[fic] Step by Step; Light and Shade - (5/?)
TITLE: Step by Step; Light and Shade
PAIRINGS: Sakuraiba, Matsumiya, Aimiya, Ohmiya, ShoxMaki, and JunxMao
LENGTH: Multi-chaptered
BANDS: Arashi (with Horikita Maki and Inoue Mao)
GENRE: Romance, drama... etc.
RATING (by chapter): PG-13/14
WARNINGS: AU, language and potentially sexual situations in later chapters.
SUMMARY: "To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak" - Indian Proverb
Sakurai Sho is the Chief Financial Officer for a large corporation, he has a loving girlfriend, a strange (but friendly) co-worker, and a best friend who teaches a ballroom dance class (which Sho has been guilted into attending). At the class, Sho's encounter with another unorthodox dancer -and his partner- will be the spark needed to kindle new relationships and end others.
PREVIOUS: Step01 | Step02 | Step03 | Step04 |
NOTE: I've tried to do my research but I am neither a dancer or a business person, so please excuse any incorrect information!!
Step 5.
The marketing department sprawled across the entirety of the seventh floor, as well as consuming a fair amount of floors eight and six. Organized chaos was the best way to describe it. The atmosphere the moment Sho exited the elevator was such a sharp contrast to the monotonous near quiet of his office on the ninth floor that he was a little overwhelmed. People were talking and moving about everywhere, carrying prints and papers, even cameras, props, and fabrics. Phones rang shrilly, faxes droned, and the PA speakers crackled to life with a frenzied woman’s voice so often that it was no wonder she sounded as frazzled as she did.
“Excuse me,” Sho called, approaching the floor’s reception desk. The dark haired woman behind the desk held up a finger for him to wait as she reached for the mic connected to the PA.
“Mori Ichiro-san, please come to the main desk. Mori-san.” She set the mic back in place with one hand as she put the receiver of a ringing phone to her ear with the other. “ShunTaro Marketing division, how may I help you?... Yes, yes, please hold, I’ll direct your call there now.” She made to do so as a young woman rushed up with a thick folder.
“These are the new prints for Glass Apple.” She handed the folder over and gave the sighing receptionist a sympathetic look. “Rough day, Aya-chan?”
“Unbelievably.” Her dark hair was coming loose from its elastic and she had dark circles under her eyes. Sho tried not to look amused. “With Suzuki on maternity leave I can’t catch a break. And now Mori-san went to grab a coffee and hasn’t been back for almost an hour.” She frowned darkly. “You didn’t see him on your way up, did you?” An apologetic shake of the head. “If you do, tell him I’ll kill him if he doesn’t get back right away.”
The woman laughed and gave her a pat on the shoulder. “I will. And we should go for drinks tonight, you look like you need some time to de-stress.”
The receptionist smiled and nodded as her friend and colleague walked away, and then started in surprise when she turned back and noticed Sho. “Oh! I’m sorry sir, can I help you?” The phone rang again and she hit something to put it on hold.
“I’m here to see Ohno Satoshi-san, is he in his office?”
“He… is.” She looked a little hesitant, and then paused to hit the hold button again as another call came through. “Did you have an appointment?”
“No, but I’m from the Finance department upstairs.” He pulled out one of his business cards and handed it to her. “I’ve been working fairly closely on the RedLight deal with him recently and I wanted to check in.”
“Ah, go ahead then Sakurai-san.”
“He’s isn’t with a customer or anything, is he? I’d rather not disturb him.” She looked confused so Sho elaborated. “You seemed hesitant about his availability…”
“Oh, no. He’s asked me not to schedule any meetings with clients today, but colleagues are another story. Please, go right ahead.” She stood from her seat to point him in the right direction and then hesitated. “Actually, I’ll take you there myself. It’s no trouble,” she added, seeing his polite protest coming before it could reach his lips. “I should take these prints to him for approval anyway.” She picked up the folder and came around the front of the desk, guiding him through double doors into the main source of the floor’s chaos. She weaved through a sea of cubicles, effortlessly dodging co-workers as they darted about on one task or another. Behind them, the phone could still be heard ringing incessantly, and she paused as they came upon a man leaning against the wall of a young woman’s cubicle and talking animatedly. “Mori-san!” She barked, and Sho tried not to laugh as the man jumped and went pale. “Nobody is answering the phones. Get back to work!” She demanded fiercely, waiting until he scurried past her before marching onward.
She seemed like a pleasant person, but Sho would not want to be on her bad side when she was this overworked.
Ohno didn’t answer when they knocked on the door to his office, but she opened it anyway to let them in. “Ohno-san” She greeted.
Ohno’s arms were folded on his desk, and his face was buried in them. He grunted quietly and lifted his head as they came in, only to change his mind and flop back down again upon seeing who they were.
“The prints for Glass Apple have come in. You need to decide whether they get approved or not.” She set the folder down beside him. “Also, your mother called to ask how things went. She’d like for you to call her back. And Sakurai-san from Finance is here to see you.”
“…’K…” Ohno mumbled into his arms.
The girl took a deep breath, and Sho saw her roll her eyes a little as she excused her self and turned to leave. Silence ensued after she closed the door again behind her, and Sho hesitated a moment before sitting in the chair in front of Ohno’s desk. The noise of the large room behind them was dulled to a low murmur in the background.
Ohno rolled his shoulders a little but didn’t move to sit up at all. “Are you here about RedLight?” He mumbled. “I thought everything was running smoothly…”
It was a little difficult to make out his words, but Sho managed to piece the sentences together. “Actually, I came for the same reason your mother called. To hear how this morning went.”
Ohno sighed heavily and lifted his head enough that his eyes and nose were peeking out from above his arms. “Terrible.”
Sho raised an eyebrow. “… That’s not good.”
“Oh, no. Technically everything went fine, but her daughter’s a brat.” He wrinkled his nose up. “I was polite though, so don’t worry.”
“A brat?”
Ohno nodded. “You should have seen it. She acted like she hated me, or something. Like she couldn’t stand to be on the same airstrip as me, let alone in the same car.” He sighed, stretching his arms out and slumping back in his chair. “She was nice when she was little.”
“You met her back then?”
Ohno nodded absentmindedly, pulling the folder of prints towards himself and flipping through the images inside. “Yeah, we took lessons together.”
“I thought your sister took lessons with her…”
Ohno looked up in surprise and confusion and then laughed. “We traded places.”
Sho remembered then, when he’d met Mina she’d said something about the two of them switching lessons as children because they’d looked so similar. “Oh… Mind if I ask why?”
“Father stuck us in a bunch of lessons because he thought it’d make us more well-rounded individuals, or something along those lines. We didn’t get a say in what we took though. Mina was in dance, art and piano, and I got stuck in baseball, soccer and sailing. I like sailing, but I hated baseball and soccer, whereas my sister was really ungraceful and hated sitting still long enough to draw or paint anything. So we switched. My mother could tell us apart but our instructors couldn’t, and mum didn’t care if we traded spots.” He smiled fondly. “Dad still doesn’t know though. Once the two of us started noticeably looking like the gender we were, we told him we wanted to trade classes. He was mad, but not nearly as mad as he’d have been if he found out we’d been doing it all along.”
