A Place for Us [Chapter 2]
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 : I only own the plot! D:
A/N : Another chapter is heree~ I actually wanted to get it done and posted it by tuesday but Arashi Blast caught me and so...yep XD but it is sooo beautiful tho! Lots of precious moments that leaves me cryin and goes 'why i wasnt thereee' but meh, i get used to it XD Anyway! This chapter is unbetaed so pls forgive me for any mistakes! It ended in a weird time too, I guess, because if i continue it then it'll get way too long and I dont want that... Hopefully I can post the next chapter on weekend! Enjoy!
He felt dirty.
Ohno scrubbed his body harder with the soap under the running shower; it was frustrating, really, because no matter how hard he was scrubbing, he could still fell it - the feeling of someone touching him, kissing him, and it felt so disgusting, almost as if something was crawling under his skin. After a few more minutes of scrubbing, Ohno realized that, as always, he wouldn’t be able to scrub away the dirtiness he was feeling, and so he put the soap away and just let himself soak in the warm water, wishing that at least, the water would ease his soreness away.
He had stopped crying after the first few times; at first, he’d cry in the shower every morning, wanting to tell someone but not being able to. After it happened for uncountable times, he stopped; there was nothing he could do anyway, and crying wouldn’t help - it would never help. Crying never ease him, even for just a little bit, and so he decided to just bottle it up inside. He has been thinking that he should run away, but he has nowhere else to go, and besides, he didn’t want to leave his mother and his sister; if that man found someone else to screw around, wouldn’t his mother suffer then? Worse, what if that man touched his sister when he was gone?
No, he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t stand the thought; his mother was happy now, and he didn’t want to ruin it by telling her or risking that man having someone else to screw over - at least both he and that man was smart enough to keep everything a secret, and even after such a long time like this, his mother hasn’t found out; though to be honest, Ohno wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
He was supposed to get used to it already; he was supposed to stay quiet and keep everything hidden inside.
Until Sho appeared, that is.
Sho has always been his hero; even when they were still young, Sho was the one who reached out to him whenever his parents fight or whenever his dad beat him. Sho was brave; brave enough to barge inside his house when his father left and taking him to the hospital with the help of his parents. Sho was kind; kind enough to stay and listen to Ohno whenever he was crying his heart out.
For the young Ohno, Sho, who was actually no one but a boy next door, appeared as some kind of a hero. And now that he appeared in his life again - heck, call him a dreamer but Ohno couldn’t help but think that Sho was there to help him out again.
But he didn’t dare to hope.
Sighing, he turn the tap off, and then he wrapped himself with the towel as he walked out of the shower; he wore the shirt that he has prepared, the perfect one to hide all the marks that has been left on his body carelessly by that man. Once he made sure that every inch of his body was covered perfectly, he walked out of the bathroom while drying his hair off as he headed to the kitchen. “Good morning.” He greeted everyone there.
“Morning, nii-chan!” His sister greeted back happily; Ohno sat beside her on the table, and his mother quickly served the same meal that his sister were having - toast with scrambled eggs on the side. Ohno thanked her quietly and then he began to eat while his sister were chatting noisily, sending bread crumbs flying from her mouth all over the table as she talked - though Ohno found it to be rather cute. He chattered with her while his mother was busy washing the dishes, and after a while of no sign of that man, Ohno asked, “Where’s dad?”
“Ah, he left early this morning because he said he’ll be having a meeting today.” His mother answered as she turned around to flash him a smile. “Isn’t he such a hardworking father?”
“Mmhm.” Ohno mumbled half-heartedly as he wiped his sister’s mouth clean. “Sure he is.”
“You should be like that too, Satoshi.” His mother continued. “You’re going to finish college soon, right? You should immediately work as your way to repay to your dad’s kindness; he has been paying for your college tuition after all - without him, I don’t even think you’ll be able to go to college at all!”
This talk again. Ohno held the urge to roll his eyes as he pretended to listen obediently to her while eating his meal slowly, nodding once in a while just to show his mother that he agreed, though deep inside, he loathed every single praise that his mother sang for his stepfather. “Don’t worry, mom. I’ll probably work on a gallery; one of my lecturers has offered me a job. I think I’ll start there.” Before his mother could react to it, Ohno quickly changed the topic. “Does that means dad would be home late tonight?”
“Yes, he said so. He wouldn’t be able to have dinner with us. What a pity…” His mother sighed heavily as she dried her hands on her apron, before then she moved to eat with them on a table. Ohno stayed quiet, but really, he was cheering inside; whenever his stepfather came home late, that’d mean he wouldn’t be touching Ohno because he’d be too tired to do so - it was such a nice thing to look forward to, and on days like these, he wouldn’t mind going home then. “Yeah, that’s such a pity.”
