Ohno in Wonderland
Title: Ohno in Wonderland
Rating: PG-13ish
Pairing: Ohno/Everyone (specifically Ohno/Jun), Nino/Sho
Genre: AU, fantasy bordering on crack
Chapter: epilogue
Disclaimer: I guess Johnny’s technically owns Arashi, huh? Not me.
Summary: Just like Alice, Ohno falls down the rabbit hole... only there are more familiar people there waiting for him than Alice had. Inspired by the recent Tim Burton Movie, Animated Classic, and the books.
Chapter one
Chapter two
Chapter three
Chapter four
Chapter five
Chapter six
Although the wedding had technically been canceled, many of the guests still spent the evening at the Matsumoto residence, enjoying the food and drinks that had been prepared, and this of course included Ohno, Sho, Nino, and Aiba.
Jun insisted that the artist sit by him at dinner, and Ohno wasn’t surprised to find Nino and Sho together, stealing glances at each other and being inattentive to the rest of the guests. The pair left just as the sun was setting, and even though Jun jokingly told them it was too early (since many of their previous drinking parties had lasted until the morning), he let them go without a fight. After the couple had climbed into Sho’s carriage and taken off with a few small waves, Jun and Aiba made a bet on whether they would have sex tonight or not.
They drank a bottle of wine on the veranda between the three of them, escaping the rest of the party for a few hours, and eventually Aiba grinned, saying that he had several things to work on tomorrow and he should be getting home early too.
Jun didn’t object this time, but when Ohno began collecting his things to return them to Aiba’s carriage, the younger man stopped him with gentle hand on his waist.
“I’ll take you home in my car later, okay?”
Ohno’s breath caught even though it wasn’t an unusual suggestion, and he had a fleeting thought that maybe someone else had made a bet about him and Jun, too.
They also sent Aiba off with a wave, but just when Jun was coaxing Ohno to retreat into the lounge with him, Lady Matsumoto showed up with a sour look.
“Jun, darling, we have some talking to do,” she said with pursed lips and two hands on her waist. Most of the guest must be gone, or at least be on their way, for her to finally leave the party, since she was the hostess and Ohno knew how much Jun’s mother loved that role. But then again, her son’s wedding had fallen apart that afternoon, so maybe today was an exception.
His hand tightening where it had been placed on Ohno’s back, Jun cleared his throat nervously and it was obvious he had been dreading that moment.
“Okay, I understand. Just let me take Ohno home first…” he replied carefully. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, for Jun to drive Ohno back to his little studio, but if Jun’s mother knew what was going on between the two men now--and it was apparent she did--their habits might change very quickly…
“Fine. But if you’re not home in exactly twenty minutes…” she said with a warning look at Ohno more than Jun, and the artist was glad he was not the one left with the pressure to convince this woman that everything would be okay.
Jun nodded, although he didn’t exactly seem pleased with the threat, and pulled Ohno quite blatantly by the hand toward where his car was parked in the courtyard.
“Jun…” Ohno started quietly, “My supplies…”
The younger man stopped and shot him a look that said he didn’t know what he was talking about, then immediately stiffened and retreated back to collect Ohno’s things himself.
The roof of Jun’s car was flimsy and collapsible, and the aristocrat usually kept it down, not only because it was dashing and daring, but also because he liked the feel of the wind in his hair.
And Ohno did too. Especially on warm nights like this.
They were halfway back to Ohno’s studio when Jun suddenly slowed down and pulled off the rocky road, nothing around them but open fields, and parked in the grass with just the moon overhead to lighten their faces. Jun killed the engine of his car while the artist looked at him curiously.
Ohno wasn’t sure what Jun’s mother was going to do if her son returned late, but it was Jun dealing with that, after all, and not him. The chance that he wouldn’t be able to see the younger man for a while because of it made Ohno say something, though.
“Don’t worry. On the way back I’ll drive fast,” Jun offered with a smile and then sighed, giving Ohno a happy and light hearted look.
A comfortable, easy to understand silence fell over them while Jun stared at Ohno and Ohno stared at where their hands were brushing against each other on the middle of the seat.
“I feel like I almost made the biggest mistake of my life today.”
As his friend spoke, Ohno looked up at him and urged him to explain with his eyes, although he was fairly sure he already knew what the reply would be.
“I almost gave up my life… my entire life. Everything… Over a stupid political marriage.” Jun raised his other hand to rub his forehead and close his eyes to cover his emotions. “I’m glad you said something, Oh-chan…”
Ohno knew it wasn’t really his fault that he’d said something. It was Wonderland and that whole mystery of the dream--hallucination?--that had given him enough courage and recklessness to do what he’d done.
But the artist didn’t know how to explain that to Jun, so he didn’t even try. Maybe one day… If anything ever happened again.
“I’m glad, too, Jun…” he replied quietly instead, gripping the younger man’s hand firmly with his own.
Jun glanced over at him and then eliminated the space between them in order to kiss Ohno gently on the lips.
“I love you,” Jun whispered, even though Ohno was pretty sure the younger man had said the phrase more than ten times already that day. Every time no one was looking or they were close enough to barely be overheard he would say it and bring Ohno close to him, and the artist was surprised he was still functioning after all the fluttering his heart did during the afternoon.
“I love you, too,” Ohno barely got in before his friend deepened the kiss, taking the breath right out of him.
They embraced for several minutes, Jun’s hands quickly finding their way to the small of Ohno’s back, bringing them closer, but just like Cinderella and her magic pumpkin, time was ticking away for them too and eventually, both of them knowing the night had to come an end, they broke apart.
Jun started up his car with a disappointed sigh, but shot his love a small smile, before he pulled back onto the road and took off towards the center of town once again.
He parked in his usual spot right in front of Ogura’s place, which was lit up with only a light in the kitchen, and instead of just waving and wishing Ohno a pleasant evening as he usually would, he smoothly jumped out of his seat and followed the artist as he retrieved his key and opened the back door.
Ogura was standing in the kitchen when they came in and he nodded at the two of them before returning to the steaming cup in his hands, and they quickly climbed up the stairs directly next to the entrance, avoiding conversation with the house owner (not that he looked interested anyway).
Since it was inside of Ogura’s place, Ohno never bothered to lock the door to his private room. During the day, the area they had just walked through would be used as a café, but even if one of the customers went snooping around, the artist didn’t think there was much worth stealing upstairs. If his paintings weren’t selling through his own efforts, he wasn’t sure anyone else would get them moving either.
At the top of the flight, Ohno opened the door and then watched Jun for what he would do next. He really should be getting back…
“Just one more kiss,” Jun whispered, leaning into the studio and pecking Ohno on the lips, once, then twice, then three times.
Ohno giggled, but finally pushed the younger man away, telling him to go home and talk to his mother.
Jun gave him an endearing look, but it turned serious after a moment and he suddenly raised his hand and touched the side of Ohno’s head. “Are you sure you’re okay? After everything that happened this afternoon?”
The artist smiled and nodded, and Jun pulled him into a hug, pressing his nose into the shorter man’s hair.
“Jun…”
“I know, just one more kiss,” he said again, and took Ohno’s lips with his own. This time it was more firm, and his tongue joined in.
Finally Ohno pushed him out the door, trying his hardest not to laugh, and Jun wished him a good night, telling him to get some rest.
