All Arashi Pair Challenge, Fic 1: Juntoshi
I thought I'd tackle Juntoshi first, so it wouldn't haunt me, to get it out of the way. To all of my Ohmiya friends, I'm deeply sorry that this plagues your flists. Now please excuse me while I go slowly die in a dark corner.
Also, I would like to point out that Sho/Nino is still available for requesting in this All Arashi Pairs Challenge. If you have not yet given me a prompt and would like to, please check out that post. Note: first come first serve basis.
Original Prompt:
Ohno/Jun: umitsubame Jun is an excellent pool player who takes bets at a local bar. Ohno is a bar tender. Jun has had his eye on Ohno for a long time and one night, Jun stays behind deliberately until closing and offers to "teach" ohno to play pool (Also, this can't be a one-sided juntoshi... Ohno likes Jun in return!!! Make it fluffy...)
Note to Umi: Happy Birthday! (I wasn't planning for it to be done on your birthday, but it worked out well XD) You have no idea how happy I am that you added the 'make it fluffy' clause. You could have been so mean and said 'make it sexy' instead :P
Oneshot: Eight Ball, Side Pocket
Pair: Juntoshi
Rating: I, for Innuendo.
Genre: Fluff and….is Billiards a genre?
Disclaimer: It's Juntoshi x_x Also, am not an expert when it comes to the game of pool.
Summary: Meet Matsumoto Jun, a mean pool player. Jun’s interests include pool, discovering new bars, and the cute bartender with a tight ass who’s goes by the name of Oh-chan.
It was an inconspicuous building, with an even less noticeable sign hanging just above the rail that led down into the basement.
The simple sign read TAVERN, in capital English letters.
A soft chime rang above Jun’s ear as he pulled open the unremarkable door.
With only one foot inside the door, Jun already felt out of place. He was used to drinking establishments that were, well, trendier. Or, for that matter, any bar that didn’t have a huge buffalo head nailed above the font door.
Plucking his sleeve self-consciously, as he ducked out from under the buffalo, he was thankful he’d chosen the jean jacket instead of the silk shirt tonight. At least his clothes didn’t stand out.
Doing his best not to focus on the garish wild-west motif, the bar itself looked neither slow nor busy. A few obvious regulars were settled at the bar, several couples dotted more private tables and corners, and a small group of college students were drinking away their stress at the largest of tables near the back.
Tucked along the wall behind the students, Jun’s eyes caught on something large and green.
A pool table.
Perhaps this strange place had it‘s merits.
Taming a grin back to a smile, Jun strode to the bar, and took a seat at a stool away from the cluster of regulars.
“Give me just a sec,” Called the nearest bartender, who was blending a pair of drinks for a customer standing at the bar.
“Take your time, I don’t know what I want yet.” Jun replied. Like the other three employees, the bartender was dressed in a simple black t-shirt, with a short black apron tied about his waist.
He was small, and painfully skinny everywhere except his pinch-able cheeks.
He was also, Jun noticed, kind of cute.
“Decided?”
“Ah…” Jun had been so busy taking in the details of the bartender’s frame, he hadn’t thought of what he wanted to drink yet. But Jun was feeling good, and elected to act on instinct, “I’ll take your specialty.”
“Uh, in that case, we have a couple specials tonight-”
“I don’t want the house special, I want your special.” Jun read the man’s name tag. “ ‘Oh-chan?”
“Nickname.” Embarrassed, and blushing, ’Oh-chan’ covered up his nametag with a slender hand.
“Then ’Oh-chan’s special,’ I’ll take that.”
The bartender blinked, clearly confused.
It was a blow to Jun’s confidence. Either this guy had never been hit on before, or he was painfully slow.
Giving up, Jun decided to just ask for one of the evening’s specials, when Oh-chan disappeared behind the bar, and Jun heard the clinking of glass bottles.
“Here.” With a loud, satisfying pop, the bartender removed the cap off a bottle of beer, slid it to rest in front of Jun, and grinned proudly. “The ‘Oh-chan Special.’”
Jun commanded his wit not be distracted by the absolute adorableness that was Oh-chan’s smile. “Beer? Not a mixed drink?”
“I like the ‘thock!’ sound it makes when you pop off the bottle cap.”
Jun raised an eyebrow as well as his drink, “I hope it tastes as good as it sounds then.”
“Oh it does.” The bartender paused. “That is, if you like beer.”
“Isn’t it a bit late to ask me that?” Chuckling, Jun took a sip. It wasn’t the best beer he’d ever had, but it was far from the worst. Taking out his wallet, he passed Oh-chan his credit card and drivers' license. “I would like to start a tab please. Matsumoto Jun.”
“Sure. Is anyone else going to be joining you tonight who should be added to this tab?”
“No, I’m alone tonight.” Watching the bartender copy the card number to the top of a new tab slip, Jun took another sip of the cold beer. “Actually, this is my first time here.”
“Really?“ The card was returned. “Isn’t Billy scary the first time?”
“Billy?” Jun blinked, looking around for a foreigner.
“The hairy cow.” Oh-chan nodded towards the buffalo head above the door.
“Oh. Yes, he startled me.” Jun laughed, taking another drink. “I also noticed your pool table in the corner is still covered despite all the people in here.”
An indifferent shrug, “No one has been playing it lately.”
“May I?”
“Sure.” He began walking towards the gate in the bar at the end. “I can take the cover off.”
“Excuse me…” A customer had come to the counter. The bartender froze, torn between servicing the two customers.
Jun laughed at Oh-chan‘s distressed look. “It’s ok, I can do it myself.”
“Oh good.” Relieved, the bartender turned his attention to the new customer.
Cold beer in hand, Jun weaved his way around the chairs and patrons to the pool table.
