i am trying to be funny here people
"DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS?" Sho bellows into his cell phone.
"Oh! Sounds like something big happened?" Nino's voice sounds amused, the little weasel, Sho is going to strangle him slowly and he won't be sorry.
"YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS!" Sho accuses. "YOU KNEW AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME ANYTHING? DON'T YOU THINK IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A GOOD IDEA TO TELL ME SOMETHING BEFORE I HAD A HEART ATTACK?"
"Do you want me to call an ambulance?" Nino asks sweetly.
"I want you to turn back time and slap me," Sho replies. "If I ask why, just say it's for my own good. I'll understand."
"No you won't. You never understand. You worry too much and end up overanalyzing things until you find an answer you weren't ready to face."
Sho swallows his scream. "First thing tomorrow, I'm going to punch you in the face."
"Nice of you to give me a warning," Nino laughs.
"I'll smash your Game Boy."
Nino stops laughing. "Okay that's not funny."
"What am I going to do, what am I going to do?" Sho moans, clutching his head. He's still in the study room. Since the session ended early due to -- unforeseeable circumstances, Sho's parents won't be coming by to pick him up for a while.
"Calm down," Nino orders. "Tell me what happened."
"I just -- I prepared a whole speech, and I told him that he could tell me anything -- I thought he was going to die, I don’t know, that's why I was all panicked about it before, like cancer or something, so I wanted to help, I just wanted to help!"
"What?" Nino says.
"HE KISSED ME," Sho says.
Nino pauses. "Woah, seriously? He always says in interviews that he doesn't kiss on the first date. Your speech must have really swept him off his feet."
"THERE WAS NO DATE," Sho cries. Wait, was it? Maybe it was -- they'd shared a bento before, after all, oh God --
"I mean, you do know that he asked for your tutoring because of this, right? He had a home tutor already but he still asked for you."
Now it's Sho's turn to pause. "WHAT?"
"Jun-kun's a good student," Nino says, and Sho can just hear the duh he's holding back. "He made up that excuse to get close to you. Did you not realize this? You told me that teaching him was crazy easy. Well, yeah, since he'd studied it before."
"He-- he--"
"He likes you!" Nino says matter-of-factly.
It's one thing to realize it for yourself -- by a kiss, for goodness sake -- and entirely another to hear it confirmed by someone else. Sho drops his head onto the desk. The thump his skull makes on the desk is disappointingly flat.
"Really, really likes you," Nino continues. "I mean, before the tutoring started, he just wouldn't shut up about you. Sakurai-san this, Sakurai-san that, it almost made me puke. Aiba thought it was all adorable and shit. He wants to get you guys together, by the way, and I think he's going to dress up as a cupid tomorrow so watch out, because he actually found some real arrows somewhere."
Sho lifts up his head slightly and drops it to the table again. THUMP. There. Better.
~
After realizing that Nino is of no help in the sympathy department, Sho calls Aiba to find out that Nino had only been half joking: Aiba wasn't going to dress up cupid-style, but he truly does want to get him and Jun together and is delighted that Jun’s finally made a move.
"--and amusement parks are so fun, Sho-chan! Plus you can play that hammer up to the bell game and show off all your muscles, wouldn't Jun-kun be impressed? Promise me you'll win Matsujun a stuffed animal as big as he is, okay? And take a picture, okay? I want to see the two of you holding hands and hugging that stuffed animal and smiling wide. And for dinner come to my restaurant! I'll reserve the most romantic spot for you, the one where all the guys propose to their girlfriends, and I'll be your personal may-- maiter--"
"Maitre d?" Sho supplies tiredly.
"Yeah! Great! Doesn't it seem like it'll be so much fun?"
"Aiba," Sho says very clearly. "I don't think I like Jun like that."
"Huh? Oh." Aiba shuts up.
"Yeah."
"Sorry, Sho-chan," Aiba says, and he genuinely does sound so apologetic that Sho wishes he could reach through the phone and give Aiba a hug.
"Does Matsujun know that?" Aiba asks, tone much more somber.
"I... I think he does," Sho admits. "I didn't really give him the best reaction."