Sho chuckled. “You father is surprisingly different at work compared to when he’s at home.”
Ohno hummed thoughtfully, mood sobering a little. “Yeah. He’s more relaxed here… I’m still surprised he hired me. He’s always been more comfortable when I wasn’t around. Mina said things were really good at home while I was studying in Canada… Well, she didn’t mean it as a result of my not being there, but when I think back on it I guess that’s probably the reason. Six years of separation was enough for him to forget how much my existence bothers him. That or Alzheimer’s was setting in when he signed me on to work in the same building as him.”
Sho looked down awkwardly while Ohno seemed to get lost in his thoughts. “… About Saturday, I’m sorry I didn’t say anything in your defense.” Ohno looked surprised. “Honestly, I am. Maki felt bad about the whole thing too, but neither of us felt like it was in our place to interfere.”
Ohno’s soft smile was an indication of his gratitude, but he changed the subject smoothly without comment. “How is Maki-chan doing?”
“She’s good, I think. Busy though.”
“… How are you two doing, as a couple?”
“As a couple? Uh, good… I guess.”
“You guess?” Ohno frowned, but he looked amused.
“Well, yeah. We’re doing fine. Work keeps us both pretty busy, but we get together when we can.”
“Wedding bells in the future?”
“I-… Maybe.” Sho couldn’t help being flustered at the question. He hadn’t been expecting it. “I haven’t thought that far ahead… Is this an interrogation?”
“…No.” Ohno smiled thoughtfully. “…Any reason why you haven’t thought of it?” He paused, Sho looked a little incredulous so he continued. “I’m only asking because you’ve been dating for almost two years now, right? Maki-chan told me. Two years is a pretty serious time, assuming you’re serious about her. And if you’re serious about her, I’d take that to mean you’re serious about marrying her someday too.”
“… Really?”
“Well, Maki-chan is serious about you, Sakurai-kun.”
The words hung in the air. For some reason, Sho found them almost ominous, and he found his palms were beginning to sweat. Marriage? Was Maki expecting him to marry her any time soon?
“Oh look, it’s just about lunch time!” Ohno exclaimed suddenly, a dopey grin on his face as the subject of the conversation was changed once again. Sho blinked his way back into reality. “Maki-chan isn’t coming to visit you today is she?”
“…Um, n-no… She won’t be able to this week, I don’t think.” Suddenly, the idea of eating by himself and undoubtedly mulling over his future was not at all appetizing and, on a whim, he asked if Ohno felt like going out with him. “…For lunch, I mean.”
Ohno laughed loudly and nodded, ushering him out the door and past all the cubicles to the elevators. “Do you have a place in mind? I tend to hole up in my office for lunch.” He chuckled, pressing the ground floor button. “I’m not particularly social… I think most of my coworkers think I’m weird.”
Sho pursed his lips, trying not to admit he thought the same way.
Ohno, however, seemed as though he could read minds. “Don’t worry. I already figured you did too, Sakurai-kun. But now you’re taking me out to lunch!” He grinned lazily; it was a rather goofy expression. “Does this mean we’re friends?”
“I… guess so. One of my good friends works at a nice café around the block. I’ll introduce you to him if he’s there.”
Ohno’s grin widened and he let Sho lead the way out of the lobby and down the sidewalk. Sho thought, as they walked in companionable silence and Ohno seemed to get distracted by counting cracks in the cement, that the main part of Ohno’s charm was actually his weirdness… as weird as that was.
+++
“Today he ripped my apron in half.” Aiba pouted, speaking loudly enough for Nino in the back room of the video store to be able to hear him.
“In half?” Nino called back, disbelieving.
“Well, close to it!” Aiba held up the red material, frowning at the ragged edge where the bottom of his apron had been torn off. “I salvaged it though, so I’ll probably try and sew it myself later…” He pulled the torn scrap out of his pocket and held it up where it should have been affixed.
“You?” Nino frowned, coming out of the back room with a cardboard box of new releases cradled in his arms. “Bad idea Aiba, you and anything involving needles is not something that should be considered safe or legal, and I doubt it will end well.”
Aiba’s pout deepened as he followed his shorter friend and watched him begin to put out the display of newly released films. “That’s not true. I might not have any experience with sewing, but I don’t think I’m going to be dangerous about it.”
“You are a horrific accident waiting to happen, no matter what you’re doing. I don’t want to be up all night worrying about you stabbing your eye out or something. My gaming will suffer.”
“Aw, you’re worried about me!” Aiba nudged him, leaning close to watch him blush and fumble not to drop the DVD case he was holding. “You’re so adorable sometimes, Ninomiya.”
“Shut up.” He grumbled. “And give me that before you go.”
“…What?”
“The apron. I’ll try and fix it for you.”
“Thanks!” Aiba beamed, pulling the red apron over his head and rolling the torn chunk up in it. “You’re awesome, Nino-chan!”
Nino laughed shortly, placing the last of his armful onto the shelves. “I know.” He paused, examining his arrangement for a moment before deciding everything was in order and turning to his friend. “You can stick it in my bag, in the backroom.”
Aiba thanked him again and bounded off, while Nino busied himself with tidying up the store. “I didn’t know you sewed though, that’s a surprise.”
“I’ve fixed buttons before, that’s all.” Nino replied. “But this can’t be too difficult. I’ll figure it out.”
Aiba hummed thoughtfully, hoisting himself up to sit on the counter by the register while Nino went round to stand behind it. “You should teach me sometime, so I can do these things myself.” He swung his legs a little. “It’s not really fair for me to depend on you for so much.”
“I don’t mind.” Nino mumbled, intently wiping down the keys of the cash register.
“Really?” Aiba grinned over his shoulder at the shorter man.
Nino frowned. “I mean… I don’t mind that you depend on me sometimes.”
“What? No, no, I’m serious. You do too much. You even agreed to help me with that dance class!” He swiveled a little so he could nudge Nino teasingly. “You’re lucky I’m such a nice guy. You’ll get taken advantage of if you’re that giving to anybody else!”
Nino narrowed his eyes at him, opening his mouth to dish out the expected witty rebuttal, but he was cut off when the door opened with a loud jangle. “Welcome!” He called cheerily, whipping around to smile at the newcomer and shoving Aiba off of the counter in the same movement. “How can I- Oh, it’s just you.”
Aiba managed to land on his feet and keep his balance, and hurriedly turned to greet the man in the doorway. “Oh! It’s Toma-kun!”
“Hey! Are you finished for the day, Aiba-kun?” Toma asked, heading towards the back room. He peeled off his coat, revealing the video store’s uniform black polo shirt underneath. “Or just visiting?”
“Just visiting.” He checked his watch. “Oh, and I should probably head back. We’re really busy setting up for the sale that starts tomorrow.”