“Indeed it is. Ah, are you in a hurry, Satoshi?”
“No, why?”
“Can you drop Satomi-chan at the kindergarten then?” His mother asked with a smile. “That way, I can start on the laundry much earlier!”
“Sure.” Ohno turned to his sister, who has finished her meal and now was playing with the fork. “I’ll drop her off.”
After making sure that Satomi was clean enough and that both of them hasn’t forgotten anything, they went. They needed to ride a bus to get to her kindergarten, and after that they have to walk for another 5 minutes before they arrived at the kindergarten - having to drop Satomi off meant that Ohno’d probably be late; he needed to take a train to his college after all, and even then he still have to ride a bus, and that was quite a long journey. But even then, Ohno didn’t care - it was always fun to walk hand in hand with his little sister, who never minded Ohno not talking much, as long as he kept on listening to her.
When they walked together though, Ohno’s phone buzzed, and he took it out from his pocket while his other hand was still holding on Satomi as he read the new message.
From : Sho-chan
Subject : Dinner?
Satoshi-kun, I hope I’m not bothering you.
I’m not that busy today, and since going home early would be boring, I was thinking that maybe we could go out for another dinner?
This time you got to choose - no steak or anything though. You should wait for payday.
I’ll pick you up from the college if you wanted to.
I’ll be waiting for your answer.
Ohno immediately smiled; he stopped walking for a while as he let go of Satomi to type the reply. The little girl looked up at him curiously, and so she asked, “Who are you texting to, nii-chan?”
Ohno looked down at her, at her sparkling, innocent eyes, and he grinned. “I’m texting a hero.”
The girl’s eyes widened comically as she grinned widely back to Ohno too, as if they were sharing a secret. “That’s why you’re smiling!” She said with a nod; Ohno took her hand again as he finished replying, and they’ve began walking again as she asked, “Can I meet this hero too?”
“Maybe one day.”
“Okay.” Satomi nodded once again. “I’ll be waiting.” She squeezed Ohno’s hand tight as she said, “Today the weather is nice, ne?”
Ohno didn’t even bother to look up as he replied, “It is”; it wasn’t because he just went along with her words, but because he really agreed with her.
Today seems like it’d be a good day.
***
From : Satoshi-kun
Subject : Mr. Generous (I meant you)
I can’t decide between ramen and curry, but since you’re being generous, maybe both?
And while you’re at it, I hope you can buy me crepes too. They’re delicious.
Pick me up at college by 5. I’ll be waiting.
“Did something good happen yesterday?”
Sho looked up from his phone screen and his smile got even wider once he saw Nino leaning over his desk with curiosity written all over his face. He shrugged, trying to be discreet because he was sure that Nino’d go crazy over it, and then he put his phone away as he pretended to type on the article that he has been working on, though his words were making no sense. “Nothing.” Sho said then. “I was just wandering around on the college all by myself because someone is busy with his boyfriend yesterday.”
“I didn’t.” Nino said with a hint of amusement, and Sho could tell that he was right; when Nino was making no effort to object, then Sho knew that he was hitting a jackpot. “Well, yeah, I did. But Masaki has been bugging me about it and we’ve planned it and I kinda forgot that I have work so -“
“Yeah yeah, whatever.” He waved his hand to make Nino shut up, though the younger man had no intention to do so, even more when he leaned even closer to Sho. “So tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“What happened yesterday?”
“Nothing happened yesterday.” He lied, but his lips twitched upwards and it was giving him away; Nino smacked him playfully in the head and they both laughed over it. “Come on, Sho-chan. Something must be happening yesterday.” Nino gave a quick glance over their boss’s office, and when he saw no sign of him coming out anytime soon, he sat on the table, knocking Sho’s pencil case with no guilt whatsoever as he insisted further. “Tell me.”
“You didn’t have to knock it over though.” Sho grumbled as he collected his scattered pencils and ballpoints all over the table quickly; Nino waited patiently for Sho to finish, and when he did, he raised his eyebrows. “Well?”
“What?”
“Sakurai Sho, I had enough.” The younger man hissed. “I want to know what’s happening to you yesterday because you literally skipping all the way to your table this morning and you won’t stop smiling at all; moreover, your smile got even more creepy just now when you’re playing with your phone so something good must’ve happened yesterday - or!” He pointed at Sho accusingly. “You’ve finally lost your mind over those crazy schedules that you make for your life.”
“I didn’t!” Sho objected, but even then he knew that he had given up to Nino, and so, after sighing heavily, he sunk back to his chair as he mumbled, “I met my childhood friend yesterday.”
“Oh.” Nino nodded. “A chick?”
“No, he’s not!” Though Ohno could easily pass as a chick, Sho thought quietly inside his mind. “He’s a guy - the one that I told you before, remember? The one that I haven’t seen for almost 6 years!”
