[One-shot] It's not just a play
Title: It's not just a play
Pairing: Ohmiya, hinted Sakumoto
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Humor, Fluff, (Romance)
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story. ToT
Summary: Nino got a role in a play, and he couldn't grasp the heart of his character. But Ohno was there to help him practice.
Beta-ed by ppotatoos♥♥♥ *hugs hugs hugs*
A/N: A very belated birthday present for vietnga, hope you'll like this dear ♥
This was written when I didn't know what I was writing and I was pretty tired from school XD No angst this time, surprise XD But I love it, because I had so much fun writing this story, so I hope you guys will enjoy it too XD This side of Nino I've never written before (Oh have I?)
Is oblivious!Nino weird, minna?
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“Nino?”
No answer. Ohno opened the door to their green room hesitantly, only to realize that no one was there and the room was dark. He searched for the switch and turned on the lights. Nino had already left. It was frustrating somehow, because Ohno wanted to go out with him for dinner, but he couldn’t complain - he had no right to complain, because it was always him who turned Nino down and now that he was finally ready to go out together, Nino was nowhere to be seen.
He took out his phone and searched for Nino’s number, and he realized with a frown that it had been weeks since they had called each other. The busy schedule took over their lives and he didn’t remember doing anything until he was home and exhausted on his bed. Sometimes Jun would send him messages to remind him to eat, and sometimes Sho called to make sure he was taking care of himself. And Aiba would send him funny little emoticons which he couldn’t really understand. But Nino didn’t send him anything. He wasn’t much of a message person, always preferring to call, but Nino was also busy and they didn’t contact each other for what seemed like a very long time.
He pushed the button call rather hesitantly, took a deep breath and listened to the ringing tone.
“Moshi moshi,” Nino’s voice resounded. “Who’s that?”
“It’s me,” Ohno answered with a small frown. Didn’t Nino have his number in his phone?
“Ah. Ohchan.” Ohno could picture Nino’s smile, and he smiled a little bit too. “Sorry, I didn’t look at the screen when I picked up.”
“It’s okay,” Ohno answered, and suddenly at a loss for words. He wanted to call Nino, yes, but what was his intention? He wasn’t sure himself. He wanted to go out with Nino, but it seemed like the other had already gone home and he was just bothering him.
“Hey,” Nino called, and Ohno snapped out of his thoughts. Somehow, his heart picked up its rate and he stuttered, unsure of what to say.
“I… Are you free right now?” Ohno asked before he could think about it.
“Huh? Oh, no, not really… I have a script to look through tonight, actually.”
“Oh… Do you need some help?” Ohno tried, and he remembered that Nino had a play the coming month. The script was interesting, but Nino would have to kiss a man in one scene and to be honest, Ohno didn’t like this idea at all.
“How are you going to help?” He heard Nino’s chuckle, and he blushed involuntarily, with a small shy smile plastered on his face.
“Well, you know… We can practice some scenes,” Ohno took a deep breath, careful not to mention which scene in particular. And Nino seemed not notice Ohno’s sudden nerves either.
“Ohchan, you have work tomorrow, don’t you? You aren’t planning to spend all night just to practice with me, are you?”
“That’s what I’m thinking of,” Ohno replied sheepishly, and Nino was silent for a while. Ohno bit his lips, and he added when he heard no reply from Nino. “Just wanna… ask, you know.”
“Ask if I’m going to ask for your help?” Nino teased slightly “Ohchan, if it’s okay, yeah, I really really need your help right now.”
Ohno beamed and was warmed to his core at Nino’s words.
“I’ll be there within 20 minutes!”
“Okay, be careful on your way here.” Nino added, and then they hung up.
Ohno couldn’t stop his grin when he gathered his stuff, ran down the stairs and caught a taxi to go straight to Nino’s apartment.
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“It’s messy.” Ohno commented when he stepped inside Nino’s cozy apartment, with Nino standing beside him, the door left wide opened for him to enter.
“It always is,” Nino answered nonchalantly as he closed the door behind him “I should invite Aiba someday. I once saw him cleaning his room and it was admirable.”
Ohno chuckled. Nino tossed the controller aside and gave Ohno room to sit on his floor, and he sat down right beside Ohno, the script on his hand. Ohno reached out and took it from Nino, who didn’t protest at all, and skimmed through the pages.
“It’s really hard to remember,” Nino complained and leaned onto the foot of his bed. Ohno read the first line of the first scene and he blinked, a smile forming on his face.
“So you’re going to be a gay in this play?” He asked casually, though he had known this since the day Nino was informed of his role - he was sitting beside Nino and though he pretended not to hear anything, he had listened closely and remembered only this.
“Oh, yeah,” Nino turned his head towards Ohno “It’s a totally new character for me. I’ve never acted as one before. It’s difficult.”
“I think our Ohmiya SK is enough for you to understand this?” Ohno asked with a playful wink and Nino smacked his head lovingly.
“It’s a serious role, Ohchan!” Nino chortled “It’s not like all the jokes we’ve done are useful. Actually,” Nino sighed and leaned his head onto his bed “I can’t grasp the heart of my character.”
“Who appears to like guys rather than girls?” Ohno asked, his eyes stopped at the lines in scene 27, in which he knew clearly what Nino was going to do.
“Yes,” Nino whined “I’ve never liked a guy in my whole life, for God’s sake!”
Ohno could feel his heart clenched at Nino’s words, but because he always knew it - that Nino was straight and Nino liked girls, he also had some girlfriends on and off before. He wasn’t dating anyone right now, but it wasn’t like he would like Ohno either.
“But you like me,” Ohno answered casually, trying his best not to look embarrassed and acted as if it was just a joke, but it was hard since his heart was pounding like it was going to break his ribcage any moment.
Nino laughed, and he turned to playfully stroke Ohno’s cheeks slightly. Ohno shivered under the touch, but he showed no expression on his face, just enjoyed the contact of Nino’s warm skin on his own.
