Cupid - Part 7
Sho? Masaki? What are they doing here, Nino thought. When he noticed something had caught Ohno's attention, he turned around to see what it was. Much to his surprise, Masaki and Sho were outside the cafe and appeared to be in an argument. Also, they didn't seem to notice that Nino and Ohno were aware of their presence.
"What are they doing here?" Nino asked Ohno. "Are they spying on us?"
"Maybe. But why are they arguing?"
“Beats me…” said Nino, still staring at those in wonder. Seriously, what happened? Masaki wasn't the type to start a fight and neither was Sho.
“Maybe we should go and find out,” Ohno suggested.
“Are you sure? We’re in the middle of our date. Why don’t we let them sort it out on their own?” Even though Nino was curious to know what happened between those two, he didn’t want anything else to distract his date with Ohno. Since this morning, there had already been plenty of intrusions because of Masaki and the girls.
However, Ohno only smiled in return as if he knew that a part of Nino was eager to know what happened. He took Nino’s hand and then led him to where Sakurai and Masaki were. They could hear what those two were talking about as they got closer.
"...home!" Said Sho. "Don't bother…"
"How many times do I have to tell you that's not why I'm here,"
Nino and Ohno were right behind Masaki and Sho. However, those two still hadn't noticed them. Not even Masaki who should notice them from his position. His attention was only on Sho, rendering it impossible for him to see Nino and Ohno.
"Then, why are you here? You want to ruin their date, right?"
"No!" Masaki denied. “Maybe you want to ruin their date. Did you forget? You interrupt their kiss!”
Nino and Ohno looked at each other awkwardly, not knowing when to interject their argument. And, apparently, they were arguing because of Ohno and Nino.
“That was an accident!”
“That’s what you said. Who knows… maybe you were hiding in the elevator and chose to come out when they were kissing…”
“Nonsense!” Sho retorted. "Why would I do that?"
"Because you don't like them together,"
"Excuse me, I'm the one who helped them," Sho stated matter-of-factly. His tone indicated how annoyed he was to have this argument with Masaki. "If I don't persuade Matsumoto-san with the deal, Satoshi will not be on a date with Ninomiya-san,"
"The deal?" Said Ohno in a low voice but could still be heard by Nino.
Strangely, with the loud noise around them, Sho and Masaki finally noticed that they had the audience watching their squabble. Masaki took his eyes off Sho, smiling when he saw both Ohno and Nino. On the other hand, Sho hesitantly turned around. He seemed nervous.
“Kazu-chan!” Masaki greeted him. “Why are you here?”
“Shouldn’t I be the one who asked why you are here?” answered Nino. Unlike this morning, he sounded more like his old self when talking to Masaki this time. Thanks to the conversation he had with Ohno earlier, it had helped to sort out his feelings for his ex-boyfriend and he was now calm enough to speak. And tease. “Did you decide to choose the same spot as me for your date with Sakurai?”
“Huh?” Both Masaki and Sho said together. The look on their faces was comical.
“That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard,” Sho said first. “There’s no way I’m going out with him,”
“But you went out with him for breakfast,” Nino pointed out and Sho rolled his eyes.
“He forced me, remember?” Sho snorted. “Obviously, it wasn’t a date. Your friend just wants to gain intel on you and Satoshi. He kept asking questions about the two of you. Then, he follows me here to ruin your date,”
“Don’t accuse me!” Masaki retaliated. “How many times do I have to tell you…”
“No matter how many times you deny, it won’t change my opinion about you,”
“You know what… I don’t care at all what you think of me!”
“Oh,” Mocked Sho. “So you…”
And, so, the second round of bickering between Sho and Masaki continued. Refusing to listen to the same argument again, Nino pulled Ohno away from those idiots. Rather than watching them arguing again, Nino should enjoy his date with Ohno.
When Nino arrived at work on Monday, Jun was sitting at his place, scrolling his phone. Nino stood a few feet away. He wanted to see how long it would take for Jun to notice him. But, the experiment failed when Kame alerted Jun of his arrival, earning a glare from Nino.
“Do you want to change your office with my desk?” Nino said as a way of greeting his friend. “I will gladly accept the offer,”
“Well, good morning to you too, Ninomiya-san,” Jun said, ignoring what he had said. Then, he pulled Nino to sit. “Tell me… how was your date?”
“Why would I tell you?” Nino retorted. He kept his expression neutral, not wanting Jun to have a glimpse of how it went.
“Because I’m your boss,”
"But, this isn't something that I should report to you," Nino reasoned.
"Of course you have to report this to me. I'm the matchmaker for this relationship,"
Nino rolled his eyes. He looked around the office. Besides Kame, there were only two other staff. And all three of them appeared to be focusing on their laptop. But, Nino knew better. They were intrigued to know about his date too.
“Will tell you about it later,” answered Nino, pushing Jun away. To be honest, he wanted to talk about it with his friend. But, not in front of these people. The date was awesome. It went smoothly without Sho or Masaki or other people to disturb them.