“You mean, your childhood friend that made you went all the way to this town in hope that you’ll meet him someday?” Nino grinned teasingly, and this time, it was Sho’s turn to scowl. “Right, sorry. Continue then.”
“Well, it turned out that he’s one of the students at the art college I’ve visited yesterday! See, he’s the winner!” Sho turned his laptop to show the article to Nino, and as Nino was examining his face, Sho added, “I can’t believe we met yesterday - it was pure coincidence!”
“Shouldn’t you thank me then?” Nino said with a chuckle as he pulled back from the laptop. “But yeah, he’s cute. Really cute.”
“Nino, that wasn’t why I show his face to you -“
“I know, I’m just saying.” He shrugged. “So, what now?”
Sho stared at him blankly. “What?”
Nino shook his head as he sighed deeply, as if Sho was such a disappointment that he couldn’t handle anymore. “Yeah well, you went all the way from your hometown to Tokyo for the sake of meeting him - and now you did.” He stared at Sho, his face suddenly turning serious. “Then what?”
“Well… Actually, I just want to know how he is.” Sho pulled his laptop closer as he turned it to face him again; he stared at Ohno’s picture at the laptop, a picture that he had taken secretly when Ohno was on stage - the Ohno in the picture was smiling faintly, and although he looked handsome in it, Sho couldn’t help but think that something was off with him. Even when he was smiling in front of Sho too, he could almost feel that something was wrong.
And as much as he wanted to believe that Ohno was okay - the painting, his hesitant smile, his unreadable eyes; it told him otherwise.
“Sho-chan?”
“I think… something’s wrong with him.” He mumbled then. “I think his life hasn’t been improving at all…”
Nino stared at him for a long while as the silence stretched between them; the smaller man hopped off from the table then and he ruffled Sho’s hair with full intention to mess it up as he said, “Then go ask him about it; you’re his best friend, aren’t you?” He quickly left for his own table right when their boss suddenly came out from the office; immediately scolding Nino for walking around rather than focusing on his work.
Sho ducked his head down in front of the computer as his boss walked past his table, pretending to be busy with the article so he wouldn’t get scolded either, but really, Nino’s words was haunting his mind.
Nino was right. 'I'm still his friend, right? So I can ask about it, right?'
Taking a deep breath, Sho fished his phone out from his pocket, and then he quickly typed a reply to the younger man.
To: Satoshi-kun
Subject: Wait
Okay. Wait for me, Satoshi-kun.
***
“Itadakimasuuu~”
Sho shook his head in disbelief as the man beside him started eating his apple cinnamon crepes; they’ve just had a very fulfilling dinner - a special beef curry ramen because Ohno wanted both ramen and curry. But almost as if it wasn’t enough, Ohno had stared at a crepe café they passed by longingly, and because he couldn’t resist that stare, he ended up buying Ohno a crepe, though he couldn’t imagine how he could eat those even after all the food they’ve ate.
But the smaller man beside him ate the crepe happily; he munched on it carefully so the whipped cream wouldn’t get anywhere since they were back to Sho’s car now, and as much as he appreciated it, Sho couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of Ohno licking the whipped cream quickly so it wouldn’t fall to the seat. “I don’t mind, you know.” Sho said then, and Ohno looked up at him.
“What?”
“I don’t mind if the whipped cream fall to the seat; I mean, it’s easy to wipe it.”
“Oh…” Ohno grinned bashfully then. “But you’ve bought it for me; so the least I could do is eating it carefully.”
“I can’t believe that you can still eat them though. I mean, aren’t you full?” He teased him, eyes glancing at the smaller man for a while to see his reaction.
“I’m still growing, unlike an old man like you.”
“I’m 24, I’m not that old!” Sho protested and he was about to tease him more, but Ohno held the crepe for him, silently offering it to him without words. Sho raised his eyebrows, but nevertheless, he took a big bite of it, relishing on the sweet flavor that invaded his mouth, and he couldn’t help but feeling surprised about it. “It’s delicious!”
“Isn’t it?” Ohno boasted happily, almost as if he was the one that owned the store. “It’s your loss for not buying it!”
“We can buy it again next time.” Sho said nonchalantly, though he meant it as another invitation, hopefully soon. Ohno looked surprised at first, but then the younger man nodded happily with red cheeks, saying “Un” happily before he ducked his head down to finish eating his crepe.
In the end, Sho couldn’t bring up the topic.