“Yeah,” Nino grinned “So you should be my partner in this play, not this totally unhandsome and uncool guy who’s going to act this.”
“You should suggest it to the director,” Ohno smiled wider “Then we can do this together.”
“It’d be so much fun,” Nino decided after a second of thinking “I wish it could be true. So I won’t be this vulnerable these days.”
“You look pale,” Ohno commented, and Nino just nodded.
“I don’t get much sleep.” Nino admitted, “I’m really worried about this. It’s not like I can’t act, it’s just…”
“Complicated,” Ohno finished, and Nino nodded again.
“Complicated,” he repeated with a sigh “How does it feel to like another guy, actually?”
“It’s just like when you fall for a girl,” Ohno said softly “It’s not a problem of gender, it’s the problem of how you feel. Do you understand?”
“Like, you say, the person you like isn’t important?” Nino asked, slightly confused.
“Not really like that,” Ohno answered thoughtfully “It’s not the person himself, but how you think about him. When it comes to love, there’s no rules, and you’d just fall before you could help yourself.”
Nino didn’t say anything, and Ohno continued. He didn’t know where all those words came from, but it felt like it’d been there forever.
“This is a problem of self-conflict,” Ohno added “When you realize that it’s wrong, you’ve already sunk into the heart of it and there’s no escape.”
“Do you want to escape, either?” Nino asked quietly.
“Yeah. Do you want to escape is also a problem. Maybe you don’t. Because it’s just the way you are. Maybe you do. But you can’t, because that love is yours and it couldn’t be get rid off.” Ohno finished, and Nino looked at him in awe.
“Ohchan, I didn’t know that you could talk about this problem so… maturely.”
Ohno blushed when Nino grinned at him and he turned his head away, hiding his embarrassment.
“Well, it’s not that hard though…”
“So,” Nino turned back to his script and read the first line of scene 27. “Should we try practicing part of this? Ah, this scene is new, guess I haven’t read it yet…”
And he suddenly suggested, with a smug grin on his face.
“Ohchan, will you practice this scene with me?”
“Eh?” Ohno jumped, his face reddened when he saw Nino’s playful eyes on him. Did Nino really know what he was going to do in that part? “But you haven’t read it yet… is that okay?”
“Of course,” Nino smirked “Plus, it seems interesting. Come on, I’ll just read the line from the script, and you too. Just for fun, you know.”
“Oh… okay.” Ohno didn’t know why he didn’t urge Nino to read it first and why he didn’t refuse Nino when he couldn’t stop the furious pounding of his heart. Maybe he was scared that if Nino knew, he would choose another scene and Ohno would have no chance to actually try it…
“Okay,” Nino grinned and stood up, his hand reached out to Ohno and held it as he started acting. After all of those years, Ohno was still admire how fast Nino could get into his character, and how easy it seemed for him to do so.
‘We should stop here,’ Nino’s character said quietly, and Ohno immediately read his part. He murmured, his eyes looked at Nino who was looking at him with unusually warm eyes and somehow tired and lonely all together.
‘No,’ Ohno’s character replied in a bitter voice ‘No, I can’t,’
‘Please,’ Nino’s eyes wavered, and Ohno sensed confusion in his eyes ‘I can’t ruin your life like this. This is just a nightmare for both of us!’
‘It’s never a nightmare for me,’ Ohno said with a soft tone, and Nino slightly frowned. He looked a little lost ‘Loving you is never a nightmare for me.’
‘But you’re going to lose everything,’ Nino said sadly ‘You have your own life, and you deserve a better life…’
‘Not when I don’t have you,’ Ohno took a step closer, he didn’t even know if the script had that part, he wasn’t just acting, but his feeling had controlled his mind and he was now the person who was in love with the man in front of him. Deeply, helplessly. ‘Please don’t leave…’
‘Naruse,’ Nino called Ohno’s character’s name, and Ohno - for a second - wanted desperately for it to be his own name. ‘You know… you know I love you, right?’
Ohno shook his head. Nino’s eyes widened when he read the next line in the script, but Ohno didn’t give him a chance to stop. He came right in front of Nino and took his hand - which was holding the script - and the script fell onto the floor. They made no move to take it. Ohno whispered with his most irresistible voice.
‘Prove to me,’ he said quietly ‘Prove to me.’
And Nino was about to back away, his eyes returning to normal as he was going to stop here, because it was absurd, because it was when they would kiss, and he was scared of what would happen next, but Ohno had already had his hand at the back of Nino’s neck and pulled him closer until their lips met.
It was quick, almost just the slightest touch of lips, and Nino pulled back right after that. Nino’s eyes couldn’t be wider as he looked at Ohno, who was looking back at him and something was shining inside those brown eyes that Nino couldn’t really understand.
Nino slowly touched his lips with his fingertips, wondered why it didn’t feel annoying at all, but somehow it brought on something, light like a feather and soft like a fluffy pillow, in his chest.
“Woa, it was…” Nino managed to say as he tried to smile awkwardly. “… Unexpected.”
“Oh, yeah?” Ohno blinked a few times before returning back to his senses. But he did not regret kissing Nino, because it might be his only chance. “I think you should expect it better, since it’s really a sappy love story between two guys.”
“I did expect kiss scenes,” Nino said, unable to look at Ohno’s eyes, his hands came to his waist and then back at his face, as if he didn’t know how to deal with them “But… I didn’t expect you to act it… wholeheartedly like that.”
“It’s called ‘practice’,” Ohno smiled, trying to sound calm, except the fact that he was actually getting more nervous by the way Nino reacted - Nino looked so unsure, as if kissing Ohno was a bad idea after all. “How can you do it if you don’t feel like doing it?”
“But…” Nino bit his lips, uncertainty weighing in his voice “… still, it’s weird kissing you like that.”
“You’re not kissing me,” Ohno reminded him with a smile “It’s Ariake kissing Naruse, isn’t it?”