“When are you finished?” Nino asked.
“At closing. Becky-chan had to call off so I’m covering her shift today too… Why? Were you wanting to do something?”
“I was thinking we could grab supper or something if our schedules were similar. But I’m off at four, and I’m not hanging around ‘til nine.”
“Ah, that’s okay.” Aiba said, watching curiously as Nino bent over to look around beneath the counter. “I’ll just grab something at the convenience store.”
“Where’d you put your coat?” Nino straightened, frowning. “The back room?”
“Oh, I didn’t bother wearing one over.” He cringed as Nino’s frown deepened. “I was only going next door! It’s no big deal, really.”
“Are you an idiot? It’s getting cold out lately! If you get sick I’m not coming over to mother you. Seriously.”
“Don’t worry!” Aiba backed towards the door, and Nino’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I promise I’ll wear it from now on, okay? Happy?”
“You’d better.” Nino grumbled. “Text me when you get home, ‘k?”
Aiba raised an eyebrow. “So you can check that I’m wearing my coat? I promise, I’ll wear it.”
“No, because you’ll be waiting at a bus stop late at night and there’s been a creepy homeless guy sleeping under that bench lately.”
“Oh.” Aiba opened the door and looked in the direction of the bus stop in question. “Yeah, I’ll text then.” He brightened and waved. “Talk to you later!”
Nino waved back, and then jumped as Toma’s voice spoke up from the nearest aisle. “You two married yet?”
Nino glared at his co-worker and busied himself with removing and re-inserting the roll of receipt paper in the register.
+++
“Nice to meet you, Ohno-san.” Jun bowed, straightening up and bringing his pencil to the notepad in his hand. “Can I get you two drinks to start?”
“I’ll have water, Jun-kun.” Sho smiled.
Jun turned questioning eyes to the other business man, who seemed to be thoroughly distracted by lining his utensils up in a perfect line atop his napkin. “…Ohno-san?”
Ohno looked up at the waiter with a start. “Oh!” He blinked rapidly, as though to clear his thoughts. “Ah, you have a very nice bowtie, Matsumoto-san…”
Jun raised his eyebrows, shooting Sho a bewildered and questioning look from the corner of his eye. “Thanks. It’s part of the uniform…” Ohno just smiled sleepily at him, and Jun turned to Sho for help.
“Uh, Ohno-kun, he’s asking what you want to drink…”
“Oh! Sorry…” He frowned thoughtfully for a moment, but was interrupted by his cell phone ringing in his pocket. “Ah! Sorry, sorry.” He glanced at the ID and frowned before standing. “I… should take this. I’ll have what ever Sakurai-kun’s having, Matsumoto-san.” He promptly hurried outside, phone already pressed to his ear.
Jun jotted down another water and raised an eyebrow at Sho. “Your friend is weird.”
“I- well-… yeah.” Sho shrugged, mildly flustered. At least Jun seemed amused, he reasoned. “But he’s interesting.”
Jun raised his gaze to watch Ohno’s figure on the sidewalk outside of the café, talking into the phone with an expression of pouty despair. “He certainly seems to be.” He agreed and flipped his notepad shut. “I’ll come back when you’ve both had time to look at the menu.”
Ohno returned a minute later, looking aggravated and apprehensive. He stood by the table instead of sitting.
“Is something wrong?”
“Uh, that was my father…” He began awkwardly, fiddling with his hands and frowning at the table surface as though it had wronged him. “Apparently, he’s not happy I chose today to make lunch plans.” A heavy sigh.
“Do you have to go?”
Ohno scrunched his face up and shook his head. “No… See, I explained that you’d invited me to a café, and he said that was perfect because he though you should meet her too…” He slumped into the booth. “I’m sorry, Sakurai-kun. He asked for the address and I couldn’t refuse to tell him. They’re sending her over by car now, so she’ll probably be here any minute…”
“Wait a second, who? Who’s coming?” Sho frowned.
“The Inoue girl.” Ohno’s lip jut out and he slumped further down into the seat.
Jun approached the table, eyeing Ohno’s pose warily. “…Are you ready to order?”
Ohno responded with a disgruntled whining noise, and Sho cleared his throat. It took him a moment to shake off his bewilderment about the whole situation. “Uh, no. Apparently, we’re going to have a third person joining us.”
“He said Inoue Yoshiko-san was going to discuss business things over lunch with him, and she hinted really heavily that I should have lunch with her daughter. Why me?!”
“…I’ll get another place setting.” Jun announced before walking off.
“Uh… Ohno-kun, it’s probably just because she wouldn’t find the business discussion interesting, and you’re both the children of company presidents, right? Plus, you’re probably the only high-ranked person she knows from the company. It’d be weird to send her to lunch with someone else, and rude just to leave her on her own. It makes sense, even if you don’t like it.”
“Here.” Jun returned and set the extra glass, utensils, and napkin down next to Ohno’s spot in the booth. “I’ll come back when your guest has arrived and you’re ready to order.”
“Thanks, Jun-kun.”
“Yeah… but it’s really annoying, Sakurai-kun. She doesn’t even like me! Why is she agreeing to this? I don’t get it…”
Sho sighed, and his eyes drifted towards the entrance to the café. A girl had just entered, and her eyes landed on both their table and the brown-haired businessman slumped across from Sho. “O-Ohno-san, sit up. I think she’s here.”
Ohno began struggling into a sitting position, he looked towards her too and she started walking towards them. Her heeled, knee-high, boots clicked on the floor as she approached. Her dark hair was pulled up into a neat ponytail, save for the loose strands framing her face, and her clothes weren’t flashy, but were clearly well made and probably very expensive. She was pretty, but not trying to flaunt it with excessive makeup. Sho was a little surprised that she was the girl Ohno had described. He’d been picturing something entirely different.
“Inoue Mao-san, I presume?” Sho stood and asked as she stopped in front of their table. He slipped a business card out of the cardholder in his pocket. “I’m Sakurai Sho, Chief Financial Officer of ShunTaro Inc.”
“Nice to meet you Sakurai-san.” She accepted the card politely and then turned to the other businessman with a weary sigh. “Ohno-san.” She nodded.
“Hey.” He nodded back, and slid deeper into the booth to make room for her beside him.
She sat gingerly and began examining the menu.
“So, Inoue-san, how long has it been since you were last in Tokyo?” Sho asked, attempting to avoid an awkward silence.
“I moved to New York when I was seven, came back for two years in high school to refresh my memory of the Japanese language, and this is the first I’ve been back here since.
“I see… And are you enjoying your stay so far?”
“I’ve only been here a few hours, and I’m incredibly jet-lagged.” She glanced up from the menu. “No offence, Sakurai-san, but I’d much rather be sleeping right now than here having such an uptight and professional conversation.”
Ohno chuckled and took a swig of his water.
“…Okay then…” Sho cleared his throat, trying to think of something less impersonal to talk about. “I hear you and Ohno-kun used to take lessons together. Is that a better topic?”