Throughout their dinner, Sho had wanted to ask Ohno ‘what’s wrong’, but the words never left his mouth because he could see how hard Ohno was trying to hide it; he could see that Ohno was forcing himself to act ‘normal’ around him, and seeing him like that, it didn’t feel right for Sho to force him to spill it out. So instead he tried to determine what would be the cause of his problem by listening to every word that left Ohno’s mouth intently; he could talk about his college life normally and it seems like he had some good friends there, so Sho decided that the problem was with his family - every time Sho tried to talk about it, Ohno didn’t seem to be so eager. He’d try to change the topic, or he’d answer it shortly; he’d talk happily about his little sister though, so at least Sho knew that his relationship with his sister was good.
But other than that, there was nothing; Ohno barely talk about his mother and stepfather, and it worried him to no end because he was afraid that they didn’t treat Ohno nicely - what if they thought of Ohno as a bother? What if they thought that Ohno was no part of them?
“Ah, dad’s home…”
Sho was snapped out of his daze when Ohno mumbled; maybe the younger man didn’t realize that he was saying his thought out loud, but when he did, he looked at Sho like a deer in the highlights, but before he could say anything, Sho cut him off. “What’s wrong with him being home?” He asked hurriedly as he pulled the car into a stop in front of Ohno’s house - true enough, there was a car parked in the garage, undoubtedly belong to his stepfather. “Why - did he not treat you well?”
“He’s not - I mean, he’s nice.” Ohno hurriedly said, but his tone was not convincing at all. “I wouldn’t be able to go to college if it weren’t for him -“
“That’s not what I’m asking for. Did he treat you well or not?”
“Of course he did - I don’t see why he shouldn’t!” Ohno’s voice suddenly rose up as it was clear that he was frustrated with Sho’s questions. “Stop asking me such question - you’re thinking too much!”
“But I’m worried about you!” Sho yelled back, though he immediately regretted that because Ohno flinched, and he didn’t want to hurt him - not after everything that the man might have gone through. “I’m worried, Satoshi-kun… After everything that have happened back then, I’m worried that you’re not being treated nicely again.”
Ohno stared at him for a while, before then his gaze softened. “I’m okay now.” Ohno mumbled as he opened the car door. “I really am, so don’t worry. I’ll see you again soon, okay? Thanks for tonight.”
“Satoshi -“ But Ohno slammed the door shut, and he left Sho speechless as he briskly walked back to his home.
He wanted to believe that Ohno was truly okay, he really did.
But all of sudden he remembered the dreaded feeling that used to fill him in whenever he saw Ohno being beaten again by his real father; he remembered the feeling of having Ohno being taken away from him. This time, he was lucky that he was able to meet him again, but who knows what might happen next?
Fuck it.
He got out of the car and strode towards Ohno; the younger man hasn’t realized that Sho was behind him until he grabbed on his hand and turned him around. He was surprised, sure, but even Sho was more surprised with the words that left his mouth.
“Come live with me.”
There was a long pause between both of them as both parties tried to process the words; in Sho’s part, the words sunk in in less than a minutes, and he immediately felt…stupid. What would Ohno think when his friend that he hasn’t met for years suddenly ask him to live with him? He sounded like a creeper -
“Eh?” Ohno suddenly voiced out, breaking the silence between them as he blinked rapidly. “Eh?”
Sho was tempted to say the same thing as Ohno - really, he didn’t understand why did he said that, but he had said that, and there was no way he could take it back; besides, how bad could it be to live together with Ohno - with a friend? “Come live with me.” He repeated slowly now. “You can live with me - you don’t have to stay in this house if you don’t want to.”
“What are you saying?” Ohno asked out loud in confusion. “I can’t live with you.”
“If it was about your parents, then I can try and talk it out with them.” Sho added, feeling brave all of sudden because Ohno hasn’t pulled his hands away, and the younger man stared in place, staring, as if he was waiting for something. “I live alone after all, and I don’t mind you living together with me. And more so, when you’re with me… you don’t have to pretend anymore.”
Ohno opened his mouth, but then he hurriedly closed it again as if he was reconsidering his words; Sho thought that he was going to deny or maybe he’d get angry, but what came out was a softly whispered words, “You want me to live with you?”
And Sho had never been so sure when he answered, “I want you to live with me.”
He looked relieved; Ohno looked like he was throughoutly relieved when Sho said those words, but it was short-lived because then his house’s door was swung open, and the lights that came from the house kind of blinded Sho at first before then he could saw a man standing on the doorframe. “Satoshi?” A gruff, deep voice called out, and Ohno immediately tensed; Sho could even sense that he did just by holding his hands. “Who’s that?”
Ohno refused to turn around; he looked up at Sho with fear in his eyes, as if asking him to do something, and Sho could only squeeze his hands softly, trying to tell him that it was okay, that he’d take care of anything. So Sho stepped ahead with a collected smile on his face, and he introduced himself.
“Nice to meet you, sir. I’m Sakurai Sho.”
