A Place for Us [Chapter 1]
Title : A Place for Us
Pairing : Yama, NinoAi (side-pairing)
Genre : Angst, Drama, Romance
Rating : PG-13
Summary : They were childhood friends, and after 6 years, they finally met again. Sho thought that this time, Ohno's life was finally on the right track, but he was completely wrong. This time, he was determined to protect him; this time, he was determined to never let him go anymore.
Disclaimer : Nothing but fiction!
Warning : Implied rape (meaning it wasn't explicit)
A/N : I THINK IM ON A ROLL? XD I bring you the first chapter of it just a day away after the prologue~ yay for meee XD again, I'll remind you that Ohno is younger okay? okay XD comments will be loved!
“I’m begging you, just this one time!”
Sho sighed deeply as he closed the door of his car that was parked in one of the famous art college in town; he didn’t want to be here, actually, but the person that was on the phone with him was so persistent. He wouldn’t stop calling Sho, bugging him and making him lost all his concentration while driving because he begged with that high-pitched voice of his again and again; he went from asking sweetly to threatening and then to begging, and although Sho would never admit it, it was kinda nice to have the other man begging at him.
Because Ninomiya Kazunari never beg - well, at least he never begged at Sho before.
But he did now; he wanted Sho to take over his job to attend the art festival held in a college and also to interview one of the students - the art festival was held annually, and usually, it was Nino’s job to cover the festival for their work in the magazine every year, but this year, he asked Sho to do it instead. He wouldn’t tell Sho the reason, though Sho strongly believe that it had something to do with Nino’s boyfriend, Aiba (they probably had wanted to go on a date or something, at least that was what Sho was thinking), and to be honest, it was supposed to be Sho’s day off - heck, he had even planned his day throughoutly.
But he loved Nino - as a friend, of course, and it was always nice to have Nino being indebted to him.
So although a bit grudgingly, he came to the college anyway; after convincing Nino that he was really going to do it and that Nino should pay it off someday, the other man hung up with a cheery “Thanks, Sho-chan! I love you!”
And Sho could only smile faintly as he stuffed his phone into his pocket, before then he headed inside the college.
It was crowded; well, he was kinda expecting it - the college was pretty famous after all, and it was also said that only talented people could be accepted into the college, though Sho understood why as he walked through the hallway. There were various kinds of paintings, sculptures, and other things that Sho didn’t even understand decorating the hallway - everything was colorful, mesmerizing, and it kinda took him by surprise, really. He was majoring in economy after all, and there wasn’t much color in his college life before than it was here now.
But everything was so vibrant, so tempting, and Sho thought quietly how fun would it be to be able to enter this kind of world.
Sadly, his art level was almost the same as kindergarten students, if not worse, so he quickly wiped the thought away from his mind as he headed to their auditorium, where they’d show the best ‘art’ that was strictly selected from all their students. It was the fun part, really, and every year Sho’d read the article that Nino wrote, wondering on whose works were chosen as the winner this year.
And he was eager to find out by himself too now.
The auditorium, as expected, was pretty crowded too; he immediately fished his pocket camera out though, and soon enough he was busy taking pictures of the art that was being displayed; again, there were paintings, wooden sculptures and so much more, but it was on a very different levels than the one that was being displayed in a hallway. Even though one could say that Sho barely have any art sense, even he could tell that these things were high-class, and he wondered how these students here could made things like that.
Where even he failed on making a drawing of totoro.
Satisfied with the picture that he had took, Sho started to look around for the work that was chosen for the winner these year, while thinking how good would it be if he could interviewed the winner. It was fairly easy to find it out, because people would definitely swarm on it, and seeing how crowded it was, Sho almost got disheartened. But his curiosity won over, and soon enough he had made his way through the crowd, slipping past people as much as he could, and finally he managed to sneak his way to the front with his camera ready.
But what he saw made him froze.
Because what was painted in the big canvas was his house.
As in, his parent’s house all the way back to Hokkaido.
He thought it was just a coincidence; there must be lots of house in Japan that looked exactly the same with his. But all the details in the painting were the same details that burned on Sho’s mind; the neatly cut brushes, the small, pink bicycle that belong to his sister in the garage along with his father’s red car, the little chime that could be seen hanging in the veranda -
But most importantly, the ‘Sakurai’ sign was also painted in the picture.
Sho took a step back - it was completely his house, drawn in such a way that somehow, it appeared to be a very warm place, almost as if the sun only shone on his house only, while the paint got darker and heavier to the surrounding houses, making them seemed like haunted. But the houses all around his house were all wrong - it wasn’t the houses that were in his neighborhood; Sho never saw them before.
But why?
That was when Sho saw it, a small sign right in the bottom right corner of the painting, along with the title of it.