"Well, there's no help for it, if Sho-chan doesn't return Jun-chan's feelings. It's better that Jun-chan knows, I think."
"Do -- do you think he'll be mad at me?"
"Sho-chan," Aiba reassures him. "Don't be like that! You're Matsujun's friend, and you'll be his friend no matter what. Jun-kun's too mature to be stupid about something as big as this! He won't be mad."
"I hope so," Sho says. "He's a good person. I didn't mean to hurt him."
"But that's what we risk, right?" Aiba says gently. "When we fall in love."
~
One more person to call.
"You were right," Sho says as soon as the line is picked up.
"Hm? Oh. Sho-kun," Ohno says, voice warm. "How are your studies--"
"You were right about me needing to treat Matsumoto carefully, because apparently he had a crush on me and I had no idea but today he confessed."
"Did he?" Ohno murmurs. He doesn't sound terribly shocked. "And what about Sho-kun?"
"I freaked out," Sho says honestly. He wishes he hadn't. He feels terrible. He wishes he'd told Jun to stay and for them to have a dialogue about it, instead of just letting Jun scamper off with a broken heart and leaving Sho feeling like the scum of the earth. "I wasn't expecting it, at all. He just leaned in and kissed me."
"Was it nice?"
"What?"
"Was it nice?" Ohno repeats calmly.
"I--" Sho sputters. "I don't know! I was freaking out!"
"Oh." He seems almost disappointed.
"Ohno-san," Sho says desperately. "What should I do? What happens in the drama?"
"Um," Ohno thinks for a while. "Yukiko-chan confesses and Kurata-kun decides that she's cute enough for him after all, and shows up at her house to take her on a date. Then next semester it turns out that Kurata-kun is failing and Yukiko-chan decides to tutor him."
Sho pinches the skin between his eyebrows. What had he been thinking, hoping that the drama would tell him how to act when he has to see Jun tomorrow? It's totally inapplicable. "I can't use that at all!"
"It's a drama, Sho-kun," Ohno tells him. "It's not real life."
Sho scrunches up his eyes hard enough to see stars. "I know," he sighs. "I know it's a drama. I'm... just out of ideas. I guess I can hope everything works out in the end."
"It will," Ohno says confidently. "Sho-kun always says that Jun-kun was a smart kid, right? So even if it takes a while, Jun-kun will be alright. All Sho-chan can do right now is be patient and sympathetic and help Nino and Aiba make Jun feel better."
"Ohno-san," Sho says, awestruck at Ohno's sudden burst of wisdom. What an incredible person, to just come up with such insight.
"That's what Kurata-kun's mother told him, anyway. I just changed the names around."
Oh well. The moment was nice while it lasted.
~
When Sho arrives at practice the next day, he searches the crowd for Jun's familiar haircut. It's not there. He's not here.
"Sho," Nino, who'd noticed Sho's entrance, jerks his head to the locker rooms. Aiba comes out from the doors and says something into Nino's ear. Nino indicates to Sho. Aiba catches Sho's scared shitless gaze and nods. Sho takes the hint.
Inside the change rooms, Jun is sitting on the edge of a bench, holding his hands limply in his lap.
"Aiba-chan told me to wait for a surprise," he explains, turning to Sho. Sho attempts to smile. So does Jun, but it falls apart pretty quickly.
Sho takes a seat on the adjacent bench and experiences the most awkward thirty second silence in his life. Jun doesn't speak and keeps his head low. Sho takes a deep breath.
"I owe you an apology, Jun," he says. Jun looks up, eyebrows raised.
"Why? You didn't do anything."
"That's exactly why!" Sho explains. "It takes a lot of courage, to do-- do that," Sho refuses to blush, he refuses to blush, "and I reacted badly. So I'm sorry. I was just caught off guard. I had no idea you felt like that towards me." NOT BLUSHING.
"Oh," Jun says. "Well I do. I really admire you, Sho-san." Now they're both blushing and Sho feels like it's elementary school all over again. "And it's me who should be apologizing. I should have asked your permission first. I should have done a lot of things first, really. But you were being so nice to me and you told me I could trust you, and I don't know, everything-- it just all swept out of me and I did that. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. If I could take it back, I would." Jun doesn't look at Sho as he speaks, words nervous and expression too somber.