Not bothering to turn on the lights, Ohno’s energy immediately disappeared as the sense of loneliness overtook him, which always came after a full day with his friends was over.
He shuffled to his makeshift bed in the corner and practically fell onto the pile of blankets.
Ohno didn’t bother worrying that he would be sucked into Wonderland again, because he knew that they were no way he was going to be able to keep himself awake to prevent it from happening. It was better to just go with the flow. Besides, he wouldn’t mind seeing the curly haired hatter again, even though right now he would rather feel the same arms that embraced him a few minutes ago.
But the next morning, when Ohno woke to a soft series of knocks on his door, he was still at his studio.
He blinked once, then twice, trying to focus with the bright light streaming into his room from his very favorite window on the far wall, and attempted to bring reality into view.
Yawning and rubbing his eyes, Ohno finally pushed himself out of bed as the knocks paused for a few seconds, and then started again a little louder. He stumbled to the door, unable to retrieve his balance properly, and pulled it open with squinted eyes.
“Chi-chan?” his voice broke when he spoke and Ohno wondered how early it was. Not too early, but certainly not the time he wanted to be waking up with a throbbing headache and possible hangover. “Do we have a lesson this morning?”
He really hoped not, but when Ohno tried to remember, he found couldn’t recall any of his plans for the upcoming days. His mind had been obsessed with Jun’s wedding since he’d heard of it and had forced anything else out.
Oh, that was right. Jun wasn’t getting married after all.
Ohno smiled suddenly and Chinen looked terrified.
“I’m sorry, Ohno-san!” He was carrying a bag, but not the usual one that held his art supplies. “We don’t have a lesson this morning, but I was so worried about you after yesterday… I couldn’t sleep at all last night…”
Upon closer inspection (and Ohno’s mind becoming more awake), he could see that his student did indeed look haggard.
“Come inside,” Ohno offered, pulling the distraught boy in and closing the door behind him, leading him to the tiny round table against the wall directly to their left.
Ohno’s studio was not meant to be an apartment, but that was okay because Ohno didn’t really have the money to buy anything to furnish it with anyway. Although he had a suspicion that Ogura knew, with him coming back late at night and using the older man’s bathroom at all times of the day, Ohno hadn’t been reprimanded yet and so he thought that he was probably safe at this point.
But despite not having any money, there were a few things… the absolute necessities like a small iron stove that had already been intact when Ohno moved it, and next to it, a sink that Ohno used to wash his paintbrushes more than his dishes.
In front of the makeshift kitchen was the round table where Chinen was taking his usual seat, one of three mismatched chairs. Sho had given him the table when he had gotten a new one, nearly a year ago, and Nino had helped Ohno repair the chairs, each of them found abandoned in the trash on various occasions. They had also fixed up a tiny bookshelf, which Ohno had placed a few cups on, as well as some of his older and full sketchbooks.
Ohno pulled out two of these cups and sat them on the table, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes again, and lit up the small stove so he could boil some water for tea.
Besides Ohno’s bed, which was really only a pile of blankets on top of a down mattress that Jun had insisted on buying for him (he’d actually wanted to bring over an entire bed, but Nino had wisely interrupted that a bed would take up too much space, and wouldn’t that be a dead giveaway if Ogura started getting picky? It would be much better if it looked like Ohno had just stayed overnight because he had been up painting too late…). A few of the blankets had come from Aiba (one had a strange burn mark in the corner, but Ohno didn’t mind), and the rest the artist had brought with him when he had moved to the studio.
Otherwise, Ohno’s apartment was cluttered with unsold paintings (or ones that he wasn’t willing to sell, which was more than a starving artist should have), a few art supplies, and an easel set up by his favorite window with a stool currently placed in front of it.
The kettle began whistling and the artist turned back to the pot from where he had been preparing the tea bags, ready to use the bottom of shirt to hold the hot handle before he realized he was wearing his special Wonderland shirt and didn’t want it to get damaged in any way. Much to Chinen’s distress and embarrassment, Ohno shuffled across the room, slowly shedding his clothes to place them gently on a pile of canvases, and picked up one of the usual outfits he wore out of the tiny selection to change into instead.
He returned with a rag in his hand to move the pot, and cheerfully poured two cups of tea while Chinen blushed and pushed forward his bag.
“I brought some donuts…” the boy explained slowly, and Ohno smiled brightly at him, suspecting what was in the bag already. Even when they had a lesson, Chinen would bring something delicious with him when he’d come to visit Ohno, and Ohno had quickly gotten into the habit of offering his friend a cup of tea as soon as he could so they could have the treat earlier rather than later.
“Oh, thank you!” was Ohno’s enthusiastic reply (even though he was still suspecting it was too early, but his head wasn’t hurting anymore, so maybe he would survive), and he pulled two plates off the shelf, too.
Ohno sat down across from his student and waited patiently for Chinen to unwrap the delicate package and set the treat between them. There were four, which probably meant that Ohno could keep the other two for lunch today. He tried not to let his excitement at the prospect show and nodded his head shyly when Chinen tentatively asked him to eat one.
There were only two things Satoshi Ohno spent his money on (besides rent and all of those unavoidable costs): art and food. And the less money he put into the second category, the more he could put into the first.
And somehow (Ohno attributed it to luck and having good friends), he had managed to keep the money spent in the second category to a minimum. For example, Chinen had been spoiling him with expensive and tasty treats since the first time they met.
It had been a beautiful, sunny day and Ohno had taken his easel and supplies down to the street, which he loved to do when he could (plus it was an easy way to get attention from potential buyers). He was halfway through a painting of the lady selling fruit a few stalls down and across from Ohno’s spot when he had noticed a boy watching over his shoulder.
You’re really talented, he’d been complimented and Ohno had patted the boy on the head with a wide smile.
They’d chatted for a few minutes with the regular questions, what’s your name, where are you from, where in the world did you learn to paint like that? before Ohno turned back to his canvas and continued. After that, Chinen hung around to watch him, the artist suggested he pull up a chair, borrowing one from Ogura’s café two doors down, and they continued in silence for almost an hour…until Ohno’s stomach growled.
He patted it gently and told it to be patient for lunch (he’d skipped breakfast that morning, but Jun had said maybe he would be over that afternoon, which surely meant a nice lunch somewhere expensive), but a few minutes later, Chinen was standing in front of him with a small sandwich from Ogura’s.
Genuinely surprised, the boy had to offer it to him twice before Ohno smiled sheepishly and thanked him with a chuckle.
The spectator was blushing lightly, but Ohno thought maybe that was just a sunburn, since Chinen was actually very pale and the sun had peaked over the corner of the roof above them in the last few minutes. “It’s really good,” Ohno said after the first bite, smiling at the boy who looked even more sunburnt than before. He chewed happily, his cheeks puffing out a little as he turned back to his canvas and Chinen returned to his café chair a foot behind him.
When he was done with the woman selling oranges down the street and decided to pack up (Jun wasn’t here yet, but no doubt would be soon), Chinen suddenly turned jumpy and nervous.
Can I buy that painting from you? he asked desperately and Ohno gave him a lopsided grin. Of course he wouldn’t mind selling something, but it was one of the more mundane paintings he’d completed, or so he thought.
After telling him how much it was, Chinen argued that the price was too low.