Nino blushed, but he just nodded dumbly. Ohno had a point here. How unprofessional he was to jump away like that, when he was supposed to kiss back at this scene? He didn’t really know how to kiss back though. It was weird enough to feel Ohno’s lips against his, and those lips were so warm that it made him shiver slightly.
But the weirdest thing was that it felt… strangely nice.
“Okay,” Nino exhaled “Okay, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, let’s just try another scene then,” Ohno shrugged slightly “Choose a safer one.”
“No.” Nino suddenly said, and it made Ohno’s heart skip a beat “No, we’re going to do that again.”
“What?” Ohno widened his eyes in disbelief, and Nino just looked at him with determination in his eyes.
“We should try it again,” Nino repeated, totally serious. Ohno didn’t know if someone was actually listening to his wish and now was making it come true. “I’ll have to act it later, and I want to get the feeling of it! I don’t want to give up like this.”
“Oh,” was all Ohno could say, when Nino came close to him and said quietly.
‘You know… you know I love you, right?’ He looked serious, and depressed, and worried, and Ohno couldn’t believe that Nino already got into his character.
Slowly, Ohno shook his head. He was still a little dizzy when he heard himself murmured.
‘Prove to me,’ he whispered ‘prove to me.’
And once again his hand came to Nino’s nape, this time a little hesitant, and it was Nino who closed the gap between them, let their lips meet gently and Ohno’s brain was screaming, can you believe this? . His hand on Nino’s shirt tightened as he felt Nino’s lips move against his, and the small pressure Nino put into the kiss made Ohno want more. He forgot all the things around them, the script, the acting and the role, he didn’t even remember that they were just acting. All he noticed was Nino’s wet, warm and soft lips against his, and he pulled their body closer, closer until he felt like there was no more gap between them.
When Nino pulled back, Ohno was breathing heavily and so did Nino, and they both didn’t speak for a while. Ohno couldn’t believe what had happened, that they actually kissed, and Nino had kissed him back. The feeling was still so real that he still felt Nino’s taste on his mouth. He touched it in awe, replayed the scene over and over in his mind.
It was Nino who talked first, and by the way his voice raised a little, Ohno could tell he was also surprised with himself.
“It’s…” Nino started, struggled with his own words “… is it weird?”
“Huh?” Ohno looked up, and saw that Nino was exactly like him: touching his swollen lips, his eyes widened and his face red.
“I mean,” Nino continued, still looked disbelieved “I have never kissed anyone like that before.”
“But you kissed your girlfriends,” Ohno said, trying to make sense.
“But I’ve never felt like this after a kiss,” Nino admitted, and he looked scared, almost lost, when his eyes found Ohno’s and unable to come up with an answer. But then his eyes brightened up “Is it because of the character?”
“What do you mean?” Ohno asked, hope rising in his chest but he tried to suppress it.
“Because I finally get the heart of my character,” Nino said, and slowly, a smile appeared on his face “That must be it! I’ve got it already!!”
And he jumped in joy as he hugged Ohno tightly, refusing to acknowledge the other’s disappointed face as he skipped around the room and came to his script which was laying abandoned on the floor.
“Ohchan, thank you so much!” He beamed at Ohno, who was trying to smile back at him as enthusiastically as he could, but something in Ohno’s chest had broken, and he wasn’t sure if it was because he was thrown back to reality after such a sweet dream, or because he finally realized that a wish was called a wish because it would never come true.
Nino was still humming happily and turning the pages as he chose another scene and wanted to practice again, but Ohno had smiled at him and said that he was tired and he needed to go home soon. Nino had pouted, but Ohno had pinched his cheeks with a promise that they would practice again tomorrow. Nino had beamed, and Ohno had thought It’s also okay like this.
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Time flew, and it was Nino’s real rehearsal with the other actors and actresses who would co-star in the play with him. Ohno had no more chance to practice with Nino at home because now Nino left early in the morning and only came hone when it was late at night. Ohno couldn’t ask for more though, because he had had Nino for a week for himself - practicing every night - and the fact was Nino liked to practice that kiss scene so much that Ohno started to wonder if Nino really wanted to kiss him or it was just an act. They had kissed almost every night, and every time it left Ohno dizzy and unable to focus on his next scene, but Nino looked like he was having a good time and Ohno just smiled and gave in, because he loved Nino’s kisses just as much as he loved the other man, and because Nino being happy meant everything to him.
Nino had understood his character clearly that he was totally confident when going to the rehearsal, so it was weird when he came back to the green room that day with a frown on his face and he was so in a bad mood that his bandmates had to look around to search for the cause of this sudden grumpiness. Ohno was confused too, and as the other three shot him questioning looks, he just shrugged and approached Nino hesitantly. When the other man showed no protest, he sat down beside him and nudged his shoulder slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Ohno asked softly, and Nino didn’t look at him. He just grunted incoherently at Ohno, and then leaned his head to rest on Ohno’s shoulder. Ohno just kept silent, giving Nino the time he needed, because he would tell Ohno when the time is right.
“I failed,” Nino said quietly after a while, and it took Ohno a second to understand what Nino meant.
“At the rehearsal?” Ohno asked softly.
“Yeah.” Nino barely nodded, his eyes closed slightly “I couldn’t get it right. I can’t believe I couldn’t get it right.”
“Get what right?” Ohno’s arm came to rest around Nino’s waist.
“That kiss scene,” Nino grunted, and Ohno frowned. Was there anything wrong with that? Nino had practiced that scene for… several times and now he said he couldn’t get it right?
“But you were good at that.” Ohno said, confused.
“The director said it’s not enough,” Nino said with a sigh “And more, I myself also think it’s not enough.”
“What do you mean?” Ohno asked cautiously. Nino was perfect when he was kissing Ohno, so why it wasn’t perfect now?
“I don’t know,” Nino groaned “but definitely something is lacking.”
“What thing?” Ohno hummed thoughtfully, his hand came to rub at Nino’s back subconsciously.
“I wish I know,” Nino crossed his arms across his chest, but suddenly his eyes brightened. “I can try it with you guys!”