She looked between them and tensed visibly. “… Let’s not talk about Ohno-kun and I.”
“Why not?” Ohno frowned.
She pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes closed. “Because, our history isn’t particularly interesting.”
“As long as you want us to act more unprofessional, let’s talk about why you don’t like me.” Ohno pouted. “We got along when you were little. I was actually sad when you moved away! I thought we were almost friends!”
She took a deep breath and set her menu down. “It’s not that I don’t like you.”
“Then why are you so mean?”
Sho ran a hand over his face in exasperation. His colleague looked more like a disgruntled five year-old than a man in his early thirties.
“Because, I don’t want to date you.”
Ohno blinked with surprise and confusion. “…Well, I don’t want to date you either.” He announced.
Inoue raised her eyebrows for a moment. “…Really?”
“Of course!”
To Sho’s surprise, Inoue sighed with obvious relief. “Thank God.” She laughed, burying her face in her palms. “That definitely makes things easier.”
“…I’m confused.” Sho admitted. Ohno nodded his agreement vigorously. “You thought this was a date?”
“It probably is one.” She said, reaching for her water. “I know for a fact that my mother wants to set us up. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was convincing your father to agree with her.”
“I doubt Ohno-kun’s father would-“
“He might, actually. If it meant that the merger would go through…” Ohno interrupted, looking concerned.
“But, he knows that you would never be interested in-“
“Still. I wouldn’t be surprised if he asked me to pretend. Or if he’s still holding out hope that I’ll change my ways…”
Inoue looked a little confused by the businessmen’s exchange but she didn’t ask. “I’ve already told my mother that I’m not interested in you, but she doesn’t really care. As long as it would be good for the company, she thinks we could learn to love each other later on.”
Ohno scrunched his face up. “I don’t think so.”
She frowned at him. “As much as I feel I should be offended, I have to say that I agree. No way would I ever fall for you.”
Sho chuckled. “You sound awfully sure about that, Inoue-san.”
“My given name is fine, and I have my reasons.”
“But you might realize that he’s strangely charming once you get to know him better, Mao-chan.” Sho teased.
Ohno grinned. “Are you falling for me, Sakurai-kun?”
Sho’s cheeks burned red, and the two across the table from him laughed evilly.
“Are you ready to order yet?” Jun reappeared.
“Oh, right. I think so…” Sho answered. “Are you two?”
“Sure…” Ohno frowned thoughtfully at the menu while Mao nodded and flipped through in search of whatever had earlier caught her interest.
“Okay, well… I’ll have the Chicken Vegetable soup, with the garden salad side.”
“Okay.” Jun quickly scribbled down Sho’s order. “And… Ohno-san?”
“Um…” Ohno mused, frowning helplessly at the menu before turning his concerned gaze to Jun. “Is it delicious?”
Jun blinked. “The… soup?”
“Yeah, is it a delicious soup?” Ohno asked completely seriously. Mao covered her mouth to stifle a snicker, while Sho resisted the urge to facepalm.
“Uh…” Jun cleared his throat awkwardly, as if he too was trying not to laugh. “Yes, I’d say it is.”
“Oh good, I’ll get the same as Sakurai-kun then, Matsumoto-san.” He closed his menu happily.
“And you, Miss?” Jun turned to the young woman at the table and she looked up, mouth open with a ready response.
… But the response didn’t come. She froze upon really looking at the waiter for the first time, eyes going slightly wide before her brow furrowed. “You… Your name is Matsumoto?” Her gaze flickered to the nametag bearing his surname, confirming what she’d heard Ohno call him by a moment earlier.
“Yes… I’m Matsumoto.” He answered hesitantly, looking at her a little closer as well. “… Have we met before?”
She ignored his question, standing to see him better. “You’re Matsumoto… Jun?”
He blinked in surprise. “Yes, you know me?”
A wide grin split her face and she impulsively threw her arms around him, pulling him to her in a tight hug. Jun seemed utterly flabbergasted. “You don’t recognize me?” She asked when she pulled back. “Inoue Mao! We danced together for the school musical in eleventh grade! You taught me all the choreography!”
Jun’s eyes shot wide as well. “Mao-chan?!”
“You remember!” She beamed.
“Of course! But, you look so different now! I didn’t recognize you at first. Did you get contacts?”
She nodded, and they were interrupted when Ohno choked a little on one of the ice cubes in his water. “Ahck… sorry… continue.” He spluttered.
“Oh, actually, I should get back to work.” Jun grimaced. “What did you want to order?”
“Oh, um, anything’s fine. I’ll have what they’re having.”
“Great, I’ll be back soon with your meals.” He added her order to the paper and turned to go, but Mao hurriedly stopped him.
“Wait, can I see that?” She took the notepad and pencil from him, flipped to a new page, and hastily scrawled something down.
Jun looked quizzically at her as she handed the items back. “This is…?”
“My cell phone number.” She blushed. “Call me sometime, we should catch up.”
Jun smiled, tore the sheet out and slipped it in his pocket. “Sure thing.”
Once the waiter excused himself, Ohno turned practically sideways in the booth to fix her with a knowing grin. Sho failed miserably at hiding his own amusement at the redness of her cheeks. “So…” He began, but Ohno cut him off with a small, but suggestive, chuckle-fit.
Mao avoided both of their gazes. “Shut up.” She grumbled, but the retort lacked any bite. Despite her attempts to look annoyed at their teasing throughout the course of the meal, she had a very hard time keeping the happiness out of her expression for long.
+++
“Ouch!” Nino hissed, as a sudden pounding on his door led him to jolt in surprise and prick his finger. He set the red cloth he was attempting to sew carefully aside and stuck his bleeding digit into his mouth as he approached his front entrance.
He wasn’t surprised to find Aiba on the other side, but he was surprised to find the other man in tears.
“A-Aiba?!” He exclaimed, popping his finger out of his mouth and going immediately from annoyed to concerned.
“Nino-chan…” Aiba said quietly, voice wavering. He stepped inside and slumped to the floor where he began to pull off his shoes.
Nino crouched in front of him, trying to see his friend’s down-turned face. “What happened? Are you okay?” He demanded. His thoughts were jumping to terrifying conclusions, several involving the homeless guy from the bus stop that he had warned his friend about earlier.
Aiba set his shoes neatly beside a pair of Nino’s boots and sniffed. He took a deep, shuddering, breath as though to calm himself, but when he spoke his voice cracked almost immediately. “…They’re getting r-rid of Chubby!”
Nino paused a moment to feel relieved that his friend hadn’t been harassed, assaulted, or something equally disturbing on the way over, and then heaved a sigh. “Come on.” He said, taking Aiba’s arm and helping him to his feet. Aiba stumbled along miserably as he was led to Nino’s couch. “I’ll get you a drink, and you can tell me all about it.”
+++
to be continued…
I don't really have much to say about this one... Sorry for a bit of a longer wait than I anticipated. My inspiration has been seriously lacking lately, in light of recent world events. I hope all of you are safe and well!