I give a discount to my friends, Ohno explained and Chinen’s sunburn came back. The artist was going to offer him some lotion or something, but it was then that Jun arrived.
The aristocrat sauntered over to them immediately and put his arm around Ohno’s shoulder, asking if he’d sold something. Chinen carefully held the painting to his chest and passed the money to Ohno before scurrying off.
The next day, Ohno had set up in the same spot as before, only now he was painting some people having coffee in Ogura’s café, at the tables set up on the sidewalk.
Chinen showed up around noon with a small cake and politely asked if Ohno would be willing to give him lessons. The artist smiled and invited the boy upstairs for a cup of tea.
And although their relationship had changed from friends to teacher and student since then, Chinen was spoiling him almost more than Jun did.
“Ah, it’s delicious!” Ohno exclaimed as he took a bite of the donut. It was nearly as good as the hatter’s food (although Ohno was fairly sure his own handmade tea left a little to be desired), and the perfect taste for breakfast. Chinen was watching him intently as he nibbled at his own pastry, and although his student still seemed worried for the artist, the boy staring at him while he was eating wasn’t anything new.
“So what exactly happened yesterday? At Jun’s wedding?” Chinen asked after a second with an apprehensive expression. He didn’t mention the fact that Ohno had seemed to think he had been a door at some previous point in time.
“Ah…” Ohno nodded distractedly, looking at his tea and trying to remember what his cover story was, since he didn’t really think anyone would believe his tale about Wonderland… well, except maybe Aiba because he was used to things that didn’t make sense (that’s where his inventions came from) and possibly Sho if Ohno gave him every single details he could remember. “Well… I think I hit my head?” he guessed. It probably didn’t matter anyway. He was fine now.
There was a pause and then Chinen quietly asked, “You were in the forest?”
Ohno swallowed and wondered if it would be rude if he took another donut, even if that meant offering Chinen the last one. “…I think so,” he replied without really thinking about it.
“What were you doing there?”
Scratching his knee distractedly, Ohno didn’t know how to answer that outside of admitting that he was throwing a fit because he didn’t want Jun to get married. But that wasn’t too difficult to confess, right? Except then Chinen would ask why he didn’t, since they were really good friends and all… And then Ohno might be in trouble.
But then again, Jun had been pretty open about his new relationship (was it new? Or even a relationship?), so maybe Chinen had already figured it out?
Before he could say anything, though, Ohno’s front door popped open and Aiba fell inside, panting heavily and holding a package in his hand.
“Oh-chan!” he said excitedly and took a deep breath. “You’re awake! I’d thought you’d still be in bed after yesterday, Jun didn’t keep you up too late did he?” he pushed out in one breath and smiled brightly as he closed the door behind him. “Oh, Chinen’s here, too!”
“Aiba-san,” the boy greeting softly and ducked his head shyly.
“I brought some muffins!” Aiba held up his box happily and made his way to the remaining chair while Ohno got up to retrieve his last cup, pouring the inventor some tea as he broke out his food offering. “What flavor do you want, Oh-chan? There’s strawberry and blueberry… or poppy seed…”
There was a second where Ohno tried to tell Aiba to offer Chi-chan one first, but his friend didn’t allow it and said immediately, “You should try the strawberry one! It’s a rare flavor. I’ll leave the poppy seed for your lunch…” Aiba said happily and gave Chinen another kind that hadn’t been mentioned, before taking the blueberry for himself.
“Th-thank you…” the boy replied, but it took a second for him to actually take a bite of the offered treat, his donut only half eaten on his plate.
Aiba gave him a wide grin before turning to Ohno, who was fussing over his cup, trying to pour the hot water without spilling any. With all the practice he’d had at pouring tea, Ohno though he’d be less clumsy with it now, but that wasn’t true in the least.
“How’re you feeling Oh-chan?”
Both he and Chinen turned to the artist and waited for him to focus and answer the question, quite intent on his reply.
Ohno slid Aiba’s cup of tea to him before sitting and smiling happily at the strawberry muffin sitting in front of him. He had dinner, too… assuming Jun didn’t show up and steal him away somewhere, which he had a feeling would happen. A big lunch, then. No need to waste any of it.
“I’m fine,” he finally responded when he realized they were waiting for an answer, and then tentatively took a bite of his treat from Aiba. “It’s really good,” he followed up right away with a bright look at the inventor, who beamed in return.
“Your head’s okay?” came the next question a second later, but Aiba immediately continued, “Here, have a bite of my blueberry one, too.”
“Really?” Ohno asked with an excited expression and Aiba passed it over. “Oh, it’s good too!” He handed it back and nodded in an attempt to answer the first question.
“…You can try mine too,” Chinen offered tentatively. “It’s got some pieces of banana…”
The artist smiled happily at his student, but was a little more serious and reserved when he asked, “Are you sure?”
But Chinen offered the item with a slightly bowed head and Ohno took a small bite of it before giving the same compliment. “It’s goooood!” he said, elongating the last syllable and gingerly returning the item while the boy stole a glance at him from under his long bangs.
Aiba just laughed.
“Did you get home too late?” he asked jovially, his usual knowing grin in place. Ohno took a second to try to find the purple ears on top of his head, but they still weren’t there. Aiba was probably looking for more specific details than that, and Ohno guessed that the bet had been made with Nino.
“No. Jun’s mom found us right after you left,” he explained and tried not to grin when Aiba smiled in triumph and pumped his arm silently in the air.
Chinen looked confused, but Ohno just beamed at him and took another bite of his muffin.
The conversation turned to Ohno’s plans for the day, specifically if he was free to go out for croquette or not, and when Ohno’s door opened again, an irritated Nino and amused Sho entering his studio next.
“I knew you would come over and bother Oh-chan too early in the morning-“ said the magician right away, pointing his finger at Aiba, who raised his hands innocently, but had a mischievous smile that wouldn’t leave his face. “He needs to rest, you know!” Nino accused and Ohno drained the last of his tea, standing and making his way to the sink to wash it out. He only had three cups after all.
“He said he was fine, Nino. Plus, Chi-chan was already here when I came in.”
Nino turned his scowl on the boy, who looked terrified of him, but didn’t say anything and instead shifted his attention to Ohno cleaning the cup and walked over to him to check for himself while Sho approached the table.
“Sho-chan, you can sit there,” Ohno said distractedly, pointing at the seat he’d been in until a minute ago. “Sorry I don’t have any more chairs…” The artist was trying to be a good host (since there was a bag in Sho’s hand too), but it had been the first time he’d run out of chairs… usually when all five men were in his studio together they were drunk and half on the floor anyway.
“Ah, don’t worry about it. That’s your spot, right?” Sho asked with a grin, setting the item he was carrying onto the table and looking over the rest of the leftover food.
“Oh-chan can sit on my lap!” Aiba suggested and Nino rolled his eyes, but Ohno smiled and nodded so that the writer would sit down and open his present already.
“We brought a cake, but there’s barely enough for everyone…” Nino explained as Sho took the seat and began unwrapping the package. Ohno returned to the table and poured another cup of tea into the clean cup, unsure whether he should offer it to Nino or Sho.
So instead he just placed it somewhere next to the writer and walked around the table to sit on Aiba’s lap.
“Wow! That looks really good!” the inventor said with excitement, wrapping his arms around Ohno’s waist and leaning forward to get a better look at the cake decorated in whipped cream and a small cluster of fruit in the middle.