Chapter 1 | Chapter 3
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 : I only own the plot! D:
A/N : Another chapter is heree~ I actually wanted to get it done and posted it by tuesday but Arashi Blast caught me and so...yep XD but it is sooo beautiful tho! Lots of precious moments that leaves me cryin and goes 'why i wasnt thereee' but meh, i get used to it XD Anyway! This chapter is unbetaed so pls forgive me for any mistakes! It ended in a weird time too, I guess, because if i continue it then it'll get way too long and I dont want that... Hopefully I can post the next chapter on weekend! Enjoy!
He felt dirty.
Ohno scrubbed his body harder with the soap under the running shower; it was frustrating, really, because no matter how hard he was scrubbing, he could still fell it - the feeling of someone touching him, kissing him, and it felt so disgusting, almost as if something was crawling under his skin. After a few more minutes of scrubbing, Ohno realized that, as always, he wouldn’t be able to scrub away the dirtiness he was feeling, and so he put the soap away and just let himself soak in the warm water, wishing that at least, the water would ease his soreness away.
He had stopped crying after the first few times; at first, he’d cry in the shower every morning, wanting to tell someone but not being able to. After it happened for uncountable times, he stopped; there was nothing he could do anyway, and crying wouldn’t help - it would never help. Crying never ease him, even for just a little bit, and so he decided to just bottle it up inside. He has been thinking that he should run away, but he has nowhere else to go, and besides, he didn’t want to leave his mother and his sister; if that man found someone else to screw around, wouldn’t his mother suffer then? Worse, what if that man touched his sister when he was gone?
No, he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t stand the thought; his mother was happy now, and he didn’t want to ruin it by telling her or risking that man having someone else to screw over - at least both he and that man was smart enough to keep everything a secret, and even after such a long time like this, his mother hasn’t found out; though to be honest, Ohno wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
He was supposed to get used to it already; he was supposed to stay quiet and keep everything hidden inside.
Until Sho appeared, that is.
Sho has always been his hero; even when they were still young, Sho was the one who reached out to him whenever his parents fight or whenever his dad beat him. Sho was brave; brave enough to barge inside his house when his father left and taking him to the hospital with the help of his parents. Sho was kind; kind enough to stay and listen to Ohno whenever he was crying his heart out.
For the young Ohno, Sho, who was actually no one but a boy next door, appeared as some kind of a hero. And now that he appeared in his life again - heck, call him a dreamer but Ohno couldn’t help but think that Sho was there to help him out again.
But he didn’t dare to hope.
Sighing, he turn the tap off, and then he wrapped himself with the towel as he walked out of the shower; he wore the shirt that he has prepared, the perfect one to hide all the marks that has been left on his body carelessly by that man. Once he made sure that every inch of his body was covered perfectly, he walked out of the bathroom while drying his hair off as he headed to the kitchen. “Good morning.” He greeted everyone there.
“Morning, nii-chan!” His sister greeted back happily; Ohno sat beside her on the table, and his mother quickly served the same meal that his sister were having - toast with scrambled eggs on the side. Ohno thanked her quietly and then he began to eat while his sister were chatting noisily, sending bread crumbs flying from her mouth all over the table as she talked - though Ohno found it to be rather cute. He chattered with her while his mother was busy washing the dishes, and after a while of no sign of that man, Ohno asked, “Where’s dad?”
“Ah, he left early this morning because he said he’ll be having a meeting today.” His mother answered as she turned around to flash him a smile. “Isn’t he such a hardworking father?”
“Mmhm.” Ohno mumbled half-heartedly as he wiped his sister’s mouth clean. “Sure he is.”
“You should be like that too, Satoshi.” His mother continued. “You’re going to finish college soon, right? You should immediately work as your way to repay to your dad’s kindness; he has been paying for your college tuition after all - without him, I don’t even think you’ll be able to go to college at all!”
This talk again. Ohno held the urge to roll his eyes as he pretended to listen obediently to her while eating his meal slowly, nodding once in a while just to show his mother that he agreed, though deep inside, he loathed every single praise that his mother sang for his stepfather. “Don’t worry, mom. I’ll probably work on a gallery; one of my lecturers has offered me a job. I think I’ll start there.” Before his mother could react to it, Ohno quickly changed the topic. “Does that means dad would be home late tonight?”
“Yes, he said so. He wouldn’t be able to have dinner with us. What a pity…” His mother sighed heavily as she dried her hands on her apron, before then she moved to eat with them on a table. Ohno stayed quiet, but really, he was cheering inside; whenever his stepfather came home late, that’d mean he wouldn’t be touching Ohno because he’d be too tired to do so - it was such a nice thing to look forward to, and on days like these, he wouldn’t mind going home then. “Yeah, that’s such a pity.”