After the aquarium, he and Ohno ate lunch together. Then, they walked around in the mall before Ohno suggested they play bowling. After bowling, the two of them had dinner. He spent the whole day with Ohno and he didn’t regret it. Nino even surprised the businessman with a kiss on the cheeks before they parted way that night. Ohno was startled because of the kiss so Nino took the chance to run from him. Once he was home, he received a text from Ohno, which was like this.
Sneak attack, huh?
I hope you will kiss me on the lips next time we see each other 😘
Nino smiled, thinking of that moment. Was it too soon to go on another date with Ohno? He hadn’t sent any text to Ohno yet since the date. But, maybe they could have lunch together today. Hopefully, Ohno would agree. Nino can’t wait to see the businessman again!
“It must be going well,” said Jun, reminding Nino where he was at the moment. Oh my, this was embarrassing! But, he braced himself to look at Jun. As expected, his nosy friend was smirking. Everyone else was still pretending to be doing their work.
“Okay, spill the tea,” Jun said, clapping his hands. “If you’re too shy to talk about it in front of them, let’s go to my office,”
Jun took Nino’s hand, pulling him to follow. However, Kame stopped them.
“I also want to know about Nino’s date,” Kame pleaded. “You haven’t told me who his boyfriend is,”
“You will know it later,” said Jun, ignoring the pout on Kame’s face as he led Nino to his office. Once they were alone, Jun closed the door and the blinds. He took a seat and asked Nino to do the same.
“So, what happened?”
“You know…” Nino began. “If you don’t want them to know about my date, you should stop talking about it in front of them. Poor Kame,”
Jun laughed loudly in return. “Let it be. I enjoy watching Kame trying to figure out who your date is. Oh my, imagine his face when he finally knows you’re dating Ohno-san,”
The look on Jun’s face was pure bliss. Nino could only shake his head. Everyone knew how Jun enjoyed torturing people like that. And, sometimes, Nino would also join forces with him in teasing others. That’s why they were known as the fearsome duo.
"So, what happened?" Jun asked. "What did you guys do?"
"Wow, J! I didn't know you like to gossip like teenage girls,"
"Whatever. Tell me what I want to know,"
"Nothing much, J. We had breakfast together, went to the aquarium then we played bowling. After bowling, we had dinner and then went home,"
"To whose house?"
"To each other's house, of course,"
"You mean… you went home to your house and Ohno-san went back to his house,"
"Yeah… Isn’t it obvious?" said Nino. He didn't understand why Jun looked disappointed. "Where else should I go?"
"To his house, of course!" Jun rolled his eyes in disbelief.
Nino’s jaw dropped as he finally understood what Jun meant. He hadn’t thought of that at all. Wasn’t it still early to do what Jun seemed to imply? After all, they had only been on one date. He didn’t want to rush…
Wait a second…. What was he thinking about? Why was he thinking about that? Both he and Ohno weren't officially dating yet. They were still trying to know each other.
Nino directed his glare at Jun who sighed dramatically. Thanks to his friend, Nino couldn't shake a certain image out of his head.
"Ah, I wasted my Sunday feeling happy because I thought you have finally lost your virginity," Said Jun.
"How do you…" Nino trailed off, realizing what he was about to say. Seriously… how did his friend know about that? It's true, though. Despite being in a relationship with Aiba, Nino was afraid to do more than make out. He wasn't ready for that level of intimacy.
"How do I know you are still a virgin?" Jun asked, finishing the question that Nino had with a smirk. "I know a lot of things, Nino,"
"Urgh, whatever," Nino scoffed. "I'm not an easy person, J. There's no way I'm going to sleep with Ohno-san on our first date,"
“Okay… okay… But, how about the kiss? I heard it was intense,”
“Huh?” Nino couldn’t hide his surprise. Seriously, how did this guy know about this? “Who told you?”
“Aiba-chan,” Answered Jun, smiling widely. “He called me a day before your date with Ohno-san. He asked if you’re okay. So, I asked him to visit you on Saturday morning,”
“What?” Nino didn’t know if Jun was telling him the truth or he just wanted to mess around.
“You heard me,” Jun said. He still had a wide and annoying smile on his face. “I asked him to visit you on Saturday but I didn’t tell him that you had a date with Ohno-san,”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course. I don’t expect he will do it, though. Aiba-chan was still worried that you will not be happy to see him,”
Nino still found it hard to believe Jun would do so. But, this was Jun. If anyone wanted him to suffer, Jun would be that person. He had just a weird sense of humour.
“Okay, I’m sorry. What I did was over the line,” Jun quickly apologized. Nino had no idea what kind of expression he had right now. But, it must be intimidating because Jun seemed horrified. "I wasn't thinking properly. I am afraid that he wants you back and I don't want him to hurt you again. I sent him there so he will know you have moved on,"
"You could at least warn me about it,"
"As I said, I don't expect he will do it. And I don't know he's back in Japan," said Jun, sighing. "But, don't you think it turned out to be okay? I mean… well… at least, you are no longer hung up on Aiba-chan. And from what I heard, both you and Ohno-san enjoy the kiss. So, it wasn't a kiss to make Aiba-chan jealous, right?"