“It’d better be for how much it cost-“ Nino started in a tone that didn’t sound quite as annoyed as his words were, but Sho interrupted with a chuckle and an amused look at the magician.
“I was the one that paid for it,” he said reprimandingly, but seemed just as lighthearted at Nino was acting.
Pulling out a small dull knife from the bag as well, Nino held it up with a grin. “We bought one since you didn’t have one last time and we had to use that plate-“ the magician laughed, as did everyone else. Ohno had one fork and one spoon to his name, but they often got lost, especially if he’d been eating while painting and wasn’t paying attention to where he put things.
“You mean I bought one-“ Sho interrupted again with a teasing grin and Nino punched him lightly in the shoulder with his wide smile still in place, and Ohno thought for certain they were going to kiss any second now.
But they didn’t and instead Aiba asked Nino how he’d slept last night.
The magician blushed and averted his gaze and mumbled something snarky in return.
“Excuse me?” Aiba laughed and both Sho and Nino were bright red now.
“I said it’s none of your business!” he replied sharply, but Ohno knew it was just to cover his sudden embarrassment.
Chinen was looking confused, but scared again, since Nino was welding a knife (albeit a dull one).
“Oh, did you stay over at Sho-chan’s?” Aiba grinned, his eyes wrinkling up a little in a way that Ohno thought was adorable. At Chinen’s expression, Sho slowly took the knife from Nino, who was much more flustered than the writer, and began cutting the cake properly, offering Ohno a piece before anyone else (even though he tried to tell Sho to give one to Chi-chan first, since he was the guest).
Nino mumbled something like it wasn’t Aiba’s business again, but as Sho finished handing a piece to Chinen and proceeded onto cutting Aiba’s, the inventor smiled knowingly and replied, “Well, I guess if you don’t tell me, I won’t tell you if you owe me any money or not…”
Looking suddenly more motivated, Nino glanced at Aiba incredulously and then turned to Ohno, who was gingerly playing with his piece of cake, trying to take a bite without dropping it on the table. He should really invest in some more utensils if his friends were going to keep bringing him complicated treats like cake.
Aiba just smiled in return and waited.
When Sho had just started to cut the last of the pastry into two pieces for him and Nino, the magician pulled one of his arms out of the way and plopped onto the writer’s lap, much to Sho’s surprise. Nino forced the hand he was holding around his waist and leaned into the other man’s chest with an expression that was almost a pout.
“I might have spent the night at Sho-chan’s…” he said slowly, but didn’t offer anything else. That was enough confirmation for Aiba, though, who sighed yes! and pumped his fist only slight little less enthusiastically than earlier.
Nino looked at him expectantly in return. Ohno was still delicately eating his slide of cake and smiling warmly at Chinen, who had turned to him in an attempt to understand what the other three were talking about.
“You lost. I’ll accept payment in cash or fine wine.”
But instead of arguing with Aiba, Nino instead turned to Ohno, who finally met his stare, and sent the artist a questioning look. “Really? I thought for sure that Jun was going to-“
“His mother found them,” Aiba explained quickly, in a haphazard attempt to spare Chinen and not negate all the effort he had put into making their conversation too vague for the boy to follow.
Nino let out a sympathetic hiss and turned back to Sho, who was attempting to eat his own piece of cake with one hand, the other still firmly held in place around the magician’s waist. Half of it made it into his mouth, but the rest of it dropped onto his shirt and Nino suddenly let out a snicker.
“Lucky,” Aiba whispered ecstatically behind the artist in reference to his double success, finally taking a bite of his own cake. “Shall I take you out to dinner to celebrate my victory, Oh-chan?”
Ohno grinned, but didn’t answer since he was reserving dinner for Jun. Maybe it was a good thing he’d gotten hit on the head… usually he wasn’t spoiled this much. Picking up the other donut, which he’d been eyeing for a while, he offered the last to Chinen, who smiled and refused, several half-eaten sweets still in front of him.
Time slowly passed until it was almost noon, Nino chatting with Aiba about a possible game of croquette that evening (they’d have to get in touch with Jun, since they always used his set), Sho trying to clean up his shirt while being unable to move much with Nino on top of him, and Ohno eventually discussing his next lesson with Chinen. He was trying to convince the boy that he didn’t need any recovery time, and suggested they go out into the park for some inspiration.
Jun stormed in as Ohno was finishing off the muffin that Aiba had left once the cake had come, but, although the artist was excited (he thought Jun would be here hours ago), he immediately turned confused when he saw Kame trailing after him. Kame had never been to his house before.
The aristocrat glared at Aiba as he walked closer, and the room suddenly fell silent. Jun wasn’t angry very often, but when he was, it was something to be avoided.
Before Aiba could offer a flustered apology, Ohno stood (almost oblivious to the atmosphere) and leaned against Jun, who seemed a little stunned at the action.
Ohno had tried his hardest not to think about the other man all morning while enjoying the company of his other friends, but guesses of what his mother had talked with Jun about last night had stayed in his head and there was a small worry as the hours passed that Jun wouldn’t even be coming. The artist was simply glad his friend had showed up, albeit with a spy in tow.
After a few seconds, Jun sighed and finally wrapped his arms around the smaller man and it seemed the tension of the room finally dissipated too.
“I’m sorry… My mother-“ Jun started, leaning closer to Ohno, but the artist just grinned back and stopped him from explaining.
“It’s okay. We can talk about it later,” he said kindly. “Do you want a donut? Or a poppy seed muffin?” Ohno asked, pulling away from Jun a little to turn back to the table, but he didn’t get far at all and instead was pulled back against the taller man again within a second.
“No. The only thing I want right now is you,” Jun mumbled next to Ohno’s ear, and Aiba managed to distract Chinen long enough for them to share a quick kiss.
But Kame cleared his throat and looked pointedly at them, in the middle of attempting to convince Nino to give up the rest of his cake, and although Jun loosened his grip at the actions, the three other men there were more than enough to keep the stylist’s attention for the rest of the day (particularly because they had been trying so hard to get Jun and Ohno together and weren’t going to let their efforts go to waste because of Jun’s domineering mother).
It wasn't until after Chinen had been sent home by Ogura in the early evening and Kame had been caught in a heated discussion with Aiba and Nino on the finer points of croquette that he realized his charge and new found love had disappeared.
Nino offered him a slightly stale donut as a bribe and proceeded to continue critiquing Kame's sports skills, and it wasn’t long before the pair was forgotten once again.
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A/N: Sorry for the weird updates. I was on vacation until a few days ago. Very tired and didn't get much of a vacation after all since I was running around sightseeing, but I had fun and got to see yarukizero, so it turned out pretty good. I also may have gone to an Arashi concert.
By the way, were you disappointed that this wasn't my usual NC-17 epilogue? I wrote this to get out of my rut, so I stayed away from smut other than implications. But... I have to admit I did write something, although I had no intention of posting it... Except in the last chapter someone left a comment that they'd like to see it. So I thought I'd ask everyone's opinion? Actually, it's not Juntoshi, it involves Kame, and takes place at an undisclosed time. =.=;; So maybe I was right and it's not worth posting...? =A=
Well, it's over now and I have to admit that something that was just a whim of mine turned into something a little larger. I hope you all liked it as much as me. :) Comments and criticism are welcome, for the story overall or even something like grammar.