“What??!!?” Three different voices from three different directions came simultaneously.
“Kissing you!” Nino exclaimed with a smile, and it surprised Ohno how much Nino was into this role. He would never kiss them if it wasn’t for this play for sure.
Aiba rolled his eyes at Nino, but then he cheerfully welcomed Nino into his arms. However, right when Nino’s lips touched Aiba the slightest (Ohno’s heart had fallen at that) Nino pulled back with a wince.
“Definitely not,” He said with a chuck “I should try it with Sho-chan.”
“What!!?? No!!” Jun groaned as he took Sho’s hand and pulled him away from Nino “I won’t let you! You brat!”
“Come on, princess,” Nino smirked “Let me just borrow him for a second!”
“NO!” Jun roared when Nino tugged Sho’s hand (who was too kind to refuse Nino anything) as he kicked Nino out of Sho’s reach. “GO AND KISS YOUR OWN BOYFRIEND!!!!”
“I don’t have one!” Nino protested, and Jun rolled his eyes as if saying, what about him? Nino took a look at Ohno and then sighed. “I’ve kissed him many times already.”
Sho dropped the book onto the floor and Aiba yelped, when Jun just arched his eyebrows as if asking, So?
”And it felt…” Nino’s eyes slowly came back at Ohno, as if he had just realized something “… right…”
Ohno’s heart couldn’t stay calm in his chest anymore as he stared at Nino, who was still looking at him in surprise and yet confusion in his eyes, and he approached Ohno rather hesitantly. Ohno waited for Nino to come closer to him. He didn’t mind that the other three’s eyes were on them - and Nino didn’t seem like he minded either - when Nino cupped his hands on his cheeks and he leaned in slowly, as if testing a theory.
When Nino’s lips once again rested on his, everything around disappeared and Ohno could only reach out his arms to hold Nino, to pull him closer to his body. He welcomed the feeling of Nino’s soft lips on his, as much as he welcomed Nino’s lips hesitantly moved against his. Nino didn’t only press his lips like they always did, but this time, Nino slowly licked his bottom lip, asking for entrance, and with a surprised sigh, Ohno let him in without actually thinking.
They were both closing their eyes, so none of them noticed the horrified look on Sho’s face, the disgust on Jun’s and a mixture of surprise and happiness on Aiba’s. They just took time tasting each other, as if trying to get the best out of this moment. When they reopened their eyes and finally pulled back, they were alone in the green room. The other three had already disappeared.
“It’s you…” Nino said, unsure of himself, but he didn’t pull back. Didn’t run away. “It’s not me, it’s you…”
“What?” Ohno’s brain just couldn’t follow Nino’s words, because he was still lost in Nino’s kiss, didn’t know whether he should think himself as Naruse or as Ohno Satoshi himself.
“It’s not me who have a problem,” Nino said, this time more sure of himself. “It’s you.”
“Excuse me?” Ohno frowned “I don’t have any problem…”
“No, I mean,” Nino suddenly blushed, and he buried himself into Ohno’s shoulder to hide his red face “… It’s because of the person I kiss.”
Ohno still didn’t understand, so he waited for Nino to continue.
“I only feel like this when I kiss you,” Nino admitted quietly, and Ohno held his breath. Was his wish finally coming true?
“I couldn’t find this feeling when I did it with the others,” Nino said in a small voice “I couldn’t feel so… exhilarated, like this.”
“… Really?” Ohno managed to say, his own happiness now was too much for his heart to bear. He could feel Nino’s heartbeat where their chest met, and the rapid beats told him that Nino was just as nervous as he was.
“Yes…” Nino breathed, and he looked up, his eyes caught Ohno’s “What does this mean, Ohchan?”
“What do you think it means?” Ohno asked quietly, his hand came to Nino’s back as he pulled the younger boy into his arms.
“I…” Nino hesitated. Confused. “I… can only come up with an answer…”
“What is it, then?” Ohno asked encouragingly.
“… Does it… have any chance that…” Nino stuttered “…Ohchan, what if…”
“Hm?” Ohno hummed, trying to remain cool, but every cell of his body was screaming, urging him to just hold and kiss this man breathless already.
“What if… I do love you?” Nino finally asked, and at that moment, there was fear in his eyes that Ohno couldn’t help but lean in and kissed that fear away. This Nino wasn’t like the Nino who always tried to look cool at all. But Ohno loved Nino like this just as much as he loved cool-Nino, so when Nino shot him a confused look, he closed the small gap between them with a tight embrace.
“I’d be extremely happy if it’s true,” Ohno murmured as he buried his face to Nino’s neck “Seriously.”
“Really?” Nino asked as he returned Ohno’s hug, his arms around the older man’s waist “You don’t feel it’s… creepy or something?”
“Why?” Ohno chuckled, and Nino shook his head, not sure with himself. “I’ve been loving you since forever, Nino.”
“You do?” Nino pulled back as he looked at Ohno in surprise, his eyes sparkling with happiness.
“Of course,” Ohno grinned “Why else do you think I let you kiss me countless times like that?”
“I’ve only kissed you five times!” Nino protested, his face couldn’t be redder at Ohno’s words, but he was smiling, and Ohno burst out laughing at Nino’s troubled face.
“Six times,” Ohno corrected with a smug smile “Why don’t you count this time too?”
“I was just checking if I’m really…” Nino blushed, and Ohno leaned in as he kissed the tip of Nino’s nose slightly.
“It’s okay,” Ohno gave another kiss on Nino’s forehead “You can kiss me whenever you want to.”
Nino beamed brightly as he stole a kiss on Ohno’s lips, and he smiled mischievously.
“Then I should think of you when I act this scene,” he said “It’d be much easier.”
“Agreed,” Ohno grinned and they kissed one more time, this time longer and full of passion that none of them wanted to be the one who pulled back first.
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A/N: Yes, it's Ariake and Naruse, because I'm bad at personal name like that T___T
I would kill LJ if I could.