‘I want to go back. - Satoshi.’
Don’t tell me…
“Everyone, may I please have your attention?” Sho’s head shot up to the stage that was prepared in the middle of the auditorium, and he saw a MC was talking on it, politely asking the visitors to gather all around the stage. After taking a quick flash on the painting, Sho moved briskly to the stage with the question still hung heavily on his mind, and he stood there, among all the people, but not completely listening to the MC because his curiosity on the painting just grew stronger, and if it was that Satoshi, then -
“As you can see, the painting over there was chosen as the best work of the year!” The MC said loudly, followed with the clapping from all the visitor as he mentioned to the painting that sat proudly on it display. “And now, we’ll bring out the talented student that drew it! Please give a loud applause to one of our Art student in his third year, Ohno Satoshi!”
And then, Sho saw him.
Ohno walked to the stage in an almost shy manner, and for a moment, Sho thought that it was still the old him - but he was completely wrong. His appearance changed a lot; gone now his silky and long, brown hair, replaced with an almost spiky black hair. He had grown up a bit, though he was still shorter than Sho, and his skin darken a bit too.
He changed a lot, yes, but it was his eyes that had shown how different he was now. Unlike how innocent it usually was, this time his eyes were completely unreadable. He looked sleepy, but more than that, he looked like he didn’t give a damn about what was going on around him anymore.
It almost like he had given up on everything.
Ohno answered the question that was asked by the MC politely, and Sho noticed that Ohno’s voice has also gotten deeper, though it still has the softness on it. The MC asked about his paintings, about the houses, but it was clear as day that Ohno wasn’t going to give anything away. He only smiled, and when the MC insisted further, all he said was, “There wasn’t anything special about that painting. It was the house of a friend, and I just feel like visiting him again.”
But Sho knew that something deeper was going on, he knew exactly that there was something hidden on that painting. But as he watched Ohno on the stage, most importantly, he couldn’t help but feeling relieved.
At least Ohno was safe, and he was all grown up now.
Once the relief washed away, the nervousness started crawling inside his stomach; he was going to greet him, of course, but it kinda scared him because he wasn’t sure on how Ohno was going to react. It has been 6 years after all, and he was sure that somehow, it’d be awkward.
But Sho was willing to try, and so he waited until Ohno got off from the stage, and even then he also had to wait because Ohno was immediately drowned by the crowd that was asking him questions, undoubtedly they were also trying to interview him. So while waiting, Sho decided to just look around at the other displays, though of course, he never averted his eyes from Ohno. He waited patiently - gladly, he was exceptionally patient - until Ohno finally managed to break through the crowd, and he watched as Ohno started walking out the auditorium. He saw it as a chance and he quickly followed after him, cutting through the crowd in hope that he wouldn’t lose him. “Sa-satoshi!” He called out as he saw Ohno was getting further away. “Satoshi-kun!”
Ohno stopped on his track, and he turned around, and their eyes met.
And Sho didn’t want to make it sounded overly dramatic or anything, but really, he swore that when their eyes met, it felt like the world around them stop, and Sho was the only one that was moving forward, trying to close the gap between them.
It has been 6 years, and Ohno was finally within his reach again; he couldn’t ask for something better than that.
But then the world around him started moving again as he himself stopped, a few steps away from the wide-eyed Ohno; would it be okay? Would it be okay to just greet him like this now, like nothing had ever happened years ago - like they’ve never been separated before? Was it still okay to call him ‘Satoshi-kun’?
And Ohno answered for him, “Sho-chan.”
Sho saw how Ohno’s eyes lightened briefly before then Ohno dove into his embrace; it took him by surprise, but Sho was strong, thankfully, and he managed to welcome Ohno into his embrace without falling, and he balanced both of them as he hugged Ohno back - he was bigger now, but Ohno still fit perfectly on his arms, much to his relief. “Satoshi-kun…” He whispered again, feeling too happy for his own good. “Gosh, where have you been for all these years? You’ve never contacted me at all - do you know how worried I am?”
“I’m sorry.” Ohno mumbled to his chest, but Sho could hear the smile on his voice, and it made him smile too. “But Sho-chan really came, just like he had promised…”
“It was a pure coincidence though.” Sho said teasingly. “But yeah, I came.”
Ohno nodded, letting out a soft hum as he hugged a little bit tighter; they stayed that way, in the middle of a crowded hallway, but neither seemed to mind at all - well, Sho didn’t care because he didn’t knew them after all, but it might be a different case with Ohno, and so he pulled away a bit. “Satoshi-kun, do you have time after this?” Upon Ohno’s confused look, he added. “I want to ask you out for a dinner.” He grinned proudly then. “My treat.”