Sho grabs Jun's hand abruptly. Jun starts, and Sho can see his eyes clearly now: they're a bit red. Did Sho cause that? It's unforgivable.
"Jun, you did what your heart told you to do. Don't ever regret that."
Jun's chin rises, ever so slightly. "And Sho-kun? Did you do what your heart told you to do?"
This, at least, Sho knows how to react to. He'd been up all night, carefully picking his words, weighing the impact each one might make on Jun, until he at last decided on an answer that would be truthful and dignified and more importantly, would allow Jun to save face. But met with Matsumoto Jun's innocent, hopeful face, Sho forgets his entire speech.
"I'm sorry," is what Sho says, cringing right after he hears himself. It's too blunt. Too insensitive.
Jun shrugs. "It's okay."
"Really," Sho says.
"I know," Jun replies. He tugs his hand away. Sho'd forgotten he'd taken it. "If it's alright, can we stop the tutoring sessions for now? I think it would be a bad idea."
Sho had expected this. Still, he worries. "Are you sure your grades will be okay?"
Jun half-smiles, and Sho feels a strange feeling rise in his chest. "I think they'll be fine."
~
For the next week or so, Sho tiptoes around Jun as if anything might set the other boy off like a bomb. Jun, for his part, acts completely normal and though he interacts with Sho very rarely, he's not outright avoiding him and is always courteous. It's not the same as before, but it's not wholly unpleasant. Jun needs time; Sho understands that, so he gives Jun his distance, and tries to be supportive when he can. Unfortunately, the two of them were friends with The Retard Duo, also known as The Lacking in Both Patience and Tact Group of Two, also known as those who subscribed to the Why Be Kind When You Can Have Fun school of logic, also known, more commonly, as Nino and Aiba.
Sho can understand how it's frustrating when your best friends are acting uncomfortable towards each other. He gets that. But he would be empathetic. That was the decent thing to do. He wouldn't kidnap them after rehearsals and stick them in a closet together and giggle outside like a pair of conspirators. Sho would act sanely.
"What the hell did we do to deserve this?" he asks himself, as Jun pounds on the locked door.
"LET US OUT AIBA, OR I'M GOING TO STEAL NINO'S GAME BOY AND CRAM IT DOWN YOUR DOG'S THROAT."
Sho's more than a little scared. He'd never been exposed to this side of Jun before. The thought crosses his mind that he's been extremely blessed that Jun has so far chosen to only display his friendly side to Sho.
"Okay okay," Aiba's voice filters through the door, muffled and grinning. "Just a few more seconds, Nino's coming back with the stuff now."
"WHAT STUFF?" Jun shrieks. "IF IT'S ANYTHING DISGUSTING I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL SMEAR IT IN YOUR HAIR, SHAVE YOUR HEAD, AND MAKE YOU EAT IT."
Really, really blessed, Sho thinks.
The door opens. Nino greets them, smirk full power, holding out two outfits: the schoolgirl's uniform and graduation robe from the cosplay photo shoot. He tosses it to them. "Put them on."
"What? Why?" Sho asks, already dreading the answer.
"If you're not going to kiss and make up, then we're going to force you."
Sho pales. "K-kiss?" he says, at the same time Jun spits out, "You wouldn't dare."
"He's just kidding!" Aiba says, grabbing Nino and shoving him away. "We just want you guys to relax around each other! No kissing! Unless you want to."
"NO," Jun and Sho say in unison.
"Aw." Aiba deflates. "And I stole my dad's good camera, too."
"I'm not doing this," Jun states, pushing the dress into Aiba's chest and striding out of the closet. "I'm going home."
"Aw, come on, Matsujun," Aiba whines. "It'll be fun! You guys are being lame, not talking to each other. This will help!"
"No."
"If you don't do it we're going to tell Sho all the things you said about him after your first tutoring session."
Jun stops. "I would tear you apart." But he looks uncertain.
Aiba swings an arm around Sho's waist. "Sho-chan, Matsujun swooned, you know? I had to catch him, he swooned."
"Shut up!" Jun seethes, tearing the uniform away from Aiba, face flaming. "Fine, I'll do it!"