"Urgh… stop talking about the kiss!" Grunted Nino. Until today, he still didn't understand why he kissed Ohno.
“Awh, you’re blushing,” said Jun. He was now back in teasing mode. “Ohno-san must be a good kisser then,”
“If you want to know, try kissing him,” Nino dared his friend who only chuckled in return. “But, be prepared to get a reward from me,”
“So protective, aren’t you?”
"Shut up!" Nino stuck out his tongue at Jun, realizing what he had implied. "What else did Aiba-chan tell you? Did Masaki tell you why he and Sakurai-san appeared unannounced during our date?"
"Eh?" Jun was surprised. "What do you mean? He was in the aquarium with Sakurai-san? Did they know each other?"
Nino shook his head. Then, he told Jun how Aiba-chan had dragged Sho away after the incident in the morning only to appear again at the aquarium. Nino wanted to laugh watching Jun. His friend looked uneasy to hear about Sho and Aiba, making him wonder if Jun was interested in Sho. If this was true, this would be a chance to tease Jun, then! Yes! It’s payback time for the tease about Ohno that he received from Jun.
But, Jun was lucky. Nino won’t be teasing him yet. Maybe he should tease Jun when Sho is around. That would be funnier. He asked for permission to leave and then sent a text to Ohno, asking if the businessman wanted to meet up during lunch.
However, he never received a reply.
“Urgh, do you know how fussy you are?” Nino raised his voice at Honda, his client. He had been trying to pair up Honda with another person. But, the client was too demanding and Nino was at his limit. He couldn’t control his temper so he lashed out without thinking.
Everyone in the office was surprised to hear him yelling. Honda stared at Nino with his eyes wide open, too surprised to say anything. Yes, this was the first time Nino raised his voice at a client. Before this, no matter how challenging the client was, he had never lost his composure. But, this time, he had enough.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Jun suddenly appeared. He tried to calm Honda who stood up. No doubt, he was furious at Nino for what happened. “Ninomiya-san didn’t mean what he said,”
“Really?” Mocked Honda. “Your staff is incompetent. He couldn’t find a perfect lady for me and accuse me of being demanding. This is unacceptable!”
“You…” Nino wanted to defend himself but Jun stopped him with a glare. So, Nino looked away from the stupid client.
“I will take care of this matter,” Jun said. “How about you go home first? When you come again later, we will have your perfect partner ready,”
Honda scoffed, looking at Nino derisively. “I don’t him to be my matchmaker,”
“Okay, I will assign someone else for you,” Jun assured him.
With a snort, the stupid client left them. Nino rolled his eyes as he watched Honda left.
“Trust me, you won’t find anyone for him. Even if you find the perfect person for him, I don’t think she wants to be with him. He is unbearable,”
“In my office now,” Jun said, glaring at Nino. His voice was dangerously low. And, as Nino had known him for a long time, he knew Jun was furious. So, he didn’t say anything and go to the office as instructed. He took a seat as Jun closed the door behind them.
“What’s wrong with you?” Jun asked, sounding concerned. A complete transformation from how he was a few minutes earlier. Seemed like Jun putting up a front earlier to prove to the other staff that he wasn’t playing favourites. Now that it was only the two of them in the office, he switched off his boss-mode. “Why do you yell at him?”
“Because he is a jerk,”
Jun sighed. “You’ve been in a bad mood since Monday. Is this because of Ohno-san?”
Nino glared at Jun, feeling annoyed because Jun mentioned the name. He was angry. It’s been almost a week since their date but Ohno hadn’t replied his text at all. Why? He didn’t understand. Did he do something wrong? But, he couldn’t think of anything. Was it because of the deal that they overheard during Sho’s and Aiba’s argument. Maybe Ohno asked for an explanation from Sho about the deal and found out that Nino only agreed to go on a date with Ohno because of the deal. Now, he must be thinking that Nino wasn’t sincere about everything. But, that’s not true. He should give Nino a chance to explain everything. Not leaving Nino wondering about what happened.
“Stop pouting,” said Jun. “I think Ohno-san forgets to tell you. He’s in LA now because of work. He must be busy and hadn’t had time to reply to your text,”
“Yeah, right,” Nino didn’t believe Jun.
“Sakurai-san told me,” Jun tried to convince him. But, Nino stuck out his tongue at Jun. It’s childish but he was in no mood to work at all. There’s still an hour before office hour ended so he doubted Jun would let him out early.
“Can I go home early today?” Nino asked, trying his luck.
“Sure. You looked awful right now. I don’t want Kame or anyone else to be your next victim,”
Nino thanked his boss and then walked out of the office only to be surprised because of what he saw. The person he had been missing was sitting at his desk, staring straight at him when he left Jun’s office. When their eyes met, the person smiled and then walked towards him.
“Hi, Li… Ah, sorry. Hello, Nino,” Ohno greeted him once he stood in front of him. “I miss you so much,”
Poll
A/N: Not so much Ohmiya in this part. But, I'm so excited to write the next part because it was something that I want to write from the beginning. It has nothing to do with the choice I left in the poll, though.
Let me know what you think of this part, okay? Your comments and thoughts are very much appreciated :)