Not him, You! - Part 2
Once he got home, Nino lay down on the couch, too tired to move. He had spent the whole day studying in the library with Ohno. Unlike his friend, Nino barely took any rest. The only break he took was during lunch. And, that was 7 hours ago. Now, he was tired and also hungry.
If only Ohno was here to cook for him. But, he didn’t think the man would be home soon. Ohno must be going out to have dinner with Sho. So, he will be eating dinner alone tonight. Great!
What should he eat, then? Too lazy to cook on his own left him with two options. Should he spend some money to get food delivered to him? Or he could just eat instant ramen.
Ah, maybe he should just skip dinner. The moment he thought of it, the door was unlocked from the outside and Ohno appeared. The man stared at Nino with a pout. Ohno pulled Nino to sit before taking a seat next to him with his head on Nino’s shoulder.
"Nino!" Ohno whined. "Why do you leave me? We should go home together, you know!"
Nino could only smile as he caressed Ohno’s head gently. Once again, he thought of how cute Ohno was, especially when he acted childish like this.
“Why are you here?” Asked Nino instead. “Shouldn’t you go and eat with your friend? You have a lot to catch up on, right?”
Sho took the trouble to come here to meet Ohno. So, Nino didn’t think he would go home after seeing Ohno for only a few minutes.
Ohno responded with a pout. “He invited me out,”
“Then, why didn’t you go with him?”
“If I go with him, you will be alone,”
The moment Nino heard the words that came out of Ohno’s mouth, his heart skipped a beat. What a weird feeling this was! Weird but pleasant. That’s what he felt. Maybe because he was happy that Ohno still prioritized him over his crush.
Yes, that’s what he thought upon seeing Ohno and Sho together. Ohno had a crush on Sho. He could see it from the way Ohno looked at Sho. And, perhaps the feeling was mutual as Sho also gave the same look to Ohno. Realizing this, Nino couldn’t help but wonder how his relationship with Ohno would change if Ohno and Sho got together. Maybe they would spend less time together.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” said Nino.
“But…” Ohno countered. “If I’m not here, you will be skipping dinner, right?”
Nino responded with a weak smile. Ohno understood him well to know what he would do if Ohno didn’t show up.
“Still… he comes here to visit you. So, it’s impolite for you to turn him down,”
“Don’t worry,” said Ohno, smiling. “I’ve asked him to come here after he buys dinner for us,”
Nino’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe that Ohno would do something like that. He made Sho buy dinner for them.
“Sneaky, aren’t you?”
“I learn from the best. After all, he wants to treat me for dinner. I merely asked him to buy for you too since we are a set,”
Nino stuck his tongue out at Ohno. “When did he get here?”
“This evening,” informed Ohno. “He arrived in Japan two days ago and after spending some time with his family, he came here to visit me. And, since I didn’t answer his call earlier, he thought of going to the library to do some reading. And, when he saw us heading out of the library, he followed us,”
“Oh, what a coincidence!” commented Nino. Then, thinking that it was the perfect moment to ask the most important question, he added. “So, when are you going to confess to him?”
Ohno tilted his head, looking confused. “Confess? To whom?”
“To Sho-chan, of course,” stated Nino matter-of-factly. “I know you have a crush on him,”
The look of surprise on Ohno’s face was too comical. So, Nino couldn’t stop himself from laughing. However, he ended up bewildered when Ohno roared with laughter too.
“Nino!” uttered Ohno. “This is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard in my life,”
“But…”
Ohno didn’t give him a chance to say anything as he quickly cut him off.
“I don’t have a crush on Sho. He is just a friend, okay?”
“But…” Nino refused to believe he was wrong. “I saw the way you looked at him. You are so happy. Your eyes were sparkling,”
“Of course, I am happy,” retorted Ohno. “It’s been a while since the last time I met him. Wouldn’t you be happy to meet your long lost friend?”
“But…”
Before Nino could say anything, Ohno took both his hands and gripped them firmly. The action surprised Nino, making him unable to utter anything as he stared straight into Ohno’s eyes.
“Believe me. It’s not him,”
“Ok-okay,”
Nino finally said, having lost the will to argue with Ohno. His friend slowly let go of his hands and then lightly flicked his nose before leaning on the couch. Nino decided to let the matter slide. Perhaps he was indeed wrong.
Then, he realized something.
“It’s not him,” Nino mumbled, repeating the words that Ohno had just said a few minutes ago.
“What did you say?”
Nino squinted his eyes at Ohno and then expressed his thoughts.
“You have a crush on someone, right?”
“Huh?”