Thanks for reading!
NEXT>>
PAIRINGS: Sakuraiba, Matsumiya, Aimiya, Ohmiya, ShoxMaki, and JunxMao
LENGTH: Multi-chaptered
BANDS: Arashi (with Horikita Maki and Inoue Mao)
GENRE: Romance, drama... etc.
RATING (by chapter): PG-13/14
WARNINGS: AU, language and potentially sexual situations in later chapters.
SUMMARY: "To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak" - Indian Proverb
Sakurai Sho is the Chief Financial Officer for a large corporation, he has a loving girlfriend, a strange (but friendly) co-worker, and a best friend who teaches a ballroom dance class (which Sho has been guilted into attending). At the class, Sho's encounter with another unorthodox dancer -and his partner- will be the spark needed to kindle new relationships and end others.
PREVIOUS: Step01 | Step02 | Step03 | Step04 |
NOTE: I've tried to do my research but I am neither a dancer or a business person, so please excuse any incorrect information!!
Step 5.
The marketing department sprawled across the entirety of the seventh floor, as well as consuming a fair amount of floors eight and six. Organized chaos was the best way to describe it. The atmosphere the moment Sho exited the elevator was such a sharp contrast to the monotonous near quiet of his office on the ninth floor that he was a little overwhelmed. People were talking and moving about everywhere, carrying prints and papers, even cameras, props, and fabrics. Phones rang shrilly, faxes droned, and the PA speakers crackled to life with a frenzied woman’s voice so often that it was no wonder she sounded as frazzled as she did.
“Excuse me,” Sho called, approaching the floor’s reception desk. The dark haired woman behind the desk held up a finger for him to wait as she reached for the mic connected to the PA.
“Mori Ichiro-san, please come to the main desk. Mori-san.” She set the mic back in place with one hand as she put the receiver of a ringing phone to her ear with the other. “ShunTaro Marketing division, how may I help you?... Yes, yes, please hold, I’ll direct your call there now.” She made to do so as a young woman rushed up with a thick folder.
“These are the new prints for Glass Apple.” She handed the folder over and gave the sighing receptionist a sympathetic look. “Rough day, Aya-chan?”
“Unbelievably.” Her dark hair was coming loose from its elastic and she had dark circles under her eyes. Sho tried not to look amused. “With Suzuki on maternity leave I can’t catch a break. And now Mori-san went to grab a coffee and hasn’t been back for almost an hour.” She frowned darkly. “You didn’t see him on your way up, did you?” An apologetic shake of the head. “If you do, tell him I’ll kill him if he doesn’t get back right away.”
The woman laughed and gave her a pat on the shoulder. “I will. And we should go for drinks tonight, you look like you need some time to de-stress.”
The receptionist smiled and nodded as her friend and colleague walked away, and then started in surprise when she turned back and noticed Sho. “Oh! I’m sorry sir, can I help you?” The phone rang again and she hit something to put it on hold.
“I’m here to see Ohno Satoshi-san, is he in his office?”
“He… is.” She looked a little hesitant, and then paused to hit the hold button again as another call came through. “Did you have an appointment?”
“No, but I’m from the Finance department upstairs.” He pulled out one of his business cards and handed it to her. “I’ve been working fairly closely on the RedLight deal with him recently and I wanted to check in.”
“Ah, go ahead then Sakurai-san.”
“He’s isn’t with a customer or anything, is he? I’d rather not disturb him.” She looked confused so Sho elaborated. “You seemed hesitant about his availability…”
“Oh, no. He’s asked me not to schedule any meetings with clients today, but colleagues are another story. Please, go right ahead.” She stood from her seat to point him in the right direction and then hesitated. “Actually, I’ll take you there myself. It’s no trouble,” she added, seeing his polite protest coming before it could reach his lips. “I should take these prints to him for approval anyway.” She picked up the folder and came around the front of the desk, guiding him through double doors into the main source of the floor’s chaos. She weaved through a sea of cubicles, effortlessly dodging co-workers as they darted about on one task or another. Behind them, the phone could still be heard ringing incessantly, and she paused as they came upon a man leaning against the wall of a young woman’s cubicle and talking animatedly. “Mori-san!” She barked, and Sho tried not to laugh as the man jumped and went pale. “Nobody is answering the phones. Get back to work!” She demanded fiercely, waiting until he scurried past her before marching onward.
She seemed like a pleasant person, but Sho would not want to be on her bad side when she was this overworked.
Ohno didn’t answer when they knocked on the door to his office, but she opened it anyway to let them in. “Ohno-san” She greeted.
Ohno’s arms were folded on his desk, and his face was buried in them. He grunted quietly and lifted his head as they came in, only to change his mind and flop back down again upon seeing who they were.
“The prints for Glass Apple have come in. You need to decide whether they get approved or not.” She set the folder down beside him. “Also, your mother called to ask how things went. She’d like for you to call her back. And Sakurai-san from Finance is here to see you.”
“…’K…” Ohno mumbled into his arms.
The girl took a deep breath, and Sho saw her roll her eyes a little as she excused her self and turned to leave. Silence ensued after she closed the door again behind her, and Sho hesitated a moment before sitting in the chair in front of Ohno’s desk. The noise of the large room behind them was dulled to a low murmur in the background.
Ohno rolled his shoulders a little but didn’t move to sit up at all. “Are you here about RedLight?” He mumbled. “I thought everything was running smoothly…”
It was a little difficult to make out his words, but Sho managed to piece the sentences together. “Actually, I came for the same reason your mother called. To hear how this morning went.”
Ohno sighed heavily and lifted his head enough that his eyes and nose were peeking out from above his arms. “Terrible.”
Sho raised an eyebrow. “… That’s not good.”
“Oh, no. Technically everything went fine, but her daughter’s a brat.” He wrinkled his nose up. “I was polite though, so don’t worry.”
“A brat?”
Ohno nodded. “You should have seen it. She acted like she hated me, or something. Like she couldn’t stand to be on the same airstrip as me, let alone in the same car.” He sighed, stretching his arms out and slumping back in his chair. “She was nice when she was little.”
“You met her back then?”
Ohno nodded absentmindedly, pulling the folder of prints towards himself and flipping through the images inside. “Yeah, we took lessons together.”
“I thought your sister took lessons with her…”
Ohno looked up in surprise and confusion and then laughed. “We traded places.”
Sho remembered then, when he’d met Mina she’d said something about the two of them switching lessons as children because they’d looked so similar. “Oh… Mind if I ask why?”
“Father stuck us in a bunch of lessons because he thought it’d make us more well-rounded individuals, or something along those lines. We didn’t get a say in what we took though. Mina was in dance, art and piano, and I got stuck in baseball, soccer and sailing. I like sailing, but I hated baseball and soccer, whereas my sister was really ungraceful and hated sitting still long enough to draw or paint anything. So we switched. My mother could tell us apart but our instructors couldn’t, and mum didn’t care if we traded spots.” He smiled fondly. “Dad still doesn’t know though. Once the two of us started noticeably looking like the gender we were, we told him we wanted to trade classes. He was mad, but not nearly as mad as he’d have been if he found out we’d been doing it all along.”