Pairing: Ohmiya, hinted Sakumoto
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Humor, Fluff, (Romance)
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story. ToT
Summary: Nino got a role in a play, and he couldn't grasp the heart of his character. But Ohno was there to help him practice.
Beta-ed by ppotatoos♥♥♥ *hugs hugs hugs*
A/N: A very belated birthday present for vietnga, hope you'll like this dear ♥
This was written when I didn't know what I was writing and I was pretty tired from school XD No angst this time, surprise XD But I love it, because I had so much fun writing this story, so I hope you guys will enjoy it too XD This side of Nino I've never written before (Oh have I?)
Is oblivious!Nino weird, minna?
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“Nino?”
No answer. Ohno opened the door to their green room hesitantly, only to realize that no one was there and the room was dark. He searched for the switch and turned on the lights. Nino had already left. It was frustrating somehow, because Ohno wanted to go out with him for dinner, but he couldn’t complain - he had no right to complain, because it was always him who turned Nino down and now that he was finally ready to go out together, Nino was nowhere to be seen.
He took out his phone and searched for Nino’s number, and he realized with a frown that it had been weeks since they had called each other. The busy schedule took over their lives and he didn’t remember doing anything until he was home and exhausted on his bed. Sometimes Jun would send him messages to remind him to eat, and sometimes Sho called to make sure he was taking care of himself. And Aiba would send him funny little emoticons which he couldn’t really understand. But Nino didn’t send him anything. He wasn’t much of a message person, always preferring to call, but Nino was also busy and they didn’t contact each other for what seemed like a very long time.
He pushed the button call rather hesitantly, took a deep breath and listened to the ringing tone.
“Moshi moshi,” Nino’s voice resounded. “Who’s that?”
“It’s me,” Ohno answered with a small frown. Didn’t Nino have his number in his phone?
“Ah. Ohchan.” Ohno could picture Nino’s smile, and he smiled a little bit too. “Sorry, I didn’t look at the screen when I picked up.”
“It’s okay,” Ohno answered, and suddenly at a loss for words. He wanted to call Nino, yes, but what was his intention? He wasn’t sure himself. He wanted to go out with Nino, but it seemed like the other had already gone home and he was just bothering him.
“Hey,” Nino called, and Ohno snapped out of his thoughts. Somehow, his heart picked up its rate and he stuttered, unsure of what to say.
“I… Are you free right now?” Ohno asked before he could think about it.
“Huh? Oh, no, not really… I have a script to look through tonight, actually.”
“Oh… Do you need some help?” Ohno tried, and he remembered that Nino had a play the coming month. The script was interesting, but Nino would have to kiss a man in one scene and to be honest, Ohno didn’t like this idea at all.
“How are you going to help?” He heard Nino’s chuckle, and he blushed involuntarily, with a small shy smile plastered on his face.
“Well, you know… We can practice some scenes,” Ohno took a deep breath, careful not to mention which scene in particular. And Nino seemed not notice Ohno’s sudden nerves either.
“Ohchan, you have work tomorrow, don’t you? You aren’t planning to spend all night just to practice with me, are you?”
“That’s what I’m thinking of,” Ohno replied sheepishly, and Nino was silent for a while. Ohno bit his lips, and he added when he heard no reply from Nino. “Just wanna… ask, you know.”
“Ask if I’m going to ask for your help?” Nino teased slightly “Ohchan, if it’s okay, yeah, I really really need your help right now.”
Ohno beamed and was warmed to his core at Nino’s words.
“I’ll be there within 20 minutes!”
“Okay, be careful on your way here.” Nino added, and then they hung up.
Ohno couldn’t stop his grin when he gathered his stuff, ran down the stairs and caught a taxi to go straight to Nino’s apartment.
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“It’s messy.” Ohno commented when he stepped inside Nino’s cozy apartment, with Nino standing beside him, the door left wide opened for him to enter.
“It always is,” Nino answered nonchalantly as he closed the door behind him “I should invite Aiba someday. I once saw him cleaning his room and it was admirable.”
Ohno chuckled. Nino tossed the controller aside and gave Ohno room to sit on his floor, and he sat down right beside Ohno, the script on his hand. Ohno reached out and took it from Nino, who didn’t protest at all, and skimmed through the pages.
“It’s really hard to remember,” Nino complained and leaned onto the foot of his bed. Ohno read the first line of the first scene and he blinked, a smile forming on his face.
“So you’re going to be a gay in this play?” He asked casually, though he had known this since the day Nino was informed of his role - he was sitting beside Nino and though he pretended not to hear anything, he had listened closely and remembered only this.
“Oh, yeah,” Nino turned his head towards Ohno “It’s a totally new character for me. I’ve never acted as one before. It’s difficult.”
“I think our Ohmiya SK is enough for you to understand this?” Ohno asked with a playful wink and Nino smacked his head lovingly.
“It’s a serious role, Ohchan!” Nino chortled “It’s not like all the jokes we’ve done are useful. Actually,” Nino sighed and leaned his head onto his bed “I can’t grasp the heart of my character.”
“Who appears to like guys rather than girls?” Ohno asked, his eyes stopped at the lines in scene 27, in which he knew clearly what Nino was going to do.
“Yes,” Nino whined “I’ve never liked a guy in my whole life, for God’s sake!”
Ohno could feel his heart clenched at Nino’s words, but because he always knew it - that Nino was straight and Nino liked girls, he also had some girlfriends on and off before. He wasn’t dating anyone right now, but it wasn’t like he would like Ohno either.
“But you like me,” Ohno answered casually, trying his best not to look embarrassed and acted as if it was just a joke, but it was hard since his heart was pounding like it was going to break his ribcage any moment.
Nino laughed, and he turned to playfully stroke Ohno’s cheeks slightly. Ohno shivered under the touch, but he showed no expression on his face, just enjoyed the contact of Nino’s warm skin on his own.
