Will you love me? - Part 9
Ohno smiled happily, looking at the tent that he had just finished setting up. Having gone camping a few times made it easy for him to do it. He could even do it alone but, of course, his camping companion didn’t want to be left out. Quoting Nino, what’s the point of going camping if he didn’t help in setting up the tent?
“Only one?” Asked Nino, pointing at the tent.
Ohno blinked his eyes, feeling confused. What did Nino mean by that? Was it a problem to have only one tent? The tent was already big enough for the two of them. If they had Aiba and Sho with them, nothing much would change. They could even ask Nino’s boss… The guy with the thick eyebrows who shamelessly asked Nino out on a date right after the breakup… what was his name again? Matsumoto, right? Yes, even if Matsumoto joined them, all five of them could still sleep comfortably inside the tent. Ohno deliberately brought a large tent for the camping trip so that Nino would feel more comfortable.
“Is it a problem?” Asked Ohno. “You don’t want to share the tent with me?”
His question was met with soft melodious laughter from Nino. This, of course, made him even more confused.
“I’m talking about the chair, you silly,” explained Nino. Once again, he pointed at the tent and this time, Ohno saw something he didn’t notice before. A foldable chair was right in front of the tent.
Oh…
“So, only one chair?” Nino repeated the same question, emphasizing on ‘chair’, perhaps to tease Ohno.
“Two,” answered Ohno as he went to get the other chair among their stuff. Earlier, he only took a chair out so that Nino could rest while he set up the tent.
“Good!” remarked Nino, sitting on the available chair. “This chair is comfy,” He looked at the tent and added. “The tent is so big. Do you always use this big tent for camping?”
Ohno sat next to Nino, shaking his head while doing so. “My tent is too small for the two of us,”
“Oh…” responded Nino. He looked around the site for a while. “Hmm… what are we going to do after this?”
“Hmm… do you see the lake on our way here?” asked Ohno to which Nino responded with a nod. He may not know much about his ex-boyfriend. But, it was universally known that Nino wasn’t a fan of outdoor activities. Bringing Nino camping might not be a good idea but he didn’t know what else to do with Nino. His forte was only camping and fishing. But, Nino couldn’t go fishing because of his seasickness. So, that’s left Ohno with camping. He had been to various camping sites and in his opinion, Nino would be enjoying this site the most because of the scenery and the various water sports they could do here.
“Hmm… if you’re okay with it… we could try canoeing or banana boat… or wakeboarding,”
Ohno noticed the way Nino swallowed upon hearing his suggestions. Nino seemed indifferent at first when he mentioned canoeing and banana boats. However, when he heard wakeboarding, Ohno could see the doubt in his eyes.
“Is it hard?” asked Nino timidly.
For Ohno, it wasn’t difficult. He mastered it on his first try. It could be because he was already used to such activities. Nino, on the other hand, was a beginner at this kind of activity. He had to choose the right words so that Nino would be more confident to try it.
“It is,” answered Ohno. “Everyone falls when they try it. So, don’t worry about falling, okay?”
Nino didn’t say anything. He simply stared at Ohno. Oops… was there anything wrong with what he said?
“If you don’t want to do it…”
“I want to try it,” said Nino, cutting him off. Ohno sighed in relief when he heard that. The slight smile on Nino’s face showed that the man was just teasing him when he didn’t immediately respond earlier.
"Are there bears in the jungle?" asked Nino, pointing at the jungle. The sudden change of the topic befuddled Ohno.
"Hmm, I’m not sure. I never get inside the jungle. Why?”
"Well… I just want to know… hmmm… if a bear suddenly appears, will you protect me from it?"
Why would Nino ask him such a thing, wondered Ohno. Hmm… he may not know the reason for such a question, but he knew what his answer would be. He would protect Nino from any danger. No matter how dangerous it was.
"Of course,"
"Promise?" Asked Nino. He sounded like a child and it made him look cuter. Ohno had to resist the temptation to kiss the other man since it wouldn't be appropriate to do so.
"Yes," Ohno looked straight at Nino, ignoring the desire to kiss him. "I will protect you if a bear appears. Now, will you have some rest first? We will go to the lake after lunch. Okay?"
