A Familiar Stranger - Part 5
“Mama!” exclaimed Nino as he let his mother, Kazuko in. “What are you doing here?”
Nino had a mixed feeling about the sudden visit. On one hand, he was happy to see his mother. It’s been a while and he missed her. But, the reason for her visit was obvious. She must be here to talk to Nino about settling down. Since he had been avoiding her call, coming here would be the easiest way to see Nino.
“What do you mean?” She asked back, hugging Nino. “I’m your mother. I can come and visit you whenever I want. Anyway, have you eaten? No, right? I know you, my son. You will be playing games all day and forget to eat,”
She continued nagging without giving Nino a chance to talk. Nino could only sigh as he followed her inside.
“Hmm… But, I smell curry,” his mother said. “Did Masaki make it? You are so lucky because you live with Masaki. Your cousin takes good care of you. But, he’s getting married soon and he will move out. You need to do the same too, Kazunari. Find someone and settle down. Nothing will make me happier than seeing you happy,”
Ah, there she goes. The same thing as always. Nino could already memorize what she was going to say because he heard it too often.
“Go and get ready,” she ordered. “I’m going to bring you to a cafe. There is a waiter I would like you to meet. I’m sure you will like him. He is so…”
She trailed off as they entered the living room. Her eyes were on Ohno who was lying down on the couch. Oh, shit! Ohno was still here! The shock of seeing his mother made him forget about Ohno. As a result, he ended up cursing, earning a glare from his mother. She doesn’t like it when he cursed.
“Is that Masaki?” Asked Kazuko, keeping her voice low. “He looks so small,”
Nino shook his head. “That’s Ohno. He will be my new roommate,” explained Nino. “So… I’m sorry I cannot go out with you. I have company,”
“That's too bad,” His mother pouted. “I want to introduce you to the waiter today,”
Nino shrugged, trying to keep his expression neutral. Maybe it was a good idea to have Ohno around. At least, Nino didn’t have to think of an excuse to escape from his mother today.
“Well, maybe we could go there after you’re done,” said Kazuko, much to his dismay. What should he do? Maybe he should let Ohno stay longer than he intended. Hmm, that sounded better than meeting another stranger. Admittedly, Ohno was annoying. But, Nino would rather spend time with Ohno than whatever else his mother had planned.
“In the meantime, introduce me to your new roommate,”
Kazuko walked faster than he ever saw, approaching Ohno. But, before she could wake the man up, a ringing phone raised the sleeping man from his slumber first. Ohno sat up straight, looking confused at first before he looked around the living room, trying to find the sound. Nino could only smile, thinking of how cute Ohno was.
“Hello, Sho-chan,” said Ohno, answering the phone once he located it. “Un.. of course, I remember. I've been here… since 11, in fact… hmm… Am I too early? Oh… I made curry for Kazunari… He likes it, I think… Okay… I will see you later,”
“I didn’t say I like your curry,” said Nino once Ohno put down his phone.
The man chuckled. “I know you like it, Beautiful. You had a second helping,”
Nino simply stuck his tongue out at Ohno, not caring if he was being childish. He then shifted his attention to Kazuko, noticing she was smiling. Oh man… this didn’t look good. Knowing her mother, he knew Kazuko must be planning something.
However, when he wanted to introduce both Ohno and Kazuko, the other man flinched upon realizing they were not alone. Then, a strange thing happened when Ohno smiled at Kazuko, in which his mother responded with…
“Satoshi… it’s you!” said Kazuko.
What the… Nino silently cursed. Did they know each other? But, how?
“I cannot believe you’re going to be my son’s roommate. I was about to bring him to your cafe,”
Nino frowned, thinking. Slowly, his mind started to replay what his mother had said when she arrived. She wanted to bring him to a cafe to introduce him to a waiter. The waiter… was it Ohno?
Damn! He didn’t like this development.
“Your curry is delicious, Satoshi!” muttered Kazuko after taking a bite of the curry that Ohno made earlier.