Slipping off the hunter green cover, and folding it over his hands, Jun examined the brighter emerald playing field. It showed a little wear on the side cushions, but was otherwise in favorable condition.
Finding the rack hanging from a nail on the wall, Jun pulled all of the balls from the pockets and aligned them in the tight triangle, pushing the top corner to rest on the diamond mark.
Next, Jun perused the cues. Like the table, a couple showed more wear then the others. Jun selected one that looked well loved; worn but not tired.
Chalk and hand powder were found and used, both of which were of professional competition quality. Clearly the owner of this bar knew his stuff. Careful not to ruin the powder on his hands, Jun took another swig of beer, set in on the side table.
Removing the rack, Jun placed the cue ball on it’s mark, and aimed the cue.
Jun inhaled and held his breath.
With a dead center strike, the balls scattered.
Lacking an opponent, Jun merely practiced various trick shots, enjoying his beer and playing against himself.
Half way through his first solo game however, he could tell by the way the sound changed in the bar that he was attracting attention. The students from the nearest table had grown quieter, and were murmuring excitedly.
Predictably, the men in the group were quick to gather around and watch.
“You’re pretty good,” Said a taller, sportier looking fellow with a husky voice. “Mind if I join you?”
Jun glanced over to the giggling, whispering girls at the table. It was obvious this kid was trying to impress one of them.
There was movement back at the bar, and Jun saw that Oh-chan was watching as he stocked napkins into a holder.
“I don’t mind but…” Jun dropped his attention back to his challenger. “It’s only safe to warn you that I’m quite good.”
“Then I should warn you, that I’m not exactly a push over. Come on, I’ll buy you a beer if I lose.”
Politely, Jun held out his hand for a sportsmanly handshake, “Then I shall do likewise.”
It turned out that the college kid was a push over after all. But rather than get discouraged, his friends gathered around.
“You’re so good!”
“No, I’m not, not really-”
“Do you know any trick shots, like in those movies?”
“A couple, but it’s mostly luck-”
“Hey, Masaki, you owe him a beer!”
“I do! Hey, Oh-chan, get us a couple cold ones over here!”
In a heart beat, Jun looked up over the students surrounding him, searching for the bartender.
“Get ‘em yourself.” Oh-chan shouted back, but after ducking behind the bar, reappeared with a tray full of bottles and an amused smile.
A girl tugged on Jun‘s sleeve, “Would you play against me next?”
“No, it’s my turn!”
“Hey, who’s tab is this going on?” Oh-chan called above the noise.
“Mine. Oh-chan, this guy killed me, he did. I didn’t stand a chance.”
“Did he?” Oh-chan looked his way with mild interest, and Jun felt his heart beat quicken when Oh-chan himself removed a bottle from the tray perched on his hand, and held it out.
“Thanks.” Even though he had only had one beer so far, Jun already felt as bold and daring as if here were half drunk. “Have one with me.”
“Oh, can’t. Working.” Gathering empty bottles from the large table the students had abandoned, the bartender waved Jun off so easily and with so little emotion the rejection didn’t even hurt.
Jun walked into Tavern easily. A couple of regulars looked up and either waved or smiled, which Jun returned in kind.
His eyes were on Oh-chan though, who was bent over a sink washing out shakers. Although Oh-chan’s face was as pretty as they come, Jun also admired the view from behind.
Especially when Oh-chan wore those particular jeans.
It was like love at first sight all over again.
As he strode to his now usual spot at the bar, Jun tore his eyes way from Oh-chan’s ass to glance towards the pool table. The cover was off, and the balls were waiting in the rack.
“Knew I’d be coming?” Jun didn’t disguise the glee in his voice as he settled into his spot.
“I had a feeling, yeah.” Oh-chan inclined his head back so he could talk and wash simultaneously. “The joints in my elbows started to hurt all of the sudden this afternoon, you know. ‘Agh, Matsumoto‘s coming, it‘ll be busy tonight!’ I thought.”
“You’re making yourself sound old, and my patronage sound like a bad thing.” Jun drew a pout.
“You coming isn’t a bad thing, but you make more money off those bets than I do working seriously most nights, seriously.”
Jun laughed. “At least I tip you well.”
“That’s true…” Stacking the shakers on one towel and drying his hands on another, Oh-chan approached the counter. “What can I get ‘cha?”
“You~” Jun said with a wink.
“Ha.” Oh-chan grunted, laughing once before deadpanning. “No, really. What do you want?”
“I’ll take tonight’s ‘Oh-chan special’” Jun sighed. He hadn’t even remotely expected the cute bartender to throw himself across the bar and accept the invitation… but it would have been nice if he did.
“Then tonight….” Oh-chan looked at the wall of bottles behind him. “I’m thinking it‘s a vodka kind of night.”
“Vodka?” Stunned, Jun sputtered in protest, “I don’t want anything so strong it’ll knock me out.”
“You’ll like it.” Cooed the bartender, already taking out a shaker.
Jun did his best not to look excited, or anything less than his normal cool. In his months of visiting the bar Oh-chan had never made mixed drinks for Jun before, because Jun’s ambiguous order meant he could get away with bottled beer and, mainly, less dishes to wash.
“Watch this part,” Ordered the bartender, though unnecessarily, as Jun had never looked away to begin with. Oh-chan poured cream into glass, and it created swirled patterns in the vodka and kahlua.
“Beautiful.” Jun clapped.
“Thank you, thank you.” Oh-chan gave a silly bow, embarrassing himself into laughing. “It’s called a White Russian.”
Jun took a sip and swallowed hard. It was as sweet as it was strong. But, as he looked up to Oh-chan’s watching expectant eyes, it really wasn’t so bad. In fact, he kind of liked it.