"Here, Sho-san," Nino offers Sho's outfit, smiling his best smile. The smile that meant, "If you argue, you will pay."
"Sure, okay," Sho says coolly. At least he could pretend to be in control.
They change clothes -- or rather, Sho puts on the robe and Jun changes into a skirt. "Don't forget your wig!" Aiba says, peeking underneath the toilet stall door. He pulls himself out quickly, narrowly avoiding Jun's foot in his face.
When they're dressed, Nino takes Aiba's camera and directs them to act out some melodramatic high school romance that reminds Sho of Ohno's drama, although Sho's reasonably sure that "pretend that you've turned into a werewolf and Jun's allergic to werewolves" isn't a scene in any show he's familiar with. But with Aiba and Nino laughing their heads off, their enjoyment is contagious, so it's not so long until Sho is laughing with them, playing along willingly, and when Sho grins at Jun, "Come on. I know it's stupid, but it's fun," Jun loosens up too.
"Okay, now the teacher has come in, only he's a werewolf bounty hunter. Sho, you're running from him, and Matsujun, you're chasing Sho, because you want to help him, when you see your teacher -- and you find out you're allergic to bounty hunters too!!"
"This is the worst story in the entire world," Sho says with feeling.
"Hah! You'll be sorry, when we win an Academy Award. Nino-chan's going off to Hollywood soon, isn't he?" Aiba nods to Nino.
"I'm a fucking national treasure," Nino says, deadpan.
Their chase scene leads them outside the building into the cool evening air. Aiba and Nino, still in the t-shirts and shorts they wore for practice, go back inside to grab their jackets. Jun sits down on the bench outside the front doors. Sho takes a seat beside him. The tension in the air rises, just a little, but it's a lot less than before. Sho's happy.
"Sho," Jun says.
"Yeah."
"I wanted to thank you. You've been very considerate, this entire time."
"It’s no big deal, Jun," Sho says. "It's what friends do."
"That's what I mean," Jun says sincerely. "You're really a great person, Sho-kun."
Sho tilts his head, a bit flustered. "Well, we'll be working together for a long time. Maybe for years and years. So I really didn't want to ruin any relationships by being an idiot. I just hope I acted fairly."
"It was more than fair. Thank you," Jun tells him, smiling. Sho can't help smiling back.
"DON'T MOVE," Aiba screams, running up to them, waving his arms madly. "STAY JUST LIKE THAT, THAT'S PERFECT. NINO!"
Nino holds up the camera. "Say cheese!"
On impulse, Sho slides one arm around Jun's slim shoulders. Jun looks at him in surprise, and his whole face lights up with the force of his grin.
The camera flashes.
~
Sho picks up the phone. "Hello?"
"Sho-kun," says a soft voice.
"Oh! Ohno-san!" Sho recognizes, pleased. "This is rare, you calling me. What's up?"
"I thought I should congratulate Sho-kun," Ohno says.
"Congratulate me?" Sho laughs. "For what?"
"The happy couple," Ohno says. "Sho-kun and Matsumoto-kun."
"What? Me and Jun aren't a couple. I told you about it last month, do you remember? Everything's all right now."
"But the magazine -- I bought the new Wink Up, and there's a picture of Sho-kun with his arm around Jun-kun."
A vision of Nino’s perfect smile sweeps chillingly through Sho’s mind. "What? How?! What does it say?!"
Ohno's voice drops as he reads the caption from the photo. "’Sources from inside Johnny's Juniors who go by the name The Vanguard Duo, say that there is a steamy romance heating up within the Jimusho! The lovebirds? Sakurai-kun, 16, and Matsumoto-kun, 14!’ And Jun-kun's in a girl's uniform and Sho-kun has his arm around him and both of you are smiling at the camera."
"I. Am going to SHOOT that Ninomiya," Sho swears. "He is going to wish he were buried by the time I'm through with him."
Ohno doesn't speak for a second. Then, “Um. Does Sho-kun mean married?"
end.
~
Thank you for reading!! I hope it was enjoyable.
pic snagged from theproudpenguin 's JunxSho amazing picspam.
a-and on closer inspection it's not a graduation outfit at all, is it? okay sorry I should have looked up the pic before I wrote this OTL
"Oh! Sounds like something big happened?" Nino's voice sounds amused, the little weasel, Sho is going to strangle him slowly and he won't be sorry.
"YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS!" Sho accuses. "YOU KNEW AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME ANYTHING? DON'T YOU THINK IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A GOOD IDEA TO TELL ME SOMETHING BEFORE I HAD A HEART ATTACK?"
"Do you want me to call an ambulance?" Nino asks sweetly.
"I want you to turn back time and slap me," Sho replies. "If I ask why, just say it's for my own good. I'll understand."
"No you won't. You never understand. You worry too much and end up overanalyzing things until you find an answer you weren't ready to face."
Sho swallows his scream. "First thing tomorrow, I'm going to punch you in the face."
"Nice of you to give me a warning," Nino laughs.
"I'll smash your Game Boy."
Nino stops laughing. "Okay that's not funny."
"What am I going to do, what am I going to do?" Sho moans, clutching his head. He's still in the study room. Since the session ended early due to -- unforeseeable circumstances, Sho's parents won't be coming by to pick him up for a while.
"Calm down," Nino orders. "Tell me what happened."
"I just -- I prepared a whole speech, and I told him that he could tell me anything -- I thought he was going to die, I don’t know, that's why I was all panicked about it before, like cancer or something, so I wanted to help, I just wanted to help!"
"What?" Nino says.
"HE KISSED ME," Sho says.
Nino pauses. "Woah, seriously? He always says in interviews that he doesn't kiss on the first date. Your speech must have really swept him off his feet."
"THERE WAS NO DATE," Sho cries. Wait, was it? Maybe it was -- they'd shared a bento before, after all, oh God --
"I mean, you do know that he asked for your tutoring because of this, right? He had a home tutor already but he still asked for you."
Now it's Sho's turn to pause. "WHAT?"
"Jun-kun's a good student," Nino says, and Sho can just hear the duh he's holding back. "He made up that excuse to get close to you. Did you not realize this? You told me that teaching him was crazy easy. Well, yeah, since he'd studied it before."
"He-- he--"
"He likes you!" Nino says matter-of-factly.
It's one thing to realize it for yourself -- by a kiss, for goodness sake -- and entirely another to hear it confirmed by someone else. Sho drops his head onto the desk. The thump his skull makes on the desk is disappointingly flat.
"Really, really likes you," Nino continues. "I mean, before the tutoring started, he just wouldn't shut up about you. Sakurai-san this, Sakurai-san that, it almost made me puke. Aiba thought it was all adorable and shit. He wants to get you guys together, by the way, and I think he's going to dress up as a cupid tomorrow so watch out, because he actually found some real arrows somewhere."
Sho lifts up his head slightly and drops it to the table again. THUMP. There. Better.
~
After realizing that Nino is of no help in the sympathy department, Sho calls Aiba to find out that Nino had only been half joking: Aiba wasn't going to dress up cupid-style, but he truly does want to get him and Jun together and is delighted that Jun’s finally made a move.
"--and amusement parks are so fun, Sho-chan! Plus you can play that hammer up to the bell game and show off all your muscles, wouldn't Jun-kun be impressed? Promise me you'll win Matsujun a stuffed animal as big as he is, okay? And take a picture, okay? I want to see the two of you holding hands and hugging that stuffed animal and smiling wide. And for dinner come to my restaurant! I'll reserve the most romantic spot for you, the one where all the guys propose to their girlfriends, and I'll be your personal may-- maiter--"
"Maitre d?" Sho supplies tiredly.
"Yeah! Great! Doesn't it seem like it'll be so much fun?"
"Aiba," Sho says very clearly. "I don't think I like Jun like that."
"Huh? Oh." Aiba shuts up.
"Yeah."
"Sorry, Sho-chan," Aiba says, and he genuinely does sound so apologetic that Sho wishes he could reach through the phone and give Aiba a hug.
"Does Matsujun know that?" Aiba asks, tone much more somber.
"I... I think he does," Sho admits. "I didn't really give him the best reaction."
"Well, there's no help for it, if Sho-chan doesn't return Jun-chan's feelings. It's better that Jun-chan knows, I think."