All three of them were in the dining room. Kazuko ate while having a conversation with Ohno. The two of them were talking about the cafe where Ohno apparently worked. Nino, on the other hand, could only watch. Both of them seemed to have a good relationship… geez, his mother had already called Ohno by his first name… and Nino didn’t know what he should feel about it. Ohno would be his roommate soon… Ohno expressed his desire to make Nino fall in love with him… At the same time, Ohno was also the person his mother wanted to introduce to him. Now that she knew both Nino and Ohno would live together, this would only encourage both Ohno and Kazuko to make the relationship worked. As for Nino, everything was moving too fast and he needed time to think properly.
“So, are you two close?” Asked Kazuko, breaking Nino out of his trance. “You already call each other by the first name, right?”
“No, we’re not,” Nino quickly denied. If he let Ohno talk first, who knows what the man would say.
“But, he called you Kazunari just now,” responded Kazuko, pouting.
“He called me that without permission,” retorted Nino, glaring at Ohno who scratched his head.
“You don’t mind, right?” Teased Kazuko. “You’re not angry when he calls you Kazunari. That’s why he continues,”
“It isn’t like that!” Nino huffed. The truth was… Ohno rarely called him by his first name. Beautiful… that’s what Ohno called him. But, Nino didn’t want his mother to know about it. It’s too embarrassing.
“We actually have a nickname for each other,” Ohno blurted it out. Nino hissed at the man, hoping Ohno would shut up.
“Oh, that’s cute!” exclaimed Kazuko. “What did you call each other?”
“I call him…”
“Shut up!” Nino interrupted. There’s no way he would let Ohno tell his mother about the nickname.
“Kazunari…” chided Kazuko. “That’s rude of you to talk like that,”
“It’s okay, Auntie,” said Ohno with a smile on his face, showing that he didn’t mind being interrupted like that. “He is just being shy, I think,”
“I’m not shy,” countered Nino.
“If you’re not shy, tell me,” said Kazuko. She then frowned, appearing to be thinking. Nino looked at her with concern, afraid something was wrong with his mother. However, his heart almost stopped beating when Kazuko mumbled a word.
“Beautiful…” That’s what she said. Her voice was so soft and at first, Nino thought he heard wrongly. But, she said the word again, louder this time.
“Beautiful!” Kazuko bellowed. “That’s the nickname, right?”
This time, it was Nino’s turn to frown. How did she know?
“So, Satoshi calls you Beautiful,” said Kazuko when Nino remained silent. “I thought I heard it wrongly,”
Did Ohno call him Beautiful earlier? But, when?
Ah, Nino felt stupid once he remembered. Indeed, Ohno had casually called him Beautiful after the phone call with Sho. Stupid man.
“But, why did you call him Beautiful? I think Grumpy would suit him better,” said Kazuko.
“Because he is an idiot,” answered Nino, earning him a glare from his mother. If Ohno wasn’t here, she would undeniably lecture him.
“Isn’t Kazunari beautiful?” said Ohno instead as if he didn’t hear what Nino had said. A dreamy look was on his face as he stared at Nino. The stare was too intense and honestly, if someone else was looking at him like that, Nino would be uncomfortable. So, it’s weird that Ohno’s action didn’t creep him out.
“Satoshi…” said Kazuko. Ohno reluctantly took his eyes off Nino before smiling at Kazuko. “Do you mind if I ask you something personal?”
“Sure,” answered Ohno, still looking as easy-going as he always was.
“Do you like my son?”
“Mama!”
Nino was the one who felt embarrassed to hear the question. His mother, on the other hand, simply ignored him as she waited for an answer from Ohno.
“Yes!” answered Ohno cheerfully. “Auntie, will you give me the blessing to woo Kazunari?”
“Of course!” said Kazuko. “I told you, right? I want to bring Kazunari to your cafe to introduce the two of you. But, you already know him. This is fate, right? Both of you are fated to be together,”
What nonsense was this? These two wouldn’t even allow Nino to interrupt them and put a stop to the stupid idea they had.
“Thank you, Auntie!” said Ohno. “Your blessing means a lot to me,”
Kazuko smiled and then said. “I know you will take good care of Kazunari,”
What the… ah, whatever! Nino rolled his eyes. Dream all they want. Nothing will ever change between Nino and Ohno. They will be roommates and that’s all!
Right?
A/N: I posted this before. Then, I deleted it. Now, I post it again.