“See, see! I knew you’d like it.” Grinning, and happy with himself, the bartender began replacing the bottles on the shelves, and putting the cream back in the cooler. “Now go play your games.”
Pleased with his drink and elated at the simple fact that Ohno actually made him a drink, Jun took another sip, watching Oh-chan move about cleaning up. “Why don’t you play with me.”
“If I played with you, who’d serve booze to you and whomever you’re hustling?” Oh-chan gave Jun a sarcastic innocent look.
Jun laughed. “Oh come on, on your break, or maybe after your shift. Or do you not know how to play? I can give you a special lesson.”
As soon as the words were out of Jun’s mouth, he knew he had gone to far. He could feel his face grow hot, made worse by the fact that Oh-chan didn’t say anything, and just gave him an apprehensive look.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have-”
“Oh-chan, can you come here a second?” Called one of the other bartenders Jun recognized as Machida.
“Sorry.” Said Oh-chan, slipping down the bar towards his co-worker.
Taking his White Russian to the pool table, Jun grabbed a cue and began to play.
“So he’s the one you’ve been pinning for these days.” Shun smiled smugly, knocking a stripped ball into a side pocket.
“It’s not pinning. You have no idea how many times I’ve openly flirted with him and he just laughs like I told a joke.” Grumbling, Jun hit a solid off a cushion to set up a double shot.
“If it’s any of the pick-up lines I’ve heard you use before, you should be satisfied he hasn’t banned you from the place.” Noted Shun, earning him a punch from Jun on the shoulder.
As Shun laughed, and considered his next shot, Jun’s gaze invariably drifted to the bar. Without a customer to serve, Oh-chan was talking to Machida. Machida had leaned closer, his hand on Oh-chan’s shoulder, and whispered something in his ear.
Whatever Machida had said made Oh-chan laugh and cover his mouth with a cupped hand.
It was all Jun could do not to grab a ball off the pool table and chuck it as hard as he could at Machida’s stupid grinning face.
“Fuck.” Jun growled, grabbing his drink and downing it.
“I’ve come to realize that I don’t even know your name.” Jun said, a little drunkenly. The evening’s anonymous pool partner, after betting and losing enough on a game to make his wife mad had gone home, and Jun decided to retire the cue for the evening, and take up a seat at the bar.
“You don‘t know?” Oh-chan blinked, surprised.
“No, I don’t.” Huffed Jun, annoyed.
“Oh.” Oh-chan polished a glass.
Jun waited.
And waited.
“So what is it?”
“Oh,” He grinned, sheepishly. “Ohno.”
“Ohno what?”
Ohno drew a straight face. “I don’t have a first name. It has caused me great trouble in life.”
“Liar.” But Jun laughed, and ordered another.
It was closing time.
Typically, Jun hated to be the last one to leave, but tonight he just didn’t feel like going home.
It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it was Ohno’s night to close.
A taxi had been called for the last fall-over drunk, and Ohno was waiting with him outside.
Jun gathered all of the balls, raking the rack to it’s starting position on the green. With a cube of chalk, Jun readied the end of his cue.
The bell chimed, and Ohno came back inside. “We’re done, we’re done, we’re done!~ Good job again today, Billy.” He reached up and gave the buffalo a pat.
“I’m still here you know.” Jun called, chuckling.
“Yeah, but you don’t count.” Ohno shrugged, flipping the ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’ on the door, and turning off half of the lights. “You can keep playing until I’m done cleaning up.”
“Why don’t you play with me?
“This again.“ Ohno laughed. As cute as it was, Jun had hoped for a different response for once.
“If you play,” It didn’t sit well with Jun to beg, but he wasn’t above betting. “and if you win, I’ll help you clean up.”
“Are you crazy?” Ohno stared at him, incredulous, “I know exactly how good you are. I’ve been watching you play since the first time you walked in that door.”
“Oh?” Jun grinned, feeling a little elated at so small a confession, “You’ve been watching me play?”
Ohno blushed, hiding his embarrassment by returning to the bar to grab a tub to bus the tables. At last he came up with a comeback, which he mumbled more to himself, “Hard not to, all the noise and all the people cheering for you…and stuff.”
“Sorry, I’ve been trying to keep it down. And if you’ve been watching, you’ll know that I’ve never asked anyone to play or to watch. Everyone always just comes to me on their own.”
Ohno froze, his hand in the middle of setting an empty martini glass in the black tub. His blush had only gotten darker, though his expression was confused.
Jun could feel himself grow warmer too, realizing what he’d just admitted to. It was too much hope that Ohno wouldn’t call him out on it.
Sure enough, he did.
“But you always ask me to play with you.”
“Y-yeah, well…” Jun tried to smirk, and hoped it looked carefree.
Ohno left the tub on a table, and rolled up his sleeves as he walked towards the pool table. “You’ll really help me if I win?”
“Of course.” Jun said, indignant. “I never go back on my word.”
“And what do you want if you win?”
“You.”
Ohno didn’t laugh, his expression alarmingly, frustratingly neutral, and the change in demeanor nearly shook Jun out of his confidence.
“Then…” Jun cleared his throat, and gave a weak smile. “I’ll just take the ‘Oh-chan special.’”
“That I can do.” With a serious frown, Ohno held out his hand for Jun to shake.
Jun laughed, and took the hand. “I think I offered you lessons before, would you like them?”
“Nah, I’m ok.” Ohno reached for cue Jun had been using since he’d begun playing pool at Tavern.
“Hey, that’s mine!” Jun exclaimed, trying to take it back.
“But I want to use this one.“ The bartender pouted, and it was unfairly cute.
“No, I had it first.” Jun said, stubbornly. It wasn’t even that he minded using the cue, but he enjoyed bullying the sleepy bartender too much to give in easily. “You can’t just steal it.”
