Will you marry me - Our First Meeting
Nino stared at the ring on his finger. The ring was engraved with his initials and Ohno. On the other side, ‘forever’ was written on it. It was simple and yet, it was the most beautiful thing he ever had. A bit excessive, wasn’t it, for their fake wedding?
Ohno was sleeping next to him on their shared futon. They decided to have a movie marathon but Ohno fell asleep while watching so Nino decided to switch it off. He tried to sleep but it was impossible. He kept looking at the ring on his finger, admiring how beautiful it was. His thoughts went to how he first met Ohno. Five years ago, he was scrolling through his phone, looking for a new place to stay and debating if it was cheaper to rent a room in a shared house. He rejected the idea almost immediately. Indeed, it could be cheaper but he didn't think he could live with too many strangers in the same house.
That was when he came across Ohno's ad. The first thing that brought the ad to his attention was the location. The apartment in the ad was only a few blocks from his house, which meant it was near his office too. Secondly, the rent was affordable. The pictures of the house that Ohno put in the ad looked decent enough. But, the thing that made him call the owner was one of the terms and conditions.
Not necessary to socialise with me. A simple greeting when we see each other will be more than enough. PARTIES are not allowed. You can bring guests but please notify me first.
This was perfect, Nino thought. The owner seemed reclusive like him. Without thinking, he called the number on the ad.
"Hello," said Nino once the call was connected. "May I speak to Ohno-san?"
"Yes, this is Ohno," said the person who answered his call. "May I know why you are calling me?"
"I'm Nino and I saw your ad!" Informed Nino. "The one about the apartment… hmm, is the room still available?"
"Yes, it is," answered Ohno. Nino was relieved to hear it. It would be frustrating if someone else got the room.
"Can I come and see it?"
"Hmm… sure… but, did you read the terms and conditions properly? A few people had come over without reading them. They were annoyed when I…"
"About the guest and the party?" Nino didn't let the other man finish. It was rude to do so but he thought this was a chance to prove he read the terms and conditions presented by Ohno. "I read them, Ohno-san. I agree to it,"
"Good!" Responded Ohno. "Hmm… when do you want to see the room?"
"Can I come this afternoon… around two?"
"Okay! I'll be waiting for you, Nino,"
Nino’s eyes widened as he looked at the apartment building in front of him. It seemed like Ohno was generous with the rent. The rent stated in the ad was similar to what he paid for his current house. So, he had expected the building would be for commoners like him. But, the building which stood in front of him was totally different from what he had imagined.
Should he go and see the room? He was anxious. What if he read the rent wrongly? Perhaps because he was just too excited to see how close the place was, he didn’t notice the extra zero in the rent. Or, maybe, Ohno wrongly wrote the amount to pay for the rent. Ah, he didn’t know what to think right now.
Taking a deep breath, Nino took a step forward. He had promised to come. The least he could do was honour the promise. He would see the room and if the rent was way more than his budget, he would tell Ohno the truth. With another sigh, he pressed the bell for Ohno’s house, waiting for the soft voice of Ohno to greet him.
“Hello,” The same voice from his phone call came out of the intercom. Nino instantly recognized it as Ohno’s voice.
“Hi,” responded Nino. “It’s me, Nino. I come to see the apartment,”
“Oh!” said Ohno. “Wait a moment. I will come down to get you,”
Nino waited for several minutes before the door to the building was opened from the inside. An elderly couple came out, eyeing him curiously as if he didn’t belong there. He tried to ignore it, focusing instead on the guy who came out of the building next.
He had been watching the person who entered and left the building. All of them wore expensive and fashionable clothes. Expecting Ohno to be dressed in the same way, Nino was surprised to find the man who had just come out of the building dressed simply in a white t-shirt and a pair of shorts. He looked normal just like Nino.
“Hi,” The man stopped right in front of Nino. “Hmm… are you Nino?”
Being completely dumbfounded by the man’s appearance, Nino could only nod.