Rating: PG-13ish
Pairing: Ohno/Everyone (specifically Ohno/Jun), Nino/Sho
Genre: AU, fantasy bordering on crack
Chapter: epilogue
Disclaimer: I guess Johnny’s technically owns Arashi, huh? Not me.
Summary: Just like Alice, Ohno falls down the rabbit hole... only there are more familiar people there waiting for him than Alice had. Inspired by the recent Tim Burton Movie, Animated Classic, and the books.
Chapter one
Chapter two
Chapter three
Chapter four
Chapter five
Chapter six
Although the wedding had technically been canceled, many of the guests still spent the evening at the Matsumoto residence, enjoying the food and drinks that had been prepared, and this of course included Ohno, Sho, Nino, and Aiba.
Jun insisted that the artist sit by him at dinner, and Ohno wasn’t surprised to find Nino and Sho together, stealing glances at each other and being inattentive to the rest of the guests. The pair left just as the sun was setting, and even though Jun jokingly told them it was too early (since many of their previous drinking parties had lasted until the morning), he let them go without a fight. After the couple had climbed into Sho’s carriage and taken off with a few small waves, Jun and Aiba made a bet on whether they would have sex tonight or not.
They drank a bottle of wine on the veranda between the three of them, escaping the rest of the party for a few hours, and eventually Aiba grinned, saying that he had several things to work on tomorrow and he should be getting home early too.
Jun didn’t object this time, but when Ohno began collecting his things to return them to Aiba’s carriage, the younger man stopped him with gentle hand on his waist.
“I’ll take you home in my car later, okay?”
Ohno’s breath caught even though it wasn’t an unusual suggestion, and he had a fleeting thought that maybe someone else had made a bet about him and Jun, too.
They also sent Aiba off with a wave, but just when Jun was coaxing Ohno to retreat into the lounge with him, Lady Matsumoto showed up with a sour look.
“Jun, darling, we have some talking to do,” she said with pursed lips and two hands on her waist. Most of the guest must be gone, or at least be on their way, for her to finally leave the party, since she was the hostess and Ohno knew how much Jun’s mother loved that role. But then again, her son’s wedding had fallen apart that afternoon, so maybe today was an exception.
His hand tightening where it had been placed on Ohno’s back, Jun cleared his throat nervously and it was obvious he had been dreading that moment.
“Okay, I understand. Just let me take Ohno home first…” he replied carefully. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, for Jun to drive Ohno back to his little studio, but if Jun’s mother knew what was going on between the two men now--and it was apparent she did--their habits might change very quickly…
“Fine. But if you’re not home in exactly twenty minutes…” she said with a warning look at Ohno more than Jun, and the artist was glad he was not the one left with the pressure to convince this woman that everything would be okay.
Jun nodded, although he didn’t exactly seem pleased with the threat, and pulled Ohno quite blatantly by the hand toward where his car was parked in the courtyard.
“Jun…” Ohno started quietly, “My supplies…”
The younger man stopped and shot him a look that said he didn’t know what he was talking about, then immediately stiffened and retreated back to collect Ohno’s things himself.
The roof of Jun’s car was flimsy and collapsible, and the aristocrat usually kept it down, not only because it was dashing and daring, but also because he liked the feel of the wind in his hair.
And Ohno did too. Especially on warm nights like this.
They were halfway back to Ohno’s studio when Jun suddenly slowed down and pulled off the rocky road, nothing around them but open fields, and parked in the grass with just the moon overhead to lighten their faces. Jun killed the engine of his car while the artist looked at him curiously.
Ohno wasn’t sure what Jun’s mother was going to do if her son returned late, but it was Jun dealing with that, after all, and not him. The chance that he wouldn’t be able to see the younger man for a while because of it made Ohno say something, though.
“Don’t worry. On the way back I’ll drive fast,” Jun offered with a smile and then sighed, giving Ohno a happy and light hearted look.
A comfortable, easy to understand silence fell over them while Jun stared at Ohno and Ohno stared at where their hands were brushing against each other on the middle of the seat.
“I feel like I almost made the biggest mistake of my life today.”
As his friend spoke, Ohno looked up at him and urged him to explain with his eyes, although he was fairly sure he already knew what the reply would be.
“I almost gave up my life… my entire life. Everything… Over a stupid political marriage.” Jun raised his other hand to rub his forehead and close his eyes to cover his emotions. “I’m glad you said something, Oh-chan…”
Ohno knew it wasn’t really his fault that he’d said something. It was Wonderland and that whole mystery of the dream--hallucination?--that had given him enough courage and recklessness to do what he’d done.
But the artist didn’t know how to explain that to Jun, so he didn’t even try. Maybe one day… If anything ever happened again.
“I’m glad, too, Jun…” he replied quietly instead, gripping the younger man’s hand firmly with his own.
Jun glanced over at him and then eliminated the space between them in order to kiss Ohno gently on the lips.
“I love you,” Jun whispered, even though Ohno was pretty sure the younger man had said the phrase more than ten times already that day. Every time no one was looking or they were close enough to barely be overheard he would say it and bring Ohno close to him, and the artist was surprised he was still functioning after all the fluttering his heart did during the afternoon.
“I love you, too,” Ohno barely got in before his friend deepened the kiss, taking the breath right out of him.
They embraced for several minutes, Jun’s hands quickly finding their way to the small of Ohno’s back, bringing them closer, but just like Cinderella and her magic pumpkin, time was ticking away for them too and eventually, both of them knowing the night had to come an end, they broke apart.
Jun started up his car with a disappointed sigh, but shot his love a small smile, before he pulled back onto the road and took off towards the center of town once again.
He parked in his usual spot right in front of Ogura’s place, which was lit up with only a light in the kitchen, and instead of just waving and wishing Ohno a pleasant evening as he usually would, he smoothly jumped out of his seat and followed the artist as he retrieved his key and opened the back door.
Ogura was standing in the kitchen when they came in and he nodded at the two of them before returning to the steaming cup in his hands, and they quickly climbed up the stairs directly next to the entrance, avoiding conversation with the house owner (not that he looked interested anyway).
Since it was inside of Ogura’s place, Ohno never bothered to lock the door to his private room. During the day, the area they had just walked through would be used as a café, but even if one of the customers went snooping around, the artist didn’t think there was much worth stealing upstairs. If his paintings weren’t selling through his own efforts, he wasn’t sure anyone else would get them moving either.
At the top of the flight, Ohno opened the door and then watched Jun for what he would do next. He really should be getting back…
“Just one more kiss,” Jun whispered, leaning into the studio and pecking Ohno on the lips, once, then twice, then three times.
Ohno giggled, but finally pushed the younger man away, telling him to go home and talk to his mother.
Jun gave him an endearing look, but it turned serious after a moment and he suddenly raised his hand and touched the side of Ohno’s head. “Are you sure you’re okay? After everything that happened this afternoon?”
The artist smiled and nodded, and Jun pulled him into a hug, pressing his nose into the shorter man’s hair.
“Jun…”
“I know, just one more kiss,” he said again, and took Ohno’s lips with his own. This time it was more firm, and his tongue joined in.
Finally Ohno pushed him out the door, trying his hardest not to laugh, and Jun wished him a good night, telling him to get some rest.