But Ohno was equally stubborn, “Fine, if you let me use this one, I’ll let you give me a lesson.”
“Deal.” Agreed Jun, instantly.
“What do you want to teach me, teacher?~” Complete with falsetto, Ohno gave a great teasing wink as they approached the table.
Jun had to bite his lip to prevent himself from answering something very unimpressive, very uncool, and something he only allowed to think about doing to Ohno for a few precious minutes before he feel asleep at night. Clearing his throat, Jun pulled a new cue off the holder, and chalked it. “Just a basic shot to get you through the game. You know the basic rules, right?”
“For the most part, yeah. Where do you want me? This side?” Ohno headed towards the end where the rack of balls waited on top of the green.
Jun held his smirk, trying not to celebrate his victory already. He tapped the side of the table, closer to the cue. “No, over here.”
“Ah, right. I knew that.”
“Sure you did.” This time, Jun let Ohno see the smirk, and it was received with a falsely angry scrunched nose. “This is the cue ball.” Jun held up the solid white ball, “It needs to be at least this far,” he set the ball back on the table next to the diamond mark, “from the other balls before you break them.”
“Ok ok ok, lets just start. Take the rack off.” Impatient, Ohno rested his arm on the table, sliding the shaft of the cue along the skin between his index finger and thumb.
“Your posture is horrible.” Jun cringed, coming up to stand behind Ohno. He pulled Ohno’s elbow off the table, so only the wrist remained, and closed Ohno’s fingers into an ‘o’ shape. “This…” Jun murmured, taking extreme note of how close his front was to Ohno’s back, how, due to height difference, Ohno’s hair tickled his chin, and how he was close enough to take a playful nip at Ohno’s ear.
“’This’ what?”
“This is called closed bridge. It’s easiest for beginners to make sure shots in this…” Jun lowered his eyes, shuffling just a little closer, “position. Now you take the cue, and you want to aim for the dead center of the cue ball. Hit it hard enough to break the balls, but not so hard they go flying off the table.”
“Ok, I understand.” Ohno nodded, and the hair tickled Jun’s nose. “Lets start now.”
“Right…ok.” Reluctantly, Jun backed off. He carefully graded the rack, and removed it slowly so the triangle of spheres would remain perfect. “Normally I wouldn’t ask an opponent, but would you like to be solids, or stripes?”
“Which one do you prefer?” Ohno asked, still in the position Jun had molded him into.
Jun paused, caught off guard. “Solids, I guess.”
“Then I’ll be solids.”
“Hey-” Jun began, but Ohno pulled the cue back, and with an echoing crack in the empty bar, broke the balls. As luck would have it, five dropped into the far corner pocket, making Ohno’s claim on solids official.
Jun stared at the table, in disbelief.
He could see a double shot for solids already. No, a triple was possible, if the side cushion was hit just right. The striped balls were much worse off, all alienated and dispersed to make anything more than a single difficult without turns spent manipulating the field.
It was too early to be depressed, but Jun had wanted to impress Ohno with his skills right away.
“You get to go again, since you made one.” Jun pointed to the pocket that now held ball number Five.
“Oh yeah, ok.” Ohno placed the cue a little distance from Three, but accidentally knocked in one of the striped balls. “Oops.”
Replacing the stripped ball on the table, Jun contemplated his shot, refusing to worry about the favorable position of the solids. Ohno didn’t know which end of the table to stand at for the break. There’s no way he’d be capable of a triple shot, even with beginners luck.
“Twelve, side pocket.” Jun announced, before swiftly making the shot.
“Oh, are we doing called shots?” Ohno asked, in surprise.
“You don’t have to. I’m just in the habit.”
“It’s ok, I’ll play by your rules.” Ohno slowly walked around the table, twirling the cue in his delicate hands, a drawn look of concentration on his face. “Seven, corner. Two corner. One, side.”
Astonished, Jun watched as Ohno set up for the shot. He saw the way trained way Ohno braced his hand against the side of the table, and cast the cue on an open bridge. With extreme precision, Ohno expertly made each of his marks in the significant triple play. There was the slightest hint of a proud smile before it switched to a fake mild surprise. “Wow, how did that happen…”
Jun glowered, feeling like he’d been made a fool of. Angry, his grip tightened on his cue, “You didn’t tell me you knew how to play.”
Instead of looking remorseful, or even guilty as Jun expected, Ohno looked honestly stunned. “I thought you knew.”
“How was I supposed to know when you never told me?!”
Frowning, Ohno turned his cue, the cue Jun had been using for months, upside down. On flat end of the stick, a name was written in permanent marker: ‘Ohno Satoshi.’
Stunned, Jun reached for the cue, and stared at the name.
“I thought when you were offering lessons, you were teasing me.” Ohno ran his hand through his hair, a little embarrassed and a little confused. “I thought you were teasing me when you asked for my name a few weeks ago too.”
“I’m…I’m sorry, this whole time, I didn’t know this was yours.” Feeling stupider and more embarrassed by the moment, Jun gave Ohno an apologetic bow.
“It’s ok. I don’t use it much anymore, so I’ve left it here so it could get some love from someone else.” Ohno smiled, clapping Jun on the shoulder. “It was a weird feeling though….”
Jun raised an eyebrow, not following, “What was?”
“Watching you play with my stick almost every night for months. Do you know how much the other guys teased me for that?”
“I’m sorry…” Said Jun again, turning a little red and trying not to think too hard about what Ohno had just said.
“Well, lets finish this up so you can do my dishes for me.” Ohno beamed, nodding back to the table.
“Who says I’m going to let you win?” Jun smirked.
“Well I’m certainly not going to lose.” Ohno frowned. “You’re entirely too young for the ‘Oh-chan’ special.”