Ohno’s lips irked up, and he was grinning widely as he patted on Sho’s shoulder before pulling away. “So Sho-chan is all grown up and he’s a working man now.” He teased. “That’s good.”
“Nothing expensive though.” Sho protested. “A family restaurant should be good enough.”
“Stingy.” Ohno stuck his tongue out at him in a playful manner. “But yeah, a family restaurant sounded good - but you might have to wait for a while, if it’s okay?”
“It’s okay. I’ll wait for you at the auditorium then.” Sho said, because really, he’d wait for hours if he have too; he had tons of questions, tons of things he wanted to talk about to Ohno.
Ohno nodded happily upon Sho’s answer, and after looking at Sho up and down, as if trying to convince himself that it was really Sho, Ohno walked away with a promise that he’d come back soon enough for him.
And he kept his promise; Sho hasn’t waited for a long time before Ohno showed up once more in the auditorium, this time with a sling bag being slung across his shoulder. He approached Sho with a smile, seemingly eager to leave the place. “I’ve asked for their permissions, and they said it was okay.” Ohno explained to him. “So let’s go.”
And off they went; Sho drove with Ohno sitting beside him, looking around his car in amazement and exclaiming that Sho had gotten rich now, which made Sho laughed so hard he struggled for breath. But thanks to that, the awkwardness between them was nowhere to be found, and they were making small talks throughout their trips to the restaurant. Once they arrived at the restaurant, and right before Sho could asked him what he wanted for dinner, Ohno quickly said, “I want hamburger” without even looking at the menu.
And it made Sho smiled, really. They used to go to a family restaurant a lot before, back in their older days; they’d save up their allowance and at the end of the month they’d went to fast food restaurant or a family restaurant, and when they did, Ohno’d almost definitely asked for hamburger. And to know that Ohno still remember it made Sho happy. “Make it two.” He told the waitress, and once he was gone, Sho turned to face Ohno. “Well, congrats.”
“What for?” Ohno asked nonchalantly, but Sho knew that Ohno knew what he was congratulating at; it seemed like Ohno didn’t want him to talk about it, though Sho fully intended to talk about it. “The painting.” Sho answered. “You drew my house; it was so beautiful.”
“Thanks.” Ohno laughed, but it seemed a little bit forced. “I didn’t know what to draw when they asked me to, and I am missing you and your family so much - so I drew it.”
“You said you wanted to go back though?”
“Yeah, it was good days.” Ohno mumbled. “And it was always fun to be there, so of course I’d love to go back.”
“Are you sure that was just it?” Sho asked quietly. “Are you sure there’s nothing more to it?”
Ohno met his eyes, and he smiled, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You’re thinking too much.”
And their conversation was dropped just like that; the waitress came with their foods, and they became too busy at eating to even bother talking about anything else - but even then Sho knew that Ohno didn’t want to open up to him just yet. It was understandable though; they’ve been apart for so long after all, and of course there’d be some distance growing between them now.
Though Sho was fully determined to erase their distance soon enough; he wanted them to be just like they used to be, even if he had to do it slowly.
The dinner went by in a rather peaceful atmosphere; by the time they had to leave, they were already chatting again normally about their life right now, about how Sho moved to this town and how he got his work, and also about Ohno’s college life. They walked back to his car, and seeing that Ohno was hesitant a bit, Sho opened the door for him and smiled, “Come on in, I’ll drive you home.”
But that was when he saw it.
Ohno immediately paled; like the thought of being ‘home’ disgusted him so much and that he’d rather be at somewhere else than at home. But that kind of painful expressions was gone as fast as it came, and without saying anything Ohno climbed into the car, leaving Sho wondering outside.
What is exactly happening to him?
He went inside the car and he started it; Ohno told him the address of his new house and then that was it. He said nothing more; even when Sho was trying to engage Ohno in a conversation, he didn’t seemed like he was focus enough to response. He was restless, really, though Sho could tell that Ohno was trying to calm himself down as they were nearing their house.
“Satoshi-kun.” Sho asked as he parked his car in front of his house. “Is everything okay?”
Ohno refused to meet his eyes as he unbuckled the seat belt. “Of course it is.”
“Did they treat you well?”
“They did.” Ohno replied rather quickly. “They were kind to me, of course. Mom and d-dad too.” Ohno was stuttering now, and it only added to his suspicion, really. “And I have a little sister now, we named her Satomi, and she’s so cute - she’s pretty clingy to me, you know.”
“That’s great, but…” Sho reached out to touch Ohno’s hands; it was slightly trembling, and it pained Sho to see Ohno like this. “But are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Ohno answered as he pulled his hands away, he quickly climbed off Sho’s car before Sho could react, and once outside he bowed slightly to Sho. “Thanks for the dinner. It was really delicious.”