"Do -- do you think he'll be mad at me?"
"Sho-chan," Aiba reassures him. "Don't be like that! You're Matsujun's friend, and you'll be his friend no matter what. Jun-kun's too mature to be stupid about something as big as this! He won't be mad."
"I hope so," Sho says. "He's a good person. I didn't mean to hurt him."
"But that's what we risk, right?" Aiba says gently. "When we fall in love."
~
One more person to call.
"You were right," Sho says as soon as the line is picked up.
"Hm? Oh. Sho-kun," Ohno says, voice warm. "How are your studies--"
"You were right about me needing to treat Matsumoto carefully, because apparently he had a crush on me and I had no idea but today he confessed."
"Did he?" Ohno murmurs. He doesn't sound terribly shocked. "And what about Sho-kun?"
"I freaked out," Sho says honestly. He wishes he hadn't. He feels terrible. He wishes he'd told Jun to stay and for them to have a dialogue about it, instead of just letting Jun scamper off with a broken heart and leaving Sho feeling like the scum of the earth. "I wasn't expecting it, at all. He just leaned in and kissed me."
"Was it nice?"
"What?"
"Was it nice?" Ohno repeats calmly.
"I--" Sho sputters. "I don't know! I was freaking out!"
"Oh." He seems almost disappointed.
"Ohno-san," Sho says desperately. "What should I do? What happens in the drama?"
"Um," Ohno thinks for a while. "Yukiko-chan confesses and Kurata-kun decides that she's cute enough for him after all, and shows up at her house to take her on a date. Then next semester it turns out that Kurata-kun is failing and Yukiko-chan decides to tutor him."
Sho pinches the skin between his eyebrows. What had he been thinking, hoping that the drama would tell him how to act when he has to see Jun tomorrow? It's totally inapplicable. "I can't use that at all!"
"It's a drama, Sho-kun," Ohno tells him. "It's not real life."
Sho scrunches up his eyes hard enough to see stars. "I know," he sighs. "I know it's a drama. I'm... just out of ideas. I guess I can hope everything works out in the end."
"It will," Ohno says confidently. "Sho-kun always says that Jun-kun was a smart kid, right? So even if it takes a while, Jun-kun will be alright. All Sho-chan can do right now is be patient and sympathetic and help Nino and Aiba make Jun feel better."
"Ohno-san," Sho says, awestruck at Ohno's sudden burst of wisdom. What an incredible person, to just come up with such insight.
"That's what Kurata-kun's mother told him, anyway. I just changed the names around."
Oh well. The moment was nice while it lasted.
~
When Sho arrives at practice the next day, he searches the crowd for Jun's familiar haircut. It's not there. He's not here.
"Sho," Nino, who'd noticed Sho's entrance, jerks his head to the locker rooms. Aiba comes out from the doors and says something into Nino's ear. Nino indicates to Sho. Aiba catches Sho's scared shitless gaze and nods. Sho takes the hint.
Inside the change rooms, Jun is sitting on the edge of a bench, holding his hands limply in his lap.
"Aiba-chan told me to wait for a surprise," he explains, turning to Sho. Sho attempts to smile. So does Jun, but it falls apart pretty quickly.
Sho takes a seat on the adjacent bench and experiences the most awkward thirty second silence in his life. Jun doesn't speak and keeps his head low. Sho takes a deep breath.
"I owe you an apology, Jun," he says. Jun looks up, eyebrows raised.
"Why? You didn't do anything."
"That's exactly why!" Sho explains. "It takes a lot of courage, to do-- do that," Sho refuses to blush, he refuses to blush, "and I reacted badly. So I'm sorry. I was just caught off guard. I had no idea you felt like that towards me." NOT BLUSHING.
"Oh," Jun says. "Well I do. I really admire you, Sho-san." Now they're both blushing and Sho feels like it's elementary school all over again. "And it's me who should be apologizing. I should have asked your permission first. I should have done a lot of things first, really. But you were being so nice to me and you told me I could trust you, and I don't know, everything-- it just all swept out of me and I did that. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. If I could take it back, I would." Jun doesn't look at Sho as he speaks, words nervous and expression too somber.