“You said it earlier…” Nino became even more confident with his theory when he noticed the way Ohno’s face turned scarlet. What he thought was true! Indeed, there’s someone that Ohno likes. But, the person wasn’t Sho. It was someone else. Hmm, who could it be? He tapped his chin, thinking of the possible candidate. But, no one came into his mind.
“Tell me who that person is!” pleaded Nino, finally giving up in trying to figure it on his own. “I can help you confess to that person,”
Knowing Ohno had a soft spot for him, he tried to look as adorably as possible. However, Ohno refused to meet his eyes. If he looked at Nino, it would be impossible to refuse.
“Pleaseeeee…” Nino whined as a final attempt. When he heard a sigh coming from Ohno, he knew it was his win.
“Okay, I will tell you who that person is…”
Nino was about to scream excitedly. But, it was stopped short because of what Ohno said next.
“... only after you answer my question,”
He hesitantly nodded.
“Okay…” Ohno took a deep breath. “How do you feel when you know I love someone?”
Nino tilted his head. The way Ohno asked the question made him feel weird. Of course, Nino was happy. Why wouldn’t he be happy? Ohno had found his true love.
But...
“Answer me honestly, okay?” continued Ohno when Nino didn’t say anything.
“I’m happy for you, Ohchan…” He finally answered. He meant every word.
“But…” As if he knew what was on Nino’s mind, Ohno probed him to elaborate.
Nino let out a sigh and then closed his eyes. He didn’t know. He was happy for Ohno, that was certain. But, why did he feel pain as well? It could be because of the loneliness that he would feel once Ohno and that person get together. They would spend less time together and the man would be Ohno’s priority. He didn’t want to lose that privilege. He enjoyed being spoiled by Ohno.
And, the pain was getting unbearable once he thought of how… ah… he shouldn’t be thinking about that.
Without realizing it, tears started to flow from his eyes. Heck, why was he crying?
“Nino…” Ohno said, sounding worried. “Why are you crying?”
“I…” He was too overwhelmed to talk properly. Seeing his reaction, Ohno simply pulled him into a hug. Neither said anything. Only silence surrounded them. It was comfortable to be hugged by Ohno like this. But… he quickly shook his head. Once again, it was painful to imagine Ohno with another person. And, slowly, he understood his true feeling. He was jealous. He didn’t want to share Ohno with someone else. Only he could be at the receiving end of Ohno’s love. Urgh, why was he so immature?
“I’m sorry,” Ohno finally broke the silence. Nino looked at him, eyes full of questions.
“Why are you apologizing?” asked Nino confusedly. “You did nothing wrong,”
Ohno didn’t immediately answer him. Instead, he softly caressed his face before putting a kiss on his forehead.
“I was selfish, Nino,” answered Ohno. “I shouldn’t ask you that question. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… well…”
“Maybe I shouldn’t push you to tell me about the person that you love,” mumbled Nino, realizing this happened because he was being pushy first. “When you asked me how I feel about you and your crush, I just…” Nino stopped himself. “I’m sorry. Let’s not talk about this anymore,”
Nino tried to walk away but Ohno stopped him. After all, he was stronger than Nino.
The two of them stared at each other, waiting for the other to talk. As Ohno was the one who stopped him from going, he decided to wait for the man.
“Nino…” Ohno began after a while. “I… I don’t know how to say this. But, when I said you are my boyfriend… I wasn’t joking. I want it to be true because… because… hmmm… you’re the person I’m in love with,”
Nino’s eyes opened wide, finding it hard to believe what he heard. Did Ohno just confess to him? Or was it just his imagination?
“I hope you will feel the same way too,” Ohno continued. “But, if you don’t feel…”
“I love you too,” Nino immediately cut him off. Ohno was startled at first. But, once he realized what had happened, a big smile adorned his face.
“Do you mean it? Do you mean what you say? Or are you just…”
“Yes!” once again, Nino didn’t let him talk. “I mean what I say, Ohchan. I love you. I want…”
This time, it was his turn to be cut off by Ohno. His friend… or perhaps his boyfriend… started kissing him hungrily. And, of course, Nino responded to it. He was happy. It felt good to kiss Ohno.
“Anyway…” Ohno suddenly stopped. “Do you know what day today is?”
Nino frowned. Once again, he was confused. Why did Ohno stop kissing him to ask a simple question like that?
“Of course I know. It’s Thursday,”
Ohno responded with a chuckle. “I’m sorry. I should rephrase the question. What I mean to ask… what is today’s date?”
“It’s June…”
Nino trailed off as he finally realized what Ohno was trying to say. Today is June 17th, which mean, today is…
“Happy birthday, Kazunari,” Ohno pecked his lips. “Let me be your present tonight,”