“Indeed it is. Ah, are you in a hurry, Satoshi?”
“No, why?”
“Can you drop Satomi-chan at the kindergarten then?” His mother asked with a smile. “That way, I can start on the laundry much earlier!”
“Sure.” Ohno turned to his sister, who has finished her meal and now was playing with the fork. “I’ll drop her off.”
After making sure that Satomi was clean enough and that both of them hasn’t forgotten anything, they went. They needed to ride a bus to get to her kindergarten, and after that they have to walk for another 5 minutes before they arrived at the kindergarten - having to drop Satomi off meant that Ohno’d probably be late; he needed to take a train to his college after all, and even then he still have to ride a bus, and that was quite a long journey. But even then, Ohno didn’t care - it was always fun to walk hand in hand with his little sister, who never minded Ohno not talking much, as long as he kept on listening to her.
When they walked together though, Ohno’s phone buzzed, and he took it out from his pocket while his other hand was still holding on Satomi as he read the new message.
From : Sho-chan
Subject : Dinner?
Satoshi-kun, I hope I’m not bothering you.
I’m not that busy today, and since going home early would be boring, I was thinking that maybe we could go out for another dinner?
This time you got to choose - no steak or anything though. You should wait for payday.
I’ll pick you up from the college if you wanted to.
I’ll be waiting for your answer.
Ohno immediately smiled; he stopped walking for a while as he let go of Satomi to type the reply. The little girl looked up at him curiously, and so she asked, “Who are you texting to, nii-chan?”
Ohno looked down at her, at her sparkling, innocent eyes, and he grinned. “I’m texting a hero.”
The girl’s eyes widened comically as she grinned widely back to Ohno too, as if they were sharing a secret. “That’s why you’re smiling!” She said with a nod; Ohno took her hand again as he finished replying, and they’ve began walking again as she asked, “Can I meet this hero too?”
“Maybe one day.”
“Okay.” Satomi nodded once again. “I’ll be waiting.” She squeezed Ohno’s hand tight as she said, “Today the weather is nice, ne?”
Ohno didn’t even bother to look up as he replied, “It is”; it wasn’t because he just went along with her words, but because he really agreed with her.
Today seems like it’d be a good day.
***
From : Satoshi-kun
Subject : Mr. Generous (I meant you)
I can’t decide between ramen and curry, but since you’re being generous, maybe both?
And while you’re at it, I hope you can buy me crepes too. They’re delicious.
Pick me up at college by 5. I’ll be waiting.
“Did something good happen yesterday?”
Sho looked up from his phone screen and his smile got even wider once he saw Nino leaning over his desk with curiosity written all over his face. He shrugged, trying to be discreet because he was sure that Nino’d go crazy over it, and then he put his phone away as he pretended to type on the article that he has been working on, though his words were making no sense. “Nothing.” Sho said then. “I was just wandering around on the college all by myself because someone is busy with his boyfriend yesterday.”
“I didn’t.” Nino said with a hint of amusement, and Sho could tell that he was right; when Nino was making no effort to object, then Sho knew that he was hitting a jackpot. “Well, yeah, I did. But Masaki has been bugging me about it and we’ve planned it and I kinda forgot that I have work so -“
“Yeah yeah, whatever.” He waved his hand to make Nino shut up, though the younger man had no intention to do so, even more when he leaned even closer to Sho. “So tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“What happened yesterday?”
“Nothing happened yesterday.” He lied, but his lips twitched upwards and it was giving him away; Nino smacked him playfully in the head and they both laughed over it. “Come on, Sho-chan. Something must be happening yesterday.” Nino gave a quick glance over their boss’s office, and when he saw no sign of him coming out anytime soon, he sat on the table, knocking Sho’s pencil case with no guilt whatsoever as he insisted further. “Tell me.”
“You didn’t have to knock it over though.” Sho grumbled as he collected his scattered pencils and ballpoints all over the table quickly; Nino waited patiently for Sho to finish, and when he did, he raised his eyebrows. “Well?”
“What?”
“Sakurai Sho, I had enough.” The younger man hissed. “I want to know what’s happening to you yesterday because you literally skipping all the way to your table this morning and you won’t stop smiling at all; moreover, your smile got even more creepy just now when you’re playing with your phone so something good must’ve happened yesterday - or!” He pointed at Sho accusingly. “You’ve finally lost your mind over those crazy schedules that you make for your life.”
“I didn’t!” Sho objected, but even then he knew that he had given up to Nino, and so, after sighing heavily, he sunk back to his chair as he mumbled, “I met my childhood friend yesterday.”
“Oh.” Nino nodded. “A chick?”
“No, he’s not!” Though Ohno could easily pass as a chick, Sho thought quietly inside his mind. “He’s a guy - the one that I told you before, remember? The one that I haven’t seen for almost 6 years!”