“Oh please, you’ve already served me a million drinks.” Jun rolled his eyes, and smiled.
Ohno looked up, the barest hint of a smirk on his lips, “Who said it was a drink?”
Also, I would like to point out that Sho/Nino is still available for requesting in this All Arashi Pairs Challenge. If you have not yet given me a prompt and would like to, please check out that post. Note: first come first serve basis.
Original Prompt:
Ohno/Jun: umitsubame Jun is an excellent pool player who takes bets at a local bar. Ohno is a bar tender. Jun has had his eye on Ohno for a long time and one night, Jun stays behind deliberately until closing and offers to "teach" ohno to play pool (Also, this can't be a one-sided juntoshi... Ohno likes Jun in return!!! Make it fluffy...)
Note to Umi: Happy Birthday! (I wasn't planning for it to be done on your birthday, but it worked out well XD) You have no idea how happy I am that you added the 'make it fluffy' clause. You could have been so mean and said 'make it sexy' instead :P
Oneshot: Eight Ball, Side Pocket
Pair: Juntoshi
Rating: I, for Innuendo.
Genre: Fluff and….is Billiards a genre?
Disclaimer: It's Juntoshi x_x Also, am not an expert when it comes to the game of pool.
Summary: Meet Matsumoto Jun, a mean pool player. Jun’s interests include pool, discovering new bars, and the cute bartender with a tight ass who’s goes by the name of Oh-chan.
It was an inconspicuous building, with an even less noticeable sign hanging just above the rail that led down into the basement.
The simple sign read TAVERN, in capital English letters.
A soft chime rang above Jun’s ear as he pulled open the unremarkable door.
With only one foot inside the door, Jun already felt out of place. He was used to drinking establishments that were, well, trendier. Or, for that matter, any bar that didn’t have a huge buffalo head nailed above the font door.
Plucking his sleeve self-consciously, as he ducked out from under the buffalo, he was thankful he’d chosen the jean jacket instead of the silk shirt tonight. At least his clothes didn’t stand out.
Doing his best not to focus on the garish wild-west motif, the bar itself looked neither slow nor busy. A few obvious regulars were settled at the bar, several couples dotted more private tables and corners, and a small group of college students were drinking away their stress at the largest of tables near the back.
Tucked along the wall behind the students, Jun’s eyes caught on something large and green.
A pool table.
Perhaps this strange place had it‘s merits.
Taming a grin back to a smile, Jun strode to the bar, and took a seat at a stool away from the cluster of regulars.
“Give me just a sec,” Called the nearest bartender, who was blending a pair of drinks for a customer standing at the bar.
“Take your time, I don’t know what I want yet.” Jun replied. Like the other three employees, the bartender was dressed in a simple black t-shirt, with a short black apron tied about his waist.
He was small, and painfully skinny everywhere except his pinch-able cheeks.
He was also, Jun noticed, kind of cute.
“Decided?”
“Ah…” Jun had been so busy taking in the details of the bartender’s frame, he hadn’t thought of what he wanted to drink yet. But Jun was feeling good, and elected to act on instinct, “I’ll take your specialty.”
“Uh, in that case, we have a couple specials tonight-”
“I don’t want the house special, I want your special.” Jun read the man’s name tag. “ ‘Oh-chan?”
“Nickname.” Embarrassed, and blushing, ’Oh-chan’ covered up his nametag with a slender hand.
“Then ’Oh-chan’s special,’ I’ll take that.”
The bartender blinked, clearly confused.
It was a blow to Jun’s confidence. Either this guy had never been hit on before, or he was painfully slow.
Giving up, Jun decided to just ask for one of the evening’s specials, when Oh-chan disappeared behind the bar, and Jun heard the clinking of glass bottles.
“Here.” With a loud, satisfying pop, the bartender removed the cap off a bottle of beer, slid it to rest in front of Jun, and grinned proudly. “The ‘Oh-chan Special.’”
Jun commanded his wit not be distracted by the absolute adorableness that was Oh-chan’s smile. “Beer? Not a mixed drink?”
“I like the ‘thock!’ sound it makes when you pop off the bottle cap.”
Jun raised an eyebrow as well as his drink, “I hope it tastes as good as it sounds then.”
“Oh it does.” The bartender paused. “That is, if you like beer.”
“Isn’t it a bit late to ask me that?” Chuckling, Jun took a sip. It wasn’t the best beer he’d ever had, but it was far from the worst. Taking out his wallet, he passed Oh-chan his credit card and drivers' license. “I would like to start a tab please. Matsumoto Jun.”
“Sure. Is anyone else going to be joining you tonight who should be added to this tab?”
“No, I’m alone tonight.” Watching the bartender copy the card number to the top of a new tab slip, Jun took another sip of the cold beer. “Actually, this is my first time here.”
“Really?“ The card was returned. “Isn’t Billy scary the first time?”
“Billy?” Jun blinked, looking around for a foreigner.
“The hairy cow.” Oh-chan nodded towards the buffalo head above the door.
“Oh. Yes, he startled me.” Jun laughed, taking another drink. “I also noticed your pool table in the corner is still covered despite all the people in here.”
An indifferent shrug, “No one has been playing it lately.”
“May I?”
“Sure.” He began walking towards the gate in the bar at the end. “I can take the cover off.”
“Excuse me…” A customer had come to the counter. The bartender froze, torn between servicing the two customers.
Jun laughed at Oh-chan‘s distressed look. “It’s ok, I can do it myself.”
“Oh good.” Relieved, the bartender turned his attention to the new customer.
Cold beer in hand, Jun weaved his way around the chairs and patrons to the pool table.
Slipping off the hunter green cover, and folding it over his hands, Jun examined the brighter emerald playing field. It showed a little wear on the side cushions, but was otherwise in favorable condition.