“Don’t mention it.” Sho muttered. Ohno flashed him a smile before he walked back to the house, but Sho called out to him. “Satoshi-kun.”
“Yes?” Ohno turned around to face him slowly.
“I’ll call you out again later sometime, okay? It’s a promise.” Sho said; slightly glad that they’ve exchanged numbers before in the restaurant. Ohno looked surprised at first, but then a smile graced his lips as he nodded excitedly.
“I’ll be waiting.”
And Ohno was smiling as he finally entered their house, and for that, Sho was grateful. Sho was grateful because he was able to wipe the painful expressions off of Ohno’s face even for just a while. But he still couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was happening to him, and he was afraid that Ohno hasn’t been treated well by his family, just like he used to.
If that was the case, this time, Sho was determined that he’d definitely protect him, unlike how useless he was years ago.
With that resolution in his heart, Sho finally drove away, and this time, he was thinking of the article that he should write.
***
“I’m home…” Ohno mumbled as he entered the house; he immediately headed to the kitchen, and he saw his mother washing the dishes while his little sister was busy drawing on the dining table. “I’m home.” Ohno repeated.
“Ah, welcome home, Satoshi.” His mother greeted rather cheerfully, though she didn’t look up from the dishes; there was no reply from his little sister, probably because she was too busy with her drawing. “You’re late; have you eaten?”
“Yeah, I’ve eaten out with a friend just now.” Ohno answered as he put his bag on the chair; he went to get the water from the refrigerator. “And I won at the art festival, so they’d give me money.”
“That’s nice!” His mother exclaimed. “What are you going to use the money for?”
“Can Satomi ask for ice cream?” His little sister chirped in, and Ohno laughed at her response. “Well, it seems I’d buy ice cream for Satomi first then.”
“You’ll make her sick.” His mother scolded half-heartedly, but even then she was smiling, with wrinkles on the corner of her eyes that resembled Ohno so much. “But that’s great, Satoshi. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks, mom.” Satoshi replied. He poured the cold water into a glass and, upon not seeing the presence of the other man, he quietly asked, “Where’s dad?”
“He was taking a bath -“
“Are you looking for me?”
Ohno turned around to see his stepfather standing on the doorframe with damp hair and a towel around his neck; he was already wearing his pajama, and he was smiling kindly towards Ohno as he approached him, hand reaching out to ruffle Ohno’s hair. “I heard you won at the art festival? That’s great Satoshi, I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks, dad.” Don’t touch me.
“We should celebrate it. How about eating out this weekend?” His stepfather asked, and Satomi’s eyes immediately lightened up as she finally was distracted enough from her drawing. “Can we have steak?!”
“Now now Satomi, it was up to Satoshi-niichan.” His stepfather turned to him, still with that smile on his face, and he threw his arm around Ohno’s shoulder now, making him flushed against him, far too close for Ohno’s liking. “How about it, Satoshi?”
“Anything is fine.” Ohno answered, eager to be freed from his stepfather’s embrace. “Steak sounded good.”
“Then steak it is!” Once it was decided, his mother and his father started talking on what restaurant they should be going, and Ohno said it was entirely up to them; he excused himself to take a bath too though, and even when he was leaving the kitchen, he could still heard them talking excitedly about it.
From the outside, they might sound like a good family; at least, that was probably what his mother and his little sister were thinking, but it wasn’t.
If anything, it was getting worse.
Once he was done bathing, Ohno immediately went to his room in the second floor, and he took care of his assignments while he was at it; he was tired, sure, but he felt really restless, and as the late night was approaching, he felt fear settled on his stomach.
God, how he dreaded night.
Ohno was curled on his bed, right under his blanket when he felt that someone was on the stairs, quietly approaching his room with faint steps that Ohno had known too well. In the next seconds, the door of his room was being opened, and when it was being closed again, the door was locked. The person was in his room now, and Ohno closed his eyes shut as his blanket was being pulled over, carelessly being thrown into the floor beside the bed. Soon, there were hands touching him all over - there were hands under his shirt, caressing his skin in an intimate way and undressing him while he was at it. There were lips that felt so dirty and wrong on his, sound that he dreaded coming out from his own lips as he was being touched, and then there were words whispered on his ears.
“You’re a good boy, aren’t you?”
And Ohno shut his eyes tighter as he willed himself not to cry, as he willed himself to think that it’d passed soon; it’d be over soon, and morning will came, and what happened right now would left unsaid on this room, just like a nightmare.
And tomorrow - tomorrow sounded so much better because Sho was back on his life, and he was sure that if it was Sho, he’d able to protect him, somehow.
So he just had to endure it; he just had to endure it until it was all over.
But he would’ve been lying if he didn’t feel like he just died over and over again inside.
