Not for Sale - Part 6
Jun could feel his steps getting heavier as he approached the house. He was afraid. Afraid of his roommate. Nino might be small but he could be scary when he was angry. They often teased each other. But, this time… Jun had been awful to him and there's no way Nino would let it slide. If Nino simply pulled a prank on him, he wouldn’t mind. But, what if Nino gave him a silent treatment? He didn’t want Nino to ignore him.
Nothing could justify what he did. It was done because he was annoyed at Nino. He had been nagging at the man to do the chores. But, Nino was so lazy especially when he had a new game to play. So, when Aiba suddenly commented on weird things people put up for sale, Jun decided to try selling Nino to teach his roommate a lesson. It was fun at first when Nino came out of the room, raging at him. But, Jun regretted it almost immediately when someone purchased Nino, worried that what he did might put Nino in danger. Everyone should know it was just a joke. So, if anybody decided to buy Nino, that person must be weird. And perhaps, dangerous.
But, the stupid Aiba had insisted that the man named Ohno, who also happened to be his boss, was nice. When Nino called the man to talk about the purchase, his friend seemed to be comfortable talking with Ohno. That’s why Jun didn’t object when Nino agreed to meet the weird buyer. But, of course, he wouldn’t let Nino go to meet the man alone. He would tag along, making sure Ohno wouldn’t do anything weird to his roommate.
Today, however, Nino changed his mind about going. It’s understandable. Nino must be nervous and afraid to meet the stranger who seemed to know him. So, Jun wouldn’t force him to go. Instead, he would go to meet Ohno for two reasons. First, he had to return the money to Ohno. Second… well, he was worried about what Ohno would do if Nino didn’t show up. The man seemed determined to meet Nino. If he was left waiting for Nino without any explanation, maybe he would do something that put Nino in danger. So, to prevent this from happening, Jun had to meet the man and warn him not to bother Nino anymore.
But, things didn’t go as he planned upon meeting Ohno. As much as he wanted to respect Nino’s decision, he was defeated by Ohno’s puppy eyes. The man begged him. No matter what, Ohno had to see Nino. And, this rarely happened… but, Jun couldn’t say no to Ohno. So, reluctantly, he brought Ohno home, which resulted in Nino’s wrath. To make things worse, he had locked the two of them together in the house. Damn! Why did he do that? Why would he go to such length just so Nino and Ohno could talk?
Ah, why was he lamenting about this? What’s done is done. There’s no use regretting it. Instead, he should be thinking about how to apologize to Nino.
Jun was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t realize he had finally arrived home. However, he was still reluctant to open the door. His mind went blank. He didn’t know what to do.
“Well, here goes nothing,”
Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and was greeted by the sound from the television. Both Nino and Ohno were on the couch and Ohno was sleeping with his head on Nino’s lap. The sight surprised Jun especially when he noticed Nino was caressing Ohno’s hair softly.
Awh, they looked cute together. Had Ohno told Nino about their past? He must have and that’s why they got along well.
But, regardless of the result of the confrontation between Nino and Ohno, his roommate was still angry at him. Jun could sense it. Nino barely looked at him even though it was evident he had noticed Jun was home.
“Nino,”
He called the name softly, hoping for some reaction from his roommate. And, as he expected, Nino continued caressing Ohno’s hair without any indication that he heard what Jun had said. So, Jun raised his voice a little bit. Still, no response from Nino. Jun took a deep breath, ready to approach Nino but he was stopped short when the small man finally looked at him with a murderous glare.
Oh man, he’s in deep shit.
“You’re loud,” said Nino coldly. “You will wake him up,”
Nino pointed at Ohno before returning his focus to the man sleeping on his lap. Since the two of them were still locked inside the house, they decided to watch the television. However, five minutes into the show, Ohno already started snoring. So, Nino ordered him to lie down. Ohno did so without objection and with a big smile on his face. The man fell asleep almost immediately and despite the noise coming from the television, Nino had no idea what was on it as his attention was fully on Ohno.
And, of course, he had noticed Jun had returned. He could see from the corner of his eyes the stupid smile that was on Jun’s face when he found Nino and Ohno together on the couch. Whatever.
As he was still mad at Jun… yeah, go to hell with Ohno’s explanation… he wouldn’t forgive Jun easily. Yes, Ohno had explained… yes, he could understand… Still, it would be better if he let Jun suffer, right? That would teach the man a lesson for messing up with him.
