.
“Well, six to eight weeks, if you’d prefer to think of it that way.” The advisor smiled, “But if we hit a bump, it could take anywhere from two to six months.”
“Why does it have to take so long?” Aiba sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Good things are usually worth the wait, right?” Ohno said, with a strange hint to his voice that Aiba couldn’t place.
“Exactly. And with a life changing event like buying a house, it’s really better if it isn’t rushed.” Carefully, Ninomiya set his keyboard aside and folded his hands on his desk, leaning forward. “Before we get too deep into the details, I must inform you that our bank does not recognize civil unions in our lending practices. No banks do, given national policy.”
“Civil…” Ohno looked at Aiba.
“Unions…?” Aiba blinked at Ohno.
“It’s not like that. He’s not my lover. He’s not even my type!” Ohno declared, suddenly, hurriedly. “I’m actually single. Very single.”
“I’m not here to judge you two, and I do hope you are blissfully happy, so you don’t need to be shy. In fact I’ve had quite a few people in your situation come in to try to buy houses, and it’s nothing that can’t be worked around.”
“But we’re really not like that.” Ohno implored, now sounding desperate.
“It’s alright; you don’t have to hide it here. I saw how close you two were out in the lobby. Your secret is safe with me.”
“Oh,” Aiba laughed, catching on, “We really aren’t lovers or boyfriends or anything. We just want to buy our dream house together, fix it up together and live there happily forever, right Oh-chan?”
Ohno slowly buried his face in his hands.
“Well, how did it go?” Crackled Matsumoto’s voice over the phone Aiba had set to speaker.
“I learned to never take Aiba clubbing.” Ohno sighed, his forehead pressed against the glass of the passenger side window. “He wouldn’t know how to hit on someone if you gave him a stick.”
“What? I’m a great clubber!” Aiba pouted. “And I know how to hit on people.”
“What does clubbing and hitting on people have to do with securing your mortgage?”
“It went fine.” Aiba laughed at Matsumoto’s terseness. “Mr. Ninomiya explained stuff, gave us paper work.”
“Thought we were a gay couple.” Ohno mumbled.
Over the phone Matsumoto suddenly started laughing. “Did he? I wondered if he would. Not many pairs of straight men try to buy a house together.”
“Yeah, he told us how we’ll have to do the signer and co-signer thing instead of joint owner ship on the loan. And a whole bunch of other stuff.” Aiba added, reflecting on the meeting. “But he seemed to think we’d be able to get it and that’s the important thing, right? More important than his misconceptions.”
“I guess.” Ohno grumbled, determined to drink away his failure at the nearest alcohol selling establishment the instant Aiba dropped him off at the station.
“After you two have returned the paper work to the bank, make an appointment at my office again, and we can discuss the next steps, and look into your insurance options, if there are any.”
“Can do, Mr. Matsumoto!” Aiba said cheerfully. “Hey, can we use that insurance company with the cute duck in the little blue cape?”
“…………………….I’ll look into it. Don’t forget to call back and schedule an appointment soon ok?”
“Ok, talk to you later!” Aiba grabbed the phone off of the dashboard and ended the call.
Ohno sighed, heavily.
“What’s the matter, still not feeling well?”
“No its…I can’t get that smell out of my nose. I wonder what kind of cologne he had on.”
“Who?”
“Him. The mortgage advisor guy.”
“I…didn’t smell anything.”
“You didn’t? It was so strong, like…” Ohno ruffled his hair, searching for the words, “I don’t know how to describe it…maybe man-honey.”
“Man-honey?”
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t smell it. At least I don’t think I did. What does man-honey smell like?”
“Good. Very, very good.”