Sho chuckled. “You father is surprisingly different at work compared to when he’s at home.”
Ohno hummed thoughtfully, mood sobering a little. “Yeah. He’s more relaxed here… I’m still surprised he hired me. He’s always been more comfortable when I wasn’t around. Mina said things were really good at home while I was studying in Canada… Well, she didn’t mean it as a result of my not being there, but when I think back on it I guess that’s probably the reason. Six years of separation was enough for him to forget how much my existence bothers him. That or Alzheimer’s was setting in when he signed me on to work in the same building as him.”
Sho looked down awkwardly while Ohno seemed to get lost in his thoughts. “… About Saturday, I’m sorry I didn’t say anything in your defense.” Ohno looked surprised. “Honestly, I am. Maki felt bad about the whole thing too, but neither of us felt like it was in our place to interfere.”
Ohno’s soft smile was an indication of his gratitude, but he changed the subject smoothly without comment. “How is Maki-chan doing?”
“She’s good, I think. Busy though.”
“… How are you two doing, as a couple?”
“As a couple? Uh, good… I guess.”
“You guess?” Ohno frowned, but he looked amused.
“Well, yeah. We’re doing fine. Work keeps us both pretty busy, but we get together when we can.”
“Wedding bells in the future?”
“I-… Maybe.” Sho couldn’t help being flustered at the question. He hadn’t been expecting it. “I haven’t thought that far ahead… Is this an interrogation?”
“…No.” Ohno smiled thoughtfully. “…Any reason why you haven’t thought of it?” He paused, Sho looked a little incredulous so he continued. “I’m only asking because you’ve been dating for almost two years now, right? Maki-chan told me. Two years is a pretty serious time, assuming you’re serious about her. And if you’re serious about her, I’d take that to mean you’re serious about marrying her someday too.”
“… Really?”
“Well, Maki-chan is serious about you, Sakurai-kun.”
The words hung in the air. For some reason, Sho found them almost ominous, and he found his palms were beginning to sweat. Marriage? Was Maki expecting him to marry her any time soon?
“Oh look, it’s just about lunch time!” Ohno exclaimed suddenly, a dopey grin on his face as the subject of the conversation was changed once again. Sho blinked his way back into reality. “Maki-chan isn’t coming to visit you today is she?”
“…Um, n-no… She won’t be able to this week, I don’t think.” Suddenly, the idea of eating by himself and undoubtedly mulling over his future was not at all appetizing and, on a whim, he asked if Ohno felt like going out with him. “…For lunch, I mean.”
Ohno laughed loudly and nodded, ushering him out the door and past all the cubicles to the elevators. “Do you have a place in mind? I tend to hole up in my office for lunch.” He chuckled, pressing the ground floor button. “I’m not particularly social… I think most of my coworkers think I’m weird.”
Sho pursed his lips, trying not to admit he thought the same way.
Ohno, however, seemed as though he could read minds. “Don’t worry. I already figured you did too, Sakurai-kun. But now you’re taking me out to lunch!” He grinned lazily; it was a rather goofy expression. “Does this mean we’re friends?”
“I… guess so. One of my good friends works at a nice café around the block. I’ll introduce you to him if he’s there.”
Ohno’s grin widened and he let Sho lead the way out of the lobby and down the sidewalk. Sho thought, as they walked in companionable silence and Ohno seemed to get distracted by counting cracks in the cement, that the main part of Ohno’s charm was actually his weirdness… as weird as that was.
+++
“Today he ripped my apron in half.” Aiba pouted, speaking loudly enough for Nino in the back room of the video store to be able to hear him.
“In half?” Nino called back, disbelieving.
“Well, close to it!” Aiba held up the red material, frowning at the ragged edge where the bottom of his apron had been torn off. “I salvaged it though, so I’ll probably try and sew it myself later…” He pulled the torn scrap out of his pocket and held it up where it should have been affixed.
“You?” Nino frowned, coming out of the back room with a cardboard box of new releases cradled in his arms. “Bad idea Aiba, you and anything involving needles is not something that should be considered safe or legal, and I doubt it will end well.”
Aiba’s pout deepened as he followed his shorter friend and watched him begin to put out the display of newly released films. “That’s not true. I might not have any experience with sewing, but I don’t think I’m going to be dangerous about it.”
“You are a horrific accident waiting to happen, no matter what you’re doing. I don’t want to be up all night worrying about you stabbing your eye out or something. My gaming will suffer.”
“Aw, you’re worried about me!” Aiba nudged him, leaning close to watch him blush and fumble not to drop the DVD case he was holding. “You’re so adorable sometimes, Ninomiya.”
“Shut up.” He grumbled. “And give me that before you go.”
“…What?”
“The apron. I’ll try and fix it for you.”
“Thanks!” Aiba beamed, pulling the red apron over his head and rolling the torn chunk up in it. “You’re awesome, Nino-chan!”
Nino laughed shortly, placing the last of his armful onto the shelves. “I know.” He paused, examining his arrangement for a moment before deciding everything was in order and turning to his friend. “You can stick it in my bag, in the backroom.”
Aiba thanked him again and bounded off, while Nino busied himself with tidying up the store. “I didn’t know you sewed though, that’s a surprise.”
“I’ve fixed buttons before, that’s all.” Nino replied. “But this can’t be too difficult. I’ll figure it out.”
Aiba hummed thoughtfully, hoisting himself up to sit on the counter by the register while Nino went round to stand behind it. “You should teach me sometime, so I can do these things myself.” He swung his legs a little. “It’s not really fair for me to depend on you for so much.”
“I don’t mind.” Nino mumbled, intently wiping down the keys of the cash register.
“Really?” Aiba grinned over his shoulder at the shorter man.
Nino frowned. “I mean… I don’t mind that you depend on me sometimes.”
“What? No, no, I’m serious. You do too much. You even agreed to help me with that dance class!” He swiveled a little so he could nudge Nino teasingly. “You’re lucky I’m such a nice guy. You’ll get taken advantage of if you’re that giving to anybody else!”
Nino narrowed his eyes at him, opening his mouth to dish out the expected witty rebuttal, but he was cut off when the door opened with a loud jangle. “Welcome!” He called cheerily, whipping around to smile at the newcomer and shoving Aiba off of the counter in the same movement. “How can I- Oh, it’s just you.”
Aiba managed to land on his feet and keep his balance, and hurriedly turned to greet the man in the doorway. “Oh! It’s Toma-kun!”
“Hey! Are you finished for the day, Aiba-kun?” Toma asked, heading towards the back room. He peeled off his coat, revealing the video store’s uniform black polo shirt underneath. “Or just visiting?”
“Just visiting.” He checked his watch. “Oh, and I should probably head back. We’re really busy setting up for the sale that starts tomorrow.”
“When are you finished?” Nino asked.