Finding the rack hanging from a nail on the wall, Jun pulled all of the balls from the pockets and aligned them in the tight triangle, pushing the top corner to rest on the diamond mark.
Next, Jun perused the cues. Like the table, a couple showed more wear then the others. Jun selected one that looked well loved; worn but not tired.
Chalk and hand powder were found and used, both of which were of professional competition quality. Clearly the owner of this bar knew his stuff. Careful not to ruin the powder on his hands, Jun took another swig of beer, set in on the side table.
Removing the rack, Jun placed the cue ball on it’s mark, and aimed the cue.
Jun inhaled and held his breath.
With a dead center strike, the balls scattered.
Lacking an opponent, Jun merely practiced various trick shots, enjoying his beer and playing against himself.
Half way through his first solo game however, he could tell by the way the sound changed in the bar that he was attracting attention. The students from the nearest table had grown quieter, and were murmuring excitedly.
Predictably, the men in the group were quick to gather around and watch.
“You’re pretty good,” Said a taller, sportier looking fellow with a husky voice. “Mind if I join you?”
Jun glanced over to the giggling, whispering girls at the table. It was obvious this kid was trying to impress one of them.
There was movement back at the bar, and Jun saw that Oh-chan was watching as he stocked napkins into a holder.
“I don’t mind but…” Jun dropped his attention back to his challenger. “It’s only safe to warn you that I’m quite good.”
“Then I should warn you, that I’m not exactly a push over. Come on, I’ll buy you a beer if I lose.”
Politely, Jun held out his hand for a sportsmanly handshake, “Then I shall do likewise.”
It turned out that the college kid was a push over after all. But rather than get discouraged, his friends gathered around.
“You’re so good!”
“No, I’m not, not really-”
“Do you know any trick shots, like in those movies?”
“A couple, but it’s mostly luck-”
“Hey, Masaki, you owe him a beer!”
“I do! Hey, Oh-chan, get us a couple cold ones over here!”
In a heart beat, Jun looked up over the students surrounding him, searching for the bartender.
“Get ‘em yourself.” Oh-chan shouted back, but after ducking behind the bar, reappeared with a tray full of bottles and an amused smile.
A girl tugged on Jun‘s sleeve, “Would you play against me next?”
“No, it’s my turn!”
“Hey, who’s tab is this going on?” Oh-chan called above the noise.
“Mine. Oh-chan, this guy killed me, he did. I didn’t stand a chance.”
“Did he?” Oh-chan looked his way with mild interest, and Jun felt his heart beat quicken when Oh-chan himself removed a bottle from the tray perched on his hand, and held it out.
“Thanks.” Even though he had only had one beer so far, Jun already felt as bold and daring as if here were half drunk. “Have one with me.”
“Oh, can’t. Working.” Gathering empty bottles from the large table the students had abandoned, the bartender waved Jun off so easily and with so little emotion the rejection didn’t even hurt.
Jun walked into Tavern easily. A couple of regulars looked up and either waved or smiled, which Jun returned in kind.
His eyes were on Oh-chan though, who was bent over a sink washing out shakers. Although Oh-chan’s face was as pretty as they come, Jun also admired the view from behind.
Especially when Oh-chan wore those particular jeans.
It was like love at first sight all over again.
As he strode to his now usual spot at the bar, Jun tore his eyes way from Oh-chan’s ass to glance towards the pool table. The cover was off, and the balls were waiting in the rack.
“Knew I’d be coming?” Jun didn’t disguise the glee in his voice as he settled into his spot.
“I had a feeling, yeah.” Oh-chan inclined his head back so he could talk and wash simultaneously. “The joints in my elbows started to hurt all of the sudden this afternoon, you know. ‘Agh, Matsumoto‘s coming, it‘ll be busy tonight!’ I thought.”
“You’re making yourself sound old, and my patronage sound like a bad thing.” Jun drew a pout.
“You coming isn’t a bad thing, but you make more money off those bets than I do working seriously most nights, seriously.”
Jun laughed. “At least I tip you well.”
“That’s true…” Stacking the shakers on one towel and drying his hands on another, Oh-chan approached the counter. “What can I get ‘cha?”
“You~” Jun said with a wink.
“Ha.” Oh-chan grunted, laughing once before deadpanning. “No, really. What do you want?”
“I’ll take tonight’s ‘Oh-chan special’” Jun sighed. He hadn’t even remotely expected the cute bartender to throw himself across the bar and accept the invitation… but it would have been nice if he did.
“Then tonight….” Oh-chan looked at the wall of bottles behind him. “I’m thinking it‘s a vodka kind of night.”
“Vodka?” Stunned, Jun sputtered in protest, “I don’t want anything so strong it’ll knock me out.”
“You’ll like it.” Cooed the bartender, already taking out a shaker.
Jun did his best not to look excited, or anything less than his normal cool. In his months of visiting the bar Oh-chan had never made mixed drinks for Jun before, because Jun’s ambiguous order meant he could get away with bottled beer and, mainly, less dishes to wash.
“Watch this part,” Ordered the bartender, though unnecessarily, as Jun had never looked away to begin with. Oh-chan poured cream into glass, and it created swirled patterns in the vodka and kahlua.
“Beautiful.” Jun clapped.
“Thank you, thank you.” Oh-chan gave a silly bow, embarrassing himself into laughing. “It’s called a White Russian.”
Jun took a sip and swallowed hard. It was as sweet as it was strong. But, as he looked up to Oh-chan’s watching expectant eyes, it really wasn’t so bad. In fact, he kind of liked it.
“See, see! I knew you’d like it.” Grinning, and happy with himself, the bartender began replacing the bottles on the shelves, and putting the cream back in the cooler. “Now go play your games.”