"Okay,"
Nino woke up from his nap and felt disoriented. It took him a few minutes to remember where he was. He went camping with Ohno and now, he was resting in the tent. When Ohno asked him to rest, he went inside. It wasn’t his intention to fall asleep. The initial plan was to watch a movie that he had previously downloaded onto his phone. Guess he might be too exhausted and that’s why he fell asleep in the middle of the movie. The movie, on the other hand, continued to play. Nino stopped the video and decided to watch it properly later.
But, where was Ohno? Shouldn’t the man be in the tent with him too? Since he was nowhere to be seen, Ohno must be outside, then.
Shaking his drowsiness away, Nino then stood up and headed out. As he thought, Ohno was outside, preparing lunch for them. He seemed to be oblivious, giving his full attention to the meat on the portable stove. Judging from the bun on the paper plate, the man must be making hamburgers for lunch. Nino decided to watch the man in silence and only came to him once he was done preparing the food.
“Ohchan,” Nino approached the man.
“Hey, you’ve woken up,” said Ohno. And, then, to his surprise, Ohno pecked his lips. Wow, this was unexpected. He knew Ohno wanted to kiss him since earlier. The man didn’t do a good job of hiding it. It was extremely obvious when they were talking about the bears. Nino couldn’t deny it. He enjoyed watching how Ohno resisted the temptation to kiss him.
But, now…
Colours rushed to Ohno’s cheeks, indicating the kiss was unintentional. The man wasted no time to apologize.
“I’m sorry,” said Ohno. “I didn’t realize what I was doing. I mean… you caught me by surprise. You look so cute and beautiful and I just want to put my lips against yours… just want to feel how soft it is… yeah, your lips are so soft… I remember how they moved against me when we kissed last time,” said Ohno with a dreamy look on his face, which induced a smile on Nino’s face.
Ah, he shouldn’t be smiling. It would make Ohno think he was easy. Let’s keep a straight face for now. What Ohno did so far… it made him happy but was it enough to give the man another chance? No, he didn’t think so.
“Ohchan,” He tried to sound firm despite his feelings. “I’m flattered to know you have such a desire on me… but, we’re not here as a couple. We’re just friends right now. So, I hope you will not do something like that again. I’m not ready for it,”
Ohno didn’t say anything. He only lowered his face, not looking at Nino in the eyes anymore.
“Besides…” Nino continued. “Hmmm… I don’t know how to explain this. But, if I accept you back, I want to do it because I know you want me back. The whole me. Not only because you desire me… hmmm… do you get what I mean?”
Ohno scratched his head, a clear indication that he didn’t understand what Nino meant. So, Nino took a deep breath, thinking of how to express his feelings.
“You want to kiss me, right?” said Nino. “But, a relationship isn’t just about kissing and cuddling and… hmmm… you know… that stuff,” He hoped Ohno understood what he meant by the last one. He was too embarrassed to say it out loud. “It’s more than that. It’s about accepting myself as a person. The good and bad in me. Things you love and hate about me. Bringing me camping is a good idea. We will have to spend the night together and it’s not the activity that I enjoyed doing. So, I might throw tantrum or something. You might be able to see something about me that you never noticed before. You might like it, you might hate it. And, what I want to see when I proposed this idea of you planning a date for the two of us… Hmm… what do you really want with me? Do you want to have a serious relationship with me or do you just want someone to kiss? Hmmm, am I making any sense here? Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
A nod was what he got as a response from Ohno.
“I understand, Nino,” answered the man. “I will do my best to prove that I’m here because I want to be with you,”
“We’ll see,”
A/N: Sorry if this was badly written. I'm still upset about the whole Record of Memories things but I tried to do something about it. I emailed the cinema, asking if they could show it at my city. The city I live is one of the major cities in the country. So, I don't understand why they couldn't show it here. Besides, it is in the southern region of my country. If they could allocate two shows for the northern, why couldn't they do the same for the southern? It's so unfair. Sorry for throwing tantrum here. I will wait for good news from them but I still think it won't work. I'm so afraid to hope again.