“At closing. Becky-chan had to call off so I’m covering her shift today too… Why? Were you wanting to do something?”
“I was thinking we could grab supper or something if our schedules were similar. But I’m off at four, and I’m not hanging around ‘til nine.”
“Ah, that’s okay.” Aiba said, watching curiously as Nino bent over to look around beneath the counter. “I’ll just grab something at the convenience store.”
“Where’d you put your coat?” Nino straightened, frowning. “The back room?”
“Oh, I didn’t bother wearing one over.” He cringed as Nino’s frown deepened. “I was only going next door! It’s no big deal, really.”
“Are you an idiot? It’s getting cold out lately! If you get sick I’m not coming over to mother you. Seriously.”
“Don’t worry!” Aiba backed towards the door, and Nino’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I promise I’ll wear it from now on, okay? Happy?”
“You’d better.” Nino grumbled. “Text me when you get home, ‘k?”
Aiba raised an eyebrow. “So you can check that I’m wearing my coat? I promise, I’ll wear it.”
“No, because you’ll be waiting at a bus stop late at night and there’s been a creepy homeless guy sleeping under that bench lately.”
“Oh.” Aiba opened the door and looked in the direction of the bus stop in question. “Yeah, I’ll text then.” He brightened and waved. “Talk to you later!”
Nino waved back, and then jumped as Toma’s voice spoke up from the nearest aisle. “You two married yet?”
Nino glared at his co-worker and busied himself with removing and re-inserting the roll of receipt paper in the register.
+++
“Nice to meet you, Ohno-san.” Jun bowed, straightening up and bringing his pencil to the notepad in his hand. “Can I get you two drinks to start?”
“I’ll have water, Jun-kun.” Sho smiled.
Jun turned questioning eyes to the other business man, who seemed to be thoroughly distracted by lining his utensils up in a perfect line atop his napkin. “…Ohno-san?”
Ohno looked up at the waiter with a start. “Oh!” He blinked rapidly, as though to clear his thoughts. “Ah, you have a very nice bowtie, Matsumoto-san…”
Jun raised his eyebrows, shooting Sho a bewildered and questioning look from the corner of his eye. “Thanks. It’s part of the uniform…” Ohno just smiled sleepily at him, and Jun turned to Sho for help.
“Uh, Ohno-kun, he’s asking what you want to drink…”
“Oh! Sorry…” He frowned thoughtfully for a moment, but was interrupted by his cell phone ringing in his pocket. “Ah! Sorry, sorry.” He glanced at the ID and frowned before standing. “I… should take this. I’ll have what ever Sakurai-kun’s having, Matsumoto-san.” He promptly hurried outside, phone already pressed to his ear.
Jun jotted down another water and raised an eyebrow at Sho. “Your friend is weird.”
“I- well-… yeah.” Sho shrugged, mildly flustered. At least Jun seemed amused, he reasoned. “But he’s interesting.”
Jun raised his gaze to watch Ohno’s figure on the sidewalk outside of the café, talking into the phone with an expression of pouty despair. “He certainly seems to be.” He agreed and flipped his notepad shut. “I’ll come back when you’ve both had time to look at the menu.”
Ohno returned a minute later, looking aggravated and apprehensive. He stood by the table instead of sitting.
“Is something wrong?”
“Uh, that was my father…” He began awkwardly, fiddling with his hands and frowning at the table surface as though it had wronged him. “Apparently, he’s not happy I chose today to make lunch plans.” A heavy sigh.
“Do you have to go?”
Ohno scrunched his face up and shook his head. “No… See, I explained that you’d invited me to a café, and he said that was perfect because he though you should meet her too…” He slumped into the booth. “I’m sorry, Sakurai-kun. He asked for the address and I couldn’t refuse to tell him. They’re sending her over by car now, so she’ll probably be here any minute…”
“Wait a second, who? Who’s coming?” Sho frowned.
“The Inoue girl.” Ohno’s lip jut out and he slumped further down into the seat.
Jun approached the table, eyeing Ohno’s pose warily. “…Are you ready to order?”
Ohno responded with a disgruntled whining noise, and Sho cleared his throat. It took him a moment to shake off his bewilderment about the whole situation. “Uh, no. Apparently, we’re going to have a third person joining us.”
“He said Inoue Yoshiko-san was going to discuss business things over lunch with him, and she hinted really heavily that I should have lunch with her daughter. Why me?!”
“…I’ll get another place setting.” Jun announced before walking off.
“Uh… Ohno-kun, it’s probably just because she wouldn’t find the business discussion interesting, and you’re both the children of company presidents, right? Plus, you’re probably the only high-ranked person she knows from the company. It’d be weird to send her to lunch with someone else, and rude just to leave her on her own. It makes sense, even if you don’t like it.”
“Here.” Jun returned and set the extra glass, utensils, and napkin down next to Ohno’s spot in the booth. “I’ll come back when your guest has arrived and you’re ready to order.”
“Thanks, Jun-kun.”
“Yeah… but it’s really annoying, Sakurai-kun. She doesn’t even like me! Why is she agreeing to this? I don’t get it…”
Sho sighed, and his eyes drifted towards the entrance to the café. A girl had just entered, and her eyes landed on both their table and the brown-haired businessman slumped across from Sho. “O-Ohno-san, sit up. I think she’s here.”
Ohno began struggling into a sitting position, he looked towards her too and she started walking towards them. Her heeled, knee-high, boots clicked on the floor as she approached. Her dark hair was pulled up into a neat ponytail, save for the loose strands framing her face, and her clothes weren’t flashy, but were clearly well made and probably very expensive. She was pretty, but not trying to flaunt it with excessive makeup. Sho was a little surprised that she was the girl Ohno had described. He’d been picturing something entirely different.
“Inoue Mao-san, I presume?” Sho stood and asked as she stopped in front of their table. He slipped a business card out of the cardholder in his pocket. “I’m Sakurai Sho, Chief Financial Officer of ShunTaro Inc.”
“Nice to meet you Sakurai-san.” She accepted the card politely and then turned to the other businessman with a weary sigh. “Ohno-san.” She nodded.
“Hey.” He nodded back, and slid deeper into the booth to make room for her beside him.
She sat gingerly and began examining the menu.
“So, Inoue-san, how long has it been since you were last in Tokyo?” Sho asked, attempting to avoid an awkward silence.
“I moved to New York when I was seven, came back for two years in high school to refresh my memory of the Japanese language, and this is the first I’ve been back here since.
“I see… And are you enjoying your stay so far?”
“I’ve only been here a few hours, and I’m incredibly jet-lagged.” She glanced up from the menu. “No offence, Sakurai-san, but I’d much rather be sleeping right now than here having such an uptight and professional conversation.”
Ohno chuckled and took a swig of his water.
“…Okay then…” Sho cleared his throat, trying to think of something less impersonal to talk about. “I hear you and Ohno-kun used to take lessons together. Is that a better topic?”
She looked between them and tensed visibly. “… Let’s not talk about Ohno-kun and I.”