“Hmm, do you want to see the apartment?”
“Yes,”
Well, at least, he could talk this time.
“Okay… hmmm… let’s get inside,”
Usually, the resident didn’t need to come down to fetch the visitor. They could simply do so from their apartment. Ohno, however, decided to go down to get Nino so that he could show Nino some of the amenities available in the building. Looking at the gym and pools once again reinforced Nino’s belief that he didn’t belong there. But, he didn’t say anything because he didn’t know how to bring it up.
“And, now, we have arrived at the apartment,” announced Ohno as he turned the knob. “Feel free to look around,”
Nino went inside the house but despite the invitation, he chose to remain in the living room. It was time, to be frank with Ohno.
"Ohno-san…" he started awkwardly. "I'm sorry. I don't think this apartment is for me. When I saw the picture and the rent, I didn't expect it to be… hmm… luxurious,"
He felt bad when he saw the way Ohno's face changed. The other man looked disappointed.
"Did you make a typo on the rent? It is too cheap for this apartment,"
Ohno looked confused at first. But, when he realized what Nino was talking about, he shook his head.
"It is not a typo," answered Ohno. Nino had expected the other man would explain why the rent was so cheap but the man didn't do so. "Hmm… are you sure you don't want to look around first?"
Nino looked at the man, feeling guilty for the trouble he caused. Ohno seemed desperate to get a new roommate. It was just his assumption. But, maybe the apartment was too much for Ohno. But, he loved it so he didn't want to let it go. That was why he was looking for a roommate to share the burden of paying for the apartment.
"Okay, I will look at the room first,"
Ohno beamed happily to hear his response. He eagerly took Nino's hand and led him around the house. He showed him the balcony, the dining room, the kitchen and the bathroom. After he had done with those parts of the house, he finally brought Nino to the hallway where the bedrooms were located.
"We have three rooms. I am working from home so I use one of them as my office and the other as my bedroom. The extra room will be yours. That's why your rent is cheap. You only have one room while I have two,"
Okay, that made sense, admitted Nino.
Ohno opened a door, leading him to one of the rooms.
“This will be yours,” explained Ohno. He stepped aside to let Nino in and Nino was mesmerized to see the sight that greeted him. The wall was painted beautifully in blue and yellow. Usually, Nino would think, it was a weird colour combination. But, the wall in front of him looked so beautiful in those colours. Whoever painted this wall did a great job balancing the two colours.
“Ah, you can paint it with other colours if you don’t like it,” said Ohno. “I want to do it before you come but I was too busy,”
“Why would I paint it?”
“Because it’s ugly,” answered Ohno, looking dejected. “My previous roommates all think it is ugly. They wanted to paint the wall in another colour but I won’t let them,”
Nino rolled his eyes in disbelief. Ugly? Were they all blind? Nino wasn’t an artsy person but even he could see its beauty.
“I love it,” said Nino. “It’s beautiful,”
“Really?”
“Yes, it is beautiful. Why do you sound surprised?”
“Because you’re the first person to compliment it,” said Ohno. “Hmm, so what do you think? Do you want to live here?”
Ohno was looking at him with hopeful eyes. Admittedly, Nino wanted to refuse the man’s offer. But, after being shown around the house, he found it hard to let go of the house. Ohno took good care of it. It was reflected in how clean and beautiful the house was. The building and the other residents made him feel like he didn’t belong in the place. But, being in this apartment with Ohno made him comfortable.
Ohno seemed to be taking his silence as a rejection. He looked away from Nino. His eyes reflected how gloomy he was. Not wanting to torture the man, Nino quickly cleared the misunderstanding.
“I want to stay here,”
And Nino didn’t regret the decision when he saw the smile on Ohno’s face. It was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.
A/N: Initially, I want this part to be how they announced their wedding to their family and friends. Then, I changed my mind to include flashbacks of their lives together. Hope this part is okay.