Prologue | Chapter 2
Pairing : Yama, NinoAi (side-pairing)
Genre : Angst, Drama, Romance
Rating : PG-13
Summary : They were childhood friends, and after 6 years, they finally met again. Sho thought that this time, Ohno's life was finally on the right track, but he was completely wrong. This time, he was determined to protect him; this time, he was determined to never let him go anymore.
Disclaimer : Nothing but fiction!
Warning : Implied rape (meaning it wasn't explicit)
A/N : I THINK IM ON A ROLL? XD I bring you the first chapter of it just a day away after the prologue~ yay for meee XD again, I'll remind you that Ohno is younger okay? okay XD comments will be loved!
“I’m begging you, just this one time!”
Sho sighed deeply as he closed the door of his car that was parked in one of the famous art college in town; he didn’t want to be here, actually, but the person that was on the phone with him was so persistent. He wouldn’t stop calling Sho, bugging him and making him lost all his concentration while driving because he begged with that high-pitched voice of his again and again; he went from asking sweetly to threatening and then to begging, and although Sho would never admit it, it was kinda nice to have the other man begging at him.
Because Ninomiya Kazunari never beg - well, at least he never begged at Sho before.
But he did now; he wanted Sho to take over his job to attend the art festival held in a college and also to interview one of the students - the art festival was held annually, and usually, it was Nino’s job to cover the festival for their work in the magazine every year, but this year, he asked Sho to do it instead. He wouldn’t tell Sho the reason, though Sho strongly believe that it had something to do with Nino’s boyfriend, Aiba (they probably had wanted to go on a date or something, at least that was what Sho was thinking), and to be honest, it was supposed to be Sho’s day off - heck, he had even planned his day throughoutly.
But he loved Nino - as a friend, of course, and it was always nice to have Nino being indebted to him.
So although a bit grudgingly, he came to the college anyway; after convincing Nino that he was really going to do it and that Nino should pay it off someday, the other man hung up with a cheery “Thanks, Sho-chan! I love you!”
And Sho could only smile faintly as he stuffed his phone into his pocket, before then he headed inside the college.
It was crowded; well, he was kinda expecting it - the college was pretty famous after all, and it was also said that only talented people could be accepted into the college, though Sho understood why as he walked through the hallway. There were various kinds of paintings, sculptures, and other things that Sho didn’t even understand decorating the hallway - everything was colorful, mesmerizing, and it kinda took him by surprise, really. He was majoring in economy after all, and there wasn’t much color in his college life before than it was here now.
But everything was so vibrant, so tempting, and Sho thought quietly how fun would it be to be able to enter this kind of world.
Sadly, his art level was almost the same as kindergarten students, if not worse, so he quickly wiped the thought away from his mind as he headed to their auditorium, where they’d show the best ‘art’ that was strictly selected from all their students. It was the fun part, really, and every year Sho’d read the article that Nino wrote, wondering on whose works were chosen as the winner this year.
And he was eager to find out by himself too now.
The auditorium, as expected, was pretty crowded too; he immediately fished his pocket camera out though, and soon enough he was busy taking pictures of the art that was being displayed; again, there were paintings, wooden sculptures and so much more, but it was on a very different levels than the one that was being displayed in a hallway. Even though one could say that Sho barely have any art sense, even he could tell that these things were high-class, and he wondered how these students here could made things like that.
Where even he failed on making a drawing of totoro.
Satisfied with the picture that he had took, Sho started to look around for the work that was chosen for the winner these year, while thinking how good would it be if he could interviewed the winner. It was fairly easy to find it out, because people would definitely swarm on it, and seeing how crowded it was, Sho almost got disheartened. But his curiosity won over, and soon enough he had made his way through the crowd, slipping past people as much as he could, and finally he managed to sneak his way to the front with his camera ready.
But what he saw made him froze.
Because what was painted in the big canvas was his house.
As in, his parent’s house all the way back to Hokkaido.
He thought it was just a coincidence; there must be lots of house in Japan that looked exactly the same with his. But all the details in the painting were the same details that burned on Sho’s mind; the neatly cut brushes, the small, pink bicycle that belong to his sister in the garage along with his father’s red car, the little chime that could be seen hanging in the veranda -
But most importantly, the ‘Sakurai’ sign was also painted in the picture.
Sho took a step back - it was completely his house, drawn in such a way that somehow, it appeared to be a very warm place, almost as if the sun only shone on his house only, while the paint got darker and heavier to the surrounding houses, making them seemed like haunted. But the houses all around his house were all wrong - it wasn’t the houses that were in his neighborhood; Sho never saw them before.
But why?
That was when Sho saw it, a small sign right in the bottom right corner of the painting, along with the title of it.
‘I want to go back. - Satoshi.’