Not bothering to turn on the lights, Ohno’s energy immediately disappeared as the sense of loneliness overtook him, which always came after a full day with his friends was over.
He shuffled to his makeshift bed in the corner and practically fell onto the pile of blankets.
Ohno didn’t bother worrying that he would be sucked into Wonderland again, because he knew that they were no way he was going to be able to keep himself awake to prevent it from happening. It was better to just go with the flow. Besides, he wouldn’t mind seeing the curly haired hatter again, even though right now he would rather feel the same arms that embraced him a few minutes ago.
But the next morning, when Ohno woke to a soft series of knocks on his door, he was still at his studio.
He blinked once, then twice, trying to focus with the bright light streaming into his room from his very favorite window on the far wall, and attempted to bring reality into view.
Yawning and rubbing his eyes, Ohno finally pushed himself out of bed as the knocks paused for a few seconds, and then started again a little louder. He stumbled to the door, unable to retrieve his balance properly, and pulled it open with squinted eyes.
“Chi-chan?” his voice broke when he spoke and Ohno wondered how early it was. Not too early, but certainly not the time he wanted to be waking up with a throbbing headache and possible hangover. “Do we have a lesson this morning?”
He really hoped not, but when Ohno tried to remember, he found couldn’t recall any of his plans for the upcoming days. His mind had been obsessed with Jun’s wedding since he’d heard of it and had forced anything else out.
Oh, that was right. Jun wasn’t getting married after all.
Ohno smiled suddenly and Chinen looked terrified.
“I’m sorry, Ohno-san!” He was carrying a bag, but not the usual one that held his art supplies. “We don’t have a lesson this morning, but I was so worried about you after yesterday… I couldn’t sleep at all last night…”
Upon closer inspection (and Ohno’s mind becoming more awake), he could see that his student did indeed look haggard.
“Come inside,” Ohno offered, pulling the distraught boy in and closing the door behind him, leading him to the tiny round table against the wall directly to their left.
Ohno’s studio was not meant to be an apartment, but that was okay because Ohno didn’t really have the money to buy anything to furnish it with anyway. Although he had a suspicion that Ogura knew, with him coming back late at night and using the older man’s bathroom at all times of the day, Ohno hadn’t been reprimanded yet and so he thought that he was probably safe at this point.
But despite not having any money, there were a few things… the absolute necessities like a small iron stove that had already been intact when Ohno moved it, and next to it, a sink that Ohno used to wash his paintbrushes more than his dishes.
In front of the makeshift kitchen was the round table where Chinen was taking his usual seat, one of three mismatched chairs. Sho had given him the table when he had gotten a new one, nearly a year ago, and Nino had helped Ohno repair the chairs, each of them found abandoned in the trash on various occasions. They had also fixed up a tiny bookshelf, which Ohno had placed a few cups on, as well as some of his older and full sketchbooks.
Ohno pulled out two of these cups and sat them on the table, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes again, and lit up the small stove so he could boil some water for tea.
Besides Ohno’s bed, which was really only a pile of blankets on top of a down mattress that Jun had insisted on buying for him (he’d actually wanted to bring over an entire bed, but Nino had wisely interrupted that a bed would take up too much space, and wouldn’t that be a dead giveaway if Ogura started getting picky? It would be much better if it looked like Ohno had just stayed overnight because he had been up painting too late…). A few of the blankets had come from Aiba (one had a strange burn mark in the corner, but Ohno didn’t mind), and the rest the artist had brought with him when he had moved to the studio.
Otherwise, Ohno’s apartment was cluttered with unsold paintings (or ones that he wasn’t willing to sell, which was more than a starving artist should have), a few art supplies, and an easel set up by his favorite window with a stool currently placed in front of it.
The kettle began whistling and the artist turned back to the pot from where he had been preparing the tea bags, ready to use the bottom of shirt to hold the hot handle before he realized he was wearing his special Wonderland shirt and didn’t want it to get damaged in any way. Much to Chinen’s distress and embarrassment, Ohno shuffled across the room, slowly shedding his clothes to place them gently on a pile of canvases, and picked up one of the usual outfits he wore out of the tiny selection to change into instead.
He returned with a rag in his hand to move the pot, and cheerfully poured two cups of tea while Chinen blushed and pushed forward his bag.
“I brought some donuts…” the boy explained slowly, and Ohno smiled brightly at him, suspecting what was in the bag already. Even when they had a lesson, Chinen would bring something delicious with him when he’d come to visit Ohno, and Ohno had quickly gotten into the habit of offering his friend a cup of tea as soon as he could so they could have the treat earlier rather than later.
“Oh, thank you!” was Ohno’s enthusiastic reply (even though he was still suspecting it was too early, but his head wasn’t hurting anymore, so maybe he would survive), and he pulled two plates off the shelf, too.
Ohno sat down across from his student and waited patiently for Chinen to unwrap the delicate package and set the treat between them. There were four, which probably meant that Ohno could keep the other two for lunch today. He tried not to let his excitement at the prospect show and nodded his head shyly when Chinen tentatively asked him to eat one.
There were only two things Satoshi Ohno spent his money on (besides rent and all of those unavoidable costs): art and food. And the less money he put into the second category, the more he could put into the first.
And somehow (Ohno attributed it to luck and having good friends), he had managed to keep the money spent in the second category to a minimum. For example, Chinen had been spoiling him with expensive and tasty treats since the first time they met.
It had been a beautiful, sunny day and Ohno had taken his easel and supplies down to the street, which he loved to do when he could (plus it was an easy way to get attention from potential buyers). He was halfway through a painting of the lady selling fruit a few stalls down and across from Ohno’s spot when he had noticed a boy watching over his shoulder.
You’re really talented, he’d been complimented and Ohno had patted the boy on the head with a wide smile.
They’d chatted for a few minutes with the regular questions, what’s your name, where are you from, where in the world did you learn to paint like that? before Ohno turned back to his canvas and continued. After that, Chinen hung around to watch him, the artist suggested he pull up a chair, borrowing one from Ogura’s café two doors down, and they continued in silence for almost an hour…until Ohno’s stomach growled.
He patted it gently and told it to be patient for lunch (he’d skipped breakfast that morning, but Jun had said maybe he would be over that afternoon, which surely meant a nice lunch somewhere expensive), but a few minutes later, Chinen was standing in front of him with a small sandwich from Ogura’s.
Genuinely surprised, the boy had to offer it to him twice before Ohno smiled sheepishly and thanked him with a chuckle.
The spectator was blushing lightly, but Ohno thought maybe that was just a sunburn, since Chinen was actually very pale and the sun had peaked over the corner of the roof above them in the last few minutes. “It’s really good,” Ohno said after the first bite, smiling at the boy who looked even more sunburnt than before. He chewed happily, his cheeks puffing out a little as he turned back to his canvas and Chinen returned to his café chair a foot behind him.
When he was done with the woman selling oranges down the street and decided to pack up (Jun wasn’t here yet, but no doubt would be soon), Chinen suddenly turned jumpy and nervous.
Can I buy that painting from you? he asked desperately and Ohno gave him a lopsided grin. Of course he wouldn’t mind selling something, but it was one of the more mundane paintings he’d completed, or so he thought.
After telling him how much it was, Chinen argued that the price was too low.
I give a discount to my friends, Ohno explained and Chinen’s sunburn came back. The artist was going to offer him some lotion or something, but it was then that Jun arrived.