“Yeah,” Nino grinned “So you should be my partner in this play, not this totally unhandsome and uncool guy who’s going to act this.”
“You should suggest it to the director,” Ohno smiled wider “Then we can do this together.”
“It’d be so much fun,” Nino decided after a second of thinking “I wish it could be true. So I won’t be this vulnerable these days.”
“You look pale,” Ohno commented, and Nino just nodded.
“I don’t get much sleep.” Nino admitted, “I’m really worried about this. It’s not like I can’t act, it’s just…”
“Complicated,” Ohno finished, and Nino nodded again.
“Complicated,” he repeated with a sigh “How does it feel to like another guy, actually?”
“It’s just like when you fall for a girl,” Ohno said softly “It’s not a problem of gender, it’s the problem of how you feel. Do you understand?”
“Like, you say, the person you like isn’t important?” Nino asked, slightly confused.
“Not really like that,” Ohno answered thoughtfully “It’s not the person himself, but how you think about him. When it comes to love, there’s no rules, and you’d just fall before you could help yourself.”
Nino didn’t say anything, and Ohno continued. He didn’t know where all those words came from, but it felt like it’d been there forever.
“This is a problem of self-conflict,” Ohno added “When you realize that it’s wrong, you’ve already sunk into the heart of it and there’s no escape.”
“Do you want to escape, either?” Nino asked quietly.
“Yeah. Do you want to escape is also a problem. Maybe you don’t. Because it’s just the way you are. Maybe you do. But you can’t, because that love is yours and it couldn’t be get rid off.” Ohno finished, and Nino looked at him in awe.
“Ohchan, I didn’t know that you could talk about this problem so… maturely.”
Ohno blushed when Nino grinned at him and he turned his head away, hiding his embarrassment.
“Well, it’s not that hard though…”
“So,” Nino turned back to his script and read the first line of scene 27. “Should we try practicing part of this? Ah, this scene is new, guess I haven’t read it yet…”
And he suddenly suggested, with a smug grin on his face.
“Ohchan, will you practice this scene with me?”
“Eh?” Ohno jumped, his face reddened when he saw Nino’s playful eyes on him. Did Nino really know what he was going to do in that part? “But you haven’t read it yet… is that okay?”
“Of course,” Nino smirked “Plus, it seems interesting. Come on, I’ll just read the line from the script, and you too. Just for fun, you know.”
“Oh… okay.” Ohno didn’t know why he didn’t urge Nino to read it first and why he didn’t refuse Nino when he couldn’t stop the furious pounding of his heart. Maybe he was scared that if Nino knew, he would choose another scene and Ohno would have no chance to actually try it…
“Okay,” Nino grinned and stood up, his hand reached out to Ohno and held it as he started acting. After all of those years, Ohno was still admire how fast Nino could get into his character, and how easy it seemed for him to do so.
‘We should stop here,’ Nino’s character said quietly, and Ohno immediately read his part. He murmured, his eyes looked at Nino who was looking at him with unusually warm eyes and somehow tired and lonely all together.
‘No,’ Ohno’s character replied in a bitter voice ‘No, I can’t,’
‘Please,’ Nino’s eyes wavered, and Ohno sensed confusion in his eyes ‘I can’t ruin your life like this. This is just a nightmare for both of us!’
‘It’s never a nightmare for me,’ Ohno said with a soft tone, and Nino slightly frowned. He looked a little lost ‘Loving you is never a nightmare for me.’
‘But you’re going to lose everything,’ Nino said sadly ‘You have your own life, and you deserve a better life…’
‘Not when I don’t have you,’ Ohno took a step closer, he didn’t even know if the script had that part, he wasn’t just acting, but his feeling had controlled his mind and he was now the person who was in love with the man in front of him. Deeply, helplessly. ‘Please don’t leave…’
‘Naruse,’ Nino called Ohno’s character’s name, and Ohno - for a second - wanted desperately for it to be his own name. ‘You know… you know I love you, right?’
Ohno shook his head. Nino’s eyes widened when he read the next line in the script, but Ohno didn’t give him a chance to stop. He came right in front of Nino and took his hand - which was holding the script - and the script fell onto the floor. They made no move to take it. Ohno whispered with his most irresistible voice.
‘Prove to me,’ he said quietly ‘Prove to me.’
And Nino was about to back away, his eyes returning to normal as he was going to stop here, because it was absurd, because it was when they would kiss, and he was scared of what would happen next, but Ohno had already had his hand at the back of Nino’s neck and pulled him closer until their lips met.
It was quick, almost just the slightest touch of lips, and Nino pulled back right after that. Nino’s eyes couldn’t be wider as he looked at Ohno, who was looking back at him and something was shining inside those brown eyes that Nino couldn’t really understand.
Nino slowly touched his lips with his fingertips, wondered why it didn’t feel annoying at all, but somehow it brought on something, light like a feather and soft like a fluffy pillow, in his chest.
“Woa, it was…” Nino managed to say as he tried to smile awkwardly. “… Unexpected.”
“Oh, yeah?” Ohno blinked a few times before returning back to his senses. But he did not regret kissing Nino, because it might be his only chance. “I think you should expect it better, since it’s really a sappy love story between two guys.”
“I did expect kiss scenes,” Nino said, unable to look at Ohno’s eyes, his hands came to his waist and then back at his face, as if he didn’t know how to deal with them “But… I didn’t expect you to act it… wholeheartedly like that.”
“It’s called ‘practice’,” Ohno smiled, trying to sound calm, except the fact that he was actually getting more nervous by the way Nino reacted - Nino looked so unsure, as if kissing Ohno was a bad idea after all. “How can you do it if you don’t feel like doing it?”
“But…” Nino bit his lips, uncertainty weighing in his voice “… still, it’s weird kissing you like that.”
“You’re not kissing me,” Ohno reminded him with a smile “It’s Ariake kissing Naruse, isn’t it?”