Sho grabs Jun's hand abruptly. Jun starts, and Sho can see his eyes clearly now: they're a bit red. Did Sho cause that? It's unforgivable.
"Jun, you did what your heart told you to do. Don't ever regret that."
Jun's chin rises, ever so slightly. "And Sho-kun? Did you do what your heart told you to do?"
This, at least, Sho knows how to react to. He'd been up all night, carefully picking his words, weighing the impact each one might make on Jun, until he at last decided on an answer that would be truthful and dignified and more importantly, would allow Jun to save face. But met with Matsumoto Jun's innocent, hopeful face, Sho forgets his entire speech.
"I'm sorry," is what Sho says, cringing right after he hears himself. It's too blunt. Too insensitive.
Jun shrugs. "It's okay."
"Really," Sho says.
"I know," Jun replies. He tugs his hand away. Sho'd forgotten he'd taken it. "If it's alright, can we stop the tutoring sessions for now? I think it would be a bad idea."
Sho had expected this. Still, he worries. "Are you sure your grades will be okay?"
Jun half-smiles, and Sho feels a strange feeling rise in his chest. "I think they'll be fine."
~
For the next week or so, Sho tiptoes around Jun as if anything might set the other boy off like a bomb. Jun, for his part, acts completely normal and though he interacts with Sho very rarely, he's not outright avoiding him and is always courteous. It's not the same as before, but it's not wholly unpleasant. Jun needs time; Sho understands that, so he gives Jun his distance, and tries to be supportive when he can. Unfortunately, the two of them were friends with The Retard Duo, also known as The Lacking in Both Patience and Tact Group of Two, also known as those who subscribed to the Why Be Kind When You Can Have Fun school of logic, also known, more commonly, as Nino and Aiba.
Sho can understand how it's frustrating when your best friends are acting uncomfortable towards each other. He gets that. But he would be empathetic. That was the decent thing to do. He wouldn't kidnap them after rehearsals and stick them in a closet together and giggle outside like a pair of conspirators. Sho would act sanely.
"What the hell did we do to deserve this?" he asks himself, as Jun pounds on the locked door.
"LET US OUT AIBA, OR I'M GOING TO STEAL NINO'S GAME BOY AND CRAM IT DOWN YOUR DOG'S THROAT."
Sho's more than a little scared. He'd never been exposed to this side of Jun before. The thought crosses his mind that he's been extremely blessed that Jun has so far chosen to only display his friendly side to Sho.
"Okay okay," Aiba's voice filters through the door, muffled and grinning. "Just a few more seconds, Nino's coming back with the stuff now."
"WHAT STUFF?" Jun shrieks. "IF IT'S ANYTHING DISGUSTING I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL SMEAR IT IN YOUR HAIR, SHAVE YOUR HEAD, AND MAKE YOU EAT IT."
Really, really blessed, Sho thinks.
The door opens. Nino greets them, smirk full power, holding out two outfits: the schoolgirl's uniform and graduation robe from the cosplay photo shoot. He tosses it to them. "Put them on."
"What? Why?" Sho asks, already dreading the answer.
"If you're not going to kiss and make up, then we're going to force you."
Sho pales. "K-kiss?" he says, at the same time Jun spits out, "You wouldn't dare."
"He's just kidding!" Aiba says, grabbing Nino and shoving him away. "We just want you guys to relax around each other! No kissing! Unless you want to."
"NO," Jun and Sho say in unison.
"Aw." Aiba deflates. "And I stole my dad's good camera, too."
"I'm not doing this," Jun states, pushing the dress into Aiba's chest and striding out of the closet. "I'm going home."
"Aw, come on, Matsujun," Aiba whines. "It'll be fun! You guys are being lame, not talking to each other. This will help!"
"No."
"If you don't do it we're going to tell Sho all the things you said about him after your first tutoring session."
Jun stops. "I would tear you apart." But he looks uncertain.
Aiba swings an arm around Sho's waist. "Sho-chan, Matsujun swooned, you know? I had to catch him, he swooned."
"Shut up!" Jun seethes, tearing the uniform away from Aiba, face flaming. "Fine, I'll do it!"