Don’t tell me…
“Everyone, may I please have your attention?” Sho’s head shot up to the stage that was prepared in the middle of the auditorium, and he saw a MC was talking on it, politely asking the visitors to gather all around the stage. After taking a quick flash on the painting, Sho moved briskly to the stage with the question still hung heavily on his mind, and he stood there, among all the people, but not completely listening to the MC because his curiosity on the painting just grew stronger, and if it was that Satoshi, then -
“As you can see, the painting over there was chosen as the best work of the year!” The MC said loudly, followed with the clapping from all the visitor as he mentioned to the painting that sat proudly on it display. “And now, we’ll bring out the talented student that drew it! Please give a loud applause to one of our Art student in his third year, Ohno Satoshi!”
And then, Sho saw him.
Ohno walked to the stage in an almost shy manner, and for a moment, Sho thought that it was still the old him - but he was completely wrong. His appearance changed a lot; gone now his silky and long, brown hair, replaced with an almost spiky black hair. He had grown up a bit, though he was still shorter than Sho, and his skin darken a bit too.
He changed a lot, yes, but it was his eyes that had shown how different he was now. Unlike how innocent it usually was, this time his eyes were completely unreadable. He looked sleepy, but more than that, he looked like he didn’t give a damn about what was going on around him anymore.
It almost like he had given up on everything.
Ohno answered the question that was asked by the MC politely, and Sho noticed that Ohno’s voice has also gotten deeper, though it still has the softness on it. The MC asked about his paintings, about the houses, but it was clear as day that Ohno wasn’t going to give anything away. He only smiled, and when the MC insisted further, all he said was, “There wasn’t anything special about that painting. It was the house of a friend, and I just feel like visiting him again.”
But Sho knew that something deeper was going on, he knew exactly that there was something hidden on that painting. But as he watched Ohno on the stage, most importantly, he couldn’t help but feeling relieved.
At least Ohno was safe, and he was all grown up now.
Once the relief washed away, the nervousness started crawling inside his stomach; he was going to greet him, of course, but it kinda scared him because he wasn’t sure on how Ohno was going to react. It has been 6 years after all, and he was sure that somehow, it’d be awkward.
But Sho was willing to try, and so he waited until Ohno got off from the stage, and even then he also had to wait because Ohno was immediately drowned by the crowd that was asking him questions, undoubtedly they were also trying to interview him. So while waiting, Sho decided to just look around at the other displays, though of course, he never averted his eyes from Ohno. He waited patiently - gladly, he was exceptionally patient - until Ohno finally managed to break through the crowd, and he watched as Ohno started walking out the auditorium. He saw it as a chance and he quickly followed after him, cutting through the crowd in hope that he wouldn’t lose him. “Sa-satoshi!” He called out as he saw Ohno was getting further away. “Satoshi-kun!”
Ohno stopped on his track, and he turned around, and their eyes met.
And Sho didn’t want to make it sounded overly dramatic or anything, but really, he swore that when their eyes met, it felt like the world around them stop, and Sho was the only one that was moving forward, trying to close the gap between them.
It has been 6 years, and Ohno was finally within his reach again; he couldn’t ask for something better than that.
But then the world around him started moving again as he himself stopped, a few steps away from the wide-eyed Ohno; would it be okay? Would it be okay to just greet him like this now, like nothing had ever happened years ago - like they’ve never been separated before? Was it still okay to call him ‘Satoshi-kun’?
And Ohno answered for him, “Sho-chan.”
Sho saw how Ohno’s eyes lightened briefly before then Ohno dove into his embrace; it took him by surprise, but Sho was strong, thankfully, and he managed to welcome Ohno into his embrace without falling, and he balanced both of them as he hugged Ohno back - he was bigger now, but Ohno still fit perfectly on his arms, much to his relief. “Satoshi-kun…” He whispered again, feeling too happy for his own good. “Gosh, where have you been for all these years? You’ve never contacted me at all - do you know how worried I am?”
“I’m sorry.” Ohno mumbled to his chest, but Sho could hear the smile on his voice, and it made him smile too. “But Sho-chan really came, just like he had promised…”
“It was a pure coincidence though.” Sho said teasingly. “But yeah, I came.”
Ohno nodded, letting out a soft hum as he hugged a little bit tighter; they stayed that way, in the middle of a crowded hallway, but neither seemed to mind at all - well, Sho didn’t care because he didn’t knew them after all, but it might be a different case with Ohno, and so he pulled away a bit. “Satoshi-kun, do you have time after this?” Upon Ohno’s confused look, he added. “I want to ask you out for a dinner.” He grinned proudly then. “My treat.”