“You mean, your childhood friend that made you went all the way to this town in hope that you’ll meet him someday?” Nino grinned teasingly, and this time, it was Sho’s turn to scowl. “Right, sorry. Continue then.”
“Well, it turned out that he’s one of the students at the art college I’ve visited yesterday! See, he’s the winner!” Sho turned his laptop to show the article to Nino, and as Nino was examining his face, Sho added, “I can’t believe we met yesterday - it was pure coincidence!”
“Shouldn’t you thank me then?” Nino said with a chuckle as he pulled back from the laptop. “But yeah, he’s cute. Really cute.”
“Nino, that wasn’t why I show his face to you -“
“I know, I’m just saying.” He shrugged. “So, what now?”
Sho stared at him blankly. “What?”
Nino shook his head as he sighed deeply, as if Sho was such a disappointment that he couldn’t handle anymore. “Yeah well, you went all the way from your hometown to Tokyo for the sake of meeting him - and now you did.” He stared at Sho, his face suddenly turning serious. “Then what?”
“Well… Actually, I just want to know how he is.” Sho pulled his laptop closer as he turned it to face him again; he stared at Ohno’s picture at the laptop, a picture that he had taken secretly when Ohno was on stage - the Ohno in the picture was smiling faintly, and although he looked handsome in it, Sho couldn’t help but think that something was off with him. Even when he was smiling in front of Sho too, he could almost feel that something was wrong.
And as much as he wanted to believe that Ohno was okay - the painting, his hesitant smile, his unreadable eyes; it told him otherwise.
“Sho-chan?”
“I think… something’s wrong with him.” He mumbled then. “I think his life hasn’t been improving at all…”
Nino stared at him for a long while as the silence stretched between them; the smaller man hopped off from the table then and he ruffled Sho’s hair with full intention to mess it up as he said, “Then go ask him about it; you’re his best friend, aren’t you?” He quickly left for his own table right when their boss suddenly came out from the office; immediately scolding Nino for walking around rather than focusing on his work.
Sho ducked his head down in front of the computer as his boss walked past his table, pretending to be busy with the article so he wouldn’t get scolded either, but really, Nino’s words was haunting his mind.
Nino was right. 'I'm still his friend, right? So I can ask about it, right?'
Taking a deep breath, Sho fished his phone out from his pocket, and then he quickly typed a reply to the younger man.
To: Satoshi-kun
Subject: Wait
Okay. Wait for me, Satoshi-kun.
***
“Itadakimasuuu~”
Sho shook his head in disbelief as the man beside him started eating his apple cinnamon crepes; they’ve just had a very fulfilling dinner - a special beef curry ramen because Ohno wanted both ramen and curry. But almost as if it wasn’t enough, Ohno had stared at a crepe café they passed by longingly, and because he couldn’t resist that stare, he ended up buying Ohno a crepe, though he couldn’t imagine how he could eat those even after all the food they’ve ate.
But the smaller man beside him ate the crepe happily; he munched on it carefully so the whipped cream wouldn’t get anywhere since they were back to Sho’s car now, and as much as he appreciated it, Sho couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of Ohno licking the whipped cream quickly so it wouldn’t fall to the seat. “I don’t mind, you know.” Sho said then, and Ohno looked up at him.
“What?”
“I don’t mind if the whipped cream fall to the seat; I mean, it’s easy to wipe it.”
“Oh…” Ohno grinned bashfully then. “But you’ve bought it for me; so the least I could do is eating it carefully.”
“I can’t believe that you can still eat them though. I mean, aren’t you full?” He teased him, eyes glancing at the smaller man for a while to see his reaction.
“I’m still growing, unlike an old man like you.”
“I’m 24, I’m not that old!” Sho protested and he was about to tease him more, but Ohno held the crepe for him, silently offering it to him without words. Sho raised his eyebrows, but nevertheless, he took a big bite of it, relishing on the sweet flavor that invaded his mouth, and he couldn’t help but feeling surprised about it. “It’s delicious!”
“Isn’t it?” Ohno boasted happily, almost as if he was the one that owned the store. “It’s your loss for not buying it!”
“We can buy it again next time.” Sho said nonchalantly, though he meant it as another invitation, hopefully soon. Ohno looked surprised at first, but then the younger man nodded happily with red cheeks, saying “Un” happily before he ducked his head down to finish eating his crepe.
In the end, Sho couldn’t bring up the topic.