Nino blushed, but he just nodded dumbly. Ohno had a point here. How unprofessional he was to jump away like that, when he was supposed to kiss back at this scene? He didn’t really know how to kiss back though. It was weird enough to feel Ohno’s lips against his, and those lips were so warm that it made him shiver slightly.
But the weirdest thing was that it felt… strangely nice.
“Okay,” Nino exhaled “Okay, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, let’s just try another scene then,” Ohno shrugged slightly “Choose a safer one.”
“No.” Nino suddenly said, and it made Ohno’s heart skip a beat “No, we’re going to do that again.”
“What?” Ohno widened his eyes in disbelief, and Nino just looked at him with determination in his eyes.
“We should try it again,” Nino repeated, totally serious. Ohno didn’t know if someone was actually listening to his wish and now was making it come true. “I’ll have to act it later, and I want to get the feeling of it! I don’t want to give up like this.”
“Oh,” was all Ohno could say, when Nino came close to him and said quietly.
‘You know… you know I love you, right?’ He looked serious, and depressed, and worried, and Ohno couldn’t believe that Nino already got into his character.
Slowly, Ohno shook his head. He was still a little dizzy when he heard himself murmured.
‘Prove to me,’ he whispered ‘prove to me.’
And once again his hand came to Nino’s nape, this time a little hesitant, and it was Nino who closed the gap between them, let their lips meet gently and Ohno’s brain was screaming, can you believe this? . His hand on Nino’s shirt tightened as he felt Nino’s lips move against his, and the small pressure Nino put into the kiss made Ohno want more. He forgot all the things around them, the script, the acting and the role, he didn’t even remember that they were just acting. All he noticed was Nino’s wet, warm and soft lips against his, and he pulled their body closer, closer until he felt like there was no more gap between them.
When Nino pulled back, Ohno was breathing heavily and so did Nino, and they both didn’t speak for a while. Ohno couldn’t believe what had happened, that they actually kissed, and Nino had kissed him back. The feeling was still so real that he still felt Nino’s taste on his mouth. He touched it in awe, replayed the scene over and over in his mind.
It was Nino who talked first, and by the way his voice raised a little, Ohno could tell he was also surprised with himself.
“It’s…” Nino started, struggled with his own words “… is it weird?”
“Huh?” Ohno looked up, and saw that Nino was exactly like him: touching his swollen lips, his eyes widened and his face red.
“I mean,” Nino continued, still looked disbelieved “I have never kissed anyone like that before.”
“But you kissed your girlfriends,” Ohno said, trying to make sense.
“But I’ve never felt like this after a kiss,” Nino admitted, and he looked scared, almost lost, when his eyes found Ohno’s and unable to come up with an answer. But then his eyes brightened up “Is it because of the character?”
“What do you mean?” Ohno asked, hope rising in his chest but he tried to suppress it.
“Because I finally get the heart of my character,” Nino said, and slowly, a smile appeared on his face “That must be it! I’ve got it already!!”
And he jumped in joy as he hugged Ohno tightly, refusing to acknowledge the other’s disappointed face as he skipped around the room and came to his script which was laying abandoned on the floor.
“Ohchan, thank you so much!” He beamed at Ohno, who was trying to smile back at him as enthusiastically as he could, but something in Ohno’s chest had broken, and he wasn’t sure if it was because he was thrown back to reality after such a sweet dream, or because he finally realized that a wish was called a wish because it would never come true.
Nino was still humming happily and turning the pages as he chose another scene and wanted to practice again, but Ohno had smiled at him and said that he was tired and he needed to go home soon. Nino had pouted, but Ohno had pinched his cheeks with a promise that they would practice again tomorrow. Nino had beamed, and Ohno had thought It’s also okay like this.
---------------------------------
Time flew, and it was Nino’s real rehearsal with the other actors and actresses who would co-star in the play with him. Ohno had no more chance to practice with Nino at home because now Nino left early in the morning and only came hone when it was late at night. Ohno couldn’t ask for more though, because he had had Nino for a week for himself - practicing every night - and the fact was Nino liked to practice that kiss scene so much that Ohno started to wonder if Nino really wanted to kiss him or it was just an act. They had kissed almost every night, and every time it left Ohno dizzy and unable to focus on his next scene, but Nino looked like he was having a good time and Ohno just smiled and gave in, because he loved Nino’s kisses just as much as he loved the other man, and because Nino being happy meant everything to him.
Nino had understood his character clearly that he was totally confident when going to the rehearsal, so it was weird when he came back to the green room that day with a frown on his face and he was so in a bad mood that his bandmates had to look around to search for the cause of this sudden grumpiness. Ohno was confused too, and as the other three shot him questioning looks, he just shrugged and approached Nino hesitantly. When the other man showed no protest, he sat down beside him and nudged his shoulder slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Ohno asked softly, and Nino didn’t look at him. He just grunted incoherently at Ohno, and then leaned his head to rest on Ohno’s shoulder. Ohno just kept silent, giving Nino the time he needed, because he would tell Ohno when the time is right.
“I failed,” Nino said quietly after a while, and it took Ohno a second to understand what Nino meant.
“At the rehearsal?” Ohno asked softly.
“Yeah.” Nino barely nodded, his eyes closed slightly “I couldn’t get it right. I can’t believe I couldn’t get it right.”
“Get what right?” Ohno’s arm came to rest around Nino’s waist.
“That kiss scene,” Nino grunted, and Ohno frowned. Was there anything wrong with that? Nino had practiced that scene for… several times and now he said he couldn’t get it right?
“But you were good at that.” Ohno said, confused.
“The director said it’s not enough,” Nino said with a sigh “And more, I myself also think it’s not enough.”
“What do you mean?” Ohno asked cautiously. Nino was perfect when he was kissing Ohno, so why it wasn’t perfect now?
“I don’t know,” Nino groaned “but definitely something is lacking.”
“What thing?” Ohno hummed thoughtfully, his hand came to rub at Nino’s back subconsciously.
“I wish I know,” Nino crossed his arms across his chest, but suddenly his eyes brightened. “I can try it with you guys!”