Ohno’s lips irked up, and he was grinning widely as he patted on Sho’s shoulder before pulling away. “So Sho-chan is all grown up and he’s a working man now.” He teased. “That’s good.”
“Nothing expensive though.” Sho protested. “A family restaurant should be good enough.”
“Stingy.” Ohno stuck his tongue out at him in a playful manner. “But yeah, a family restaurant sounded good - but you might have to wait for a while, if it’s okay?”
“It’s okay. I’ll wait for you at the auditorium then.” Sho said, because really, he’d wait for hours if he have too; he had tons of questions, tons of things he wanted to talk about to Ohno.
Ohno nodded happily upon Sho’s answer, and after looking at Sho up and down, as if trying to convince himself that it was really Sho, Ohno walked away with a promise that he’d come back soon enough for him.
And he kept his promise; Sho hasn’t waited for a long time before Ohno showed up once more in the auditorium, this time with a sling bag being slung across his shoulder. He approached Sho with a smile, seemingly eager to leave the place. “I’ve asked for their permissions, and they said it was okay.” Ohno explained to him. “So let’s go.”
And off they went; Sho drove with Ohno sitting beside him, looking around his car in amazement and exclaiming that Sho had gotten rich now, which made Sho laughed so hard he struggled for breath. But thanks to that, the awkwardness between them was nowhere to be found, and they were making small talks throughout their trips to the restaurant. Once they arrived at the restaurant, and right before Sho could asked him what he wanted for dinner, Ohno quickly said, “I want hamburger” without even looking at the menu.
And it made Sho smiled, really. They used to go to a family restaurant a lot before, back in their older days; they’d save up their allowance and at the end of the month they’d went to fast food restaurant or a family restaurant, and when they did, Ohno’d almost definitely asked for hamburger. And to know that Ohno still remember it made Sho happy. “Make it two.” He told the waitress, and once he was gone, Sho turned to face Ohno. “Well, congrats.”
“What for?” Ohno asked nonchalantly, but Sho knew that Ohno knew what he was congratulating at; it seemed like Ohno didn’t want him to talk about it, though Sho fully intended to talk about it. “The painting.” Sho answered. “You drew my house; it was so beautiful.”
“Thanks.” Ohno laughed, but it seemed a little bit forced. “I didn’t know what to draw when they asked me to, and I am missing you and your family so much - so I drew it.”
“You said you wanted to go back though?”
“Yeah, it was good days.” Ohno mumbled. “And it was always fun to be there, so of course I’d love to go back.”
“Are you sure that was just it?” Sho asked quietly. “Are you sure there’s nothing more to it?”
Ohno met his eyes, and he smiled, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You’re thinking too much.”
And their conversation was dropped just like that; the waitress came with their foods, and they became too busy at eating to even bother talking about anything else - but even then Sho knew that Ohno didn’t want to open up to him just yet. It was understandable though; they’ve been apart for so long after all, and of course there’d be some distance growing between them now.
Though Sho was fully determined to erase their distance soon enough; he wanted them to be just like they used to be, even if he had to do it slowly.
The dinner went by in a rather peaceful atmosphere; by the time they had to leave, they were already chatting again normally about their life right now, about how Sho moved to this town and how he got his work, and also about Ohno’s college life. They walked back to his car, and seeing that Ohno was hesitant a bit, Sho opened the door for him and smiled, “Come on in, I’ll drive you home.”
But that was when he saw it.
Ohno immediately paled; like the thought of being ‘home’ disgusted him so much and that he’d rather be at somewhere else than at home. But that kind of painful expressions was gone as fast as it came, and without saying anything Ohno climbed into the car, leaving Sho wondering outside.
What is exactly happening to him?
He went inside the car and he started it; Ohno told him the address of his new house and then that was it. He said nothing more; even when Sho was trying to engage Ohno in a conversation, he didn’t seemed like he was focus enough to response. He was restless, really, though Sho could tell that Ohno was trying to calm himself down as they were nearing their house.
“Satoshi-kun.” Sho asked as he parked his car in front of his house. “Is everything okay?”
Ohno refused to meet his eyes as he unbuckled the seat belt. “Of course it is.”
“Did they treat you well?”
“They did.” Ohno replied rather quickly. “They were kind to me, of course. Mom and d-dad too.” Ohno was stuttering now, and it only added to his suspicion, really. “And I have a little sister now, we named her Satomi, and she’s so cute - she’s pretty clingy to me, you know.”
“That’s great, but…” Sho reached out to touch Ohno’s hands; it was slightly trembling, and it pained Sho to see Ohno like this. “But are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Ohno answered as he pulled his hands away, he quickly climbed off Sho’s car before Sho could react, and once outside he bowed slightly to Sho. “Thanks for the dinner. It was really delicious.”