“Why not?” Ohno frowned.
She pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes closed. “Because, our history isn’t particularly interesting.”
“As long as you want us to act more unprofessional, let’s talk about why you don’t like me.” Ohno pouted. “We got along when you were little. I was actually sad when you moved away! I thought we were almost friends!”
She took a deep breath and set her menu down. “It’s not that I don’t like you.”
“Then why are you so mean?”
Sho ran a hand over his face in exasperation. His colleague looked more like a disgruntled five year-old than a man in his early thirties.
“Because, I don’t want to date you.”
Ohno blinked with surprise and confusion. “…Well, I don’t want to date you either.” He announced.
Inoue raised her eyebrows for a moment. “…Really?”
“Of course!”
To Sho’s surprise, Inoue sighed with obvious relief. “Thank God.” She laughed, burying her face in her palms. “That definitely makes things easier.”
“…I’m confused.” Sho admitted. Ohno nodded his agreement vigorously. “You thought this was a date?”
“It probably is one.” She said, reaching for her water. “I know for a fact that my mother wants to set us up. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was convincing your father to agree with her.”
“I doubt Ohno-kun’s father would-“
“He might, actually. If it meant that the merger would go through…” Ohno interrupted, looking concerned.
“But, he knows that you would never be interested in-“
“Still. I wouldn’t be surprised if he asked me to pretend. Or if he’s still holding out hope that I’ll change my ways…”
Inoue looked a little confused by the businessmen’s exchange but she didn’t ask. “I’ve already told my mother that I’m not interested in you, but she doesn’t really care. As long as it would be good for the company, she thinks we could learn to love each other later on.”
Ohno scrunched his face up. “I don’t think so.”
She frowned at him. “As much as I feel I should be offended, I have to say that I agree. No way would I ever fall for you.”
Sho chuckled. “You sound awfully sure about that, Inoue-san.”
“My given name is fine, and I have my reasons.”
“But you might realize that he’s strangely charming once you get to know him better, Mao-chan.” Sho teased.
Ohno grinned. “Are you falling for me, Sakurai-kun?”
Sho’s cheeks burned red, and the two across the table from him laughed evilly.
“Are you ready to order yet?” Jun reappeared.
“Oh, right. I think so…” Sho answered. “Are you two?”
“Sure…” Ohno frowned thoughtfully at the menu while Mao nodded and flipped through in search of whatever had earlier caught her interest.
“Okay, well… I’ll have the Chicken Vegetable soup, with the garden salad side.”
“Okay.” Jun quickly scribbled down Sho’s order. “And… Ohno-san?”
“Um…” Ohno mused, frowning helplessly at the menu before turning his concerned gaze to Jun. “Is it delicious?”
Jun blinked. “The… soup?”
“Yeah, is it a delicious soup?” Ohno asked completely seriously. Mao covered her mouth to stifle a snicker, while Sho resisted the urge to facepalm.
“Uh…” Jun cleared his throat awkwardly, as if he too was trying not to laugh. “Yes, I’d say it is.”
“Oh good, I’ll get the same as Sakurai-kun then, Matsumoto-san.” He closed his menu happily.
“And you, Miss?” Jun turned to the young woman at the table and she looked up, mouth open with a ready response.
… But the response didn’t come. She froze upon really looking at the waiter for the first time, eyes going slightly wide before her brow furrowed. “You… Your name is Matsumoto?” Her gaze flickered to the nametag bearing his surname, confirming what she’d heard Ohno call him by a moment earlier.
“Yes… I’m Matsumoto.” He answered hesitantly, looking at her a little closer as well. “… Have we met before?”
She ignored his question, standing to see him better. “You’re Matsumoto… Jun?”
He blinked in surprise. “Yes, you know me?”
A wide grin split her face and she impulsively threw her arms around him, pulling him to her in a tight hug. Jun seemed utterly flabbergasted. “You don’t recognize me?” She asked when she pulled back. “Inoue Mao! We danced together for the school musical in eleventh grade! You taught me all the choreography!”
Jun’s eyes shot wide as well. “Mao-chan?!”
“You remember!” She beamed.
“Of course! But, you look so different now! I didn’t recognize you at first. Did you get contacts?”
She nodded, and they were interrupted when Ohno choked a little on one of the ice cubes in his water. “Ahck… sorry… continue.” He spluttered.
“Oh, actually, I should get back to work.” Jun grimaced. “What did you want to order?”
“Oh, um, anything’s fine. I’ll have what they’re having.”
“Great, I’ll be back soon with your meals.” He added her order to the paper and turned to go, but Mao hurriedly stopped him.
“Wait, can I see that?” She took the notepad and pencil from him, flipped to a new page, and hastily scrawled something down.
Jun looked quizzically at her as she handed the items back. “This is…?”
“My cell phone number.” She blushed. “Call me sometime, we should catch up.”
Jun smiled, tore the sheet out and slipped it in his pocket. “Sure thing.”
Once the waiter excused himself, Ohno turned practically sideways in the booth to fix her with a knowing grin. Sho failed miserably at hiding his own amusement at the redness of her cheeks. “So…” He began, but Ohno cut him off with a small, but suggestive, chuckle-fit.
Mao avoided both of their gazes. “Shut up.” She grumbled, but the retort lacked any bite. Despite her attempts to look annoyed at their teasing throughout the course of the meal, she had a very hard time keeping the happiness out of her expression for long.
+++
“Ouch!” Nino hissed, as a sudden pounding on his door led him to jolt in surprise and prick his finger. He set the red cloth he was attempting to sew carefully aside and stuck his bleeding digit into his mouth as he approached his front entrance.
He wasn’t surprised to find Aiba on the other side, but he was surprised to find the other man in tears.
“A-Aiba?!” He exclaimed, popping his finger out of his mouth and going immediately from annoyed to concerned.
“Nino-chan…” Aiba said quietly, voice wavering. He stepped inside and slumped to the floor where he began to pull off his shoes.
Nino crouched in front of him, trying to see his friend’s down-turned face. “What happened? Are you okay?” He demanded. His thoughts were jumping to terrifying conclusions, several involving the homeless guy from the bus stop that he had warned his friend about earlier.
Aiba set his shoes neatly beside a pair of Nino’s boots and sniffed. He took a deep, shuddering, breath as though to calm himself, but when he spoke his voice cracked almost immediately. “…They’re getting r-rid of Chubby!”
Nino paused a moment to feel relieved that his friend hadn’t been harassed, assaulted, or something equally disturbing on the way over, and then heaved a sigh. “Come on.” He said, taking Aiba’s arm and helping him to his feet. Aiba stumbled along miserably as he was led to Nino’s couch. “I’ll get you a drink, and you can tell me all about it.”
+++
to be continued…
I don't really have much to say about this one... Sorry for a bit of a longer wait than I anticipated. My inspiration has been seriously lacking lately, in light of recent world events. I hope all of you are safe and well!
Thanks for reading!
NEXT>>