Pleased with his drink and elated at the simple fact that Ohno actually made him a drink, Jun took another sip, watching Oh-chan move about cleaning up. “Why don’t you play with me.”
“If I played with you, who’d serve booze to you and whomever you’re hustling?” Oh-chan gave Jun a sarcastic innocent look.
Jun laughed. “Oh come on, on your break, or maybe after your shift. Or do you not know how to play? I can give you a special lesson.”
As soon as the words were out of Jun’s mouth, he knew he had gone to far. He could feel his face grow hot, made worse by the fact that Oh-chan didn’t say anything, and just gave him an apprehensive look.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have-”
“Oh-chan, can you come here a second?” Called one of the other bartenders Jun recognized as Machida.
“Sorry.” Said Oh-chan, slipping down the bar towards his co-worker.
Taking his White Russian to the pool table, Jun grabbed a cue and began to play.
“So he’s the one you’ve been pinning for these days.” Shun smiled smugly, knocking a stripped ball into a side pocket.
“It’s not pinning. You have no idea how many times I’ve openly flirted with him and he just laughs like I told a joke.” Grumbling, Jun hit a solid off a cushion to set up a double shot.
“If it’s any of the pick-up lines I’ve heard you use before, you should be satisfied he hasn’t banned you from the place.” Noted Shun, earning him a punch from Jun on the shoulder.
As Shun laughed, and considered his next shot, Jun’s gaze invariably drifted to the bar. Without a customer to serve, Oh-chan was talking to Machida. Machida had leaned closer, his hand on Oh-chan’s shoulder, and whispered something in his ear.
Whatever Machida had said made Oh-chan laugh and cover his mouth with a cupped hand.
It was all Jun could do not to grab a ball off the pool table and chuck it as hard as he could at Machida’s stupid grinning face.
“Fuck.” Jun growled, grabbing his drink and downing it.
“I’ve come to realize that I don’t even know your name.” Jun said, a little drunkenly. The evening’s anonymous pool partner, after betting and losing enough on a game to make his wife mad had gone home, and Jun decided to retire the cue for the evening, and take up a seat at the bar.
“You don‘t know?” Oh-chan blinked, surprised.
“No, I don’t.” Huffed Jun, annoyed.
“Oh.” Oh-chan polished a glass.
Jun waited.
And waited.
“So what is it?”
“Oh,” He grinned, sheepishly. “Ohno.”
“Ohno what?”
Ohno drew a straight face. “I don’t have a first name. It has caused me great trouble in life.”
“Liar.” But Jun laughed, and ordered another.
It was closing time.
Typically, Jun hated to be the last one to leave, but tonight he just didn’t feel like going home.
It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it was Ohno’s night to close.
A taxi had been called for the last fall-over drunk, and Ohno was waiting with him outside.
Jun gathered all of the balls, raking the rack to it’s starting position on the green. With a cube of chalk, Jun readied the end of his cue.
The bell chimed, and Ohno came back inside. “We’re done, we’re done, we’re done!~ Good job again today, Billy.” He reached up and gave the buffalo a pat.
“I’m still here you know.” Jun called, chuckling.
“Yeah, but you don’t count.” Ohno shrugged, flipping the ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’ on the door, and turning off half of the lights. “You can keep playing until I’m done cleaning up.”
“Why don’t you play with me?
“This again.“ Ohno laughed. As cute as it was, Jun had hoped for a different response for once.
“If you play,” It didn’t sit well with Jun to beg, but he wasn’t above betting. “and if you win, I’ll help you clean up.”
“Are you crazy?” Ohno stared at him, incredulous, “I know exactly how good you are. I’ve been watching you play since the first time you walked in that door.”
“Oh?” Jun grinned, feeling a little elated at so small a confession, “You’ve been watching me play?”
Ohno blushed, hiding his embarrassment by returning to the bar to grab a tub to bus the tables. At last he came up with a comeback, which he mumbled more to himself, “Hard not to, all the noise and all the people cheering for you…and stuff.”
“Sorry, I’ve been trying to keep it down. And if you’ve been watching, you’ll know that I’ve never asked anyone to play or to watch. Everyone always just comes to me on their own.”
Ohno froze, his hand in the middle of setting an empty martini glass in the black tub. His blush had only gotten darker, though his expression was confused.
Jun could feel himself grow warmer too, realizing what he’d just admitted to. It was too much hope that Ohno wouldn’t call him out on it.
Sure enough, he did.
“But you always ask me to play with you.”
“Y-yeah, well…” Jun tried to smirk, and hoped it looked carefree.
Ohno left the tub on a table, and rolled up his sleeves as he walked towards the pool table. “You’ll really help me if I win?”
“Of course.” Jun said, indignant. “I never go back on my word.”
“And what do you want if you win?”
“You.”
Ohno didn’t laugh, his expression alarmingly, frustratingly neutral, and the change in demeanor nearly shook Jun out of his confidence.
“Then…” Jun cleared his throat, and gave a weak smile. “I’ll just take the ‘Oh-chan special.’”
“That I can do.” With a serious frown, Ohno held out his hand for Jun to shake.
Jun laughed, and took the hand. “I think I offered you lessons before, would you like them?”
“Nah, I’m ok.” Ohno reached for cue Jun had been using since he’d begun playing pool at Tavern.
“Hey, that’s mine!” Jun exclaimed, trying to take it back.
“But I want to use this one.“ The bartender pouted, and it was unfairly cute.
“No, I had it first.” Jun said, stubbornly. It wasn’t even that he minded using the cue, but he enjoyed bullying the sleepy bartender too much to give in easily. “You can’t just steal it.”
But Ohno was equally stubborn, “Fine, if you let me use this one, I’ll let you give me a lesson.”
“Deal.” Agreed Jun, instantly.