The aristocrat sauntered over to them immediately and put his arm around Ohno’s shoulder, asking if he’d sold something. Chinen carefully held the painting to his chest and passed the money to Ohno before scurrying off.
The next day, Ohno had set up in the same spot as before, only now he was painting some people having coffee in Ogura’s café, at the tables set up on the sidewalk.
Chinen showed up around noon with a small cake and politely asked if Ohno would be willing to give him lessons. The artist smiled and invited the boy upstairs for a cup of tea.
And although their relationship had changed from friends to teacher and student since then, Chinen was spoiling him almost more than Jun did.
“Ah, it’s delicious!” Ohno exclaimed as he took a bite of the donut. It was nearly as good as the hatter’s food (although Ohno was fairly sure his own handmade tea left a little to be desired), and the perfect taste for breakfast. Chinen was watching him intently as he nibbled at his own pastry, and although his student still seemed worried for the artist, the boy staring at him while he was eating wasn’t anything new.
“So what exactly happened yesterday? At Jun’s wedding?” Chinen asked after a second with an apprehensive expression. He didn’t mention the fact that Ohno had seemed to think he had been a door at some previous point in time.
“Ah…” Ohno nodded distractedly, looking at his tea and trying to remember what his cover story was, since he didn’t really think anyone would believe his tale about Wonderland… well, except maybe Aiba because he was used to things that didn’t make sense (that’s where his inventions came from) and possibly Sho if Ohno gave him every single details he could remember. “Well… I think I hit my head?” he guessed. It probably didn’t matter anyway. He was fine now.
There was a pause and then Chinen quietly asked, “You were in the forest?”
Ohno swallowed and wondered if it would be rude if he took another donut, even if that meant offering Chinen the last one. “…I think so,” he replied without really thinking about it.
“What were you doing there?”
Scratching his knee distractedly, Ohno didn’t know how to answer that outside of admitting that he was throwing a fit because he didn’t want Jun to get married. But that wasn’t too difficult to confess, right? Except then Chinen would ask why he didn’t, since they were really good friends and all… And then Ohno might be in trouble.
But then again, Jun had been pretty open about his new relationship (was it new? Or even a relationship?), so maybe Chinen had already figured it out?
Before he could say anything, though, Ohno’s front door popped open and Aiba fell inside, panting heavily and holding a package in his hand.
“Oh-chan!” he said excitedly and took a deep breath. “You’re awake! I’d thought you’d still be in bed after yesterday, Jun didn’t keep you up too late did he?” he pushed out in one breath and smiled brightly as he closed the door behind him. “Oh, Chinen’s here, too!”
“Aiba-san,” the boy greeting softly and ducked his head shyly.
“I brought some muffins!” Aiba held up his box happily and made his way to the remaining chair while Ohno got up to retrieve his last cup, pouring the inventor some tea as he broke out his food offering. “What flavor do you want, Oh-chan? There’s strawberry and blueberry… or poppy seed…”
There was a second where Ohno tried to tell Aiba to offer Chi-chan one first, but his friend didn’t allow it and said immediately, “You should try the strawberry one! It’s a rare flavor. I’ll leave the poppy seed for your lunch…” Aiba said happily and gave Chinen another kind that hadn’t been mentioned, before taking the blueberry for himself.
“Th-thank you…” the boy replied, but it took a second for him to actually take a bite of the offered treat, his donut only half eaten on his plate.
Aiba gave him a wide grin before turning to Ohno, who was fussing over his cup, trying to pour the hot water without spilling any. With all the practice he’d had at pouring tea, Ohno though he’d be less clumsy with it now, but that wasn’t true in the least.
“How’re you feeling Oh-chan?”
Both he and Chinen turned to the artist and waited for him to focus and answer the question, quite intent on his reply.
Ohno slid Aiba’s cup of tea to him before sitting and smiling happily at the strawberry muffin sitting in front of him. He had dinner, too… assuming Jun didn’t show up and steal him away somewhere, which he had a feeling would happen. A big lunch, then. No need to waste any of it.
“I’m fine,” he finally responded when he realized they were waiting for an answer, and then tentatively took a bite of his treat from Aiba. “It’s really good,” he followed up right away with a bright look at the inventor, who beamed in return.
“Your head’s okay?” came the next question a second later, but Aiba immediately continued, “Here, have a bite of my blueberry one, too.”
“Really?” Ohno asked with an excited expression and Aiba passed it over. “Oh, it’s good too!” He handed it back and nodded in an attempt to answer the first question.
“…You can try mine too,” Chinen offered tentatively. “It’s got some pieces of banana…”
The artist smiled happily at his student, but was a little more serious and reserved when he asked, “Are you sure?”
But Chinen offered the item with a slightly bowed head and Ohno took a small bite of it before giving the same compliment. “It’s goooood!” he said, elongating the last syllable and gingerly returning the item while the boy stole a glance at him from under his long bangs.
Aiba just laughed.
“Did you get home too late?” he asked jovially, his usual knowing grin in place. Ohno took a second to try to find the purple ears on top of his head, but they still weren’t there. Aiba was probably looking for more specific details than that, and Ohno guessed that the bet had been made with Nino.
“No. Jun’s mom found us right after you left,” he explained and tried not to grin when Aiba smiled in triumph and pumped his arm silently in the air.
Chinen looked confused, but Ohno just beamed at him and took another bite of his muffin.
The conversation turned to Ohno’s plans for the day, specifically if he was free to go out for croquette or not, and when Ohno’s door opened again, an irritated Nino and amused Sho entering his studio next.
“I knew you would come over and bother Oh-chan too early in the morning-“ said the magician right away, pointing his finger at Aiba, who raised his hands innocently, but had a mischievous smile that wouldn’t leave his face. “He needs to rest, you know!” Nino accused and Ohno drained the last of his tea, standing and making his way to the sink to wash it out. He only had three cups after all.
“He said he was fine, Nino. Plus, Chi-chan was already here when I came in.”
Nino turned his scowl on the boy, who looked terrified of him, but didn’t say anything and instead shifted his attention to Ohno cleaning the cup and walked over to him to check for himself while Sho approached the table.
“Sho-chan, you can sit there,” Ohno said distractedly, pointing at the seat he’d been in until a minute ago. “Sorry I don’t have any more chairs…” The artist was trying to be a good host (since there was a bag in Sho’s hand too), but it had been the first time he’d run out of chairs… usually when all five men were in his studio together they were drunk and half on the floor anyway.
“Ah, don’t worry about it. That’s your spot, right?” Sho asked with a grin, setting the item he was carrying onto the table and looking over the rest of the leftover food.
“Oh-chan can sit on my lap!” Aiba suggested and Nino rolled his eyes, but Ohno smiled and nodded so that the writer would sit down and open his present already.
“We brought a cake, but there’s barely enough for everyone…” Nino explained as Sho took the seat and began unwrapping the package. Ohno returned to the table and poured another cup of tea into the clean cup, unsure whether he should offer it to Nino or Sho.
So instead he just placed it somewhere next to the writer and walked around the table to sit on Aiba’s lap.
“Wow! That looks really good!” the inventor said with excitement, wrapping his arms around Ohno’s waist and leaning forward to get a better look at the cake decorated in whipped cream and a small cluster of fruit in the middle.