Throughout their dinner, Sho had wanted to ask Ohno ‘what’s wrong’, but the words never left his mouth because he could see how hard Ohno was trying to hide it; he could see that Ohno was forcing himself to act ‘normal’ around him, and seeing him like that, it didn’t feel right for Sho to force him to spill it out. So instead he tried to determine what would be the cause of his problem by listening to every word that left Ohno’s mouth intently; he could talk about his college life normally and it seems like he had some good friends there, so Sho decided that the problem was with his family - every time Sho tried to talk about it, Ohno didn’t seem to be so eager. He’d try to change the topic, or he’d answer it shortly; he’d talk happily about his little sister though, so at least Sho knew that his relationship with his sister was good.
But other than that, there was nothing; Ohno barely talk about his mother and stepfather, and it worried him to no end because he was afraid that they didn’t treat Ohno nicely - what if they thought of Ohno as a bother? What if they thought that Ohno was no part of them?
“Ah, dad’s home…”
Sho was snapped out of his daze when Ohno mumbled; maybe the younger man didn’t realize that he was saying his thought out loud, but when he did, he looked at Sho like a deer in the highlights, but before he could say anything, Sho cut him off. “What’s wrong with him being home?” He asked hurriedly as he pulled the car into a stop in front of Ohno’s house - true enough, there was a car parked in the garage, undoubtedly belong to his stepfather. “Why - did he not treat you well?”
“He’s not - I mean, he’s nice.” Ohno hurriedly said, but his tone was not convincing at all. “I wouldn’t be able to go to college if it weren’t for him -“
“That’s not what I’m asking for. Did he treat you well or not?”
“Of course he did - I don’t see why he shouldn’t!” Ohno’s voice suddenly rose up as it was clear that he was frustrated with Sho’s questions. “Stop asking me such question - you’re thinking too much!”
“But I’m worried about you!” Sho yelled back, though he immediately regretted that because Ohno flinched, and he didn’t want to hurt him - not after everything that the man might have gone through. “I’m worried, Satoshi-kun… After everything that have happened back then, I’m worried that you’re not being treated nicely again.”
Ohno stared at him for a while, before then his gaze softened. “I’m okay now.” Ohno mumbled as he opened the car door. “I really am, so don’t worry. I’ll see you again soon, okay? Thanks for tonight.”
“Satoshi -“ But Ohno slammed the door shut, and he left Sho speechless as he briskly walked back to his home.
He wanted to believe that Ohno was truly okay, he really did.
But all of sudden he remembered the dreaded feeling that used to fill him in whenever he saw Ohno being beaten again by his real father; he remembered the feeling of having Ohno being taken away from him. This time, he was lucky that he was able to meet him again, but who knows what might happen next?
Fuck it.
He got out of the car and strode towards Ohno; the younger man hasn’t realized that Sho was behind him until he grabbed on his hand and turned him around. He was surprised, sure, but even Sho was more surprised with the words that left his mouth.
“Come live with me.”
There was a long pause between both of them as both parties tried to process the words; in Sho’s part, the words sunk in in less than a minutes, and he immediately felt…stupid. What would Ohno think when his friend that he hasn’t met for years suddenly ask him to live with him? He sounded like a creeper -
“Eh?” Ohno suddenly voiced out, breaking the silence between them as he blinked rapidly. “Eh?”
Sho was tempted to say the same thing as Ohno - really, he didn’t understand why did he said that, but he had said that, and there was no way he could take it back; besides, how bad could it be to live together with Ohno - with a friend? “Come live with me.” He repeated slowly now. “You can live with me - you don’t have to stay in this house if you don’t want to.”
“What are you saying?” Ohno asked out loud in confusion. “I can’t live with you.”
“If it was about your parents, then I can try and talk it out with them.” Sho added, feeling brave all of sudden because Ohno hasn’t pulled his hands away, and the younger man stared in place, staring, as if he was waiting for something. “I live alone after all, and I don’t mind you living together with me. And more so, when you’re with me… you don’t have to pretend anymore.”
Ohno opened his mouth, but then he hurriedly closed it again as if he was reconsidering his words; Sho thought that he was going to deny or maybe he’d get angry, but what came out was a softly whispered words, “You want me to live with you?”
And Sho had never been so sure when he answered, “I want you to live with me.”
He looked relieved; Ohno looked like he was throughoutly relieved when Sho said those words, but it was short-lived because then his house’s door was swung open, and the lights that came from the house kind of blinded Sho at first before then he could saw a man standing on the doorframe. “Satoshi?” A gruff, deep voice called out, and Ohno immediately tensed; Sho could even sense that he did just by holding his hands. “Who’s that?”
Ohno refused to turn around; he looked up at Sho with fear in his eyes, as if asking him to do something, and Sho could only squeeze his hands softly, trying to tell him that it was okay, that he’d take care of anything. So Sho stepped ahead with a collected smile on his face, and he introduced himself.
“Nice to meet you, sir. I’m Sakurai Sho.”
Chapter 1 | Chapter 3