“What??!!?” Three different voices from three different directions came simultaneously.
“Kissing you!” Nino exclaimed with a smile, and it surprised Ohno how much Nino was into this role. He would never kiss them if it wasn’t for this play for sure.
Aiba rolled his eyes at Nino, but then he cheerfully welcomed Nino into his arms. However, right when Nino’s lips touched Aiba the slightest (Ohno’s heart had fallen at that) Nino pulled back with a wince.
“Definitely not,” He said with a chuck “I should try it with Sho-chan.”
“What!!?? No!!” Jun groaned as he took Sho’s hand and pulled him away from Nino “I won’t let you! You brat!”
“Come on, princess,” Nino smirked “Let me just borrow him for a second!”
“NO!” Jun roared when Nino tugged Sho’s hand (who was too kind to refuse Nino anything) as he kicked Nino out of Sho’s reach. “GO AND KISS YOUR OWN BOYFRIEND!!!!”
“I don’t have one!” Nino protested, and Jun rolled his eyes as if saying, what about him? Nino took a look at Ohno and then sighed. “I’ve kissed him many times already.”
Sho dropped the book onto the floor and Aiba yelped, when Jun just arched his eyebrows as if asking, So?
”And it felt…” Nino’s eyes slowly came back at Ohno, as if he had just realized something “… right…”
Ohno’s heart couldn’t stay calm in his chest anymore as he stared at Nino, who was still looking at him in surprise and yet confusion in his eyes, and he approached Ohno rather hesitantly. Ohno waited for Nino to come closer to him. He didn’t mind that the other three’s eyes were on them - and Nino didn’t seem like he minded either - when Nino cupped his hands on his cheeks and he leaned in slowly, as if testing a theory.
When Nino’s lips once again rested on his, everything around disappeared and Ohno could only reach out his arms to hold Nino, to pull him closer to his body. He welcomed the feeling of Nino’s soft lips on his, as much as he welcomed Nino’s lips hesitantly moved against his. Nino didn’t only press his lips like they always did, but this time, Nino slowly licked his bottom lip, asking for entrance, and with a surprised sigh, Ohno let him in without actually thinking.
They were both closing their eyes, so none of them noticed the horrified look on Sho’s face, the disgust on Jun’s and a mixture of surprise and happiness on Aiba’s. They just took time tasting each other, as if trying to get the best out of this moment. When they reopened their eyes and finally pulled back, they were alone in the green room. The other three had already disappeared.
“It’s you…” Nino said, unsure of himself, but he didn’t pull back. Didn’t run away. “It’s not me, it’s you…”
“What?” Ohno’s brain just couldn’t follow Nino’s words, because he was still lost in Nino’s kiss, didn’t know whether he should think himself as Naruse or as Ohno Satoshi himself.
“It’s not me who have a problem,” Nino said, this time more sure of himself. “It’s you.”
“Excuse me?” Ohno frowned “I don’t have any problem…”
“No, I mean,” Nino suddenly blushed, and he buried himself into Ohno’s shoulder to hide his red face “… It’s because of the person I kiss.”
Ohno still didn’t understand, so he waited for Nino to continue.
“I only feel like this when I kiss you,” Nino admitted quietly, and Ohno held his breath. Was his wish finally coming true?
“I couldn’t find this feeling when I did it with the others,” Nino said in a small voice “I couldn’t feel so… exhilarated, like this.”
“… Really?” Ohno managed to say, his own happiness now was too much for his heart to bear. He could feel Nino’s heartbeat where their chest met, and the rapid beats told him that Nino was just as nervous as he was.
“Yes…” Nino breathed, and he looked up, his eyes caught Ohno’s “What does this mean, Ohchan?”
“What do you think it means?” Ohno asked quietly, his hand came to Nino’s back as he pulled the younger boy into his arms.
“I…” Nino hesitated. Confused. “I… can only come up with an answer…”
“What is it, then?” Ohno asked encouragingly.
“… Does it… have any chance that…” Nino stuttered “…Ohchan, what if…”
“Hm?” Ohno hummed, trying to remain cool, but every cell of his body was screaming, urging him to just hold and kiss this man breathless already.
“What if… I do love you?” Nino finally asked, and at that moment, there was fear in his eyes that Ohno couldn’t help but lean in and kissed that fear away. This Nino wasn’t like the Nino who always tried to look cool at all. But Ohno loved Nino like this just as much as he loved cool-Nino, so when Nino shot him a confused look, he closed the small gap between them with a tight embrace.
“I’d be extremely happy if it’s true,” Ohno murmured as he buried his face to Nino’s neck “Seriously.”
“Really?” Nino asked as he returned Ohno’s hug, his arms around the older man’s waist “You don’t feel it’s… creepy or something?”
“Why?” Ohno chuckled, and Nino shook his head, not sure with himself. “I’ve been loving you since forever, Nino.”
“You do?” Nino pulled back as he looked at Ohno in surprise, his eyes sparkling with happiness.
“Of course,” Ohno grinned “Why else do you think I let you kiss me countless times like that?”
“I’ve only kissed you five times!” Nino protested, his face couldn’t be redder at Ohno’s words, but he was smiling, and Ohno burst out laughing at Nino’s troubled face.
“Six times,” Ohno corrected with a smug smile “Why don’t you count this time too?”
“I was just checking if I’m really…” Nino blushed, and Ohno leaned in as he kissed the tip of Nino’s nose slightly.
“It’s okay,” Ohno gave another kiss on Nino’s forehead “You can kiss me whenever you want to.”
Nino beamed brightly as he stole a kiss on Ohno’s lips, and he smiled mischievously.
“Then I should think of you when I act this scene,” he said “It’d be much easier.”
“Agreed,” Ohno grinned and they kissed one more time, this time longer and full of passion that none of them wanted to be the one who pulled back first.
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A/N: Yes, it's Ariake and Naruse, because I'm bad at personal name like that T___T
I would kill LJ if I could.