“It’d better be for how much it cost-“ Nino started in a tone that didn’t sound quite as annoyed as his words were, but Sho interrupted with a chuckle and an amused look at the magician.
“I was the one that paid for it,” he said reprimandingly, but seemed just as lighthearted at Nino was acting.
Pulling out a small dull knife from the bag as well, Nino held it up with a grin. “We bought one since you didn’t have one last time and we had to use that plate-“ the magician laughed, as did everyone else. Ohno had one fork and one spoon to his name, but they often got lost, especially if he’d been eating while painting and wasn’t paying attention to where he put things.
“You mean I bought one-“ Sho interrupted again with a teasing grin and Nino punched him lightly in the shoulder with his wide smile still in place, and Ohno thought for certain they were going to kiss any second now.
But they didn’t and instead Aiba asked Nino how he’d slept last night.
The magician blushed and averted his gaze and mumbled something snarky in return.
“Excuse me?” Aiba laughed and both Sho and Nino were bright red now.
“I said it’s none of your business!” he replied sharply, but Ohno knew it was just to cover his sudden embarrassment.
Chinen was looking confused, but scared again, since Nino was welding a knife (albeit a dull one).
“Oh, did you stay over at Sho-chan’s?” Aiba grinned, his eyes wrinkling up a little in a way that Ohno thought was adorable. At Chinen’s expression, Sho slowly took the knife from Nino, who was much more flustered than the writer, and began cutting the cake properly, offering Ohno a piece before anyone else (even though he tried to tell Sho to give one to Chi-chan first, since he was the guest).
Nino mumbled something like it wasn’t Aiba’s business again, but as Sho finished handing a piece to Chinen and proceeded onto cutting Aiba’s, the inventor smiled knowingly and replied, “Well, I guess if you don’t tell me, I won’t tell you if you owe me any money or not…”
Looking suddenly more motivated, Nino glanced at Aiba incredulously and then turned to Ohno, who was gingerly playing with his piece of cake, trying to take a bite without dropping it on the table. He should really invest in some more utensils if his friends were going to keep bringing him complicated treats like cake.
Aiba just smiled in return and waited.
When Sho had just started to cut the last of the pastry into two pieces for him and Nino, the magician pulled one of his arms out of the way and plopped onto the writer’s lap, much to Sho’s surprise. Nino forced the hand he was holding around his waist and leaned into the other man’s chest with an expression that was almost a pout.
“I might have spent the night at Sho-chan’s…” he said slowly, but didn’t offer anything else. That was enough confirmation for Aiba, though, who sighed yes! and pumped his fist only slight little less enthusiastically than earlier.
Nino looked at him expectantly in return. Ohno was still delicately eating his slide of cake and smiling warmly at Chinen, who had turned to him in an attempt to understand what the other three were talking about.
“You lost. I’ll accept payment in cash or fine wine.”
But instead of arguing with Aiba, Nino instead turned to Ohno, who finally met his stare, and sent the artist a questioning look. “Really? I thought for sure that Jun was going to-“
“His mother found them,” Aiba explained quickly, in a haphazard attempt to spare Chinen and not negate all the effort he had put into making their conversation too vague for the boy to follow.
Nino let out a sympathetic hiss and turned back to Sho, who was attempting to eat his own piece of cake with one hand, the other still firmly held in place around the magician’s waist. Half of it made it into his mouth, but the rest of it dropped onto his shirt and Nino suddenly let out a snicker.
“Lucky,” Aiba whispered ecstatically behind the artist in reference to his double success, finally taking a bite of his own cake. “Shall I take you out to dinner to celebrate my victory, Oh-chan?”
Ohno grinned, but didn’t answer since he was reserving dinner for Jun. Maybe it was a good thing he’d gotten hit on the head… usually he wasn’t spoiled this much. Picking up the other donut, which he’d been eyeing for a while, he offered the last to Chinen, who smiled and refused, several half-eaten sweets still in front of him.
Time slowly passed until it was almost noon, Nino chatting with Aiba about a possible game of croquette that evening (they’d have to get in touch with Jun, since they always used his set), Sho trying to clean up his shirt while being unable to move much with Nino on top of him, and Ohno eventually discussing his next lesson with Chinen. He was trying to convince the boy that he didn’t need any recovery time, and suggested they go out into the park for some inspiration.
Jun stormed in as Ohno was finishing off the muffin that Aiba had left once the cake had come, but, although the artist was excited (he thought Jun would be here hours ago), he immediately turned confused when he saw Kame trailing after him. Kame had never been to his house before.
The aristocrat glared at Aiba as he walked closer, and the room suddenly fell silent. Jun wasn’t angry very often, but when he was, it was something to be avoided.
Before Aiba could offer a flustered apology, Ohno stood (almost oblivious to the atmosphere) and leaned against Jun, who seemed a little stunned at the action.
Ohno had tried his hardest not to think about the other man all morning while enjoying the company of his other friends, but guesses of what his mother had talked with Jun about last night had stayed in his head and there was a small worry as the hours passed that Jun wouldn’t even be coming. The artist was simply glad his friend had showed up, albeit with a spy in tow.
After a few seconds, Jun sighed and finally wrapped his arms around the smaller man and it seemed the tension of the room finally dissipated too.
“I’m sorry… My mother-“ Jun started, leaning closer to Ohno, but the artist just grinned back and stopped him from explaining.
“It’s okay. We can talk about it later,” he said kindly. “Do you want a donut? Or a poppy seed muffin?” Ohno asked, pulling away from Jun a little to turn back to the table, but he didn’t get far at all and instead was pulled back against the taller man again within a second.
“No. The only thing I want right now is you,” Jun mumbled next to Ohno’s ear, and Aiba managed to distract Chinen long enough for them to share a quick kiss.
But Kame cleared his throat and looked pointedly at them, in the middle of attempting to convince Nino to give up the rest of his cake, and although Jun loosened his grip at the actions, the three other men there were more than enough to keep the stylist’s attention for the rest of the day (particularly because they had been trying so hard to get Jun and Ohno together and weren’t going to let their efforts go to waste because of Jun’s domineering mother).
It wasn't until after Chinen had been sent home by Ogura in the early evening and Kame had been caught in a heated discussion with Aiba and Nino on the finer points of croquette that he realized his charge and new found love had disappeared.
Nino offered him a slightly stale donut as a bribe and proceeded to continue critiquing Kame's sports skills, and it wasn’t long before the pair was forgotten once again.
+++
A/N: Sorry for the weird updates. I was on vacation until a few days ago. Very tired and didn't get much of a vacation after all since I was running around sightseeing, but I had fun and got to see yarukizero, so it turned out pretty good. I also may have gone to an Arashi concert.
By the way, were you disappointed that this wasn't my usual NC-17 epilogue? I wrote this to get out of my rut, so I stayed away from smut other than implications. But... I have to admit I did write something, although I had no intention of posting it... Except in the last chapter someone left a comment that they'd like to see it. So I thought I'd ask everyone's opinion? Actually, it's not Juntoshi, it involves Kame, and takes place at an undisclosed time. =.=;; So maybe I was right and it's not worth posting...? =A=
Well, it's over now and I have to admit that something that was just a whim of mine turned into something a little larger. I hope you all liked it as much as me. :) Comments and criticism are welcome, for the story overall or even something like grammar.