“Don’t mention it.” Sho muttered. Ohno flashed him a smile before he walked back to the house, but Sho called out to him. “Satoshi-kun.”
“Yes?” Ohno turned around to face him slowly.
“I’ll call you out again later sometime, okay? It’s a promise.” Sho said; slightly glad that they’ve exchanged numbers before in the restaurant. Ohno looked surprised at first, but then a smile graced his lips as he nodded excitedly.
“I’ll be waiting.”
And Ohno was smiling as he finally entered their house, and for that, Sho was grateful. Sho was grateful because he was able to wipe the painful expressions off of Ohno’s face even for just a while. But he still couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was happening to him, and he was afraid that Ohno hasn’t been treated well by his family, just like he used to.
If that was the case, this time, Sho was determined that he’d definitely protect him, unlike how useless he was years ago.
With that resolution in his heart, Sho finally drove away, and this time, he was thinking of the article that he should write.
***
“I’m home…” Ohno mumbled as he entered the house; he immediately headed to the kitchen, and he saw his mother washing the dishes while his little sister was busy drawing on the dining table. “I’m home.” Ohno repeated.
“Ah, welcome home, Satoshi.” His mother greeted rather cheerfully, though she didn’t look up from the dishes; there was no reply from his little sister, probably because she was too busy with her drawing. “You’re late; have you eaten?”
“Yeah, I’ve eaten out with a friend just now.” Ohno answered as he put his bag on the chair; he went to get the water from the refrigerator. “And I won at the art festival, so they’d give me money.”
“That’s nice!” His mother exclaimed. “What are you going to use the money for?”
“Can Satomi ask for ice cream?” His little sister chirped in, and Ohno laughed at her response. “Well, it seems I’d buy ice cream for Satomi first then.”
“You’ll make her sick.” His mother scolded half-heartedly, but even then she was smiling, with wrinkles on the corner of her eyes that resembled Ohno so much. “But that’s great, Satoshi. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks, mom.” Satoshi replied. He poured the cold water into a glass and, upon not seeing the presence of the other man, he quietly asked, “Where’s dad?”
“He was taking a bath -“
“Are you looking for me?”
Ohno turned around to see his stepfather standing on the doorframe with damp hair and a towel around his neck; he was already wearing his pajama, and he was smiling kindly towards Ohno as he approached him, hand reaching out to ruffle Ohno’s hair. “I heard you won at the art festival? That’s great Satoshi, I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks, dad.” Don’t touch me.
“We should celebrate it. How about eating out this weekend?” His stepfather asked, and Satomi’s eyes immediately lightened up as she finally was distracted enough from her drawing. “Can we have steak?!”
“Now now Satomi, it was up to Satoshi-niichan.” His stepfather turned to him, still with that smile on his face, and he threw his arm around Ohno’s shoulder now, making him flushed against him, far too close for Ohno’s liking. “How about it, Satoshi?”
“Anything is fine.” Ohno answered, eager to be freed from his stepfather’s embrace. “Steak sounded good.”
“Then steak it is!” Once it was decided, his mother and his father started talking on what restaurant they should be going, and Ohno said it was entirely up to them; he excused himself to take a bath too though, and even when he was leaving the kitchen, he could still heard them talking excitedly about it.
From the outside, they might sound like a good family; at least, that was probably what his mother and his little sister were thinking, but it wasn’t.
If anything, it was getting worse.
Once he was done bathing, Ohno immediately went to his room in the second floor, and he took care of his assignments while he was at it; he was tired, sure, but he felt really restless, and as the late night was approaching, he felt fear settled on his stomach.
God, how he dreaded night.
Ohno was curled on his bed, right under his blanket when he felt that someone was on the stairs, quietly approaching his room with faint steps that Ohno had known too well. In the next seconds, the door of his room was being opened, and when it was being closed again, the door was locked. The person was in his room now, and Ohno closed his eyes shut as his blanket was being pulled over, carelessly being thrown into the floor beside the bed. Soon, there were hands touching him all over - there were hands under his shirt, caressing his skin in an intimate way and undressing him while he was at it. There were lips that felt so dirty and wrong on his, sound that he dreaded coming out from his own lips as he was being touched, and then there were words whispered on his ears.
“You’re a good boy, aren’t you?”
And Ohno shut his eyes tighter as he willed himself not to cry, as he willed himself to think that it’d passed soon; it’d be over soon, and morning will came, and what happened right now would left unsaid on this room, just like a nightmare.
And tomorrow - tomorrow sounded so much better because Sho was back on his life, and he was sure that if it was Sho, he’d able to protect him, somehow.
So he just had to endure it; he just had to endure it until it was all over.
But he would’ve been lying if he didn’t feel like he just died over and over again inside.
Prologue | Chapter 2