But, he hadn’t thought of a way to deal with Jun yet. Blame it on the man who was sleeping on his lap. Since meeting Ohno and knowing about their past, the man pretty much occupied most of his thoughts.
So, he would punish Jun later. For now, he would just ignore his roommate.
“Sorry…” Jun said, looking guilty.
Nino tried to keep his expression neutral. How he loved the look on Jun’s face right now. But, he couldn’t laugh, afraid that Jun would think that he was only pretending to be mad.
“Nino…” Jun took a deep breath and called him again, softer this time. “I want…”
“Not now, Junny,” Nino cut him off. He tried not to raise his voice so that Ohno won’t wake up. Nevertheless, it still affected Jun the way he wanted it to be. His roommate flinched upon hearing him. “I don’t want to talk with you right now. So, just go!”
“But…”
“Go!”
Nino was firm with his decision. So, with a heavy step, Jun walked away from the living room and went to his room. Before Jun entered the room, he looked back at Nino, perhaps hoping that Nino would change his mind. But, Nino kept his eyes locked on Ohno as if the man was the most interesting thing in the world. Well, perhaps he was… at least for Nino. Noticing that, Jun simply entered his room without saying anything to Nino.
“Are you still mad at Matsumoto-san?”
Nino almost squeaked when he heard Ohno talked with his eyes remained closed. Without thinking, Nino pushed the man away from him.
“Pretending to be sleeping, are you?” scolded Nino.
“Ouch!” yelped Ohno. His tone, however, indicated that he was not in pain at all. “I’m not pretending, okay. I was sleeping but I woke up when Matsumoto-san came home,”
“Whatever,” Nino scowled at the man. “And, to answer your question… of course, I’m still mad at Junny. He sold me! I have to make him suffer first before I forgive him,”
“But, isn’t it better to forgive without torturing him?” asked Ohno. “I mean… well… I don’t know much about your relationship with him… but… from what I see, I think you two enjoy teasing each other. So… hmmm… I don’t want to accuse you… but, perhaps… you might also… you know… going overboard with your jokes with him,”
Almost immediately, Nino thought of a prank he did to Jun a long time ago. He pretended to be dead when Jun got home. Oh my… he won’t forget how terrified Jun was at that time. And, when he revealed it was just a prank to Jun, the man refused to talk to him for hours. But, when Nino apologized to his roommate, the man quickly forgave him and made him swear that he won’t joke about a serious matter like that again.
If Jun could forgive him for that, why couldn’t he forgive Jun now? He had no idea. Maybe because he didn’t like anyone messing with him.
“It’s late already,” said Ohno, breaking Nino out of his thoughts. “I should probably get home,”
“You want to go now?” said Nino, feeling unhappy to hear it.
Why did he sound disappointed to know Ohno was going to go home? Urgh, he hated feeling like this!
Nino tried to fight the blush that he could feel forming when he noticed Ohno had a weird smile on his face. Damn! This man must be thinking that Nino enjoyed being with him. That was not the case at all! Nino was… hmm… he just didn’t want to be alone with Jun right now. Yes, that’s the reason for his disappointment.
“Can I have your number?” asked Ohno shyly.
“My number? Why do you want my number?”
What a stupid question! Of course, Ohno was asking for his number so that he could contact Nino later. As if Nino would let him.
“I want to call you tonight… hmm… if it’s okay with you,” answered Ohno. “Or maybe we could have lunch together sometime later… how can I contact you if I don’t have your number… I mean… I could ask Matsumoto-san or Aiba-san for your number… but, I don’t think they will give it to me. That’s why I ask you directly. So, can I have your number?”
Nino tried to hide his smile as he found how cute Ohno was when he talked. Even though the man was pretty direct with his word, Nino could see he was nervous. The way he stuttered as he talked was enough to prove it.
“No, you cannot have my number,” Nino stuck his tongue at Ohno, enjoying the pout that was on Ohno’s face because of his refusal. “But, if I’m in a good mood…”
Nino deliberately trailed off, excited to know how Ohno will react.
“You will call me tonight!” said Ohno. “Okay, I will look forward to your call,”
“I didn’t say that… it will depend on my mood,”
“I know you will call me,” Ohno smiled. “I will be waiting, okay,”
And, before Nino could retort, the man put a kiss on his cheeks. The action left him in a daze. By the time he realized what had happened, Ohno already left the house.
A/N: So, will Nino call Ohno? What will Nino do to Jun? Let's wait and see!
Comments will be very much appreciated :)