“What do you want to teach me, teacher?~” Complete with falsetto, Ohno gave a great teasing wink as they approached the table.
Jun had to bite his lip to prevent himself from answering something very unimpressive, very uncool, and something he only allowed to think about doing to Ohno for a few precious minutes before he feel asleep at night. Clearing his throat, Jun pulled a new cue off the holder, and chalked it. “Just a basic shot to get you through the game. You know the basic rules, right?”
“For the most part, yeah. Where do you want me? This side?” Ohno headed towards the end where the rack of balls waited on top of the green.
Jun held his smirk, trying not to celebrate his victory already. He tapped the side of the table, closer to the cue. “No, over here.”
“Ah, right. I knew that.”
“Sure you did.” This time, Jun let Ohno see the smirk, and it was received with a falsely angry scrunched nose. “This is the cue ball.” Jun held up the solid white ball, “It needs to be at least this far,” he set the ball back on the table next to the diamond mark, “from the other balls before you break them.”
“Ok ok ok, lets just start. Take the rack off.” Impatient, Ohno rested his arm on the table, sliding the shaft of the cue along the skin between his index finger and thumb.
“Your posture is horrible.” Jun cringed, coming up to stand behind Ohno. He pulled Ohno’s elbow off the table, so only the wrist remained, and closed Ohno’s fingers into an ‘o’ shape. “This…” Jun murmured, taking extreme note of how close his front was to Ohno’s back, how, due to height difference, Ohno’s hair tickled his chin, and how he was close enough to take a playful nip at Ohno’s ear.
“’This’ what?”
“This is called closed bridge. It’s easiest for beginners to make sure shots in this…” Jun lowered his eyes, shuffling just a little closer, “position. Now you take the cue, and you want to aim for the dead center of the cue ball. Hit it hard enough to break the balls, but not so hard they go flying off the table.”
“Ok, I understand.” Ohno nodded, and the hair tickled Jun’s nose. “Lets start now.”
“Right…ok.” Reluctantly, Jun backed off. He carefully graded the rack, and removed it slowly so the triangle of spheres would remain perfect. “Normally I wouldn’t ask an opponent, but would you like to be solids, or stripes?”
“Which one do you prefer?” Ohno asked, still in the position Jun had molded him into.
Jun paused, caught off guard. “Solids, I guess.”
“Then I’ll be solids.”
“Hey-” Jun began, but Ohno pulled the cue back, and with an echoing crack in the empty bar, broke the balls. As luck would have it, five dropped into the far corner pocket, making Ohno’s claim on solids official.
Jun stared at the table, in disbelief.
He could see a double shot for solids already. No, a triple was possible, if the side cushion was hit just right. The striped balls were much worse off, all alienated and dispersed to make anything more than a single difficult without turns spent manipulating the field.
It was too early to be depressed, but Jun had wanted to impress Ohno with his skills right away.
“You get to go again, since you made one.” Jun pointed to the pocket that now held ball number Five.
“Oh yeah, ok.” Ohno placed the cue a little distance from Three, but accidentally knocked in one of the striped balls. “Oops.”
Replacing the stripped ball on the table, Jun contemplated his shot, refusing to worry about the favorable position of the solids. Ohno didn’t know which end of the table to stand at for the break. There’s no way he’d be capable of a triple shot, even with beginners luck.
“Twelve, side pocket.” Jun announced, before swiftly making the shot.
“Oh, are we doing called shots?” Ohno asked, in surprise.
“You don’t have to. I’m just in the habit.”
“It’s ok, I’ll play by your rules.” Ohno slowly walked around the table, twirling the cue in his delicate hands, a drawn look of concentration on his face. “Seven, corner. Two corner. One, side.”
Astonished, Jun watched as Ohno set up for the shot. He saw the way trained way Ohno braced his hand against the side of the table, and cast the cue on an open bridge. With extreme precision, Ohno expertly made each of his marks in the significant triple play. There was the slightest hint of a proud smile before it switched to a fake mild surprise. “Wow, how did that happen…”
Jun glowered, feeling like he’d been made a fool of. Angry, his grip tightened on his cue, “You didn’t tell me you knew how to play.”
Instead of looking remorseful, or even guilty as Jun expected, Ohno looked honestly stunned. “I thought you knew.”
“How was I supposed to know when you never told me?!”
Frowning, Ohno turned his cue, the cue Jun had been using for months, upside down. On flat end of the stick, a name was written in permanent marker: ‘Ohno Satoshi.’
Stunned, Jun reached for the cue, and stared at the name.
“I thought when you were offering lessons, you were teasing me.” Ohno ran his hand through his hair, a little embarrassed and a little confused. “I thought you were teasing me when you asked for my name a few weeks ago too.”
“I’m…I’m sorry, this whole time, I didn’t know this was yours.” Feeling stupider and more embarrassed by the moment, Jun gave Ohno an apologetic bow.
“It’s ok. I don’t use it much anymore, so I’ve left it here so it could get some love from someone else.” Ohno smiled, clapping Jun on the shoulder. “It was a weird feeling though….”
Jun raised an eyebrow, not following, “What was?”
“Watching you play with my stick almost every night for months. Do you know how much the other guys teased me for that?”
“I’m sorry…” Said Jun again, turning a little red and trying not to think too hard about what Ohno had just said.
“Well, lets finish this up so you can do my dishes for me.” Ohno beamed, nodding back to the table.
“Who says I’m going to let you win?” Jun smirked.
“Well I’m certainly not going to lose.” Ohno frowned. “You’re entirely too young for the ‘Oh-chan’ special.”
“Oh please, you’ve already served me a million drinks.” Jun rolled his eyes, and smiled.
Ohno looked up, the barest hint of a smirk on his lips, “Who said it was a drink?”