"Here, Sho-san," Nino offers Sho's outfit, smiling his best smile. The smile that meant, "If you argue, you will pay."
"Sure, okay," Sho says coolly. At least he could pretend to be in control.
They change clothes -- or rather, Sho puts on the robe and Jun changes into a skirt. "Don't forget your wig!" Aiba says, peeking underneath the toilet stall door. He pulls himself out quickly, narrowly avoiding Jun's foot in his face.
When they're dressed, Nino takes Aiba's camera and directs them to act out some melodramatic high school romance that reminds Sho of Ohno's drama, although Sho's reasonably sure that "pretend that you've turned into a werewolf and Jun's allergic to werewolves" isn't a scene in any show he's familiar with. But with Aiba and Nino laughing their heads off, their enjoyment is contagious, so it's not so long until Sho is laughing with them, playing along willingly, and when Sho grins at Jun, "Come on. I know it's stupid, but it's fun," Jun loosens up too.
"Okay, now the teacher has come in, only he's a werewolf bounty hunter. Sho, you're running from him, and Matsujun, you're chasing Sho, because you want to help him, when you see your teacher -- and you find out you're allergic to bounty hunters too!!"
"This is the worst story in the entire world," Sho says with feeling.
"Hah! You'll be sorry, when we win an Academy Award. Nino-chan's going off to Hollywood soon, isn't he?" Aiba nods to Nino.
"I'm a fucking national treasure," Nino says, deadpan.
Their chase scene leads them outside the building into the cool evening air. Aiba and Nino, still in the t-shirts and shorts they wore for practice, go back inside to grab their jackets. Jun sits down on the bench outside the front doors. Sho takes a seat beside him. The tension in the air rises, just a little, but it's a lot less than before. Sho's happy.
"Sho," Jun says.
"Yeah."
"I wanted to thank you. You've been very considerate, this entire time."
"It’s no big deal, Jun," Sho says. "It's what friends do."
"That's what I mean," Jun says sincerely. "You're really a great person, Sho-kun."
Sho tilts his head, a bit flustered. "Well, we'll be working together for a long time. Maybe for years and years. So I really didn't want to ruin any relationships by being an idiot. I just hope I acted fairly."
"It was more than fair. Thank you," Jun tells him, smiling. Sho can't help smiling back.
"DON'T MOVE," Aiba screams, running up to them, waving his arms madly. "STAY JUST LIKE THAT, THAT'S PERFECT. NINO!"
Nino holds up the camera. "Say cheese!"
On impulse, Sho slides one arm around Jun's slim shoulders. Jun looks at him in surprise, and his whole face lights up with the force of his grin.
The camera flashes.
~
Sho picks up the phone. "Hello?"
"Sho-kun," says a soft voice.
"Oh! Ohno-san!" Sho recognizes, pleased. "This is rare, you calling me. What's up?"
"I thought I should congratulate Sho-kun," Ohno says.
"Congratulate me?" Sho laughs. "For what?"
"The happy couple," Ohno says. "Sho-kun and Matsumoto-kun."
"What? Me and Jun aren't a couple. I told you about it last month, do you remember? Everything's all right now."
"But the magazine -- I bought the new Wink Up, and there's a picture of Sho-kun with his arm around Jun-kun."
A vision of Nino’s perfect smile sweeps chillingly through Sho’s mind. "What? How?! What does it say?!"
Ohno's voice drops as he reads the caption from the photo. "’Sources from inside Johnny's Juniors who go by the name The Vanguard Duo, say that there is a steamy romance heating up within the Jimusho! The lovebirds? Sakurai-kun, 16, and Matsumoto-kun, 14!’ And Jun-kun's in a girl's uniform and Sho-kun has his arm around him and both of you are smiling at the camera."
"I. Am going to SHOOT that Ninomiya," Sho swears. "He is going to wish he were buried by the time I'm through with him."
Ohno doesn't speak for a second. Then, “Um. Does Sho-kun mean married?"
end.
~
Thank you for reading!! I hope it was enjoyable.
pic snagged from theproudpenguin 's JunxSho amazing picspam.
a-and on closer inspection it's not a graduation outfit at all, is it? okay sorry I should have looked up the pic before I wrote this OTL